It had been an impressive display. But while most of the Z-fighters were clearly impressed, some of the others weren't, and let the rest of their friends know with a series of grave expressions.
"Yes! Al-right Gohan!" little Trunks cheered, throwing his fists into the air.
"Those two are really heating things up," Yamcha remarked, unable to stop the sweat from dripping down his face. "Man, this is exciting."
"You can say that again, bro," Krillin added at the end.
While this particular half of the group appeared optimistic, Vegeta, Zangya and Paprika were the only ones unable to hide their concern. After hearing the children and the rest of the team behind her laugh, the Hera could no longer keep her stress contained and broke the mood with the bluntest comment she could make.
"Gohan's in trouble," the woman said, her finger tapping against her bicep impatiently, at the same time the people alongside turned to her in surprise.
"Huh? Why?" Goten asked, looking up at his big sister in confusion.
Vegeta, deciding to fill in the gap, spoke up in place of Zangya, "Your brother's taken a lot more damage than he's letting on. Every time he tries to get in close for an attack, his opponent stops him with a sharp, piercing blow from a blind spot, keeping him at a distance. The second he moves, she hits him with a counter and prevents him from landing any clean shots."
Looking just as bewildered as the others, Videl spoke up in a worried tone of voice, "But… how come? Gohan wasn't having any problems like this before. In fact, he was cleaning house with her at the start of this fight. So why is he losing now?"
"It's because of his rhythm."
Hearing the woman's voice across the quad, the Z-fighters turned their attention to Sandra's group, where they saw Maya staring across at them with her arms folded and a smirk on her face. The moment she had their attention, the Saiyan warrior then raised her voice so that those in the back could hear her clearly.
"All fighters, no matter how skilled, fast, or powerful they are, are constantly dictated by a rhythm characteristic of whatever form they practice. It's the basis upon which all warriors center their martial arts around." She then gestured towards her traveling partner and boss, who was back on her feet and assumed in a defensive position. "Sandra over there is gifted with almost God-like concentration, enabling her to figure out and break down an opponent's fighting style by simply observing it. Through use of her exceptional depth perception and timing, she's able to exploit the rhythm of her opponent's attacks and turn the tide of the battle in her favor with only two hits, even against fighters with a marked power advantage. What's more, she can telegraph her opponent's movements right down to the last millisecond, enabling her to block or evade any punch, kick or blast thrown her way. This, combined with her Kai Mui fighting style, allows her to predict and counter every one of her enemy's attacks to a near-perfect degree."
Responding to the assessment, one of the CAT Droids standing in front of the Saiyan Contingent held up a plastic sign that read, "Sandra is the best." It was a statement which all of the little robots agreed with.
Absorbing this information caused Zangya to grit her teeth in frustration. "Shit. That explains everything." She then tapped her finger nervously. "When Gohan dashed in after rattling her head with that right straight, Sandra deliberately left herself open so that she could analyze Gohan's fighting style and memorize his attack patterns. She made him believe that he had the upper hand and let him beat the snot out of her, then surprised him when he came in to finish her off with a big hit, by countering his shot with her own from an awkward angle."
It was a risky strategy, but brilliant; conserving energy by letting the opponent tire themselves out instead of wasting it on high octane rushes and combos whenever an opening presented itself. What's more, not only would the counter she threw have done a lot of damage to the opponent by way of a concussive blow to the head, it also would've left somewhat of a psychological impact on the individual who was hit by it. As far as they knew, Gohan was probably still feeling the mental sting of the shot, even as they were standing and staring one another down.
Hearing the Z-fighters continue expressing their concerns over the gradually developing battle, on one side of the field, the slightly battered Saiyan Empress cracked a smile and brought her left fist further out, while at the same time beginning to bob on her legs.
