Avatar: The Void of Vegeta

by M0b1uz

Alone, wandering through the cosmos, the last of his kind, Vegeta finds himself not only marooned on a foreign planet rather similar to the one he had abandoned, but now he has been mysteriously robbed of his full power, stuck with a gang of idiotic children and their painfully cliche adventure to save the world; Unfortunately, his anguish has only begun. Post-Perfect Cell arc

6. Banditwoman V Saiyaman: Dawn of Rumble

So, here we are, the chapter where all of the bullshit finally ends and Vegeta is cool again. I want to add another author's note here as a continuation to the one I recently added to the beginning - to anyone that read the first five chapters anyway, thank you. To anyone that skipped to this chapter, thank you anyway.

on with the story...

---

"PULL!"

Mai pulled the lever.

A dish was launched into the sky, getting blown to bits by a small ki blast.

"PULL!" Vegeta shouted again.

This time, Mai launched three dishes into the air at once, which were each blasted with ki balls almost as fast as for the single one.

"PULL!" a third time Vegeta exclaimed.

For this one, Mai launched in sequence several plates, bowls, cups, chopsticks, birds, and money, all of which the Saiyan blasted out of the sky without discretion.

A short time after departing from that psychotic village, the group had landed in a clearing near the wealthy town of Goaling, which was evidently the Space Palm Springs of the Earth Kingdom. The stupid kids went into town to shop for supplies (and apparently a new bag, as Sokka had complained about not having one), thus leaving finally leaving Saiyan prince to his lonesome without him ending up in some kind of cartoonish escapade.

For once in his life, Vegeta had to be thankful to the great little Namekian in the sky: since he lost the bulk of his ki to whatever unseen force, he's had precious few moments such as these to get some decent training done, albeit, at the children's expense "Whatever, they went to the market, they can buy some more stuff...oh wait, did I just blast the money...?"

Regardless, it gave him time to brood on important matters: now according to his father's alleged lover, Vegeta Sr. along with a whole host of other Saiyans had invaded this earth centuries and ago but had something "done to them" by a woman named Yangchen - a sorceress perhaps? Whatever was done to them, it was clearly affecting him as well; what Vegeta's current objective appeared to be was to find out the identity of Yangchen, and perhaps then he could discover this power-draining anomaly that seems to envelop this planet and destroy it.

The prince couldn't help but revel in the idea of his power returning; he could imagine the Avatar, his dumb friends, that princess, her dumb friends, and maybe even that "Zuko" person Sokka mentioned, all present to witness the return of the universe's last remaining Super Saiyan (full-blooded Super Saiyan anyway...), and how they would abandon their war and come together to worship him as some kind of great god, a god of might, a god of power...

"A Purple Cat!" Vegeta vocalized in the momentum of the thought. But then he paused in confusion: for some reason, his mind unconsciously associated a purple cat with the phrase "god of destruction"; he shook the perplexing thought out of his head.

Anyway, yes he would have his full power back, and then he would show these humans what real power is. Of course, the Saiyan found another thought popping in his head: what if, somehow, the massive amount of ki irradiating from his Super Saiyan form would rear an adverse effect on these benders? Perhaps his ki would actually have a special quality that would amplify their control over the elements to unbelievable proportions, giving the indigenous people a level of power they were not ready to have or never even meant to comprehend, thus contaminating the world with his very presence and throwing the entire civilization out of balance, resulting in the people converting into a xenophobic warrior race and eventually evolving into the universe's next celestial conqueror's?

He allowed the gravity of that thought to echo in his mind for a moment...

"naahhhh..." he shrugged it off; like he even cared what happens to the universe that far into the future...

"Hey, Vegeta!"

Another mental grunt from the Saiyan: you know, one would've thought the prince would cease to hear those words in that giddy tone with both Nappa and Kakarot having been blown to bits, but since the aforementioned little Nemekian clearly didn't like Vegeta very much, now he had an overly affectionate teenage girl to greet him with those very choice words, along with the other stupid kids; hell, even Sokka had a big smile on his face (looks like he got his bag...)

"What is it, space peasants?" Vegeta groaned as he stretched; honestly, he never thought that the goth would end up giving him better company...

"You're not gonna believe what we found down in Goaling...!" Aang beamed.

"If it doesn't have anything thing to do with someone named Yangchen, I'm nowhere near interested..." he replied immediately, having the feeling this was going to lead into another cloth-stealing deboggle. Honestly, though, he was inclined to believe ANYTHING at this point...

Sokka's new-found smile persisted."Well, it just so happens that while we were shopping for my new bag..." he patted the thing with contentment,"we found out that this place is holding an underground tournament tonight - the greatest champions in the world are coming together for an earthshaking brawl..." he cited as if he were making an online endorsement.

"Riiiiight, this world anyway..." Vegeta rolled his eyes, "And I care because...?" Vegeta vocalized.

"Well," Aang began, "Originally, we were going to go there and look for my earthbending teacher, but then Sokka had this great idea...!"

"What? bet on the champion of choice and use airbending to cheat? Pretty sure they'd see you hanged for that..." the Saiyan mused, tempted to smile from the thought.

"Actually, it's funny you mentioned the 'champion of choice...'" Sokka noted, "See, I just figured that, if Aang was going to find a strong enough master, well, he'd have to be able to beat a super-strong warrior like you."

At this, Vegeta spat his drink(yes he was drinking something - what is was is up to you...seriously, leave it in the reviews on what you would've wanted Vegeta to be drinking)."I knew you were up to something, you dweeb of a male - you expect me to sign up for some tournament? I don't have the time for such nonsense: I must find the answer to this mystery that befalls me!" he re-re-resolved for, like, the fifth time.

"Oh, come on, Vegeta..." Katara encouraged, "I thought you were a great fighter and stuff; wouldn't you enjoy something like this?"

"N.O." was his response, jutting his finger at the Avatar, "You want me to fight on your behalf," then he pointed to the waterbender,"You want me to take my shirt off in public again..." then finally to the teen," and you just want to see me get the Krillin beaten out of me while you sit back and eat popcorn," he said, "I am not going to cater to your needs while you do nothing to help me with my own problems..." he finished, turning around and pouring another glass of his mystery drink.

"I don't know what this 'popcorn' is, but it reminds me of fireflakes..." Mai lamented.

Sokka shrugged."I just thought it'd be a good exercise for you is all. Buuuuut if you really think a guy like you wouldn't stand a chance against those other guys - I mean, don't get wrong, they are greatest earthbenders in the world, I don't blame you..."

Before he could start to down the drink, the prince immediately put it down on a rock and spun back to Sokka."Now hold on a minute! I never said I was in any way afraid of those champions you spoke of! I just don't feel like wasting the effort..."

Sokka's smirked increased." Oh, I'm sure that's what you meant; it's just the way you've been mentioning that one guy - ya know, the one that was always a step ahead of you - that I'm starting to think you might lose your touch if you don't get a good fight soon..."

His grip on the cup tightened."That's fine of you...but I'm...not...interested..." Vegeta emphasized.

Sokka shook his hands."No, no, really, I trust you when you say you're not afraid; I just thought, as a great space warrior we know you to undeniably be, your reputation might get a little tainted once word gets out that the Prince of Saiyans backed out of fighting a bunch of inferior earthbenders - I mean, what would Kakarot think?"

The area was silenced by the sound of a glass shattering betwixt Vegeta's fingers. He slowly stepped to Sokka, Who partially wished he had not uttered the foreign name.

Nevertheless, Vegeta seized the teen by the collar and raised him off his feet, glaring into his eyes with a flaming tenacity."You can tell Kakarot not to feel lonely - because he's about to get some company from Goaling!"

---

Yes, yes indeed, the Saiyan prince had been talked into going along with Sokka's idea, as he was currently in the line for registration for Earth Rumble VI. He knew this was a total waste of time, but he couldn't get over that weakling's suggestion that he was "losing his touch" - sure, his throne, his family, his race, his ki, but his touch!? He thought not! He'd show that punk what a real warrior he was with this tournament.

Unfortunately, by the time the Saiyan had reached the registration booth, the woman was walking away.

"HEY! Where do you think you're going!?" Vegeta demanded.

The woman, a robust female in her mid-forties, turned back to Vegeta." Sorry, pal, all the slots have been taken."

At this, his eye widened in a stupor."WHAT!?" He knew there was a reason he was the last in line!"You're not serious, are you!? Surely there's one opening just look on your list there!"

"I just did look it over, that's how I know; sorry, maybe this fall you can come back in time..."

"I don't have until fall - I need to enter NOW!" he growled furiously. He couldn't leave here, there's no way Sokka would believe him, and then the boy would never let it down!

The woman sighed."Look, maybe if you'd come yesterday and pay for a reserved slot like the other guys, maybe you'd make it; but even then, they tend to pay months in advance..."

His brow raised." 'other guys'?"

"Yeah, those guys..." she gestured to a much smaller line of earthbenders to his immediate left; he watched as each one merely plucked a golden ticket out of a box and continued into the lobby.

Vegeta slapped his forehead."Look, there simply must be an opening somewhere!" he said desperately.

She tapped her chin."Well, It doesn't look like The Boulder's here yet; I suppose if he doesn't make it in time, you could take his spot..."

Before the Saiyan could fully embrace his relief, he saw another Earth Kingdom man run up to the VIP booth.

"SON OF A..." Vegeta groaned "...You better not be The Boulder, or I'll kill you here and now!"

The befuddled scrawny man quickly raised a dismissive hand."Doh-uh, No, I'm not The Boulder; I've here to a deliver a message that he will not be able to participate in the competition."

"What for?" Asked the Saiyan.

The messenger rubbed the back of his hair."Well, to start...he's dead."

The room was so quiet, one could've been scared by a fart.

