Yo! Son Goku and friends! Saiyan Saga (Chapter 11)
Raditz
Goku and Raditz threw wild strikes at each other with closed eyes. King Kai looked on, impressed. Gregory floated by unimpressed. Bubbles monkeyed around in a goofy stride, taking bites from his banana.
Ki Sensing sends out pulses of the user's ki and it pings off of objects that are laced with it. The North Kai Version of Ki Sensing the two brothers are using now draw thin lines of the environment with larger pools of colour for things that possess ki. King Kai, Raditz, and Goku are very visible while Gregory and Bubbles are not so much. Goku draws lines of orange with his ki while Raditz draws lines of pink in his mind.
"Yeah! I like this way, better! Thanks for the tips, King Kai!" Goku shouted as he dodged a dashing elbow from his brother.
Goku paced around as Raditz whiffed and landed on the tree. The older brother bounded off the tree and landed in a front roll.
"What kind of Ki Sensing were you using before, Goku?"
"I was just doing what felt natural after I drank the Ultra Divine Water."
"You just came up with Ki Sensing on your own?"
"Yeah!" Goku laughed out goofily before he and his brother clashed in the middle, ripples of air coming off of their strikes. "This way is better though!"
"What was it like before?"
"Splotchy! Hard to see! I had a hard time determining the power of what I was sensing!"
"Ahhhh. Rorschach."
"Ror-what?" Goku questioned as he dipped low again, causing Raditz to miss his right roundhouse.
"Low level Ki Sensing, don't worry about it, you won't ever need to use it again!"
"I mean who knows, maybe that ror-whatever is good for other things!"
"Doubtful."
"GAH!" Goku yelped as Raditz connected clean with a left roundhouse, causing him to shoot like a bullet at King Kai's house.
"Ooh~oh-ho!"
"You imbeciles are gonna wreck my house!"
"Whoop!" He exclaimed as he hit a quick backhandspring to vault onto the roof.
"Thank goodness, I was gonna have to blow your hairline back a few if you ruined my home."
"Hee-hee-haugh-haugh!"
"I'm not finished yet, Kakarot!"
Raditz leaped from the grass and threw another left roundhouse which Goku blocked effortlessly with his right forearm. Goku threw a gut punch with his left in response, keeling Raditz over before he hit a spinning back thrust kick with his right just like he did with Piccolo.
"Guoff!" Raditz let out as he flopped back onto the grass.
Goku crouched low before launching a scissor kick at his brother in a quick one-two. Raditz defended against both like it was another day in the office and jammed his right elbow at his brother's jaw. Goku flipped around in a tumble and laughed.
"Good! That's enough for now."
Raditz walked over and offered his hand, Goku accepted with a smile. King Kai strutted around the grass with his head held high in thought.
"You two have improved greatly since you've been here."
"Huh-hah! Thanks a lot King Kai."
"I think it's about time I teach you boys ki blast defence."
"Alright! I finally get to learn the parries!" Goku jumped up with glee.
Raditz rolled his eyes with a smirk.
"I said this before, Goku, but I need to instill you with the basics of Ki Sourcing before I can teach you how to parry. Raditz, we're teaching you Ki Blast Dissolving, so your training will be different and based more on Kiai."
King Kai stepped forward and separated the two brothers.
"Goku, you go inside. I'm going to work with Raditz first on how to perform a Kiai."
"You bet!" Goku replied with a thumbs up before passing through the doorway.
"So what's on the agenda, Blue Man?"
"Kiai is using one's own force of will to enact upon the world. Kiai is the basis of the ultimate ki technique used by the gods: Hakai."
"What's Hakai?"
"The user banishes the target from existence." King Kai let out through laughs almost like he didn't believe it himself. "They simply cease to exist. Even if they would still go to Other World upon death Hakai denies that reality for them."
"You gonna teach us Hakai?" Raditz asked as a shit-eating grin crept across his face.
"No. I am not capable of performing the technique so there's no way I could teach it to you."
The burly Saiyan's brow furrowed at the statement.
"Now. Form a picture in your mind of your striking range." King Kai commanded as he walked to the front of his student.
Raditz pondered for a moment.
"Right now, you cannot hit me. You would have to move forward or cast a beam to make contact with my figure. Strike."
King Kai waved Raditz in with his hand. The Saiyan responded in kind with a deep breath.
FOOSH!
His right straight cut the air but did not send anything toward his master.
"Good. One of the building blocks of Kiai is your ability to make that snapping sound as you punch outwards. Take that feeling and expand it with your ki."
FSH!
The wind expanded a fair deal but there was no striking power behind it, just gusts.
"Okay! I've got it!" Raditz shouted with conviction. "DAH!"
Upon the release of his war cry a strong pocket of wind shot out of his left straight, just in time, King Kai dodged the bullet of air and it impacted with the tree by the well, carving off some of the bark.
"Wheeeeew~" The Kai whistled out. "Good work Raditz, go fetch your brother and practice your Kiai on your own."
Raditz looked down at his left palm before smiling and closing it.
Krillin
"Come on Krillin! You got this!" Yamcha shouted from the ledge, sitting on it very haphazardly.
Krillin's focus was drawn on all sides at once as the white cat mirages dashed around every which way. One of the small beasts leaped at the turtle hermit student but he struck it with his right leg in a hook kick. Upon contact and the whooshing sound of the air another cat entered his striking range, only to be snuffed out also by a hook with his right hand. At that moment Korin jumped from the cat aether and bonked his staff on the head of Krillin.
"Dah!"
