[5] Prison

[Raditzu]

?God damnit!? Raditzu rubbed his jaw. What was it with people and punching him in the face? Had it become the international sign for ?Hi, Rad? while he wasn?t looking? This was freaking perfect. ?What the hell is wrong with you??

?Still don?t get it?? Vegeta unfolded his arms, but this time Rad was ready. Before the prince could strike once more, Rad preempted him. His blurred forward and rocked the prince?s head backwards.

?I get it just fine.? Once again, Rad?s eyes were burning, but the effect was lost on the saiyan before him. Vegeta had seen that glare too many times for it to instill any sort of negative emotion. ?You?re too worried about your own personal vendetta to think twice about you? tch? forget it.? Raditzu took a step back and let his ki come to bear. ?It would just be a waste of breath.?

?At least we agree on that much.? Vegeta mimicked Raditzu, taking a step back and steeling himself for battle. ?Warm up??

?Tch?? It was odd for the prince to offer such civilities. A quick smirk, however, told Rad that it was merely a way for the prince to continue mocking him. ?You sure you wanna be embarrassed in front of your kids like this??

?Silence, you peon!? Vegeta?s hair burst into golden spikes.

?Oh, would you quit with the ?peon? bullshit?? Rad?s hair did the same. ?You?re just pissed because you can?t measure up to someone like me.? But Rad didn?t stop. He was going to make this quick, then get back to finding a way out of this cage.

Vegeta opened his mouth to snap back at Raditzu, but never got the chance. A wave of energy burst outward from the prince?s long-haired opponent, forcing him backwards a step or two. He would have to strike now if he were to stem the flow of Raditzu?s energy. He lunged forward, striking out and hitting nothing but air. A sharp blow to his back sent him sprawling forward onto the ground. Undaunted, Vegeta slapped his open palms onto the ground and sprung back up to his feet. Twisting as he rose, he landed facing his opponent once more. Raditzu, however, was not interested in him.

?Ah! There is it.? The golden haired saiyan bent down, scooped up the scouter that Bra had slapped away and reattached it to his left ear.

?You would dare to take me lightly?? Vegeta scowled. ?Don?t delude yourself into thinking you?re the only one capable of such power.?

Rad turned his head nonchalantly towards Vegeta, figuring the prince was simply bluffing. When his scouter started beeping, however, a look of surprise plastered itself across his face. The numbers on his scouter were soaring high above anything Vegeta had previously shown. Soon, Vegeta?s ki had passed his own. Taking in a deep breath, Raditzu prepared himself mentally for what he was about to do. How Vegeta had managed to so quickly master this second transformation was a mystery to the long-haired warrior. Deciding he was ready, Rad opened the floodgates to his power. Sparks of electricity bounced between the auras of the two warriors. Their unchecked ki permeated throughout the entire holding cell, causing the very air around them to tremble.

Raditzu quickly found himself caught up, once again, in his internal struggle. Excitement coursed through his body, causing an involuntary trembling. His golden fleeced tail spasmed through the air, as a wide grin spread across his face. Not a happy grin, nor a cocky grin. A grin of pure, unadulterated excitement. Rad?s emerald pupils faded away to the white cesspools of his eyes. In the back of his mind he was worried. In the back of his mind he was afraid. Somewhere inside he knew he had lost control, and even deeper inside, he knew he had wanted it. The fine spikes of his blonde locks stood on end as Raditzu slowly lurched forward. His muscles were pulsing as the finality of his ascension was reached. His skin seemed to almost bulge, ready to burst from the energy that was trying to be contained within it. If Vegeta had had the capacity to sense Raditzu?s dark ki, even he would have found himself impressed.

?Come on.? Vegeta motioned at Raditzu. Rad responded by vanishing. ?Ugh? fast.?

?Very fast.?

