The noise from the air ripping past my ears was almost deafening as I fell from the stratosphere in an uncontrolled, headfirst plummet at terminal velocity.
Despite maybe a minute or so of space for me to fall between us, Tater and I communicated something unspoken, primal between us, as our auras flared, locking onto each other. Subconsciously, we were both saying the same thing, without even moving our lips.
"I'm not backing down.You're going to lose, on my terms."
Our battle… it was one of convictions. Not fists. Fists were just the medium.
I needed to prove that control and an open mindset weren't just words. That being strong didn't end at the fist, and didn't require acknowledgement.
So, I was going to beat Tater so badly that he knew just how far behind me he was. And all without using a bit of the Blutz Energy humming below the surface of my skin.
Egoistic of me? Absolutely. But I knew that I could do it. Ikari or not.
BOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!
Streaking down through the sky like a falling star, when my fist met with Tater's, I wasn't holding my power back at all. Every ounce of my million-class power level slammed into Tater's body like an arrow from the heavens.
And just as I predicted, Tater met my unstoppable object as the immovable force.
Eyes flashing red with unstable Ikari power, muscles pumped (though the difference wasn't as notable as my own Ikari form), his fist met mine in midair, creating the largest shockwave likely ever seen on this planet, as both of our effective power levels spiked to somewhere probably upwards of two, maybe three million for that one, single blow.
For several moments afterwards, neither of us moved, my hand caught perfectly in Tater's palm as our energies almost perfectly canceled each other out.
Then, I saw it. A mild trembling in his forearm as his power level dipped from Ikari overburn.
The price of Ikari mode pushing one's power level beyond what their cells are meant to process. Even after being converted into usable ki, Blutz Energy was unstable like that. That's why Ikari can technically increase one's power level higher than SSJP can.
It's also why I didn't ever use Ikari.
Taking advantage of Tater's momentary weakness, I used his grip on me as a fulcrum to kick my old teammate in the face. Though it didn't particularly harm him, the loss of concentration allowed me to gain an upper hand that could just as easily have been Tater's at any other time.
My limbs slammed into Tater's body repeatedly, blows raining down on him from all angles, seemingly at once, as his power level fluctuated wildly in a physiological response to being on the losing side of the battle.
Then, with a roar, Tater's power level spiked again, his eyes glowing red like a demon of vengeance as the world slowed for him, his strength nearly doubling my own for a single moment of blinding clarity, as my slightly injured arm reared forward to deliver a side blow to the area of his jaw that I'd injured earlier in the fight.
Tater's head leaned back, causing my fist to miss. Then, opening his mouth, his jaw locked onto my elbow like a vice, digging into the skin hard enough to stop me in my tracks with nothing but his teeth.
Shocked, I couldn't help but let out a grunt of pain, my guard dropping for a single moment. "NGH!"
Tater used my moment of surprise to plunge his elbow deep into my gut, "ACK!" Before letting me go.
Choking on my own phlegm, I fell several hundred meters before catching myself. Slowly, I hovered back up to eye level with Tater.
"This is your best, Tater?" I asked.
Surprisingly, despite not being in direct battle, the behemoth of a Saiyan's eyes didn't dim, or return to their normal brown. The veins on his shoulders and neck pulsed with the raw power of the Great Ape as he taunted me right back.
"It's enough to overpower you as you are, Tarble. Just give up and stop holding back. You're stronger than me. You should be stopping me with FORCE. Not… whatever this is!" Tater shouted, his voice deeper than before. Even though I hadn't heard much of it today, I could tell the difference.
"Is that how you deal with all of your problems, Tater? Force? If so, why are you here, fighting humans for a stupid prize? Couldn't you just rob a bank, hold a town or two hostage? Wouldn't that be the Saiyan thing to do?" I asked, smirking. I knew the truth. Tater talked a big game. He spent all that time putting others down, and pretending that he was the best just because he was strong, but beneath it all, he was a goodperson. To the core.
Just a bit too inflexible for his own good. Too focused on proving just how powerful he was. But if he saw someone in front of him, hurting, he'd do just about anything to help them, no questions asked.
I needed to prove to him that there were endless types of strengths. That being strong, and being acknowledged as superior were two very different things. I could only see one way to do that.
By beating him without using my greatest strength, SSJP. Proving that there was a massive, fundamental gap in our abilities that would never go away, unless he changed the way he thought and began trying to grow as a person.