"Your focus is good, but you strike too easily at what you perceive to be a threat."
"Damn, so this is how it feels huh?" Krillin laughed out as he rubbed the back of his bald head.
"Think clearly, Krillin..." His gravelly voice commanded as he stepped back into the furry unknown of dozens of cats.
Vshhhhh~
The Cat Hermit style of Ki Sensing is one of the best variations for close range combat. As it sends out ki pulses very close to the user, mimicking cats' whiskers and granting the body heightened reaction time once the enemy enters the sensing range. There is a visual ring indicator that appears around the user with Korin's symbol.
The cats dashed rapidly and Krillin closed his eyes. An enemy entered the ring but Krillin kept composed, a white cat launched a leaping kick but the After-Image dissipated upon contact and the turtle hermit student nodded.
Krillin stood stoic among the cat hoard and finally capitalised on his last moment, catching Korin's staff with his left hand. Korin smirked a bit and congratulated the young man.
"Finally, I got nothin' left to teach you boys. You've run the gambit with what I have in store, you've got nowhere to go but up."
"Korin." He leaped off the railing.
"Hmm?"
"What about that other water you gave Goku?"
"Uhhhh. How do you know about that?"
"Goku told us after the 23rd." Tien chimed in.
"The Ultra Divine Water… Why do you want it so bad?"
"I need to surpass my limits. We've got no time to waste!"
Krillin looked at Yamcha, and then Tien with a worrisome expression about him.
"Well. The Ultra Divine Water is a dangerous tool, Yamcha. Out of all 14 people who have drank the water, only Goku has survived its toxic effects."
"Doesn't matter to me! We need the ability to hang with the Saiyans. If what Goku says is right, they're about 10 times as strong as the one he and Tien fought."
Tien met Krillin's anxious gaze and looked unnerved himself.
"Fine. Guys like you can't be persuaded by the truth. Just don't say I didn't warn you." Korin stated as he waddled over to a large drum of water.
"This it?" Yamcha questioned as he looked at his reflection.
"No. This is a portal to the Cave of Darkness. Off ya go!" Korin slapped Yamcha's back with his staff and The Wolf fell in with a howl.
"Dah!" Tien exclaimed dumbly. "What's gonna happen to him in there!?"
"You can come if you wanna find out."
"Damn it, Yamcha." Krillin cursed, cannonballing into the jug, only to cause minor ripples with his full body.
"I guess I have no other options, see you in a few." Tien saluted with his index and middle finger as he climbed into the pot.
Chiaotzu flew in without a word. A small droplet of water ringing out quietly.
Bloip!
Yamcha
The Wolf entered the water in the pot only to come out the other side into a black abyss. The gelatinous liquid could not hold his form and he started to descend. The surface tension of the water tore apart at a slow crawl before bursting. A squelching noise played out in response as Yamcha thudded on the unknown ground before him. Yamcha took a second to catch his breath and looked around at the nothingness before him.
For some reason Yamcha could see his own body perfectly but the true black landscape offered no view of anything. Not even the liquid he came in with.
"Whoa, where am I?"
"You."
"Huh?"
"You… Are trash."
"Say that again!"
"You don't believe in yourself, but that view is valid as you have nothing worth believing in."
Yamcha looked around feverishly into the black beyond with his brow sharpened in anger.
"I'm not slowing down for you."
Tien appeared in front of Yamcha, a declaration with his right index. The Wolf was stunned, and his heart was wounded. Yamcha took a bunch of back steps reflexively at the statement.
"No…"
"Stone the fuck up, Wolf."
Yamcha looked to Tien with unease and took his stance.
"We both know you'll fight and struggle but ultimately accomplish nothing, like all those times you lost in the quarter finals. How pathetic."
Yamcha's energy to lashback seemed to be drained. The words hurt but were difficult to get angry at. Tien just smiled back, happy as a clam while taking his crane stance, stomping on the black ground below him and then leaning away.
Yamcha, Krillin, Tien and Chiaotzu VS Darkness
Objective: Obtain the Ultra Divine Water/ Overcome your limitations!
A squelching sound echoed lowly throughout the darkness and droplets fell onto Yamcha's thick hair.
Tien gave Yamcha no quarter and launched into a barrage of crane strikes. The snappy nature of the attack put The Wolf on guard immediately. The pressure of the pinpointed stikes struck quickly, dealing massive damage to Yamcha as Tien landed an echoing right roundhouse. The Wolf was blasted away and Krillin landed on top of him in a tumble. Yamcha felt wetness for only a moment and then all of the liquid on his and Krillin's clothing seemed to evaporate like nothing had happened.
"Hmm."
Tien took a roundabout look at the new combatant and smiled.
"Krillin, don't leave me in here with her."
Tien stated as he pointed at Yamcha, laughing loudly.
"You okay, Champ?"
Yamcha struggled to his feet, worry clear to see on his face. Krillin grimaced at his friend's lack of resolve and took up the turtle stance with his right arm held high. Yamcha breathed out a shaky breath, also taking up his stance.
Tien took a moment to breath and stance up himself, 2 arms growing out of his back in a terrifying display. The figure smiled before rushing the pair.
Tien's crane strikes were blindingly fast with four pairs of arms to use. Yamcha was fought back with only his bottom left arm while Krillin was left to deal with 3 cranes jabbing like crazy in his face. Krillin's arms were beaten brutally at the assault before Tien shot out his left leg like a gun at Yamcha.
WHOKK!
The Wolf was thrown for a loop and slid along the black nothingness. Krillin gulped as now all four of Tien's arms were freed up to attack. Krillin positioned for the maneuver and shouted:
"Solar~Flaare!"
