Natural Talent

Vegeta, Gohan, and Shin found themselves on the second to highest floor; had they listened to Babidi's minion speak, they'd have known there were only two floors left until they reached Babidi. 

Vegeta looked around, his arms folded. "Our next opponent better be able to withstand more than a single blow to the face."

"How can the two of you be so confident in this situation!? The entire universe is in danger!" Shin scolded the Saiyans; though neither Saiyan bothered to even glance at him.

"Because we Saiyans are far greater warriors than you may think... Allow me to show you firsthand," Vegeta said. Across the room, a white door began to creak and rise, and a figure began to emerge from the darkness of the elevator.

Disgust was inscribed across Vegeta's face once the figure took form into the light. What he saw was far from humanoid, having reverse-jointed legs like a prehistoric beast. His three-toed feet had talons, as did his three-fingered hands. His skin was the color of algae, nearly concealing the M-shaped logo on his chest. 

As the monster looked at Vegeta with its reptilian eyes, it licked its green lips with its purple tongue and showed its fangs. Saliva began to drip from its mouth and pool on the floor. Its hungry voice called out, sounding like the croaking of adjusting wood. 

"How grotesque..." Vegeta mumbled as the monster approached him. Looking up at his opponents was something Vegeta was used to, but the height of this monster was beyond anything he'd faced in recent years. Vegeta wondered if his size correlated to his strength; though as a warrior on the smaller side of the spectrum, Vegeta knew better than to judge strength based on physical height.

"Yacon can you hear me?" said Babidi, his voice emitting from the room's ceiling. "Beat these Earthlings and I will give you a most wonderful treat!"

Yacon, Badidi's monster, grinned at the sound of his master's voice. Just then, the lights within the room dimmed; or rather, the room transformed into a place where light did not exist.

"Welcome to the Planet of Darkness," said Yacon from the darkness, his deep and raspy voice bouncing infinitely through the void.

"So it can speak," Gohan remarked. He stood tall with his arms to his sides, unafraid of the monster despite being unable to see it.

"This room has been transformed into the perfect replica of my home planet. I can see you through the darkness, but you cannot see me!" Yacon cackled, watching Vegeta and waiting for a reaction. However, the Saiyan didn't move.

"Now die!" Yacon bellowed, his fangs and talons aimed at the Saiyan's throat as he lunged forward. However, his attack would miss its mark as Vegeta stepped sideways effortlessly, his arms still crossed.

"What!?" Yacon muttered, only for Vegeta to appear beside him and kick him in the face, sending the hulking beat flying across the room and crashing into the transmogrified walls of the ship. 

'I knew this wouldn't faze Vegeta,' Gohan thought; knowing a bit of darkness was meaningless against men of their caliber. 

The Supreme Kai could hear Gohan's thoughts, glancing in the direction of the Saiyan with shaking eyes. He couldn't see a thing, yet Gohan was acting as if he could. 

"Can you see what's happening, Gohan?" Shin asked.

"No, I can't see. But I can feel their Ki moving through the darkness. So in a way, it's like I'm seeing the battle but it's more that I can sense it. It's the same for Vegeta. Plus, the thing smells," Gohan answered. 

Yacan chuckled to himself; he too could hear the explanation. "So it seems I no longer benefit from the darkness."

"No, and even if you did, I could simply light my path with this..." Vegeta extended his arms outward, his eyes aimed directly at Yacon despite not being able to see him. "Final..." Vegeta said quietly as golden orbs of energy started to take shape in his palms. Yacon's eyes lit up and the hungry beast began to salivate at the sight of Vegeta's captivating light.

Once Vegeta's attack was fully charged, he roared, "Flash!" and his golden energy took the shape of an earth-shattering beam, aimed directly at Babidi's pet. The monster did not run nor hide from the attack. Instead, he simply unhinged his monstrous jaw and allowed the blast to fill his mouth. His body began to illuminate as the golden beam continuously attacked the back of his throat. Vegeta could catch through the blinding lights that the monster was swallowing his attack; somehow he was absorbing it.

"Vegeta! Yacon consumes light! Your Ki attacks are useless against him!" the Supreme Kai shouted. Vegeta immediately stopped firing his attack and Yacon began to cackle in the darkness. 

"Mmm... Tasty! That's right, I consume light energy! That energy was very ta-"

Yacon's voice stopped. 

Shin tried searching through the darkness, but it was of no use. However, Gohan was able to sense exactly what happened through the infinite blackness. "He got 'em." Gohan muttered.

"He what!?"

What they couldn't see was that Vegeta had his entire arm through Yacon's body, the monster's heart being held by Vegeta's right hand. The monster's breaths were unstable and harsh, his heart still pumping despite being detached from his body. "So... Fast..." Yacon said weakly. 

