Disclaimer, in case it wasn't obvious. I don't own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or really any other property. Thank you.
The Cataylst
Act V
Chapter 71: A Tail for a Tail
Raditz:
"You can't even murder someone correctly, can you?" Vegeta's voice reached his ears as Raditz lay on his back.
The blow itself was hardly the worst he'd taken. But there had been a surprise. It'd been jarring. But as soon as Raditz heard the words from the "Prince" he felt a fire light inside him as he got to his feet, looking as Vegeta pompously walked towards him. His counterpart definitely had the advantage in power, but not so much that Raditz couldn't harm him. The only problem was staying rational and aware enough in the tidal wave of rage he was feeling right now. Of course, Vegeta came here, rather than going to the fight he sensed him going towards.
It had already been hard enough to bring him to murder a woman he'd met years ago. He was taking his time because he felt she needed to know it wasn't meant to be just cold blooded. It wasn't like when he'd detonated that attack in the city to draw Turles into a more serious conflict with Kakarot, like they'd agreed to, as far as he was concerned. But now he'd have to fight against Vegeta before he intended to.
"You're pathetic, Raditz," Vegeta said before stopping a few feet in front of him. "No one you failed on this planet. Gather the Dragon Balls? Defeat the defenders of this planet? You couldn't defeat a human woman. You've failed to do that twice now, haven't you?"
That was enough for Raditz, his lip curled into a vicious sneer as he reared back his arm to strike Vegeta. He paused when he realized Vegeta wasn't moving to dodge him at all. Which meant Vegeta wasn't even taking him seriously at all. This required him to keep a cooler head than this. Playing into Vegeta's head games would just lead him down a path to a more immediate death, and he had a wound he needed to give Vegeta before he died.
Looking from Vegeta, to the building he'd just been expunged from, Raditz looked back to Vegeta, seeing the Prince standing there.
"Well, Raditz? Are you going to strike? This is your chance to show me just how powerful you are. Make it worth your while, you're only going to get one before I crush you."
Oh? Do I?
Leaping back, Raditz skipping backwards through a street before he hopped over the side of a building, before pointing his arm in the air, red energy rippling over his body briefly as he formed the attack. Why fight Vegeta when that wasn't his objective. In his mind's eye, he created the target.
"Tuesday Firestrike!" A half dozen bolts of burning red energy shot straight into the air, swirling together as he aimed them towards the Capsule Corporation building, rather than Vegeta.
Underestimating Vegeta wasn't something Raditz aimed to do. If Vegeta were pursuing him here, then that meant he couldn't blow the attack there. And if Vegeta were there… which was where his energy was, then that meant he'd just given Raditz the gift of opportunity. The whistling sound the attacks made cut through the air before he bolted through an alleyway, seeing Vegeta already moving to intercept. Knocking three aside, the flaming bolts plunged into the city in the distance, before Vegeta used his own ki to blast the other three away. West City's west side exploded in an inferno in the distance as the air caught fire.
Bolting up and striking out with his leg, Raditz's leg caught Vegeta in the ribs while he floated in the air, the Saiyan Prince looked stunned for a brief moment before Raditz's fist found its mark on the side of his face, sending him reeling back. Focusing his energies in both hands as Raditz gathered his strength, he thrust both his hands forward, energy crackling off his fists. A red bolt of energy fired from his hands, hitting Vegeta in the chest before his body plunged into the side of a massive building.
The blast detonated, shattering the build like it was a tower of glass. The ten following blasts hammered the building with energy waves as it started to collapse in on itself. Each shot was designed to delay or hurt Vegeta for his arrogance. If this was his supposed only "shot" to take down Vegeta, he'd make it worth everyone's while. A cloud of brown and black smoke billowed out of the building before it collapsed in on itself.
Twisting in the air immediately, Raditz turned his hand down towards the Capsule building, energy collecting in his palm.
Now.
Directly beneath him however, Raditz saw the ground rupture. Fragments of concrete and earth scattered into the air as a figure blurred through it. Unable to dodge in time, he was caught off guard as Vegeta's fist erupted into his face from below. Blood and saliva spat from his mouth while his head snapped up and back, his entire body feeling almost weak from the blow. Before he could even think to recover, another two blows had landed on his abdomen and chest, before Vegeta turned in the air, lashing out with his leg and catching Raditz in the side of the face.
Propelling him backwards as his body broke through the sound barrier at least once, he managed to look back at his attacker as Vegeta gave chase, the familiar blue aura appearing across his body. Red surged around Raditz as he scowled at his counterpart. The two clashed a second later as Vegeta collided with him, a violent explosion of force ripping through the surface above the streets below. In a series of rapid strikes against one another, the red and blue forces shot across the burning flames of the city in a series of clashes. It took the fifth collision before Vegeta came out on top, bashing Raditz back before going in for the kill, driving his knees into his chest before sending him spinning into the street below.
His body broke through a substantial truck before his frame crashed into the ground, breaking into the street. The impact his body made scattered the vehicle and shattered every window for a hundred metres.
Damn it… DAMN IT!
Vegeta landed in front of him, before pouncing forward. In a burst of speed, Raditz got to his feet, slipping through his guard and planting his fist into his abdomen. Vegeta's armour cracked as he gagged in surprise. Following up, Raditz overhand struck him into the ground before grabbing his arm, hoisting him into the air and arm drag suplexing him into another side of the road.
"Oh no! Not again! More of those monsters!"
"Run!"
People's panicked cries were all around them as humans fled with all haste. Snatching his arm away, Vegeta's leg shot out, catching him in the face and driving him back before he flipped to his feet, breathing in and out once before relaxing his stance.
"You surprise me, Raditz," Vegeta admitted. "But you know your power is only a fraction of my own. You cannot win."
"I can," Raditz responded coldly as he breathed the fire out of his lungs. "Because my aim is not to kill you, Vegeta."
There was a callousness to the laughter that followed that left Raditz more determined to achieve his goal, and surpass Vegeta before he died.
"Listen to you, what a joke you are, Raditz," Vegeta's laughter transformed into words.
As Vegeta braced himself, the entire street started to rumble as blue fire emerged around him, spreading out from his form as electrical transformers exploded and windows exploded outwards. Inside that power Raditz felt the full force of Vegeta's energy wash over him. Apparently, they were getting right to the core of the battle, and he didn't mind. More than he expected, he felt the thrill of battle rush through his system as his opponent's energy soared past his own. Not because he wasn't worried that he was weaker…
Vegeta isn't as strong as I feared.
Certainly, his power had grown. It was immense, Vegeta right now was the fourth strongest warrior on the planet, that much was certain for him, but Raditz had not been idle in these last months or even, years. Bracing himself as Vegeta's energy still roared to life, Raditz cried out as he began to summon forth his own energy. For a brief moment, he noticed Vegeta's eyes widen with surprise as Raditz's red aura burst from his body.
Waves of crimson anger filled him and resonated outwards. If there ever was a time to hold nothing back, this was it. The fires in the street turned from blue, to red. The two of their powers together caused cracks to run through foundations and cars to flip over as their energies competed in strength. More than anything, he needed to not only beat Vegeta, but take from him what he'd had taken. It was his goal more than anything. It was to let Vegeta feel his pain. Today, November the 3rd, the Prince of all Saiyans would be brought down by the subject he'd misused for so long.
As his own power reached its peak, Vegeta was left standing in a stubborn silence. The difference between them was noticeable, but it was not what it had been on Earth years ago, nor was it what it had been by the end of their ventures on Namek. It wasn't even what it was in the face of Lord Slug. Standing across from Vegeta was a man near his equal, and Raditz knew that unnerved it.
"What's wrong Vegeta? Are you worried you'll slip again?" Raditz asked coolly. "Is that another one of your nightmares? Falling to fifth place? Prince Vegeta, last among equals."
That was enough to begin things. A thundering boom exploded out as the two clashed in the heart of West City.