"Dead!?" the ticket lady repeated in shock.

"Dead!?" as did the VIP booth lady.

"DEAD!? !? !?" along with the VIP wrestlers.

The Hippo farted, scaring everyone.

"And exactly how did he die?" Vegeta queried, worried that he was lying so that The Boulder could make a more dramatic entrance.

"Well, I wasn't there, but I was informed by a man who was known to be one of a few privately hired escorts for the Boulder; according to him, they were attacked in the middle of the night by some kind of giant insect, which presumably ate the Boulder. Either that or a tall guy dress as a bug killed him - it was definitely one of the two. I'm delivering a message from the only survivor."

"Interesting...well, cruel universe: I supposed that leaves his slot open then?" the prince changed the subject.

The stunned ticket woman slowly nodded."Y-yeeaah, sure..." she shook it out of her head."Anyway, you're going to need a name..."

"Right, haven't given that yet: it's Vegeta..."

"No, see I don't mean your name; I mean a name..."

"Is thing going to be another 'only one tree' word game again...?" he growled, his brow twitching.

"Well, what I mean is, each of these fighters always has their own stage name - a title that people will remember you by..."

"A title..." Thought Vegeta, "Does it have to be earth-related?"

She shrugged."Technically no, but it's a silent tradition; it does have to be original..."

He let that roll for a sec: he could just simply use "Super Saiyan" or "Prince of Saiyans" as his title, as obviously no one in the history of this world since his father could've possible used either of those; but then again, he had this odd feeling that if his name were to be too well known on this planet, some alien with a grudge for Saiyans will hear of it and reap revenge; in his current state, that would not be very good for him - he thought it best to settle for a more obscure title to curtail suspicion...

The prince snapped his fingers and smiled."I know just the one!"

---

After a quick workout in the exercise room, Vegeta was standing in the room to await his announcement.

According to the regulations, Vegeta was not permitted to wear armor, even though it was made of wood; he also figured Sokka would throw a hissy fit if his clothes were torn up again, so Vegeta grudgingly decided (once again) to remove his clothes, leaving him in his tight black space undies; though he could still wear his Rock Lee-Esque white arm straps, so he wasn't naked in the worst places.

He had a smirk on his face, knowing that he was one of the first fighters on the list, taking the spot of the late Boulder, and his new nickname was sure to be a hit with the crowd...

"ugh, Vegeta...?"

To his surprise, he turned to see the young Avatar walking up to him; strangely, his usual upbeat smile was replaced with a somber frown, the boy's eye seemed as though they did not want to make contact with Vegeta's.

"Something bothering you?" Vegeta asked against his better judgment.

He rubbed the back of his head." It...well...When the mayor of Chin Village said all those things about you-I mean, your people, and how they attacked the Earth Kingdom...you accepted it as truth even though we knew it wasn't: why did you do that?" he stared into the man's eyes in suspense.

This took Vegeta back a bit: he never expected such a profound question - at least by this boy's standards - to come out of his mouth of all people; he wasn't sure how to answer it...well, that was a lie, he knew precisely what the answer was. But should he answer?

He looked away."Listen, boy...can't we discuss this later? I'm preparing for combat here..." Vegeta deflected the query.

Aang blinked and turned away in disappointment.

---

As Aang made his way back down the hall, he couldn't help but stop walking for a moment to think of that answer Vegeta gave him: it seems like he was always preparing for combat, like that was all he knew how to do well. Is that what all Saiyans were like?

"Hey..."

A voice startled Aang, he turned to see someone he probably would not have noticed if he kept walking, leaning against the wall and checking her fingernails.

Aang's heartbeat caught up with him." umm...hey?"

"What's up, baldy? Didn't see you at the registration booth..." the little girl noted, "You planning on signing up for a rumble?"

The airbender could only blink at first."whuuuh, no...are you?" he felt like counter asking to ease the sheepishness off of him.

"Maybe, maybe not..." was the girl's response. She stood up and walked up to Aang."Name's Toph." she held her hand out for a shake.

He took the hand, which offered a surprisingly strong grip." I'm, umm...Kataang," he fibbed, somehow finding that name both convenient and inevitable.

"I can tell that's not your real name..." she said, taking Aang off guard."But It'll do for now. So, what're you here for?"

"I was just talking to a friend of mine; he's a fighter in the competition. What about you?"

"The same, more or less," Toph replied, "You look off for some reason - did that talk not go well?"

The Avatar sighed."I guess I'm just starting to really get to know him, and I'm not sure if he's the person I thought he was..."

"Yeah, well, it happens - it's probably the tournament fever gettin' to his head, it'll wear off when he loses."

"Maybe so," Aang considered, though he knew she was simply speculating, "but, as far as 'losing' is concerned, I don't think you know who you're talking about..." he added with a sheepish smile.

For some reason, that simply added to the length of the girl's smirk."Trust me, it doesn't matter who this guy is: he's going to lose."

---

Aang and Toph continued to the spot in the rock stand where Aang's friends sat.

"Hey, Aang, you sure took your time! Where were you!? I've been holding your seat this whole time!" Sokka complained over the cheering crowd.

"Oh yeah, because all those giant rocks couldn't wait to fly right onto it..." Mai deadpanned.

"You let Mai come to?" Aang blinked in confusion.

Sokka shrugged."It's not like we could've left her alone; besides, we get a discount for bringing in slaves..." he explained randomly."Who's your new friend by the way?"

Aang gestured to the girl."This is Toph: she says she's the Blind Bandit's niece."

Sokka blinked in surprise."Oh, well, nice to meet you..." he greeted as politely as he could.

The two took a seat on the stone ledge between the Water Tribe siblings. Aang was rather surprised to see the elated expression on Katara's face.

"Katara? Why are you smiling? I thought you hated this sort of thing..."

She pouted."I'm allowed to smile, aren't I, Aang?" she turned her attention back to the crowd."When's Vegeta coming out? I wanna see him win!"

Toph blinked."His name's 'Vegeta'?" She tapped her shin."That name sounds familiar for some reason..."

Then came a loud thundering crash; his look at the ring to see a muscular, long-haired man rise to his feet."WELCOME TO EARTH RUMBLE SIX!"

The crowd up-roared in reaction.

"I am your host! Xin Fu! The rules are simple: just knock the other guy out of the ring, and you win!"

"oooohhh, this is gonna be great!" Katara squealed."I think Vegeta's in the first round!"

Xin Fu chuckled mentally, that new guy, the spiky-haired one, specifically asked him to announce him after his opponent, the Hippo, for full dramatic effect, and Fu knew everything about drama...

"Fresh off the bat, we've got an interesting match to start off! In one corner, we have a returning giant: The Big Bad Hippo!"

The crowd cheers as the dimwitted behemoth stomped up to the stage, bearing his signature four teeth.

"In the next corner, we have a quite unique opponent: turns out this one's a nonbender! And we all know how that goes...!"

The audience booed out of disappointment.

"Not to worry, ladies and gentlemen, this guy's so tough, the ability to bend would've been downright unfair for the rest of the contenders!" Xin Fu assured them, though he knew he was merely talking out of his finely sculpted ass."In the next corner, we have a man who can rock the ground with his bare hands alone! In the next corner, I give you, the strong, fast, the tenacious, the relentless: The Mighty Ozaru!"

Toph blinked."What kinda' stupid name is that? He might as well call himself ' The Giant Monkey' ."

"Why did you have to put that image in my head?" Sokka lamented, feeling more emasculated than ever

Vegeta pridefully stomped onto the ring, strips of emerald light gleaming off of his well-oiled body. (a tad too oiled, actually...)

Though Katara didn't seem to mind the excessive use of oil; in fact, she had now acquired a newfound appreciation for the non-aquatic lipid.

"Okay, I'm not gonna lie, that is pretty hot..." Mai admitted.

All three of these caused the physically inferior Sokka and Aang to slump further down their seats.

"Hear me, Hippo!" Vegeta called, pointing his shiny finger at the giant."If you think your size is going to win you this day, you are sorely mistaken! The Mighty Ozaru is going to take this round in a landslide!"

"Hippo MAD!" the fat man bellowed in response.

With a yell, Vegeta dashed for the large man with superhuman speed, cutting the gap in mere seconds as he quickly rammed his fist into the man's enormous gut...which actually did nothing.

There was an awkward pause between Vegeta and the Hippo...

Vegeta gave a round of punches that rattled the man's giant belly but did nothing further, his grand blubber absorbing the blows like water. Hippo eventually got tired of this and pushed Vegeta on his back with one hand.

"Hippo SMASH!" the giant roared, using what Vegeta hoped was just earthbending to lift a huge slab of rock out of the ring ground and throwing it at the Saiyan, who flipped out of the way for it to smash onto the floor. Vegeta spin-kicked the man in his knee cap, causing him to fall halfway to the ground, bring his face level with the Saiyan's; Vegeta punched Hippo in the face and jaw consecutively before Hippo caught the next fist in his mouth. Hippo swung Vegeta by the jaw, launching him ten feet across the ring. Hippo began to jump up and down, each landing rocking the very ring itself, causing Vegeta to struggle to get to his feet. The Hippo charge Vegeta and rammed his forearm into Vegeta's face, knocking him to the ground once more.

"Oh no! He's gonna lose!" Aang worried.

"Yeeaah he is...!" Sokka reveled.

"Come one, Vegeta!" Katara called.

" 'Vegeta', that definitely sounds familiar..." Toph muttered.

This time, Hippo planted his foot on Vegeta's chest, hindering him from arising. From this standpoint, the Hippo took moment to scan his opponent."Puny Ozaru..."

