A middle-aged farmer sat down on a fence outside his barn looking exhausted, and quite bored. He scratched at his beard and talked to himself in a thick southern-like accent, "Aw nuts, nothing ever happens around here! I'm so dang bored!"
At this precise moment, he noticed two people coming toward him flying through the air like they were more competent at it than birds. Dagnabbit, the old lady warned me about drinkin' so much whiskey, he thought. says it's the devil's drink, and I didn't believe 'er. I should probably go catch some winks on top of that there hay over there…
"That's it!" shouted Vegeta angrily. He threw an enormous ki blast at 18 and it missed. Instead it went careening toward someone else and ended up frying the farmer instead.
"Ugh…" the farmer groaned through charred lips. "Mama was right, I shoulda stayed in dental school," he muttered, blowing a puff of smoke out of his mouth.
Vegeta ignored the damage that he'd mistakenly inflicted upon the innocent bystander. He continued in hot pursuit of 18. They flew overhead a truck on the highway. The man in the passenger seat was gazing out the window in boredom and was thunderstruck by what he saw. 18 landed atop the truck and Vegeta mimicked her.
"You're not going to believe this, but there's a person standing on top of the truck at this very moment!" the passenger said with his mouth open wide in astonishment.
"Yeah, right, I think you've been on the road too long, buddy," replied the driver, laughing a bit.
Vegeta landed on the roof of the truck with a loud thunk, startling the driver inside. If he were listening, he may have heard cursing and an "I told you so," coming from inside the cab.
"What's wrong 18, can't you fly? Are your batteries running low?" Vegeta taunted with a smirk.
A sedan caught up to the truck and rode up on its back-bumper. The driver of the car raised his fist out the window and shook it, shouting, "Go the speed limit or get off the damn road!"
Vegeta noticed that 18's attention was momentarily diverted by the enraged driver of the car behind them. Vegeta laughed and shoved 18 onto the hood of the sedan. He threw a ki blast at her, but she dodged it and took to the skies again. He ignored the scream of the man in the car. He didn't care to look back and watch the car hood begin to smoke. He didn't see the car swerve and fly off of the road. Vegeta was beginning to get perturbed now. He could tell that she was just going to lead him back to their original location. He hated pointless ventures.
17 quirked an eyebrow upon 18's and Vegeta's impending arrival. "Look, they've come back," he stated dully.
18 touched down lightly on the ground and laughed. "Did you enjoy the ride?" she asked playfully.
"Your warranty ran out with me a long time ago. So you're going to be recycled," Vegeta stated plainly, crossing his arms in irritation. "Now be good, and stay still. I'm going to wipe that smirk off that pretty little face of yours. You've laughed at me for the last time, android!"
18 turned around at 17. She pointed at Vegeta. "Ha! Brother, did you hear that? He says that he's going to recycle me! He still thinks he actually stands a chance!"
Vegeta seethed. "Shut up you arrogant hunk of scrap-metal!"
18 placed her hands on her hips. "Go on, Saiyan. Throw all of the insults you can muster at me. In the end, it won't matter. Sooner or later, you're going to have to face the fact that I'm a lot stronger than you'll ever be!"
"I doubt it! You're so weak, I won't even have to break a sweat!" Vegeta countered instantly.
"For your information, I've been taking it easy on you," 18 replied earnestly. "I know how fragile you fleshy meat-bags can be."
"Oh really?" Vegeta challenged, "I would like to see you try and back up your accusations!"
"Alrighty then," 18 replied with a smile. "Don't say I didn't warn you!"
With that said, 18 didn't waste anymore time dilly-dallying around. She launched herself at Vegeta like a rocket, and her first punch made contact against Vegeta's unsuspecting face with a sickening thud. She then kicked her leg up at an inhuman speed, and she smashed her foot into his side. He hadn't even seen her second assault coming. From then on, she continued to ruthlessly beat the bloody pulp out of him while Vegeta could only wonder in awe how she could have possibly become so much stronger in such a miniscule amount of time.
"Tell me, Vegeta, I'm genuinely curious. What is it like to feel this kind of pain?" she questioned. She promptly delivered her point by kneeing him in the gut and effortlessly backhanding him into a rocky precipice.
Vegeta grunted when his body made impact with the harsh rocky exterior of the cliff. He bounced off of it like a rubber ball, and gravity slammed his body into the dusty ground like a sack of bricks. 18 raised a hand to her mouth and snickered. She calmed herself down and feigned a surprised gasp. "Oh no, was I being too rough on the strong, mighty, Saiyan warrior?"
