Raditz slams his elbow into his younger brother's side, surprising him with the unexpected attack. Moving quickly, he ducks under a hook kick from Goku, quickly sweeping the martial artist's leg as he dodges. Unable to contain the joy he feels at finally winning one of these sparring matches, a wide grin appears on his face...
...and that's when a ball of Ki slams into his chest, knocking the wind out of him. While Raditz is stunned by the sudden blast of Ki, Goku quickly twists his body, putting his hands on the ground. Before the training room's increased gravity can drag him onto the floor, Goku does a handspring, launching himself off the floor to land on his feet.
"Come on Raditz! You're still too unimaginative!" Goku scolds.
"You've got the basic strikes and combos down, and you can throw them out on instinct now, but you need to start thinking ahead! Using a Ki blast to stop an opponent's attack is a common move. You were so focused on sweeping my leg that you didn't even think about that as a possibility. Be creative and try to predict my moves. Ask yourself 'if I were my opponent, what would I do in this situation?' Isn't this Frieza guy way stronger than either of us? How do you expect to beat him without fighting intelligently?"
'Well, I won't be the one beating him. That'll be your job, Mr. Super Saiyan.' Raditz thinks to himself, still wheezing from the last strike.
"Let's take a breather. I think we both need a Senzu. 69x Earth's gravity is tough on the body, even if I use the Kaioken."
"How many are left in the bag?" Raditz wheezes.
"16." Goku replies, heading towards the gravity machine. "We should be at Namek within 3 days."
"Alright then. Toss me a muffin, too."
On Namek, a short Saiyan warrior stands in front of a battered light-blue alien. Arrogance is evident upon the Saiyan's face as he stares at his weaker opponent.
Zarbon scowls at the short Saiyan in front of him. Wiping some blood that streams down his mouth, he begins to focus his energy...
"Have you ever heard the saying 'beauty is only skin deep', Vegeta?" he asks.
"Ha! Still prattling on about your looks, I see." Vegeta mocks. "I don't think looking pretty will help you survive this fight."
"Heh, I suppose you're right. You've seen the beauty, so how about I introduce you to..."
The alien's muscles suddenly bulge, his body expanding at a rapid pace. His once beautiful face quickly turns into that of a monster. A cruel, ugly, sadistic monster. He dashes forward, planting a fist directly in Vegeta's stomach.
"The beast!"
Vegeta recoils in shock as Zarbon transforms, but is too slow to stop the monstrous warrior's attack. His eyes widen in surprise as he flies backwards, coming to a stop almost instantly as Zarbon grabs one of his legs...
Zarbon's arm, still holding Vegeta by the leg, goes over his head. In under a second, he slams Vegeta into the ground... and then his arm goes overhead again, still carrying the Prince of all Saiyans. Vegeta's world suddenly turns into one of blurry pain as the beastly alien continuously slams him into the ground. Over, and over, and over again.
Eventually, Vegeta's foot slips from Zarbon's grasp, releasing the Saiyan warrior. Vegeta crashes into the ground after soaring through the air for several seconds.
With a shout of rage, he launches himself towards his larger opponent in a blind fury, throwing a series of precise strikes at the beastly Zarbon. Zarbon, still thinking that he's far stronger than Vegeta, is shocked as the Saiyan's attacks push him back, slamming into the alien hard enough to leave bruises. In a panic, he lashes out at the shorter man, sending Vegeta flying backwards yet again.
Vegeta halts his momentum almost instantly, flying back towards Zarbon at max speed to knee the alien in the jaw. The monstrous warrior's head snaps backwards, blood flowing from his mouth. Vegeta dodges around Zarbon's follow-up attack, using his superior fighting skills to overcome the difference in strength. The Prince jabs his opponent in the throat, before sending a quick hook towards Zarbon's side. He dodges another attack from the larger man, countering with a Ki blast that hits Zarbon right in the nose. Vegeta grins as Zarbon goes limp. Lifting the seemingly unconscious warrior into the air, Vegeta pummels a fist into Zarbon's bloody face, laughing loudly as he revels in his strength. After a few more seconds of blissful revenge, the Prince slams Zarbon into the ground.
Grinning cruelly, Vegeta lands next to his opponent's body. Raising a hand towards the downed warrior, He begins to build a ball of Ki, intending to execute Frieza's right-hand man...
Zarbon's eyes fly open as he stops playing possum. Acting quickly, he throws himself at Vegeta, wrapping his arms around Vegeta in an attempt to overpower the skilled warrior. The Prince struggles, failing to break free from Zarbon's grip.
Zarbon grins, quickly slamming his head into Vegeta's nose. A loud crack can be heard as the Prince's nose is shattered. Zarbon proceeds to mercilessly get payback for the attacks Vegeta landed on him, continuously headbutting the short man. Before long, the Prince of all Saiyans goes limp, but Zarbon still doesn't stop, knowing that Vegeta may be faking like Zarbon did.
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After almost a minute, Zarbon's own head begins to hurt, and he decides to end things. Still wary that Vegeta may be playing possum, he throws the short man into a nearby lake, waiting to see if the Prince wakes up. After several seconds, he decides that Vegeta must be unconscious, and point both hands towards the lake, slowly building a large ball of Ki...
Suddenly, a white ball of energy flies out of the lake, aimed directly at Zarbon. Reacting quickly, the light-blue alien swats the Ki blast away, sending it spiraling into the air. He allows the ball of Ki in his hands to dissipate as the wounded Saiyan stumbles out of the water.
