Chapter 21: Honourable Foe

The first sensation Raditz felt before his sight even kicked in was the feel of a cold winter's frostbite nipping at his every muscle. Eventually he rubbed his sore eyes open to find, as he'd expected, that they were in a completely new place altogether. A snow capped mountain range surrounded him as far as the eye could see, that was calm at the moment despite the internal storm of the two opposing fighters. Novus stood opposite the man twenty paces higher up the mountainside, looking as intimidating as ever in that high-powered battle suit that characterised the number nine Vicis.

From the high emanating power level, Raditz supposed that Novus was a man of great stature behind the seven foot outfit. He stood as tall as the lanky Piccolo and so had the height advantage on Raditz himself who was the tallest of the three still-living original saiyans.

"You." A distorted voice coming from an amplifier on the Vices' chest startled Raditz initially. "Are you the one who defeated Quatrus?"

"Me?" Raditz said, shrugging and scratching his head. "No, I don't think so. I have enough dignity to remember the names of my opponents, the guy I fought was called Tertius, but I might be wrong; you do all have really similar names."

Novus stood still for a full thirty seconds before replying with a simple "I see."

Raditz called up hesitantly. "Wasn't Quatrus the barrier guy? If so the two people that defeated him are called Tien and Uub; he agreed to a two on one fight with them and he deserved defeat for his ignorance."

Once again Novus stood silently for a few moments as Raditz sensed the desperate conflict behind the armour. "Then you are not my enemy." He said, turning his back and starting up the mountain.

Novus walked slowly with a clunking of heavy boots that each seemed to weigh half a tonne each and would leave more than a bruise if properly used in a kick. However, the armoured Vicis made it only a few steps with his back turned to the saiyan before Raditz materialised right before his eyes in a screaming right hand with the full weight of his body and a burst of super saiyan power. Novus swerved left into a dodge, and only just managed to be successful whilst losing far too much balance for a counterattack. The two backed off to a reasonable level, now on equal ground.

"Avenging your comrades is a noble gesture and all – I honestly didn't think you Vices had any concept of honour, but right now I'm your opponent. That Quatrus fellow was one sadistic bastard and deserved everything Uub and Tien dished out on him. You wanna fight them? Then you've got to go through me first." Raditz declared. He hummed into the second stage of super saiyan to back up his speech and contend with the power level of the Vicis that he felt fluctuating. Great, he thought with a touch of cynicism, A Vicis that's pissed off, that'll make things so much easier. I've got to tread carefully since I've no idea what this guy's capable of, and people fight recklessly when they're mad.

Again Novus stood still before releasing a sigh that sounded odd through the mechanised distorter. "Very well."

At the slightest hint of a combat stance Raditz had fled into his preferred level of the air and prepared to engage in his second fight with the Vices, which he expected would be tougher than the last. What he didn't expect was just how much difference in power there was between their ranks; feeling power levels from other fights wasn't enough, Raditz had to feel the difference in the strength of their fists, and that's exactly what had happened. As soon as he'd backed up into what he presumed to be a safe distance Novus had appeared from nowhere behind him and sent him flying to the ground with a smash from a steel fist as big as the saiyan's skull. He careered down in a state of dizziness, though managed to stop and regain control seconds before he hit the snowy surface. Raditz looked up and little to his surprise, Novus had resumed the offensive. From his insane suit of power armour a barrage of fearsome missiles infused with ki locked onto the long haired saiyan and homed in quickly. He sent two into the snow in an escape and continued fleeing them through the air. As much as he ducked and weaved and rolled about, Novus had the last two under his complete control, and would not lose Raditz so easily.

I guess I'd better feel the power of one of these things anyway. Raditz figured, wincing. This is gonna hurt. He sped up a little faster and landed on one of the adjacent peaks that populated the area. His boost gave him another moment of time to direct his attack before he finally unleashed it.

"Double Sunday!"

As Raditz fired one of his signature moves the snow burned beneath the heat of his blast, revealing an odd golden rock just to show him that they thankfully weren't on earth. The yellow beam collided with the first missile, detonating it in the air prematurely before the last one zoomed in.

Here goes.

The blast was several times worse than Raditz had expected, as the poor fighter had to throw up his defences suddenly to stop his body being obliterated by the enormous explosion that whirled up into a misty cloud of dust.

