Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Trials And Tribulations ❯ The Inferno Within ( Chapter 1 )

Trails And Tribulations: Part 1

Explosions and primal screams resounded throughout blank oblivion as the Saiyajin no Ouji pushed his body to and beyond the limit, his one desire spurning him onward, keeping him going. The prince had been in this torturous hellhole for over a month, straining and pushing himself to attain his single-minded goal: to be stronger than Kakarott.

That low-class baka had always been able to surpass him in one way or another. Always. There had only been one time that he had been stronger than that fool, and then that bitch android had beaten him down as if he were a mere child. The humiliation never stopped. It seemed as if it were destined to follow him throughout his entire existence.

Ever since the day he had been taken to Frieza's ship humiliation had been a common thing for him. And if being forced to bow before the insane warlord wasn't enough, Frieza had found 'other ways' to punish and humiliate the prince.

Vegeta had never hated anyone more than Frieza. That is, until he met Kakarott. How could a low-class warrior pass the prince of his very species in power? It was inconceivable. Nothing like it had ever happened before, and, yet, Kakarott had done it.

The rage at the very thought of anyone daring to surpass him filled his system and pushed him harder. Fate seemed to always put him in situations in which his pride would be battered and broken. All his victories he had ever obtained were insurmountable in comparison to all the crushing defeats he had received.

Frankly, the prince was growing damn tired of being surpassed and defeated every time he reached a new plane of power. It never failed. All his hard work always came to naught, but he was determined to make this time different.

After the beating at the hands of that damn android, he hadn't thought that things could get much worse. And then that accursed Namek had surpassed him. A Namek. Even though he had found the powers of a Super Saiyajin, a puny Namek had become more powerful than him.

The Namekian's ascension had been even more crushing than the defeat he had been dealt from the female android. Nameks had always been considered to be inferior to the Saiyajin race. The most valuable asset that they provided was their healing techniques. They were thought of to be terribly weak fighters in comparison to the Saiyajin, but, now, a Namek, a Namek, had surpassed the prince of the entire Saiyajin race! Such a degrading situation…

But then the option of a year's training had blossomed before him like the loveliest of all flowers. A chance to become more powerful than Kakarott in less than a day. All that was required was that the boy come with him. A small price to pay.

But the price turned out to be more than he had bargained for. After the first attempt at training with him, the boy had respected his wishes and left him alone, but he always caught the boy staring at him and trying to mimic his movements. That alone had entranced Vegeta.

Why would anyone idolize him enough to try to learn his fighting techniques? After all, everyone wanted to be like the self-sacrificing baka Kakarott. Why would he be any different? True, the boy was his son, but he had grown up without his father, and Vegeta hadn't exactly treated the boy well…

He had gone even further in respecting all requests the prince had asked of him. The boy had left him alone, made sure not to disturb the prince in any way, and, although making sure of all the above, came to become just as powerful as he.

His son had even had the decency to warn him of his mistake in allowing Cell to absorb that female android. He had ignored the boy's advice. Yet again, his decisions had led him to more pain and torment from his enemies. All of them seemed to lead him in that direction. All of them…

Another of Gero's accursed creations shattered his pride and left him to fumble with the pathetic pieces. Putting the fragments back together was not an easy task, but it was one Vegeta was having to perform more and more often. He could imagine the wretched little man laughing at his weakness.

A human had been able to create a being that could bring the rightful ruler of the universe crashing down. He had been defeated, no crushed by a creation of a human. He was a pathetic weakling…

Rage surged throughout Vegeta's being like a drug. He began to hurl ki blasts into the distance in an unmatched feral rage, but his body was quickly draining of energy.

In response to this, he increased the tempo, demanding even more of his battered body. The periphery of his vision began to grow dark. It slowly spread across sight until he could only see a small dot of bright whiteness. It was then that unconsciousness claimed the straining prince's body…