>>5224636“Good luck out there, mom! Whoop some butt!” you cheer.
“Language.” she reminds you.
“Hey, I said butt, not ass!” …Wait, shit.
Chi-chi just softly laughs, giving you a pat on the head. “I know, Izzy. Still.”
You wave your hand. “Yeah yeah. Still, best of luck out there!”
And so, she and Lazuli head into the ring. This will be an interesting fight. And… hrmm. ‘Hey, Pantea, got an idea we can try while we observe the fight.’
‘I’m listening.’ she responds.
‘Image training! We meditate a bit as we watch, trying to see how we’d face each of the opponents.’
She smiles as she looks forward. ‘That’s actually a great idea! Ready when you are.’
Both pairs enter the ring. They do seem more evenly matched than the previous fight. Come to think of it, you… actually haven’t seen how Lazuli and Shao fight all that much. So this will be pretty interesting to see. Mom though? You know her very well, and you do at least know Launch’s style better than the other two. This should prove very enlightening.
“Fighters ready? BEGIN!” Pilaf announces.
https://youtu.be/yRNw-0jQuFEYou and Pantea both focus, watching the movements of the fighters carefully. Thankfully, Lazuli and Shao are actually up first, so you’ve got some new stuff to watch. Lazuli’s interesting. She’s quick and aggressive, but also not a slouch when it comes to defenses. You even see her form a shell-like barrier out of Ki to block a few incoming blows from Shao, holding it in front of her with both hands in… a very familiar pose. Wait, is she-?
“KAMEHAMEHA!” Lazuli quickly fires a beam into the turtle shell shield, which amplifies the attack and lets out a much bigger beam than Shao was expecting.
But while the attack hits, she’s able to burst up Kaio-ken to minimize the damage. Shao then goes on the offensive, with Lazuli once more using the turtle shell shield to block the barrage of crane strikes Shao unleashes at her. However, you notice there’s not actually that much power behind them. Aha, it’s a distraction!
Launch bursts into the ring, her aura sparking around her, as she yells out “Geist Magnum!” and hits Lazuli right in the back. With her caught off-guard, Shao’s attacks are able to hit true, doing quite a bit of damage on her. Okay, now you think you get their strategy. Shao’s focus is on creating openings for Launch to exploit. Even as your mom gets in to try and help, the pair actually switch focus to her, Launch showing a good deal more power in her attacks while Shao nimbly creates openings. Mom chants something under her breath and lets out an Explosive Wave to force them back, healing Lazuli up, and even taking a couple hits to shield her.
(cont.)