Vegeta smiled, and glared up at the fat man." And now, I shall have my fun...!" he said before ki blasting him in the eyes, forcing him off the Saiyan and allowing him to immediately jump up and roundhouse kick the Hippo in the jaw. In a Fist of the North Star kind of manner, Vegeta began to pummel the Hippo with a relentless stream of punches and kicks, all directed against his large belly, forcing him to gradually stumble back across the stage. As they neared the end, the Hippos belly, true to form, began to form a small fleshy crater as the fat was pushed apart by the blows, leaving a portion of skin with no blubber in to protect it. Vegeta quickly took advantage of this, by gunning his fist into the Hippo's abdomen, causing the giant to double over in pain, enabling Vegeta to give him a black-flip kick to the jaw, knocking the Hippo off the Ring completely, out cold before he even hit the ground.

At this, the crowd happily exploded in awe of the victory.

Xin Fu in particular was stunned by the unexpected win." Duh, the Mighty Ozaru wins!" he lazily flung his hand in the prince's direction.

"YEAAAAAYYY!" Katara whaled in pure glee.

"He won...he won!?" Sokka couldn't believe what he saw.

Toph nodded."Well, I will admit, this Ozaru guy's got the moves; there's just something about his name that reminds me of something; I can't remember what it is..."

"Next, the Ozaru vs...Fire...Nation...MAN!"

Vegeta raised an eyebrow at his next opponent: a smaller but still fat man dress in a gold and black cape, yellow boots, and red brown trousers, waving a large Fire Nation flag for the booing audience to see.

"Well well, am I actually going to take on a firebender?" Vegeta wondered aloud, as the evidence was painfully obvious.

"Please rise for Fire Nation National Anthem!" Fire Nation Man announced, confusing Vegeta with his overly-thick Space-Russian accent.

Mai mechanically rose off her seat, her hand extended to the west.

Fire Nation Man knelt in the same fashion.

Fire Lord!

My Flame Burns for thee!

A split-second later, the flagstaff in his hand was blown in half by a ki shot, startling him out of his song.

"I've had about enough singing, thank you!" Vegeta protested.

Fire Nation Man's jaw dropped."How DARE you interrupt me!" he rose to his feet."I know who you are! You are the half-naked man who terrorized New Ozai and attacked our beloved Princess Azula!"

"Princess? Yes. Beloved? No." Mai answered silently.

"Then why did you stand for the anthem?" Sokka inquired.

She shrugged."Years of boarding school; it's practically involuntary..."

"That's right, that was me!" Vegeta replied."And I hope your flame is burning even brighter now that you have something against me!"

"Taste my sand, heathen!" Fire Nation Man pulled back and launch a missile of sand at the Saiyan, which Vegeta blocked with both arms.

He had to spit some out and rub his eyes after that."Sandbending!? Is that all I get!?" he rolled his eyes; he couldn't have everything he wanted."Very well, Sandman, let's see what you've got!" he blasted two ki balls at Fire Nation Man; Fire Nation Man blocked them with sand that Fire Nation Man then launched at Vegeta, who rolled under the sand and shot some more ki at Fire Nation Man; Fire Nation Man spun to avoid the ki balls, using his momentum to hurl more sand at Vegeta, who matched the sand in mid-air with another ki blast.

Vegeta and Fire Nation Man glared into eachother's eyes...

With two yells, they both charged for eachother, Vegeta cocked his fist while Fire Nation Man encased his in the sand; they both nailed eachother in the face. They then began a fierce exchange of blows. The force of Fire Nation Man's sand packed punches were matched by the speed of Vegeta's blows; eventually, Vegeta's speed won, buffeting Fire Nation Man's face with punch after punch, a knee to the stomach, a swing to the temple, topped off by an uppercut that sent Fire Nation Man screaming off the ring.

"The Mighty Ozaru wins!"

The audience cheered even louder than before, including Katara.

Vegeta stretched his shoulder in triumph."hmhmhmhmhm, Now, who's next?"

---

"The Mighty Ozaru vs The Gopher!"

A line or earth snaked its way across the ring as a bald man with a strange headdress emerged like a shark; he lunged out of the ground and tackled the Saiyan. They both rolled along the ground before Vegeta pinned the Gopher by his neck, and pulled his fist back to punch him sorry. The frightened Gopher sunk back into the ground before Vegeta's fist collided with just the stone, making a crack in the rock and forcing Vegeta to wag his hand in pain. He realized the Gohper was at the trick again, this time with a rock in hand. As the Gopher again launched himself at Vegeta, the prince spun around and kicked him in the stomach, making him fall to the floor in agony; Vegeta went to down and wrapped his limbs around the Gopher's leg UFC style; he twisted the leg to the point where a cracking noise could be heard, making the Gopher scream like a girl. Vegeta then got up and grabbed the Gopher's ankles; he spun around and around and around, faster and faster before finally letting go, sending the Gopher flying off the ring.

---

"The Mighty Ozaru vs the Gecko!"

Vegeta ducked out of the way of three spherical rocks and shot some ki blasts, but the Gecko weaved, rolled, and crawled out of the way. Eventually, the Gecko pounced and wrapped his limbs around Vegeta's upper half, somehow getting the Saiyan in a chokehold with just his right leg. Vegeta's response was to jump forward and hit the ground, letting the Gecko break his fall. Vegeta got up and jumped thirty feet in the air, and slammed his elbow into the Gecko's back, putting him out for the count.

---

"The Mighty Ozaru vs the Wild Man!"

At first, Vegeta had no idea where his opponent was, up until he heard a feral cry above him; he looked up to see said wild man flying down at him on a rope.

The Saiyan snorted, raising his hand and shoot the wire, snapping it and causing the wild man to sail over him and hit the ground. The rope landed before Vegeta's feet giving him an idea...

The Wild Man struggled to get up, right when a lasso suddenly fell around his neck; the stunned Wild Man turned to see the smirking Vegeta holding the other end of the rope with both hands.

The Wild Man shook his head rapidly.

Vegeta nodded his head slowly."GET OVER HERE!" Vegeta commanded, yanking the wire with all his might and causing the Wild Man to fly toward his raised fist.

The Gaang had to look away from the bone-breaking beating that echoed throughout the ring, then all was silent.

"Flawless Victory!" Xin Fu cried.

---

"OZARU! OZARU! OZARU!" the audience cheered endlessly. The audience didn't seem to care about his strange lightbending, but perhaps they saw it as a reason to cheer harder.

Aang was clapping in excitement, even Sokka found himself cheering for him, Toph stroked her chin interested; Mai had downed her latest helping of earthflakes, And Katara had long torn off her tunic, waving it madly as she screamed like she was in a rock concert.

And at the center of all this praise was Vegeta, basking into the fullest extent, laughing loudly and making various poses ( a few he even stole from the Ginyu Force).

Yes, this was it: the moment he had missed in the decades of his life, let alone his bout without his power. For once in what seemed like such a long time the people were recognizing him for his might, as even in his weak state he was the CHAMPION!

"I AM THE EARTH KINGDOM'S CHAMPION!" He vocalized, the crowd roaring in agreement.

"Oh, hold on for a moment, Titan!" Xin Fu interjected, causing the Saiyan to look up at him." While it's hard to object after this show you put on, I'm afraid we all know what comes next...!" he began in an over-exaggerated foreboding tone.

"OOOOOOOOOOOHHHH..." muttered the elated audience."BANDIT! BANDIT! BANDIT!"

The smirk in Toph's face returned."Oh sweet earthen glory, this is gonna be good..." she said, cracking her knuckles.

His smile deflating, the prince whipped his head to and fro to see that the whole stadium was cheering for someone else?"What is this!? Who is this 'bandit' they speak of!?"

"Oh man, I forgot! I guess it's time for your uncle to come out now, huh Toph?" Aang recalled.

Sokka blinked."um, Toph, this uncle of yours isn't really 'blind', is he? I mean, it has to be some sort of alliterative gimmick?"

The smirking Toph didn't answer, simply rising off the seat and stretching.

"He probably is..." Mai supposed.

"He probably is AGOIN' DOOOWWWN...!" Katara finished.

"My apology, Mister Ozaru, but if you wanna be the champ, ya gotta BEAT the champ!" Xin Fu announced to the Saiyan.

"Champ? Where is this champ!? I'll tear him apart!" Vegeta growled in self-projected fury."BANDIT! SHOW YOURSELF! ! !"

"Where is he? I don't see anyone in the entrance..." Sokka searched.

Toph was just about done stretching."Oh, don't worry...I'm ready to tangle..."

"You whahuh?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for: The Mighty Ozaru vs...!"

Just then Toph used a column of earth to launch herself into the air and onto the other end of the ring.

"...The BLIND BANDIT! ! !"

"It's time to rumble!" Toph announced, stomping into a fighting stance.

The Avatar's eye threatened to fire out of his head."SHE'S THE BLIND BANDIT!?"

Sokka's jaw hung low."...welp, you sure can make some friends, Aang..."

And for the first time in a while, Vegeta was compelled to do a trademark anime gawk at the discovery, with the important addition of his left eye squinting, his arms dangling."Hang on a second: you mean to tell me the greatest champion in this tournament is a little blind girl?" the prince asked Xin Fu, who nodded. Normally, this sort of thing would throw the Saiyan into a fit of rage, but he was in so good a mood that he actually burst into laughter, again indicative of tough anime people."HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, a little GIRL is the champion!? What's that say about the rest of those guys I beat up!?"

"It's saying you're such a wimp, you can't even take on real men, let alone a little girl!" Toph replied.

Vegeta rolled his eyes."How adorable, a comeback: have you just been defeating your opponents by annoying them out of the ring?"

"I'd rather be annoying than a wimp, wimp!" was Toph's response.

The prince chuckled."I bet you think I'm going to hold back on you like everyone else, don't you? I kneed a six-year-old in the stomach once and I can tell you're about twice that age, so don't think I'll give you any mercy!" he warned, sinking into his own fighting pose.

