Chapter 9: A Cure for Boredom

His walk through the halls had done the trick, and he was certain of it.

Vegeta re-entered the gravity room with a smirk on his face and a satisfied feeling in his heart, which would sound lovely in any other context, but this was Vegeta and any satisfaction he felt was usually something bad for somebody else. The door to the gravity room closed behind him, alerting the current occupant, Talia, to his presence.

The alien visitor had continued to utilise the gravity room as her training spot, all the while waiting for their imminent departure from the planet. Any day now, Niku would walk through that door and say they were all set to go. However, until that day, Talia was happy to keep training her mind and body to prepare for whatever was waiting for them out in the vast depths of the galaxy.

Talia had just finished a dangerous looking flurry with both of her swords when Vegeta entered. She immediately stopped and Vegeta hid his smirk. No one else was allowed to know of his satisfaction. Although Talia would be privy to the details very soon.

"I'll need some space in a minute," Vegeta commanded.

Talia frowned.

"Sure," she said, letting go of her swords as they vanished into whatever magical realm from which they came.

She grabbed up her towel and started to wipe away any sweat as she walked over to the bench to grab up her water bottle.

It was at that moment, the door slid open again, and Noca entered. The young Saiyan man, dressed in his security uniform. Jacket, tie, the lot. His gaze fell upon Vegeta and there it stayed, he barely even noticed that Talia was in the room. But, as usual, she was relatively pleased to see him drop by.

"Hey, Noca," Talia called out, "finally getting some exercise?"

"Talia," Noca said, nodding in her direction, but his eyes quickly went back to Vegeta.

The Prince's satisfied smirk returned. Both Noca and Talia could see it, clearly. Noca removed his jacket, dropping it to the floor beside him, and then he started to remove his tie, and he unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt.

Talia wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but there was a strong tension in the air. She knew that something in the realm of fighting was about to happen, and she backed up towards the bench, keeping her eyes on the Saiyans before her.

"You finally get what you want," Noca said.

"Now, now. You know this is something we both want," Vegeta replied, his arrogant smirk still there.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself," Noca growled.

Vegeta scoffed as Noca began a few stretches, making sure he was ready for whatever Vegeta was planning to throw his way.

"I'm ready to make you realise you're not where you should be. You're not ready for a real threat," Vegeta said.

"But I'm more than prepared to beat you," Noca threw back.

"Oh, I've missed this," Vegeta said, as he moved into a fighting stance.

"Just shut up," Noca replied, and he moved into his own stance.

A trail of static lay in Vegeta's wake as he flashed towards Noca, with his aura flaring all around his body. Talia flinched as the movement happened, stunned by Vegeta's sudden burst. Noca was unfazed. He lifted his right arm and managed to block an attempted punch from the Saiyan Prince with his forearm.

Vegeta chuckled, but Noca wasn't amused. Their eyes were locked.

Noca's aura flashed around him, but neither Saiyan had transformed, and it was clear neither of them wanted to go straight to that level either. However, they weren't about to hold back and treat the other with any disrespect, at least not in this specific situation. When they fought, they were equals, or at least, they both believed they were equals.

There was a pop as the two fighters separated. Vegeta leapt up and flipped backwards, while Noca hopped backwards. Both Saiyan's touched down on the ground at the same time and left the ground at the exact same moment also, charging towards one another, going for the attack.

Vegeta was quickest and managed to throw two rapid punches, a one-two with right and left. Both punches were blocked by Noca, with small shockwaves emanating from both connections. After the second block Noca spun around and tried to kick Vegeta in the head, but the Prince ducked below it and attempted to throw an uppercut into Noca's face with his left.

The spinning kick had taken Noca in a full 360 and he ended up back where he started, with Vegeta's punch coming right for his face. His eyes widened and he slightly moved to the right, far too quickly for Vegeta to alter the direction of his attack, and it left Noca on the Prince's undefended side. It created an opening for the younger Saiyan, and he smashed a low punch into Vegeta's left side.

The first damaging strike went to Noca. Vegeta made a slightly pained yelp as the punch connected, but he reacted swiftly. He spun around and smashed a left-sided backhand into Noca's left cheek.

