The Price of Power 7
By: Kichi
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters used in this story. Duh.
Radditz stared glumly into his glass of Tarbean ale. He wanted to join the competition, but he and Nappa had been excluded. Nappa sat next to him at the bar and downed his own glass before ordering another.
"Thish ishn't fair!" Nappa slurred. Radditz smirked. The commander had had about twenty mugs of the ale and was getting a little tipsy. Radditz enjoyed it when Nappa was drunk, it was always amusing.
"I know." He replied. "I want to fight too, but we aren't allowed. Prince Vegeta's ki is higher then ours, and I don't even qualify to enter." He snapped in disgust. His ki had reached its peak for the time being. It wasn't shooting up in rapid bursts like it used to. Now the raise was steadier. Nappa checked his ki after getting out of the tank and it had gone up to 1500. It was better than nothing, still he wanted it higher. ::Maybe I should let Frieza beat me up more often.:: he mused.
"Well I do!" Nappa snapped in anger, his small eyes flashing. He was about to stand when he felt Radditz's hand on his arm.
"Don't." he warned. "You know you'll just get in trouble. And believe me, it's not worth it." He grimaced remembering the pain of his ribs snapping. Nappa growled and plopped back on his stool. He ordered another drink after polishing his off. He glanced at Radditz's drink. It wasn't even half empty.
"Drink!" he bellowed. "At leasht itsh sometin' to do." Radditz gave him a lop-sided grin. And chugged his ale. "Refill his glass!" he commanded. The bartender frowned and complied. He was wary of drunk Saiyans. They always ended starting a bar-room brawl and he didn't want his establishment to be destroyed. There was too much money to be made during the tournament. He sighed and refilled Nappa's glass.
Vegeta's second match had just begun. He stalked his opponent with a confident smirk playing on his lips. His adversary was a man from a race called Kudikans. His name was Shirra. He was short and stocky and Vegeta grinned, his opponent seemed to be moving very slow and he could detect no muscle mass. But Shirra's physical form bothered him. ::He must be hiding something.:: suddenly long, thin tentacles wrapped around Vegeta's arms, waist and throat. He gasped in shock, he hadn't even seen them coming. Before he could tear out of their grasp, thousands of tiny thorns rammed into his flesh, injecting a deadly venom. He screamed in agony as the paralyzing fluid numbed his skin. The pudgy creature chuckled, his beady eyes flashing. The tentacles recoiled and Vegeta slumped to his knees. Through a haze of pain Vegeta could see the creature trotting towards him. With every nerve screaming in protest, his staggered to his feet and caught the creature around the neck just before its stubby arms reached him.
"Y-you dare.." he coughed. He squeezed with all his strength, but when the creatures neck should have snapped, his fingers merely tore into the flesh. The Kudikan grunted and slammed his knee into Vegeta's midsection. Vegeta felt the effects of the venom starting to ebb. It was much weaker then the venom he'd encountered on Peliger. The only side effect that still lingered was that he felt incredibly weak. But he was still strong enough to defeat Shirra. He released Shiira and quickly delivered a sharp kick to his midsection. Shirra screeched and fell on his back. Vegeta leapt on the prone body and backhanded him several times before releasing him and stepping back. Shirra moaned and tried to stand. The referee began counting. He reached ten and Shirra was still unable to stand. Vegeta would have smiled but his heart had suddenly begun pounding in his ears. He tried taking deep breaths to slow his heart rate but it wasn't working and then he was hyperventilating.
"What is wrong with that boy?" Frieza asked King Cold as the announcer declared Vegeta the winner.
"Mmm. He does look rather sickly. Quite unbecoming I should say."
"The Kudikan's tentacles are filled with a deadly poison." Cooler murmured in a bored tone.
"But Saiyans are not affected by poisons." Frieza said. Cooler snorted in derision.
"True, O my brother. But their venom grows stronger once it enters the blood stream. It is truly a deadly killer." Frieza scowled. He was not about to let the brat prince die after all the effort he'd put into his training. He surged to his feet as Vegeta collapsed on the ground and quickly went into convulsions.
"Hmph! By now the boy should be immune to all poisons." He growled. He flew down to the arena. "Guards!" he bellowed. Several ran forward at once. "Put this Saiyan in a regeneration tank immediately! If he dies, you shall all pay!" they each grimaced in fear, hauled Vegeta up by the arms and legs and took off. "Hmph!" he snarled. "How did that fat thing get in the tournament anyway?" he kicked the fat creature as it struggled to its feet. With a shriek it sailed out of the arena.