Tien just smirked and gut punched deep with his bottom right, folding over Krillin. He strong-armed the turtle student's neck with his bottom left and lifted him up high. His upper arms drew back and started to fire away like machine guns.
Ratatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatata!
At that moment the ooze started to ooze and Tien's form came into being at the top of the darkness. Tien scoffed and disappeared. Only moments later Tien landed on the ground gracefully in a combat roll. He looked around and examined his wounded friends from his starting position.
"Krillin! Yamcha! Are you guys alright!?"
Before the crane student could take a step, Goku appeared before him.
"Unbelievable."
Is all Goku could let out as he shook his head.
"Goku?"
Goku took on the turtle stance before blitzing Tien with immaculate speed. The figure fired off a right hook which Tien skillfully backstepped.
"Interesting."
Goku let out with a smile, his voice booming through the darkness even though it should have only come from where his figure was standing. Tien's bottom two eyes locked onto his target but his third examined the black nothingness around him feverishly
Tien launched a barrage of crane strikes with his left arm and Goku blocked competently with his right before looking to jam an elbow at his opponent's skull. Tien ducked in time and his foe flew past.
"Dodon Ray!" Tien exclaimed as he fired a thin stream of yellow light from his right index finger.
Goku dipped down low in a teardrop and dashed like a madman at Tien's position. Tien took up the ninja handsign and let out a firm breath.
"Phu!"
Wind expelled from his position and Goku paused his assault at the flaring energy.
"That's not Goku." Tien thought to himself. "Is this some sort of test? I won't let them get the better of me."
At that moment Tien's third eye looked to the ceiling and noticed another being enter into the dungeon.
"Chiaotzu." Tien mused calmly, looking up.
The shifting figure dissipated and then reformed as a middle aged man with a black braid and mustache. He wore a long pink cloak with a red symbol on the front. Tien's gaze shifted back down.
"I see." Tien stated loudly as he took on his crane stance.
Chiaotzu floated down slowly to his friend's position before gasping.
"You take on the forms of those we know. Whoever you are."
"You're the only man here, Tien. You hold no fear or anxieties. These fools only slow down your progress."
"Don't talk about my friends like that."
Chiaotzu was shaking a bit, very tense. The pink garbed man paced for a moment with his hands behind his back. He raised his brow and turned to see Krillin charging from behind.
"You've been outpaced by Goku! You've never once accomplished anything, Krillin! Know your place!"
The harsh words only strengthened Krillin's resolve and he launched a long-jumping right roundhouse. The elder man backstepped with eyes wide. Tien capitalised and rushed with his right elbow. The man caught it with a left palm and shoved The Crane back forcefully before brushing his braid to the side.
Chiaotzu floated up high and gathered a yellow stream of light in his hand.
"Dodon Ray!" He shouted.
The man just smiled and took it on the mouth, receiving no damage. Chiaotzu's eyes widened and his spirit was weakened. Krillin looked at the display and watched as the man leaped high into the air with intense speed and knocked Chiaotzu down with an elbow.
Fsht! KLOK!
"Dah!" Chaiotzu squeaked out as he tumbled to the ground.
DMM!
Krillin and Tien rushed as the man landed. The turtle threw spinning kicks while The Crane's fingertips snapped wildly. The braided man just smiled at the attempts and knocked back Krillin with a left knee strike. Krillin careened through the air and landed next to Yamcha. The elder man smiled once more and met Tien strike for strike with the jabs, wild wind and sharp sounds played out as they clashed.
Ratatatatattatatatatatatatatatata!
Tien's demeanor was unchanged and the braided man's focus was broken for a moment and his smile morphed into a frown.
"How?"
"You hold no power over me, Tao."
Upon his stoic words Tien sent his left knee up at Tao's face, landing the first real strike against whatever he was fighting. Following up he turned his body harshly and thrusted his left foot right into the stomach of his foe in a one-two. Tao was blown back a ways and skidded across the empty darkness.
Tao cracked his neck and returned to his behind-the-back stance, arms tucked in. Instead of a smile or a frown the braided man just wore a tired expression and blew a gust of wind at his braid.
"Come on Yamcha! He says lies! Don't believe him!" Krillin's voice rang out from behind the two.
"They're not lies, how could they be fake if they elicit such a reaction?"
Tao responded with a booming echo.
Chiaotzu floated next to Tien and took up a fighting stance.
"Stand next to me, Chaiotzu, have faith in your self."
The Emperor nodded and swallowed hard. Tao squinted his eyes with anger at Tien.
In a flash Tien was already in front of his foe, his right leg held high in a dramatic pose. Tao looked around in a hurry to assess the stance before the crane launched a devastating snap kick at his jaw. Tao's face was sent skyward and Tien attempted to follow up.
Tao straightened quick with bloodshot eyes and leaned into him face to face. In one moment of quickness Tao shot out his tongue and stabbed it into Tien's third eye.
"Dahhh!" Tien screamed bloody murder and fell onto his back, causing Chaiotzu to lose faith and halt his advance.
"Your conviction is paper thin, it relies on the backbone of others, how pathetic."
"Chaiotzu!" Krillin roared as he leaped at Tao.
Tao weaved his right roundhouse effortlessly and the pair danced around in a circle.
"Come on guys, get your head in the game! We can't let him get in our heads!"
"Hmm. You're decent. You have anxieties but you still fight anyway."
