Hey there groovy people of the internet! I just wanted to take a moment and thank you all; All of you who have stuck with my story and those of you who were kind enough to leave me comments. I admit, I've gotten quite a few negative comments over the last couple chapters - mainly people who said they didn't understand the plot and the story - and I was at a bit of a loss. I know I can't please everyone but if my story isn't up to par I want fix it. This is my first story and I want it to be worth reading. But while comments saying my plot was too confusing or that my story wasn't up to par or too forced really stung it's the positive comments from readers that really keep me going. After a couple particularly nice comments I really wanted to write this next chapter, I wanted to produce more material to read for those of you who enjoy reading it. Honestly I can't thank you guys, my readers, enough. You're my inspiration and you're the fuel that's kept the fire in my story going. So groovy people of the internet I thank you with all my heart, and without further ado let's see what Vegeta is up to
Ding, Round 4
The ground shakes, drums…drums in the deep.
Vegeta's eyes shot open, piercing the darkness with his cold black gaze. The vibrations that awoke him from unconsciousness continued to work their way up his legs, his bones quivering. Despite the hammering in his chest his breaths remained calm and measured, his chest rising and falling with calculated precision. For the briefest moment Vegeta felt as though he was floating blissfully through water, unable to distinguish up from down. But soon enough he felt the pressure of his body weight upon his heels and knew he was standing upright, the support of solid metal pressed against his back.
Straightening he felt the tips of his spiked hair graze the top of his confinement. Reaching forward his knuckles collided another wall of solid metal before he could fully bend his elbows. With a snort Vegeta let his arms fall to his sides. Taking a deep breath to steady his muscles he bent his elbows slightly and proceeded to rotate his arms upwards, bringing them slightly out to the side before angling them upward and tucking them in front of his chest. Placing both palms on the wall in front of him he braced his back on the wall behind him and in one explosive moment he pushed with all his might.
With a satisfying groan the metal snapped loudly as the wall before him collapsed forward. The sudden appearance of light blinded Vegeta and he threw up an arm to cover his face. Without hesitation he attempted to fling forth his kai, protecting him from any on coming attackers, but the collar around his neck drained his strength away and Vegeta cut off the flow.
With a growl Vegeta lowered his arm, squinting slightly in the bright light. The arena sprawled out before him, the cheers and jeers of the crowd crashing over him as a wave crashes over the sand. Stepping from his confinement Vegeta cast his eyes over the field before him, searching for a foe. As he closed his eyes to blink Vegeta sucked in a deep breath, allowing the scents of the world around him to fill his nostrils as they rushed toward his lungs. The dust in the air tickled the back of his throat and the foreign scents of the crowd threatened to overwhelm his senses. But in the midst of their angst and suspense, he smelt the deliciously bitter taste of fear. As his eyes peeled back from his pupils a speck of motion caught his attention. Dropping his weight into his back heel Vegeta whirled around to face his target.
Mid-way across the field stood a small child, her flame red hair obscuring her face. As his eyes fell upon her a cold sense of dread shoot through him, sinking into the marrow of his bones. Without a sound the child raised her head, her hair falling away from her face in ripples. Recognition crouched on the edge of his mind, dancing across his tongue but never fell into place. As her face leveled her blood red eyes flew open, instantly locking with his; Staring into their depths he felt a sharp tug at his mind, as if someone had sunk a hook through the forefront of his mind and were trying to tear it from his skull. With a snarl Vegeta gripped his forehead with his palm and stumbled back, his eyes squeezing shut.
Instantly the pain subsided and with a fury Vegeta sliced his hand through the air, cutting through an invisible enemy from left to right from shoulder to sternum. As his eyes refocused the child was gone, the sand undisturbed where her feet had stood. With another furious snarl Vegeta whipped around, searching for enemies. What foul trickery is this?
Then as he completed his final turn a flash of blue in the distance caught his eye, halting him in his tracks. He felt his eyes strain over the distance but that aqua blue hair was unmistakable. Bulma.
His kai collar tethered his ability to fly but it couldn't drain the strength of his muscles, and so on strength alone Vegeta sprinted over the field to cover the distance between them. As he approached the details surrounding her became refined. As his eyes met hers the fear on her face sank deep into his heart and caused his mind to race. His eyes darting around for the source of her distress he quickly located a metallic device strapped to her chest, restraining her arms behind her back. As his eyes locked onto it the interface nearly caused him to lose his footing as shock froze his muscles in place but without effort he was able to catch his balance and continue running toward her. Those bastards strapped a bomb to her chest!