Vegeta knelt at the bottom of the tank, his mind lost in darkness. He'd only been inside for two hours when the technician announced that he was ready to be removed. Vegeta opened his eyes as the tank drained, trying to recall the dream he'd just had, but his mind was so full of half-remembered images that were impossible to relate to one another, so he gave up and stepped out of the tank.
"What the hell happened?!" he snarled as he stepped out. The technician, a fat, lizard-like man cowered back.
"You won, but you were poisoned by you opponent's first attack." Vegeta frowned but as long as he won, what did he care?
"Good." He snapped as he tugged his body suit on. "When is my next match?" he demanded. The technician shrugged and Vegeta snarled. "Useless bastard.." he growled as he charged out towards the arena minus his armor, gloves, and boots.
Radditz and Nappa sat in the stands, drunk and belligerent. Jeece of the Ginyuu force was fighting against Arol who was of the same race as Dodoria. Jeece did a little pose as the match began.
"WAAHAHAHA!! WHERE DID YOU LEARN THAT STUPID POSE JEECE?" Radditz jeered. "IN DANCE CLASS? MAYBE YOU SHOULD BE A DANCER INSTEAD OF A FIGHTER!!" Nappa and Radditz howled with laughter. Jeece grimaced and Arol landed a punch that sent him flying. He climbed to his feet with a snarl and flew at Arol, screaming in rage. He kicked Arol in the face several times, his leg snapping back and forth. Arol shrieked and caught Jeece by the ankle and swung him around, tossing him into the stands. Jeece landed right in front of Radditz and Nappa.
"AHAHAHAHAHA!!" Nappa howled. Radditz grinned as Jeece pushed himself up.
"So, are you gonna consider those dance classes?" he snickered. Jeece's orange face turned bright red.
"Shut your mouth's you bastards!!" he screamed and shot several ki-blasts. When the smoke cleared, Radditz and Nappa hovered above a huge hole where their seats had been. The announcer immediately disqualified Jeece and declared Arol the winner. "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" Jeece shrieked. He charged Radditz and Nappa. "You stupid monkeys made me lose!!" he cried. Radditz laughed as he dodged Jeece's wild swings.
"You would have lost anyway you big sissy!" Radditz mocked.
"Yeah, if you wouldn't spend so much time practicing your lame-ass poses, maybe you wouldn't have lost. Ha ha ha!" Nappa taunted. Jeece was kicking and punching air. Each blow missed its mark by a mile. He was too enraged to think straight. Radditz and Nappa suddenly choked back their laughter and Jeece turned to see what had shaken them.
"Jeece. I'm very disappointed in you." Frieza snarled. Jeece paled and fell to his knees.
"Forgive me Lord Frieza! It wasn't my fault! It was these two! They made me lose!" He cried. Frieza snorted in disgust.
"It is your own fault for allowing yourself to be goaded into fighting. You should know better. As for these two, I'll deal with them myself. After I deal with you." Jeece swallowed the lump in his throat, Radditz and Nappa tried to fade into the background.
"Not again." Radditz groaned. Nappa grimaced. Frieza grabbed Jeece by the neck and punched him in the stomach until blood shot out of Jeece's mouth. He tossed him aside.
"Your turn." He fazed in front of Radditz and buried his fist in Radditz's abdomen. Radditz choked in pain and slumped to his knees. Then Frieza booted him in the chin. He then grabbed Nappa by the arm and broke it over his shoulder. Nappa shrieked in pain. Frieza spun around and back-handed Nappa across the face, sending him flying.
Vegeta watched the whole episode from the bottom of the stands. His face was spread in a wide grin, but as soon as Frieza appeared his smirk faded to a scowl. ::Frieza enjoys his punishment too much!:: he thought. He gritted his teeth. ::I must become a Super Saiyan! It is the only way to defeat that monster!::
Vegeta's next match would be a decisive one for him. If he won this match and if Zarbon won his, they would face each other! He'd been waiting to destroy the green alien since he- it had come into the training hall to insult him. He faced Akuza. A member of the house of Tahamk of the planet Dkkain. Akuza was the royal princess of Tahamk and the sole heir to the throne. So why was she fighting in this tournament? Vegeta mused. She was either suicidal of extremely deadly.
