Chapter 12: Breaking Those Limits
Tuesday 27th March Age 792
Noca had been allowed to rest up on the first day, but he was awoken bright and early by the Saiyan Prince, whom wished to get started on their training as soon as he saw fit. Noca wore his Gi and headed to the gravity room, not wanting to keep the Saiyan Prince waiting for too long. He stepped in and saw that Vegeta was standing there, waiting, wearing his usual armour, arms folded. As soon as Noca closed the door behind him Vegeta threw over a capsule. Noca caught it quickly but wasn't sure what to do with it.
"Wear it," Vegeta said, turning around and walking to the console in the middle. Noca opened the capsule and saw it was an outfit, exactly like Vegeta's. The blue spandex with the white and gold armour. Noca removed his Gi and put on the armour, quickly. He tossed his other Gi to the side and did a few stretches to get used to the armour. He had never experienced anything like it before. It was stretchy but not uncomfortable at all. Noca scoffed, intrigued by it.
"Are you ready?" Vegeta asked, looking over his shoulder. Noca snapped forward and swallowed hard. He was anxious, but he was still looking forward to getting started.
"Yeah, I'm ready," Noca said, nervously. Vegeta chuckled, which was quite sinister.
He didn't give Noca a chance to really settle and powered up, shooting right towards the teen in an instant. He had absolutely no intention of going easy on the boy. Noca tried his best to move and dodge the attack, and luckily, he managed to actually move to the side a little, but with the slightest little adjustment Vegeta was able to slam his foot right into Noca's gut. The teen was lifted from the ground and flew back into the wall, falling to the ground in a heap, with a thud.
Noca clutched his stomach as he tried to pull himself to his feet, but Vegeta already landed down beside him, reaching down and lifting the teen up. He threw Noca to the other side of the room and then phased out, reappearing where Noca was headed and he simply punched him back towards the other side again. Vegeta phased again, this time he was above Noca and slammed the boy's body down into the floor.
The teen felt something crack as his body connected with the floor, and it was either the ground, or some bones in Noca's body. He groaned and tried to move. Something was telling him Vegeta wasn't just sparring here; he was trying to hurt the boy. Noca awkwardly got back to his feet and glared towards the Prince. He growled and shot towards the Saiyan Prince. Vegeta was very quick to step out of the way, with incredible ease, and he punched Noca in the cheek, sending him flying back into the wall once more. Noca grunted as he hit the wall and fell to the ground in a heap again.
"I thought you had been training," Vegeta muttered, folding his arms, and glaring in disappointment.
Noca attempted to return to his feet again but immediately fell to his knees and coughed. As he did, he felt a liquid other than saliva in his mouth. He looked at the ground and saw red. He wiped his mouth and looked at his hand. Yep. That was blood. Noca also felt a sting on his face and realised he had been cut just below his left eye. He looked over to Vegeta, his vision growing a little hazy, and he saw the Saiyan didn't wear a look of sympathy. No. He was annoyed.
"I had expected so much more from you. Where is your power?" Vegeta yelled.
Noca looked back down, his head spinning. He saw his own blood and started trying to stand up again, but his muscles were shaking. He was feeling faint and he knew Vegeta wasn't about to walk over and give him a hand. He continued to struggle but he was feeling very weak in that moment. Maybe he was still feeling some exhaustion from the fight with Gohan, which didn't last very long, or maybe Noca really was way out of his depth.
"Pathetic," Vegeta huffed, turning his back on the boy he headed to the control console and began to tap away. Noca tried to see what he was doing but with his poor vision in that moment it just didn't seem plausible. Noca wanted to get to his feet and rush over there to prove Vegeta wrong. He wasn't pathetic. He knew he was better than what he was showing. Again, if Pan had been correct, Noca had become a Super Saiyan, at least twice at this point, and that was something he would need to learn far more about.
He had previous seen with Vegeta that Super Saiyan power wasn't something to turn your nose up at, and he would prove himself more than capable of standing with the best. Noca was gradually getting to his feet and managing to find some balance. He started to try and walk towards the older Saiyan. He was eager to prove Vegeta wrong about his assumption. He wasn't pathetic.
Vegeta noticed that Noca was heading towards him, and he could feel the teen's power rising, if only a little, but it was still very interesting. He was starting to feel like something might still happen. He continued to tap away at the console, and he was sure that Noca would benefit from what was about to happen.
The teen was already moving slowly, and weakly, but he soon had to stop when it seemed like a whole weight was hurled on top of him. There was an immense amount of pressure pushing him down, or at least that's what it felt like. Noca tried to raise his arms and felt like every part of his body was getting heavier. He was being pulled down. He didn't know this, but Vegeta had activated the gravity machine and changed it to 20x that of Earth's normal gravity. Noca took a few steps forward and Vegeta scoffed, noticing the teen was doing well for his first time under those conditions.