Beads of sweat formulated on Krillin's head as he barely dodged the crane strikes Tao threw. Krillin looked for his moment and launched a high left kick at Tao's jaw, the force sent his head back and him on the defensive. Krillin leaped forward to feint but Tao saw through it and jammed his right elbow into the turtle's brow.
KLOK!
Krillin took the hit like a champ, tumbling into a cartwheel before launching right back at the mustached man. They threw flurries of strikes while Chaiotzu watched on with steadily rising conviction.
"Okay!"
Chiaotzu finally rushed in and piled on the hits from above with Kiai using his index fingers.
"Nuisance!"
Tao rang out with gritted teeth.
"You're not a nuisance Chaiotzu! Don't give in!"
"I won't!"
Upon his thunderous response, Tao seemed to lose power and stopped blocking all together, choosing to step back and retreat from the attacks.
"Yamcha please!" Krillin's voice boomed with commandment. "We need The Wolf! We can't win without him!"
His lifeless body seemed to have a spirit of some sort file in and The Wolf rose shakily using his arms. Tien grit his teeth harshly and stood up tall.
Tien joined and the three piled on the pressure, forcing Tao into a cornered position. His eyes scanned wildy and shouted with dominance.
"You've never been helpful before, why start now!?"
"People are counting on me…" Yamcha replied with a whisper.
The braided man let out a real smile as The Wolf dashed wildly. The four of them laid the smackdown in a combination maneuver:
Yamcha landed a clean palm strike at Tao's face, causing him to reel backwards. Tien followed up the hit with the volleyball fist. Sliding under him and sending him high into the air. Krillin sent Tao back to the black below with a backflip kick aimed at the man's spine. Upon the bounce Krillin inflicted Chiaotzu gathered a large beam in his hand and shot the Dodon Ray, cracking the figure into glassy pieces.
They all raised their brows at the strange event and a yellow-ish teapot materialised before their eyes.
"Well done."
A strange figure rose from the ground. A humanoid thing with white lines outlining its 'body'.
"Take the Ultra Divine Water, you earned it."
Tien looked around and attempted to pick it up.
"No, you are not allowed to pick it up. Let one of the others do it."
The Crane took a step back and Krillin looked to Yamcha. The Wolf swallowed and picked up the teapot.
Yamcha
Upon making contact with the device Yamcha and the group miraculously appeared back on the tower in front of the fountain.
"Well I'll be. Nice going boys."
"Uhh…"
"So you gonna drink it?"
"What?" Yamcha questioned, stunned.
"The water?" Korin shot back with sass.
"Oh. Yeah, sorry… I'm a little out of it right now."
The group looked to their surroundings with a bit of mysticism. Shielding their eyes from the bright blue light of the sky. Yamcha stared intently at the teapot as the white cat provided a cup for him to pour it in, so he did just that. Yamcha swallowed hard and stared at the indigo liquid as it swirled.
"Fuck it!" Yamcha screamed as he downed the liquid.
In a trance Yamcha even poured another cup and downed that one too.
"Hey! Slow down kid, Goku barely survived one glass!"
"Deuagh!" Krillin yelped involuntarily.
"Goouuff~" Yamcha exclaimed as he slammed onto the floor.
"Yamcha, you dumbass!" Tien yelled, running over to The Wolf who was now cradling in fetal position.
"Ggh! Gu-gu~ Ack!" Yamcha sputtered out gibberish as the trio stared on in disbelief.
"Why would you do that, Yamcha!?"
"I- guh- ggh~" His eyes glazed over and he started shaking.
"What do we do!?" The turtle student yelled at the cat.
"Nothing."
"Don't give me that!" Krillin commanded as he grabbed hold of the white cat's fur.
"There's nothing we can do. You can't expel the Ultra Divine Water, it's a toxin as well as a blessing. It's magic, I can't even expel it."
"So you just watched 13 people die!?"
"It was their choice, all of them had to conquer their demons in the Cave of Darkness. You can't even consume the Ultra Divine Water if you don't do that!"
Krillin looked back to the convulsing Yamcha and scampered over to his friend.
"Come on Yamcha… speak to me."
Yamcha held out his hand to stop him, and Krillin stared back, perplexed.
"GACK!" Yamcha coughed out some black tar from his mouth.
"Alright. It looks like the little wolf boy is still with us." Korin stated as he stomped his brown staff on the floor.
"Whoa…" Yamcha's vision zoomed in and out, disorienting him heavily as he tried to stand.
The Wolf fell down to the ground immediately.
"Heh-heh. I think I need to sit down."
Yamcha stared out into the tower with a looney look about him.
"Just great, did we turn Yamcha into a vegetable?"
Korin shrugged his shoulders and Krillin's head fell into his hands.
"So anybody else gonna drink that?"
Tien looked around at Chiaotzu and Krillin and spoke for the group:
"Nah, I think we're good."
"Hmm."
"We can't risk it. Yamcha's really dumb for almost jeopardising our mission like that." Krillin let out with a sigh.
"Jeopardising what?" Yamcha shot back.
"Yamcha." Tien, relieved a bit.
"We need as much power as we can get. If I need to risk it for the biscuit I will. I'm not gonna slow you guys down anymore…" He stated with adamancy.
Tien smiled and Krillin looked on with mixed feelings. The Crane propositioned his hand to help up The Wolf and The Wolf accepted gracefully.
"Oop~"
"I gotcha."
Tien grabbed hold of Yamcha mid-fall and put his arm tight around his shoulder.
"You're ready now."
The white cat stood at the ledge and pointed up high into the air with his staff.
"I've contacted Kami, the Guardian of Earth. He's ready to receive you boys. Here."