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Vegeta:
Walls shredded into empty spaces as Vegeta threw Raditz's body through a massive structure, following through the hole his body had made through the cement and light building materials. Turning in on him, Vegeta bolted into Raditz's front, throwing another punch as the other Saiyan caught it on their way through the building. The fact that his adversary was able to be strong enough to hold his own, and Vegeta knew it, was disturbing. When he'd fallen behind Kakarot and Turles, he was able to accept it because they were freaks. Clearly, they were mutants of some sort, defying their class restrictions and their unending ambitions for power matched his own. Raditz on the other hand was a weak, third class warrior. His ship only rose because the tide brought up all vessels. But now to have him be even seven tenths of his power was enough for Vegeta to take stock of what was happening.
Despite all he'd put himself through, all the training, all the sacrifice… he was slipping.
Anger fueled his next strikes as Vegeta lashed out furiously at Raditz, who could only hope to block while they trailed through the air. Catching the other Saiyan in a weak opening around his side, Vegeta landed a kick, finally breaking past Raditz's guard before he launched into him. Two punches caught the larger Saiyan in the head before he moved in for a third. Surprise caught Vegeta as he felt Raditz grab his arm, and flip him forward. As he recovered in the air, turning to face Raditz again, he found only a swinging boot catching him in the face. His cheek almost felt like it'd been crushed before his body went flying back and down, slamming into the two of a multi-story structure.
Surprise was again what he'd felt as Raditz dived towards him, striking down with a hard fist.
He's fighting smarter than I'd expect him to…
Dodging to the side, Vegeta slipped past a diving attack before sweeping his legs, trying to catch Raditz before he could rise. Raditz skipped backwards across the roof of the building, giving the Saiyan Prince time to recover. In a blur of motion, he arrived next to Raditz, this time slamming his fist into Raditz's side. The larger Saiyan gagged before he rolled back, again.
The coward! He won't even fight me like a Saiyan!
With a snarl of anger, Vegeta followed up his attack, following the Saiyan across the rooftop again, this time punching Raditz's guard as he aimed for his face, a frustrated Vegeta launched Raditz's body off the roof as he prepared to follow up, again. Before he could take off however, at his feet there was a glowing red light. Looking down, he blinked in half amazement as Raditz's ki ignited into a blast.
The roof exploded off the building as his clothes were shredded. A piece of his armour chipped off from its cracked areas and his undersuit and body beneath were cut. Smoke billowed out of the top of the building around him as Vegeta hung in the air, curled into a ball to protect himself, an energy shield around him. As he let his legs down and lowered his arm guard, he was seething with every passing second.
This would be when Raditz would take up the initiative in order to press the attack. Aggression won battles, and the large Saiyan was probably convinced he'd taken up the advantage. But instead, Vegeta didn't find any advance through the fires around him, there was no ki moving nearby or assault.
What is he-… you bastard!
Blasting out of the smoke, Vegeta turned to see Raditz's form blurring towards the Capsule Corporation. Surprise and alarm, would be the two words which impacted Vegeta the most. Bursting forward with his superior speed, he managed to pull in front of Raditz just as the other Saiyan prepared his next attack.
"You really are a coward, aren't you?"
"Aren't we all?" Raditz challenged. "My hands are covered in the blood of innocent, weaker creatures who never stood a chance, Vegeta. I know yours are covered in the same, we covered them together."
The moralizing of his former subordinate was very old as far as Vegeta was concerned.
"You have the audacity to call me a coward, you're the biggest coward I know, Vegeta," Raditz followed up, spitting. "You ran from Frieza your entire life, and any job you didn't want to do, you had Nappa or me do it. Now you run from Kakarot and Turles like the coward you are. You're pathetic."
Anger.
There was a blinding rage Vegeta could barely understand as he was denounced. His breathing became erratic as Raditz fought him like he had been, and called him the coward. They'd walked a path of destruction together since the death of their home world and people. Calling him the one who was pathetic? It was too much to handle for his pride. Raditz would learn the error of defying him, just as he'd had to learn before.
"You really are a fool," Vegeta said through grit teeth before smirking darkly. "You think I had you and Nappa do all the work because I was afraid to. I had you do the work because you were beneath me. And you are still beneath me Raditz!"
The two clashed again, their fists connecting in the air before Vegeta launched Raditz back with an overwhelming level of ki, Raditz turned around in the air, forming a red energy wave in his hands and firing it past him. Swearing to himself, Vegeta turned, knocking it out of the sky before it could land inside the Capsule Corporation building.
"Fight me! You third class pile of garbage!" Vegeta shouted.
Another dozen bolts all fired down from Raditz, before another dozen launched out. The explosive bolts appeared to be more of Raditz's firestrikes, which meant that Vegeta couldn't even deflect them nearby. The city burned as a result, and Vegeta didn't care. Before Raditz could launch more, Vegeta himself opened both of his hands and energy saturated the sky before hundreds of blue energy waves trailed into the sky towards Raditz. The other Saiyan was caught unawares before he dashed towards the ground below, blasting back and around the burning city as the energy bolts tore through the streets and buildings below.
Tracking his energy, Vegeta positioned himself in several fast motions to where he sensed Raditz's approach. Appearing beneath him and swinging his leg up, he caught the larger Saiyan with a leg strike uppercut. The foot crashed into Raditz's belly as the large Saiyan gagged, his eyes expressing the pain of the blow. When Vegeta moved to complete his attack, swinging his arm up to catch Raditz in the face, the other Saiyan, despite his obvious injury caught his hand. The two arms locked together as Raditz's hand struggled to hold Vegeta's in place.
How is he doing this?
Red and blue auras burned against one another. Raditz's power wasn't beyond his own, it was his inferior, but he was holding on.
Wheezing, Raditz threw his own punch back, connecting with Vegeta across the face, but still holding his hand in place. Before he could make another attack, which he was clearly preparing to do, Vegeta focused his ki into his hand. A blue energy wave formed between his right hand, and Raditz's left. When it detonated between the two of them, the blast tore through glass and steel around them before the two of them collapsed into the streets below.
When Vegeta started to rise, he saw Raditz himself getting up, his whole left arm scorched and bloody. When he started moving it, almost as if it wasn't injured, Vegeta realized he was ignoring the pain of the injury. Just as he'd been ignoring the damage of his kick to the sternum. It was willpower that drove him forward, something that he'd never seen in Raditz before. It was only after a few moments of contemplation that he realized something… Raditz expected to die. He wasn't fighting to prevent himself from being injured, he was fighting without fear.
He was the man who'd cast aside his connections to this world, and had nothing left to lose. The only thing he had to gain, was achieving his revenge.
I need to kill him now, then.
Rapidly, Vegeta put together is plan to kill Raditz.
"What was the name of that purple haired witch you're so angry about? The whore who I ordered Nappa to kill?" Vegeta asked. "I don't keep a record of victims as you seem to, Raditz."
Part of his plan was to draw Raditz into his clutches… only it didn't seem to work. Raditz was still just as furious, but he didn't take the bait. There was nothing he could draw Raditz himself into to hit him with the Galic Gun, or any of his other maneuvers. Pieces of debris started to lift into the air as the two stared one another down, their auras both still flickering. There was a looming sense in the back of Vegeta's head that was starting to emerge. This fight was already dragging on beyond what he'd expected, and Raditz had managed to keep clear of losing so far. This fight might actually take longer than anticipated to win.
Keeping the woman "safe" wasn't even his priority right now. Truth be told, he was only preventing her from being killed because Raditz wanted her to die. Giving Raditz the satisfaction of achieving anything was something he'd had no intention of giving him. The moment he'd rescued the woman, the most enjoyable thing had been the vengeful cry Raditz gave on his way out of the building. The third-class warrior would die without a single accomplishment to his name, beyond burning his bridges.
When Raditz's power flickered, Vegeta's eyes tracked him carefully. Clearly, the two couldn't stay here in a standoff forever. When Raditz opened his palm, Vegeta expected another energy strike, or another homing attack heading towards the woman's location. Instead, when Raditz's hand opened, it was only light. The blinding burning red-white light scorched over his eyes, blinding him as the energy ingulfed him.
