Strange New World, That Has Such Creatures In It

Royal Arrivals Chapter 3

In the Jakek desert, Raditz stood in the center of a whirlwind of his own ki. Dust and small stones swirled around him as the wind strengthened, a dull roar in his ears, as he struggled to drag his ki higher and higher. His muscles cramped. Bruises mottled his body. His training with Vegeta had left him little energy and a lot of pain.

Outside the whirlwind, Vegeta stood with his arms crossed, watching. Raditz was close, so close the prince could feel the Saiyan's ki reaching its peak, but no further. Raditz felt it too, slamming his energy against the wall of his own limits. He threw his head back and growled, his ki straining against his body as if it could explode.

"Is that all you can do?" Vegeta said. "Pathetic."

"B...brother..." Raditz's voice came out guttural, his energy even blocking his throat.

"Kakarrot ascended," Vegeta said. He smiled, but his eyes stayed cold. "But he didn't have to ascend to kill you."

The growling came louder.

"Yes, get angry." He walked closer, stopping short of the whirlwind. Small stones began to lift from the ground. "Feel your rage. Let it consume you."

Larger stones floated into the air, the sheer energy breaking then apart over their heads. Raditz's growling turned into a howl that drowned the ki storm. The tips of his hair flickered gold. Vegeta felt the ki spike before he saw the change. The black brightened to gold, then faded, brightened again, faded. He stared as Raditz screamed, remembering that he'd never seen another Saiyan ascend for the first time, and he thought his adopted brother looked like he was being born again.

The ground exploded, driving Vegeta back several feet. The windstorm died down, leaving a steady throb of energy in a smoking crater. Vegeta stood at the edge and looked down.

In the middle of the crater, Raditz fell to his knees, his hair blazing gold, his eyes aquamarine. He gasped for breath, his chest heaving, eyes wide. After a moment he looked at his hands, the gold aura sparkling around him. Vegeta landed in front of him, looking him over.

"Can you breathe?" he asked.

Raditz nodded once. "Just...God, that hurt."

"It gets easier with time." He smirked. "At least I'll have something of a training partner now. How do you feel?"

He watched as Raditz stood up and tried a few punches in the air. Raditz grinned and charged a ki blast in his hand, but when he looked around for a suitable target, he remembered that the land was flat and sandy.

"Forgot this was a desert," he said. "I guess I could go blast a cave nearby."

"No need," Vegeta said. He snapped to the first level and dropped into a fighting stance. "I'm here."

He'd changed before, demonstrating what it was and how it felt, and Raditz had been awed, but now his brother hesitated. Raditz looked at him for a moment, first at his blue eyes, then down at his stomach, only slightly more distended now.

"I can't. Not with you so close--"

"Oh not that again!" Vegeta cursed as Raditz let the ki blast dissipate. "Dammit, I haven't had a good fight since I got back here, and now you've finally ascended--"

"But you're carrying a child. You could give birth any day now."

"Raditz..." Vegeta waved one hand at his glowing aura. "I'll be fine. You won't even be able to get one punch through."

"I won't take that chance. Please, little brother. Not now."

For a moment, Raditz was sure Vegeta would punch him across the desert, kick him into the sky, or at the very least knock him on his ass. Instead the prince's hair and eyes turned dark again, and he looked away.