The white cat threw a jingling set of bells to the group, Krillin catching it with some intrigue.
Ling-del-ling~
"What's this for?"
"It's so that Kami knows what's up. He already met you guys at the 23rd but it's kind of a running joke between us."
Krillin's mixed frown turned up and he smiled a great deal, looking to the rest of the group with conviction.
"Now go on and show him what you're made of."
"I'm gonna kick his pasty green ass!" Yamcha stated with some pride and a tightly balled fist.
"You like beating on the elderly?"
"That's not what I meant, Tien."
"What did you mean?"
"I just~"
"What else could you have even meant?"
"Bruh I'm just hype to-"
"Beat up on old people? I didn't know it was like that, Yamcha."
"Shut up, bro." Yamcha laughed out as the four of them ascended into the aether.
Vegeta
The room was drenched in a deep ominous low light red. It was a cylindrical space that went quite high vertically. A man with a widow's peak kneeled on the ground with his eyes closed. He had a band on his left arm. No shirt, only a gold cape with a large red insignia on it. The symbol had a trident type shape at the top that was led by dotted lines with a half circle cupping it underneath. The man wore white boots with gold trim on the toes and tight blue leggings.
"Turn on the program, Nappa."
"Of course, Prince Vegeta." Nappa replied immediately, pressing hard on the console commands.
VVVVVVVVVVVV~
A low hum fired off in response to Nappa's touch and the prince's hair pressed down from its previously impressive spikes. Vegeta's muscles tensed and his veins showed through the skin. He flexed his entire being as the pressure bared down on him. The console read as follows:
Gravity: 10 Times
Nappa looked on with a stoic demeanor, he scratched the bottom of his chin and felt on his goatee for a moment.
"AGHHHHH!" The Prince wailed as he bore the brunt of the assault.
His muscles tensed again and streams of light poured out of him in increments. Small orbs of extra ki floated off of his body. He struck the air.
WSHHH!
"DAHHH!" He screamed.
WSH! FSH! SWOOSH! FSHFSH! WHUuuu-FSH-FSH!
Vegeta lit the air round him with fast strikes. Flurries of punches and kicks caused some wind to blow around in the chamber. He went at it for a while before turning his attention to the ceiling.
"Nappa!"
"Yes Prince?"
"20!"
Nappa closed his eyes and swallowed harshly. He pressed the button with a little bit of hesitation and the room beared down with far more pressure. Vegeta looked to burst at the seams but he stood his ground and lowered into a squat. He led with his left leg in a wide pose. His left hand was outstretched in front of him in an open claw-like shape. His right hand was tucked by his stomach in a clenched fist. Vegeta breathed in deep and then launched at the wall.
He sprinted with heavy stomps at the edge of the room and leaped onto the wall, his momentum slowed a tad on contact and he slid for a small distance before rebounding and stampeding upward in a wall-run.
DM!DM!DM!DM!DM!DM!
This is a Saiyan gravity chamber. They stole these from the Tuffles in a war against them before they were subjugated by the Cold Estate. The technology is not yet perfected and can easily cave in on itself as early as 20 times gravity even though it can go up to 200. Vegeta has never reached the ceiling at 20 times gravity.
The Prince ran doggedly up the wall as the invisible force crashed into him. His steps slowed as he neared the top. So close yet so far, the weight of the gravity finally caught up to Vegeta and his feet stalled
"Rgh!" He grunted out.
Vegeta's brow sharpened intensely and he grit his teeth, he lowered his stance and placed his tail onto the wall for leverage. Nappa stared on with dreadful eyes. His hand hovered over the button labeled:
Disengage Gravity
A stream of blood shot out of Vegeta's like a rocket under the intense pressure and The Prince's vision began to warp.
"Come On!" Vegeta shouted in a guttural roar.
He stomped forward with slow steps, only moments away from touching the top. On the last step his leg stopped right in the air and Vegeta cursed himself. His foot landed eventually but he gained no ground and started sliding down.
Skweeeeeeeeeeeeee!
"Damn it!" He screeched.
Vegeta crashed into the ground with a bombastic impact, caving in the metal flooring. Nappa turned off the gravity after and walked over to the door. He pressed a blue button on the side and they slid open. Vegeta elected to lay on the ground and breathe heavily. He took a moment's reprieve before looking to Nappa.
"What are you looking at, Trash? You could never do this in a million years. I don't want to hear any lip." His words had a sharp bite to them.
Nappa looked away from The Prince and towards the wall.
"This is exactly what I didn't want." Nappa made sure to keep to himself, he sighed heavily before exiting the room.
It took a while for Vegeta to sit up, he positioned his hand on his knee to stand. He brushed off a bit of dust and metal from his cape and left.
Nappa waited for him outside the door with his arms crossed.
"Let's go, Nappa. I'm going to go talk to father about seeing if I can get some saibamen for our expedition."
"Pardon me, Prince, but do you think Emperor Cold is going to approve our time off? It's already been 6 months since you talked to Lord Frieza about it."
"If he doesn't within the year then I'll take my chances and just go anyway. If I die, so be it. Only those with no ambition like my good-for-nothing father would just sit idly by under Frieza's whack-ass rule."
Nappa's brow sharpened at the mention of The King. His fists tightened ever so slightly.
The pair strided through the many hallways with quick steps. Many Saiyans nodded, bowed, and saluted as The Prince gallantly walked by. All he could do was scoff at their attempts. The two eventually reached the throne room. It had four steps up to the throne. Red carpet laid out nicely on the stairs. There were two humongous crimson banners, one on each side of the chair. The same symbol on Vegeta's cape. A row of columns supported the ceiling and averted attention to the Saiyan throne.