My eyes!
Before he could see anything, he sensed Raditz's energy move towards him rapidly. The first blow landed on his stomach, causing him to cough violently before the next half dozen struck out, knees, elbows, and fists battered his frame as he blindly tried to block or kick back, only vaguely sensing where Raditz was. Finally, a ruthless kick caught him across the side of the face, sending Vegeta hurtling back, crashing into the side of a substantial structure.
When his vision finally returned, Vegeta spat blood out of his mouth as he stared through the opening his body had made.
You bastard-
Instead of seeing Raditz giving pursuit, he realized he was staring into empty space. Energies became aware to him a second later as he looked up, red light breaking through the ceiling above him as energy flowed through the building.
SHIT!
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Son Goku:
The battle persisted in the city for only a few moments. What he'd not expected was the total war that he'd be walking into. Because it didn't make any sense that Turles would do this. What was his game? Turles always had a motive, and this seemed to be outside of his character. Certainly, he was a ruthless monster, but if he'd wanted to really fight him to the death, he knew how to get to him. Killing those innocent people had definitely been something that would have set him off, but it didn't give Turles an advantage in the fight. That was the kind of games his brother played. Goku didn't know him well, but he'd seen how he'd operated enough, and he'd heard stories.
Another series of punches tore past him as Goku dodged desperately, trying to regain the space he'd had only a few seconds earlier as their bodies hopped through the forests throughout the mountain that had become their battleground. Something was definitely wrong. When he finally blocked an incoming punch, the trees around them swayed violently. Now that his own anger was subsiding, and he was honing in on the fight itself, Goku could smell something was wrong.
Throwing a punch back in turn, Goku's attack shot past Turles's head. In a blur of motion, the two of them began exchanging blows. Kicks, punches, dodges, and blocks were exchanged in rapid succession. There was something strange about fighting his mirror. This was his twin, and he could really see that in how he fought. Despite having different styles, their blows were exchanged with a kind of symmetry. It was a similar way of thinking, a similar way of approaching a battle, and in his own way despite detesting Turles as a person, Goku appreciated the kind of fighter he was. When Goku finally broke past, landing a stiff blow on Turles's face, he felt a punch come swiping past his own, as the two of them collided and both staggered back in the air.
"I've gotta say, Turles, I'm impressed," Goku admitted to him. "I didn't expect you to take your training serious enough to ever put up this kind of fight, even as a Super Saiyan."
"You're impressed?" Turles laughed, clearly calculating his next move. "Only a few minutes ago you thought I was a monster who killed all those people back there, and now your impressed? Has anyone ever told you, you have the mental capacity of a frog?"
Something's not right.
Without a word, Goku started to back away gradually, seeing Turles matching the distance between them, taking a step forward for every step back, trying to give him no space. That wasn't how you fought when someone was an equal, this fight was being done like it was buying time, as much as it was about winning. And that was when Goku sensed Raditz and Vegeta. That was enough to catch his attention as Goku realized what was happening in West City.
No. No way what's happening out there?!
Turning his head in shock, Goku felt his heart start racing at what was happening. Why now? Why would Raditz suddenly go there to fight Vegeta now-
Before he realized it, Turles had closed in on him, driving a straight punch into his chest. Before he could respond, another blow landed, this time catching him across the face. For a brief fragment of time, Goku met eyes with Turles and saw the look in his eyes. Turles knew as well, and knew that he knew. This was an act, wasn't it? It didn't feel like an act… but it was. The whole fight was staged, but why did Turles stage it? For Raditz to go get killed by Vegeta? Really?
When his body went back, Goku broke through several trees before stopping in place, staring his brother down as he assumed a defensive posture, trying to keep himself prepared.
"What have you done, Turles?" Goku asked seriously. "Is that why you're doing this? To let Raditz and Vegeta fight?"
"I don't know what your talking about," Turles lied without a moment's hesitation. "I did this to get my revenge. For all that you've done to me. The humiliation I've suffered at your hands has not been forgotten, Kakarot. Whatever Raditz is doing, is his own business."
For some reason, Goku felt the cry of revenge felt hollow. It even sounded hollow. Part of him even started to wonder who'd killed those people back at the city. Carefully, Goku dropped his guard, standing tall in front of his twin. There was a look of genuine surprise on Turles's face when he did. The fight needed to end now, he needed to stop Vegeta from killing Raditz, now, and he needed to stop anyone else from being hurt on what he was beginning to see more fully as a plan by Raditz to harm Vegeta in some way.
"What do you think your doing?" Turles demanded.
"You won't hurt me if I don't fight back," Goku remarked, concentrating before placing two fingers to his forehead. "Besides, your hearts just not in this one. I can tell. There is no reason to continu-"
Before his instant transmission could be utilized, at point blank range, Turles launched both his hands forward as an orange ring shot towards him. Without moving, Kakarot felt the edge of the ring touch his body before there was nothing but blinding pain, everywhere. The world became nothing but light as the sound of an explosion emerged all around him. A vast swathe of forest on the plateau was blasted away, falling in a perfect circle around the heart of the blast as Goku felt himself fall to the ground after violently being thrown through the air. Burnt sections of his body were exposed to the air as his fight gi had half evaporated in the blast.
Okay. Apparently… I was... wrong about that.
Suddenly, two feet landed on either side of him before the first fist hit him in the face. Blood spat out of his mouth before the next blow came. The process repeated at least two dozen times as Goku only caught glimpses of the furious look on Turles's face.
"Does my heart seem in it now, Kakarot?!" Turles spat.
He's beating me to death.
His head felt like it was swelling, inside and out. He couldn't even get a chance to move, the forces of the blows were so hard they jarred his body. His arms moved to try and block but he couldn't even get them in front of his face without them being brushed aside by the arms striking him at super human speeds.
The blows only finally stopped when a green arm shot out, grabbing Turles's fist while it was in the air, before dragging him back off of him.
When he looked over, Goku managed to sit up, seeing Turles turn and strike Piccolo.
Well, that didn't work. New plan. Beat Turles.
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Raditz:
Red energy exploded beneath him as Raditz kept his senses tuned into where he sensed Vegeta was. The blast had surely not killed him, that much was true, but even he felt the small dip in Vegeta's power. It'd been effective, and that's what mattered. Hopefully it'd been effective enough to give Raditz the opportunity to slip past where Vegeta was and get to the real target. Killing Vegeta still wasn't in the cards, he didn't have the raw power to finish him off. Only if the Saiyan "Prince" made another series of errors and misjudgements could he really get the chance to overwhelm him. That would be a prize he'd relish, but it wouldn't be the key to his victory here.
Watching the Prince pull the dead woman from the rubble as he had to, might only be a fantasy for him at the moment, but he would do everything within his power to make that a reality. In a burst of speed, Raditz took off towards the Capsule Corporation, trying to sense if Bulma was still there, and being unable to determine it. What was important was simply destroying the whole area then.
The crimson energy rippled around his body as Raditz felt his rage and anger boil to the surface, his voice howling out over the entirety of the city as it rumbled. Pulling his arm back, he formed a single, hellish blast in his hands, before preparing to throw it down towards the yellow building below. There was movement however, and he sensed the Prince's energy. Almost immediately he let the energy go, flowing back into his body before he instinctively moved back. In a wave of a motion he barely followed, Vegeta appeared, his leg extended as to where he'd just been. A furious look was written across his face. The most effective way to fight Vegeta so far had been to give ground.
The constant retreat, waiting for an opportunity, or using his own power against him had been effective. The truth was though, that strategy could only carry him so far, as it put a burden of damage and energy on him which he couldn't sustain himself.
"You rat, Raditz," Vegeta spat, his eyes written with the kind of anger Raditz felt every day. It was gratifying to see it, finally reflected back at him. "When I finish here, I'll kill that nephew of yours and send him to Hell just so he can tell you how this worked out for you!"
"It's working out great so far," Raditz declared, his face becoming stern, as well as his stance.
