"RADITZ!" King Kai screams, eyes wide.

Time seems to freeze as the Saiyan stares at the sword piercing through him, seemingly not understanding what's happened. Vegeta, rather than spend anymore time bragging or boasting--which is what caused him to lose his previous fights against Raditz-- cruelly twists the Ki sword, making the wound bigger and bigger. He then quickly swings it to the side, intending on cutting the one-armed man in half...

...only to find that the Ki sword disappears. His eyes immediately shoot wide open as he realizes his mistake.

You see, Raditz can create virtually anything with his Ki, so long as it is touching either his body or his Ki. The range heavily depends on Ki use, and the amount he can create is similarly tied to his Ki reserves. What Vegeta didn't consider, however, is the possibility that Raditz could use someone else's Ki to create items. The Prince of all Saiyans scowls as his hand is suddenly weighed down by the familiar weight of Katchin.

The one-armed warrior dashes away, quickly creating distance between him and Vegeta. He pants heavily as he forces his Ki to mend his wounds.

Warning: User's Right Lung is punctured.

Warning: Health at 50%

Warning: User is bleeding out.

The Saiyan's Ki rushes forward, barely keeping his health from falling below 50%. However, the longer he does this, the more Ki he uses...

Thinking quickly, he puts the palm of his hand on the wound, firing a small, thin blast of Ki through it. The wound cauterizes instantly with a sizzling sound, but unfortunately... due to him being forced to constantly heal the wound, he couldn't cut off the pain...

"AGHHHHHHH"

A raw, bloodcurdling scream of pain tears its way from his throat, shaking Hercule from his daze.

"Sensei!" he shouts, before pointing his hands at the seemingly-indisposed figure of Vegeta.

The hairy martial artist puts everything he has into a single Ki blast, putting so much Ki into it that he can barely afford to stay flying. His vision goes fuzzy and, with a loud shout, he fires his attack at Vegeta.

But of course, Hercule's attack wouldn't be enough to scratch Vegeta, even if he was on his deathbed. The short Saiyan scoffs, before slapping it out of the air with his Katchin-covered hand. Then, with a small smile on his face, he launches a powerful wave of energy with his other hand. At the same moment, Raditz makes his move.

Before the blast can reach Hercule, he suddenly finds himself dozens of miles away, and a familiar voice appears in his head.

"Go back to Orange City, I'll lead him away. Don't even think of trying to help me against him. You can't hope to injure Vegeta." Raditz says telepathically.

Gritting his teeth, Hercule stares into the air at the duo, hesitating despite knowing that he stands no chance.

"Do you want to leave Videl with no living parents?"

That seems to snap the Earthling out of his delusions of being able to help as he immediately flies away, silently hoping that his teacher can win this fight...

Raditz stares at the shorter man opposing him with a complicated, slightly-confident expression on his face. His fist is clenched, nails digging into his palm hard enough to draw blood. Ignoring his trembling, pain-stricken body, he dashes at the Prince.

Vegeta leans backwards, barely dodging the concussion-inducing blow. He goes to bring his fist down upon Raditz's unguarded face, only to realize a split second too late that the Katchin covering his hand makes him far too slow to land a hit on the taller man. Raditz takes advantage of this, ruthlessly hammering blow upon blow down on the trapped Saiyan... until Vegeta's free hand catches his wrist.

The Prince pulls Raditz downwards into a headbutt, causing them to disengage, both seeing stars. Blood trickles down the duo's heads... and yet only one of them grins.

"Dumbass." Raditz spits out venomously, backing up to catch his breath. "Did you really want to be trapped in Katchin that badly? You could've just asked, 'Prince.'"

Vegeta looks down, scowling softly when he sees that both of his hands are now wrapped in the strange black metal that previously imprisoned him.

"You should give up now. You got trapped in the first place because you were arrogant and picked a fight you shouldn't have. Blaming me is just going to get you killed."

'Please surrender, for the love of God. This hurts like a motherfucker.' Raditz silently begs, unable to risk cutting off the pain he feels in case Vegeta decides to attack.

The Saiyan Prince stares at him with cold, ruthless eyes, before suddenly speaking in his usual arrogant tone. "Give up?! Ha! I'm more than a match for you, scum. This metal makes no difference."

After saying that, he suddenly disappears using Instant Transmission, reappearing directly above Raditz. Grinning wildly, he swings both hands downwards, intending to club his opponent to death with the heavy metal attached to his hands.

'...Dammit...'

