Ch. 26

Coal met gold across the rocky expanse, two chests heaving in unison under the sun as dust swirled around them in funnel-shaped clouds. The two pairs of eyes had been locked for several moments, and the battle was beginning although neither had raised a hand. There was no sound except for the devilish wind as they stared at one another, each face contorted with anger as the sunlight beat down upon them.

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this,” Zarbon breathed angrily, wishing for a moment that he was wearing his battle armor. Oh well, Vegeta wasn’t wearing his either. “This is childish.”

“Then give up, because I’m not going to let you get away with such impertinence,” Vegeta spat back with a snarl.

Zarbon growled in return, sinking down into a fighting stance. “No,” he replied. “I’m going to teach you that you ought to respect me.”

“I could never respect such a freakish weakling,” Vegeta sneered, tossing a shoulder to the side disdainfully.

“This is pointless. You’re never going to win,” Zarbon warned, flexing a fist.

Vegeta shook his head, a small smile on his face. “You’re daft as well. How do you expect to win when you’re so much weaker?”

Zarbon raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you stop talking and find out?”

The Saiyan’s spine stiffened and his eyes flashed angrily, deciding to respond by sinking into his own battle stance. “I intend to,” he snarled. He saw Zarbon’s lips curve slightly before stars exploded in the side of his head, his body stumbling sideways as he blinked to clear the pain.

“Then you had better pay more attention,” Zarbon said from behind him, and Vegeta turned slowly, hand still cupped to the side of his head. The taller man was standing there calmly, head tilted a little to the side as his cold golden eyes observed the Saiyan, his arms crossed loosely over his broad chest. Vegeta watched as his vision was flooded with crimson, the sky and rocks tinting red as he felt violence claw its way through him. His throat opened and was torn raw by the scream of rage that left him, the sound exploding from his lungs as they burned from the effort. He was dimly aware of Zarbon’s startled eyes and defensive step backward, raising his arms into a protective stance as the dust began to swirl around them . Power raced unbridled through his veins and he felt it pushing against the walls of the blood vessels, his muscles pulsing with the energy gathering there. When it finally began to hurt like needles coursing through his insides he let loose, hurling himself at Zarbon with a primal howl, his eyes feeling as if they were on fire, their gaze focused on the spot where Zarbon’s heart would be.

Zarbon shuddered as he felt Vegeta manifest his power; he always forgot how much of it the Saiyan suppressed. The scream he heard was nearly bursting with an array of signals, those of pain, anger, and other, more shadowed emotions he couldn’t discern at the moment. Vegeta’s aura flared into life violently, the silvery-blue light making Zarbon squint both at the brightness of the light and against the bits of rock and sand that were blasted into the air by its manifestation. He took another step back and braced himself against the power-driven wind, anchoring his toes in the rock as best he could with his new, Earth-style shoes. He could see the strain put on Vegeta’s muscles as veins began to pop up against the flesh, their pulsing lines visible even underneath the blue bodysuit. The dust settled for a moment, and Zarbon realized that Vegeta had somehow managed to pull all that power back into himself, his aura not only forming around him but inside of him as well, so that his eyes looked as if they were smoking as the light they emitted was filtered through the dust remnants. The mouth of his emperor-turned-adversary twitched, showing white, sharp teeth in a grimace of pain. He realized with sudden certainty that Vegeta was using his power to make himself stronger, not to use it as a second self. It suddenly became clear to him, like an opening of clear sky during a storm, how Goku had nearly managed to beat Vegeta. By turning oozaru Vegeta’s body was finally able to control the power he possessed, and perhaps that was why Vegeta favored that form so. It must also have been why Zarbon never saw him train, and he emitted a low whistle in spite of himself. No wonder Vegeta kept getting stronger, if his theory were true and the rumors of Saiyans getting stronger with serious physical injury were based in fact. Vegeta ruined his body every time he fought, and so his power increased with every fight and allowed him to use even more power the next time. Zarbon scowled as he saw Vegeta launch himself, fist extended, right at where his own heart would be. Eventually Vegeta would push himself too far, would call more power than his body could contain, like he nearly had on Arlia and so many times before. He watched with practiced calm as Vegeta came closer, nearly to him in a fraction of a second, and saw how much Vegeta’s bulk had increased. That would make him slow, and hopefully the blindness of his rage would make him stupid. Vegeta was a stupendous fighter, but he lacked discipline and control.

