(Meanwhile – Otherworld, Snake Way)
"So… how's the tournament coming along, King Kai?" the familiar, chirpy voice of Goku spoke up, drawing his mentor's gaze over to him and across the large mountain sticking up out of the clouds. Seeing the Saiyan approach, the Kai of the North took note of the enormous pile of food he was also carrying in his arms, "Has it started yet? Did I miss anything?"
"Not quite. They've just closed the registration desk and are setting up the arenas for all of the fighters," the Kai replied, hands folded over his stomach as he sat there on the deck chair with his eyes once again fixing upon the television crackling away in front of him. "I gotta say this is a pretty big tournament… much bigger than any of the other ones I remember seeing on earth before."
"I know. It's exciting, isn't it?" the Saiyan bearing the halo exclaimed, stopping behind his teacher. "Every year more and more people turn up to compete. How many fighters are there at this one?"
"Hmm… I'd say around roughly … two hundred strong."
"Two hundred?" Goku whistled, his eyes reflecting his amazement, "The prize money must be pretty awesome to draw in that big of a crowd."
"Yeah. Most of the people that'd signed up for the competition are more interested in winning the cash prize than fighting the 'Champ' and his 'alien' compatriots," King Kai snorted. He'd seen what the visitors from outer space looked like through the television and, curious as ever, decided to hone in on them to determine whether or not they were the genuine article. Sadly, they weren't. They were just a bunch of Hercule's top students dressed in ridiculous costumes that no man on the face of the planet would be caught dead in. The reality of the situation had King Kai sigh in disappointment. "The days where warriors fought for honor and glory are long gone now."
"You think so?" Goku asked.
A smile spread across the North Kai's lips, "Well… that may be true for most people, but your friends and family are a different story."
Oh yes, how could he forget about the Z-Fighters? Out of all the martial artists on the planet, their group was the only one who really fought for the sheer fun of it (the strongest ones anyway). Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, Tien… for them fighting was a passion and a way of life. This went double for Goku and triple for the Prince of Saiyans, who took things like honor and pride to a whole other level.
Even Gohan had taken on more of his father's qualities.
Speaking of which…
"Hey, how's my son doing?" Goku asked while gleefully looking into the magic box, watching the images of the island stadium's numerous platforms flicker by. "He's in this tournament too. Is he feeling okay?"
"Oh, your son is doing just fine," King Kai responded, glancing at the man eagerly peering over his shoulder. "He's been training really hard for the last few weeks and he's been getting stronger ever since his battle against Cell. I have to say, he's made some excellent progress."
"Chi-Chi's letting Gohan train?" Goku was especially surprised at this news, which saw him gawking across at his mentor. "S-Since when?"
"Since he talked her into letting him over a month ago," King Kai snorted, watching as the camera switched over to another part of the island. "That boy of yours sure is something else. He's grown into a fine young warrior with a big heart. If you ask me, he's starting to look more and more like you each day. With that bright smile and passion for fighting, he's almost the spitting image of a younger you."
Smiling proudly, the spiky haired, orange-clad Goku beamed down at the screen as the intermission period continued, "Yeah. That's my boy alright. It's a shame I can't be down there with him."
King Kai then threw him a witty look, "Are you saying that because you want to be with your son… or because you want to participate in the tournament?"
"Both," was Goku's first response before his expression softened greatly. The twinkle in his eye was more than enough to tell the blue-skinned overseer of their quadrant what the man was really thinking, "But I'd rather be with my family more than anything else."
This brought a smile to all those who were listening, including Gregory and Bubbles who were messing around at the cards table behind them. Even though Goku had chosen to remain in the netherworlds to protect his family and friends from any and all enemies that were likely to come after him, they could still see that the Saiyan missed being with his loved ones. It had been a harsh and difficult decision for him to make, even if the earth's greatest hero had practically labeled himself as a jinx. All the same, everyone believed that it was for the best.
He said that he would come back whenever he could and until then he was going to have to be ready to face the aggravated storm that was his wife. Boy… was Chi-Chi going to be mad.
As they continued to watch the screen intently from their positions, the pair then saw the feed flip over to one of the random roaming cameras in another part of the island. Recognizing the familiar environment of an enormous food court, King Kai and Goku spent a moment admiring the festive setup with interest before both their expressions suddenly switched to looks of surprise.
Sitting right there at one of the tables, they saw Gohan eating and chatting animatedly with a girl with raven black hair and pig tails around the same age as him.
Seeing the pair giggle at what they deduced was a little joke, King Kai's sunglasses flashed mischievously, "Hello? What's this?"