"On the battlefield… it's always flashy… always frenzied… always chaotic… but not when you're dealing with the very best in the universe… not when you've got two fighters with similar tools,"Sandra thought, her eyes twinkling with excitement as she watched her foe adjust the position of his arms. "Having incredible power is one thing… but that only matters if you're able to apply it tactically to each engagement. Incredible strength and speed mean jack all if you don't have the techniques and skill to back it up. If you have the insight to put your power to good use, then you can transform yourself into a one-man-army. Things quiet down then… like a game of chess: a battle of wits and psychology." She then extended her left fist ever so slightly, a move that had Gohan flinch and adjust his defenses. "I don't fight like normal Saiyans… you've probably noticed that already, haven't you? This entire planet… this solar system, they have become my chess board, and you and I are the kings. You've taken two of my pawns and I've taken two of yours and a bishop. Now I plan on taking your knights." A wicked look then appeared across her face, which she shot in her opponent's direction. "I've got eight deadly weapons in my arsenal, and I plan on using all of them to bring you down."
On the other side of the spectrum, Gohan, still regaining his bearings from the vicious body blow and head shots, was currently mulling over his own troubled thoughts on the issue. "This girl… she's nothing like the other monsters I've fought before. I can tell from the air surrounding her person. There's something very perceptive and shrewd about her fighting style that sets her apart from all the enemies I've dealt with in the past, like it was designed to defeat martial artists and warriors like me. An anti-fighter fighting style, man… if we weren't duking it out right now, I'd be gushing like a love-struck school girl." Brushing the blood off of his chin, the teen then smirked and cracked his neck. "Frieza, Cell, the Ginyu Force, Broly, the Androids, Garlic Junior, the assassin… they all fought using very direct and aggressive fighting styles, without an ounce of thought or care behind their attacks. But Sandra… she thinks before she acts and times each of her moves carefully; an intelligent fighter with superb technique who weaves tactics and strategies into all of her blows." His heartbeat quickened as excitement started to flood through his body. "Guys… I think… I've finally found my perfect rival."
Clicking his tongue, a spark of electricity shot off of Gohan's form as he then shifted weight to one side and darted across the quad. The baffled audience swiftly returned their attention to the field when they saw the demi-Saiyan finally move and proceeded to watch as he circled the courtyard at breakneck speed. After which the boy then charged in, causing a sonic boom to ring out as he broke the sound barrier.
"I can't let her set the pace again. The battle becomes too one-sided if she takes the lead. Watch out for her counters, get in close, and shut down her arms and legs," Gohan thought, gritting his teeth as he dove at his opponent, left arm up with his right covering his chin protectively.
As the half-Saiyan closed in at the speed of light, Sandra, watching him in slow motion, perked up when she noticed the position of his arms had changed. "Oh? So you're looking out for my uppercut, huh?" She then grinned and clenched her left fist, a move which the approaching Gohan noticed through his inhuman reflexes. "Alright then. I'll let you make the first move, but in the meantime, I'll give you something else to think about-"
"Kyokusen." (Curve Shot)
Gohan speedily ducked when Sandra suddenly shot two swift jabs at him, upon which he swiftly blocked a push kick aimed at him from below. After knocking it back, he saw the girl leap back and fire off another jab, which he head-slipped and dove past. At the same time his opponent began to retract her fist.
"That's it. Follow her fist back to her face. As soon as she brings it in, she's mine!" Gohan thought, cranking back his left for a body shot, as he saw his opponent's ribcage wide open.
All of a sudden, Sandra's jab, which she was still in the process of pulling back, suddenly changed directions and shot towards the boy's head, clocking him just when he was inches away from landing his attack. The punch, which had transformed into a hook mid-flight, knocked spit out of Gohan's mouth as his body lurched sharply to the left, putting him off balance.
