Scene #311:

Owner	Pose
Taylita	Spring is fairly well populated, but Taylita has found a large, open area of grass that she has chosen for this meeting. She is standing atop a large boulder that she might have brought with her. And she is just waiting. Arms crossed, eyes closed, body still. Meditating while she waits. Because she has no idea how this will go, but fears it could end in violence, and knows it will end in hurt feelings. But, she doesn't know what else to do. Her friend did something terrible, and she isn't sure she can support a friend who would do things like that.
Serori	Serori appears in a blur and a gasp of displaced air. She comes to Taylita without armor, dressed in a simple t-shirt and loose sweatpants, white sneakers on her feet. It's obvious she's tired -- there isn't half so much fire in her posture as Taylita may be used to seeing -- and just as obvious she's nervous. The tension Serori carries is in her shoulders and her gut, but not her fists, not yet. "I'm here," she sighs. Taylita's looked over, and Serori cocks her head back into a curious angle. "What do you want, Taylita? You look very serious."
Taylita	Taylita blinks her eyes open when Serori appears. She looks a tiny bit relieved when Serori appears without armor, but only slightly. "Well...that's because this is a serious matter." she says, then she steps down from the rock and walks over to Serori. She lowers her arms as she approaches, then... Then, she hugs Serori. Tightly. After a few moments of that, she steps back. "Ah...sorry." She actually looks a bit nervous herself. She rubs at one of her arms, then looks at Serori again. "It's about the attack on Stark's world. I wanted to hear about it from your side. Why did you guys just up and attack? And...why did it seem like you were purposely just causing destruction and loss of life?" she says, keeping her gaze on Serori's eyes.
Serori	The hug is...a surprise. Serori stiffens up in Tay's arms, but she doesn't try to pull back. An uncomfortable, uncertain sound is squeezed out by the red-head's embrace, nothing more. Serori is too anxious to return the hug. Taylita looks far too serious, and -- Oh. So that's what this is about. "You won't like the truth." Serori's voice is low, controlled, and a bit on the cool side, but that may just be the result of her deliberate emotional withdrawal. "Stark has never shown me an appropriate level of respect. His treatment of me has not only displayed an extreme disregard for myself as a warrior, but myself as a facet of the Confederacy. He's toyed with me, insulted me, and even gone so far as to mock the Field Marshal over the open radio waves. I decided I no longer had patience for his games. He needed to learn a hard lesson." The end of Serori's tail flicks in bristly remembrance of Stark's cavalier harassment. "The attack was a warning shot. Sometimes, the only way to get someone to shut up is to punch them in the mouth. I targeted Stark's world in three locations in order to best divide its defenders. I targeted Greenwich, because I wanted to hurt Stark as a person. I had hoped to kill Pepper Potts's parents, but I think I've failed."
Taylita	Taylita stands there, listening to Serori. Her expression too is controlled, even. Her arms recross over her chest after the hug is released. Taylita's tail ends up twitching by the end of the story, but she doesn't react beyond that. "I see." Taylita says, then she sighs. "But, Serori...those tactics...they are not the way of an honorable warrior. They are the tactics of...well...I'm sorry, but they just seem cowardly to me. If you have a problem with someone, you should take it to them, not go after innocent people. And regardless of how you might reason it out, they were innocent. Just as surely as the Saiyans who were not fighting Freiza when Planet Vegeta was destroyed. Babies, non-combatants, those unable to fight. They are the innocent." Taylita's gaze hardens a bit. "And you showed the same disregard during your attack that Freiza showed that day. And that the PTO shows when they annihilate an entire race just to take their planet. These are things I warned you about, things that I feared would start happening if you joined the Confederacy and the PTO." Taylita lowers her arms, then her hands clench lightly. "What would you say to justify yourself in these actions?" Her voice is still calm and even, but while her expression is cool, there is definite fire in her eyes.
Serori	"I do not need to justify myself to you, Taylita. You are my friend, but you are not my queen. I took actions I felt would carry the greatest weight. Stark has learned how far I will go to make him and his family suffer if he pushes me too far. Stark has learned better than to insult the Confederacy. If he cares at all about his people, he will develop a greater sense of caution and respect." Serori snorts and turns her head, looking away. "What Frieza did to the saiyans was total annihilation. I did not threaten Stark's entire world. I won't, until I am ready to subjugate it for the Confederacy. If you have issues with how the PTO is run, I suggest you lecture Gohan." He has a softer heart, at least. He might even /listen/ to Taylita's concerns. The next sigh Serori lets out carries a soft growl of frustration. "Honor does not win wars and bring peace to the Multiverse. There is a time and place when honor can be indulged. I am glad to say that I have held myself to a very high standard, but to act dishonorably for the sake of the Confederacy -- that is a sacrifice I will make any time it is asked of me."
