my_belfry_of_fun | Shenanigans with Dragon!

Right then. With another flick of her wrists, she split the swords apart, cracking both extended whiplike plasma blades at him without so much as a warning. Yes, she DID like these weapons!

Two whiplike tendrils, extended from the blades, as blue-eyes narrowed. He could dodge them, but that wouldn't yield him much information beyond what he and Morag already suspected.

So Trunks dodged one, and powered up in a heartbeat. No time wasted before his hair spiked upwards, turning gold and eyes going a sharp green. Moving in towards the second whip-like-blade to grab and tangle it somewhat around an arm, Ki corona protecting him. Then he pulled in a harsh yank, not bothering to moderate his strength.

This was exactly the sort of thing he wouldn't have gotten away with if these were her proper swords.

Still, she was prepared for that -- a ridiculous resistence to plasma was just one of the many things he expected. As he he yanked, she pulled back on the hilts to make the weapons contract again, both so the sword would cut into his arm as it tried to spool back in, and to add more momentum as she came in swinging with the other one.

Edited 2019-12-03 02:02 (UTC)

He might get away with it if she'd had her proper swords too. They wouldn't be able to test that here though. The spooling of the plasma-connectors bit into the fabric of his jacket, and didn't help that it was tangled more around him. It could be replaced though, when he couldn't yank her off her feet Trunks changed his tactics.

Moving to meet her in the momentum, aiming to hit her blade against the plasma-coiled segments around his forearm. Crouching, arm braced with his other, and twisting so one of his legs moved to swipe out and try and knock her off her feet.

Edited 2019-12-03 02:12 (UTC)

His foot hooked around her ankle and swept her off her feet. But she was ready for this, yanking hard on the hilt of the sword still wrapped around his arm. If his strength kept her up, fine; if he came down with her, also fine.

Took more than that to pull him off balance, albeit it was partly because he yanked too. Bracing and coming out of that crouch, arm that was tangled held up high and pulling not quite nose-to-nose. More than close enough to feel his body and the crackle of energy around him from his ki. Trunks free hand shot out to grab her own at the hilt of her blade.

Well. This was unexpected. She didn't often get this close in the middle of a combat, and it left her briefly startled. BRIEFLY, as she slid one boot around his ankle, then pushed forward in an effort to make him tumble.

Trunks didn't often get that close either, but he'd expected this based on how he'd tangled the whip-like blade up. What he wasn't used to, was being that close (even in combat) to a woman. Not that he'd been around many woman in his life who weren't his mother, or weren't trying to kill him like android 18.

Which meant he was just as startled, and moved when her shoulder pushed in and against his sternum and she hooked his ankle in turn. Twisting as he fell, taking advantage of the boosts super-saiyan provided in speed (among other things). Dropping his hand from her own and using it to cartwheel away so that all that chained them was the plasma-whip still coiled around his other arm.

Shaking that arm to uncoil the whip and continue into a back-flip, out of her range. A moment to eye the ruined fabric of his forearm, and a nod to her. "Good to know you're prepared for that tactic." Still with that smirk though, and still a hint cocky.

Hmph. Another thing she badly missed was a handy blast of fire here and there.

The damage to his clothing reminded her that her own were far from immune. And she quite liked her uniform. With a flick of her head, she sent her hat tumbling to the ground, and she swapped blades from hand to hand lightning-quick to shrug both sleeves off so her coat would follow it. Then she fell into a ready pose, a smirk on her features. "There is a reason I am Special Inquisitor."

"Oh I didn't doubt it." Her uniform was a bit more fancy than his own, but Trunks took the second or so and followed her lead. Shrugging out of the BDU jacket that he wore as an Explorer, leaving him in the black tee-shirt underneath. "We've been following your strategies just as much as Tylor's, after all."

"So what else have you got, besides whips of energy?" Definitely still smirking as Trunks resumed his guard and ready position. "You have to do better than that, Morag."

"You'd be surprised how much I accomplished with twin swords like these and the Jewel of Mor Ardain at my side," she shot back, amusement still curling around her voice. This spar was proving... surprisingly fun, actually. Trunks had to be one of the most tolerable people she'd met, even including ones on Alrest. Getting some sass out of him was actually quite nice.

"But you aren't wrong." She twisted, stowing her blades and in the same motion drawing a boxy device from the small of her back. It unfolded as she drew it, clicking and forming up into a surprisingly large cannon. The moment the last part snapped into place, she pulled the trigger, launching a huge ball of energy at her sparring partner.

No one had really provoked him into showing the less personable traits he'd inherited from his parents yet. Trunks still wasn't nearly as bad as either Vegeta or Bulma could be, but that didn't mean he was completely immune. His manners were mostly Gohan's influence, and his own growing up slightly isolated thanks to the Android's Reign.

Well, and some of Bulma's "Do as I say, not as I do!" attitude and lessons too.

The cannon though made him raise an eyebrow, but the ball of energy? That made Trunks laugh. Mirthful AND smug, as this was territory he was very familiar with. "Really? Now you're playing my game." Hands up above his head for a split second as he gathered energy, forming a ball of his own golden-white energy. Slowly turning blue as it charged, before he brought his hands out in front of him.

Braced, and firing his own ball of energy back to intercept her own.

Oh, she knew. And he could intercept as he wanted -- she kept a steady onslaught of energy spheres hurling at him, two smaller and then one larger and more powerful as the weapon overcharged. Not much variance; she was baiting him, trying to convince him that she thought she could overwhelm him like this and establishing a predictable pattern she could break as soon as a good opportunity presented itself.