The fist was nearly to him, and he watched as Vegeta increased the energy in his fist, it beginning to glow a little brighter. He gathered his own energy and released it in the energy of the fist, effectively using his own power to push away from Vegeta’s fist. He felt the heat of the fist’s passage as he turned to the side, the outermost fibers of his sweater singeing with the temperature. Waiting until the momentum of Vegeta’s strike carried him past, Zarbon raised his elbow and brought it down on the spot where the deltoid met the trapezius, right on the edge of the clavicle. Vegeta’s shoulder crashed towards the earth and buried Vegeta a quarter of the way into the rock, Zarbon dancing lightly to the side. Vegeta’s howl of rage echoed throughout the rocks as he pushed himself out of the ground, face dirty and twisted with anger. The eerie light was still coming out of his eye sockets and Zarbon’s lip curled in disgust as he opened his hand, using his ki to pull a fist-sized rock into his hand. Vegeta stood and rushed him again, head nearly the whole way down and arms tucked to his sides. Zarbon hefted the rock and infused it with ki, throwing the entire bit right at Vegeta’s head. The rock flew true, hitting Vegeta between the eyes with such force it flipped him backwards, his heavy body landing on and denting the rock beneath him, his momentum great enough that his legs passed over his head and he ended up facedown. Golden eyes once again met black, Zarbon gazing at him coolly as he stood up and blinked to clear the blood that was running into his eyes from his forehead. Zarbon watched calmly as Vegeta ran a gloved forearm above his eyes, smearing the blood there and scowling. He smiled as he knew he had hurt the Saiyan, but Vegeta’s ki shield had been strong enough to dissipate much of the force of the blow. If he hadn’t been ki-protected the rock would have taken his head right off. Good, then; Vegeta wasn’t that much of a fool. Zarbon laughed and danced to the side again, beckoning. Vegeta snarled and rushed Zarbon again, who began to move lightly out of the way, when the Saiyan’s image blurred. Zarbon’s eyes widened in surprise, but he felt the air beside him shift and he brought his arms up, twisting sharply. His forearms stung even through his shield with the force of the blow, Zarbon breaking away immediately and shaking his arms out. He glanced up and Vegeta was already upon him, striking downward viciously. Zarbon stood up and dashed forward, grabbing the striking arm and pulling it forward and down at the same time he got his hips below Vegeta and pushed up. The Saiyan went flying, skittering across the rocks as he got himself turned around. Vegeta pushed off the ground as Zarbon wivelled, catching Zarbon only a glancing blow off the cheek. The two broke apart, Vegeta snarling and Zarbon narrowing his eyes. “You’re doing better than I thought,” Zarbon said with false bravado. Vegeta was about a quarter stronger than he was at the very least.

Vegeta turned his head and spat on the ground, watching with satisfaction as the spot where he had caught Zarbon’s face began to swell. He could still feel stinging between his eyes, although the blood had mixed with the dust and dried. Zarbon’s mouth curled into a cold smile, a smile not unlike one Freeza used on him so many times. He felt anger catch in his throat once again. “Enough of this damn dancing,” he growled. “Fight me!”

Zarbon cocked his head to the side. “You’ll find sometimes you can fight just as hard and just as well without actually having to engage your enemy too many times,” he responded calmly.