Noca dropped back, feet landing on the ground again, head shaking as he tried to get rid of the pain of that attack. Vegeta dropped down and twisted, throwing himself towards Noca again, grappling the younger man around the torso, and he jumped up throwing Noca down to the ground, on his back.

Noca let out a pained groan as he hit the ground and Vegeta pulled up, throwing a punch down at his opponent's face. Noca caught the attempt with his left hand, struggling to hold it back while in the awkward position. He flared his aura again, the light enough to stun Vegeta and get him to weaken his grip. It gave Noca a chance to get his free right hand and push Vegeta back, and he held his hand forward and used a pulse of energy to knock the Prince away.

Vegeta was knocked off his feet and landed on his back, sliding across the floor to a gentle stop. He quickly stood up and shook off any disorientation, letting out a growl as he did. His eyes refocussed and he glared ahead at Noca, who was just standing there, barely in a stance.

The Prince cracked his neck and yelled as he flashed forward again, and there was an obvious increase in power because Noca couldn't follow the movement, until a strong kick smashed against his cheek and sent him flying into the wall to his right. Noca bounced off and immediately felt a punch connect with his head and smashed him back against the wall.

Noca fell to his knees next to the wall, with his eyes closed as he reacted to the pain, but Vegeta hadn't stopped and grabbed Noca's head with both hands. He turned the younger Saiyan's head towards him, held it in place with his left hand and then smashed a right hook across it. Noca's head snapped to the right and blood from his mouth spattered on the floor as he dropped on his front.

Then Vegeta leaned down and grabbed the back of Noca's shoulders, with both hands, and threw the young Saiyan across the room and while he had some hang time in the air, Vegeta fired a Ki blast. Noca managed to regain control and phased managing to get around the blast as it crashed into the wall above Talia, who had to shield herself in case there was any damage that came her way.

Noca was momentarily distracted by Talia's movement and became a little worried about her presence being an issue, but he wasn't given the time to do anything about it. Vegeta flashed towards Noca again and grabbed his face, around the mouth, and flew back, slamming him into yet another wall.

His hands had instinctively gone towards Vegeta's arm, in an attempt to pull him off, although that wasn't going to be so simple. But as soon as he slammed against the wall Noca acted, and he crunched his knee up into Vegeta's gut, loosening the Prince's grip, and then he twisted Vegeta's arm and managed to turn and move into Vegeta's body and elbow him right in the face.

The Prince dropped back, growled, turning it into a yell and threw his hands forward, firing a Ki blast at point blank range. Noca's eyes widened, and he phased out of the way as the attack smashed against the wall, exploding, and filling the room with yellow light. The explosion from the attack was also rather large and managed to send all three occupants flying in different directions.

Talia was pushed against one of the computer terminals and bounced off of it, falling against the ground. Noca was thrown into a wall, which he slammed against hard, but he managed to stay up there. Vegeta was sent flying across to the other side of the room, but he managed to regain control over half of the distance and steadied himself.

The light started to fade, and everyone found their vision clearing.

"Uh," Talia groaned as she stood up, gripping her right shoulder. "Perhaps you guys should tone it down."

Noca looked to where Talia's voice had come from, but that was yet another distraction that Vegeta took advantage of. He flashed through the air towards Noca and smashed a knee into the young man's face, and then he rose above Noca, with both hands raised above his head, and he hammered them down on Noca's body, sending him soaring into the ground.

Before Noca connected with the ground Vegeta had phased to meet him and he pulled off a side-volleyed kick that sent Noca flying across the room again. Yet again, Vegeta phased to meet his opponent and caught him perfectly around the throat, with Noca facing him, and then he proceeded to punch Noca in the face. Twice he did that. Both punches giving off a crunching sound as they connected.

Instead of finishing with a third punch, Vegeta kept a hold of Noca's throat with his left hand, and with his right he gathered energy and then thrust that energy into Noca's torso. He let go of the blast and fired Noca up into the ceiling. He smashed up and as he fell Vegeta flew across the room and punched him again, striking Noca's chest, and sending him flying back against the wall.

Noca slammed against the wall, back first, and he peeled off, falling flat on the ground.

"Seriously, perhaps you guys should hold back," Talia called out.