Novus surveyed the landscape and sensed the ki level behind it, satisfied that Raditz had been wiped off the face of the earth for good. But underestimating Raditz was a mistake he'd be sure none would ever make again. Again Novus headed off, and again the Vices' escape was thwarted by Raditz diving up from underneath, connecting with a powerful uppercut with the fury of a Super Saiyan 3. Novus tumbled into an awkward roll pivoting from an armoured chin as the now longer haired saiyan comically blew on his hand and nursed it after connecting it at full power with solid metal.

"Not bad; you have more power than I bargained for." Said Novus, levelling out into a suitable stance. "Interesting."

"This is only the beginning, you haven't seen half of what I've got in store for you!"

Novus hovered quietly for some time, with that concealing helmet and distorted voice making it nigh on impossible to deduce what exactly the man was thinking. Finally he spoke. "I don't know how you do things on Earth, but I thought that in battle you generally introduce yourself to you your opponent before a fight."

Raditz cocked his head in confusion before sporting a confident grin. "Whoa, so you do understand honour, you're different to the rest of those freaks for sure; at least it'll be a blast fighting you."

"You men, you care only for your own selfish pride - fighting shouldn't be about having fun, now what is your name?" Novus interrogated.

"Shows what you know," said Raditz, assuming a stance, "I'm not human, I'm a saiyan from Planet Vegeta and brother to Kakarot, the man you guys are hunting down. Raditz is my name, and you'll remember it before this is over."

". . . Novus, number nine Vicis of the dusk."

Raditz had took a brief glance at the symbol pointing to nine o'clock, this time smeared in red paint across the surface of the great mecha suit. "Pleasure to meet you Novus. Now, shall we?"

The two fighters disappeared in a burst of high speed as Raditz closed in for the kill. He engaged the metal fighter up close for an aerial fistfight, displaying a touch of strategy that he'd gotten from Piccolo.

If I'm up close he can't fire off one of those rockets, and I doubt he'll be fast up close with that heavy armour.

Unfortunately for Raditz he was only somewhat correct. Novus was at a disadvantage in close quarters, but still he batted around those lumbering steel arms in time with Raditz's own lighting fast combo. Each time Raditz aimed a blow to the head one of those brick-like metal arms came up to defend, and this happened with every aimed attack he fired off. Novus might not have been able to beat the saiyan up close, but he could surely keep up until a chance came. His heavy arms swung faster than Raditz thought should be possible for armour so massive, and the size wasn't just for show either; every time Raditz swung his arm the pain that overcame him proved to him that the armour was dense almost to the core.

Eventually Novus had to create an opportunity for himself thanks to the saiyan's relentless strikes. In what seemed like an odd move for a fighter to do, Novus purposefully dropped his guard for just a moment to let Raditz slam a powerful right hook into what should've been his kidneys. The armour was too thick to make Novus feel the full force of the pain, but a distorted gasp told Raditz that he'd at least done some damage, and that was evident by the fist shaped denture he'd left in the Vices' left side. Though with his right hand occupied, Novus brought up a monstrous foot just as Raditz was about to follow through and delivered a powerful kick to knock him back to a reasonable distance.

Once Raditz was in range, Novus was back on the offensive, firing off a web of piercing violet lasers sprouting up from different extremities on the power armour. Raditz launched back into high speed, dashing in between shots like a helpless puppy only to always come face to face with another intersecting beam. After a short while Novus grew tired of the cat and mouse, and opted to launch another four missiles at Raditz, who was still madly prancing to and fro in the air. As a super saiyan three he had enough speed to push himself a little faster and outrun the four missiles, but that coupled with the overlapping laser beams would be a challenge indeed.

He began zipping in and out of the line of fire in concentrated bursts of speed so that Novus had to keep readjusting his aim, but no matter what he couldn't get within range of the source. A reckless, stupid idea suddenly hit him, but it was at least worth a shot, as both were simply toying with one another at the moment and they'd get nowhere without taking risks. Raditz doubled back in a flashy U-turn and headed straight towards the stationary Vicis, shaking off two of the missiles in the process. Rolling and ducking away from the relentless purple beams, he hurtled straight towards Novus as fast as his body would allow. Novus had expected that Raditz would pull up at the last second to attempt a classic 'hit you with your own attack' manoeuvre. But he was much too clever for that. Raditz knew that Novus had complete control over those missiles and that they wouldn't go anywhere unless he willed them to. So once he had a second of a window, Raditz rolled into space and let fly a powerful Double Sunday.