"Pathetic. I never even entered my strongest form. Though I imagine you would simply consume my energy had I transformed into a Super Saiyan," Vegeta admitted before crushing the monster's heart and pulling his arm out from its body. Yacon's corpse hit the ground with a resounding thud and the door to the room below opened. 

"Door's open. Let's go Vegeta," Gohan said as he jumped through the hole. Vegeta dashed over and dropped through behind him; Shin hesitated for a second before jumping through as well. 'How are they just proceeding without a worry in the world?' he thought.

Once they landed, Gohan and Vegeta looked around the empty, metallic room. "I'm not sensing anyone," Gohan said. 

"Then I guess we're going to have to wait until they show up. Maybe they're scared after seeing two of their strongest fighters getting dealt with in a couple of punches," Vegeta remarked with immense confidence. 

And so, the three of them waited; for how long, none of them could tell. Hours had definitely passed, and they were starting to get restless. Vegeta, leaning against one of the walls, glared at Gohan. He was impressed at what the boy had shown so far, but he was still a far cry from his old self. "I wonder what Kakarot would think seeing how you've wasted so much potential. Look at you; all that power yet you're still insuperior to your eleven-year-old self."

'He was even stronger as a child?' Shin thought. 'Impossible...'

"Watch your mouth, Vegeta. What does my dad have to do with this? I don't enjoy fighting like you and Dad; that's why I haven't been training. I didn't think anyone stronger than Cell would ever appear, so I didn't see any point in continuing to get stronger."

"And what if this Majin Buu is as powerful as our so-called Supreme Kai says he is? What if tomorrow, someone even stronger than him appears? Wouldn't you want to be strong enough to fight them?"

"That's some talk coming from you, Vegeta. You don't care about protecting anyone! You just want to fight to stroke your own ego. I mean, look at you, you're smiling just thinking about someone stronger than Cell finding us! What's your problem?"

"I should be asking you the same thing, boy. The desire to fight is part of having Saiyan blood, yet here you are afraid. Perhaps the blood of your human mother has tainted your instincts."

"Leave my mother out of this! Yeah, maybe I lack some Saiyan instincts because I'm half-human, but I'd much rather be what I am now than be a monster like you."

"Oh, really? I'm the only monster here? Tell that to the guy who you watched choke on his own blood."

"Yes, you are! You don't care about anyone but yourself. Wouldn't you feel bad if Trunks or Bulma were to die at the hands of Babidi or Buu? Would that not hurt you?"

"My feelings for my wife and child are irrelevant. Fear is a weakness and I do not intend on lamenting what could happen if I'm not strong enough. Instead, I guarantee that I am strong enough. How can you claim to care about protecting anyone when you've been sitting on your ass doing nothing for seven years! Going on dates with that weakling's daughter and playing superhero dress-up will not save your family! When something bad happens and Chi-Chi or Goten gets killed, don't come running to me."

"You're really starting to tick me off, Vegeta," Gohan told him.

"I'm ticking you off? Every time I think about how you've wasted all of your potential, it makes me furious! Do you have any idea what I would give to have the natural talent and strength that you were born with!? Yet, here you are wasting it! If I was Kakarot, I would be rolling in my grave right now seeing that my son is a weakling!"

"I told you to keep my dad's name out of your mouth!"

"Make me," Vegeta said, shoving Gohan backward. Vegeta had this smile on his face that infuriated the young Saiyan. Perhaps this was all part of Vegeta's plan.

"I'm not going to fight you, Vegeta," Gohan said while holding onto Vegeta's wrist with an intense grip.

"That's your problem. You're too soft. Where did all of that anger just a moment ago disappear to!?" Vegeta used his other hand to grab Gohan by the collar of his shirt.

"Stop it, Vegeta!" Shin interjected.

"I won't stop until he admits he's a coward," Vegeta said to the Supreme Kai, glaring at the god briefly before redirecting his gaze to Gohan's. "You might as well let me do all of the fighting. If you want to be a weakling and get turned to stone like Piccolo and Krillin, then keep acting like a scared child!"

Gohan tried to be the bigger man, but he was reaching his limit. If Vegeta wanted to fight so badly, then he was ready to give it to him.

Just then, their next opponent arrived. The two Saiyans were grabbing each other by the collars of their shirts as they glanced over toward the elevator door. The door began to rise, and they could only see his feet. However, just based on the tremendous amount of energy that was emitting from his body, they knew exactly who it was.

"Dabura," Gohan said, releasing Vegeta from his hold. "He's here. And he's mine."