The match began and Vegeta slowly walked towards the young woman, a strange smile on his face. She eyed him warily. Her eyes were large pools of black and her skin was a faint shade of pink. Her hair was deep crimson and nearly swept the ground, even in a high pony tail. In the center of her forehead was a strange tear-shaped adornment. He couldn't tell if it was part of her flesh of a jewel for decoration. He was shaken from his thoughts from a high-pitched scream and the girl charged towards him in a fury. He chuckled and neatly jumped over her. ::Feh, this is a waste of my time.:: he suddenly felt a sharp kick in his back. ::Ow, that bitch!:: he snarled, turned, and belted her across the face sending her flying.
"Nu daka ka saa!" she snarled and leapt on him, savagely tearing with her claws.
"ARRRGH!" Vegeta howled and kicked her off. He felt blood running down his face. He leapt to his feet just to see the air in front of her shift and morphe. An invisible force suddenly slammed into his chest. His heart clenched and he screamed, falling to his knees. His heart was beating so fast he thought it would burst. Akuza laughed, a strange echoing sound. He growled as she drew closer, preparing to deliver the final blow. Ignoring the pain in his chest Vegeta circled around her until they were back-to-back. He slipped his arms through his and wrenched the bones out of their sockets. Her piercing scream rang through his head, but he did not care. She could not fight without the use of her arms. Could she?
He turned and sighed. She had staggered to her feet, her arms dangling by her side. Another wave of whatever type of attack she was using shot at him, but he dodged it. Akuza gritted her teeth and howled in fury. The air around her seemed to shift suddenly, but before she could release it Vegeta charged forward and punched her repeatedly in the face and stomach. Akuza crumpled to the arena floor with a look of shock plastered on her face. Vegeta threw his head back and laughed as the referee counted to ten.
"The winner.. Prince Vegeta!!"
Well, I haven't really changed that much so far but other chapters may have to be totally re-written. If anyone would like to contact me directly with questions, comments, or whatever floats your boat, my e-mail address is Gattakka700@AOL.com.
Later!
By: Kichi
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters used in this story. Duh.
Radditz stared glumly into his glass of Tarbean ale. He wanted to join the competition, but he and Nappa had been excluded. Nappa sat next to him at the bar and downed his own glass before ordering another.
"Thish ishn't fair!" Nappa slurred. Radditz smirked. The commander had had about twenty mugs of the ale and was getting a little tipsy. Radditz enjoyed it when Nappa was drunk, it was always amusing.
"I know." He replied. "I want to fight too, but we aren't allowed. Prince Vegeta's ki is higher then ours, and I don't even qualify to enter." He snapped in disgust. His ki had reached its peak for the time being. It wasn't shooting up in rapid bursts like it used to. Now the raise was steadier. Nappa checked his ki after getting out of the tank and it had gone up to 1500. It was better than nothing, still he wanted it higher. ::Maybe I should let Frieza beat me up more often.:: he mused.
"Well I do!" Nappa snapped in anger, his small eyes flashing. He was about to stand when he felt Radditz's hand on his arm.
"Don't." he warned. "You know you'll just get in trouble. And believe me, it's not worth it." He grimaced remembering the pain of his ribs snapping. Nappa growled and plopped back on his stool. He ordered another drink after polishing his off. He glanced at Radditz's drink. It wasn't even half empty.
"Drink!" he bellowed. "At leasht itsh sometin' to do." Radditz gave him a lop-sided grin. And chugged his ale. "Refill his glass!" he commanded. The bartender frowned and complied. He was wary of drunk Saiyans. They always ended starting a bar-room brawl and he didn't want his establishment to be destroyed. There was too much money to be made during the tournament. He sighed and refilled Nappa's glass.
Vegeta's second match had just begun. He stalked his opponent with a confident smirk playing on his lips. His adversary was a man from a race called Kudikans. His name was Shirra. He was short and stocky and Vegeta grinned, his opponent seemed to be moving very slow and he could detect no muscle mass. But Shirra's physical form bothered him. ::He must be hiding something.:: suddenly long, thin tentacles wrapped around Vegeta's arms, waist and throat. He gasped in shock, he hadn't even seen them coming. Before he could tear out of their grasp, thousands of tiny thorns rammed into his flesh, injecting a deadly venom. He screamed in agony as the paralyzing fluid numbed his skin. The pudgy creature chuckled, his beady eyes flashing. The tentacles recoiled and Vegeta slumped to his knees. Through a haze of pain Vegeta could see the creature trotting towards him. With every nerve screaming in protest, his staggered to his feet and caught the creature around the neck just before its stubby arms reached him.
