A Secret Between Villains
"You ready, pretty boy?"
The smaller figure stood slowly from the spot where he had been crouched. The summer sun was slowly crawling over the horizon, announcing the coming of the day.
"I'm always ready, Namek," he hissed with a smile. The hideous smile was returned by his opponent, white fangs exposed.
The larger of the two beings stretched his arms over his head, their lengths varying subtly, which was not unnoticed by the smaller of the two.
"That's such a useless trick," he said sharply, still smiling. The other being only shrugged.
"You'll find it real useless when I squeeze the life out of you, little man," he warned.
"Shall we get started? I have other things to do than to thrash you."
"I was waiting for you, Vegita."
With a laugh, the Saiyin lobbed a small ball of light at the larger creature, which it deflected easily with a wave of its hand.
"Quit playing, little man," Piccolo growled, some sort of obscene humor still in his voice. Vegita just chuckled.
"Have it your way, Namek," Vegita bowed. "You that anxious to get your tail kicked?"
"Not on your best day," was the warrior's reply.
With that, the battle began. To the human eye, the two warriors disappeared, and only flashes of light could be seen around the beach as the waves lapped the shore. A gust of wind whipped up around a nearby palm tree...and then with a loud crack it exploded and sprayed splinters down all over the sand.
"Is that all you've got for me?!" Piccolo yelled, spinning in midair and launching a salvo of blasts at the Saiyin Prince.
Vegita gritted his teeth and dematerialized as the energy came dangerously close. The fire slammed into the surf, exploding in a tower of sea water and sand. As Vegita reappeared, the steam and super-heated sand pelted his exposed skin, and he cursed himself for not wearing any armor for this battle. He looked at the Namek floating above the beach farther inshore. Piccolo was also without any form of protection, although he was not known to wear much anyway.
"Do you want me to fetch your armor, my Prince?" the green man asked, bowing mockingly. Vegita felt a twinge of anger, but let it flow from him.
"If you would, boy," he answered.
Like a bolt of lightning he flew at the Namek, his fists flying as Piccolo blocked and countered every move. The two of them blurred into one beast, arms flailing and legs kicking. For a long while, the sky crackled with energy around them, although neither one seemed to be able to land a punch.
"You've been practicing, I see," Vegita gasped out between lunges at the Namek.
"Everyday, little man," Piccolo responded. "You would do well to try it sometime, instead of brooding about your lack of power."
Vegita smiled in spite of himself. If he didn't have a reputation to uphold, he could really get to like this Namek. They fought on in silence for a few more minutes, when Piccolo's voice rose above the chaos.
"You know, Goku might be jealous if he heard about this!"
"Kakorot?!" Vegita laughed. "That numbskull wouldn't understand this anyway!"
They exchanged a few more volleys of energy, and then with a flash, they parted and flew up into the morning sky, parting the clouds in their wake.
"You ready for this one, Namek?!" Vegita roared, and the air around him began to spark and crackle as he rapidly built up his inner energy. Within seconds his body began to glow with a blue aura and his hands began to smoke.
"I'm always ready, little man!" Piccolo growled, building up his own energy. The two titans shined like earth-bound suns as their energies sky-rocketed toward their upper levels, and soon the whole planet began to shake from their combined rage.
"Gamma Gun!!!"
"Beam Cannon!!!"
Their battle cries exploded into the morning air as they released their attacks, and it suddenly seemed like the end of the world. The violet stream of pure energy released by Vegita screamed across the battleground as Piccolo's brilliant spiral of destruction rocketed towards the Saiyin.
The two missiles impacted exactly between the two warriors, imploding in silence, and then exploding outward in a violent flash of plasma and energy. The beach below was no more, suddenly a sheet of blackened glass as the ocean swept over it, evaporating instantly. As the energy expanded, Vegita covered his face with his arms and watched the ball of fire with a smile.
That Namek is one hell of a sparring partner, he thought in satisfaction, his eyes squinted against the glare of the blast. He was so blinded, in fact, that the fist that caught him square in the jaw came as a complete surprise.
"Ooof!!" he spat out as he lost his bearings and fell toward the ground. As he hit the sand about a half mile down the beach, Vegita cursed himself. He reached up a hand and gently popped his dislocated jaw back into place.
"Tag," a voice said from behind him. Vegita turned to watch the Namek slowly float to the ground. "You're it."
"Nice move, Namek," Vegita grimaced, his jaw hurting him. His eyes came to rest on the extended arm of the Namek as it came to rest on the ground at his feet. It was just long enough to have reached him from the other side of the blast.
"Not such a useless trick after all, eh Vegita?" Piccolo mocked the Saiyin. "It tagged you."
"All right...don't gloat, Namek," Vegita said, turning up his nose. It was a shame that they had agreed to the rules already. One clean hit ended the match. He really wanted to continue.
"I never gloat," Piccolo countered. "I just always win."
With that, he gave the small Saiyin a mock salute and rocketed towards the sky. He quickly shot from sight, and Vegita was left sitting in the sand with a swollen jaw.
"It may not be that useless of a trick," he remarked to himself with a self-satisfying smile, "but it sure is a lame one."