Raditz twists his body, easily avoiding the oncoming attack. With a quick kick to Vegeta's shin, he creates an invisible string of Ki, wrapping it around the short man's legs. Soon after, he transforms that string of Ki into Katchin, feeding more and more energy to weigh down his opponent.

Warning: Ki at 50%

Warning: Ki at 25%

Vegeta, now slightly panicked, throws himself at the taller man, attempting to quickly beat him down... and yet he can't lay a finger on him. Every attempt at offense that he makes is diverted, dodged, or countered, and every time he throws up a defense, Raditz's attacks always manage to sneak their way past his guard. Before long he's bloodied, bruised, and barely standing, the only thing keeping him going is his sheer willpower.

"..."

'Yeesh. Maybe I should just end this...'

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Raditz's stance goes lax as he slowly approaches his opponent. Like before, Vegeta disappears from his place on the ground, trying to get one good hit on Raditz to end the battle, and yet the one-armed man is simply too fast. Even at Vegeta's best, catching up to him is a huge challenge, and there's a good chance that he'll lose whatever fight they'll have if Raditz plays it safe. Now, when Vegeta is weighed down with Katchin? Well...

The tall Saiyan hardens his heart, kicking his leg out behind him at high-speeds. Although it's just fast enough for Vegeta to see and react to, the metal covering him is simply too much. His body can't keep up with his mind, and Raditz's attack connects, just like almost every other attack he's thrown today. Vegeta goes flying backwards, seemingly unconscious.

"What the hell happened, King Kai?!" Raditz asks in an angry tone. "Where is Kakarot?! Where is Gohan? Where are the Earthlings?! I doubt they'd leave me to fight Vegeta alone. Did... did he...?"

He trails off as a murderous expression suddenly twists his features. Before he can do anything, he is stopped by King Kai's voice.

"...No Raditz, it isn't what you think. They're all alive... although I'm pretty sure he knocked them out." the Kai replies, causing the Saiyan to sigh in relief.

"That's... wait, what do you mean 'pretty sure?'"

"Well someone knocked all of them out, and he's the most likely culprit. After all, he'd hate for someone to get in the way of his 'revenge' against you. Honestly, I'm not even sure why you bother keeping him alive."

"Sometimes... I'm not too sure myself..."

With a sigh, he arrives next to Vegeta's unconscious body, staring at it with a dark expression on his face.

"Is he really knocked out, King Kai? Can you even sense that sort of thing?"

"Yes, he's knocked out, and yes, I can sense that. If you're willing to train with me, I can teach you..."

Raditz ignores the blue Kai's offer, instead growing lost within his own thoughts.

'How the hell am I supposed to make him rivals with Kakarot if he's too busy having a murder boner for me? Heck, how am I even going to get him to stop trying to kill me?! Did... did I go too far with my trash talk? Is the timeline fucked for good, or am I supposed to take his place as the rival character? Fuck man... Super Saiyan Blue is lame as hell, and it takes tons of training to get...'

Suddenly, a glass of water appears in his hand. With a quick flick of the wrist, he dumps it on Vegeta, waking the unconscious Saiyan up.

"Fighting me is pointless. If you truly hate me that much, then you can wait until after Cooler and King Cold are dead. None of us can beat them alone, and if you kill me, you can bet that Kakarot and the others will be out for blood. They'd never work with you."

After saying this, he turns to the side, launching a beam of Ki at a small, Red Ribbon Army robot that was spying on the duo.

"Tch. Gero never learns..."

The Prince coughs weakly, splattering blood on the ground beside him. With a pained, angry voice, he speaks.

"I... I went from being weaker than Zarbon to being able to rival Frieza in my Great Ape form in less than a year. I don't care about Earth. I don't care about the people here. I'm more than willing to abandon it when Cooler and his father discover it. With enough time, I'll be able to surpass both of them."

"You don't care about the people here? Really?" Raditz asks with a knowing smile. "What about the Earthling who was kind enough to take care of you while you were trapped in Katchin? You'd truly be willing to leave her to die? You forget, 'Prince', I'm far better at controlling Ki than you. No matter how much you tried to hide it, I could sense that you enjoyed her company. Your tough guy act isn't fooling anyone."

Vegeta's face darkens for a brief moment, before he disappears yet again, using the Instant Transmission for the umpteenth time in this fight... except this time, he leaves behind several strange black pieces of metal...

Raditz instantly turns around, feeling a deep sense of danger... but it is far too late.

Warning: Health at 25%

Warning: User's Right Eye is blinded.