"We are holding back," Vegeta retorted.

Talia held her tongue and looked between the two. For a moment, Vegeta had stopped to let Noca get up in his own tome, but he was just proving a point. Noca understood that from the beginning of the fight.

Noca groaned as he got back to his feet and he slowly looked up, breathing heavily, and locked eyes with Vegeta again.

"Say I'm right," Vegeta uttered.

Noca's eyes narrowed, and his brow furrowed. He inhaled a big breath through his nose and released it slowly through his mouth.

Vegeta scoffed and refocussed, taking that as a confirmation that Noca wasn't ready to accept the truth. Vegeta quickly repositioned his body so that he was pointed towards Noca, and then he zapped forward again, flying right for Noca with his aura flaring and sparking.

Noca positioned his own body well, keeping it open, and he planted his feet. Talia frowned as she tried to understand what Noca's thinking was, and Vegeta was too caught up in his own point-of-view to even consider what the younger Saiyan may have been thinking.

Vegeta was aiming for Noca's torso, and Noca had his hands raised, ready for something. Noca inhaled again and closed his eyes, and he managed to release the breath and snap his eyes open just before Vegeta connected.

The Prince did connect, slamming a punch into Noca's gut, but the young Saiyan tried his best to tense up his body and create a strong target for Vegeta, and then he grabbed onto Vegeta's arms with both hands, stared him right in the eyes, and then, from Talia's perspective, both Saiyans vanished.

"I… um… what?" Talia questioned to herself.

Somewhere in the Southern Islands

The two Saiyans materialised, seemingly out of nowhere, entangled in the same grapple from inside the gravity room, but all of their surroundings had changed. They found themselves in the middle of a rocky terrain, there was grass, a few trees, and some large rock formations. Neither of them had been able to maintain their balance and struck the ground as they appeared.

Their grapple was broken, and they rolled away from each other. Vegeta scrambled up to his feet as quickly as he could and was ready to jump into the fight again, only to notice the ground beneath his feet had changed, and the locale was different.

Noca stopped on his front and pushed up to his feet, but with less urgency than Vegeta. He understood what was happening, he made it happen, and he knew that Vegeta would be confused at first. The Prince was indeed confused, but it didn't take him too long to understand what was happening, it wasn't anything too unusual, it was just a little surprising in the moment.

"What is this?" Vegeta asked, clenching his fists as he stepped towards Noca. "Where did you bring us?"

Noca cracked his neck, having felt the landing a little too roughly.

"That wasn't a spar, Vegeta. That wasn't training," Noca stated, stretching his arms, and then falling back into his natural standing position as he looked towards Vegeta again. "It was a real fight."

Vegeta kept his glare fixed upon Noca.

"If you're desperate to try and prove your point let's not do it in a place where we cause serious damage or harm to anybody around us," Noca said, showing the clear thought behind his plan and actions.

Vegeta was amused. He scoffed and smirked, looking to the side.

"You're treating me like I'm one of the threats we've faced in the past," Vegeta said.

"Well, if that's how you're gonna act," Noca replied, his stare locking onto Vegeta.

The Prince scoffed again and turned slowly to meet Noca's gaze.

"The change of scenery does nothing, you're still far too weak to stand against me," Vegeta stated, and he turned his head and spat at the ground next to him.

Then, in a flash of golden light, Vegeta effortlessly ascended to his fully controlled Super Saiyan form, with his aura flaring around him. It was a clear act of aggression, of intimidation.

"You're wrong," Noca stated, and with a similar action he too flashed to a controlled Super Saiyan form, although there was less ferocity around his aura.

As the two Super Saiyans stood apart from each other, glaring at one another, a new power level made itself known. Although, there was nothing antagonistic surrounding the new arrival. It did, however, draw the attention of both Saiyans. They looked up to the top of one of the rock formations and spotted a cloaked figure.

"What is going on here?" Piccolo asked, as he jumped down from the rock, landing a few metres away from the Saiyans.

"This is none of your business, Namekian," Vegeta snapped.

"Sorry, Piccolo," Noca started. "I had to get Vegeta somewhere isolated, and your power level was the most out of the way and distanced from civilisation."