“I was taught to destroy the enemy!” Vegeta snarled, rushing Zarbon again. He watched as Zarbon readied himself and he changed the direction of his strike, instead plowing forward and seeing Zarbon’s figure grow larger in his vision. Suddenly Zarbon was not there at all, the other man’s leg sliding between his own as Zarbon went down on his side, strong hands grabbing his waist just above where his wrapped tail was and directing his momentum. Vegeta felt himself sailing through the air as a result of Zarbon’s technique, but instead of falling he sped up his momentum, ending up on his feet instead of his shoulders and springing back towards Zarbon. Zarbon was standing by that time and turned, his eyes widening as he saw Vegeta coming toward him. Vegeta struck out and landed his fist in Zarbon’s stomach, the knuckles bruising the tight muscles there. The flesh underneath his fist shifted suddenly, the contraction of muscles rapid as he realized that Zarbon was raising his arms. He tried to roll to the side, but the clenched hands came down hard on the back of his neck, his chest being driven onto Zarbon’s suddenly-raised knee. He coughed and felt the tang of blood in his mouth, the spaces between his teeth feeling tight as they were filled with his life’s fluid. He grunted and pushed off of Zarbon, not pausing before clenching his own fist and driving upward with it. Smiling as he felt his fist connect with the underside of Zarbon’s jaw he watched the taller man’s body sail upward and away. His eyes narrowed angrily as Zarbon flipped in the air, landing neatly on his feet and brushing at his pants with distaste.

“Look what you’ve done to my new outfit,” he sighed, rubbing with his forefinger at a rust-colored spot on the leg of his pants. “This was brand-new just hours ago.”

Vegeta spat blood. “I don’t care about your damn pants,” he snarled, rushing forward. He swiped with his fist but Zarbon moved his head to the side just a fraction, little tendrils of green hair lightly brushing the back of Vegeta’s hand. Vegeta’s eyes shut as the green fist connected with his own cheek, knocking him backwards. Somehow he managed to get his hands behind him and used them to anchor his weight as he struck out at Zarbon with his feet, the soles of his boots hitting Zarbon squarely in the chest. Zarbon grunted and staggered backwards, Vegeta using the force of his kicks to land on his feet and punching. Golden eyes widened and a forearm came up, blocking the strike. Vegeta bared his teeth in Zarbon’s face, using his weight to exert pressure on the forearm. White teeth flashed in a smile and Vegeta felt another knee in his midsection. He bent forward, clutching his stomach and wishing for his armor before thrusting his head straight up. A crunching noise followed by a gurgle sounded above him and he smiled, raising his eyes to see Zarbon scowling and holding his nose, red blood flowing down the pale blue-green skin of his face.

“You little worm!” Zarbon gurgled, scowling mightily as he held his nose.

Vegeta laughed, straightening slowly to standing and painfully putting his hands on his hips. “Ha ha ha! Not so confident now, eh?” he chortled, ignoring the blood that was still trickling out of his own mouth and the throbbing in his stomach.

“I’ll shut that arrogant mouth of yours,” Zarbon hissed. He launched himself at Vegeta and aimed his blows for the Saiyan’s head. He watched the skin around Vegeta’s eyes tighten as the shorter man concentrated on blocking the lightning-fast strikes. He managed to sneak a hand past Vegeta’s defenses and watched the Saiyan move his head to the side, trying for a strike of his own. Zarbon dodged as well, sensing Vegeta building up for a full-throttle onslaught, which suited his purposes just fine. Vegeta was strong enough physically to do damage without infusing his muscles with ki, and Zarbon was more than holding his own without ki, giving better than he got. A smile crossed his lips as he watched Vegeta gulp a breath and he realized the younger man was beginning to wear out. Vegeta was just wearing out his muscles faster by powering them with ki, stretching the tissue unnecessarily just to get strength he didn’t need anyway. He realized that he could just keep toying with Vegeta, eventually wearing him down and finishing him off easily. Feinting to the left, he waited for Vegeta’s black eyes to follow the fist, ready to dash in with his right when suddenly he saw red lines in front of him and he was blown backwards, the sharp rocks shredding his sweater and tearing at the smooth skin underneath as he was run ragged over the uneven ground. A laugh escaped his throat and he stood stiffly, his skin still stinging from the force of the blast. “So it’s ki time, is it?” Zarbon chuckled, tearing the strands of ruined sweater to the ground until his torso was bare. Vegeta stood there, panting and staring at him. A vicious smile twisted the line of Zarbon’s mouth and he brought his elbows close into his body, reaching for the ki inside of him and pulling it to the surface, feeling it flare to life around him. Focusing, he formed a small ball in each hand, pitching them underhand so that they hit the ground almost immediately after he let go.