A flurry of blows was exchanged before Raditz could withdraw further. Trying to pull back again, Raditz was met only with a series of hits. Punch, kick, punch, kick, kick. Each one cracked into his body before the final kick landed on his chin. The world flash to darkness for a brief second before he fell back violently. As soon as he did, he formed energy in both of his hands as Vegeta pursued him. Both his feet skid across the roof of two buildings as he tried to keep himself at such a distance as to be effective, only to find he was backing away from Vegeta before he could launch any attack.
It was finally as he landed on the last building in his path that Raditz threw his hands forward, firing the Double Sunday just as Vegeta appeared. The wall of red energy seemingly engulfed Vegeta the moment the attack was fired, a stream of burning energy rippling across the sky. The only problem was, Raditz knew better. As the stream washed over Vegeta, it was too wide. Worse, it was spreading away from a straight beam only a metre in front of him. Struggling to keep his arms forward with so much ki flowing through them, the wave started to close in further with him. Energy dispersed enough that he could see Vegeta's hands reaching out into the core of the beams, his face rife with effort and anger.
Focusing more of his power into the wave, Raditz hoped to push Vegeta back, only to find the steady, slow pace of the Prince finally dispersing his waves all together as his hands locked with Raditz's, locking his arms in place as the larger Saiyan felt his heart start racing before his arms were locked in a test of strength with Vegeta directly. His muscles flexed as he tried to keep himself standing as Vegeta overwhelmed his wrists and hands, driving him down to one knee within a few moments of resistance.
"Exactly where you belong," Vegeta snarled. "Did you really think I'd let you get what you wanted, Raditz?"
Staring up at the much shorter Saiyan, Raditz seethed with rage as his mind raced towards a new tactic, a new strategy to outfox the prince. The only thing he could think of right now though was his hatred. Being stuck on his knees like this in front of the Prince was far too familiar. Every effort to rise, failed. The ground beneath them started to crack as the entire building they were on started to wax and wane from the energy being released at the top of the structure.
"Do you want to know something sad, Raditz? I thought you would learn your lesson, from killing that woman. You will always be weaker, and I will always be stronger than you," Vegeta informed him. "And I enjoy the fact that you'll never be able to get your 'revenge' on me. Look at you. Just another third class barely deserving the title of Saiyan. I told you before, you're pathetic, Raditz."
Focusing his ki down as Raditz caved in to Vegeta's strength, his feet cracked through the roof o the building. Sweeping under, taking Vegeta by his hands as he did, Raditz kicked through the roof behind Vegeta, dragging him along with him. The Prince cried out in surprise and alarm before Raditz flung him down as soon as his feet landed. Letting go at the last possible second, Vegeta's body shot through the floor of the building, smashing through several stories before breaking through on an angle and flying face first into a tower of steel and glass across the street.
Walking to the edge of the badly maimed structure, Raditz rested one leg higher on the edge of the building as he stared after where Vegeta had went.
No, his fate was not to be denied his revenge. Today, November the third, was the last day of his life, and it would be the day he found victory.
The entire structure in front of him started to rumble, the entire tower shaking free its glass casing before Vegeta exploded out of the roof, his body covered in more scrapes and cuts as he breathed in and out furiously, beyond that his tongue being silenced.
In a blur of rage and speed, the other Saiyan closed with him. This time, Raditz was ready. Catching Vegeta with a hard right on the way in, Raditz felt Vegeta's kick land on his side, almost breaking a rib. It was impossible not to wince… but injury meant nothing to him now. The pain of it was just a thing that would be temporary, and of this world. He didn't need to fight as if he was going to wake up tomorrow and feel it. Before Vegeta could follow up after his recover in the air, Raditz shot his head towards him, connecting with a headbutt across the bridge of his nose. The Prince recoiled in the air, grabbing his face as he did. The moment he did, huge hands in the form of fists plunged into his gut. A series of six punches punished Vegeta for his arrogance, before Raditz reached back with his final assault, moving to breaking Vegeta in half if he could.
Two feet however, curved back and snapped as Vegeta flipped back in the air. The two heels caught Raditz in the chest and face, staggering him before Vegeta, blood flowing from his nose, pointed his hands at him as blue energy formed. Abruptly and without much warning, there was a wall of blue light, and unlike Vegeta, Raditz didn't have the strength to just push past it.
Instead, he found himself caught up in the light. His flesh burned and his body was launched back as he resisted being blown away in the wind. With a bit of luck and know how, Raditz pulled his body down out of the stream, falling into the burning and bloodied streets below, his frame smashing into the roof of a car.
It'd been problematic to take that much damage. Struggling, he pulled himself from the wreckage of the vehicle as Vegeta landed down the street in front of him.
It might be, that the only way around him would be… the attack he'd been perfecting.
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Vegeta:
Walking forward, Vegeta almost breathed fire. Only one person could wear the crown, and it was going to be him. He believed Raditz to be tactically inept, and now he firmly placed him in a category of threat. Despite being weaker, Raditz had managed to inflict significant damage on him. He'd wormed his way out of several crippling scenarios, and had anticipated his attacks more than once. Vegeta was far from worried, but he also wasn't stupid. It was a terrible thing to admit, but Raditz's prowess as a warrior had climbed to the higher rungs of the warriors on this planet.
His training with Kakarot and the Namek clearly have increased his lethality. To think, pitiful Raditz had this kind of potential.
But it was approaching the end of the struggle now. His lower-class counterpart had a serious toll taken from the last blastwave, and he could see the injuries sustained by the taller Saiyan. There was something that Vegeta had noticed however. Raditz was fighting with reckless abandon. One reason he'd been as effective as he was, was that he was simply ignoring injury, and ignoring pain. The body could only put up with so much of that however, until effectiveness broke down. Still, it'd been an adequate effort.
"Surrender," Vegeta offered, smirking as he did, crossing his arms confidently as Raditz tried to keep standing. "Surrender and I'll let you die quickly. You won't have the shame of having been left alive to be confronted by everyone you've betrayed, for some pitifulattempt to try and acquire revenge."
It was a genuine offer, even if an amusing one. Naturally, he doubted Raditz would take it. The other Saiyan wasn't even looking at him he appeared so tired and spent. The burning city around them lit this place up like the Hell he was guessing Raditz would be going to after his shameful demise. Still, it was more than fitting. Here in the flames of Hell, Raditz was going to die and his fate would be sealed for trying to stand against him.
"Well?" Vegeta asked after several seconds, beginning to lose his patience.
He was waiting for the spiteful remark, or the angry shouting from his finished opponent. But there was something wrong, and he only realized too late it was starting to happen. The energies between them almost crackled for a moment when he realized Raditz's right hand was beginning to twitch, his thumb had red energy crackling along it between it and his index finger. Whatever ki attack he had prepared, Vegeta knew he had more than enough energy remaining to block it…
When Raditz's head finally flashed up towards him, showing all the contempt and hatred Vegeta had expected, the Prince smirked until he sensed the concentrated power for what it was. But it wasn't in a recognizable pattern. The Saturday Crush, a regular energy attack, the Double Sunday and Tuesday Firestrike all seemed to form differently, or have another form of attack. The energy was all different.
… What's he doing?
"THURSDAY-!"
Unfolding his arms, Vegeta prepared to move with haste before Raditz's right hand shot out, pointing at him. Five bolts of electricity wrapped around his body as the beam shocked his body. The pain was substantial. The nerves in his body, even as ki flowed through his body, seemed unresponsive. It was like his entire body was shut down. Vegeta had become stiff, his body was rigid and unmoving. The amount of energy flowing through him was draining Raditz's stamina, surely…
"-THUNDER-!"
The electricity intensified as Vegeta stared down the loaded ki wave, seeing a bolt of pure, red energy forming in Raditz's palm. The concentration of power was immense, as almost all of his power was centred into one point. For the first time in the fight, Vegeta felt something akin to fear enter his gut as he tried with all of his willpower to raise his arms in defence, but nothing happened. His head shook from side to side, as if it'd let his body break free. Roaring in defiance and… fear… Vegeta felt the energy reach its peak.