"That doesn't answer my question," Piccolo replied.

"Quiet," Vegeta said, throwing his hand in Piccolo's direction and sending a pulse of energy through the air that rocked the Namekian but didn't knock him from his feet. It was just like a strong gust of wind.

"Piccolo, it's best you leave us to do what we need to," Noca said, and he turned to face Vegeta again.

"Whatever," Piccolo huffed as he folded his arms and started to fly away. "Saiyans," he added, in a low mutter.

"I'm glad you brought us here, actually," Vegeta said, "because now I can go all out."

From his standing position, doing very little to telegraph his movements, Vegeta went on the offensive. He flew towards Noca, and despite Vegeta's pace, the younger Saiyan managed to keep track of Vegeta's energy signature and his movement. Noca quickly looked up into the air and his feet very clearly left the ground before he suddenly phased.

It was sloppy, and Vegeta clearly saw what Noca was doing. He halted his charge towards Noca's previous position, and he too phased from view, following his target. Noca reappeared high in the sky, looking down in the direction of Vegeta's energy, but for a moment it seemed to vanish. He clearly wasn't as focussed as he had initially assumed because he was unprepared for when Vegeta appeared behind him.

The Prince had his hands clasped together and raised above his head, ready to hammer down on Noca, and it was only once the young Saiyan started to turn around that Vegeta went in for the attack. He brought his hammer down on Noca's back, striking with incredible force, sending Noca soaring towards the ground rapidly.

It was a good hit, and it was very good timing. Noca was taken completely by surprise and smashed into the ground, kicking up plenty of dust from his crashing impact. But Vegeta wasn't done. He pulled his right arm back, gathering Ki in the hand, and he swung it forward, launching a yellow Ki ball towards the ground.

Noca pulled himself up and looked through the dust cloud as it began to settle, and he caught a glimpse of the yellow light coming for him. He knew it wasn't Vegeta's Super Saiyan aura, but he knew it was better to move now rather than stand and contemplate his next one. Noca turned and jumped to create distance between him and the impact spot, but it wasn't enough. The blast exploded and Noca was thrown further along than he had anticipated.

He struck the ground on his side, bouncing off, and he managed to use that momentum to move into a flip and set both feet on the ground again, but he couldn't stop his movement quick enough and slid back a couple of metres. However, he quickly regained his balance and looked up once again, noticing that Vegeta was already dropping in on the offensive, again, moving at a blistering pace.

The Prince charged all the way down towards Noca and, as soon as he reached the young Saiyan, he held his hand out in front of Noca's face and released a quick, yet powerful, energy blast. It was at point blank range, right into Noca's face, and it exploded upon impact, sending the Young Saiyan flying backwards again. Noca was unable to regain composure right away and crashed through a couple of large rocks, one after the other, before reaching the end of the small island and skimming across the water a total of three times, eventually reaching the cliff wall of another small island.

Noca's body bounced off of the wall, but Vegeta had already phased into position, directly in front of Noca, and he punched the young Saiyan in the chest, sending him crashing right through the rock and across the island. Noca's body moved through the land, creating a trench until his body finally slowed to a halt.

Only, Noca didn't allow himself to stop, and he instead found control. There was a flash of golden light around his body, and he exploded out of the ground, flying straight up into the air, his aura flaring all around him. Noca glared down at Vegeta, who was floating in the place where he had punched Noca, and he was looking up.

A small smirk crossed Vegeta's face and then, effortlessly, the Prince blasted up towards Noca with the younger Saiyan following suit, firing himself down towards Vegeta. The two Saiyans were headed towards an almighty clash.

That clash came in the form of two very powerful punches connecting with each other in the middle of the sky, the impact powerful enough to send a huge static shockwave rippling through the air. Not only that, but the impact was strong enough to blast them away from one another.

Noca was sent rolling up higher into the sky, but he managed to steady himself, shaking his head as he tried to regain focus. Vegeta, on the other hand, was falling down towards the ground, but he stopped himself long before making contact. His jaw and fists clenched as he looked up, glaring in Noca's general direction again.

Even though they both regained composure at the exact same time, Vegeta was the first to go back on the offensive, doing his best to take Noca by surprise. He fired up towards his target again, aiming a punch directly for Noca's gut. However, the young Saiyan noticed it just in time.