"Whatever you say, just sounds like you're so scared you're stalling the fight as long as possible; but hey, just my opinion. Bring on, Mighty Monkey!"

Vegeta twitched at the name, been called that by too many races all his life."So I'm a monkey, huh? That's I guess it's appropriate for me to go APE SHIT!" he roared, sprinting for the girl at high speed.

Toph never stopped smiling...

Vegeta's knuckles sailed for Toph's face...but missed.

"Wha?" breathed the Saiyan, as Toph's head was now leaning to the left, Vegeta's fist occupying the previous spot.

"Something the matter, monkey?" Toph teased.

"Not for long!"

Vegeta attempted another punch, which Toph also dodged. He then swung another fist that Toph ducked under, a kick that Toph side-stepped, and an uppercut that Toph balked away from.

The Saiyan paused..."Okay, no..."

Vegeta shot a volley of fists and feet at the girl, who managed to avoid them as they passed.

Aang couldn't believe her speed! it was as if she knew where they were coming from before they were thrown like she was just...waiting for them...and listening...

"Oh boy..." something clicked in the boy's mind.

"How...are...YOU...DODGING...THIS!?" Vegeta yelled in frustration before swinging his shin for Toph's head; she almost instantly blocked it with a thin stone slab just centimeters from her face.

The shin and stone struggled for a moment...

Vegeta backflipped away from Toph, breathing heavily...

"Aw, come one, you're tired already? Man, they sure don't make Giant Monkeys like they used to..." Toph mocked, shaking her head.

"Just...getting...situated..." breathed Vegeta."How the hell are you so fast!?"

She shrugged."Well, aside from you yelling 'yah, hiyah' every time you throw a punch, and your moves being, like, uber-predictable, you might say I just got a good reaction time. Besides, no need to flatter yourself over your speed - it ain't like you can move at the speed of sound, ya know..." she cracked.

"She's just toying with me!" Vegeta realized. Unbelievable, never did Vegeta think he'd ever experience this again, being played with by a so-called stronger opponent - and a girl of all things! Well not this time, he will not be underestimating this one...!

The next thing Vegeta did was fire a ki blast from both hands. Toph was shocked for an instant but blocked the blast with the stone slab just in time for it to impact on it.

The slab descended."What kinda weird bending is that, anyway?"

"That's for me to know and you eat it!" Vegeta shouted before launching a volley of ki balls at Toph, who brought up another slab to block them.

Vegeta strafed in a circle while maintaining his ki barrage with one hand in order to ger around the stone shield; Toph mere pulled the slab to her left to mirror Vegeta's light missiles. Toph got tired of that and shove the slab straight for Vegeta, who leaped over the slab and flung a large ki ball with both hands, which Toph already matched with a big rock; they both collided in a mixture of explosion and dust.

The Gaang watched as ki balls and rocks flew across the arena; like watching two groups of catapults launching their artillery at eachother from a long distance.

"Commoooon, Vegeta, I believe in you!" Katara hoped he heard him, pumping her fist upwards.

"Is it me or is that little girl actually holding her own against a crazy space warrior?" Mai just realized.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me YOU believe that nonsense too!" Sokka groaned.

"That's her..." Aang realized. He smiled "That's my new earthbending teacher!"

"TAKE THIS!" Vegeta yelled, shooting another large blast of ki at Toph, who once again blocked it.

"You are aware you're basically announcing your attacks before you do them whenever you say 'take this' or 'eat that', right?" Toph reminded, annoyed when things get too easy.

"DIE! DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIIIEEE!" Vegeta persisted, shooting more and more ki at the girl; she managed to block every one. In fact, in an attempt to get a bit of a challenge out of it, she blocked groups of blasts at a time rather than one big block for all of them.

"Aww, forget this! If you can't do better than that, I'll just end this now!" Toph complained before stomping her foot, causing a column to launch Vegeta high into the air, hair tinglingly close to the edge of the diamond lamp in the ceiling, and tumbling down to the ring crotch first onto a column, coincidentally on the end in front of the Gaang: they all cringed.

"OOOOOOOH! That's what I call a LOW BLOW!" Xin Fu chuckling at his dad joke, despite not being a dad (or at least not knowing he actually is)

Vegeta fell to the ground, curled up like an armadillo, wheezing, tentatively holding his manhood.

"Sorry, didn't mean to do that!" Toph apologized, still mockingly.

His breath was like sucking in molasses through a straw; he was expending all this valuable energy and it wasn't even hitting her! If he could just have a little more of his full power back, then she would be the one on the floor!

Regardless of the pain, he rose to his feet."In case you people have forgotten, this is a tournament! Shouldn't that kind of move be against the rules!?"

"Sorry, monkey, but this tournament only has one rule: I win!" Toph announced before performing some more earthbending movements.

A bunch of stone rectangles sprung from the ground, surrounding Vegeta.

"You think this will hold me back!?" Vegeta yelled, punching one of the slabs, which caused it to spin around and smack him in the face, knocking him into another slab that also spun and smacked him, setting off a chain reaction of spinning slabs that relentlessly hit him in the face.

"Oh no!" Aang exclaimed, "It's just like the spinning gates airbenders use to train! Quick, Vegeta! Stop moving against the gates! Float around them like a leaf in the wind! Be the leaf, Vegeta!"

Unfortunately, Vegeta couldn't hear Aang over the sound of the slabs smacking into his face, until he was eventually smacked out of the maze of spinning slabs, spinning to the ground drooling.

A small hand lightly slapped Vegeta's cheek; He woke up and groggily arose to see a genuinely concerned look on the blind girl's face."You sure you don't want a time out or something?"

The Saiyan sprung, looming over the girl, fist cocked."I'll tell you when I'm finished, you-!" he was cut off a slab that nailed him in the chin."-scrawny little-!" he was hit in the stomach with another slab."- snot-nose barefoot-!" he was hit by a slab from his left."-topknot wearing-!" then from his right."-shrill-voiced-!" another slab in the spleen."-obnoxious tiny-!" about eight slabs to the face."-stupid-faced..." then knocked back with a front slab, knocked forward with another slab, smashed between two slabs, and brought to the ground by a from above."WILL YOU STOP HITTING ME WITH SLABS!?"

"'mkay..." Toph agreed, then promptly launched a column of stone into his abs, sending him flying into a wall in the arena.

Vegeta arose just in time to see a volley of boulders raining upon him."...mother...

The Gaang simply could look at the stone-cold pummeling that was dished out on the Saiyan.

"Dang, overkill much?" Mai observed.

"He's getting the jelly beaten out of him!" Sokka gaped.

"And I thought my fight with the Fire Lord was gonna be bad!" Aang marveled.

"She keeps earthbending him in the dick! Why!? Why does she keep earthbending him in the dick!?" Katara clutched her head.

Finally, Toph, bashed Vegeta away with a slab, sending his bruised body rolling to the end of the ring where the Gaang sat.

"Whoops, another slab, sorry 'bout that!" Toph apologized, this time with no sincerity whatsoever.

"NononononoNOO! What's happening!? She MUST be cheating!" Katara grumbled.

"Looks like your friend is spent; he might well walk off that ring," Mai noted.

"Oh no, we have to do something! Sokka, do something!" Aang said randomly.

"What? What am I supposed to do? Fight for him?" he squealed, as that sho ain't neva gon' happen.

"I dunno, yell something inspirational!" Aang suggested.

"Why would I do that? I'm the guy that wants him to lose, remember?"

"Yes, we remember..." Mai began "...and so will Vegeta, after he loses to a girl, and how you were the one who talked him into entering this tournament in the first place..."

Sokka gulped. He jumped up to the edge of the stands and screamed."Vegeta You have to beat this girl!"

"I...can't..." he exhaled.

"You have to! Because if you don't...because...um..." he paused. after a second a ding went off in his head."Because if you don't beat her, then Kakarot will!"

Vegeta's eyeshot wide open, as if being injected with pure adrenaline.

Toph shot a finishing rock for his face at extreme velocity, which Vegeta grabbed with one hand, crushing it.

Then, the Saiyan clenched his fist and yelled, "KAKAROOOOOOOT!", powering up. A faint white aura appeared around the prince, as his yell intensified.

Toph paused for a second. The vibrations given off from this person were astounding! It was unlike any bending move she'd ever encounter in her young life! And that yell...the Yell! The yell she'd been hearing on and off for like a week now, This was the one who was doing it all along!

The powered-up Vegeta raised his hand at Toph."NOT SO LITTLE BANG ATTAAAAACK! ! !" A slightly larger Little Bang Attack ki burst out of Vegeta's hand, roaring across the ring and bathing the flabbergasted Toph in its intense light.

---

As Lao and Poppy sipped on their tea, they were disturbed by a small tremor; dust fell from the ceiling and sprinkle into their tea.

Lao frowned."Darn tremors..."

---

As the smoke cleared, Silence reigned... the audience, Xin Fu, and the Gaang peered into the smoke to see the results of the attack.

When it was gone, they could see that the end of the ring Toph was standing on had been completely blown away, a gigantic molten gap in the platform that spanned the width of the ring denoting the missing chunk.

Vegeta's breath was gentle; even he marveled at this feat of power, all due to the mention of Kakarot: perhaps Broly was onto something..."did...Did I win...?" he mumbled.

Just then, Toph popped up through the ground behind Vegeta."Not so much..."

"WHA-!?" was all Vegeta could say as he spun around to face her, just in time for her to jutt out three thin earth columns that sent the prince flying across the ring and face-first into the wall on the other side. He slipped off and fell to the ground, his limp body echoing throughout the stadium.

Darkness...

---

"Vegeta..."

...

"Vegeta...!"

...

"Vege-oh for the love of-WAKE UP, GIANT MONKEY!"