"Y-you dare.." he coughed. He squeezed with all his strength, but when the creatures neck should have snapped, his fingers merely tore into the flesh. The Kudikan grunted and slammed his knee into Vegeta's midsection. Vegeta felt the effects of the venom starting to ebb. It was much weaker then the venom he'd encountered on Peliger. The only side effect that still lingered was that he felt incredibly weak. But he was still strong enough to defeat Shirra. He released Shiira and quickly delivered a sharp kick to his midsection. Shirra screeched and fell on his back. Vegeta leapt on the prone body and backhanded him several times before releasing him and stepping back. Shirra moaned and tried to stand. The referee began counting. He reached ten and Shirra was still unable to stand. Vegeta would have smiled but his heart had suddenly begun pounding in his ears. He tried taking deep breaths to slow his heart rate but it wasn't working and then he was hyperventilating.
"What is wrong with that boy?" Frieza asked King Cold as the announcer declared Vegeta the winner.
"Mmm. He does look rather sickly. Quite unbecoming I should say."
"The Kudikan's tentacles are filled with a deadly poison." Cooler murmured in a bored tone.
"But Saiyans are not affected by poisons." Frieza said. Cooler snorted in derision.
"True, O my brother. But their venom grows stronger once it enters the blood stream. It is truly a deadly killer." Frieza scowled. He was not about to let the brat prince die after all the effort he'd put into his training. He surged to his feet as Vegeta collapsed on the ground and quickly went into convulsions.
"Hmph! By now the boy should be immune to all poisons." He growled. He flew down to the arena. "Guards!" he bellowed. Several ran forward at once. "Put this Saiyan in a regeneration tank immediately! If he dies, you shall all pay!" they each grimaced in fear, hauled Vegeta up by the arms and legs and took off. "Hmph!" he snarled. "How did that fat thing get in the tournament anyway?" he kicked the fat creature as it struggled to its feet. With a shriek it sailed out of the arena.
Vegeta knelt at the bottom of the tank, his mind lost in darkness. He'd only been inside for two hours when the technician announced that he was ready to be removed. Vegeta opened his eyes as the tank drained, trying to recall the dream he'd just had, but his mind was so full of half-remembered images that were impossible to relate to one another, so he gave up and stepped out of the tank.
"What the hell happened?!" he snarled as he stepped out. The technician, a fat, lizard-like man cowered back.
"You won, but you were poisoned by you opponent's first attack." Vegeta frowned but as long as he won, what did he care?
"Good." He snapped as he tugged his body suit on. "When is my next match?" he demanded. The technician shrugged and Vegeta snarled. "Useless bastard.." he growled as he charged out towards the arena minus his armor, gloves, and boots.
Radditz and Nappa sat in the stands, drunk and belligerent. Jeece of the Ginyuu force was fighting against Arol who was of the same race as Dodoria. Jeece did a little pose as the match began.
"WAAHAHAHA!! WHERE DID YOU LEARN THAT STUPID POSE JEECE?" Radditz jeered. "IN DANCE CLASS? MAYBE YOU SHOULD BE A DANCER INSTEAD OF A FIGHTER!!" Nappa and Radditz howled with laughter. Jeece grimaced and Arol landed a punch that sent him flying. He climbed to his feet with a snarl and flew at Arol, screaming in rage. He kicked Arol in the face several times, his leg snapping back and forth. Arol shrieked and caught Jeece by the ankle and swung him around, tossing him into the stands. Jeece landed right in front of Radditz and Nappa.
"AHAHAHAHAHA!!" Nappa howled. Radditz grinned as Jeece pushed himself up.
"So, are you gonna consider those dance classes?" he snickered. Jeece's orange face turned bright red.