Vegeta whirled around at the voice, arms already in a defensive position. Rad?s elbow collided with Vegeta?s forward. As their limbs touched, energy sparked wildly from the two warriors. Raditzu stepped forward, and threw his head forward. His skull cracked against Vegeta?s sickeningly and both fighters stumbled backwards. Vegeta shook the cobwebs away and lunged forward, ready to take an offensive of his own. Raditzu cut him off. Rad?s speed gave him the advantage in launching an offense, but it was tactic that Vegeta was more than familiar with. What do you call a preemptive counter to a preemptive attack? Whatever it is, that?s what Vegeta had already worked up. A bolt of ki exploded from his palms, intercepting Raditzu.

The long-haired super saiya-jin hit the ground hard. His armor smoked lightly from the blasts he had just taken. In a proper state of mind, it would have been a simple task to use his katchin to create a proper defense. As it was, such tactics were beyond him. Scrambling forward on all fours, Raditzu lunged from the ground and tackled his princely opponent. Pinned under Rad?s massive frame, the prince struggled to free himself. His struggling was temporarily halted as Raditzu?s fist obscured his vision. Raditzu pounded his fists into Vegeta?s head with grin of morbid glee. The dull crack of bone upon bone echoed through the room once? twice? three time before Vegeta managed to roll Raditzu off him.

Both saiya-jin climbed up to one knee, turned, and lashed out. Sparks flew once again as their fists passed within inches of each other. Each landed a satisfyingly solid hit against the other face and both were thrown backwards onto the ground. Rad had only managed to climb up to his hands and knees by the time Vegeta was back on the attack. Taking a nice wind up, Vegeta threw a ridiculously powerful kick into Rad?s mid-section. Had it not been for the katchin under his armor, Rad?s ribs would have been reduced to little more than splinters. The force of Vegeta?s kick threw Rad into the ceiling, where the long-haired warrior hung for a second before beginning his descent back down. Following his opponent, Vegeta took aim and threw out another kick, hoping to intercept Rad in mid-air. A burst of ki, however, kept Rad hovering in the air long enough for Vegeta strike to miss.

Rad flipped forward, hit the ground, and lunged forward. Still recovering from his missed kick, Vegeta didn?t have time to put up a proper defense. Raditzu?s fist drove itself into the prince?s back and was quickly followed by a knee to the same location. With any luck, Vegeta would be pissing blood for weeks, though that happy thought wouldn?t cross Rad? mind until long after their little scuffle had been settled. Satisfied with the two blows he had landed, Raditzu hoped backwards, dancing out of the way of Vegeta?s counter-attack. Eager to keep the pace of their battle high, Raditzu began throwing ki blasts with reckless abandon. With little trouble, Vegeta swatted away most of the blasts before retaliating with his own. While the saiyan prince?s attacks were given more precision than Raditzu?s, the latter?s weaving and bobbing caused the blasts of energy to careen through the air.

Their game of ki-tag came to an end as Rad shot forward for another assault. The two warriors had maneuvered towards the back wall of the cell, neither wanting to be caught by the poles of energy that were keeping them captive. Rad ducked under a stay bolt of ki as he came within striking distance. Vegeta tried to preempt Raditzu, once again, by throwing forward another powerful kick. Leaping into the air, Raditzu kick off of the wall and propelled himself over Vegeta?s leg and towards his target. The long-haired wonder?s knee snapped Vegeta?s head backwards and threw the prince into one of the side walls of the prison. Raditzu stood his ground, taking a moment to relish the feeling of his knee against Vegeta?s face. Both warriors were taking in heavy breaths. Their ultra-powered strength was slowly taking its toll on their bodies.

?Not bad.? Vegeta steadied himself against the wall for a moment before slipping into a fighting stance. He tried to wipe the blood from his face, but there was a lot to wipe.

?Tch? I haven?t even gotten started.? Raditzu ignored the blood that was flowing freely down his features. His pupils had yet to return from the depths of his eyes and his voice was a low growl. His mouth was still split into a wide grin a malicious joy.