Vegeta's eye shot open, he sprawled up to a sitting position."WHA-WHAT HAPPENED!?"

He whipped around in all directions: he was in his sleeping bag back at the clearing where they landed earlier, the Gaang sitting around him."Wha...I..It was all a dream?" Vegeta began to laugh out loud."HAHAHAHAH! It was all a dream!"

"...yeah, This 'dream' you had? Did it have anything t do with fighting a little blind girl?" Sokka asked nervously.

Vegeta paused."... ... ...It wasn't a dream, was it...?"

"There's good news..." Katara began..."

The prince rubbed his sinus."Don't tell me: Kakarot defeated her?"

Aang rubbed the back of his head."Actually...I did."

---

"WHERE'S THE BANDIT!?" Vegeta thundered, pinning the teen to the wall.

"I DON'T KNOW! I SWEAR TO HEI BAI!"

"SWEAR TO ME!" the prince yelled before punching the bully in the gut.

"Vegeta, stop it! You're gonna get us thrown in jail!" Sokka begged.

The very second Vegeta heard where the stupid children gathered the news of the tournament from, his immediate response was to drag Sokka all the way into town by his ponytail to guide him straight to the academy.

"I told you! the Bandit's a mystery: she shows up to fight and then she disappears!" The terrified student reassured Vegeta.

"You're not telling us everything!" Katara barked, having the other student in an ice-covered chokehold.

"That's all I know! No one knows who she really is...! Please don't kill me!" the teen begged, streams of tears leaking from his eyes.

"I think we're asking for the wrong person..." Aang realized."In my vision, I saw a girl with a white dress and a pet flying boar: Know anyone like that?"

"Well, uh, I, the flying boar is the symbol of the Bei Fong family-"

"WHERE!?"Vegeta growled inhumanly.

"In a big mansion north of here! Ya can't miss it!"

"WHY!?" He asked again.

The boy blinked."duh-d-cause, ya' know, there-there rich and stuff-?"

"DO I LOOK LIKE A COP!?"

Vegeta then flung the teen backward, his head slamming into a clay pot. Turned and left the plaza.

Katara threw her victim to the floor while giving him the "I'm watchin' you" gesture, following Vegeta along with Aang and Sokka.

"I can't BELIEVE I lost to a blind girl! Me, the Prince of Saiyans, defeated by a HUMAN GIRL!" Vegeta yelled.

"Don't worry, Vegeta, she had to have been cheating!" Katara defended vehemently.

"How do you figure that? You can't just fake earthbending!" Sokka said.

"Aang did for me! So...maybe someone airbended for her!"

At this, the teen's upper half hung forward."Katara, please, why do you insist on bringing shame upon our family?" Sokka drooped.

"I don't care where that bending came from! Both her and possibly the secret help are going to pay with their lives!" Vegeta reminded. He felt his forehead."Gah, my brain is still throbbing! I can't even remember what made me enter that tournament in the first place!"

"Oh, thank Hei Bei!" Sokka breathed in relief.

"Don't rough her up too bad, Vegeta: She's fated to be my earthbending teacher ya know..." Aang reminded.

"If she can teach without her eyes, she can teach without the rest of her body..." replied the Saiyan.

"There's the flying boar!" Aang announced as he pointed to an image of a winged boar from their vantage point.

They beheld a huge beautiful mansion surrounded by a vast yard and a huge stone wall, with the symbol above the gateway, flanked by a pair of guards.

"I'm going in..." Vegeta announced, arise from the hillside.

Sokka pulled him back down."What're you doing!?"

"Take your hand off me, worm!" the Saiyan shoved Sokka off.

The teen rubbed his temples."Look, I know you're still mad about the fight, but we're talking about Aang's earthbending master, okay? Can we at least just get in there quietly without the guards noticing!?" he yelled/whispered.

Angry as he was, Vegeta saw his point, 'specially considering the last time he tried to get past a couple of guards; he spent an awful lot of ki during that fight, which was recently slow to recover."Fine, lead the way..."

---

They slid down a wall on the right of the estate and sped across the field and behind a large bush.

They peered sneakily around the bush.

"Alright, here's the plan..." started Vegeta, "Sokka and the Avatar kill the guards while me and Katara storm the mansion."

"Sounds like a good plan," the waterbender agreed, her mind exploding from the sound of Vegeta calling her by name.

Sokka slowly inhaled and exhaled."oooor, we could all sneak into the mansion and have a nice calm conversation with the Blind Bandit who is, once again, fated to be Aang earthbending master..." he suggested.

"As I said before: you stick to your own objectives, while I tend to mine..." the Saiyan replied. He knew full well how much Yangchen time he was wasting, but it would all be worth it after he put that loudmouth brat in her place...

Just then, the ground below them erupted outward, launching the four into the air and landing somewhere else, Katara and Aang atop a couple of bushes, while Vegeta and Sokka flat on the ground.

On his back, Vegeta reopened his eyes to see the Blind Bandit hanging over him. She smirked."How's it hangin, monkey boy?"

"YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SH-!" Vegeta shot up and pulled back his fist before Sokka wrapped his arms around Vegeta's; thanks to his further depleted ki, Sokka managed to hold him off.

"What're you doin' here, Kataang?" Toph asked as the two continued to wrestle.

"Um, that's the thing, Toph..." Aang began.

"If that's your real name, cheater!" Katara pointed an accusing finger at the blind girl.

Aang sweatdropped."um...anyway, See, my real name is Aang, and I'm actually the Avatar, and I wanted you to teach me earthbending."

At this, Toph's eyelids raised."...that...was actually the truth..." she noted. Her brow regressed."Still not my problem. Now get out before I call the guards!" she warned.

Vegeta elbowed Sokka in the side,("OWmykidney..!" yelped Sokka) picked him up and threw him into the hedge behind them."Oh, well, that's a shame, I guess she's not going to train you after all...!" he began, stomping over to Toph."Now I believe you owe me some retribution..."

Toph gave a flat expression, then it morphed into one of fear." Guards! Guards! Help!" she called in a weak pitiful tone.

"Nice try, Bei Fong, but I'm not going anywhere!" Vegeta declared, right before the tattered leaf-covered Sokka angrily swung his foot up Vegeta's dick from behind, pulling the immobilized Saiyan away with him.

From his hiding place behind the bush, Sokka watched the guards run up to Toph; they asked what was wrong, but she said she only heard something and got scared; the guards corrected her for walking around the garden alone.

Vegeta groaned in pain."uhggg...stupid girl must've bent up a rock into my dick when I wasn't looking..."

"Duh, yeah sure, that's what happened..." Sokka took advantage of, re-realizing he could not hold him off like this once he regains that lightbending power.

Katara raised an eyebrow."That's wasn't her, it was-"

Sokka quickly covered her mouth."Nahnahnah, we need to let him recover...!"

As the guards escorted Toph by the hand back into the house, Aang stealthily landed next to the team.

"I just got the perfect idea to get past the guards!"

"What? Ask them to let you pass?" Vegeta cracked.

Aang smiled shrewdly."Yes."

---

Evidently, the group had just plain forgotten one of them was this world's messiah, and that merely asking the Earth Kingdom guards to enter was no different from a god asking for a free hot dog.

It was told them that Lao Bei Fong, Toph's father, had obviously been informed and had immediately ordered for a great meal to be set of in the dining room.

Vegeta was legitimately surprised to see that the banquet was virtually finished by the time they walked into the room (he forgot how money can make time speed up).

Lao Bei Fong walked up the Avatar and bowed."My goodness, it is such an honor!"

"Oh no, the honor's mine!" Aang bowed back.

"Come, take a seat." Lao led them to the right end of the table.

Of course, before Vegeta sat down, he noticed three people at the end of the table. On the left was a middle-aged scrawny man with long hair and a white and green robe, who greet Vegeta with a casual wave of the hand; to the left of that man was a younger woman in a beige robe large poofy hair that disturbingly reminded him of Mrs. Briefs, and like Mrs. Briefs, she gave Vegeta a rather provocative glare as she stroked the surface of her tea with her spoon; and to her right was sitting his latest nemesis: the Blind Bandit herself. She smirked and subtly bucked her chin up as a greeting.

Vegeta's eye's squinted slightly, his lips tightened, his fist clenched; he quickly took the seat Aang was about to take, wrapping the napkin around his neck slowly and taking a bowl of bean pudding and sticking his spoon into it, all the while watching the girl like a hawk.

But before he could put the spoon in his mouth...

"Pardon me, Mr. Vegeta is it?" Lao began.

"Yes, it's Vegeta - Prince Vegeta," he responded naturally.

"mmmm, A prince..." Mrs. Bei Fong mused.

"It's a family custom to pray at the table before eating, if you don't mind of course...?" The man explained politely.

"Oh, of course..." Aang nodded as he and Katara knelt held their hands together, awaiting said prayer.

"In fact, I do mind," replied the Saiyan."The Prince of Saiyans caters to no man or deity."

"Vgta..." Sokka grunted, brandishing his club, finnin' ta' break in it half against Vegeta's skull.

The prince rolled his eyes."Fine, go ahead and pray..." he consigned, getting into the usual Frieza saluting position and closing his eyes, as that was the only reverent gesture he was familiar with. Honestly, how could this man see a necessity for religion with all this money? Of course, given the vast wealth, he was probably going to pray to himself...

"Oh, great and mighty Vetega..." the Saiyan's right eye boinked open and after a second creaked in Lao's direction," we thank you once again for saving the Earth Kingdom from the unearthly evils of the past so that we may live to take part in this wonderful wonderful banquet we have set up in gratitude of your deeds - as it has been, as it is..."

"As it is" Toph, Poppy, and Master Yu echoed.

As they began their feast, Vegeta stared at the rich man in bewilderment. Was it just him, or did the name of that god he was praying to sound an awful lot like the female equivalent of his own name?