Before the blast even hit Novus square in the chest he was flanked from behind by a detonating pair of missiles as he'd anticipated, but at least he'd got off his own beam and they'd both took a hit. Raditz though, took more of a punishment. Two of Novus's rockets had somehow done quadruple the damage he'd experienced from one of them as a Super Saiyan 2, no doubt from him pouring more ki into their cores. Novus however, remained virtually unharmed. The blast had barely detonated past the thick armour and served only to slightly burn his suit and knock the wind out of him.

"I must say Raditz." Novus began again in that disturbing tone. "You have exceeded my expectations, but this fight is going nowhere for you. In my attack just now I pulled up the vital information from your fight with Tertius in this visor here. As it stands you have no chance. You can utilise a technique called the super kaio-ken to boost your maximum strength, though this would only serve to postpone the inevitable outcome, as it still would be not enough for me right now. Even if you somehow did manage to defeat me in this form, you are aware that all Vices can transform to a higher state at will. You may as well give it up now. Please."

Raditz let out a slight chuckle that conveyed confidence as well as a genuine sense of humour. He looked down at his hands and sparked energy into them whilst weighing the strength difference up between himself and his opponent. Finally he spoke. "I think you might be right there; my Super Saiyan 3 form is no match for you, and even if I used the Super Kaio-ken it would almost even things out, though not enough to tip this battle in my favour. . . But what if I do this?"

Finally Raditz had laid his cards down on the table, and bracing into a power-up position, he prepared a transformation that he'd yet to show to anyone until today.

"Don't look away now; you'll be the first person to see me at this level of power, so consider yourself lucky!"

Raditz generated a humming sound that slowly escalated into a fearsome war cry as golden mist encircled him and his entire body began to change. His eyebrows grew back into bushy, black streaks and his hair mirrored it whilst receding only to his waistline. His gi disappeared in a mystical occurrence and his torso was suddenly coated with a crimson layer of fur that stopped at his defined chest. He stood more upright than before, his entire body being slightly leaner and characterised with more defined muscles rather than bulky, cumbersome ones. Like the prince of his race's transformation, he was given a pair of black leather pants, though these were accompanied by twin red stripes running up either side to match the colour scheme of his previous gi and blend in with his red fur. Finally, Raditz's eyes opened, revealing dark, crimson spheres that seemed to glow with a sinister look as the red of his own kaio-ken.

"How about this Novus! Did you consider a Super Saiyan 4 into your calculations!" he barked, pumped up for a battle after his transformation. Picturing his shocked expression behind the mask, Raditz dashed forwards and landed a massive straight that connected viciously with Novus's face, denting the helmet deeply before he followed through with a swirling kick to the back. Novus plummeted to the snow as a steel meteor ploughing through fresh powder. He regained control almost instantly, but not after Raditz had charged another attack his way.

"Double Sunday!" he barked. A fresh yellow beam, this one considerably more potent than the last, erupted from Raditz's palms, devastating the mountain below and leaving a fresh layer of fog in the air where he'd blown out the snow. A few moments passed as the saiyan hovered overhead in the wake of his destruction. His blood was boiling, adrenaline pumping and reflexes primed for another assault, but none came, and he was simply left staring down into the clearing mist.

"Come out Novus! I know someone of your power couldn't be killed by an attack like that."

After another few seconds of waiting, Novus drifted up and out of the fallout, sporting a bright scorch that had torn away some armour upon his left side, leaving only a suit of steel mesh to conceal his lower ribs.

"I think you'd better transform. You know you're no match for me like that anymore."

"Never!" spat the distorted voice, this time first conveying an emotion; one of irritancy. "I'm more than enough to deal with you as it is!" Novus lifted a scorched arm, and with a grunt of pain blasted away six ki infused missiles. But Raditz was ready, and more than capable of handling these. He raised a single hand, effortlessly batting away the attacks with a look of satisfaction before booting away the final one in a flashy kick. He looked back down to his opponent, only to find that Novus had again disappeared, this time reappearing to his left and firing off a stream of those manufactured lasers. He ducked and weaved between them, heading towards Novus to engage the Vicis in close range combat. To his surprise, Novus did not back away from the closing in saiyan, only ceased his attack and succumbed to the brawl despite having no chance of winning.