Vegeta pondered what he had learned about Noca so far. He knew the boy had come from a faraway village, he knew the name of that village, and he knew that a Saiyan once lived in that village. Vegeta wasn't a stupid man, he was able to put facts together. He couldn't be certain, but something about Noca was always intriguing.
Noca was still attempting to gradually move towards Vegeta, slowly adjusting to the level of the gravity, but after a few steps he felt like he couldn't go any longer and his body gave out. He slammed into the floor and found that once he was down there again, he just couldn't muster the strength to get up. He could feel his muscles tensing too much as he tried and knew he was about to strain something. Vegeta stepped forward, away from the console.
"Come on, boy! You have more than that, show it!" Vegeta yelled. He continued to watch as Noca squirmed and struggled to do his best. The Prince felt comfortable in this condition because of all his training under the intense conditions, but he really wanted to see Noca prove himself and show some of that true power he was fully aware was hidden. He believed there was a lot there and he wanted to see it. "I'll leave you there until you can stand, how's that for a training session?" Vegeta questioned, standing over the boy.
Noca felt like he couldn't take anymore. If he was kept there, trapped, for much longer then he would surely pass out, or worse. He was unaware of how to really bring out that true power he knew was within even though he had tried so many times on his own when training. Noca tried to find a positive and told himself it would train his endurance to this kind of struggle and pain.
But he was fully aware that the gravity was starting to get to him worse than he was letting on. He could feel something cracking against the ground, it felt like his ribs. He was starting to hope that Vegeta would give up and turn off the machine. Fortunately for Noca, there was a camera in the gravity room, and someone had been watching their session.
"VEGETA!" Bulma yelled as she opened the door to the GR, immediately cutting the gravity. Noca felt all that weight lift away but he was still far too weak to move. He just lay there. Bulma stomped up to her husband and pushed him back, crouching down next to Noca. "You can't just stick him under a lot of gravity like that, he isn't like you or Trunks."
Vegeta grunted, internally cursing his wife for stopping what he was doing. Noca would have showed his true power and the Prince was sure of that. He could feel something growing within Noca and it was something familiar, and strong. This only served to fuel Vegeta speculation about Noca and the village he hailed from.
Bulma helped Noca to his feet slowly and saw that Vegeta had really done a number on him. Noca wasn't in a great way. He had a few wounds on his face, bleeding, and he was clearly in no state to hold himself up. She glared over at her husband and started to lead Noca out of the GR.
"You've really hurt him. This could have gone a whole lot worse if I didn't step in," Bulma explained to her husband. She was well aware Vegeta wouldn't listen to those words, especially when it came to training, but he had to understand that Noca wasn't on his level.
"He'll be fine. Give him one of those beans," Vegeta said, still annoyed about his session being interrupted.
"No, Vegeta. He needs to recover properly from this," She said, continuing to lead him from the GR and down the hallway, towards the lab. "I'm going to stick him in a healing tank. That will bring him to full strength again."
"The boy needs more training!" Vegeta yelled from the door of the GR, watching his wife enter the lab. The door shut behind her and Vegeta walked back into the GR, clearly in a mood. He slammed his fist on the console and stood there. He started to think, if Noca heals up and his power is even slightly higher, then that will tell him something important. He would be able to put some more evidence alongside his suspicions. He'll learn more about Noca, and he'll be able to figure it out.
In the lab, Bulma gently set Noca in the machine, shut it, and then tapped away on a computer. As she was typing away, the door from the other side of the lab opened and Bra came rushing in. She was already dressed and ready for school and had heard her parents arguing about Noca and wanted to see what had happened.
"Is he ok?" She asked, quite frantically.
"He'll be ok with some rest and healing," Bulma said, hitting enter on her keyboard and watching as the healing tank filled with a strange blue liquid. The healing liquid.
"What did dad do to him?" Bra asked.
"Your father was just trying to train him the only way he knows, with intense brute force," Bulma said, shaking her head and sighing. Bra looked to the screen to see what it said about Noca's injuries. Three cracked ribs, a slightly fractured wrist, a cracked cheekbone, broken nose, and a dislocated shoulder. She shook her head and turned to her mother.
"I don't want to see dad keep putting him through this, what am I supposed to go to school and tell Pan? Noca should go back home once he's healed. We can't let dad hurt him anymore," Bra pleaded with her mother. Bulma sighed.