As he ran thoughts whirled within his mind, trying to think of how to disable the device. Then, without warning, he lost his footing and fell forward. With a growl he leaned forward intending to perform a forward roll to maintain his momentum. But his foot snagged in the ground and he slammed face first into the dirt. With a disgruntled snort he ignored the laughter that roared from the crowd and gave his leg a sharp tug forward, but the obstruction held firm. Pushing himself up with his arms Vegeta glanced over his shoulder, expecting some sort of rock to be impeding his movement. But as his eyes found his ankle he found not a rock but a grisly black hand protruding from the dirt, holding his ankle firm.
As if it sensed his gaze a black figure emerged from the dirt, it's black hairy body a stark contrast the bright light that filtered into the arena. As it rose to full height it towered over Vegeta, it's back slightly hunched as its bright orange eyes leered down at him, its pupils black slits that brimmed with pure malicious intent. It's two cone-like ears protruded from the top of its head, ringed with bright purple stripes that mirrored the purple lips that extended in a devious grin across the width of it's head. Within it bore rows of teeth sharp as daggers, each glistening white in the light. The hair that covered its chest was longer than the hair that covered the rest of its body, with highlights of deep purple that made the mind feel as through it were being sucked into their deep purple depths if you looked too long. To each side thick black arms extended, ending with three large purple claws. As Vegeta's eyes followed the length of the arms he could see no joints, the limbs flowing as freely as a blade of grass in the wind. As it's body cascaded downward it sloped in on itself but for legs or feet it seemed to have none, rather its body sank into shadows and never seemed to end. The monsters arm tightened around his ankle, its claws beginning to dig into his skin.
Thinking quickly Vegeta felt the muscles in his arms bulge as he lifted himself up off the ground, his free ankle kicking out toward the creatures face as his head hung between his arms so he could look down his body at his attacker. From his vantage point the creature looked as though it were upside down, but even from his awkward angle Vegeta watched as the creature bobbed out of the way. Rotating his leg slightly the side and snapping his knee bent he attempted to kick the monster upon the back of his head and yet again the creature merely bobbed out of the way. Before Vegeta could strike out again the creature tightened its grip and whipped its arm around, flinging Vegeta over its head. Without letting go the monster slammed Vegeta into the ground, dust billowing out from beneath Vegeta's body, before it proceeded to pick him up again and fling him across the field.
What's he doing? Bulma cried aloud, her companions equally troubled. Before them Vegeta was being flung around by a meuhvache painted with the colors of the rainbow and although Vegeta had struck out with savage kicks he had missed completely, off by an embarrassing margin. Around them the crowd roared with laughter, enjoying the sight of the Saiyan prince being so easily humiliated. Off to the side Medon stood in the sand, motionless other than a turn of her head to watch Vegeta fly over the field and into the arena wall.
"Clever girl", Vie whispered, her gaze intense as watched the proceedings. Bulma gave her a questioning glance as she raised an eyebrow. "Medon has taken root in his mind, but not completely. What he sees and what we see are not the same, but he still hears the roar of the crowd and he can still look upon your face. Vegeta's mind is half in our world and half in hers." With worry eating at her heart she turned her attention back to the field.
Vegeta struggled to his feet, shaking the rubble from his collision with the wall off his shoulders. Sparing a glance at Bulma he drew strength from her presence. The creature bobbed side to side as a snake does when it slithers over the sand, slowly advancing. Without waiting for it to approach Vegeta rushed forward to met it on the field. Swinging his fists with increasing speed and ferocity Vegeta struck out at the creature but just as before the creature bobbed out of the way, his fists never reaching their mark. With each failed attack the creature bobbed a little closer, causing Vegeta to retreat backward to keep it from growing too close. As his frustration welled within him Bulma's scream pierced his ears, causing his arm to falter.
Seizing Vegeta's lapse in attack the creature shot forward, smashing Vegeta upside the head with its thick black arm, sweeping Vegeta from his feet. Vegeta wheeled through the air, slamming his shoulder into the ground as he rolled to a stop in the dirt.
Risking his safety Vegeta raised his head and sought out Bulma. At the end of the field she was edging away from an approaching meuhvache that was reaching toward her with a strange intensity. A snarl ripped from Vegeta's throat as he jumped to his feet, his body leaning forward as he raced toward her. A black blur in his peripheral vision announced the approach of the mysterious shade creature. In a desperate move Vegeta launched himself from his left foot, twisting his body so that he arced through the air to the right while still continuing forward, attempting to stay out of arms reach. But the creature seemed to have no limit to its reach as its arm shot forward, extending through the arm and grabbing Vegeta's wrist as he whirled by. As the creature held his wrist firm Vegeta felt his body continue to spin out of control. As his body spun forward he felt his arm pop from it's socket then twist several times before Vegeta finally met the ground. With a groan of anguish, pain shot through Vegeta's body with every breath.