In the close quarters Raditz hammered Novus at every turn. The Vicis desperately attempted to keep up, though fell short at his every blow to be met by another painful smash to the body. It was a brutal massacre; even the reinforced armour didn't ruin the saiyan's knuckles as they'd done previously thanks to his relative invulnerability as a Super Saiyan 4. At every opportunity Raditz slammed another fist or kick into the powerful armour only to be met by more horrifying determination on Novus's part. The guy just wouldn't give in, and knew how to take a beating even better than Vegeta. Eventually the saiyan exploited an opening in a lazy attack by dashing upwards and releasing another powerful ki blast to hurl Novus back into the mountain, where he cratered deep into the icy snow in a puffy explosion.

Raditz landed smoothly a few metres away. "I don't know if you're trying to set yourself some sick challenge, but if you don't transform you'll die. Why exactly are you holding this off? You know you can't win."

A low growl emanated from the crater as Novus, with his armour looking ready to fall apart, stood up and faced Raditz. More emotion was revealed in his tone of voice than before, this time his words contained anger and desperate frustration. "Shut up! I can beat you whenever I choose!" With that Novus had bolted towards the man, exploding in a flurry of lightning fast punches. They hit nothing but air, as an unimpressed Raditz read every movement and darted in and out of them at even higher speeds. A single kick to an exposed side saw the Vicis on the ground again, this time writhing in pain from the well placed connection.

"Transform Novus, you look pathetic like that. You'll never avenge your comrade in that state, so whatever reason you have for holding back you'd better throw it aside right away. It's beginning to become insulting."

"You're a thousand years away from competing with my ascended form." Novus insisted.

"So it's strong is it? Yeah, I figured it would be since you're the highest any of us have fought so far. But one thing you should know about the saiyans is that we're born and bred fighters; the prospect of a powerful opponent only makes me more excited."

After a moment's contemplation Novus stood, this time making no effort to attack. He towered almost a whole foot above Raditz in that power suit, making the saiyan wondering how big the guy was underneath it. Regardless, he had a feeling he would find out soon enough.

"I see. . ." Novus said, this time looking off into space. He seemed to have calmed down now that he'd made his choice. "Raditz. You are a warrior with pride and honour are you not?"

Looking confused, Raditz gave a hesitant nod.

"I must have your word, that be they Vices or human, you must not tell any soul of what you are about to see."

Raditz nodded. "Alright. If this is you accepting that this fight is between you and me alone, then I'll honour that arrangement till my dying day."

Almost a full thirty seconds of silence spread between the two as Novus with the tough decision. The Vicis thought over it, and Raditz stood firm in anticipation before the number nine finally spoke.

"Prepare yourself."

With no further prompt, the painted orange clock upon the surface of Novus's power armour began to spin and whirl, distorting just as the tattoos of the others did. An enormous increase of power, one more dramatic than any Raditz had felt before began to initiate. The crater that the Raditz had hammered the Vicis into began to grow under the pressure of the ridiculously swelling energy, with Raditz gliding slowly up into a hover to prevent the ground coming up from beneath him. Swirling clouds of wind and snow rushed away, as if even they were frightened of Novus's power level, and rightly so. Eventually the convulsing clock hands began to slow, and just as Raditz's mind wandered to 'but he hasn't physically changed at all!' something extraordinary happened. Two steel buckles unhooked at the left side of Novus's gargantuan armour as steam escaped from him like a decompressing airlock. The breastplate of the suit swung open on two creaking hinges, though by then the steam had prevented Raditz from a clear view as the enormous leggings followed. He heard the noise of the metal garments clattering to the floor, and finally the visor capped helmet clipping off and also being tossed aside.

As the smoke cleared, Raditz held his breath in maddening anticipation, staring up at where the helmet had been just a moment ago before the mist swept away. To his surprise though, when the smoke finally cleared, no head remained. He whirled around, expecting a surprise attack from behind, but when none came he averted his eyes back to the clearing ruin, jaw dropping in shock when he saw what awaited him.