"Noca made this choice himself, let's see what he says when he's healed," Bulma said, leaving it at that as she walked off to go and continue the other work she had been doing. "Shouldn't you be heading to school soon," Bulma said. Bra hadn't moved, she just stared into the tank and looked at Noca.
While he was in the tank, he realised his senses were heightening, and he could feel the liquid actually doing its work. Even some sort of mechanical arm had come out of nowhere to push his shoulder back into its socket. He was sort of unable to react to any pain while in there, especially with the mouthpiece. Plus, he didn't really feel any pain as that was part of what the liquid did. It served as some sort painkiller, apparently. Noca felt peaceful.
Noca could feel his own power flowing through him and something in his head told him to use this time to focus on it, follow it, find the source. He had to learn how to control it when the time came to actually put it to use. Vegeta would get a surprise the next time they trained together, Noca hoped.
Wednesday 28th March Age 792
Noca was ready and well enough to be released from the healing tank the very next morning, and as it was reasonably early, again, Bra was there to greet him. He barely had enough time to react as the beeping of the machine woke him up and the liquid began to drain from the tank. He opened his eyes, realising that the light of the room was quite strong against his eyes. They had been closed for quite a while when he was inside that tank.
The door started to open, and Bra was standing there, sort of with an awkward smile as she anticipated his condition. Even though she was well aware of the tank's capabilities.
"Good morning, Noca," Bra said. Noca blinked a few times and tried to let his eyes adjust to the blur of the girl standing in front of him. He recognised the voice, so he knew who it was.
"Hey, Bra…" Noca muttered as his eyes finally sorted themselves out.
"How are you?" She asked, as he started to pull himself out the machine, half-expecting his body to not be able to handle the sudden movement. But everything seemed ok. Noca stepped out of the machine and did a couple of stretches.
"I feel better actually, just like before," Noca said, smirking at himself. In fact, he felt a lot better, improved even.
"My mom said you would feel much better if you healed in the tank, it would make sure you had a speedy recovery," Bra explained, knowing that he may have some questions.
"Well, if you see her before I do, you'll have to thank her for me," Noca said, moving over to where the training armour had been placed before he was put in the tank. "I should get back to the GR."
Bra watched as Noca put the armour on and she wasn't pleased about his intentions, especially with the condition he had been left in after that previous training session. If you could call it that.
"You need to rest," Bra told him, taking a strict and commanding tone. Noca shook his head.
"No, I need to train, I feel a lot better now and I think I'll be fine this time," Noca explained, hoping she would accept that he was fully healed and ready to go. He was raring to go, he felt better than before and knew he would have some sort of chance to prove himself. "I'm sure your dad had his reasons to go that harsh on me."
"What do you mean?" Bra asked, following after him as he walked to the GR.
"I don't know, but I'm sure I can do this," Noca said, confidently.
"Is it because you're a Saiyan too?" Bra suggested, causing Noca to stop. He turned around to look at her. He smirked. "I don't think it was too difficult to figure out," Bra said, acting like she was some sort of detective.
"Pan told you, didn't she?" Noca suggested. Bra seemed disappointed that Noca figured it out.
"Yeah…" She said, dejectedly. "She said that it was only fair considering both she and Kiera knew."
"Well, nobody else knows and I want to keep it that way," Noca said, turning around again and walking to the GR. Bra stayed there, knowing that there was no way she could stop him.
"Just be careful," Bra said, and then she walked off to leave for school.
Noca arrived at the GR door and took a moment to compose and prepare himself. He had to be prepared for Vegeta to throw him right in at the deep end again and that was something he would just need to get used to. He took a breath and opened the door, no knock to let the Saiyan Prince know he was there, just an entrance to show he was ready and willing to continue, despite the damage done last time.
Vegeta was already standing there, facing the door, as if he had been wating for Noca the whole time. He tapped a button on the control console and stopped before hitting the next button.
"What gravity level should I put it on?" Vegeta asked, taking Noca by surprise. The older Saiyan certainly didn't care to ask last time, he just did it.
"What level was it on before?" Noca asked, unsure of what he was supposed to ask for in this situation.
"I had it set to 20x Earth's normal gravity," Vegeta answered, his had still hovering just above the keys.
"I guess we could start with 10x, to make it easier on me, for a little bit," Noca mentioned, trying to sound confident even though he wasn't. Vegeta made some sort of disapproving face and Noca stepped forward to draw the attention back to him before the Prince activated it. "Maybe have it change to 20x after an hour?" Noca suggested.
Vegeta smirked to himself and Noca could just about see a hint of the expression. There was something impressive about Noca willing to keep the increase going. Vegeta sent Noca a nod of approval and tapped the keys a couple of times before hitting enter. The lights in the room changed, the door locked, and Noca felt his body start to become heavier. Surprisingly, Noca noticed that he wasn't buckling under the pressure like he had before.