“You’re never going to hit me if you keep firing at the ground,” Vegeta snapped, bending his fingers gingerly.

Zarbon’’s cruel smile grew even colder. “We’ll see,” he murmured, his pale eyes glimmering. He watched as Vegeta took a step forward, the Saiyan’s hell-black eyes widening as the rock in front of him began to separate, the crack in the ground rocketing toward him. The first blast caught him in the sole of his boot, exploding beneath him and throwing him into the air. Zarbon heard the grunt as Vegeta landed on his back just in time for the second blast to catch his entire backside and erupt, propelling him upward. He jumped several feet into the air and stood, proudly fanning his singed back.

“Nice trick,” Vegeta snarled. “Tricks won’t save you.”

Zarbon shook his head. “No, but skill will.” Vegeta’s face contorted in rage and he brought his hands up in front of him, locking his elbows and spreading his fingers wide. His hair was blasted backward as he manifested the energy in the form of light right ahead of him, shouting as bright orbs formed and began to launch towards Zarbon. The barrage came rapidly and Zarbon had to dance from side to side, finally throwing aside dignity to bound back and forth to avoid the spheres, never turning his back. Vegeta’s eyes narrowed and Zarbon watched as the Saiyan threw an arm wide. A sudden flash at his side threw him into the air and he landed with a grunt, getting his arm underneath him and looking up in horror as a new volley of blasts landed right on top of him. He felt their heat approaching and all he had time for before they hit him was a single yell.