A short, thin blade of Ki pierces Raditz's right eye before he can react, instantly traveling several inches until he manages to form a barrier of Ki to stop it from reaching his brain. While he's still stunned and unable to resist, Vegeta creates yet another Ki blade, slicing to the side in a quick motion.

Warning: User's Right Arm is disabled.

"Thanks for letting your guard down, scum." the Prince mutters with a self-satisfied grin.

Hundreds of miles away, in a small, well-furnished room in Capsule Corporation, an orange-clothed man groans out, rubbing his aching head with a confused expression on his face.

"Get up Goku! NOW!" a familiar voice suddenly calls out, shaking him out of his dizziness.

"King Kai? What--" before he can finish his question, the Kai's alarmed voice cuts him off.

"Vegeta is killing Raditz! They're a few dozen miles North of Orange City. Hurry!"

Goku instantly puts the index and middle fingers of his hand to his head, searching for the duo's energy...

...

...

"I can't sense them! What's going on, King Kai?!"

"Vegeta must have done something to prevent you from using your Instant Transmission! You'll have to fly there!"

Goku is out the door before the Kai can even finish the sentence, dashing in the duo's direction at max speed...

Raditz's head gets bounced off the dirt as Vegeta's fist impacts his nose.

Warning: User's Nose is shattered.

Warning: Health at 10%

He thrusts his remaining arm upwards, aiming to push Vegeta away... and yet his arm refuses to follow his order. He looks over in confusion, quickly seeing his problem...

Warning: User is bleeding out.

Several dozen feet from where he lies on the ground is a well-muscled, scarred, severed arm. His severed arm. He opens his mouth to scream, but before he can, Vegeta's hand wraps around his throat, instantly cutting off any sounds he tries to make.

Vegeta slowly chokes the life out of Raditz with one hand, while the other hand continuously rains down punches, turning the tall Saiyan's face into a bloody mess of gore.

As Raditz's vision goes dark, and his breathing becomes even rougher, one last thought goes through his mind.

'I don't want to die.'

As if someone gave him a Senzu Bean, his body suddenly feels full of energy, and he pours everything he has into one last creation. Vegeta, too caught up in finally getting his victory, doesn't notice until it's far too late...

High above Vegeta, a solid black sword suddenly materializes in the air, quickly falling towards the duo at high speeds. With one last desperate burst of strength, Raditz quickly jerks his head to the side, pulling himself free from his opponent's grasp. Before Vegeta can grab the armless Saiyan's throat yet again, a pitch-black sword, pulled down by gravity, pierces his heart.

Warning: Ki at 0%

...

The area around them is silent. Dead silent. Even the insects seem to hold their breath as the two warriors lie there, unmoving. Suddenly, an obnoxious laughing sound fills the air.

"You... ha! Hahahaha! You really thought I came into this fight unprepared, scum?" Vegeta wheezes out, pulling himself off of the Katchin sword that pierced him.

A loud crunch can be heard throughout the area as Vegeta pops a small, green bean into his mouth. His wounds begin to heal at a visible pace as he continues speaking.

"Do you truly think that I'd allow myself to be so injured if I didn't have a backup plan? I've had three months to plan out how I'll kill you. When that bald Earthling friend of yours visited Bulma, I noticed that he was carrying a bag of Senzu Beans, and so when I visited him today to keep him from interfering in our fight, I took one with me. Now, you've exhausted all of your Ki, you're injured, and there's nothing stopping me from doing... this!"

He points his hand at the downed Saiyan, building a large blast of blue energy. At this exact moment, Goku arrives at the battlefield, looking on with wide eyes as Vegeta releases his blast.

"Big Bang Attack!"

Goku dashes at Raditz's unmoving body, intending to take the attack for his brother, but he's simply not fast enough. He's forced to watch as the deadly blast reaches his brother...

...but when he blinks, a surprising image reaches his eyes. Standing in front of Raditz is a silent young man clad in an indigo Capsule Corporation jacket. His hair is a light-purple, and a sword scabbard is strapped to his back, which houses a pitch-black sword. Despite the attack being powerful enough to scare even Goku, this stranger doesn't seem fazed in the slightest. Before long, the attack reaches him... and then he slaps it away.

Vegeta's most powerful attack goes flying into the air, launched into space before anyone else can process what they're seeing. The young man, who can't be older than 17 judging by his looks, stares at Raditz's unconscious body for several seconds, before turning to Goku.

"Get f... get Raditz away from here. I'll handle Vegeta."