Had his body really had a chance to adjust that quickly before? Noca tested himself by taking a few steps forward and noticed that movement wasn't impossible, and he didn't feel like he could fall over at any second. His body felt stronger than the previous day. It was a good feeling. Noca punched the air a couple of times and he felt like he couldn't quite get his aim precise enough the first few times.
He could see that Vegeta wasn't eager to wait around for Noca to be ready. The teen nodded to the older Saiyan and then moved into a stance, showing he was prepared to just have a go at it. Vegeta moved into a weak stance but he didn't need to do too much. He was already stronger than this boy.
Noca didn't want to give Vegeta the time to make the first move and instead the teenager sprang to action, immediately running towards the Prince. It was, however, a sloppy and well telegraphed move, which meant that Vegeta could step out of the way without any issues. Noca attempted to follow up by swinging around and attempting to swipe at the Saiyan Prince, but that move failed, just like the last one. Vegeta noticed that Noca wasn't moving very efficiently, but he also showed the drive to keep going.
The two of them kept at that same level for the full hour, and, just as Noca had requested, the gravity double to 20x Earth's gravity and Noca didn't seem to notice any change. Vegeta made a mental note of Noca's comfort. His speed was already increasing, and he was learning to ignore the pressure of the gravity. That did mean Vegeta's suspicions about the teen were still being fed. Vegeta was making a big assumption about the boy, but he didn't know how he could be wrong about Noca's true nature.
Vegeta was clearly going easy on Noca this time, and unlike with Gohan, this older Saiyan had a reason for doing so. Vegeta liked a challenge, and Noca wasn't going to be a challenge unless he trained himself to get used to high levels in this gravity. Vegeta had not given a single instruction to the boy during that fight, and this surprised Noca, but he already gave himself an instruction and assumed that Vegeta would be fine with it.
Noca's mission was to land at least one punch, or kick, on Vegeta. Crazy, right? It seemed like such a simple task, but with how much the Saiyan Prince was dodging all of Noca's attempts it seemed almost unlikely that he would ever land a single attack. After half an hour, this time, the gravity doubled again. And, unlike the previous time, Noca noticed the jump from 20x to 40x. He felt the added pressure quickly descend and his speed was dropping.
It wasn't certain how long Noca would last with the rest of the fight, until fifteen minutes later, when the gravity jumped from 40x up to a very difficult 80x. Noca lost his footing immediately and dropped down to his knees. Vegeta noticed that as Noca's knees hit the ground there was a slight crack, but not in the teen's body, it was the ground. Vegeta saw a tiny mark appear on the floor, Noca was oblivious to it, but that was an extra note for Vegeta to take down.
Noca managed to push back to his feet but he was showing signs of exhaustion. His movement was far too slow, his breathing becoming ragged, his body was shaking, and he appeared to be in some pain. He was straining his body far too much and Vegeta could see it. If he didn't have Bulma around to protest Vegeta would have continued to push the boy just so he could prove himself right, but Noca had already shown significant improvement seemingly out of nowhere, and that was the right kind of evidence the Prince was looking for.
Vegeta sighed as Noca inched closer and with a swift move the Saiyan Prince backhanded Noca, knocking him down into the ground. After that, he switched off the gravity and saw Noca find the freedom to move once all the pressure lifted off. He stood up and glared towards Vegeta.
"You're not quite ready to continue, don't waste any more of my time today," Vegeta said, turning his back on the teen.
Noca was still feeling rather out of breath, and it was slowly starting to return, but he found some new energy when Vegeta said that. He didn't like having to just give up. With Vegeta's back still turned away, Noca smashed his fist against the wall. The Prince turned quickly and saw there was dent where Noca's fist was positioned. The teen didn't even notice what he had done. Vegeta was a little surprised but had to admit he had done far more damage to that room.
"What's your problem?" Vegeta asked, hoping that he could really get a handle on where that sudden outburst came from. It was almost like an instinct. An instinct that was maybe similar to the one Vegeta himself had.
"I don't think I'm making a difference," Noca said, seeming very frustrated with himself. "I don't seem to be making any progress. I keep failing." Noca said clenching his fist. Vegeta noticed he was angry and with that, he noticed a tiny spike in energy. Vegeta didn't say it outright, but Noca was definitely making progress. He was already getting comfortable with the gravity, but maybe he was taking on too much at a time and expecting far too much of himself.
"This room can be hard to get used to," Vegeta said, turning away again. "I don't see you struggling to get to 250x Earth's gravity by the end of next week."