As Vegeta's moan reached her ears Bulma's eyes filled with tears. "NO YOU STUPID COW" she screamed, "HELP VEGETA!" She had screamed it at the cow-creature before but it refused to listen, ignoring her pleas and continuing to advance toward her. The cow was strangely familiar to her, he was not her tormentor but she felt just as intimately connected to him although not in a bad way. As the cow reached forward and grabbed her, a crippling pain shot through her body. Her scream ripped its way from her throat, increasing in intensity and pitch as the pain that coursed through her body increased in magnitude. The cow released her and she fell to the ground, the sand running red with blood. Desperately trying to catch her breath she saw the blood was not hers, but the cow creature's. It's had was now covered in terrible burns where it had grabbed the device strapped to her chest. It had stumbled backward with a bellow and Vie had thrown her a quick glance before returning her attention to the field.
Bulma's body sagged against the ground as tremors of pain coursed through her. The words "pressure trigger" and "electric shock" drifted through her mind but her thoughts were too scattered to connect them. Allowing her head to fall to the side she saw Vegeta on his knees before a multicolored cow-creature, painted up like a circus clown. Vegeta's arm was twisted at a nauseating angle as blood tricked from shoulder where bone had broken through his flesh. Her stomach lurched at the sight, her own pain forgotten. Rolling herself onto her stomach she shoved herself upright, stumbled toward Vegeta at first then breaking into a run as soon as she was confident her legs would support her.
The world flew by her as she sprinted over the field, but when Vegeta was only 20 yards away the device on her chest beeped in unison with the collar around Vegeta's throat and both released an audio zap as Bulma screamed and Vegeta roared.
The pain that coursed through his body from his neck seemed to collide with the pain radiating from his shoulder, doubling them in strength and crippling his thoughts as pain overwhelmed his senses. The creature held his wrist firm and its disgusting purple grin grew as it wretched his wrist around, driving the pain deeper. Dark splotches exploded before his vision, the world around his spinning as his mind threatened to dive into the painless pools of unconscious darkness. A relief from his pain would have been welcome, but his saiyan pride held firm and refused. A saiyan never gives in, never gives up, and we never let anyone take us alive.
Baring his teeth in a snarl Vegeta pulled his right leg forward so his right foot rested flat on the ground as his left hand curled into a fist. Then pushing all of his weight against his right foot he flung his body to the left, colliding with the shadow creature. With a satisfying pop his shoulder finally returned to its place and the pain radiating from his shoulder ceased. Whipping his right arm around he attempted to wrap it around the monster. What foul trickery is this?
Where Vegeta's mind anticipated resistance from the creatures form he met none, instead his arm seemed to be absorbed into the creatures body before coming to a halt part of the way through. Where Vegeta's skin brushed against the creatures hairy body he felt not long stringy hair as it had but rather short bristles. As Vegeta's nostrils flared in response to his growing confusion his nose was filled with the scent of meuhvache, one he knew well now, and not the foreign scent this creature should reek of.
The creature seized Vegeta's momentary confusion to pry itself from his grasp and strike out at him again, but as it did Vegeta allowed the strike to land. Where claws should have raked his flesh he felt nothing but a faint wind. Launching himself back a few stride Vegeta attempted to buy himself time to process the information. That child…that red head…her name…Me-
A sharp zap cut the air and Vegeta's muscles betrayed him. Flailing in agony he felt himself falling. As he collapsed to the ground the dust that billowed forth covered him like a blanket, as if it were trying to tuck him into the earth. Clenching his teeth Vegeta pulled his mind deep within himself, waiting for the electric shock to subside. They're trying to keep me from the truth, he thought to himself as another wave shot through his nervous system before exploding across his skin. Medon. The word fit into his mind like a puzzle piece falling into place. The electric shocks ceased and the dust around him settled. Those eyes…those blood red eyes.