"Shut your mouth's you bastards!!" he screamed and shot several ki-blasts. When the smoke cleared, Radditz and Nappa hovered above a huge hole where their seats had been. The announcer immediately disqualified Jeece and declared Arol the winner. "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" Jeece shrieked. He charged Radditz and Nappa. "You stupid monkeys made me lose!!" he cried. Radditz laughed as he dodged Jeece's wild swings.
"You would have lost anyway you big sissy!" Radditz mocked.
"Yeah, if you wouldn't spend so much time practicing your lame-ass poses, maybe you wouldn't have lost. Ha ha ha!" Nappa taunted. Jeece was kicking and punching air. Each blow missed its mark by a mile. He was too enraged to think straight. Radditz and Nappa suddenly choked back their laughter and Jeece turned to see what had shaken them.
"Jeece. I'm very disappointed in you." Frieza snarled. Jeece paled and fell to his knees.
"Forgive me Lord Frieza! It wasn't my fault! It was these two! They made me lose!" He cried. Frieza snorted in disgust.
"It is your own fault for allowing yourself to be goaded into fighting. You should know better. As for these two, I'll deal with them myself. After I deal with you." Jeece swallowed the lump in his throat, Radditz and Nappa tried to fade into the background.
"Not again." Radditz groaned. Nappa grimaced. Frieza grabbed Jeece by the neck and punched him in the stomach until blood shot out of Jeece's mouth. He tossed him aside.
"Your turn." He fazed in front of Radditz and buried his fist in Radditz's abdomen. Radditz choked in pain and slumped to his knees. Then Frieza booted him in the chin. He then grabbed Nappa by the arm and broke it over his shoulder. Nappa shrieked in pain. Frieza spun around and back-handed Nappa across the face, sending him flying.
Vegeta watched the whole episode from the bottom of the stands. His face was spread in a wide grin, but as soon as Frieza appeared his smirk faded to a scowl. ::Frieza enjoys his punishment too much!:: he thought. He gritted his teeth. ::I must become a Super Saiyan! It is the only way to defeat that monster!::
Vegeta's next match would be a decisive one for him. If he won this match and if Zarbon won his, they would face each other! He'd been waiting to destroy the green alien since he- it had come into the training hall to insult him. He faced Akuza. A member of the house of Tahamk of the planet Dkkain. Akuza was the royal princess of Tahamk and the sole heir to the throne. So why was she fighting in this tournament? Vegeta mused. She was either suicidal of extremely deadly.
The match began and Vegeta slowly walked towards the young woman, a strange smile on his face. She eyed him warily. Her eyes were large pools of black and her skin was a faint shade of pink. Her hair was deep crimson and nearly swept the ground, even in a high pony tail. In the center of her forehead was a strange tear-shaped adornment. He couldn't tell if it was part of her flesh of a jewel for decoration. He was shaken from his thoughts from a high-pitched scream and the girl charged towards him in a fury. He chuckled and neatly jumped over her. ::Feh, this is a waste of my time.:: he suddenly felt a sharp kick in his back. ::Ow, that bitch!:: he snarled, turned, and belted her across the face sending her flying.
"Nu daka ka saa!" she snarled and leapt on him, savagely tearing with her claws.
"ARRRGH!" Vegeta howled and kicked her off. He felt blood running down his face. He leapt to his feet just to see the air in front of her shift and morphe. An invisible force suddenly slammed into his chest. His heart clenched and he screamed, falling to his knees. His heart was beating so fast he thought it would burst. Akuza laughed, a strange echoing sound. He growled as she drew closer, preparing to deliver the final blow. Ignoring the pain in his chest Vegeta circled around her until they were back-to-back. He slipped his arms through his and wrenched the bones out of their sockets. Her piercing scream rang through his head, but he did not care. She could not fight without the use of her arms. Could she?
He turned and sighed. She had staggered to her feet, her arms dangling by her side. Another wave of whatever type of attack she was using shot at him, but he dodged it. Akuza gritted her teeth and howled in fury. The air around her seemed to shift suddenly, but before she could release it Vegeta charged forward and punched her repeatedly in the face and stomach. Akuza crumpled to the arena floor with a look of shock plastered on her face. Vegeta threw his head back and laughed as the referee counted to ten.
"The winner.. Prince Vegeta!!"
Well, I haven't really changed that much so far but other chapters may have to be totally re-written. If anyone would like to contact me directly with questions, comments, or whatever floats your boat, my e-mail address is Gattakka700@AOL.com.
Later!