Vegeta: the Prince of Pride - Chapter Seven

    It started off as a normal sparring session. Vegeta and Fortina had decided to take their training away from their normal base several miles away seemingly in the middle of nowhere in an attempt to reduce collateral damage. Days earlier, Vegeta’s frustration had resulted in him destroying one of Dr. Brief’s spare workshops. Thankfully no one was injured, but after the incident Bulma demanded Vegeta trained a good few miles away if not using her father’s spaceship. Vegeta had merely replied with an angry comment at how he would be more than happy to since her father’s buildings ‘only get in the way anyway’. At the time, Fortina had to physically drag him away before Bulma unleashed hell. Now they found themselves in a somewhat sparse forest, with the occasional boulder and cave dotted around every couple of miles in each direction.

    A flash of burning hot energy surged across a small clearing, lighting up the trees as it passed before reaching its target and bouncing away in the opposite direction. Vegeta clenched his hands into a fist and the attack disintegrated. Just as it disappeared, another ball of light emerged from seemingly nowhere and the Saiyan Prince barely had enough time to deflect the attack into a nearby tree.

    “Careful Prince-y,” Fortina called over the fighting, donning the nickname she knew Vegeta hated “we don’t want to set the forest on fire!” He merely grunted an inaudible reply before sending his own counter-attack.

    Over the past couple of months, Vegeta had found that sparring with the new Saiyan wasn’t so bad after all. It was a good opportunity to test his fighting abilities knowing that she would likely be able to defend herself. And what’s more, she was the only one who would actually agree to fighting with him.

    Even though months had passed, Vegeta was still no closer to discovering Fortina’s true power level, but the spikes in energy she underwent with his attacks were enough to keep his curiosity at bay for the time being. After a while he realised he didn’t actually care too much. His main priority at the time being was to increase his own as much as possible in order to reach the legendary Super Saiyan level. If Kakarot could do it, then so could he.

    Vegeta was just about to send another blast of energy at his opponent, when something nearby caught his attention. Although he couldn’t see anything, a small blip on his mental map of power emerged and disappeared, and his instincts kicked in. With a quick glance over to Fortina, he noticed that she too, had resumed a defensive stance.

    Neither of them spoke, the only sound came from the rustling of the leaves in the wind and the occasional twig snapping. He concentrated harder, pivoting on the spot with every sound. Minutes passed and he began to wonder whether he had imagined it, or it had simply been a stupidly powerful deer that had run past. Of course he knew that was impossible however, since deer couldn’t be that strong. But still, if it wasn’t a deer, then what was it?

    Suddenly, he felt a prick in his arm.

    Vegeta twisted his head to find a small dart hanging from his bicep. He picked it out and stared at it, before hearing Fortina exclaim in confusion. She too, had a dart stuck in her. What the…?

    And that’s when it started. Moments later, he felt his body begin to sway and his vision blurred. Had they been tranquilised? Angry at his stupidity for letting something like this happen so easily, he staggered over to a nearby tree and grabbed it in an attempt to keep himself upright. He could feel everything around him fading away and knew he was only seconds away from losing all consciousness. But then the unimaginable happened. He started to recover. Slowly but surely, the surrounding forest regained its colour and his dizziness subsided, until eventually he felt normal again.

    “Don’t try and fight it.” A hoarse, crispy voice entered his ears. Vegeta span around and scanned the clearing. He noticed Fortina had also sought the refuge of a tree in an attempt to remain standing, but at a second glance he watched in shock as the colour drained from her face. Her eyesight seemed to focus on something in the trees and her eyes began to widen as if she had seen a ghost. And then, Vegeta saw it as well.

    A tall, dark figure stepped out from the treeline. As they emerged, Vegeta too, looked in horror. Before him stood a tall, muscular, and rather deadly looking Saiyan clad in full body armour with a stumpy brown tail wrapped neatly around his waist.

    Thoughts raced through Vegeta’s mind about how he couldn’t really be seeing what he was seeing. The Saiyan race was dead. The only true Saiyans left were himself, Goku, Gohan, and now Fortina. There couldn’t possibly be any more-

    Wait.

    The story of how Fortina had arrived on Earth entered his mind. He recalled her explanation about how she was on the run from another of their species. Was this him? Had he found her? Vegeta tore his gaze from the intruder and analysed her face. He himself was shocked at seeing another Saiyan, but Fortina looked as pale as a sheet. It was almost as if she scared. Her expression set him on edge. Fortina was a strong warrior, yet she feared the one that stood before her. Was there something to him that Vegeta would do best not to underestimate? Should he also be worried?