Vegeta slowly pulled himself to his feet, the shadow creature gone from sight. He concentrated on the ground before his feet, realizing how the grains of sand and clots of dirt seemed to all blend together, his eyes unable to distinguish one from another. The answer is always in the details, Frieza's voice rang in his mind. Closing his eyes Vegeta found himself once again sitting beside the icejin, watching the games from high above the arena walls. Whenever you feel your mind has betrayed you always pay attention to the details, the icejin cooed, watching the two opponents fight invisible enemies while colorful meuhvache paraded around the field. You saiyans have such a poor grip on the difference between reality and fantasy, Frieza said lazily, his eyes following the absurd movements of the warriors on the field. Never allow yourself to be so easily fooled, Frieza said motioning to the scene bellow. To force a mind to see what is not there is a trying task alone, but to force it to hear sounds that are absent from the air, to taste and feel what does not exist is near impossible. Frieza turned to him, fixing his gaze on Vegeta. Never forget Vegeta, to create such an illusion requires incredible concentration and power that few posses. And those that do will cut corners to lessen the burden on themselves.
Frieza allowed himself to chuckle, his deep purple lips curling into a devious smile. Always look at the details, the texture of the world around you is always clear and defined whether you're looking at it or not. But when someone else is controlling what you see they will only refine the texture of the world around you when they know you will be looking, or when they want you to look. Never lose your pride young saiyan, and always pay attention to the details.
Opening his eyes again he noticed how lines had formed among the sand, each grain standing apart from its neighbor as clearly as if it were reality. But it wasn't.
Throwing back his head Vegeta let out a furious roar that echoed throughout the arena. In response several thousand spectators dropped to the arena floor and approached, hatred in their features and vengeance in their eyes.
"N-no! Get out of my head! I already told you! I will not be distracted from this anymore! I won't! It will take more than head games to stop me! You may have invaded my mind and my body, but there's one thing a Saiyan always keeps….HIS PRIDE!"
The words tore themselves from his throat filling the arena and cutting through the apparitions before him like his fists through his enemies. His throat bulged around his kai collar but his furious roar continued, all his anger and hatred expelling themselves into the air from his lungs. His fists clenching he felt his power welling within his abdomen; as it grew he felt it draining into the device around his neck but the device could not drain it as fast as it gathered. Soon every muscle in his body convulsed in a single motion, the air around him swelling with energy as his body exploded in a golden glow. With a loud crack the collar around his neck shattered, it's pieces floating in the air around him. Freed from imprisonment his kai swelled, crackling around him. With a final deafening roar his kai surged around him before thundering outward, annihilating everything on contact.
Fools, Vegeta thought as his signature smirk haunted his lips.
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Before her the ground exploded with Vegeta's power, knocking her back several hundred feet before she collided with the wall with such force the metallic device around her chest smashed inward. Above her the cow-creature appeared again, seizing the opportunity to remove the device from her chest. Breaking the bonds that held her before throwing the device into the stands. Vie approached and as Bulma watched in a daze the child closed her eyes then in a violent movement, that caused Bulma to flinch, a loud pop signified the removal of Vie's shoulders from her sockets. Wrenching her wrists free she wormed her way out of the device before popping her shoulders back in with an equally audible pop.
Unable to contain it any longer Bulma rolled onto her side and was sick, retching up the acidic contents of her stomach over the dirt. The strong arms of the cow hooked her under her armpits and heaved her to her feet. Unable to support herself Bulma sank, but again the cow heaved her upward and placed her on its back. Casting her eyes she saw the arachnoid boy, still strapped to the metallic device. To her dismay only 2 numeric digits remained on the interface. The boy refused to meet her gaze; his own focused on the ground. The cow reached out to him but the arachnoid stumbled backward.
NO, Bulma tried to scream but her throat burned and only an indistinguishable croak escaped her lips. As she reached for him she lost her balance and began to slide toward the ground. The cow stopped advancing and reached back to grab her. The arachnoid boy took the opportunity to dart back, retreated along the wall but putting distance between them.
After he put distance between them the boy turned and looked back, the interface only displaying a single numeric number. The boy's strange fanged mouth formed the words, "listen for the lava." Then he closed his eyes and with a loud ping the metallic device emitted a loud zap and the arachnoids limbs began to flail uncontrollably, foam flying from his mouth.
NO, Bulma tried to scream as the cow creature turned and ran in the other direction, fleeing from Vegeta's super saiyan rage and rushing toward a now open door. As the darkness of the entry way swallowed them her gaze was still locked on the still body of the arachnoid boy, tears filling her eyes and spilling over her cheeks. Goodbye Poeh, Vie murmured in Bulma's mind. Poeh…so he's not just a bastard after all, Bulma thought sadly to herself.
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Freed from the confinements of his kai collar Vegeta has exploded into super saiyan form. Will it be enough to finally escape? Find out next time on Dragonball Z!