His eyes widened and he quickly moved into a spin, getting around Vegeta's fist, and managing to get behind the Prince, and then it was his turn to attack. He slammed a kick into Vegeta's lower back, and he had poured significant power into the attack. It was enough to send Vegeta flying back down towards one of the small islands, and as he fell, Vegeta moved into a roll which allowed him to land with his feet on the surface of the island.

He immediately looked up again, only to see that Noca was already going back on the attack, dropping towards Vegeta, foot first, rapidly. He waited until the very last moment, but Vegeta phased, avoiding Noca's attack, and that meant the younger Saiyan smashed right into the surface of the island. The impact was so strong that Noca's foot was embedded in the ground and the shudder that followed sent a crack right through the whole thing.

Noca, unable to move swiftly, looked up and all around him, eager to spot where Vegeta would come from next. He needn't look for long, because Vegeta had already taken his chance and came flying from Noca's right, hammering his fists into the side of Noca's head. It knocked Noca off balance and sent him stumbling away to the left. Somehow, he managed to keep himself on his feet and turned around to face Vegeta again.

The Prince, watching Noca, had his hand raised, the palm forward. A blue energy appeared in front of Vegeta's hand, and he unleashed the Ki blast, which bore a strong resemblance to the way Vegeta used his Big Bang attack. There wasn't as much power as was normally poured into that attack, but that by no means meant it was weak either.

The blast shot towards Noca, connecting with his chest, and it detonated upon impact, throwing Noca up into the air and sending him plunging in an arc towards the ocean. The young Saiyan splashed down in the water, leaving Vegeta standing on the island by himself.

The Prince, wearing only a frown on his face, lowered his hand and slowly started to walk across the land, towards the water's edge. Upon reaching the very edge the Prince stopped and stood there with his arms folded across his chest, and he simply stared across the water, as if waiting to see where Noca would pop up next.

The place he was standing was a few metres above the water level, sort of like a small cliff face, but nothing dangerous, especially not for the Saiyan Prince.

There was a faint glow of light that began to glisten up from beneath the surface of the ocean, and all it did was amuse Vegeta. It soon led to a small smirk that appeared across the Prince's face, followed by a scoff. He was feeling confident and, just as Vegeta had expected, a bright yellow Ki blast popped out of the water, shooting right towards Vegeta's face. The Prince effortlessly phased out of the way of the blast, quickly reappearing in the same spot once the energy blast had safely sailed into the air.

However, as Vegeta reappeared, Noca also phased into view. He flashed right in front of Vegeta's face and, with the Prince completely unprepared for Noca's arrival, the younger Saiyan was able to land a powerful punch right into the centre of Vegeta's face. The power of that punch was enough to send Vegeta flying back, cracking down into the ground.

He didn't spend very long on the ground as a pulse of energy emanated from the Prince's body as he immediately bounced off of the ground and blasted right towards Noca. The youngster followed suit, flying towards Vegeta at the same time. Noca's expression was focussed, but he didn't seem ready to make any sort of attacking movement, which meant that Vegeta was at the advantage, but he was annoyed, and that would have an effect on his actions.

The Prince threw a punch towards the oncoming opponent, but the fist didn't connect with Noca's face. Instead, Vegeta's fist sailed through an afterimage of Noca's body. His eyes widened and he immediately turned around to defend against another attack. He could sense Noca's energy and threw his arms up in a cross-block, but as Noca threw his own punch, his entire body sailed through Vegeta. Another afterimage.

Vegeta growled and was starting to feel the tiniest bit panicked, but more than that his annoyance persisted. He very rapidly snapped to attention as he sensed Noca's energy again. He managed to alter his block and moved his left arm up level with his head, and his movement proved to be appropriately calculated. Noca's foot connected with Vegeta's forearm. The block was successful.

For a moment, there was a brief expression of shock on Vegeta's face, but it soon faded, and the Prince let out a frustrated scoff. Then, with a yell, Vegeta powered out a pulse of energy that was enough to push Noca away and created distance between the two. Noca's arms were knocked out wide by the pulse and that just made things easier for Vegeta, who turned, flared his aura, and charged right for the young Saiyan again.