    His new train of thought didn’t last long, however. He was Vegeta; Prince of all Saiyans. He could take on anyone, and with his new found power he was confident he could even give Frieza a run for his money. Whoever this new Saiyan was, he was surely no match for him.

    Vegeta straightened up. “Who are you?” The taller Saiyan looked over to him and smiled, revealing a line of jagged, shark-like teeth. He had red eyes with even redder hair. His very appearance was unnerving.

    “Have we not been introduced?” He replied, sweetly. His tone of voice made Vegeta feel uncomfortable. “You don’t know who I am, but I know who you are, Vegeta. You are our Prince. It’s a relief to know you survived our planet’s destruction.”

    Vegeta knew the mention of his name was supposed to unnerve him, but it didn’t. Although he didn’t know many of the warriors personally, of course they knew he was. He was their Prince, and it was only natural they recognise him. “And who are you?” He repeated, with a sterner voice than before.

    The ginger Saiyan turned his gaze back over to Fortina. “You mean she hasn’t told you? I thought she would have mentioned me, if not for the way you were both sparring. My mistake, I thought you were acquaintances at least.” He returned his cold stare back over to Vegeta. “My name is Randal, and I am here to make this traitor pay for her crimes.” Out of the corner of his eye, Vegeta noticed Fortina clench her fists. The colour in her face had returned and it seemed she was slowly coming back to her senses after the initial shock of the new Saiyan arriving. “Has she not explained her crimes to you, my Prince?”

    Vegeta met her gaze and for a second her eyes flashed with worry, but it was soon replaced with anger. He knew that if he sided with Randal, Fortina would put up a good fight, and her stare was warning of that. “I know what she has done,” he said simply, folding his arms.

    “Ah.” Randal sighed. “Why then may I ask, were you sparring with her upon my arrival? This Saiyan disobeyed orders and refused to be brought to justice by fleeing. That is a crime punishable by death, so tell me my Prince, why is she still standing?”

    Vegeta moved his gaze from Randal to Fortina again, contemplating his words. The new Saiyan was right. Back on his home planet he would have executed her himself in a heartbeat and forgotten her name the next day. But for some reason, upon her arrival and after hearing her story, he hadn’t even considered it. To an outsider, it was as if spending the past year on Earth had made him soft and weak. Maybe they were right, or maybe they weren’t. Back on planet Vegeta, he was a mindless killing machine. But here on Earth he had learned so many new emotions that every now and again they made him regret his old ways. Kakarot had shown him mercy, and now he seemed to be repaying Fortina with that same notion. But was mercy the right word? Vegeta had murdered thousands and he was granted mercy. It was hardly fit to grant someone who had murdered no one mercy. On Earth Fortina would be considered a hero, but on Vegeta she was a traitor. What had he become? What changed?

    “She has done nothing wrong,” he replied coldly, shocked at his own words of defence for her.

    At his response Randal’s eyebrows furrowed and his false, kind predisposition toward Vegeta subsided. “Just as I thought,” he seethed, “you have gone soft. You father would be so disappointed in you, Vegeta. I came here seeking to bring a traitor to justice, but it seems I have found more than I bargained for. The Prince of all Saiyans himself is a traitor to his own race. You are have dishonoured our legacy, and for that you will pay.”

    At word of his father, Vegeta began to wonder whether Randal’s harsh words held some truth. Would he really be disappointed with him? Had he really dishonoured his father’s legacy? As he considered the past, the anger within him began to rise. How dare he question me!

    “No,” Vegeta spat, “I will not.” He unfolded his hands and raised his head in defiance. “I am Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans. You know of my true power, and you would be stupid to think you stand a chance against such strength. Challenge me and you will fail.”

    His warning was normally enough to send less powerful beings running or begging for forgiveness, but to Vegeta’s surprise, Randal grinned. “Perhaps.” The ginger Saiyan smiled. “But not today. You see those darts that hit you before? It’s a special serum made especially for the more powerful creatures of this universe. One small dose is enough to suppress your power for a short while. It is still there, but you can’t access it. Right now Vegeta, you and your traitorous friend are as helpless as the earthlings you have decided to reside with on this planet.”

    Vegeta quickly turned to stare at the dart that lay on the floor before him that had struck him earlier. Was he bluffing? He turned to look back at Randal and noticed that above his Saiyan armour he was wearing a belt. Tucked into each pocket of the belt lay at least a dozen darts similar to the one he had pulled from his arm. At least half of them were yellow like the one on the floor, but there were a few that differed in colour.

    Vegeta thrust his arm forwards and aimed a deadly blast at the dart on the floor in front of him. But to his horror, nothing happened. He could feel the power surging in his body but it simply failed to reach the surface. He tried again. Still nothing. He pulled his hand back and stared at it in disgust.

