The sky had turned silent.
Not peaceful — just exhausted.
Goku and Vegeta were both running on borrowed time. I could feel it in the air itself. Goku's Kaioken was tearing his body apart from the inside, and Vegeta's stamina was hanging by a thread. Whoever failed first would lose.
But for Vegeta, losing meant more than defeat.
Even if he somehow overcame Goku, Raditz stood behind me at full strength. Sixteen thousand with his mechanical heart at maximum output. And I could reach eighteen thousand with my armor.
If Vegeta won here, he would only fall moments later.
He knew it.
I couldn't see his face clearly from this distance, but I didn't need to. The desperation in his ki was unmistakable.
Then, without warning, he shot upward—far beyond the clouds.
"He's gathering everything," I muttered.
The pressure in the atmosphere spiked violently. Vegeta was pouring every last drop of ki into a single attack.
From below, I saw it—a crimson flare exploding outward.
Goku answered.
His aura ignited brighter, fiercer. The Kaioken intensified again, pushing beyond what his body should endure. His power climbed… climbed… and then surpassed Vegeta's.
A beam of blinding light tore through the sky.
I couldn't hear Vegeta's attack name from that height, but Goku's voice carried clearly:
"Kamehameha!"
The two forces collided.
For a moment, the world held its breath.
Then Goku's beam overwhelmed Vegeta's attack and swallowed it whole, blasting Vegeta out of the sky.
Silence followed.
Goku fell.
He hit the ground on his back, unmoving.
My stomach tightened. The Kaioken had drained him completely. Even from here, I could tell his body was wrecked—muscle tears, internal damage, total exhaustion.
He wouldn't be standing again today.
I turned to Raditz.
"It's your turn."
He frowned. "Why? He's beaten."
"Not yet," I said quietly. "Vegeta's pride won't allow it."
Raditz crossed his arms. "He's finished."
"No," I replied. "He's humiliated."
That was worse.
"At this point," I continued, "he might try to go Ozaru. Not because it's smart—but because he cannot accept losing to a so-called low-class Saiyan."
Raditz's tail flicked slightly.
"If he transforms," I added, "you don't need to fight him. Just stand there."
He looked at me, confused.
"Be a reminder," I explained. "If he becomes a Great Ape, you will too. And he knows you're at full strength. He doesn't have the stamina for that kind of gamble."
Raditz's lips curved faintly. "You want me to intimidate him."
"I want you to prevent him from doing something desperate."
"And if he still attacks Kakarot?"
"Then you protect him," I said simply. "But don't kill Vegeta. Not here. Not now."
Raditz studied me for a moment before nodding. "You're planning ahead again."
"Always."
As if summoned by our conversation, Vegeta reappeared.
He staggered, but he was still standing.
His armor was cracked. His breathing uneven. Blood ran down his face.
But his eyes were burning.
He stepped toward Goku's fallen body.
Then he saw Raditz.
Raditz didn't speak.
He didn't power up.
He simply stood there, tail unwrapped, visible.
Ready.
The tension shifted instantly.
For a brief second, I saw it in Vegeta's expression—the calculation.
Injured.
Low on stamina.
Low on ki.
Two Saiyans still standing.
And one of them at full strength.
The thought of transforming flickered across his face… then died.
He clicked his tongue in irritation.
"Tch."
Without another word, he turned and walked toward his space pod.
Not crawling.
Not begging.
Walking.
Pride intact, even in defeat.
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
Raditz glanced at me. "You were right."
"I usually am," I said, though my knees felt weak.
As Vegeta's pod launched into the sky, the battlefield finally relaxed.
I moved to Goku's side and knelt beside him.
"Idiot," I whispered softly. "You pushed too far."
His eyes were barely open.
"…won…?" he murmured.
"You did," I answered. "Now stop talking."
Raditz approached. "He'll live."
"Yes," I said. "But he needs a hospital. There are no senzu beans right now."
I pulled a capsule from my belt and threw it to the ground. An aircraft unfolded instantly, engines humming to life.
"Carry him," I told Raditz.
The others gathered—Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Chiaotzu. All battered. All alive.
Piccolo was already gone.
Typical.
As we boarded the aircraft, I allowed myself a moment to think ahead.
Namek.
We would need the coordinates from Kami's old spaceship.
I didn't remember them. I never had a photographic memory, no matter how much I wished I did.
But that problem was for tomorrow.
Today, we survived.
As I piloted the aircraft toward the hospital, my thoughts drifted briefly to Raditz.
His heart had performed beyond expectations.
His stamina regeneration was accelerating.
His spine stabilization was holding.
Good.
But improvements were already forming in my mind.
Stronger multipliers.
Better regulation.
Adaptive scaling.
I shook my head lightly.
One step at a time.
"Let's deal with now first," I murmured to myself.
The future could wait a few hours.
For the first time since Vegeta landed on Earth, the sky felt quiet.
Not safe.
But quieter.