Seeing his opponent edging towards him across the quad, Gohan slowly shifted back, his arms up and a nervous look on his face. Making sure he wasn't backing up into the main building or the courtyard's dividing wall, he moved further out into the open. Once he'd gotten some more space, Sandra was once again standing a few feet away from him, where he could practically feel her turquoise eyes boring into him like knives.
Electricity sparking off of his aura, Gohan clenched his jaw tightly. "Three seconds in and she's already backing me into a corner. This is not good." He then took a deep breath to try and compose himself, "Not only is the pressure from her intense, but her jabs… they're ridiculously heavy. My arms were knocked away from only two hits." When he saw Sandra step even closer, he began analyzing her form to get a bead on her defenses. Taking careful note of the positions of her arms as well as her wide feet, the Super Saiyan 3 hybrid clicked his tongue in annoyance and backed off even more. "She's got a solid stance and a strong focus. There are no openings for me to attack."
Before he could begin thinking up some sort of strategy to get around his opponent's guard, the blonde suddenly saw Sandra dart forward and swing at him with a right hook. Telegraphing her motion, Gohan brought his arm up and blocked it, before a string of even more punches began raining down on him. Shockwaves then rattled the courtyard as the demi-Saiyan's body was hammered by a lightning fast salvo of ludicrously powerful blows, with hooks and kicks beginning to slam into his body left and right, as if he were some kind of punching bag.
Feeling a roundhouse kick bury into his left arm and bend his body over, a desperately defensive Gohan gritted his teeth as he quickly blocked a right punch, which had him stumble back across the quad. He didn't have any time to catch his breath, as his opponent was right on top of him once again, driving even more punches into his guard.
"There… oof… may not be any… augh… openings…" Gohan grunted between blocking punches and kicks, "But guarding alone… oof… won't get me anywhere!" Taking several straight punches to the upper body, which he barely blocked with his forearms, the demi-Saiyan growled. "I need to hit back! At this range, my punches can definitely reach her!" The instant he deflected an uppercut, the boy saw a gap in his opponent's assault and dove for it. "THERE!" He then threw a left corkscrew blow into Sandra's face.
A thunderclap rang out when his jab drilled into the woman's cheek. However, instead of knocking her back like he expected, Sandra appeared completely unfazed by the blow, and simply pushed through it, shoving his fist off of her with a careless shove.
The sight had Gohan recoil in shock. "Sh-She's not stopping?!"
Before he knew it, his arms were once again nailed by a barrage of heavy punches, which battered him over and over, before a powerful right smashed through his guard and nailed him in the face. The blow shook the ground and had Gohan fly back across the quad, where he landed several meters away in a cloud of dust. Legs shaking, the bruised fighter looked up to see Sandra dashing at him once again.
"The power behind her attacks is unreal!" Gohan thought, his jaw tightening as he hurriedly regained his balance. As Sandra closed the distance on him in slow motion, the teen quickly prepared for an attack. "Damn it. There's no way I'm going to win this battle by fighting on her terms. If I have a hope in hell of bringing her down, then I have to push forward-" Cranking his fist back, the half-breed then sprang from the floor and launched himself right back at his foe, a move which caught the approaching Saiyan completely by surprise. "And ATTACK!"
Avoiding her right hook, Gohan dove into the girl's range and landed the mother of all haymakers across her face. The impact of the blow cracked the ground and caused a shockwave that rattled the surrounding buildings, sending Sandra sliding over the cobblestone surface. When she stopped several meters away, she immediately hunched forward, her eyes glazed over and a surprised look slapped across her mug.
Maya, Cal and Kure appeared stunned by the sudden development, whereas the Z-fighters cheered. Even the civilians watching from the sidelines gave a cheer.
As soon as he realized he'd hit her, the demi-Saiyan smirked, "Alright! Now it's my turn!" Leaning over, he then charged towards his enemy, breaking the sound barrier with his speed.
The moment Gohan launched himself from his place, a jerk from Sandra's shoulders and a gasp of shock signaled the Saiyan Empress returning to the land of the living. Blinking away her stupor as she gazed through a blurred vision and ringing ears, the female warrior spotted her adversary approaching her at breathtaking speed.