Noca watched as Vegeta left the room. The teen was there alone, and he didn't know what to make of what Vegeta was suggesting. He seemed to harbour some belief that Noca was actually capable of being that strong, and maybe he was right. Two weeks seemed like a ridiculous amount of time to get used to that severe kind of pressure.
Later that night, Vegeta was lying awake in bed, Bulma asleep beside him. He wasn't really feeling tired and considered going down and doing some light training, but light training always turned into heavy training and then he wouldn't get any sleep and ruin his day. It was a difficult situation. As an hour passed, Vegeta was beginning to nod off, just a little, and then he felt a small disturbance. His eyes flashed open and he quickly and quietly moved to the door. He followed the energy, following it through the halls like a predator tracking the scent of its prey. He walked down the hall to where the GR was and noticed that Bra was standing outside the door. Before announcing his presence, he looked at the door and noticed a red light was active, meaning that someone was inside.
"Bra, what are you doing here?" Vegeta asked, alerting his daughter to his sudden presence. She turned and let out a little squeal of shock, but quickly covered her mouth.
"Damn it, dad, don't do that!" She quietly exclaimed,
"Why are you here?" He asked, again.
"I couldn't sleep, so I was going down to the lab to work on something and I saw the GR was on and I was going to see who was inside," she explained. Vegeta looked to the door, an eyebrow raised. Bra followed his eyes and then looked back at him. "Is Noca in there alone?"
"I suppose he is," Vegeta muttered, a smirk appearing on his face. "Leave him to train, I'm sure he'll be out soon. You should go to bed."
"Ok dad, goodnight…" Bra said, looking to the GR door with a half-worried expression before wandering off quickly back to her bedroom.
Vegeta remained standing in front of the GR. He was happy that Noca took the initiative to keep on training. If he continued to show drive like that then he may just become a strong person. And if Vegeta was proven to be right in his assumptions then Noca may just become so much more than that.
Inside the GR, Noca stood with his eyes closed. For a moment he appeared to be perfectly still, until his body jolted ever so slightly. He was training himself to get used to standing upright in the gravity. He didn't want to fling himself into moving quickly and sparring without first getting used to the pressure. He was at less risk of doing intense damage to himself this way. He needed to get comfortable. The console had been set to 60x, a little less than the last setting it had been on with Vegeta, but that was just the starting point. Noca had made sure to keep a hold of a Senzu bean he had been offered by Bulma earlier that day for recovering. He had it with him just in case he really needed it, although he hoped that wouldn't be the case.
According to the timer Noca had set for himself the gravity was about to shift up to 80x, so Noca tried to make the most of the gravity he was currently training in. He raised his energy a little more and punched and kicked at the air, just a little bit. His speed was pretty good. There was maybe a tiny bit of difficulty with his movements but for the most part he was close to his full speed and that meant progress.
Making an attempt to use up those last few minutes as wisely as he could, he started to take off from the ground and attempted some aerial movements. He flew around, punching and kicking at some invisible enemies. His eye was still on the clock as it continued to count down to the next change. So, it came as quite a surprise when he felt a strong pull on his body, and he was forced to the ground with a smash. He was struck down with such ferocity that he doubted he'd even be able to get up and turn off the console.
What had even happened? Noca wondered if he had made a mistake with the settings, but he made sure to double check it, and the machine even made an announcement saying it was counting down to 80x gravity. Noca couldn't move. He knew he couldn't keep going with the training and just had to focus on turning off the gravity.
He started to make attempts to get up to his feet and began to push as hard as he could to get his body up. He could feel every muscle in his body straining under the pressure. He started to understand why Vegeta was so strong and intimidating. He managed to do a good enough job of getting up to his knees, with his hands still placed on the ground. His arms were straight, but they were wobbling and shaking like they were mere seconds away from giving out. Noca's next plan was to get to his feet. He knew it was a tough ask but he had to try.
There was no time for relaxation. He managed to just about move one leg enough to get one foot on the ground and pushed really hard to get his body up and get the other foot on the ground. He was doing his best to pull out some of his energy to help him, but it seemed like he was using all of his normal energy and was tapping into some sort of back-up generator filled with energy. He was grunting and groaning and starting to contemplate using the Senzu bean.
He slowly reached for his pocket, unable to notice that his arms were moving with a little more ease. Noca was too focussed on getting to standing up straight that he didn't realise he was slowly, but surely, adjusting to the conditions. He touched the outside of his pocket when he made a realisation. He didn't need the easy way out. Noca was a Saiyan. If Vegeta could use the gravity room, and if Gohan was a strong fighter, then Noca could be one too.