A man that looked strikingly similar to Vegeta stood talking to another man. His hair was a deep brown, instead of The Prince's black. He had a large brown beard and wore the Saiyan armour white with blue tights and a matching long sleeve. He had white gloves, and boots like the prince. His armour had the gold pauldrons but no waist coverage. His cape was red, not gold, but still had the symbol on it. He turned to The Prince and had a melancholic smile about it. His conversation partner just saluted and left promptly.
"Any word on Caulifla?" He questioned.
"I could get anyone in the region, father, it would be easiest if my wife couldn't raise a hand against me."
The King's brow furrowed a tad and he lost the smile.
"Where are the Saibamen, father? I have an expedition I'm going on soon and I would like to have the possible backup."
"You've never been the type to ask for that son. Why do you need to rely on them now?"
"I'm not relying on them."
King Vegeta breathed out a heavy sigh.
"Saiyan's have to stick together, Vegeta, Lord Frieza and Emperor Cold don't make it easy on us. Our people would respect you more if you made your moves more clear to the-"
Vegeta completely sidelined his father.
"I don't care about the low-borns, father! I'm sure I made that clear enough! Those bastards sitting on the throne watch all day to see if we make any mistakes and are ready if we do! If we worry about the trash then we can't save the ones that matter! I've no idea why you can't see that!"
The King and The Prince stared at each other with intensity. Their chests were touching in a confrontational manner. The King let out a harsh breath through his nose and backed off.
"Son, I'm just worried how the people will receive you if you stand so adamantly against them. The Saibamen are in the back in the treasur-"
Vegeta interjected disrespectfully once more.
"Thanks." He said with a sarcastic bite. He stared with a killer intent at The King as he passed the banners and wall behind the throne for the treasury.
Nappa didn't follow, he stood in front of The King and kneeled.
"Get up, Nappa." King Vegeta commanded with an exhausted tone.
"I'm sorry, my liege." Nappa said sorrowfully.
"It's not your faul,t Nappa, I know you've tried your best to reign him in."
Nappa just sighed and looked to the banners above the throne.
"Everyone hates him, King. I really feel like the Saiyans would fall apart without your guidance. We're lucky we have someone like you to look up to since Lord Frieza and The Emperor are at our throats all the time."
The King placed a hand on the large Saiyan.
"I have to knock some sense into him somehow. I just don't know what'd do it."
Nappa agreed with a nod and just looked to the ground.
"Just do your best Nappa, that's all I can ask."
"Yes sir." Nappa responded immediately in a salute, the king fired back immediately by beating his hand on his chest twice and then transitioning into a peace sign.
Nappa grinned before heading off to the treasury.
The King took a moment to himself, staring deep into the Saiyan insignia on the flags. He crossed his arms and energy rolled off of him slowly with inspiration.
"The Saiyans conquered so many, we're just receiving the punishment for our crimes. How can we disagree with the Cold Estate's policy if they are just acting as we used to? I've no idea how we're going to get out of this mess." He mused, deep in thought.
At that moment, Bardock walked in, undoing his bandana. The King turned around and smirked wide.
"Hmph, you like shit, Bardock."
"Vampa whooped my ass." He responded with a cheeky grin.
The King was taken aback.
"Wasn't Vampa assigned a while ago?"
"Yep. There are some nasty creatures on that planet, power levels go into the 30,000s over there. Scary stuff. Ginyu and his boys are off doin' somethin' else and you know those lizards on the throne like to sit on their asses so it's just been grunts like me chippin' away at it for months."
"I'd hardly call you a grunt anymore Bardock, last I checked you were close to my son's battle power. 10,000, right?"
"13,900 now."
"My man." King Vegeta called out in a fist bump.
Bardock met the hand with his own while smiling.
"30,000s pretty crazy, I always knew you were a tough son of a bitch."
Bardock nodded.
"Where are you at you old bastard? Those green worms on Vampa could skyrocket your battle power. I came back to hit a rejuvenation chamber and give you the heads up."
The King thought to himself for a moment.
"Oh! And I brought these too. For the Saibaman mix."
Bardock presented some green fur, a black thorn-like object, yellow liquid, and red liquid all in 4 separate vials.
"You could throw these in the Saibamen mix and see if somethin' crazy pops out." Bardock suggested with a smirk and a raised brow.
The King let out a laugh-breath through his nostrils and snatched up the vials. He put them in his armour and took a moment to think.
"When are you headed out to Vampa?"
"Probably in an hour or so when I get out of the rejuvenation chamber."
The King looked to the ground for a moment before he met Bardock's eyes again.
"I'm going with you, and I'm taking Vegeta with me."
"Alright!" He replied with vigour, flexing his shoulders "I finally get to see The King in action again." Bardock patted Vegeta on the back hard, forcing him forward a bit.
"Sheesh! Don't tell me I've gotten so strong I can even beat your ass."
"In your dreams, Bardock." The King responded with a smile.
The two fathers laughed heartily as Vegeta and Nappa returned to the throne room.
"Hmph! What's so funny, father?"
"We're taking you to Vampa, kid, that's what's funny." Bardock laughed out.
Vegeta's brow scowled further.
"I have my own business to attend to." He lashed back with a little bit of anger.
"There are strong creatures on Vampa, son, you could raise your battle power there."
Vegeta looked to the ground in thought. His eyes lifted and scanned the room thoughtlessly for a moment.
"Fine, go make the arrangements."
The King smiled and walked gallantly out of the throne room.