Noca was perceptive enough to see that Vegeta was flying right towards him, and he started to back up while the Prince tried with all his pace and power to strike Noca with punches and kicks. Vegeta even tried throwing a few energy blasts as well, but Noca was able to avoid those with ease. The fight was clearly reaching a point where things were on a level playing field, but Noca was still finding it very difficult to find his own openings.

The young Saiyan found himself getting lost in his thoughts as he analysed Vegeta's movements, or at least tried to analyse them. He just wanted to find his opening and turn the tide of their fight. He had something to prove to the Prince, that was certain.

In the meantime, the fight continued to stream across the sky, with Vegeta chasing Noca and missing all of his attempts.

Watching on as the fight crossed the sky, leaving behind a bright trail of energy, Piccolo and Surto were perched on a ridge on one of the larger islands. The former was standing with his arms folded, while Surto was standing a little bit further behind him, looking up. Neither were planning to do anything about the fight, they were just observing. The Saiyan presence had distracted from their own training.

Up in the sky, Vegeta was getting more and more frustrated as Noca consistently retreated and dodged, and the frustration was having an effect on his attacks. His movements were far more telegraphed, they were bigger, clearer. Eventually, Vegeta growled, halted, and threw an angry barrage of energy blasts across the sky, hoping to hit Noca, somehow.

Noca was fast and focussed enough to dodge all of the Ki blasts, but they didn't help him keep track of Vegeta's positioning and he lost sight of the Prince. That must have been Vegeta's plan, as he suddenly appeared in the air to the side of Noca, and dropped in screaming, with his hands ready to hammer down.

The young Saiyan looked up and was fortunate enough that Vegeta had made him aware of his presence, and Noca was able to duck under Vegeta's attempts and then flew into an uppercut that struck the Prince deep in his gut. Vegeta coughed and had to pull back, but Noca threw his hands forward and unleashed a pulse of energy that sent the Prince hurtling through the air, towards another, larger island.

Vegeta smashed through a couple of rock formations on his way down before striking the ground on his back.

While down on his back Vegeta could only glare directly up into the sky, straight up, focussing on nothing but how much he had slipped in those last few minutes of the fight. He had become sloppy, and nothing frustrated the Prince more than when he lost focus. He slowly sat up and spotted Noca in the distance. His eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. The younger Saiyan wasn't doing anything, as if trying to goad Vegeta into taking control.

That was a mistake in Vegeta's own mind, he knew he could reclaim the upper hand and make Noca learn a lesson. A growl started deep in Vegeta's chest, and he let it out in a yell, jumping up to his feet. He threw his arms out wide and started to gather energy with his aura flared.

The Prince slammed his hands together in front of him, surrounded by a golden, sparkling energy, aimed towards Noca in an attack firing position. He yelled again, reaching a peak as he fired the pseudo-Final Flash in Noca's direction. Rather than a beam, the attack was launched in the form of a large Ki ball. It had a lot of pace and power, and Noca could sense the danger lurking within it.

He powered up, ready to block it, and from all the way down on the ground, Vegeta had a satisfied moment when he realised what Noca was doing. He smirked to himself and jumped into the air, following his own attack.

Noca wasn't just standing ready to block the attack, but he was gathering energy in his hands, however, it wasn't with the intention to fire an attack of his own. He was planning to block Vegeta's attack, hoping that his own energy would cancel out the energy with Vegeta's attack, planning for it to dissipate upon impact. He put his hands up ready to catch the attack, but something in the wind changed, and Noca's senses spiked.

Vegeta had appeared behind him, and as Noca started to turn and look back over his shoulder, the Prince slammed a strong kick into the younger Saiyan's lower back. The strength of the kick was enough to launch Noca towards the oncoming Ki blast. Noca connected with the blast and that connection was followed very briefly by a detonation and huge explosion in the middle of the sky.

The shock waves that rippled through the air were enough to shake the ground below, and the sound of the explosion carried for miles in every direction, although seemingly there was no civilisation in the immediate area, but there was a large island to the west of the fight, and the people of that land could certainly feel the tremors from what was happening.