Despite knowing I didn't have the time or space to properly get into a fight with anyone, I couldn't help but get excited at the thought of battling with someone from a proper warrior race.
Other than the Amazons and Hawkie, most people I fought with just didn't get it on some level. A fight to them was a means to a goal or a way to stop something. They didn't get that just fighting in the first place was already a win.
So really, when faced with that kind of declaration there was only one thing to do.
"Alright then! Let's see what you've got!" I smiled sharply and sent a stream of Ki blasts towards him. Weak enough that they should still hurt, but wouldn't tear through the ship if I missed.
The red-haired bounty hunter dove to the side and sprinted through the jungle letting the trees tank the blasts for him while snapping the occasional shot back at me through the leaves. He was actually pretty good at timing his shots so that I couldn't guess when he was about to take one, but his strategy so far was making me confused.
I mean, I knew the average Tamaranean warrior couldn't use starbolts like Starfire and Blackfire – that ability was caused by the Citadel experimenting on them – but every Tamaranean was capable of flying. So why wasn't he?
Maybe he was keeping it as a trump card, maybe he just preferred to fight on the ground. Either way, him running around in the trees and only poking at me with that gun of his was getting frustrating. So the next time he ducked behind a tree large enough to completely hide him from view I kicked off the ground and quickly flew to where I could feel him moving to take another shot and blasted his weapon out of his hand with a smirk on my face.
"So what are you going to do without your toy?" I taunted lightly, curious what he was going to do next.
"It served its purpose, it got you close." the bounty hunter smirked as he brought out a metal cylinder.
Another weapon?
The cylinder expanded into a full length staff and started crackling with some kind of energy around the tips, so weapon was definitely accurate. And since I already decided just a little bit ago I wasn't going to underestimate a potential weapon just because it didn't look impressive I moved to give myself a bit more space…only to wince as I smacked my head into a tree branch.
That was why he lured me in closer! So I couldn't fly around freely and either wear him down from a distance or avoid his staff thing!
A part of me wanted to be insulted he thought I'd want to win in such a boring way, but the rest of me just brushed it off as being smart about not letting your opponent determine the pace of the fight.
Well if he wanted a close quarters brawl, I'd be happy to give him one!
The bounty hunter was already moving the second he saw me hit the tree, his staff jabbing forward to take advantage of my distraction with the branch. I could sense him moving though even if I briefly took my eyes off him to check what I flew into, so I didn't panic at him suddenly being much closer and just reached above my head to push off the same branch down towards the jungle floor just as his staff passed through the space my torso had been a split second ago.
Good thing too, because the staff hit the same branch I had bumped into and drilled through it like it wasn't even there. I was a lot sturdier than a tree branch, but that still looked dangerous.
While he was busy ripping his staff out of the tree, I launched a kick at him that was barely avoided. He swung his weapon at me in retaliation, which I ducked under and punched towards his head, only to miss when he ducked to the side.
From there we traded a series of blows where I picked up a few things about him.
First was that he was weaker than I was. While he was strong enough to block one of my attacks if he needed to, he was forced to dodge most of the time because I would just blow through his defense if he tried to just stop the attack head on. And even if he did manage a full block, I still sent him sliding back a few feet.
He made up for that with the second point though.
Because he was good with that staff thing of his.
It didn't matter if I could probably beat him unconscious in a few good hits, when he barely let me get a bunch of bad ones in without taking damage myself. Every time I had an opening for a solid bodyshot, his staff was in a position that I either needed to tank a return hit or pull most of the punch so I didn't leave myself open. And that staff itself? I don't know what kind of tech it used, but the energy bits at the end felt like getting hit by a truck and being stung by a wasp made of fire…at the same time!
Which brought up point three. That weapon was definitely dangerous. He hadn't managed to get a direct hit on me either, but even the glancing blows had left bruised and bleeding scorch marks on my arms and legs.
Point four was a bit more annoying. Mostly because I hated how often he pulled it off, but the bounty hunter was really good at using the environment to his advantage. Things like dodging out of the way so I either got stuck punching through a tree trunk, or getting whacked by a branch he managed to pull back. Irritating things that only slowed me down a little or distracted me, but done smartly enough that I'd almost let him get a solid hit on me a few times.
After one particularly close call that grazed past my ribs, I pulled back.
I needed a strategy. Or at least some way to get this fight out of the jungle so I could actually use my greater mobility and the rest of my techniques.
"You're pretty good, I never got your name though." I said while I thought of what to do next.