Vegeta smiled with satisfaction as his blasts engulfed Zarbon’s body, the sound of the other man’s cry barely audible over the noise of exploding rock. He waved a hand in the direction of the blast site and began to walk away, hastily pushing down a corner of his mind that was trying to remind him that he had just killed the most valuable asset of his empire. Dust rolled past his ankles from the explosion and he scowled with distaste. He was going to run out of clean boots long before he had a chance to return to Arlia. Maybe he could threaten the woman’s father and get a few new pairs made. Interesting, the blast was still going on, and he swore that he could hear a whining sound, almost like the wind whipping around in the cliffs. Suddenly his shadow appeared on the ground in front of him, sharp and dark against the sand and dust of the earth. But the sun was ahead of him...he snapped around just in time to catch the blast in the chest, the force of it knocking him into the face of a cliff and driving him several feet into the rock. He could feel little shards working their way into the flesh of his back, tearing his clothes and causing little rivulets of blood to flow down his back. Blinking back dust that swirled around him he reached out and planted a hand on the side of the indentation his body made, hauling himself out of the hole painfully. His head rang with the force of the attack and the iron taste of blood was upon his lips. He staggered out of the dust cloud, arms in front of his head protectively, and cautiously glanced around. Zarbon stood there, skin torn and bloody, in the middle of a crater, one arm outstretched as he panted. Vegeta felt his stomach clench as he caught sight of Zarbon’s eyes- those golden eyes were as warm as death and far less friendly. He scrambled to harness his power, reaching deeply into himself and grasping for what he had left, startled to find how drained of not only power but strength in his very muscles. He had beaten Zarbon in the arena, so why couldn’t he do it now? “Gallic gun!” he screamed, his voice hoarse with dust, and extended both hands again, reeling backwards as the force of the blast burst from his palms. Zarbon’s face twisted and he just stood there as the purplish beam sped towards him, jumping in the air and leapfrogging the head of the blast just as it reached him, a beam of his own ripping loose from his raised arm and heading straight for Vegeta. Vegeta gasped and jerked to the side, but he could already feel the blood run down his arm from where the attack had nicked him. He realized suddenly that he was fighting Zarbon, the super-elite warrior, not Zarbon, hopeless arena captive. Those cold golden eyes were fixed upon him and only him, the other man’s entire being seemingly focused on destroying him. Vegeta grit his teeth and bounded up into the air, hoping to buy some recharging time in flight, when suddenly a heel connected with his lower jaw and sent him spinning. He crashed into another cliff, taking the brunt of the impact with his damaged arm and screaming with the pain of burned, bloody flesh being pounded into sharp rock. Attempting to push away from the rock with his free hand, he spun and found himself staring right into Zarbon’s eyes, the other man’s face so close that he could feel the angry breath on his skin. He grabbed Vegeta’s head, locking his fingers behind the base of the skull, and pulled forward while bringing his knee up. Vegeta grunted as he felt the bones in his nose shatter, blood beginning to flow freely down his face. His head bounced off the knee so hard that he was almost brought completely upright, only to be met by the crown of Zarbon’s skull crashing into his forehead, splitting the skin there and blinding him with his own blood. He let the momentum of the blow carry him forward and managed to get the back of his heel in Zarbon’s cheek, feeling the bones crack as the skin burst. The rest of the spin carried him a little distance away and he hovered, watching as blood began to run down Zarbon’s face as well. Vegeta quickly reached for energy and made it physical, sending a few ki balls at Zarbon, which landed successfully on his legs and bare chest, driving him farther into the air. He used the smoke created to move in close behind him, quickly wrapping his arms around the greenish neck and pulling inward, twisting his wrists so that the blood supply to Zarbon’s head was cut off. The other man gurgled in his grip, trying to twist, Vegeta’s muscles spasming with the effort of sustaining the strangle. Zarbon went just a fraction limp and Vegeta nearly let up, but then vitality returned to the older warrior and he flipped himself over, sending Vegeta back into the rock upside down. He landed with a grunt, feeling more muscles tear as the blood from his broken nose pooled at the top of his throat. Zarbon’s bleeding form moved up and away, suddenly surrounded by an angry magenta light. He shouted the name of an attack and a large beam was hurled at Vegeta, who quickly threw his own arms out in front of him, defending with a beam of his own. He pulled energy from within him, adding it to the energy of his beam, trying desperately to generate enough to push back Zarbon’s beam as it slowly advanced. He let loose a scream and suddenly his own beam expanded, obliterating the purple beam altogether with a boom. When the light faded Zarbon was nowhere to be seen. Vegeta sighed and floated away from the rock, shaking his head gently to try and quiet his ringing ears.

If he hadn’t felt the heat of the blast it would have finished him off, his body jerking aside just in time to let his shoulder take the brunt of it instead of his chest. His dark eyes scanned the sky rapidly, and he saw a speck floating high in the sky, still faintly glowing purple. Vegeta swore and clasped his damaged shoulder, feeling the winds dry the rest of the blood on his body. Zarbon had managed to dodge somehow, and was floating there in the darkening sky, and he suddenly realized that their fight had brought early evening down upon them. Perhaps there would be a moon...then he remembered that that would be impossible, and besides, Zarbon had refused to transform, so he would as well. He shouldn’t have to transform anyway, since Zarbon was weaker. But if Zarbon was weaker, why was he winning? Vegeta snarled in anger and zoomed up to the speck, his damaged arm dragging. He popped up and sneered right in Zarbon’s face, using reserves he hadn’t known he possessed to raise his arms and clap Zarbon viciously on the ears. Zarbon’s eyes widened in pain and he bent forward, Vegeta following it up by bringing the elbow of his good arm down on the back of Zarbon’s neck. The greenish man fell several yards and floated to the side, rubbing the back of his neck and staring up at Vegeta hatefully. Suddenly he brought up his hands and Vegeta could feel the heat of power being gathered, then there was nothing. Had Zarbon run out of energy? He began to laugh, the sound harsh even to his own ears, when he was suddenly knocked forward by a blast from behind. He watched the ground zoom up to meet him and he tucked, missing the dirt by mere inches as he gained in altitude. Dammit, Zarbon had managed to throw an invisible ki blast! His face twisted in rage, the skin riddled with pain as hundreds of tiny lacerations moved with the action. He sped straight up and engaged Zarbon in a flurry of blows, most of them landing. Blows were landed on him as well, one catching him in the jaw and spinning his body around with its force. Bloody arms wrapped themselves around him, and before he knew it they were both rocketing towards the ground. “Are you insane?” he screeched at Zarbon and heard only cruel laughter in response. The second before they both hit he felt the arms let him go and the other body separate from his moving upwards once again. He screamed as his head broke through the soil, burying him to the hips in the rocky ground.