He chose to ignore the bean for now and continued the task of getting his body upright. He knew he needed to remain calm and composed. He couldn't get angry or annoyed with himself and needed to maintain concentration and drive if he was going to succeed. As soon as he made this redirect with his attention there was definitely a change. Noca was able to stand up straight. There was still the pressure and he was still straining a little, but he had done it.
Noca managed to take a single step towards the control console and noticed his leg wobble quite a lot and for a moment he felt as if he might fall down again. Luckily, he didn't. Gently, and calmly, one step at a time. Noca moved towards the panel and it felt like it was taking him forever to get there. He reached the machine and almost collapsed due to the relief.
The number on the screen took Noca completely by surprise. 350x. That certainly wasn't right. Noca almost collapsed again, this time due to shock. He could really feel himself start to slip under that pressure and knew he didn't have long until his body decided it had had enough. Noca gasped as his body gave out and he managed to throw his hand out and hit the stop button as he smacked into the ground. The gravity quickly lifted away and Noca felt weightless, but he could barely move.
He reached into his pocket and used that Senzu bean. His energy rapidly returned, and he shot up to his feet. He didn't need to waste any more time and rushed out of the GR in a mild panic. He stopped outside the door and tried to calm his breathing. He was a little frightened about what had just happened and wondered if he would ever be able to try training in there on his own again.
Noca looked up and down the hall to check the coast was clear before rushing off to bed. His body ached and he needed sleep after that experience.
Meanwhile, Vegeta had been watching from the GR security room. A place that Bulma would go to if she needed to talk to Vegeta without entering. Next to him, there was another smaller version of the control panel on the console in the GR, and it flashed with the number 350. Vegeta sat back in the chair and smirked to himself.
"If you were capable of that then I can't wait to see what else you can do," Vegeta muttered to himself.
Friday 20th April Age 792
Almost four weeks had passed by and Noca's training had become very steady. He and Vegeta were fighting regularly and Noca had managed to get close to full control when fighting in stronger gravity conditions. Sure, he was still getting more accustomed to using his own energy, but there was still plenty of progress going on. Vegeta had to admit that he was feeling a sense of pride about the boy and felt like he could really keep getting lots out of him when training. Noca seemed to have plenty of potential that needed to be pulled out.
In the time that passed since Noca's first experience of 350x gravity Vegeta had decided not to suggest that level of energy and not let it slip that he was the one who put Noca in that situation in the first place. It was just better that way. Even though Noca was bright enough to know that Vegeta probably had something to do with it. He didn't feel he needed to clarify it though. He wasn't hurt in that situation and he wasn't mad about it. He understood that it only helped advance his training.
It was the middle of the day, and the two Saiyans were where the usually spent their time. Both were in the gravity room and preparing for a sparring session. Noca was prepared for Vegeta to step it up yet again in this session and Vegeta was prepared for Noca to show some improvement.
"Are you ready?" Vegeta asked, standing with his arms crossed.
"Yes, sir!" Noca said, enthusiastically. Finishing off his stretches and showing he was prepared.
"Fine. Make the first move," Vegeta responded, remaining in that same position.
Noca nodded and focused his energy ready for a barrage. He shot towards Vegeta and started throwing his fists at a tremendous speed to ensure that Vegeta struggled and had to focus more than he was expecting to. The Saiyan Prince wouldn't normally find this kind of move a struggle, especially if he decided to become a Super Saiyan, but unfortunately, he decided that he wouldn't do that so he could remain at least a little bit fair to Noca. Vegeta's curiosity about Noca convinced him that the boy wouldn't have any sort of difficulty battling the Prince in his transformed state.
Noca managed to force Vegeta into a block rather than a dodge, and this was becoming common place in their sessions. Vegeta had started off being able to avoid all of Noca's moves with ease but the boy was getting used to the pressure and difficulty of facing one of the strongest fighters on the planet. By getting Vegeta to block instead of dodge it meant that he had put himself in a position that made it difficult to block every incoming attack.
Noca managed to strike Vegeta in the gut with a punch and this threw the Prince's concentration a little, but it wasn't hard for him to regain it. Vegeta hopped away from Noca and attempted his own offensive. He flew, fist first, at Noca and managed to swing it towards the boy's face. The teen put his arms up in a cross, ready to block the attack, but it didn't do a lot to reduce the power of Vegeta's punch.
The teen felt that pain shoot through his arms and, unfortunately, that pain forced Noca to weaken his guard and allow Vegeta to push him back. The older Saiyan then kicked up with his left foot and struck Noca in the chest, throwing him back against the wall. Noca quickly managed to push off of the wall with his right foot and flew above Vegeta. He used that opportunity to throw a few Ki blasts down on the Prince. There were six blasts and all of them exploded on the floor around Vegeta, and not a single one of them hit, but that was Noca's plan.