"-HAMMER!"
The bolt of energy launched from Raditz's hand, perfectly firing down the line of five electrical bonds around him. The fires around them were quenched as the blast launched towards him. The desperation of his struggle increased five-fold as his arms and legs twitched and his body vibrated in the air. His blue aura emerged around him desperately as he focused all of his power to bring his arms up to meet the blast. When the bolt hit him in the chest, Vegeta gagged in agony as his armour wave vaporized in a heartbeat. The electric bonds broke free, but the blast was carrying him back.
A reinforced cement wall shattered in his path, scraping over his body as his arms and legs hung behind him like weights as the single bolt of red energy carried him further and further back. It was glowing more and more intensely with every passing metre. When his body shredded through another series of walls and smashed through the other side of the building, Vegeta finally managed to control his arms enough to reach for the blast, wanting to push it back. The second his fingers touched it; the bomb detonated.
When the detonation happened, his aura was blasted clear off his body. All of his energy tried to focused in to deflect the blast away from his body, mostly failing. It was everything he had not to simply be vaporized in the burning light. The ground beneath him domed inward as the air around him was caught up in a whirlwind of fire and debris. Bits of the road, vehicles, building, and infrastructure were caught up in the chaotic and deadly cyclone of destruction. Above, a massive mushroom cloud formed as the entire city rumbled. Whole blocks were annihilated in the blast wave.
When the light faded and the smoke started billowing out of the cratered wreck of what had once been the west side, of west city, Vegeta's body hit the ground limply. His lungs felt burnt. His vision was blurred and his body was… broken. Itchy pain wrapped his form from the lacerations and burns. Muscles barely responded and much to his own horror… his power was sapped.
Raditz.
Raditz had beaten him.
The pain of that was far worse than what his body had just experienced. Trembling, Vegeta tried to get up, managing to sit up before his body ceased responding. He almost fell forward, barely able to keep himself sitting upright. The legs beneath him just twitched when he tried to get them back in motion.
When the taller Saiyan landed in front of him, his own chest heaving, his own energy mostly spent, Vegeta managed only to look back up at him in what he knew was defeat. There was only a moment of pity from Raditz before his face was covered by a sneer. Grabbing him by the shreds of his undersuit, Raditz pulled him onto his feet before driving a punch into his face. In a display of anger, he punched again, and again. Vegeta began losing count as he lost the vision in his left eye. He could feel the hate behind his fists. At one point, Raditz grabbed half his face, digging his fingers into his flesh like knives as the Saiyan almost spat on him in an unquenched fury. Battering blows racked his body up and down before Raditz grabbed the back of his head, slamming his face into the dirt.
"Do you taste that, Vegeta?" Raditz breathed angrily. "That's what you made me eat for years. You bastard."
A final, ruthless knee plunged into his side, and Vegeta felt two ribs crack. Crying out into the dirt, Vegeta felt exhaustion start to overwhelm him, before he felt his face and body begin to drag across the ground.
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Turles:
"Goku!"
The Namekian's voice called out in pain as Turles curved his leg, catching the green warrior across the side, sending his body plunging into the wreckage of the forest. Swearing to himself internally, Turles looked over his marred armour and torn undersuit. He couldn't just get more of these. The most disconcerting thing about all of this was the fact the Namekian was putting up a reasonable fight. It didn't seem possible, until Turles was reminded he'd nearly been killed twice by two Namekians only around a year ago. In fact, it'd been the event to let his power each the level it had.
Most of his ware was coming from Kakarot however. And as soon as his mind came to it, a hardened boot swung in, cracking into his side as he winced in the air. Swinging his arm back in response, he smashed Kakarot's face with his hardened fist. Most of his advantage had bled away as the Namekian entered the fight against him. Even if he wasn't as strong as Kakarot, he was still strong enough to harm him, and acted as a spoiling mechanism every time he was about to gain any kind of real advantage on Kakarot. It was making him violently angry, which was one reason why he'd decided to focus more of his attention on the green bastard.
"You're not going to win this."
I thought you said you could barely decipher the future anymore.
"Yea, but I've been in more than one fight in my life."
A furious blow rocked Kakarot a second later as Turles seethed furiously. It wasn't about just Raditz at all. It was about his own pride now. Winning against Kakarot was starting to mean everything. It wasn't even just about revenge. It was about knowing he was the best. Defeating the Namekian at the same time was just another notch in the belt. No, this was about him now. Hell, he'd even admit it, he wanted to help Raditz.
There, he admitted it to himself. Raditz was the only brother he'd ever known and had bailed him out multiple times. Fine, the truth was there even for him to see. But this fight was now the most important thing he'd ever experienced. Just because Bardock, someone with a fighting power lower than his spit right now, thought he was going to lose, didn't mean anything. Hell, he thought this whole Kakarot favouritism thing was over.
Well it was over now! It was over for KAKAROT!
Turles blocked an incoming strike before throwing another punch, Turles saw Kakarot's body go flipping back, slamming into the ground below, breaking the topsoil of the destroyed mountain's forest. Diving down, Turles stomped his 'brother' in the back with his boot, before shoving it in the side of his face, shoving his head and other side of his face into the dirt.
"Now Kakarot, if you want me to spare you, you must beg me to accept your surrender. And, you must declare that I, Turles, am the strongest of the two of us," Turles smugly remarked, gaining the advantage once again.
Truthfully, Kakarot dropping his guard early in the fight and allowing a severe attack through had been Turles's biggest opening. If the Namek hadn't stepped in, he'd have won already by now.
"I'm not going to quit," Kakarot managed, spitting some mud out of his mouth as he did. "I'm going to stop you!"
Leaning his head forward, Turles felt a small burst of amusement at his 'brother' telling him that.
"Please, Kakarot, stop embarrassing both of us. Just give up, is it really so hard?"
"Yes!" When Kakarot shouted back.
Unimpressed, Turles stepped back, pointing his hand down and unleash the Catastrophe Gun. Two dozen blasts emerged from his palm, each one violently bursting into Kakarot's back. Some exploded beneath him, but each shot's blast was accompanied by a scream. When he finally stopped shooting, the singed body of his brother lay there.
Still breathing? He's more resilient than I thought.
"He's still going to beat you."
Snarling, Turles raised his boot to stomp Kakarot's head in, if only to prove a point. Only his foot passed through air, slamming into the mud which Kakarot had been eating only seconds early. When he turned and looked over, the Namekian was standing there, both his hands pointed at him. Blinking in surprise, Turles raised his guard in time to stop an immense wave of golden and purple energy. The Explosive Wave blasted around him, the ground ripping away as his guard didn't budge.
"I didn't expect to kill anymore Namekians, anytime soon," he observed, only to notice the Namek didn't seem concerned or worried.
He's distracting me.
Turning and looking up, Turles blinked as he saw Kakarot gathering energy into his hands.
"KAAAAA MEEEEE HAAAA MEEEEE-"
Are you kidding? A static attack like that's going to hit me? Talk about desperate.
Smirking at the Namekian, Turles did his best to blur out of the way, hopping and zipping through the air before he came up behind Kakarot himself, both arms up in an axe handle smash.
"How pathetic, Kakarot!"
When his hands passed through where he was, his eyes widened in alarm until he noticed the blue light coming from behind him. He only had a second to turn before he heard the last syllable from his look alike.
"-HAAAAA!"
The world turned to blue and white was Turles felt his body become hit in the wave. Immediately his armour shattered as his undersuit evaporated from his body almost entirely. Even he screamed as his Super Saiyan aura died around his body. In his eyes he could see his death. He could see the death he'd faced by Kakarot's hand the first time. His screams emulated the ones he'd heard in his own ears when he'd first been shown his death, by Bardock.