    Randal smiled threateningly. “Here,” he said, raising his own arm, “let me show you how it’s done.”

    A simple, pale ball of light formed in the palm of his hand and started to make its way over to where Vegeta stood. Everything happened too fast for the Prince to comprehend. He tried to counterattack it but like before, nothing appeared that would save him from the blow that was about to hit. And hit it did.

    Vegeta was flung backwards into a tree. It felt like his body was on fire, and to top it off, he felt his head strike the bark with a loud thud. He lay on the ground wheezing in pain, clutching his chest in a desperate attempt to ease the horrible nausea. Through staggering breaths, Vegeta raised his head to see Randal laughing.

    “Oh,” he smirked, “I’m going to enjoy this.” The ginger Saiyan raised another arm, ready to attack. Vegeta could do nothing but watch as another energy attack formed. He wasn’t sure how many ore attacks he could handle. But then, the unexpected happened.

    Just as Randal was about to release his second attack, Fortina barrelled her entire body into the attacker. The ball of energy flew across the clearing once more, but instead of hitting its target, it struck the tree next to Vegeta.

    “What the…?” He heard Randal stammer as he tried to get back to his feet. The darker haired Saiyan however, beat him to it.

    With a well-time kicked, her foot connected with Randal’s jaw and he was soon back on the ground again. She went in for another attack, but as she did, the ginger Saiyan grabbed her foot before she could land another strike. With a twist of his wrist, he knocked Fortina onto the floor face down. This time, with his unsuppressed speed and power, Randal beat her to her feet.

    “Why you little-” he raised his foot to slam down on her, but she managed to roll out of the way just in time. She jumped to her feet and threw her whole weight into a punch, but again, Randal caught it. “Nice try,” he grinned, before twisting it around her back. Fortina hissed in pain as the ginger Saiyan tightened his grip on her arm. And then, he threw her forwards. But before she hit the floor, Randal darted forwards and landed a round-house kick into her stomach. She bounced along the ground and once again, found her face buried in the dirt.

    Vegeta watched in horror from across the clearing. With their power suppressed, they were no match for him, and at any moment he could kill them. They only option they had was to run, or wait until the serum’s effect ran its course. Vegeta however, wasn’t sure how long that would be or whether they would be able to last that long. Slowly, he pushed himself up back onto two feet after the pain in his stomach began to subside. That was when he heard Fortina scream.

    Randal had taken advantage of Fortina’s defenceless position to raise a foot and slam it down onto her tail that lay sprawled out to the side of her. He did it again, and Fortina wailed in pain.

    Vegeta stared in shock. He recalled the first time anyone had grabbed his tail and the pain that it brought him, but that was what made him develop a resistance to such attacks. From a very young age, Vegeta had trained to make the Saiyan’s weak spot no longer vulnerable to enemies until it got to the point that touching it had no effect on him. But by Fortina’s screams, it appeared she had not undergone the same training regime. What a fool!

    Randal twisted and rubbed his foot on Fortina’s tail, and with every movement her face lost more of its colour. Her hands gripped the dirt tightly out of reflex, but apart from that, there was nothing she could do.

    She felt him raise his foot off her tail ready to stomp on it again. Although there was no immediate force on it, her tail still throbbed and the pain was unbearable. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact and the immense pain it would bring. However, the impact never came.

    Like she had done before, Vegeta threw his whole body weight into their attacker in an attempt to barrel him into the ground.

    There was a scramble that followed as both men pushed themselves onto their feet again. Once more, Randal was faster. He raised his arm ready to blast Vegeta into oblivion, but just as he did, Fortina made her move.

    Fighting against the sheer pain, she grabbed two of the yellow darts encased in the ginger Saiyan’s belt and thrust them deep into Randal’s arm, just in time to push the attack off course. The next thing Fortina felt was a fist connect with her stomach and her body hit the ground again.

    Randal began to stagger backwards, desperately pulling the darts from his arm. “What have you done?” He spat. Vegeta was the next to move. The Saiyan Prince punched their attacked and knocked him to the ground. He stood above him with clenched fists ready to attack again, but then a thought struck him.

    When a dart had hit him before, he felt like he was going to pass out. He knew that it wouldn’t be long before Randal recovered from the sensation and they were back to square one again. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to access his power, but considering he was a lot taller and more muscular than them both, and not to mention they were both already injured, Randal would still have the upper hand. They only had one option. They had to run while they had the chance.

    Vegeta turned around to see Fortina slowly regaining her footing. He noticed that as she stood back up, her body shook and every step was accompanied with a stagger. Her tail hung limply on the floor next to her in an odd shape. One didn’t need a doctor to see that it was broken.