??????? // ???? ? ?????? ? ?????

In a panic to get out of her corner, Kefla exploded her power, Son's eyes widening in slight surprise as he jumped back. As soon as there was some space between the two fusions, Kefla let out a yell as she launched a flurry of attacks, attempting to take him off guard. Blocking with his arms, Son grunted as he was suddenly cornered by her attacks, unable to counterattack without risk of taking a dangerous blow.

Kefla grinned as she yelled, powering up even further as her green aura surrounded her, her fist glowing red as her ki enveloped it. Smashing her fist into his gut, Son was sent skidding backward, stumbling backwards as he tripped. Before he could regain his wits, Kefla launched another attack, uppercutting the man, before slamming her foot into his gut, sending him flying into a pile of debris.

"Looks like I was right," Kefla chuckled as she clenched her fist, glaring down the fusion laying in a pile of rubble before her. "You're all bark and no bite. You should just give up, I'd feel pretty bad beating up a little man like you—"

Kefla was cut off as her voice failed her, watching as Son stood up like her attack had no affect, dusting his gi off as he cracked his neck. He smirked as he noticed Kefla's shock, the woman staring with wide eyes, her jaw hanging open as she scoffed in disbelief. There was no way he could come back from an attack like that, each of those blows could have easily killed most of the other contestants here, and yet, he stood up like he hadn't felt a thing.

"I was hoping for a good warm up, but I don't see that happening anymore, so I think it's time to end this," Son spoke, clenching his fists as his aura suddenly exploded. Kefla yelped as she raised her arms to block the sudden burst of wind that threatened to take her down. The ground shook as Son's power continued to climb, his hair flashing red as his aura turned into a brilliant orange, bursting into flames as his hair turned bright red. "I can't go full power while fused, so this is the best you'll get from me. Hope that's alright with you."

Son grinned, watching as Kale's blood began to boil. Before she could make some kind of retort, Son's fist was suddenly smashed into her face, returning the uppercut she had dished out just moments before. Son had returned Kale's previous onslaught of attacks tenfold, leaving the fusion with no time to dodge before slamming his boot into her gut, sending her crashing through walls of debris.

Coughing as she pushed herself up to her knees, Kefla grit her teeth, her fingers digging into the dirt and rubble below her. She couldn't lose here, she had to win where Cabba and Hit couldn't. The survival of her entire universe, of Caulifla and Kale, it all depended on her. If she lost now, they'd all be dead.

"Damn you, damn you, damn you!" Kefla fumed, squeezing her eyes shut as her nails dragged against the dirt. "Even after getting all this power, I'm still losing to you. I don't understand, I don't get it! I'm supposed to be stronger! I'm supposed to be better than this!"

Son frowned, almost feeling guilty for beating such a proud person down to this level. Part of him wanted to try and explain to Kefla that she just wasn't like him, that it would take a long time to get to where he was, but he couldn't sympathize with the enemy. He also had to win, no matter what.

His train of thought was interrupted as Kefla's energy suddenly enveloped her, her power skyrocketing, shaking the ground beneath her as she rose to her feet. With shaky hands, Kefla squeezed her hands into fists as she panted, pushing herself as far as her power would allow. "I won't lose. I'll win this whole damn tournament before my time runs out. For Caulifla and Kale."

Son's eyes widened as her power rose higher than he had yet to see, and it was still climbing. Now she was getting serious, deathly serious. She was out to beat him, even if it meant possibly endangering his life. And that meant he had to get serious now too. No more playing around. He needed to end this, now. There was only twenty-five minutes left until the tournament ended, and it was quickly running out.