When the wave carried him into the side of the mountain, above the treeline, the rock exploded around him as his body was burned almost to ash. When his body hit the ground, Turles felt huge rocks slam down next to him, any one of them capable of killing him in his weakened state. Barely able to move, he started trying to pull himself forward before the exhausted Kakarot and Piccolo appeared in front of him.
Pointing his hand down, Kakarot began gathering energy.
"Wait, wait Kakarot please… I help you live when you fought Slug, I wouldn't-"
"…"
Panic started to rush in. The odds Kakarot should shoot him… no… No, it wasn't possible. Weakly, he raised his hand in submission.
"K-Kakarot, it wasn't my idea. I was only supposed to fight you. Raditz is the one who attacked the city," Turles told the truth, for once, though clearly under duress. "I was only trying to help him."
"Help him get himself killed by Vegeta?" Kakarot asked accusingly. "You've really lost your mind if you think that's helping him."
"… You… you think Raditz wanted to fight Vegeta?" Turles breathed in amazement. "Y… you don't know, do you? He never told you? This is a matter of his pride and honour."
There was an awkward moment of silence in the air. In the distance the powers which had been fighting in West City both nearly disappeared, much to Turles's surprise. The fact Raditz had managed to deplete Vegeta to such an extent that the battle itself had almost become mute was unexpected. Revenge and determination were well suited for one another. Still, Raditz knew full well this was his brother's chance at revenge, the only thing worth more to him than life itself.
"Told me what?"
"You don't know why he betrayed Vegeta, do you?" Turles asked. "That's what this is all about. You have to know that…"
"Stop stalling and tell me!" Kakarot demanded, pressing his fingers to his forehead already.
The truth might be his ticket to saving his own skin. That was the most important thing on his mind right now. Looking at the Namek, he looked back at Kakarot. This was hopefully his out. He could be as loyal as he wanted, but Raditz had left him exposed. Which meant, well… if someone was going to take the fall for this, why not the one responsible for it?
"You have to promise that you, and the Namekian won't kill me," Turles offered. "You're a man of your word, I know Kakarot…"
There was reluctance for only a moment, and Turles felt sweat on his brow.
"You know, Kakarot might just lie."
Kakarot, lie? He's too stupid to lie.
"Out with it, now."
That was as good a guarantee as any, he determined.
"Raditz isn't going to West City to fight Vegeta. He expected to die fighting there against a superior foe. Vegeta killed a woman who Raditz fell in love with when he came to this planet. Her name starts with a V or something, doesn't matter," Turles explained. "Raditz never intended to kill Vegeta, though I'm sure he'd love to. Raditz went there to kill Vegeta's woman."
There was an immense power spike across the planet as Turles saw Kakarot, his eyes widened in horror, disappear in a flash of instant transmission. Warm blood trickled down from his hairline as Turles almost felt himself pass out with relief. It was only when the Namekian walked over that he felt like he was shrinking.
"You can't kill me," Turles smirked up at the Namekian as he shakily started to pull himself up. "Unless you want to defy the all powerful Kakarot."
Suddenly, a green arm hoisted him in the air, Turles felt his adrenaline rise again, though he was almost powerless to do anything about it.
"W-wait!-"
"I never said I was going to kill you," Piccolo commented grimly. "But that doesn't mean you don't deserve this."
"Yea, he doesn't seem high on the merciful metre. Gotta say, I like-"
Before Turles could say another word either to his father or to Piccolo, he was pulled in as the Namek threw his elbow up as his entire body flashed green. The impact was hard enough that Turles's vision went from colour and light, to pure darkness.
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Bulma:
The city was burning.
That was all she could think while she looked out across what had once been the most beautiful city in the world. Dozens of major buildings now lay in the streets as rubble. Fires spread out across whole blocks. Traffic and panicked mobs flowed through the streets as the worst fight she'd ever personally seen unfolded. There was a real sense that this was somehow all her fault, even if it was fleeting for her.
The truth was, Raditz had lost his mind. That was what she was able to put together. But there was also the fact that she knew he'd probably told her the truth about what Vegeta had done to him. She could actually imagine Vegeta standing there with his arms crossed, ordering the death of whoever the woman was. But they'd all been different that long ago, hadn't they? Raditz and Vegeta were both pirates. Now they weren't. Raditz was Goku's brother, the one who tried his best to save Gohan several times, and had been a major part in keeping them all alive on Namek. Vegeta had saved her from Turles… twice, and was always there to protect her, even if she'd imagined he'd abandoned her.
He kept his word, even now. Even after they'd broken up, even if they'd never really been together, he saved her.
So why did they have to do this? Why were all these innocent people injured, or dead? Why was Raditz trying to kill her over something that happened so long ago? Why couldn't Raditz have just let it go?
All of that pain he was holding onto was why this was happening. Unconsciously, she was already holding her abdomen again. Vegeta was going to win. She knew he was stronger, and that meant that this was going to end with Raditz being dead. Right now, she knew exactly how she felt about that. Good.
She was tired of people trying to kill her. She was tired of being harassed and intimidated. Even if it meant that her best friend's brother had to die, he was trying to kill her and her son. Even in the fight so far, she'd watched as he'd tried to kill her several times, only for Vegeta to intervene. Running wouldn't fix anything, and taking to the air in a ship would just make her a target. There was always the bunker downstairs, but she knew that wouldn't do much either.
All she could do was wait.
There were two huge flashes of light within a short space of one another, and then the sound all seemed to stop. It was quiet. For a brief second, she almost expected to see Vegeta's blue glowing form rise into the air, but in the distance, there was nothing, not even a speck in her eye. It felt… empty. The only thing she could hear was the panic of thousands of people and the intense infernos in the distance. Her home was largely untouched so far. Was Vegeta gone, now that it was... done?
In front of her balcony, on the ground below, a single body fell out of the air before hitting the grass. When she saw who it was, her entire world froze. The blood drained from her face as she felt herself start trembling.
V-Veg-Vegeta?
Before she could even get up to see him, she felt something shove her forward, her body tripping over the side of the railing and falling nearly 15 feet. When her should hit the ground, it broke like w twig. The pain was immediate. She screamed. The riving she did as her badly broken side sent horrific reminders through her nervous system was real. A huge bruise was forming on her side, and she felt her child squirm unnaturally inside of her, just as terrified as she now was.
Because she lay there, barely able to do anything but reach up with her one remaining frail hand, she saw two huge feet slam into the ground between where Vegeta lay, and where she currently trembled.
Vegeta. Vegeta please get up. Please. PLEASE!
The Prince barely managed to move his head as he started to crawl only slightly, his eyes locking onto hers as his breathing visibly became… harsher.
"Raditz," she barely managed through her pain, tears forming again on the edges of her eyes as her lungs started to catch with hysteria. "… Please… Please Raditz no."
"Prince Vegeta," Raditz's tone was harsh as he started to ignore her.
The only thing she saw him do was stare at her briefly with pity before his face turned to something malicious.
"Let's play this out like it happened last time. Do you remember, Vegeta?" Raditz's voice edged with a resentment… a hatred, Bulma had never heard in person before. "Where will we start? Is it the part where I chastise you for your failures? Or the part where I ask you to kill the woman? Because you killing her, even in your current state, will be much more pleasant than what's about to happen."
Vegeta only managed to cough in response before Raditz ruthlessly kicked him across the face. Blood spat into the air, leaving a mist above him for almost a second before Raditz walked around him furiously. Winding up, the larger Saiyan proceeded to kick Vegeta in the ribs, who gagged as his body turned inward, rolling onto his other side as he started coughing and gasping for air.
The monster that had taken the place of Goku's brother might as well have been a demon. Every step was motivated by revenge, and she could see it. The pain in her arm, the tears on her face, and the cold air in her lungs left her shivering. Getting up and running would be pointless, she already knew that. Despite it all, she was… resigned… Her mind turned to the Dragon Balls, hopeful that… that they'd bring her back.
Will my Trunks come back with me?
The fear was real as she stared up at the monster looming over her. Past him, Vegeta was trying to crawl back to some semblance of his front, even to try and push himself up.