"What are you still doing here, Trash?" Vegeta let out cockily.
Bardock's jolly demeanor turned sour on a dime. He shifted his gaze down at The Prince.
"What'd you just say?"
"This is the throne room, only for elites. You're not an elite, remember?"
"No Prince, this is King Vegeta's throne room. I have no respect for you, so you have no say here in my opinion." He turned his back to Vegeta in a dominant display.
Bardock's comments sent Vegeta into an irate state. His eyes told of his infuriation well enough without any words. He stared at Bardock intensely, clenching his fists tight.
"What are you gonna do about it, Little Prince?" He shot one more prodding comment, sending Vegeta over the edge.
Nappa worriedly backed off and blocked the path to the throne with his body.
"That's more like it!" Bardock yelled as he dodged Vegeta's starting strike.
Prince Vegeta VS Bardock
Objective: Rub that non-elite's/prince's nose in it!
Vegeta locked eyes on Bardock with a deathly glare and repositioned his stance. He composed himself , placing his left hand outward in a claw and tucking his right fist in. Aura leaked from his stoic posture.
Bardock smirked and drug his thumb under his nose in a cocky display, throwing his white strip of cloth to the ground before jiving into a limber stance. He kept his hands clenched in fists and close to his face like a boxer while he grooved back and forth on the balls of his feet.
The Prince broke the silence with a darting blow, a right straight which Bardock weaved outside using head movement. Bardock threw two left jabs, Vegeta ducking under easily. Bardock lunged in hard during the pressure with a low right uppercut. Vegeta dodged the attack with a backhandspring. Once he landed from the evasive maneuver Vegeta launched at his opponent with blinding speed, his left leg outstretched in a flying kick.
This is one of Vegeta's key maneuver's for closing distance and delivering high damage. He calls it the Rocket Kick.
Bardock limbo'd the Rocket Kick causing Vegeta to fly into the wall, The Prince used the point of contact to rebound and launch right back at his target. He threw a front snap kick with his right as the attack of choice off the wall, landing right in front of Bardock to continue pressure. Bardock weaved his opponent's punches with great success, looking for the right angle. Vegeta threw a longer hook which Bardock capitalised on. He parried Vegeta's left hook with his own left arm, aiming his opponent's shoulder down exposing the face. Bardock threw two straights back to back in a right-left, causing Vegeta to stumble.
"One-Two!" Bardock exclaimed as he struck.
Bardock followed through on his attack, clasping his hands together in axehandle strike. He looked to hit Vegeta with his hands in a drive-by as if he were wielding a baseball bat. Vegeta ducked in a squat, deftly evading. He very quickly retorted with a spinning elbow strike at Bardock's temple to whiff-punish.
KRAK!
It landed clean and forced the Saiyan to shuffle to the right. Vegeta ran back his earlier offense and went for a left jumping snap kick to start his momentum again. Bardock was prepared and flared his ki in response as the foot landed on his left shoulder. Vegeta leaped back quickly and yellow energy rolled off his hands as he revved his ki. Vegeta threw tons of small orbs at his target. Bardock blocked a few with his red arm guards to assess the situation. They bounced off him and impacted the throne room in small explosions.
Bardock started to weave and jive with expert movement patterns, not even blocking the spheres but dodging them all together. Vegeta blasted tons of energy at the enemy but Bardock dodged them all, the only ones he didn't Bardock punched and snuffed out. Bardock ducked in close and looked to hit The Prince with a gut shot. Vegeta parried at the last moment with his right hand and the pair both took a backstep.
The older Saiyan eyed the prince with a squint. The Prince could tell he had a lot going on just by his eyes. Vegeta glared at Bardock with malice and his veins pulsed with anger, the ground vibrating in a low sound at his ki.
"Good, I've got the little prince to waste some." He pondered to himself.
Bardock is one of the most intelligent fighters the Saiyans have. He is very good at conserving his energy for when it's needed. As such he spends most of it to just power up his strikes and movement as opposed to letting it fly in blasts like both Vegetas. The royal Saiyans have massive ki pools at their disposal allowing for effective hit-and-run strategies as well as strong poking. Prince Vegeta technically has more ki than both Lord Frieza and Emperor Cold but they have been using it much longer than him and are therefore streamline its efficiency and waste less of it.
"Okay." Bardock thought to himself calmly. "Now!"
Bardock rammed Vegeta with blistering speed, he lariated The Prince in a steaming drive-by throwing the young Saiyan in a harsh tailspin. Vegeta caught his fall and darted towards the wall with impressive acrobatic skill. His blood boiled and he lost focus, throwing the third snap kick.
"Is this guy for real?" Bardock thought to himself as he anticipated the oncoming snap kick.
Bardock dodged with well honed experience and jammed his fist into Vegeta's midsection. Vegeta had no armour on due to his gravity training and had to endure the full impact of Bardock's strike. He flew off his opponent's hand and crashed into the floor. He got up quick but didn't rebound like he did last time. The Prince charged Bardock in a wide arc. He was fast so Bardock had little time to prepare. He elected to block Vegeta's oncoming attacks instead of dodge.
Vegeta rained down quick hooks onto Bardock's maroon coloured arm guards. Bardock could see all of The Prince's attacks coming and so started to dodge after acclimating to the rhythm. The experienced Saiyan winded back and threw a left-right cross combo at The Prince's jaw forcing him on the backpedal. Bardock walked toward in an alpha-male display, flailing his hands up high disrespectfully.
"Come on, you done yet?"
Vegeta's blood boiled at the suggestion.