Zarbon landed a few feet away, panting as he planted his hands on his knees and bent over, watching his blood drip into the dusty earth. Glancing around, he could see the several imprints Vegeta’s body had left in the cliffs, and he smiled to himself. Vegeta certainly was strong. If he hadn’t worn himself out infusing himself with ki the Saiyan would have won, but that was something they could talk about later. The word ‘later’ resonated within him and he flexed an arm, feeling the broken bones creak as his mind scrambled to block out the pain. Vegeta’s blows had broken several bones in his body, but there was no time to worry about that. He had shown the little Prince a few tricks. He raised his eyes and saw Vegeta’s legs sticking out of the ground, looking for all the world like some sort of bizarre plant stem. Then he realized the legs weren’t moving in the least. Had he killed Vegeta? Cold horror seized his heart and he stumbled forward, reaching out and catching a muscular ankle in his hand. Pulling upward, he hauled Vegeta out of the ground until the Prince’s entire length dangled in front of him, the face crusted with dust and blood, the eyes closed. “Vegeta?” he whispered, raising Vegeta further to get a better look at his chest. Suddenly the smaller man’s arms snapped out and Zarbon yelled as he took a ki blast point-blank in the face. He shouted again in pain and dropped the Saiyan, holding his face in his hands as the burned skin prickled with agony. He screamed in rage and lowered his hands, storming over to where Vegeta lay, face down, the Saiyan’s laugh floating muffled up to his ears. Vegeta’s fist tried to rise in a punch at Zarbon, but he merely stepped on the hand and ground it into the dirt, hearing bones crush as he pressed, Vegeta’s cries of pain deadened by the blood rushing in his ears. He rolled Vegeta over with his foot and looked down atVegeta’s snarling face.

“Kill me,” Vegeta hissed. “I’m not afraid to die.”

Zarbon felt something inside him snap. “Why do you want to die?” he shouted. “You’re young, powerful, full of potential!”

Vegeta raised an eyebrow slowly, apparently in a lot of pain. “I only wish I could die free,” he croaked between cracked lips.

Tears rose unbidden to his eyes and he reached down, grabbing Vegeta by the collar of his bodysuit and hoisting him up to sitting. Straddling him, he slapped Vegeta time and time again across the face, tears rolling down his cheeks. “You idiot,” he whispered. “Can’t you see I only want to help you? That I only want to be important to you?” Vegeta sneered again and Zarbon slapped him once more, following it with a backhand.

Vegeta looked up at him through swollen eyes. “Sorry, I just wanted to be stronger,” he breathed, and the eyes rolled back in his head.

Zarbon collapsed over Vegeta, holding his head in his arms and pressing his face to his chest, waiting for the tears to pass. When they had he laid Vegeta down gently in the dirt, wiping some of the dirt away from his mouth and nose. After he was finished he picked up Vegeta in his arms like a child, gulping away his own pain. “Don’t worry, little prince, I will make you the strongest,” he whispered as he looked up at the stars that had begun to appear in the deep blue sky, and with that he summoned the small remainder of his ki so he could give them a swift flight home.

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25 / Bulma’s Hideout / 27