Rather than an enormous, hulking brute with an unfathomable build, the saiyan was instead met with a woman of striking beauty and elegance, no taller than his saiyan prince. She was well clad in thigh length denim shorts and a blue tank top to show off her exposed, though not immensely defined muscles. The redheaded woman, no older than thirty, embodied everything a female should've been, right down to the flowing, shoulder length hair and gorgeous blue eyes that stared out at the taller man and swum with a deep passion.

"Y-Y-Y, b-but you're a-a"

"A woman, yes." Said Novus, staring off into the distance as she had done previously. Without the distorted her voice was like a sweet melody to his ears. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop ogling and fight."

But Raditz was far too shocked to make a move; he'd expected a monster and gotten a bombshell. Coming to his senses, he scoped out her power level. There was no mistake, the insanely high ki came from her; she was not to be taken lightly for her appearances. But he couldn't help it, everything told him that this was just all wrong, why was such a pure looking goddess among the ranks of the enemy? It wasn't even as though her looks were deceptive; throughout even their fight he'd seen that she'd exhibited displays of human emotion other than that of the seven deadly sins, so why was she here? The answer was simple: she'd been created by this 'master' and knew no other life. It made Raditz sad to even think about. He considered whether she'd been so bothered about Quatrus because they were lovers, but then dismissed it quickly; she was far too mature in mentality for Quatrus, and he was a bit of a bastard anyway. She'd probably been more of a maternal figure to the brat, or maybe even a sister.

"H-Hey wait! That comment about men!" said Raditz, realising the proper nature of her previous remark. "I resent that!"

Novus sincerely chuckled a little, and once more Raditz could see no malice behind her expression; if anything she conveyed sadness. After a few seconds her sweet laughter stilled and she addressed the saiyan fighter. "You must uphold your end of the bargain: Not even Duodecimus has seen me in this form, and I'd prefer it to be kept that way."

"You got it." Agreed Raditz, experiencing a moment's hesitation.

"I see now that you, and probably your entire group are pure of heart, so I will seek no further vengeance for Quatrus's death. I detest fighting with every fibre of my being, but battling you is something I must do if I want to survive. . . I just thought you ought to know that I don't do this out of personal choice."

"Can't we just get along?" reasoned the saiyan. "I don't want to fight any more than you do."

Regrettably, Novus shook her head. "If I don't do this, then Master will kill me for my sins. I'm sorry."

With only that Novus disappeared in a flash, bracing into a combat stance and focussing her energy beforehand. Raditz briefly felt an upsurge of power and made a quick decision.

I can't compete with her at this level; I'll have to take it up a notch. He considered. "Super Kaio-Ken!"

As the bright crimson ki exploded from his body, a swift kick to the kidneys told him it still wouldn't be enough. Novus had reappeared, dealing a quick series of attacks that ended with a punch to the face. Poor Raditz was sent flying downhill, face first and drowning amongst all the snow that his cheek kicked up for him. He slowed down after a few moments though, noticing that Novus didn't yet pursue him.

"Alright then." He said, getting to his feet with a grunt and wiping away a trail of blood from his jaw. "If that's how you want to play it."

"That was the Super Kaio-Ken, making that your ultimate strength that I just bested in a few moves. Please give up; I'd hate to see you suffer so."

"Wrong again! Don't take pity on me; I'm not quite done yet! In fact I'm just getting warmed up!" Raditz cried. He enjoyed the look of shock on Novus's face when he unleashed another new level of strength. "Super Kaio-Ken Times Two!"

Raditz leapt forwards, seizing the full power of the double charged technique and releasing the strength of the attack into a combination. He kicked out twice and hit nothing but air in Novus's instinctive reaction. She was still surprised though, surprised enough to receive half the impact of Raditz's rising uppercut, which she'd have taken the full force of she'd been idle a second longer. With a frustrated grimace, Novus suddenly lashed out in a high kick that sent Raditz again into the skies, where she pulled him into close combat without a moment's hesitation. He could just about follow her movements, however it was soon apparent that he was still no match for her; she moved at speeds simply too fast for him to match. Upon seeing a punch incoming to the left he'd throw up a suitable block only to be pounded by another jab the second he got a success. For every shot he dodged or parried there were two more that landed bruises and fresh cuts, and the ordeal was beginning to frustrate him.