Taylita	Taylita's expression finally budges as Serori speaks. "So, you see nothing wrong with what you did? The size of the tragedy is not what is important, Serori. If you still haven't figured out why Raditz doesn't want you around his child or his family, it is because he recognizes that the old ways of the Saiyan are no longer acceptable. It already led to our near extermination. Why would he allow another generation to be raised on those beliefs? So they can cause wide-spread destruction and once again be wiped out?" Taylita takes a step back after that. "Sacrificing honor when there is no need to do so shows weakness. It shows a desperate desire to prove oneself. And your actions seem to prove that you have no regard for life other than your own and your friends. Why can't you see? If the Saiyans are going to survive, we can't just be soldiers any longer. We have to become defenders, true warriors who fight for what is right. Peace means nothing if you rule over a graveyard."
Serori	"I disagree. The willingness to sacrifice myself for my ambition shows great dedication to my goals. Only a few can get in the way of what I want, and Tony Stark isn't one of those few." Serori is glaring now, a hard frown turning her weary face all scowly. "Raditz's child is his child. I do not need to be close to Gine or Merra. I will watch from far off, if I watch at all, but his family takes no precedence over my own." Tail jerking into lashing motion, Serori continues. "And you're right; we do have to become defenders. We were, once. We took care of our own kind. We will do so again. The next Saiyan Empire must be balanced as well as powerful. It's not all about glory on the battlefield and conquering worlds and proving our might -- we must become something stronger. A relentless force which feeds on and supports itself. Something unstoppable. Something indomitable." "'Fight for what is right' -- tch. What's right is protecting what's ours, and fighting to claim what isn't. United beneath the Confederacy's banner, the Multiverse will have peace." Serori shrugs, and makes a dismissive motion. "But that is a very long way away, and I have not yet had children."
Taylita	Taylita's expression doesn't turn to anger as she listens. It turns every so slightly toward sadness. Taylita sighs heavily. "I saw your expression when Raditz told you not to come around. You were hurt. And, do you remember how you felt when you thought I died? How can you so casually and calously inflict that pain on others? Every person you killed in your attack had people that felt like that about them." Taylita pauses, then hmphs. "Which, I guess you knew, since you said you purposely targeted that area for just that reason." Taylita sighs again and rubs at her head. "Fighting to protect what is ours is is good, but fighting to claim what isn't is merely warlording. It is selfish and destructive, and won't bring peace at all until everything is destroyed. Real peace is built on trust and understanding." she says, then she pauses before hardening her expression again. "Serori...I can see there is no use in trying to convince you, but there is one more consequence to doing something like this. Something so heartless and cold..." Taylita looks down, then back up and meets Serori's gaze. "I cannot continue a friendship with someone who is so uncaring about the lives of others and so unrepentant about such crimes."
Serori	Angry disbelief dominates Serori's scowling visage. "You can't be serious!" she snaps back at Taylita. "Of course I care about /life/ -- I didn't kill anyone to gain /nothing/! I already told you what was at stake -- Stark was playing with fire, and he deserved to get burned! I don't /kill/ without /purpose/!" But, she soon realizes, Taylita /is/ serious. For a moment, Serori doesn't so much as flinch; then, as the full implications thrust to the forefront of her awareness, she does. Anger transitions to confusion transitions to shock. A tight feeling squeezes her chest and throat. "Wh...where is your pride in your people?! You shattered me in the tournament -- me! A Super Saiyan! You have the strength to make anything of yourself, and you're choosing to turn your back on me? On the future we could have together?" Another growl slips out. Grief isn't an emotion easily processed where others can see it, especially not whenever it comes burdened with a thousand guilty little /what ifs/ she hadn't thought about until now. "Don't /do/ this, Taylita! We should be sticking together -- there aren't enough of us /left/ for us to be at each other's throats!" If Taylita doesn't like what Serori's done, what will Gohan make of it? What about Chi-Chi? What about Ragna? What will it mean for Serori's children -- will they grow up without the company of other saiyans? What kind of culture can be made from that? What'll it mean the next time Serori has to face Taylita in a fight? Will Serori's life be forfeit? Any doubts assailing Serori only translate into further rage. She pulls back in a snarling rejection of Taylita's claims. "/FINE/! Leave, then, and that'll be it! I do not need your /WEAKNESS/ ruining my ambitions! The next time we meet, it'll be as enemies, and I wouldn't have it any other way! I want /pride/ and /power/ in my Saiyan Empire -- I want /conquerors/, not /servants/!" Serori stands her ground, seething, her fists coiled up into hard knots even as some horrible sense of loss starts to hollow out her insides.