"Vegeta!" Raditz barked. "This is the part I need you to watch. Now… how did Nappa do this part? It was a mountain he dropped, wasn't it? Well, I don't have any mountains nearby. But there is this building, isn't there?"
Red energy flowed into his hand as Bulma just looked up at him, her good arm trying to hold the limp one. Finally, she broke. Getting up, she moved to go, to run from the side of the building as quickly as she could. When the blow landed, Raditz's arm shooting out, backhanding her, the entirety of the vision on her left side vanished. It'd hit her so hard she felt bone snap and her skull almost buckle. There was a moment where she knew her nose was jetting with blood before she hit the ground, until the entire world became… a kind of slow, lucid agony. Shock settled in immediately as her eyes could do nothing but look forward, even though she could only see out of one eye.
Absently, she felt her son kick.
"Failure is not tolerated, Vegeta," Raditz's words oozed out as his eyes stared coldly at her, red energy crackling in his hand. "And neither is weakness. You remember that, don't you?"
The last thing Bulma could remember seeing, was a flash.
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Raditz:
This wasn't unfamiliar. The killing, or more accurately… the murder. The wind caught around him as the firestorm raging across a third of the city sent a warm gust past the cool November air. This time he wasn't hesitating, especially now that Vegeta was here, watching it. Something was off however. There was almost something he could sense brewing beneath the surface of the ki around him.
Kakarot has defeated Turles.
That was the first thing he noticed.
That meant he needed to be quick. The woman was already grievously injured, dragging this out any longer wasn't an option. Red energy crackled around his hand before he pointed it at the nearby building, the Capsule Corporation. The blast alone would kill her, but burying the body in the rubble would be adequate. He'd leave Vegeta to dig her out once the blast went off.
"Failure is not Tolerated, Vegeta," Raditz mocked, remembering the phrase his former Prince had told him before he'd unleashed Nappa to slaughter Violet. "And neither is weakness. You remember that, don't you?"
When he pointed his hand just past Bulma, Raditz quietly apologized to the woman, though not verbally in any sense. It was just poor decisions, which lead to poor outcomes. The wrong place, at the wrong time. Just as he was about to discharge the energy blast, a raw power overwhelmed his senses and the world flickered to golden light.
His arm shot into the air as the bolt was fired straight up. Golden energy wrapped around the white gloved hand which had knocked it up. Suddenly, his senses went wild as his eyes turned to Vegeta in shock, seeing the furious blue-green eyes of the Saiyan Prince. For a brief moment, he froze in place as Vegeta's fist connected with the centre of his mass. The detonating impact of the blow sent Raditz sliding back a half dozen metres, his feet ripping up the grass as he remained standing, but his whole body flexing back from the force of the blow.
"Raditz," Vegeta seethed, his eyes locking onto his with a fury even Raditz had never seen from the Saiyan noble. "I have been shamed, broken, and beaten by Frieza, Kakarot, and Turles. And all of them are a thousand time the warrior you could ever hope to be! But my pride will not be tarnished by you."
Standing in front of the woman, Vegeta's body pulsed with power before the heavens above started to swirl at the motion of his power. The golden light around him became more intense as his hands clenched together tightly, his entire body shaking. Raditz had seen this twice before, and his mouth fell ajar at what happened next.
Golden hair flickered into the air as the familiar pulsing thrum of the Super Saiyan aura filled the air. Vegeta's triumphant, yet furious cry echoed around the city as the entire world seemed to shake.
When it died down and all that remained standing was… was the legendary Super Saiyan, Raditz stepped back in a combination of aw and fear as he sensed Vegeta's true power flowing around them. Waves of dirt and debris were picked up by the pulsing waves of energy, sweeping over everything. The Prince didn't even spare a glance towards the woman while he stared dead at him.
"I am Prince Vegeta, your rightful master. I am the Legendary Super Saiyan!"
No. NO! Not now, not like this!
It wasn't that he was about to die, Raditz had accepted that before this even started. It was that his revenge… the only thing he now had left, had just been pried from his fingertips. The moment of fulfilment, had just turned into his greatest disappointment. Even now, he closed his eyes with pain as he tried to keep himself standing.
Violet. I failed.
Turning his gaze back up towards Vegeta, Raditz felt his chest heaving furiously as he tried to grab what power he still had within himself. All of that hatred, all of that rage, bubbled to the surface as he stared at the Saiyan Prince, his teeth were grinding together as Raditz threw caution to the wind.
Forming energy in his hands, Raditz unleashed a dozen Tuesday Firstrikes, each one as much aimed at Vegeta, as it was at the unconscious woman. The golden light around the Super Saiyan simply pulsed, and the fiery orbs in the air dimmed, before vanishing, as if they'd been quenched and swept into the wind. Raditz's lungs winced along with his face as his breath was caught by what just happened.
Before he could even think to make another move, Vegeta's fist almost punched through his face. When his body flew backwards, he screamed in surprise and alarm. Never in his life, had he been hit so hard. He felt his cheek crack, and the force of the blow was so strong he couldn't resist the force carrying him away in the slightest. While he tore through several layers of concrete and light building materials, his body was doused in the flames of the city itself, flames he had lit. Burns appeared across his body before he rolled to a stop after almost two kilometres.
The path his body left behind, he could stare through, seeing the pathway of pure destruction.
Staggering to his feet, Raditz was standing only long enough for Vegeta to appear in front of him, his leg already three quarters extended into a kick. When it landed, Raditz found himself sailing upwards, his body shredding through five buildings before he fell out of the sky, crashing into the side of a half-destroyed apartment complex.
Before he could even think to pull himself out of the wall he was imbedded in, Vegeta had grabbed him by the face, throwing him down towards the hardened asphalt ground below. When his body slapped face first into the pavement and rolled to the side, he felt his entire body convulse several times. The last of his power had been beaten out of him in three moves before the Prince landed across from him.
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Vegeta:
This was what it was like to walk in the shoes of a god. The power at his fingertips was more than anything he'd ever imagined he could wield. It was as if he was standing atop the world, his power before all others. But it'd been born by the fact that this low-class wretch had done something he'd thought impossible. Raditz had humiliated him, and was in the process of destroying his property. The genuine truth was, the life of the woman and her child wasn't his concern. He didn't care, at least not for the reasons a human would. They had their love, their affection, and their fantasies about how their lives were destined to be together and all the other nonsense. That was soft, just like a hundred soft species he'd exterminated.
No, Raditz had left him helpless on the ground… broken. That was his breaking point. The creature born of revenge in front of him, now barely able to sit up, let alone fight, had been the last humiliation he could handle. Trying to force him to relive Radtiz's failure was too much. Because it was Raditz's failure, and not his. He enjoyed, ordering that woman to die. Just as now he enjoyed leaving Raditz as he was, broken on the ground without any hope. Part of him almost didn't want to kill Raditz, if only to leave him to suffer.
"That was my property," Vegeta remarked dryly, walking past Raditz's broken body as Vegeta revelled in his power. "Did you really think I would let you destroy something that belonged to me, Raditz?"
Spitting some of the blood out of his mouth, Raditz glared at him intensely. The hatred was still there, burning in his eyes. That was probably the most satisfying thing about all of this. At the bottom of the outcomes, again. Even his revenge was denied, it was perfect.
"What's even more pathetic is you think I love, or care about the woman in the same way you cared about that miserable creature you loved. Do you really think I'm that weak, Raditz?" Vegeta's voice carried through with amusement and scorn in equal measures. "If you want to know the truth, I don't even care about her. I left her because she was becoming too much of a nuisance. Her value to me was over. I only even came here to protect her, really just to deny you, if you must know. Because you are a nothing, Raditz."
Trying to get up, Raditz slipped already, falling back down on his ass as he heard the Saiyan growl, his hatred trying to bring up an ability he simply didn't have. Perhaps it was time to be truthful, if only because he wanted to let Raditz know the degree of his failure.
"I enjoyed killing that woman. I laughed at how weak you were, and I still do. Oh, and Raditz? I'm going to enjoy killing you as well."