Vegeta didn't reply. He was still on the ground. Off to the side, Krillin fought the sudden urge to help him. He didn't particularly like Vegeta. He never had. He still wondered sometimes whether Goku's idea of giving Vegeta mercy when he'd first come to Earth was even worth it. He was ruthless. He didn't care about anything but the thrill of fighting. He would do anything to become the strongest. He didn't give a flying rat's ass if he killed anyone in the process of getting what he wanted. Still, Krillin couldn't help but feel a small, tidbit of pity for the man. Afterall, he'd just gotten the life beaten out of him!
"Are you alright, Vegeta?" Krillin asked nervously, against his better judgement.
Vegeta's voice was muffled by the gravel beneath his face, but it didn't drown out his harsh tone. "Of course I am you idiot!" He pulled himself up onto his knees first and then struggled slightly to get to his feet. He spat out a mixture of saliva and blood onto the ground. He glared at Krillin. "I'm not weak like the likes of you! I'm on a totally different level! I haven't even gotten started yet!"
With that said, he let out a roaring yell. His aura lit up and his ki fluctuated and pulsated around his body like a beating heart. He screamed at the top of his lungs and the very earth surrounding him shuddered like a frightened puppy. Rocks began to levitate mid-air and then they would suddenly break apart and crumble into little pieces. Eventually, it seemed as if there was a sandstorm surrounding Vegeta.
Yamcha wiped the nervous sweat off of his brow with his forearm. "Thank Kami he's alright!" he muttered in relief.
"Of course I am! I was just going easy on her!" Vegeta announced, wiping a streak of blood off of his cracked bottom lip.
"Maybe we should leave anyway you guys. I've got a really bad feeling about this! We could come back later with Goku," Krillin suggested. He was pulling out the Earth's trump card. If anyone could save them, Goku could. So what if it seemed Vegeta was the strongest of them now. There was something really special about Goku that only Krillin himself felt he could understand completely. He was Goku's best friend after all! He was starting to feel really down on himself for allowing Vegeta to get his way in the first place. He should have never agreed to leave Goku out of this! He felt like a traitor!
"Are you kidding me? Run away? I'm staying!" declared Vegeta angrily. Running away was for cowards, and Vegeta was no coward! By now, he could tell that his chances of defeating 18 were extremely slim, and when you fit 17 and that other oaf, 16, into the picture, the odds were pretty much zilch.
"You know Vegeta, it would do you good to listen to your friend," 18 suggested. "After all, he'll be the one who will end up cleaning your dead carcass off of the highway when I'm finished with you. Oh! Wait, I know, you're part monkey or something, right? Nevermind, he can just call animal control!"
Vegeta growled, but he chose to let her petty insult slip past him. "Are you kidding me? You want me to leave now, just as we're getting to know each other? This is a chance in a lifetime for you. I am the strongest fighter on this planet. I don't need the help of any of these pathetic Earthlings that just happened to tag along! I don't need the help of the Namek, and I especially don't need any help from Kakarrot either! I fight alone because I am a true Saiyan warrior. I am the legendary Super Saiyan! I am the most powerful being in the universe! I fear no-one, especially not the likes of you! You are no more of an inconvenience than a small pebble inside my shoe!"
17 chuckled and clapped his hands, "Bravo, bravo. I offer a round of applause for the silly, little Saiyan! What a truly beautiful speech that was! I can now see that you are a true Prince, Vegeta. You certainly obtain the arrogance of a Prince. But like all royalty, your self-worth is inflated. You are nothing but a sad, little man."
Vegeta glared at 17. "Stay out of this!" he hissed. "I'll deal with you when I'm finished with her!"
"Well, I'd hate to deny you the opportunity to test your strength against 18, so, I'll make a deal with you. I'm willing to stand by and let you fight, but as long as you fight alone. If any of your friends help you out, I'll have to step in," 17 explained casually.
"You wouldn't have to worry about this group, they're a bunch of cowards. They would never risk their lives to save me," Vegeta replied, silently wondering why 17 felt the need to cut that deal with him. Surely he'd realized that 18 clearly had the upper hand, didn't he? Or was 18 only feigning heightened strength? Was she about to be drained of all of her energy soon? Vegeta could only wonder at what this truly meant.
"So you agree?" 17 asked.
"Yes," answered Vegeta, "I agree."
"Then shall we continue?" 18 prodded impatiently.
"Bring it on!" Vegeta challenged.