Taylita	Taylita stands tall as she faces the rage she expected from Serori. "Where is my pride?! It was crushed when I learned what the Saiyans did for a living before they were decimated! It was destroyed when you attacked people who had nothing to do with your conflict simply to inflict an injury on someone whom you apparently could not handle in honorable combat!! My pride in the saiyans is nearly none, because I have seen nothing in the Saiyans to be proud OF!! Only Raditz and Goku have shown me what a warrior -should- be! I thought Gohan had it, but his attack on Yunomi's world seems to prove otherwise." Taylita sighs softly when Serori points out they should be unified. "I agree, we should stand together. But, I told you when you -joined- the Confederacy that I could not abide their ideals and that they would eventually turn you to their way of thinking. You have become...at least it -seems- like you have become...the very villain that destroyed our people in the first place!! You may be able to build a great empire with your beliefs, but you know what happens to empires built on fear and destruction? Everyone rises up against it and destroys it! We want to -survive- not just create another legacy of terror and destruction! And survival is more likely to happen through proper peace!" "Giving up on self-destructive ambitions is not weakness! Being strong simply for your own pride and the defense of others is not servitude! I am no one's servant, Serori! I do what I want when I want! And it is my pride in the Saiyan people that keeps me from accepting the methods that you so readily employ! You may kill for a purpose, but killing should not be a tool so easily used! Because then people will not hesitate to use that tool on you!" Taylita clenches her fists, her own anger and frustration starting to show. "I do not want to abandon you, Serori. I care about you. But you've left me little other choice. I can't be friends with someone who thinks the only value on others' lives is what they can contribute to your own goals! And regardless of what you may think, killing people who have NOTHING to do with your conflict with others is NOT OKAY!! It just breeds hate, and soon everyone is just killing everyone else! That's called total annihilation!!" Taylita finishes her own little angered speech, then huffs and folds her arms over her chest again. "What you did was not out of duty or to further your goals. To me, it seems as simple as this. You were angry, and you took it out in a very unhealthy way. I suppose I was lucky to have been trained by the Corlanian monks. It allowed me to expand my mind. To see beyond simple destruction and conquest. To what a truly unified people can do. And if we cannot unify through understanding and trust, then that unity means nothing. It is empty and false." Taylita's expression softens, then actually turns a bit sad. "I don't want us to be enemies, but I don't see what other options I have."
Serori	Taylita's words are cutting, but one point in particular wriggles through Serori's defenses to enflame her rage. Frieza. The warlord who had not only seen to countless acts of genocide, but had declared his eradication of the saiyan race his greatest triumph. It wasn't fair for Taylita to draw a comparison between Serori's act of hateful violence to a profiteering madman's quest for galactic supremacy through wealth and firepower. Serori hadn't campaigned personally to wipe out the Earth's population and sell the remains for its resources. She'd attacked /one city/ -- inciting just enough /fear/ to keep the Union in line. It was important for Serori to be respected, and Taylita's comparison is a slap in Serori's proud face. The words circle around and around in Serori's mind, until finally, as Taylita finishes, as Taylita reveals her own sadness, Serori can only respond with an explosive outburst of furious words and a shockwave of power. "STOP /COMPARING/ ME TO /FRIEZA/!" The shockwave is mostly harmless -- just force, no heat to it, no directed energy. It makes the ground shudder, and dents a shallow crater into it, but by the time the force hits Taylita, it's weakened to something like a blast of high wind. Even so, Serori is panting afterward, her whole body trembling in reaction. Either the emotion running through her is too powerful to be controlled, or she's too tired for these outbursts. Maybe it's a bit of both. "If I was /Frieza/, I would kill you here and now for your insubordination. If I was /Frieza/, I wouldn't contain my attacks to specific targets -- I would wipe out the entire planet. If I was /Frieza/, I wouldn't give a /shit/ about my legacy, my family, or my faction, only /myself/. I am not /Frieza/. Do not dare compare me to /Frieza/!" Serori points at Taylita, her finger jabbing the air. "You'll regret this. I almost pity you." Yes...dig the hole a bit deeper. Soon enough, it'll contain your own casket, Serori. The black-haired saiyan turns sharply on her heel and kicks herself up into the sky. Nothing else can be said. She's chosen her path.