Nano-seconds passing by like minutes, Sandra quickly shook her head clear and threw her arms up into a defensive position. "Shit. I lost consciousness there for a second. What a hit." A grin then spread across her lips when she saw her opponent dive at her with his right fist loaded and ready to go. "Yes. This is it… THIS IS IT… the opponent I've been dreaming of for so long! Finally… a real challenger!" Licking her lips in excitement, the woman's eyes then lit up with a spirited fire, as she saw his punch come swinging in at her with lightning-like speed. "Come on! Give it to me… give me everything you've got, so I can tear it down and rip you apart!"
It was time to test his mettle.
The demi-Saiyan's punch slammed into the girl's guard with concussive force. As soon as it impacted, a fierce storm of punches then rained down upon Sandra without pause or hesitation, shaking her forearms and tearing into her muscles bit by bit. Eventually, in the midst of the planet crushing bombardment, a hook managed to sneak around the female warrior's guard and slam into her temple, causing the Super Saiyan 3 to drop her arms and leave herself wide open for Gohan's assault. Punches and hooks then battered her body left and right, knocking her head about like a piñata, while a swift shot to the body caused her entire form to lurch forward sharply and blood to splatter across the floor.
Gohan, pressing home his advantage, grabbed the woman by the scruff of her suit and drilled her head with three direct punches to the face, before finishing it with a swift hook to the nose. Upon hearing the crunch of his fist smashing into her skull, he then proceeded to hammer his opponent across the courtyard with another swift combo, filling the air with the sounds of dull thuds and titanic shockwaves.
The Z-fighters watching from the sidelines all lit up in awe when they witnessed Gohan snatch the pace from his opponent and uncork the beating of a lifetime upon the female ruler.
"Yes! Get her, Gohan!" Videl cheered.
"That's the way," a reinvigorated Zangya remarked, arms folded and a big smile on her face. "Go! Keep up the pressure!"
Vegeta also felt the tug of a smirk on the corner of his lips, "Once he's found his rhythm, there's no way she'll be able to fight back." As far as he was concerned, the son of his rival had the woman on the ropes.
Gohan thought so too and continued to swiftly drive punches into his opponent like there was no tomorrow. Despite the amount of power he was exerting, just like the opening bout between his father and Cell, the youngster made sure to keep his attacks under control, so as to not cause any damage to his surroundings. Given that there were people in the area, he had to be really careful with the amount of punches and kicks he threw. However, with the hits he was landing, this didn't seem like too much of a problem, as his opponent was thoroughly getting the piss beaten out of her.
However, as Gohan proceeded to slam his fists into the girl's arms when she brought them up to guard herself, her lithe body being smacked about back and forth like a duffle bag, he was unable to notice the look in her eyes or the fact that she was whispering to herself.
With every blow the demi-Saiyan landed, Sandra counted under her breath, "One… two… three… four…" She grunted when a knee buried into her stomach, before a swift overhand knocked her head downwards, causing a shockwave to ripple across the ground and shake the cobblestones. "One… two… three… four…"
In the midst of another vicious combo, Gohan suddenly saw his opponent lift her right hand and extend it towards his head. Thinking she was about to blast him, the demi-Saiyan knocked her arm out of the way and drove an uppercut into her solar plexus. He then landed multiple punches and hooks across her face, rattling her once again, before grabbing her by the shoulder plate, yanking her around, and nailing her across the face with a left overhead. When she stumbled away, the demi-Saiyan sprinted at her, leapt into the air, and nailed her square in the face with a jumping knee.
That final blow connected with a thunderclap and sent Sandra to the ground. She hit the quad and dug a trench towards its center, where she then stopped in a sprawled out heap at the feet of the Z-fighters. Zangya and the rest of their crew took a step back when the cloud of dust sprinkled over their legs, upon which they looked down to see the Super Saiyan 3 female staring up at the sky, her eyes covered by her hair, and blood pouring out of her nose and the corners of her mouth.
Needless to say, Sandra had gotten wrecked.
King Koku, his staff and the civilians meanwhile, upon seeing the warrior in orange and blue drop his opponent, raised their fists and cried out in joy.
"Way to go!" the anthropomorphic dog ruler cheered.
Amidst the cries and shouts of approval from the audience, Gohan, still imbued in his golden aura and blue electric field, clenched his fists and marched over to the spot where his opponent was lying. When he got about half way, he heard Sandra groan and saw her sit up, before the rest of her body eventually lifted off of the floor. By the time she was up, her knees were trembling and her entire form was hunched over with blood dribbling down her chin and her hair concealing most of her expression.
Despite the damages she'd suffered, the female Super Saiyan 3 then craned her head upwards and, with her eyes still hidden, grinned in a sinful and devilish manner.