"HA! Is that all you've got, Vegeta? It seems the stories I've heard about the might of a Saiyan were fake. Aren't you supposed to be the strongest Saiyan? Even the most powerful member of your pathetic race is no match against those with actual strength. You--"
"Burst open and mix!" Vegeta shouts.
"What was that?" he replies in confusion.
As Vegeta's body slowly begins to grow, Zarbon comes to a realization...
Turning his head to the sky in horror, he spots the small ball of white Ki he deflected, only...
...it isn't small anymore. A gigantic orb of white energy fills Namek's green sky. Terrified, Zarbon points his hand at the orb, intending to blast it out of the sky... but he's too late. A massive hand wraps around his body in an instant, catching Zarbon in a crushing grip.
Vegeta lifts the blue warrior into the air, grinning the entire time.
"Oh? You were saying?"
Raditz presses the muffin dispenser's button several times in quick succession, waiting eagerly for the machine to spit out all the muffins it can create. After realizing that the ship probably wasn't going to survive the explosion of Namek, Raditz decided that he may as well put the machine to use before it's destroyed.
"Hey, don't hog all of them!" Goku says, rushing over to the older Saiyan. "Leave some for me!"
Raditz scowls as his younger brother pushes him out of the way. "You know, you could've just asked me to move."
Goku shrugs, stuffing muffins into his mouth.
"Fine, Kakarot. Scoot over, I'm still hungry."
Goku moves to the side, but then pauses as a thought comes to his head.
"Nah. I think I'll eat them all myself." he says with a grin, moving to block Raditz's path.
'And of course. He's trying to turn this into training.' the older Saiyan thinks, rolling his eyes. 'It's childish and silly to fight over food like this, but...'
Raditz launches himself at the shorter Saiyan, shoulder tackling his brother in an attempt to get to the muffin dispenser. What follows is an hours long struggle between the two men. Every time one of them made it to the muffin button, they'd quickly order the machine to spit out as many muffins as possible, trying to eat the tasty treats before the other Saiyan can slam into them. Eventually...
Raditz slams down on the machine's button, fending off Goku as he waits for his reward. Yet... nothing happens. The machine doesn't shoot out muffins anymore. It's empty. Raditz lowers his guard as he realizes this, a mistake he instantly regrets as Goku's foot slams into his jaw, sending him flying backwards... directly into the gravity machine.
The metal of the machine dents as Raditz slams into it. Both brothers freeze as the machine begins to spark...
...
Several seconds pass... and yet nothing happens. Goku lets out a sigh of relief. "Phew. I thought we broke it. That would've been--"
The martial artist is suddenly cut off as an intense weight presses down on his body. Before they can do anything, Goku and Raditz faceplant onto the training room's floor as the ship's gravity sharply increases.
Vegeta flies through the air, ecstatic at his good fortune. First, he runs into Zarbon and finally gets his revenge. Then, in one of the most tense moments of his life, he sneaks into Frieza's ship and steals all of the Dragon Balls Frieza had collected. And to top it off, he runs into the Earthlings immediately after and takes their Dragon Ball. Once he gets back to where he hid the other Dragon Balls, he'll finally get his wish for immortality! He'll kill Frieza, and then... he'll deal with Raditz. Unaware that Gohan stole his Dragon Ball, Vegeta soars through the air, grinning wildly as his wildest fantasies play out in his mind.
Raditz feels his bones crack as the gravity weighs down on him. Forcing Ki to flood his body to avoid getting crushed, he screams at Goku. "Fuck! Turn it off, turn it off!"
Goku lies on the ground, unmoving. Blood seeps out from his mouth.
"Dammit Kakarot! Use your Kaioken!" Raditz yells in fear.
Goku doesn't move. In a panic, Raditz uses his Ki sense, silently hoping that his brother isn't dead...
Soon after, he gives a sigh of relief. Goku's lifeforce is still going strong, despite being unconscious. Unexpectedly, Raditz senses that Goku's body is far more durable than his own.
'I guess I'm stronger because of my Ki training techniques. I have a long way to go before my body is as durable as his...' he thinks.
Raditz struggles against the crushing gravity, eventually coming to his knees before he feels something crack from inside him.
Warning: Health at 25%
Warning: User's...
Raditz turns his head away from the warnings, not wanting to know what exactly is broken. He digs through his pocket for a moment, bringing out a singular Senzu Bean. He goes to put it in his mouth, then hesitates...
'I can't-- dammit! Fuck this hurts! Shit! I can't use the Senzu Bean now. Saiyans get stronger the closer they get to death. I need to wait if I want to take advantage of that...' he thinks through the pain, before he gives a command to the System. 'System, give me a warning when my health is at 3%, 2%, and 1%.'
He forces the Senzu Bean past his lips, but doesn't open his teeth to chew it just yet. Waiting for the System to give him a new health warning is torture, but eventually...
Warning: Health at 10%
...
Warning: Health at 3%
As soon as Raditz sees this warning, he pumps as much Ki into his jaw as he can, forcing his teeth to part so he can eat the Senzu Bean.
Warning: Health at 2%
Raditz chews as fast as he can as his vision darkens. A new warning appears when he swallows the Senzu Bean.
Warning: Health at 1%
Just as Raditz starts to think that he ate the Senzu Bean too late, a river of energy surges through him. He stands to his feet unsteadily, amazed at the power his newest Zenkai Boost gave him. He staggers towards Goku, quickly grabbing a Senzu Bean from the bag at the younger Saiyan's waist. Forcing his younger brother's jaw open, Raditz puts a Senzu Bean in Goku's mouth.
Raditz looks at the gravity machine, cursing as he realizes that its controls are destroyed.
"13 Senzus left. I hope that's enough to survive the rest of the trip to Namek..."