He smirked at me. "More than you expected, isn't that right Saiyan? I am Dazol, warrior of Tameran." His smirk shifted to something more considering. "Though I will admit, you fight much more skillfully than I expected for someone of your age and race. Once I've defeated you and delivered you to Mogul, I'll be sure to follow your career. I'm sure you'll be a fine gladiator in time. Your name?"
I frowned. So that was what the bounty on a Saiyan was for? I could see why Mogul needed to hire out bounty hunters then. Saiyans might love to fight, but no Saiyan warrior worth the title would allow themselves to be collared to fight for other – probably weaker – beings' entertainment.
Also just assuming he was going to win? "Rude," I commented lightly. "You haven't beaten me yet. My name is Califa, remember it because one day I'll be the most powerful Saiyan in the universe!"
"Hah, grand words for a child! Let's see if you can back them up!"
Despite Dazol's confident words, I was still the first one to attack. I kicked off the ground straight at him in a direct line since for once there was actually very little to get in my way. Dazol must have predicted that though, since he timed a thrust of his staff perfectly so that it sank into my chest the moment I stepped into his range…
…only for that 'me' to fizzle out like a mirage a moment later.
"Wha–!?"
The look on Dazol's face as my afterimage disappeared was beautiful. But it paled compared to the face he made when the 'real me' planted a boot in his ribs and folded him in half. I finally got a serious solid hit in!
The bounty hunter tumbled a bit through the jungle but managed to recover pretty quickly. He shot me one almost disbelieving look before getting serious again and moving so that there were more bits of jungle between us, correctly guessing that I still needed open space to use the technique.
That was fine though.
With him definitely feeling that last kick, the rhythm of the fight was definitely more in my favor now. He was still holding me off with his staff, but now he was predictable enough that I could more easily block his attack patterns and even fend off the staff completely by shrouding my hands with my Ki.
We were still trading blow for blow, but now I was definitely getting the better end of each exchange. My attacks were landing easier and more often while his were starting to get sloppy from all the damage that was building up.
Dazol tried to switch to a more defensive, less mobile fighting style for all of a few seconds when I shot a Ki blast at him and I saw a frown set on his face.
I think both of us realised I was going to win at this rate so I wasn't surprised when he suddenly put a bunch of distance between us and pulled out some other device from his belt.
I couldn't immediately tell if it was some kind of weapon, so I stayed where I was but kept my guard up even as Dazol lightly tossed the device that started to glo–
My eyes involuntarily widened before I did my best to slam them shut before what turned out to be an alien flashbang went off in my face.
Jerk, that was my move!
The flashbang didn't work on my Ki sense though, so while I was blinded and deaf I could still track him perfectly thanks to his energy. I could immediately tell Dazol was taking the time to retreat while he thought I didn't know where he was. From the feel of it, he was heading back towards the rest of his bounty hunting buddies.
If he was a Saiyan, I'd be tempted to call him a coward for running for reinforcements instead of finishing our fight - win or lose. But Dazol was a Tamaranean, and from what I could remember, they were a lot more community focused than Saiyans tended to be.
Plus it wasn't like his buddies were in any shape to help him right now.
Now that I wasn't completely focused on my fight I could tell Superman had already knocked the other three bounty hunters unconscious while Lobo…had run off further ahead? I had no idea what he could be doing, but that meant I was the last one holding us up from getting off this ship and heading back to Earth.
Okay, no more playing around. As much fun fighting Dazol was, I needed to knock him out and get back to Superman before he came looking for me. No way was I giving him the excuse to 'save me' and steal the end of my fight like that time with Hawkman!
I rubbed the last few flare spots out of my vision and took off after the Tameranean warrior by tracking his energy signature. My opinion of him also went up because it turned out Dazol hadn't been heading for his buddies, but a separate nearby enclosure that mimicked a different environment than the jungle.
Probably where the bounty hunters had stashed some extra weapons or something. That was the only reason I could think of that Dazol would be standing still in a night environment anyway.
"You're not getting away that easily, Dazol!" I roared as I announced the continuation of our fight by flying overhead and peppering the area with low powered ki blasts.
But unlike what I expected, Dazol didn't get ready for another round of our fight. Instead he looked up at me wide-eyed and terrified.
"Califa, you can't be in here! You'll doom us all! Leave and do not look above you!"
He even sounded horrified, but naturally him telling me what not to do triggered an impulse to do the exact opposite and I looked up at the softly glowing light at the roof of the enclosure.
My last conscious thought was - why the heck did the Preserver have a lamp that perfectly replicated the light of a full moon on his ship?!
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