"Is that all you've got?" Sandra's leer seemingly widened and the shadow across her irises darkened. However, just before her fangs could reveal themselves, Sandra suddenly put her hand over her mouth and shook her head. "Oops. There goes my 'bad habit' again. No. Stay calm, girl… not yet… not yet…" She then took a deep breath, composed herself, and returned to smirking normally.
Her question surprising the Z-fighters and Gohan, the demi-Saiyan then narrowed his eyes and, curling his fists, leant forward. "Want more? Fine!" His aura firing up, the golden fighter then dashed towards the seemingly stricken woman at breakneck speed. "HAAAAA!" With a mighty yell, the protector of the Earth cocked back his right fist and, taking aim at his foe, dove in at her with a hit.
His fist then shot out like a golden bullet, corkscrewing through the air towards his enemy's face. In slow motion, he watched his knuckles bury into her cheek and begin distorting her skull. But then, all of a sudden, there was a flash of blinding red light, which was instantly followed by a clap of thunder. Before Gohan knew it, his head had been sent reeling skywards and a spray of blood clouded the air above him, as from out of nowhere Sandra managed to land a devastating punch directly between his eyes.
Mouth open in shock, the demi-Saiyan felt his body blast back across the concrete at great speed. At first his body just flew. However, a few milliseconds in, the teenager realized what was going on and stepped on the brakes hard! His feet dug into the quad and he ground to a stop, kicking up a cloud of dust. As soon as he stopped, he then looked up in disbelief to see his opponent standing in front of his friends with an excited grin on her face and her right fist fully extended.
"W-What the hell was that?" Gawking, the hybrid Saiyan then realized that blood was dripping out of his nose and mouth, causing him to brush it away in surprise. He then set his gaze ahead, only to suddenly feel his knees buckle and his body lurch forward. Quickly regaining his balance, the teen hurriedly began trying to figure out what just happened, which didn't take long at all. "She… She hit me."
But with what? It wasn't an ordinary attack and it certainly wasn't thrown in a normal way. If it was, then he would've seen it coming from a mile off and avoided it. However, the angle the attack had struck him and the speed that had propelled it was completely unnatural… and that wasn't the only thing. Despite all the damage he'd managed to inflict upon his opponent in the last couple of minutes, Sandra was able to bounce back from it all and retaliate with a shot that had even more power than the attack he was going to land on her.
How was that possible?
Even the Z-fighters watching from the sidelines were stumped.
Krillin blinked, "Hey? Did you guys catch that?"
"No. It was too fast. I couldn't see anything." Tien replied, clenching his fists nervously as he watched Gohan tremble and shake on the spot, with blood dripping from his open mouth. "But whatever it was, it was strong."
With sweat dribbling down his face, a concerned Trunks looked across at his father fearfully, "What's going on, dad? Gohan was winning a few seconds ago… but now he looks like he can barely stay on his feet."
"W-What did she hit him with?" Goten asked, his tone just as nervous and timid.
Blinking a few times, the Saiyan Prince then frowned and gritted his teeth. "I think… it was a jolt counter."
"A what?" Bulma asked, also hearing the name of the blindingly fast attack.
Being one of the most technical fighters in the group, Videl filled the children in on it. "A jolt counter is a specific type of counter that is accomplished by putting the entire body weight behind a single punch. Basically in order to apply it, the fighter first predicts an opponent's line of attack and the blow they're going to use. They then position themselves to evade it, weaves their head around their opponent's attack, and nails them by arcing their arm over and driving their fist forward."
Having watched the entire thing play out for herself, Zangya also added to the breakdown with her own input, "Since it's a counter punch, not only is it impossible for the person being hit by it to see it coming, it also capitalizes on the target's momentum and turns it against them, so that when it lands, it lands with both the user's and the opponent's power behind it, and multiplies the damage." She then gritted her teeth when she saw Gohan struggle to find his footing. "In other words, Gohan just got hit by the equivalent of a punch that was double the one he just threw."
"Being a Super Saiyan 3, the power behind his punch and the rebound must have also been monstrous," Paprika concluded, unable to hide the discomfort on her face.
However, that wasn't the most perplexing thing about the scenario. The way Sandra had landed that hit seemed slightly off, as she'd allowed her opponent's own punch to graze her just a split second before she threw hers. That showed that she'd been prepared to take his attack even if she didn't hit him.
What exactly was her deal?
Vegeta, narrowing his eyes, then scoffed in a cynical manner, "It was probably just a lucky shot."