He shook his head, it was probably a coincidence (everyone in the universe seems to speak the same language, for Freiza's sake); and if it were important, it'd likely be brought up somewhere else...Better to focus on one source of anxiety at a time. In this case, her...

He lipped to the girl "Your mine..."

Toph managed to sense the gesture and lipped "Come at me, bro..." in response, making the spoon warp in Vegeta's fingers (that is, Vegeta bent the spoon with his fingers; sorry, LOK fans, no metalbending just yet)

Vegeta turned his eyes back and forth to see Lao and Aang discussing his destiny to defeat the Fire Lord and save the world like it were just stocks and bonds to them; suddenly an invisible force shocked his chair, making him lurch forward and yelp, gaining everyone's attention. Vegeta turned back to Toph to see her smirk then return to her soup as though nothing happened. His cheeks flexed at the realization. She was actually taunting him, in front of everyone! But he had to keep it together, just a little longer after this dinner, maybe until tonight when his power would recharge further, then he would have his revenge.

Just then, he felt a bizarre sensation prodding his leg; turned over a little to see his lap being patted by a floating pebble; his face whipped back at Toph, who had her left hand under the table, and was likely controlling the small piece of earth to agitate him further, which was totally working.

"She doesn't fear me at, all does she? Not even Freiza was this cavalier around Saiyans! Oh, how she will rue the day she messed with me! RUE IT! ! !"

It was then that the blind girl did the exact opposite of ruing by making another shock that somehow caused Vegeta's face to whiplash into his bowl of bean pudding, causing everyone to stare at the Saiyan like he was batshit crazy.

Vegeta slowly placed his hands on the table to push himself back up, revealing a pudding-covered face flushed with rage, his fingers digging into the stone table.

Noting the tense air, Mrs. Bei Fong decided to step in."Well...shall we move to the living room for dessert then...?"

The room temperature dropped as an eerie chuckled spewed from Vegeta's throat.

"Yes...dessert...do you want to know what my faaaavorite dessert is, Mrs. Bei Fong...?" Vegeta asked venomously, rising from the table.

"Oh no..." Sokka moped.

"Do tell..." Mrs. Bei Fong encouraged, thinking this conversation was going in a whole different direction.

The Saiyan's eye's narrowed as he continued "...A churro..."

An awkward pause ensued, but the tension vastly deflated...

Vegeta then leaped on top of the table."...AS I SIT AMONG THE CHARRED AND MUTILATED CORPSES OF MY ENEMIES! ! !"

His voice sent echoes of shock throughout the room; for a second no one could even breath; even Toph didn't see that coming...

Just then, Mrs. Bei Fong broke the silence."You too?" she smiled.

At this one, the Saiyan's lips lowered."What the f-OH TO HELL WITH THIS...!" he cried before charging a ki ball in Toph's face.

The yelping Toph sunk beneath the ground as the ki went through the rest of the chair, shocking Mrs. Bei Fong.

Lao, Sokka, and Yu shrieked at this."TOPH! !"

Toph popped out behind where she was sitting and took a battle stance."Okay, spiky, I tried to be friendly, but if you insist...!"

Suddenly, Yu slid in font of Toph and took a stance of his own."Do not worry, mistress Toph, I will protect-!"

"NOTHING!" Vegeta said as he seized Yu's collar and threw his head into the ceiling, his head stuck. Vegeta lunged at Toph with his fist which was blocked by a slab; Vegeta weaved around the slab and threw a punch that Toph ducked under, bending the slab into his jaw and making him spin in the air and onto Sokka's soup.

"VEGETA WHAT'RE Y-!"

"MEAT SHIELD!" Vegeta announced before seizing Sokka up and using his body to block multiple incoming rocks from Toph in the abs, chest and forehead. The Saiyan hurled Sokka straight at Toph, who raised a tall slab that bent over in order to safely catch Sokka, only to fling him back at Vegeta like a calapult; Vegeta round house kicked Sokka flying into the door making his upper half go through it.

With a yell, Vegeta leaped in the air and swung his heel down on Toph, who again dodged as the heel smashed a small crater into the ground, and jutted another column that launched Vegeta into the wall behind Lao (blowing his hair) and making the stone crack.

Vegeta plopped to his knee and got back up, charging Toph before four slabs of stone surrounded the Saiyan."What the!? Oh hell no! Not this again!"

It actually came from four earthbending guards who arrived just in time."Don't worry, sir, we have the culprit neutralized!" one said.

"Yeah, we kinda heard some yelling and saw Master Yu's head come up through the floor upstairs, and we put two and two together..." another explained.

"How DARE you! This is my fight!" Vegeta's muffled voice objected.

"Who is this madman!? He will pay for this!" Lao announced.

Aang landed in front of Lao."No! Just listen! Your daughter is more than you think she is! She and Vegeta dueled eachother last night and she beat him with no effort! She's amazing!"

"That's the most insane thing I've ever heard of!" Lao responded.

"It IS, because she cheated!" Katara butted in."I'll bet it was her master that was helping her!"

"I don't care how she was involved: anyone who dares to attack my Toph won't even see a death sentence! I will personally sever his head!" Lao replied.

At this, his wife hummed."mmm, You'd do that won't you, you dark bloody maniac, you...?" she teased her husband, which actually made him smile from approval.

Aang only stared at Lao with a 'what's with her?' expression for an explanation.

Lao, shrugged."Omashu women; you know how they are..."

Suddenly, the slab around Vegeta sunk to the floor again, and the guards were catapulted into the door with Sokka.

All eyes turned to Toph, who shrugged her teeny shoulders."Sorry, Dad, but now that the catdog's out of the bag, It's on, Ozaru!"

The Saiyan was taken back by the convenience, but then chuckled."What a shame: the only reasonable human in the room is the one to die!"

"The only 'dying' that's happening here is me dying the backyard with your FACE!" Toph announced before launching the dinner table to the other end of the room. She summoned a hail of rocks up from the ground; and then made them envelop her body tightly from head to toe, creating a set of stone armor with enlarged stone gauntlets.

Vegeta tore his (Sokka's) tunic off and powered up slightly.

*cue One Punch Man Battle music*

The two dashed for each other; Vegeta tackled Toph in midair, sending them both crashing through the stone wall right of the door Sokka and the other guards were stuck in; they watched the two tumble into the hallway. They both jumped to their feet and swung both fists at eachother, stone gauntlets colliding with strapped gauntlets, their fists struggling for a moment. Vegeta thrust his other fist at Toph's abs, only for Toph to weave to the side and pin forearm between her stone hand and midsection; she uppercut Vegeta's chin with her other fist; Vegeta punt kicked Toph in the face, grabbed her left leg with both hands, spun around and slingshotted Toph down the hallway. As Toph broke her momentum by cleaving her stone fingers into the ground, Vegeta cupped his hands together.

"GALLICK GUN!"

The hallway was lit with an intense purple hew as a thick beam of ki roared straight for Toph, who brought up a slab of stone for extra protection; a wise decision as the beam collided with so much for that it pushed the slab at Toph, who forced both rock fist into the slab, adding her own bending strength to fend off the purple beam; both the slab and the armored Toph slid down the hallway, eventually getting pressed against the wall at the end, making a Toph-sized impression, when the beam finally subsided.

Toph allowed the slab to fall away from her, thudding to the floor."Oh, I'm sorry, were you finished? Cause I could've held on way longer..."

"HOLD THIS, BITCH!" The Saiyan thundered as he glided down the hallway, his fist cocked and his body bursting with an aura of blue ki. The punch forced them both through the wall and into Lao's library.

"My library!" Lao lamented.

Toph guarded against a volley of ki balls from Vegeta, but the blows were reaping cracks in her armor. The girl sighed."Sorry, Dad..." she swung her left fist to the right, tipping the gigantic stone bookshelf to Vegeta's right over; she slid out of the way before it came crashing down on the prince, the shelf splitting into pieces and destroying years worth of scholarships in one fell swoop.

The Blind Bandit took a breather, thankful for the swift end to the battle...before another set of vibrations gained her attention. A blue ki beam vertically burst from the stone, a very angry Saiyan rising to his feet.

"What the-Hey! What's with you!? Stop not losing!" Toph complained, never having to deal with an opponent this long before.

"Only after you stop LIVING!" Vegeta replied, powering up again and dashing for Toph, who countered by dipping to the side and grabbing Vegeta swung fist, using his momentum to launch him into and through the stone wall behind her.

As the two disappeared in the destruction, the sounds of battle echoing on, the rest of the company could only stand in the hall way, gaping at the ruin of the house.

Sokka (successfully removed from the door with only a few cuts and scratches) blinked twice."Um...is it just me...or Vegeta getting stronger...?"

Aang and Katara shared equally shocked looks."His bending is coming back..." Aang said.

"I'm sorry? doesn't he already have his bending?" Lao quired."Whatever bending it's supposed to be..."

"No," Katara paused."He means back back, as in blowing up a planet just how he described it-back..."

The armored Toph and glowing Vegeta burst outside the west wall of the mansion, rolling across the grass and flipping to their feet to exchange another hyper-fast set of blows.

"DADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADA!" Vegeta cried as he continued punched and kicking

"Will you stop making those stupid noises!?" Toph demanded before she rock-head-butted Vegeta in the dick and slid fifteen feet from him; Toph unhinged the rock armor from her body to relieve herself of the added stress, and bent two beach ball-sized boulders out of the ground and hurled them at the stunned Saiyan, who managed to duck under the first and catch the second, but before her could throw it back he was crushed under a tank-sized boulder; Toph lifted it off of Vegeta, who struggled to get up, before Toph swung the boulder into Vegeta's side, launching him down the yard like an angry muscular golf ball; he toppled through various trees and statues before rolling to a halt.