He fired off a huge cone of purple energy right at Bardock's face, blasting the older Saiyan back a fair deal. His boots squealed on the marble flooring.
Ka-KOOOOOOMM! Skweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
"Argh!" Bardock let out in a primal grunt.
Vegeta was not there after the impact, Bardock quickly scanned the room before he heard a sharp sound from above.
At the last moment he put up his arms in guard as Vegeta landed on top of him with a double knee strike. Bardock's right knee folded under the pressure and he had to plant himself in a kneeling position. The ground cracked lightly from the force of The Prince. Vegeta used the rebounding momentum from the knee strike to hop off of his target and fly through the air. He winded his hands back behind his head and placed his right in his left palm. Purple energy surged and crackled from the middle of the palms and he shouted with intensity:
"Galick Gun!"
Zzzzt-VYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Bardock's eyes widened and the blast impacted his guard the exact moment Vegeta said the phrase. He was in luck as his guard was already up and only needed to be shifted from the previous knee drop attack Vegeta had performed.
The blast shook the room and Bardock's veins rose to the surface in response to the intense energy on display in the technique. His maroon arm bands were completely disintegrated in the blast and he shook his forearms out after the smoke cleared. Bardock cracked his neck in both directions and let out a sigh.
"Hehhh." He smirked at The Prince.
Vegeta's eyes were murderous after he saw how little damage Bardock had taken.
"You know, I been around the block a few times, kid. I don't care if you're from the royal family or whatever. I'm not gonna let a little runt like you catch me slippin'!" Bardock roared, the primal Oozaru came out from his shout and the room rumbled with belly drums as he threw strikes at Vegeta.
Vegeta put up a guard against the onslaught of punches, they were bearing down with high damage making it difficult for The Prince to shift his arms. Bardock threw a five-piece combination. The first four made contact as high straights aimed at the head but Vegeta blocked them all, after he had led his opponent's guard Bardock went down low and slammed a left into the gut of his enemy.
DOM!
"Kuuuuuu~" Vegeta let out involuntarily, his head spinning from the impact.
Bardock reared back for a hooking haymaker, his bicep flexed and twitched and the veins showed brightly as he gathered ki. He swung wide but missed as Vegeta fell onto his back.
Vegeta didn't actually fall onto his back, he fell onto his tail. He is a resourceful Saiyan and uses his tail to his advantage very often, it is a signature mark of his fighting style.
His brown tail coiled in a spring before propelling the prince off the floor and slamming a close-range Rocket Kick right at Bardock's jaw. The Prince flew by spectacularly and tore through one of the banners, landing incognito on the wall behind the throne. Bardock got thrown through a loop and landed square on the floor. He clenched and unclenched his mouth to assess the damage.
"Eugh." He let out disappointed.
Bardock got off the ground and stood up tall, eyeing the swaying banner. Vegeta tore through the other one with another lightning-fast Rocket Kick. The experienced Saiyan was ready as ever and slammed a clenched axehandle at Vegeta's head as he dodged the attack. The Prince skidded across the floor in a slump.
Skweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Blood had been drawn from The Prince's forehead and he wasn't happy. He limped upwards into a shaky stance and cursed the enemy.
"You wrech!"
Bardock just smirked a cocky smile as the little prince rushed at him. He dodged back and whiff punished the half-hearted attempts with ease.
"One-Two!"
Vegeta's head turned at the strikes but he snapped it back to Bardock's intense gaze. Bardock dropped his hands and took a lower stance as ki radiated off of him.
Bardock had no idea why but he always generated the most force with his left leg. His strongest attacks always came from there. Unbeknownst to him as the techniques were unrefined and had no studies attached to them but he was performing pretty legitimate Ki Sourcing.
Vegeta lunged for one final time before getting blasted by a mean counter-hitting left boot.
THUM!
The dull thud rang out through the throne room and Vegeta plopped to the floor onto his knees. He still had some fight left in him even if he was exhausted and totally beat up. The intensity never left his eyes. He clung to Bardock's black tights as he struggled to stand on his feet.
"Hey kid, you gotta know when to quit. This all aggro strategy only works when you're stronger than your opponents. I know you don't wanna hear it being The Prince and all but you're NOT stronger than me."
Bardock walked off in a masculine stride, casting Vegeta by the wayside.
"I don't know how you're gonna get yourself to a rejuvenation chamber, Prince, non-elites like myself can't help you much."
The words burned deep into Vegeta's mind as he laid limp on the floor, his Saiyan enemy leaving the room through sliding doors. Nappa walked over to The Prince before he shouted out:
"Don't… you... dare…" He commanded through shaky breath, bleeding profusely as he struggled to stand.
Nappa looked on in disgust.
"Look at you, Prince, It's pathetic. You come from a man like your father? You bring shame to the royal family." He made sure to keep to himself.
"Why…" Vegeta thought to himself. "I know I'm faster than that clown, how did he beat me to the punch so easily? I'm The Prince damn it."
Vegeta finally stood on shaky legs and exhaled with great trouble. He walked towards the door, using the columns and walls to lean on as he went. Vegeta shot glances here and there at Nappa as he walked beside The Prince. His shaky fist tightened as much as it could before he headed into the rejuvenation chamber. A number of Saiyans stood around the room and just saluted The Prince as he went to type on the console of a pod. After a:
Be-Beee!
The turquoise water drained and the pod opened. Vegeta entered the empty chamber and within moments it filled up again with the liquid. Bubbles floated by his face as he took breaths from a breathing apparatus. His eyes closed and he fell into a deep slumber.