In the heat of battle Raditz had forgotten the 'short burst' duration of the Kaio-Ken. He realised it far too late. Novus's movements seemed to accelerate into a blur too fast for him to follow, but in actuality it was the Kaio-Ken giving out and his senses returning to normal. His sloppiness was rewarded with a huge smash to send him back down to the snow.

With that same sad expression, Novus gazed after him, struggling to his feet in the freezing cold snow and brushing powder from his fur. She hated all this and it was more than clear to Raditz, which only infuriated him further. A savage burn mark dripped down the left side of his forehead as he clenched his fist, hollering up to the woman.

"I don't wanna do this with you, but I'm not backing down! You're not like the other Vices – I can tell that just from the look on your face. Why don't you join us? You know that we fight for the right cause; your Master would destroy the entire universe if he had his way! You don't want that on your conscience do you!"

"No – he wouldn't. ." Novus hesitated before shaking her head and crying out defensively. "You're wrong, he'd never do something like that!"

"Listen to yourself! Why do you think he wants that Room anyway! Did he ever even tell you!"

But Novus had heard enough. She refused to open her eyes to the cruel truth that even most of the other Vices were in on, but she hadn't been told to keep her loyal. "Liar! Divine Sickles!"

The Vicis beauty crossed her arms in a whipping fashion and summoned two brilliant arcs of golden light. They exploded from her palms, crossing each other in an algebraic x-shape and heading straight for Raditz with ki enhanced sharpness.

That's it; her signature attack. Time for full power; I just hope my body can hold out.

"Super Kaio-Ken Times Three!"

"A triple!" Novus hissed.

Raditz's muscles strained as though they were being pulled from every side by a slowly moving torture machine after bench-pressing twenty tonnes. He seized a firm grip on the technique, launching up and rolling away from the attack whilst keeping his sights on his target. She fired another wave of the sickles but under the adrenaline fuelled ride the saiyan managed to weave between them and re-engaged with a powerful kick. The two begun exchanging hits once more, but this time Raditz could keep up. At this level he followed her movements almost exactly and perfectly matched her for every hit as though the two were mentally synchronised. But it wouldn't hold out for long.

As much as Raditz had trained with the Super Kaio-Ken, he still could not sustain it for over thirty seconds at a time. He wouldn't be so foolish as to make the same mistake as last time; he'd prepare himself for when to back off if it was about to give out. Nevertheless, each time it became more and more difficult to reinitiate the technique. Soon droplets of sweat were trickling from his forehead and his breathing became the pained exhales of a sprinting chain-smoker. He'd temporarily beef himself up only to come as a match to his opponent, so he'd have to make every hit count.

"Novus!" he yelled once they'd landed again. "I know you don't want this! You can't be like the others, just come with us; we'll protect you!" Even though his plea was a desperate bid for time, he still believed his words and wished to stop the battle, knowing that Novus did too.

Her whole expression conveyed one of deep sorrow and remorse, showing an internal conflict of whether or not she could believe Raditz's words. She shook her head and scrunched up her eyes, this time with a show of actual tears. "You don't get it do you! I was created by the master; I'm a part of him and this place. It's not a question of strength; he could just switch me off and destroy me at a moment of his choosing; that's how much power he has over us!"

Raditz looked shocked - all the Vices he'd encountered up till now would've probably obeyed this 'master' whether they had to or not, but the fact that they had no choice whatsoever changed things. It meant that innocent victims like Novus were practically slaves to his will, with only death severing the connection he had upon them.

"I see." Said Raditz, assuming another stance. "In that case I apologise, it would be rude to try and talk you out of anything. It looks like neither of us want this, but it's something we both have to do."

Novus nodded sadly as the saiyan took advantage of her distraction.

"In that case, Double Sunday!"

He fired up an uncharged blast straight towards the woman, who in turn zapped out of the way and sent her own signature attack his way, this time splitting up both of the golden arcs so that they followed one another.

