Ch. 53: Cui

"Ahh. There you are!" Cui laughed as he checked his scouter again. "Hello, Vegeta. Do you read me? Fair warning, I'm coming for you. And I'm bringing a little message from Lord Frieza!" He said through the communication function on his scouter as he flew through the air towards the location that Vegeta was shown to be at based on his scouter. As usual, Nappa's power wasn't even worth thinking about.

"So you've been following us, have you, Cui. Well we have a message you can take to Frieza! His days are numbered, as are yours!" Vegeta declared.

Cui just laughed. Vegeta's resting battle power had always been 18,000. Lower than Cui's 20,000. It took Vegeta too much time to break through his limits and use his full 27,000 battle power. By the time he was capable of using it, Cui would already have taken him out. "Just take a look at your scouter! My power level is way higher than yours, you arrogant Saiyan! It's about time someone put you in your place!" Cui told him, cackling.

...

"You're getting slower, Cui." Vegeta told Cui as the purple alien finally flew his way over to where the Saiyans were waiting. Laughing maniacally, Cui didn't bother answering. He tried to punch Vegeta as he flew by, but he was dodged. So, he flew up into the air and dropped back down onto the two Saiyans, letting out a huge wave of energy. There was a huge explosion, but both Saiyans were able to dodge it without issue.

"So nice to see you, Vegeta. You have no idea how much I've looked forward to this... the day when I get to wipe that smug little smirk off your face forever. You should've never defied Lord Frieza." Cui said, checking his Scouter again. Just like before, Vegeta's power was only 18,000. Nappa's seemed to be only 7,000. Nothing to him.

"Oh, we'll see about that." Vegeta declared, laughing. "Cui, you just don't get it, do you? We're through taking orders. It's time Lord Frieza started bowing to me!"

"You're old news, Vegeta. You turned on Frieza, and you'll pay for it with your life. Both of you will" Cui told him.

"Maybe... but you're not strong enough to do that." Nappa declared, watching Vegeta get ready to fight.

"My-My scouter's going haywire!" Cui yelped, surprised.

"That's right. We've been suppressing our powers. It's a little trick we learned on Earth." Vegeta told Cui as his power shot up past 20,000.

"Impossible! Your power level was never anywhere near mine!"

"Idiot. Do you really believe that you can keep up with a Saiyan's battle prowess? Especially mine. I'm constantly fighting on the front lines. I've been to the brink of death and back again! Meanwhile, you've been hiding behind the shield of Frieza, growing soft!" Vegeta shouted, releasing his inner power with a "HAAAA!"

"22,000! I've never seen a reading that high!" Vegeta had always needed incentive to push his power beyond its resting 18,000. During the battle with Goku, Vegeta had managed to hit 27,000, but only after a long and difficult fight. Now that he'd healed from the experience, his resting power had broken the same heights as his former highest possible potential. With a shout, Cui's scouter exploded from picking up Vegeta's power.

...

Zarbon's scouter exploded out of the blue.

"Zarbon, what happened?" Dodoria asked.

"I don't know... it must have malfunctioned. For a second there, it registered Vegeta's power level at 22,000, and then it shorted out." Zarbon said.

Dodoria didn't believe it. "22,000? You've got to be kidding me. It must be that older scouter model you're using. Let me check it on mine." He tuned his own scouter to Vegeta's power and let out a gasp. "Uhh!"

"The number?" Zarbon asked, a little annoyed. 

"It- doesn't make any sense. This stupid thing can't be right! Now it's almost reading 25,000!"

"Twenty-five? Are you sure you're reading that thing right? It would mean Vegeta's power level is even higher than ours."

Dodoria quickly checked the number again. "I'm sure. It must be some kind of trick." Vegeta had never been above 18,000. as far as they knew. Frieza knew better, though. Saiyans grew quickly, he remembered. After all of his battles, it wasn't surprising for Vegeta to gain a little power. It didn't concern him, though. Without the dragon balls, Vegeta didn't stand a chance against Frieza.

...

Cui begged for his life. He told Vegeta that he was willing to go against Frieza. He played the 'old friends' card... everything he could think of to avoid being killed like a dog in Vegeta's sights.

"Shut up, Cui. Have a bit of dignity as you die." Nappa finally told him, not willing to give him any quarter.

"Your cowardice makes me sick." Vegeta agreed with Nappa.

"Hey, look! It's Frieza!" Cui tried to distract Vegeta. Even though Vegeta knew that he was lying, he couldn't help but check anyways. When he turned his head, Cui immediately assaulted him with the most powerful energy barrage that he could shoot.

Seeing the craters in the ground, Cui laughed. Vegeta was nowhere in sight. "He should have taken my advice. Oh well!" Cui laughed manically, believing that he'd killed Vegeta that easily. It wasn't the case, though.

"You really are an idiot, Cui." He heard Nappa say from behind him. Cui slowly turned around. Both Vegeta and Nappa were standing there, perfectly unharmed. Not even singed. Cui's face went as pale as a purple face can go.

"Your idea of advice... garbage, Cui. What happened to all that confidence you had? It doesn't seem to be working anymore." After that, Cui immediately attempted to run away. He probably stood a chance against Nappa... but Vegeta was an entirely different beast. He needed to get away and report it to Lord Frieza. 

"Goodbye." Vegeta flew after Cui, faster than he could have hoped to handle, and put his fist right through the purple alien's stomach. Then, he used an energy attack to make Cui explode. "See you in hell, Cui."

...

"It seems Zarbon was right. Vegeta destroyed Cui in a matter of seconds." Dodoria watched the lopsided battle via the numbers on his scouter, and reported the moment that Cui died.

"Nothing to be concerned about. Just find the dragon balls." Frieza ordered them.