His vision blurry from the unexpected shot, the demi-Saiyan's eyes snapped back up to his opponent in surprise. "W-What the hell was that?" Before he could figure out what it was, he suddenly saw Sandra fire off another jab, which he quickly lifted his right arm to parry. But just when he thought he'd catch it, he suddenly saw her fist veer off course and around his arm, before nailing him across the face with a harsh thump. In a matter of seconds, more and more jabs began flying at him, nailing him square in the face from multiple angles. "Shit! I have to get out of her range!" He then sprang to the side to avoid her last punch, making sure to stay keep to the outside. However, just as her fist was retracting, it suddenly changed course and smacked him on the side of the head just before he was completely out of reach, knocking him stumbling across the ring.
Zangya balked, "Whoa. What the fuck?"
Gohan, face bruised from taking so many shots, glared back at his opponent as he sprang away for space, watching her fist return to its previous half-way position. "What's with those lefts? I've run into tricky punches before, like Zangya's chopping strikes, the angular blows used by my father and the big swings thrown by Broly, but nothing like these. These are different. They change directions and come at me after I dodge them. What kind of attack is this?"
Even the Z-fighters could see how much he was struggling to avoid those blows.
Watching her opponent retreat had Sandra smile. "That was my special homing punch. Let's see you try and get past these!" Even though they were fast and lacked significant penetration power, they still had the capability of knocking an opponent's head around thanks to the awkward angles the punch was able to land from.
Apparently Gohan was aware of this, as he'd been on the receiving end of those blows. Shaking his head to rid himself of his daze, the half-Saiyan gave a throaty growl and his energy level began to spike. "There's no way I can take her on directly… not like this. If I try to get close, a short-motion uppercut or a slicing hook stops me. If I try to fight her at middle range, her weird homing jabs cut me off. I have to shift it up a gear…!" His aura bursting around him with a flash of lightning, he then vanished in the blink of an eye, his form shooting around the quad in the form of a golden bolt. Upon which he then spun in, coming at his opponent from a blind spot. "And get her from the side!"
He powered towards his foe, gaining some altitude before diving at her with a right side kick to knock her lights out. But then, just as his heel was about an inch away from her face, Sandra's eyes suddenly snapped up to him and, with an earsplitting crack, her left fist shot up and connected with his cheek in a counter. Both fighters seemingly struck one another at the same time, splitting the earth while their attacks buried into one another's faces.
Stunned by the shot, Gohan then dragged his cheek down her arm and, retracting his leg, began opening up on her with a blinding barrage of punches and kicks. It was an assault Sandra responded to in kind and, in a matter of moments, both fighters were attacking one another with a vicious onslaught of blows. Miniature shockwaves rattled the city as the two Saiyans attempted to overwhelm the other, attacking and counter attacking, their fists pummeling the opposing body without restraint. Eventually their ferocious string of combos was finished by Sandra receiving a concussive right straight to the face, which she blocked with her hand while simultaneously twisting her head away to cushion the impact.
"You've sped up a little, huh?" Sandra thought excitedly, despite the powerful blow that struck her hand. "Okay. I guess I'll speed up too."
At first Gohan thought he had her. But just as his fist was following through, he suddenly saw Sandra's leg shoot up and nail him in the solar plexus in the form of a side kick. The solid hit connected hard and fast, sending the demi-Saiyan skidding across the cobblestone floor like a sled.
"Another counter?" Taking a moment to regain his bearings, the stunned Saiyan then crouched and darted forward in a sprint. He ducked in low to avoid the woman's jab and, cocking his left fist back, powered up and threw it up at her in a full-motion uppercut. His fist connected with Sandra's right forearm when it came around to block his attack, which landed with earth shattering force and propelled her straight up into the sky like a rocket.
Maya, Cal, Kure and the Z-fighters followed Sandra's body as she soared into the clouds above, punching a hole right through them and causing the white masses to part in the form of an expanding ripple. The sight had all of them blink in surprise.
"Whoa," Android 18 murmured.
"That was one hell of an upper cut," Bulma added with an equally baffled look in play.
Vegeta however frowned, "She still managed to block it though."