Pointing his hand up to finish things, there was only a few seconds for him to gather the energy required to finish this joke of a Sayian. Blue light started to emerge all around them as Vegeta felt the strength of being a Super Saiyan really come to the fore. The power he possessed now must have put him to parity with Kakarot and Turles. In his own mind, that meant he was vastly past them. The two fools were just as primitive as Raditz if not more so.
Out of the corner of his eye, Vegeta could see Kakarot's form standing there, his body covered in battle damage and his attire shredded. Clearly, Raditz's distraction had taken its toll on him. The fact that he'd still come to save this piece of garbage spoke volumes of how foolish Kakarot was.
"You know, Kakarot," Vegeta remarked before Kakarot could say a word. "This creature just destroyed half of this city. Better yet, you also know why he forced you to kill Turles. I also suspect more than a few innocent people died at the start, didn't they?"
It was the use of language that could acquire the appropriate results. To be frank, he didn't want, or need Kakarot to intervene in his affairs at the moment. If Kakarot were here, he very much doubted Turles survived their encounter. Which meant that it was down to him and Kakarot. They would be the last pure blooded Saiyans alive in a few moments.
"Raditz," Kakarot's voice opened up, as Vegeta was being ignored.
There were no congratulations at his new power. On top of that, Kakarot didn't even reference that he was a Super Saiyan now as well. There was a bitterness that immediately swelled in Vegeta's chest as he glared at Kakarot. It almost started another fight there and then.
"What have you done?" Kakarot's voice sounded far sterner than Vegeta had expected.
The long haired Saiyan looked over to Kakarot with a look of sadness and regret which Vegeta thought was fitting. Now here came the sob story. Oh Kakarot, he killed someone I liked! Kakarot, I didn't realize I was too weak to even kill some human. Kakarot, I didn't mean it. Honestly, Vegeta was looking forward to the excuses that were about to flow out of the mouth of this moron.
"What I had to," Raditz said with a degree of honesty Vegeta hadn't expected. "And I'd do it all again. My only regret is that I failed."
A brazen statement. Vegeta's eyes darted to Kakarot, his hand still outstretched as the other Saiyan just looked at Raditz with a shake of his head. Pressing his two fingers to his forehead, Kakarot looked back at Vegeta.
"I'm going to go help Bulma," he remarked. "Do whatever you were going to do with him."
When Kakarot disappeared, Vegeta was left with an odd sensation. Even Kakarot was leaving his brother behind. The last of the bridges to burn, were burned. When Vegeta turned his eyes to the older Saiyan, he could see Raditz almost choking as he tried to keep himself restrained. Yes, there it was. The shame and disgrace were there for everyone to see. He suspected Raditz hadn't wanted to live to see that moment, or at least Raditz had expected to achieve something in exchange for it.
The Super Saiyan aura still flowed around him as Raditz turned his resentful eyes towards him. There was an important decision to make here. It was a matter of weighing his options. Raditz had just tried to kill him, and had nearly done so, all while trying to acquire his petty revenge against him for something so small. He'd been incompetent and tried to kill a woman Vegeta didn't really care about, but had tarnished his pride enough for him to achieve something he'd dreamed of since the time he was a child.
But what's more, Raditz's life on this Earth would be a lonely one. Even Kakarot had discarded him. Now here he was, a broken man with no future. The only thing he could hope for would be the honourable death Vegeta was about to give him. Defeated and disgraced, those were the only things he had.
Lowering his hand, Vegeta gave Raditz a smirk, turning his back on him, beginning to lift into the air to fly back to the woman's building.
"Wait," Raditz rasped, trying to get up to be some kind of threat to him. "Get back here. We aren't finished."
Turning in the air, Vegeta gave Raditz a look of amusement.
"No, Raditz, I think we are. I don't see any need to kill you at the moment. You're not a threat to me at all. And I told you, I only fought to defend the woman because you wanted to kill her. Your nothing to me, and now you're nothing to anyone else either. I think its more fitting this way, don't you?"
Raditz seethed, he could almost see the hate rising off of him as the large Saiyan stood up, before slipping and falling on his front.
"You bastard! Finish it!"
"No," Vegeta responded, before launching himself back through the pathway Raditz's body had made. "You deserve to rot while you are still breathing, Raditz."
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Author's Notes:
Well, lots of stuff in the aftermath to deal with now. Isn't there? Turles, Raditz, Vegeta, and even Bulma all have a lot to deal with. I actually like the idea that Vegeta leaves Raditz to live, because he knows that it's the worst outcome… for Raditz. I love how much they hate each other, lol.
We also now have three participants in the Super Saiyan Club. That's another fun thing too. Plotting out characters and how they change from the events that happen to them, how they change from the stimuli they experience, is really interesting to me. So, Vegeta's character development really has to differ from the series, but so does Bulma's as well. They won't really end up being the same characters in terms of their arcs, their paths just diverge too much from the canon. We're sculpted by what we go through, and our environments. This stuff always happens when you write differing timelines, I find... This applies to everyone, really, but those are obviously the most pronounced from this particular event.
Big plot points will be coming up for… Raditz, Turles, Piccolo, and Vegeta for the Android Saga and the road towards it. I'm gonna be doing a lot of build chapters for these characters on the path to the Androids arrival. I'm quite excited, personally, lol.
If there was a song that best fit this chapter, it'd be Duck and Run, by 3 Doors Down.
I've been making a lot of content later. Generally smaller chapters, but one's which are pointed, and very direct. I want every chapter to move the story forward and be focused where it should be to progress things where they need to go. So, in general I'm "only" making 10 page chapters at the moment, barring really important ones, such as this. This is the case for by The Long Road and The Catalyst. In general, I'm trying to keep my profile up to date with where I'm at.
Just because I've been building towards this chapter for six god damn years, please let me know what you think! lol
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Reviewers:
Guest1: Yea, Bulma going from convenient piece of meat and useful idiot to "property" is an upgrade. Lol
FabDuwangIsFab: No Raditz/Bulma for this fic, sorry, lol. Sadly, Bulma might have been better off if that was the case. lol
Blades of Fury: In some sense, Raditz is lost, at least for a while. Even though he survived this, its crippled him, not physically, but mentally I suspect. He gave his all for one goal, and it became ash.
Thomas-The-TMC: Yea, I loved writing that part, lol. Violet is vindictive, she'd actually want this, lol.
SpiderGod766: Thanks! I'm glad my writing's gotten better on every level. But, well, after 1.3 million words, I'd hope it had, lol.
Guest2: Raditz lucked out that Vegeta though he'd suffer more living with his shame and failure, than killing him. Though honestly, I think Vegeta would consider pulling the trigger on him for any reason at this point. Turles is in a similar boat, though not as bad as Raditz. I never thought I'd write that one, lol.
Super Mystic Gohan: I hope this was epic enough. :)
Warga: He did beat the shit out of Vegeta. He did something Vegeta couldn't accept, he outsmarted and outfought him, despite being weaker. Raditz's problem was his revenge blinded him so much he had to try and drag things out once he got the upper hand.
DarkFalconZ: Indeed he did!
Ssj1998: Turles and Goku didn't get as much of the light, on purpose, just because this chapter is really about Vegeta and Raditz. The inverted of what you were expecting happened, lol. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint, lol.
Jason9000: This is a great and accurate description of Bulma and Vegeta at the moment. I love when you put "he's denying Raditz his revenge just to be a giant asshole". 99% correct, lmao.
Guest3: When did Raditz get a chance to get the Dragon Balls? He barely understands how they work, and I think he's too ashamed to ask anyone for help with anything regarding this. He barely had the courage to ask Turles, and eventually had to screw him into the battle.
PetrusMagnus: I think it's a bit of both, but mostly a coincidence.
Narelclollie: Thanks!
OuterSpaceHooker: I hope your not as stressed.
DragonballC: Turles and Raditz don't have a lot of perks after this…
Guest4: Years. YEARS. And sadly, it's probably not gonna work, lol.