The company ran out of the hole just in time to see Toph launch herself in the air along with the boulder; with a yell, she slammed the boulder back down on Vegeta, the grass rippling from the force.

"My goodness! Toph's going to kill him!" Mrs. Bei Fong cried.

"Somehow, I don't think that's going to be possible for long..." Sokka responded forebodingly.

Toph landed on the ground with an earth-shockwave, and lifted the boulder off of Vegeta just to slam it back down on him, then she did it again, and again, and again, every time Vegeta let out a grunt of pain, which became fainter over time; once Vegeta stopped making any sounds, Toph slammed the boulder back on him on more time...then slammed it on him again for good measure.

The blind girl heaved breaths out of her mouth, wiping the sweat off her exhausted forehead with the sleeve of her once beautiful and priceless but now dirty and tattered white dress."uuugghhh finally...thought he had me there for the sec..." she lamented, turning around and walking back for the house.

Needless to say, the company stared at the girl with open mouths that varied in length, albeit for mixed reasons.

"She...beat him...?" Katara whimpered.

"I had no idea she was capable of this..." Mrs. Bei Fong admitted.

"She...I don't believe it..." Lao mumbled.

"Whew...I'll admit, you guys have some friend; too bad he's never gonna walk again after that - alas, he forced my hand..." Toph shook her head as she walked up to her friends and family, stretching.

"Welp', that settles it: Aang, meet your new earthbending master," Sokka announced flatly; Aang weakly waved to Toph in response.

At the sound of this Lao instantly snapped to attention."What!? That's absolutely out of the question!"

Sokka groaned."Oh come on, man, did you not see what your offspring just did? She's a master among masters!"

"No, she's an unruly wild animal!" Lao objected." I cannot believe you hid this side of you from me, Toph! You have deceived me and this entire household for I don't know how long!"

Just then, a strange moaning sound caught Toph's attention.

"Well, what did you expect her to be like?" Aang inquired."As far as I can tell, you've tried to lock her up in this house her whole life! People don't even know you have a daughter!"

That groaning turned out to be an elongated growl that slowly grew in volume...

"And with good reason!" Lao justified."This is my daughter we're talking about! She's blind and fragile! And now apparently she's gone totally insane!"

"Yeah sure, if you define 'insane' as 'unbeatable bending champion'!" retorted Sokka." You've actually wronged the world for not allowing her to take on the Fire Nation! I don't even know why we're wasting our time training Aang, she could beat the Fire Lord on her own!"

That growl morphed into a yell.

"Honey, don't you think you're being a bit obtuse?" Mrs. Bei Fong asked."Our daughter is quite clearly capable of handling herself; I don't even think Yu has any more to teach her..."

"Have you gone mad on me too, Poppy!?" Lao defended."You say I haven't given Toph enough freedom, but it is evident that she's received far too much! From now on, Toph will be guarded and cared for twenty-four hours a day! We're doing this for her own good!"

Just then, the boulder was blown to bits by a vertical burst of golden energy, the city resonating with a loud enraged scream; a gust of wind caused trees to bent away, leaves and grass to fly in all directions, a few windows of the mansion cracked and some shattered, all eyes focused on the shimmering yellow aurora on the other end of the yard.

Within it was a very very angry Vegeta, his breath slow, veins pulsating all of over his upper body, his muscles crackled with brief yellow sparks of electricity, his teal pupils honed in on his target, but what stood apart from it all, was his new head of brilliantly glowing golden head of hair.

The group was struck breathless at the sight of the form, but not as much as Lao Bei Fong.

"Impossible..." he thought, "He...that hair...it makes him look so much like..."

Toph groaned in frustration."Aww. come one, man, how many times do I have to kick the same butt!?" she gathered another hail of rocks into another set of stone armor; she pulled back to charge, but in a flash of gold, a glowing hand was clamped around her cocked stone fist.

The group almost stumbled over to see Vegeta now standing before them, his back to them, his eyes boring down in the girl like an owl, his hand gripping the rock fist.

"w-what...?" Toph muttered in confusion, out of disbelief that someone had managed to outrun her seismic sense.

"I'm going...to crunch you..." the Super Saiyan growled inhumanly.

"...w...what...?" Was all Toph could say before Vegeta's grip tightened, making her body lurch in pain, spreading cracks around the stone wrist.

"...like a Vlossic pickle..."

In the next instance, Vegeta swung his fist into the armored Toph's face, sending the girl screaming into the air. The Super Saiyan blasted off after her, blowing the group off their feet.

Toph spiraled through the air, screaming helplessly, her only thought being "What!?"

Vegeta intercepted, flying parrel to the tumbling rock armor; he sent another super punch to the face, launching her screaming in the other direction, he blasted off after her once more.

The petrified Toph quickly reformed her armor into a rock sphere to better shield herself from the next attack, which proved wise, as the Super Saiyan kicked the boulder into higher into the air, soaring after it and punching it in a different direction; Vegeta continued the cycle of punching the boulder in various directions, intercepting it, and striking it somewhere else; citizens below looked up in surprise to see a golden streak of light rapidly dart across the sky, ramming into a dark blur relentlessly.

Sokka's jaw threatened to snap off."Okay! Last time I checked, only AANG could do those crazy glowed-up frenzies!"

"I see it now..." Aang muttered."This is Vegeta's true power!"

"Still don't think he's an alien, Sokka?" Katara managed to remind.

The boulder containing the screaming Toph flew helplessly higher into the sky, only for Vegeta to appear above it, clasp his fists together, and with a yell, bashed the boulder downward, making it plummet down for the city of Gaoling like a meteor.

The boulder slammed through a small bridge, splattering water and debris all over the street and people.

Another impact resulted from the Super Saiyan crashing foot and fist-first onto the ground in front of the boulder.

"What's the matter, Blind Bandit!? You were doing SOOO well a second ago! Come on! Come outta there and kick my ass like before!" the prince (so blinded by rage that he didn't even notice that he had transformed) grilled the girl, before his dashed forth, and punched the boulder into the edge of the made man river, sending it rolling into the air above the streets before Vegeta punched it into the nearest building, citizens fleeing in terror from the spectacle.

"We have to do something! Vegeta's gonna kill her if he doesn't stop!" Sokka voice out.

"How?" Katara asked.

Sokka flung up a finger to elaborate, but that that he in fact could not.

Multiple rooftops were split apart as the screaming boulder plowed through them in the wake of Vegeta's furious strikes.

"SOME...BODY...MAKE...IT...STOOOOOP! ! !" Toph pleaded with each strike.

Unfortunately, Vegeta heard that."I'll make it stop alright, you blind piece of crap!" he announced before swinging his foot into the boulder so hard that it flew clear out of city limits.

---

Mai was just minding her own business filing her nails with her knife before a screaming boulder whooshed passed her head, blowing her hair, followed by a screaming gold streak; after a thunderous thud, the same screaming boulder whizzed by her in the opposite direction, followed by the yelling streak.

---

Back into the city, the boulder flew int a large market, crashing though the ceiling and plowing through any shelves and item in the way, ending in a crater that destroyed part of the meat deli, as well as some of the meat itself.

As people fled, the golden aura of the manic Super Saiyan blew dirt and debris aside as he landed before the boulder.

"I think it's about time I cracked open this pistachio...!" Vegeta announced before hover over the rock and angling himself so that his next strike would not send the boulder flying again, delivering a vicious volley of punches and kicks upon the boulder, spreading cracks all over it, rattling the whole thing and the person inside.

As he continued, Aang glided through the hole Vegeta made, landing behind the Super Saiyan.

"VEGETA! You need to stop this! You proved your point; you're stronger than Toph!" the Avatar begged.

"SHUT UP, GHOST OF NAPPA! !" Vegeta exclaimed irrationally, blasting a beam of yellow ki in Aang direction; it barely missed, but the explosion behind him was enough to blow Aang off his feet.

With Nappa dealt with, Vegeta gave the boulder one good elbow on the top, making a clarge crack that spread evenly around the whole boulder, splitting it in two and revealing the petrified Toph.

The girl crawled on her back away from the advancing Super Saiyan."Okay, I admit it! I'm sorry, you're the champion! I'm a loser and I'm sorry I ever challenged you! I promise I'll never fight you again, Just don't kill me alright!?"

Vegeta chuckled evilly."Oh, I can assure you, Bei Fong, you'll never be fighting anything when I'm through with you...!"

Vegeta raised his hand up to the girl's face, glowing a blue ball in his palm, preparing for a true Big Bang Attack."...unless of course you plan on contending IN HELL ! ! !"

The manager of the market skidded to a hault, gawking at the sight of the Super Saiyan."WHAT IN SPIRIT'S NAME OF GOING ON!?"

"I dunno, sir...!" the wimpy clerk to his right began,"...but that yellow-haired guy's about to vaporize that little girl!"

At the sound of this, Vegeta's ki ball dissipated.

The clerk practically soiled himself, realizing the man heard him.

Vegeta turned and looked at him."What did you just say?"

The manager gulped."He...He said that you were about to vaporize that girl there-"

"No! No! I mean before that!" Vegeta corrected.

The clerk stammered."w-well, my bossed walked in and-"

"NO! Damnit I mean my hair - what did you just say about my hair!?" Vegeta elaborated.

"th-that...it's yellow...?"

The prince blinked twice."yellow...?" he immediately noticed something he took for granted seconds before: both Toph and the general area around them were shaded in a faint golden light; he then looked at his hand, which he realized were covered in a hint of a gold aura; he also realized that for the last couple minutes, he'd been fighting as he normally would, flying through the air and bashing his opponent though things, which given his current predicament could only result from a sudden drastic increase in his power level...

"... ... ..I ...I'm... a super saiyan..." his golden bathed lips uttered as he stared into nothingness...