Taylita	Taylita isn't done, though! The explosion of power causes her to step back since she wasn't ready, but she just grits her teeth against it and holds her ground. When Serori takes off, Taylita follows right after. "You are not Frieza YET! But how long until you rationalize greater and greater destruction?! How long until you become the monster we all know Freiza was?!" Taylita shouts as loudly as she can as she follows. "I will regret this, you're right! Because my best friend will no doubt hate me afterword! But, if we are going to rebuild the Saiyan race, we should do it RIGHT! And -I- am not the one being insubordinate!! You are! You are defying your king by remaining with the Confederacy and the PTO! As are Gohan and Trunks!! That makes YOU the insubordniates, not me!" No doubt Serori speeds up, but Taylita refuses to give up this time. Serori ran off last time she was faced with something like this. Taylita won't just abandon her without trying to keep her from being her own worst enemy. "The Confederacy will do ANYTHING to get its way! That is not how a true warrior should operate! There are boundries, limitations that we should never cross, because then we are not warriors, or even people! We become monsters! I know you are not a monster, Serori! But, everytime I see a report about you, it seems like you are sinking deeper and deeper into the black depths that produced Frieza and Vegeta! And even if you hate me forever, I won't just let you disappear into that blackness! Even if you end up killing me in hatred, I won't let you destroy your own soul just to further your ambitions!!"
Serori	Serori cuts her flight abruptly short and whips around to swing her fist at Taylita. It's a half-hearted strike, more a warning than an actual attempt to /hurt/ the red-headed saiyan, but if Taylita grabs at Serori or otherwise returns fire, things might ramp up from hostile to aggressive. "/RADITZ/ IS NOT MY KING!" Serori snaps. "Raditz stole the crown for /stupid/ reasons, and I have never and /will/ never recognize his rule! If he wants to play king for a bunch of half-breed babies, /fine/! Let him have his little slice of the galaxy!" Serori swings her arm back to gesture at the sky and space beyond. "/MY/ king sits on the Confederacy's throne! /MY/ king is Field Marshal in a great war which favors the /strong/! My loyalty is given to Dracula Vlad Tepes, and he will have it until the day I die! I serve Son Gohan out of admiration, out of care, but if he should ever leave the Confederacy, he will become my enemy, too! The Confederacy gives me strength -- gives me friendship -- gives me /love/ -- and it will give me a /future/!" A deep gasp of a breath is taken, and Serori falls back another yard or so. The angry veil she wears is beginning to slip. The fires will dim soon, and reveal...what? "I can't give up everything I've fought to attain for the sake of one friendship -- " No. She's far too proud to just surrender. "If having the future I want means you and I someday have to try and kill each other, so be it. That's another /boundary/ I'm willing to cross if it means getting what I want. Let me go find my destiny, Taylita. I can't fight you like this -- not now. Let me /go/."
Taylita	Taylita allows herself to be hit. Her head pops to the side, then she straightens it up again. "I'm not asking just for my sake, Serori!" Taylita insist emphatically. "I am insisting for your own and for the future of the Saiyan race!" she says as she floats there. Taylita lets out a breath before getting calm again. "What sort of future do you want? Strength, obviously. Friendship. Love. These are all the things I want, too! But, you have a future already! It is to help rebuild the Saiyan race and establish them as a power all their own. And that power shouldn't be based on fear. It should be based on respect and trust! Then, if another Frieza shows up, we will have the strength to repel him!" Taylita floats closer. "It seems like you have accepted a destiny already. To live and die in Dracula's service. But, you are greater than that! You are not just a soldier! You are a strong, proud saiyan! You can do anything! Even bring about a new age for Saiyans where proud warriors defend their homes against the Friezas of the Multiverse, and they have friends who will aid them as well as trust the saiyans to defend them!" But, Serori's insistence finally convinces Taylita that she won't be able to save Serori. At least, not today. Taylita nods lightly. "If we do ever meet on the field of battle, I have no doubt you will bring pride to the Saiyans. It is your actions off the battlefield that worry me." Taylita says, then respects Serori's wish and turns to head away.