"As you wish,"18 replied, being the first to attack once again.
Vegeta managed to block her this time, and he decided to quit his job at solely being on the defensive. He was getting sick of it. Vegeta drove himself further and further. He had to become faster and stronger so that he could pound the artificial life out of 18. His mind was truly in the fight this time. He was in it to win it. If he lost, he would die, and that would be unforgivable! He managed to hit her quite a few more times than the last, and for a while, he seemed to have gained the upper hand in the status of the fight. Though Sometimes, looks can be deceiving. Vegeta was getting exhausted very quickly, and androids don't tire unless they are critically injured.
As Vegeta dodged another one of her punches, he retaliated by kicking her in the abdomen. She crippled over and he took advantage of the moment by quickly thrusting his elbow into her neck. She went flying toward the ground and the impact created a rather large crater.
"What's that matter? Am I too strong for you? I was hoping for a more challenging fight," Vegeta mocked delightedly, his arrogance quickly returning with the healing of his ego.
"Looks can be deceiving, little man. I have to admit. You fight pretty well, but you can't stack up against me. I'm just tooling with you, Saiyan," she retorted.
"Put your money where your mouth is!" he shot back angrily.
The two began to fight it out again. It was difficult to see who was at the advantage. The Z-fighters watched on in awe.
"Wow, what's going on you guys? I can't see a thing!" Krillin exclaimed.
"Vegeta's on the offensive," answered Piccolo, who could seemingly keep up with the two fighters.
"I never knew Vegeta was that fast and strong!" Yamcha commented, receiving a nod from both Krillin and Tien.
There's just no way Vegeta can carry on fighting at this intensity! thought Piccolo intuitively. "He can't win. He's done for," he muttered aloud, receiving a handful of speculative looks from the others.
"Let me explain, she's making him burn up all of his energy. Once she has accomplished that, then she's going to attack him when he's at his weakest. Every move he makes against her is taking its toll. Vegeta is losing strength rapidly, while android 18's power hasn't fluctuated in the least. If we plan on destroying these things, we have to inflict lasting damage. It's difficult to wear them down. Dr. Gero really was ingenious!"
"Damn-it!" Yamcha hissed.
"Are you positive?" Tien asked.
Piccolo nodded his head resolutely.
I wish Goku were here, she'd know what to do! Krillin thought despairingly.
As if on cue, within minutes of Krillin's wish, Goku flew into view of the fight scene. Moments later, she touched down on the ground near Vegeta. Goku gasped as she noticed how battered up and bloody Vegeta was. Her former anger toward him instantly melted away. She reached out her hand toward him. She ignored the fact that it was trembling. "Oh no! Vegeta!" was all she could muster to say for the time being.
Vegeta glanced around at the new arrival. His face contorted instantly with rage. Damn her! he thought. He didn't know if he was angry because she was trying to help him. He didn't know if he was angry because she was going to try and steal his battle. He didn't know if he was angry because she had come when he had planned so thoroughly to keep her away.
"Stay back, Kakarrot!" he snapped.
Goku had been rushing forward to help him, but upon his shouting, she froze on the spot. "B-but… you're hurt!" she stammered. Just what the hell is he thinking? she thought. Why does he always have to let his pride get in the way of his safety?
"What does that matter?" he hissed, shaking his blood-drenched fist at her furiously. "This is my fight, Kakarrot, so stay out of my way!"
Goku's eyebrows furrowed together in a mixture of worry and confusion. I guess I can understand why he's being so insistent about fighting alone. I should have respect for that. I would be doing the same thing…
Goku decided that it would be best if she listened to Vegeta. "I'll keep out of the way," she muttered, staring at the ground in somewhat disappointment. She had been hoping to help fight the androids. After all, it was her fault they were here, wasn't it? Didn't Dr. Gero created the androids with the sole purpose of killing her for vengeance? I wish I got to fight… she thought. She felt she needed to redeem herself from her previous gaffe.
She decided to stop moping. She glanced back up to watch Vegeta's fight, but she was shocked to instead see a boot come flying at her face at lighting speed. "Huh?" was all she managed to get in edgewise. The foot made contact with her face with such force that it sent her careening into a small cliff. Upon impact, the earth instantly split and crumbled. Her momentum forced her onward into another larger rocky precipice and she was instantly lodged into it.
Android 16 was standing where Goku had stood only moments earlier. A litter of gasps echoed across the scenery. Android 16 spoke with a deadpan expression and a cold, robotic voice, "Your time to die is now, Son Goku."