He flew through the dust and smoke of the blasts as they exploded and punched Vegeta in the face. He hit with such pace and strength that he managed to send Vegeta back a few steps. The Prince had completely dropped his guard. He was feeling a little bit proud of how Noca managed to get in a strong hit but hid those thoughts behind a forced scowl. He looked around and saw that Noca had vanished. Vegeta knew better than to believe Noca was gone, he was just moving very fast. The Prince walked to the centre of the GR and looked to the right, in the corner of his eye.
"You should know better than to try and trick a Saiyan with speed," Vegeta said, keeping his senses under control so he could pinpoint the boy's position. He managed to find a place that Noca was darting around a lot and knew that he was planning an attack from that position. "You're right…"
Vegeta swung his left foot around to the right and connected with something and then saw Noca go flying back into the wall again. The boy crashed right into it and fell to the ground.
"There," Vegeta finished. He stood casually again and smirked. Noca slowly returned to his feet and had a hand on his ribs. "You should know better," Vegeta said.
"I do know better," Noca muttered, smirking.
The young fighter phased from view straight away, quickly disappearing and appearing right behind Vegeta. He threw a fist into the back of the Saiyan's head but then phased away again as Vegeta turned around, meeting nothing. He quietly chuckled to himself. He could sense Noca's movement and jumped into the air just in time to stop the teen from using another Ki barrage. Noca was punched right in the face and lost all his concentration. Vegeta didn't stop there and grabbed Noca by the ankle, then threw him back down towards the ground.
"You're a fool," Vegeta shouted, chuckling. He then held his hand up and powered up a Ki attack. "Big Bang Attack!" He yelled and fired the big ball of blue energy. Noca didn't have any time to move and he tried to raise his power enough to find some new burst of pace and energy. He closed his eyes, ready to endure the pain of the attack, but then he suddenly found that little bit of extra power. He managed to open his eyes and very quickly phase out of view.
He wasn't about to hide away and give Vegeta a chance to move into a new attack. Noca phased just above Vegeta and performed a roundhouse kick to the Saiyan Prince's face, as he began to turn around. Vegeta fell out of the air and towards the ground, but before he landed Noca dropped next to him and kicked him in the stomach, back up towards the sky.
Vegeta shot up but didn't worry because he was confident, he could anticipate Noca's next move. He didn't, however. Noca shot up beside Vegeta again and unleashed a barrage of punches, each one of them connecting with him. Vegeta's frustration was at a boiling point and he wasn't going to handle much more. Noca managed to move up and above Vegeta and hammered both his fists down on the Prince's back, throwing him back down to the ground at a powerful speed.
Noca then prepared his finisher. He wanted to try something he had heard about but had never really put in practise himself. He had no idea if it would work. He stuck his hands out in a blast position in front of him and thought about using the technique. He focused that power forward and formed it into the attack that everyone knew all too well. He pulled his arms to his side and prepared the power-up
Vegeta knew Noca had fallen completely silent and he was still, but he wasn't totally sure what was happening, until he could feel Noca's Ki raising and moving to a specific spot. He knew it was the Kamehameha, and he knew he had to do something to stop the attack.
Noca thrust his hands forward and due to the familiarity, he had to shout out.
"HA!" He yelled as the blue energy shot from his hands and soared towards Vegeta. As it got closer everything slowed down for Vegeta and he could feel the powerful energy wave get ever so closer. He could sense as it was inches away from his face.
"That's it!" Vegeta yelled and then let out a power-up scream and with a flash of light he managed to knock the Kamehameha away and caused the blast to completely dissipate. Once the light started to fall away it was clear that Vegeta turned into a Super Saiyan.
Noca looked at the Prince in amazement, as well as annoyance. He loved to see the transformation put in action, but he didn't want to see Vegeta transform in this spar. The positive is that it managed to make him feel good about his own power as he had pushed Vegeta to that point.
"You said you wouldn't transform when training me!" Noca called out, feeling slightly betrayed.
"I'm sure you can handle it," Vegeta uttered and quickly moved without giving Noca the chance to make his own move. He shot towards the boy and threw a fist straight into his cheek, feeling it crack against his knuckles. Noca winced in pain but was still stopped from taking the time to do anything. Vegeta swung his left root around and struck Noca in the ribs again, but before the boy was knocked away Vegeta grabbed Noca's leg and pulled the teen back towards him.
Vegeta punched Noca in the face, striking him in the chin, and that time he allowed the boy to fly away into the wall again. Noca's body slammed against the wall, causing an indent, and it was a connection strong enough to shake parts of the building.
Vegeta started to lower his guard, feeling like Noca was beaten, but he had something else he could attempt.