Raditz deftly stooped under the first, with it shaving wisps of hair from his wild mess, but the second caught him unawares. The razor sharp sickle of ki slammed into Raditz's gut, aiming to slice the fighter clean in two above the waist. Had he not flared out a powerful aura of defence at the last second he'd have been history, but even that didn't stop the attack from digging a deep slash wound at his stomach before dissipating, causing one of the most unimaginable pains he'd ever been subjected to. The wound throbbed with a harsh stinging sensation as six inches of muscle were sliced almost clean open. In the wake of his pain Novus lashed a kick his way, but that only served to dull the pain of gallons of blood rushing to the gash's surface. Small rocks littered the open wound in his face-grind across the mountain to cause even more agony, though every ounce of determination caused him to flip back up and onto his feet once again.

Despite being reluctant, when she got going Novus surely was a ruthless fighter. Raditz had been back on his feet a mere few seconds before he felt her rushing at him once again from behind, determined to get this over with as soon as possible. He panicked.

Here goes nothing.

"Super Kaio-Ken Times Four!"

His body moved faster than even he could react to. The last thing he saw was Novus's eyes widen in fear of his cry before he let his instincts take over. He'd disappeared in a blur and appeared behind her, slamming a supercharged punch into her spine and sending her at least thirty metres deep into her own mountain crater.

He let the ability loose almost instantly, and the second he did the pain was unbelievable. He'd subdued her for now but at the price of most of his energy. The wound was made unbelievably worse by the strain on his muscles and it felt as though he'd had a huge store of essence completely sucked away from him.

Shit, he thought to himself. I really shouldn't have done that, I don't know what I was thinking; I've never even tried that before. Once she gets back up I'll be in big trouble - I'm not sure I can do one of those again so I'll have to take it easy.

As if hearing his thoughts Novus's suddenly jumped back to her feet giving a leap of terror to Raditz's fast pumping heart. She didn't look annoyed or even irritated in the slightest, still only morbidly sad after losing a friend and being forced to do all this against her will. Even now he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Giving him one last look she sprung up and into the air; she was partially fatigued but nowhere near as much as her opponent was. This was it; she'd have to end him now while she had the chance. He stared up as the pretty Vicis began to charge almost all her energy into an attack two hundred feet up in the air, determined to finish him off with this final attack. Wearily he stood and felt the strain on his kneecaps and searing of his wound, but he shrugged it away as a minor annoyance.

Heavenly, golden light poured out from the glowing orb of power forming in Novus's hands. Evidently she still had another ultimate technique she was saving, but so did Raditz. The problem was that while Novus had no doubt mastered her own, Raditz was only in the practicing stage of his own ability and questioned whether he could even pull it off at this stage of weariness.

No Raditz. You can't have doubts here; you can win, you have to win. The words of the great King Kai ran through his mind.

"All right I'll show you this technique. But watch closely because I won't do it again. If by some miracle you ever manage to master it use it, only use it as a last resort, and make sure you're in perfect shape since it drains almost all your energy.

And so with a deep sigh, Raditz braced into a rather unusual pose. That was one out of two criteria: he wasn't in top condition under the strain and the wound, but there was no other way so it would have to be a last resort. He stood with both his chest and left foot facing forwards and leaning steeply over like a skateboarder trying to race down a slope at full pelt. He threw back his arms, pushing them right behind him so that they ran parallel to his back leg as he charged familiar red energy into them.

"Super Kaio-Ken Times Three!" he cried, barely faltering as more pain overwhelmed him. He held his position and kept firmly rooted to the ground as speckles of rocks and snow cracked away from the mountain's surface under the pressure. Novus now looked ready to fire her attack and still he charged more energy into his hands behind him; this was it. I hope I know what I'm doing.

"Divine Blaster!"

"Kaio-Cannon!" he screamed.

Whew; another long one. In case you're wondering, I'm not going to drag this fight out after this - this is the final attack O.O The next chapter will be more of an interlude and therefore a bit shorter, but once more I have plenty in store for you guys. As for this chapter it was actually one of my favourites to write since I've been planning Novus for quite a while and she's easily my favourite enemy so far. Also Raditz got to haul more ass.

"Who will win this epic duel of the century? Will Raditz and Vegeta survive their individual battles? What new dangers lie ahead? Will Goku ever show his god-damned face? Does JTX even have a plan for this? Is anyone not reading this in their minds as the voice of the classic narrator? Would Goku win in a fight with Chuck Norris? Why does speaking in rhetoricals sound so wise and intimidating? And did Greedo really shoot first? Find out in the next exciting installment of DRAGON! - BALL! - Z! -I mean A.F!"