They could do this for awhile, honestly. It wasn't the first time Trunks had been in this kind of battle of energy, and it likely wouldn't be the last. Not hard at all for him to counter her blasts with his own, and hopefully it was convincing. Because he definitely inherited his brains from both his mother and father. Bulma was a genius in most things, but Vegeta was crafty in battle.

She had to know this wouldn't work to overwhelm him; ergo it was a trap of some kind. He just had to decide if he wanted to play along, or if he wanted to spring his own. Or, he could channel his alternate self--and be a little shit. "You know you can't win this way, right? And I KNOW you know it, so stop playing with me already."

"Maybe I'm just practicing," she said, smiling more than she would have thought. "You're hardly putting up much of a fight at the moment. It's much like firing an ether cannon at a stationary target."

"You'd prefer a moving target?" Trunks called back, stopping his own volley in favor of dodging the energy attacks. Still on the ground too, as he hadn't yet taken to the air. "Try and hit me then. IF you can, I might be impressed."

Oh yes, the smirk and quirk of his brow with that taunt were definitely like his father's.

Especially since Trunks took to the air now, upping his speed and focusing purely on dodging to get closer and closer to her. Not quite as fast as he could go--he wasn't blurring or moving so fast he seemed to teleport. Yet.

Not that his speed and agility weren't up to the task, but it wasn't so perfectly easy; the energy balls homed in on biosignatures, meaning they were chasing him. But even so, she knew perfectly well she wouldn't so much as sting him that way.

Which is why as soon as he got within range, what she fired from her cannon was not a ball, but a column, rushing through the air at lightspeed towards him.

The chasing him was certainly a new wrinkle, but Trunks did enjoy a challenge. Even if it wasn't in his blood, he did appreciate competition and pushing his limits. Still, she was planning something--he knew it. Battle instincts, or experience, or something.

The column had green-eyes widen, then narrow. Arms coming up in a guard in front of him, and Trunks pulled more energy and power around him. Bracing himself but also diving for the column itself. Moving to push through it, aiming for the ground at her feet if he could.

Clever as her plan might have been -- and even anticipating that in some way he'd manage to react faster than the speed of light -- she had not planned for him to move forward while enduring it. No sooner did the column let up then there he was, completely unexpected by her!

The problem with his maneuver, was that momentum was hard to stop. Trunks managed to shift just enough to get his feet under himself, as he hit the ground. Along with all the energy around him from his own aura, and whatever blasts had followed him.

It was like being at the center of an explosion, ground churned up and gravel thrown around from the concussive force as the blast made a crater. Grass flattened, their coats and her hat blown away, and Trunks in the center of the crater.

Still glowing, crouched, and with his arms crossed and braced. Mostly unscathed and unhurt thanks to his powering-up, but with definite rips and burns to his clothing. A hole over the knee, wind-sheared rips in his shirt; cloth ripped, but the man unharmed.

Wary, but also with clear concern in his voice. "Morag?"

Edited 2019-12-03 04:13 (UTC)

Huge explosions, as it happened, weren't an unfamiliar peril to her. Of course, normally she had a Blade's help in protecting herself from them, but damned if she was going to let that slow her down.

The blast knocked her back, off her feet to start with, but she rolled with the impact till the raw strength in her body could take over and force herself into a slide on her boots and one gloved hand. She didn't even think about her own situation, her clothes ripped in several places where friction had shredded them and her fair skin standing out brightly against the dark uniform colors. As soon as she got bracing beneath her, she took off at a run straight back towards him, exchanging cannon for blades as she moved.

The quick recovery did impress him; he'd hoped she hadn't been badly injured and was pleasantly surprised to find she didn't seem too much so as well. Not if she was charging at him, drawing her swords anyways.

Not that his surprise was obvious as soon as it was clear what she was doing. Up out of the crater, and Trunks charged forward too. The smirk was gone, mostly so he could focus and push her more to her limits as well as his own. Striking out with a high kick once in range, before transitioning to a low punch combo.

Fully expecting her to block or dodge his strike as he did the same. Keeping them each within range of each other. If one moved further away, the other gave chase. Trunks was slowly upping his speed, while keeping the power of his strikes controlled, mostly.

Edited 2019-12-03 16:58 (UTC)

Mòrag's swords flared bright with plasma as she blocked and counterstruck, dodging easily out of the way of those attacks she didn't block as she fell into a familiar dueling form. Her own hits came out stronger and with greater determination behind them as she urged herself to draw out more of his ability. All the while a smile shone on her face, the light of her blades reflected brilliantly in her eyes.

As they continued, his smirk came back--and despite sharper green-eyes, enjoyment of the challenge was seen in their depths under the intensity and focus. "I might actually be a tiny bit impressed." Teasing arrogance in his voice--nowhere near like his father or mother had.

As she'd lunged in a strike that he'd twisted away from, Trunks reversed himself quickly, hand striking up fast to grab over her own on the blade. Blocking and moving with the motion when she countered with her other blade to grab that hand too. Grip firm and he stepped into her guard.

"I could say the same," Mòrag said over her blades, not letting up on the strength behind them so he couldn't easily push her back. The plasma was roaring-hot to her, making a few sweat drops bead on her temples. What a nuisance that was! "I might still consider you a worthwhile challenge even if Brighid was here."

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