"I can see now that my assumptions about you were wrong," Vegeta mentioned, folding his arms. "You're powerful, but nowhere near as powerful as I thought you might be."
Noca looked up at Vegeta, but it was a great pain to lift his head.
"I believed something about you, but I must have been wrong because you have only disappointed me. That's why I've been hard on you, but it was a waste of my time," Vegeta said, turning away from the boy. "I actually believed you might be a Saiyan," Vegeta mentioned, finally putting it out there.
Noca froze slightly and started to look down. Vegeta had him pegged right from the start and that wasn't completely surprising. Now Vegeta thought he was wrong or was this still part of the training. It was hard to tell what Vegeta was really trying to do.
Vegeta turned to look at the boy again and flashed towards him, plunging his fist right into the teen's gut. There was a lot of tremendous force put in there and Noca coughed up, bringing up some blood at the same time. Noca twitched slightly and tried to move but he was in a lot of pain. Vegeta scoffed.
"This is a waste of my time," Vegeta said, pushing his fist in further and twisting, causing Noca to wince and cough some more. Vegeta pulled his arm out and Noca was coughing a lot, but Vegeta tried his best to silence the teen. He punched Noca in the face, smacking his head back against the wall and cracking his nose again. Noca's head dropped down and he couldn't muster the strength to do anything, but he was still conscious.
Vegeta lifted up Noca's head and looked him in the eyes.
"You're a failure."
He punched Noca one more time, causing the same thing as before to happen, with Noca's head smashing into the wall again. Vegeta started to back away and held his hand up in the Big Bang Attack position again. Noca could sense the energy raising in front of him but he couldn't move.
"What's the point in keeping you around?"
Over in Satan City, at Orange Star High School, Pan and Bra are sitting in their classroom, writing down in their schoolbooks and getting on with their work, when all of a sudden Pan tensed up accidently snapping her pen in half and startling Bra.
"Pan, what the hell? Are you ok?" Bra asked, but Pan was lost in her thoughts, in her senses. She was focussing on what she could feel, an energy, and a feeling. It was Noca and it he felt similar to what happened when he became Super Saiyan. "Pan?" Bra said, shaking her friend.
"It's Noca," Pan muttered, "I can feel his power… and it's increasing."
Bra saw that Pan was very concerned and even she started to feel worried. Bra was thinking about what could possibly be going on with that training back at Capsule Corp. Bra placed her hand on Pan's back and rubbed gently, in a friendly fashion.
"He'll be ok, I believe that," Bra assured her best friend.
"Yeah, I hope so…" Pan muttered.
Noca wanted nothing more than to shut Vegeta's mouth and stop him from doing anything further. He slowly managed to find some strength to move part of his body. He slowly lifted his head up and looked Vegeta right in the eyes, ignoring the slowly powering up Big Bang Attack. Vegeta started to chuckle in a teasing fashion. Noca started to pull himself out of the wall and began to float a little. His aura began to shine with a golden aura, like had happened before.
Vegeta was startled by the sudden change, his arrogant smirk fading away, revealing a look of surprise. He took in the appearance of Noca's aura and his vision changed to one of astonishment, pleasant astonishment. His theory had been proven correct and Noca was indeed a Saiyan.
"You are a Saiyan," Vegeta muttered, "I was right."
Noca's aura flashed and his hair stood on end. He started to shout out in anger, and he was becoming a Super Saiyan. Vegeta covered his eyes and backed away, letting Noca do what he needed to. The big problem, Noca was far too injured and exhausted from the fight and the transformation halted before Noca had finished and he fell down to ground, unconscious.
Vegeta remained in that same position in the air, staring at the wall, shocked and excited.
"Not just a Saiyan but… A Super Saiyan," Vegeta mentioned, turning to look down at the boy's unconscious body. "Unbelievable."
He slowly descended and stood in front of Noca's body. He lifted him up and walked out of the GR, taking Noca back to the bedroom he was using and put him down on the bed. He set a single Senzu bean on the table next to him and stepped back.
"Your power… it's just like his. Just like Kayu's," Vegeta muttered, looking at Noca once more before backing away to the door. "From now, our training is complete."
The proud Saiyan Prince felt a little defeated by Noca, even though the boy hadn't done anything. He closed the door, leaving Noca alone and went off to do his own thing. Noca certainly had a lot of strong potential and it was really interesting to see where it went.
Characters Seen/Mentioned in this Chapter:
Noca (OC)
Vegeta
Bulma
Trunks – Mentioned
Bra
Pan
Kiera (OC) – Mentioned
Son Gohan – Mentioned
Kayu (OC) – Mentioned