...after a long awkward pause, he exploded once again, not out of rage but of excitement."I'M A SUPER SAIIIIYAAAAN ! ! ! ! !" he screamed to the world, laughing and hopping up and down sporadically; he started making all sorts of poses and babbling victorious jargon to no one in particular. He then dashed up to Toph and picked her up by the midsection, swinging the terrified girl around merrily."THANK YOU! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOOOOOUUUUUU! You gave me just the push I needed to bring me back! I'm BACK!, My powers are BAAAAACK! AAAAAAHAHAHHAHHAHAAAAHH!"

With that, Vegeta dashed up through the ceiling, creating another hole, as he continues into the sky.

As he cheered, he began to twirl and looptyloop in the sky, using the golden streak to write "Vegeta" in the sky.

Master Yu, a large chunk of earth still around his neck, walked out of the building to see his client and their guests watching a cheering golden light criss cross across the sky, the area echoing with "Weeeee! YEAAAAAAAHAHAHAHHAAAAAA" and singing a few verses from Dangerzone.

His expression totally neutral, he calmly turn to Lao and asked."Could somebody tell me what the hell is happening?"

Sokka blinked."Well, given Vegeta's new mood, I'd say the Bei Fongs are officially childless..."

The middle-aged master simply huffed."Well, there goes a reliable source of income..."

"Riiiiiidiiiiin throuuuugh theeeeee DANGERZZZOOOOOOOONE!" he sung to the heavens before blasting off even higher into the sky, bolting through clouds, the wind brazing against his body, all the way up to a height only Appa could reach, where her slowed down, taking a moment to behold the sea of clouds composing his new perspective of the horizon.

"Beautiful..." He marveled, for the first time in a while appreciating the utter grandeur of the firmament. Then he pumped his fist into space and shouted with all his might. "SUPER VEGETA HAS RETUUUUURRRRRNED! ! ! ! ! ! "

---

Zuko yelped, shooting up from his sleeping position.

The prince rubbed his head: he had that that strange dream again in which he was some kind of bounty hunter with large poofy hair and a bizarre dialect. He wondered if the dream meant something, but he shook the thought away, not in the mood for pondering this only Uncle would dwell on...

Speaking of Uncle, he had regain the rather regretted memory of separating from Uncle a about a week ago,, and things have not been going as smoothly as he had hoped, which is saying something since after being recently branded a traitor and fugitive by his own father, his own was long dead and buried.

He was now stuck in the middle of the dry, rocky, treeless wasteland of the south eastern Earth Kingdom. Due to the heat and lack of water, he'd been forced to mostly rest during the day time, only moving to avoid predators or worse.

He never thought even after all this time he would actual miss that rusty old boat he was sentence to; at least then he retained some semblance of respect and reverence from some people.

Zuko sighed: sometimes, he wondered if he should just fall on his own sword and end his destiny right there.

Just then, a sudden swift breeze snapped the firebender out of brooding, causing him to whip around in many directions. His stolen ostrich horse just then appeared to be in a state of uneasiness, moaning in an anxious tone. This was all Zuko needed to know that something was off.

Suddenly, the air was chilled by a wicked chuckle.

Zuko wheeled around to see the source of the chuckle...and needless to say, he didn't know exactly whetther it was the creappiest or the wierdest sight he'd ever seen, just standing there ontop of a rock with his pale face and insect like armor.

"Well, now, what a small world! You must be Prince Zuko, banished prince of the Fire Nation! What a pleasure..."

At this Zuko snorted spitefully, swiftly yanking his hat off kung fu-style."I guess there's no use denying it; and you are...?"

"Trust me on this one: my identity is nigh incomprehensible to the likes of you, and I don't care to explain the details..." the figure replied, unfolding his arms."Of course that doesn't stop me from getting to know you, now does it? You know you're not the only prince I've had the pleasure of socializing with..." he taunted forbodingly.

"If you're here to collect my bounty, There's no way you're taking me in alive..." Zuko began, getting into a firebending pose.

The smile changed in form a bit at the teen's response."Oh, don't worry now, Zu Zu, I wouldn't want a specimen such as you to lose your life prematurely; I plan on investing that precious life of yours..."

"In that case, time to claim your investment!" Zuko announced before punching a fireball at the figure, who vanished before it even had a chance to hit him.

The foe reappeared behind Zuko, arms crossed once again."Pity, not as fast as your sister was..."

The Teen roundhouse kicked a wave at the newly empty space, the figure having vanished again."What's that supposed to mean!?"

A large green blur tackle Zuko and pinned him to the ground on his back with one hand."Probably along the lines of what you think it means..." the figure gloated.

Zuko next response was using his free fist to blast a stream of fire into the villain's face...which to his shock did nothing to him.

"Kind of a shame when you think about it: your biggest problem swiftly dealt with and yet you were given no opportunity to revel in the freedom..."

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER, YOU FREAK!?" Zuko demanded.

"Here's a rough idea..."

As if the situation could be more reminiscent of a ghost story, what looked like a giant stinger emerged from the figure's back, directing its point straight at the petrified prince's face.

"The worst part: this hurts waaay worse than it looks like it will..." the man-no-monster hissed at Zuko.

"Well, at least I actually feel like dying right not anyway..." Zuko mentally consoled himself, though he was disturbed at the prospect of Azula joining him.

The chuckling menace raised the stinger up, and thrust downward; but suddenly, the needle stopped a centimeter from Zuko's heart.

The creature, now having a surprised expression, turn his head to the left as if to look behind him."I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Zuko blinked."I...I didn't say any-"

"Quiet, boy, I'm listening..." the creature waved for him to silence."You mean you? Him? Why him?" he asked.

Zuko curiously glanced in the direction the creature was looking and saw no one except his ostrich horse: there was no one except Zuko to talk to...unless...he was talking to the horse...?

The creature shrugged."Oh right, heh, I forgot about that; suppose it's just fitting for you and him. It's a shame, you were one of the more rational ones I've had the pleasure of talking to - scores more rational than your little brother..." the creature rolled his eyes; his attention slipped back down to his prey."Well now, it appears you been given an extra life, boy - lucky you..." he lamented with a smirk, before jabbing his stinger into Zuko's abdomen, instantly incurring the aforementioned pain which made Zuko scream and writhe in agony.

At this point, one might expect some kind of mass ascending up the tail of the stinger into the creature's back; but oddly enough, the ripples were trailing out of the creature's body and into the firebender's body, clearly injecting something into Zuko. After a second, the ripples ceased, the stinger pulled painfully out of Zuko's body.

The creature released his hold and rose fully erect; Zuko immediately clawed away from the creature, gasping for air and clutching his point of inoculation."What...What did you just put inside me!?"

The creature laughed."As I said: I have given you an extra life: you can figure out what that means on your own..." With that, the creature levitated off the dry ground and ten feet into the air." I'll see you 'round..." he took off into the sky, his laughter becoming still fainter, but somehow echoing in Zuko's brain as the entity disappeared into the clouds.

---

Later that night, the rest of the day somehow went on rather peacefully. Earthbenders repaired the damage to the building, as well as the Bei Fongs' servants sealing the holes in the walls and undoing the collateral damage as if nothing happened.

The company had their dessert, played some pai sho, and viewed Lao's art private collection, as was planned upon the avatar's arrival. The whole time, Vegeta was eyed stressfully by Lao himself, who barely spoke the rest of the day, and was so disturbed by Vegeta's transformation that one would say he was familiar with it. For the most unknown of reasons, Lao had long abandoned his objection to Toph becoming Aang's earthbending master; likely it also had something to do with the newly realized Super Saiyan in his presence.

Aang had called Appa to land in the repaired front yard, carrying Mai with him.

"Well, I guess that was one interesting day..." Sokka recalled the first to climb Appa.

"I'm just glad I don't have to go through it again..." Toph lamented flatly."One fight I won't forget, I'll tell ya..."

Katara helped her onto the bison."Don't worry, Toph, you're gonna have a great time flying with us; I'm sure we'll all get along great... " she beamed, obviously concealing her inner manic joy of Vegeta beating her.

"Thanks for seeing our point of view, Mr. Bei Fong!" Aang thanked after hopping onto Appa's head and grabbing the reins.

"Hey, aren't we forgetting someone...?" Mai queried.

Aang perked up."Hey, Where'd Vegeta go?" he looked around, finally spotting the Saiyan leaning against a tree, a good distance from the bison, and it didn't look like he was ready to move from the spot, not until they left without him.

"Vegeta! Aren't you coming? I warmed your spot for you...!" Katara called shamefully.

"Isn't it obvious, girl? I'm a Super Saiyan now, and I can fly; granted my powers still aren't nowhere near their peak, but it's more than enough to pass by, at least on this planet..." Vegeta, in his normal form, explained.

The Gaang paused, and collectively realized that now that his powers have returned, he no longer required any means of locomotion or protection, which means there was no longer any reason for him to remain with the team.

Sokka looked down." wow...I guess you're free now, huh...? Well good for you I guess..." he said, actually afraid he was capable of missing the warrior.

"Fantastic...can I be free now?" Mai asked.

"Not a chance, Baby..." Sokka replied with satisfaction.

"Where will you go now, Vegeta?" Aang inquired.

At this, a devious smirk played across the Super Saiyan's face."Oh I have a very special location in mind: if you recall, we've been there before, and I lost something very precious to me along the way..." he said, getting up from the tree trunk and charging his ki; he then hovered high above Appa and the front yard." And when I come back, Sohka, I'm going to show you what a real Saiyan can do, and destroy a mountain right in front of your sorry face!" he exclaimed before darting westward, flying off into the night with nothing to identify him but the faint glow among the clouds.

Somehow, Aang managed to smile."And I'll be waiting for it..."