"Hey! It's Gohan," the Saiyan exclaimed in delight, before his gaze fell upon the newcomer, "Huh? Who's that? I don't think I've ever seen her before."
"It looks like your son's made a new friend," the otherworld trainer remarked, a statement which brought a look of pleasant awe followed by a wide grin to Goku's face moments later.
OOO
(Back on Earth)
If getting onto the island was hard enough, finding a spot in the stands overlooking the various battle platforms to watch the fights was even tougher. This was especially the case for both Chi-Chi and Bulma who, after purchasing some snacks and beverages from one of the food stands in their area, quickly headed up to one of the higher levels to find a seat. Having to navigate their way through countless civilians flocking in the exact same direction, the pair eventually secured a spot in one of the upper balconies right at the front.
It'd been a stroke of luck. After making themselves comfortable, the two mothers only had to wait a short while before the announcer's voice blared out across the island via the enormous intercom system that'd been setup.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience! We will now be starting the first round of the tournament!" the loud, charismatic voice of the primary mediator spoke up, drawing a loud cheer from the thousands of people scattered across the landmass. "All fighters please make their way to their assigned platforms to begin the preliminaries!"
"Alright! It's starting," Bulma exclaimed, with the crowd behind her sharing similar phrases and remarks of enthusiasm. With her infant son held securely in her arms, the blue haired woman turned to smile across at her friend. "Let's see if we can spot the others as they're coming out."
"Yeah. That shouldn't be too hard," Chi-Chi replied, leaning forward with her companion to begin scanning the blocks one after the other. "All we have to do is look for the most unique and outstanding group in the competition," And the one that would be, in relative terms, kicking the most ass.
For the next fifteen minutes following the message, the two women watched on as hundreds upon hundreds of martial artists poured out into the open and onto the various open stages that would serve as the arenas for the first round of opening fights. Each one of these elevated platforms represented a block on the tally that the fighters were assigned to, and it was here that the competitors would decide who would be moving on to the quarter finals through a series of eight separate battle royale matches. Since there were over two-hundred fighters present, all of whom had been randomly assigned to each platform, the crowds were almost guaranteed to get one hell of a show.
As they were watching more fighters spill out into the arenas, Chi-Chi's face lit up and she pointed towards one of the tower rings, "Hey, I can see Krillin." He wasn't that hard to miss; short, bald, with the trappings of a monk and wearing the signature orange and blue uniform of the Turtle School. With Bulma also spotting her friend of years past waving towards the crowd, the two women beamed with joy, "Heh. Check it out. He looks pretty upbeat today."
"Yeah. I figured out of our entire group, he would be the first to show up for this tournament. Since he and Goku participated in so many of the World Martial Arts Championships together, it doesn't surprise me one bit to see him at this one. It must be his way of honoring the memory of his best friend," Bulma commented, a warm smile reflected on her face before her eyes suddenly rolled moments later, "That or the enormous prize money dragged him down here."
Chi-Chi giggled, "He probably thought nobody else from our team would be signing up for the event and put his name down under the impression that this was going to be a walk in the park. Too bad for him that Gohan and Trunks wanted to come along as well."
Both unanimously agreeing that it was the prize money that had called the Z-Fighters here, except for maybe a couple of them, both Bulma and Chi-Chi went back to scanning the mob of fighters.
"There's Yamcha!" Bulma called out, pointing across to the third stage to see her orange-wearing ex-boyfriend ambling out into the open.
"Yeah. And there's Tien," Chi-Chi chimed in, pointing towards a third platform across the way where the three-eyed man could be seen standing on the edge of the crowd with his arms crossed. "Cool as a cucumber, as usual. He's probably one of the only people here who's not interested in the prize money at all. He's just looking for a good fight."
"And if those two are here, then that means Oolong, Puar and the others must be somewhere around here as well," the blue haired woman added, while glancing across at her best friend with a smile. "I don't see Chiaotzu on any of the arenas. Maybe he's sitting out on this one."
Seeing as how the short, mime-like fighter wasn't able to keep up with the others too well anymore, it made perfect sense to the pair that he would prefer to watch the fights rather than participate in them. Nobody thought any less of him for it and nobody was going to hold his decision against him.
"Ah. Check it out. Another familiar face just rocked up," the scientist chirped when she glanced at another grand stage to her far left.
When her eyes landed on the same area, a low groan escaped Chi-Chi's lips, "Well, if it isn't Mr. Piccolo." The young woman sighed, "Figures he'd be out and about. He must have caught wind of the tournament over the airways and decided to come down here for a bit of fun." The prize money obviously didn't beckon the Namekian here. What would an alien warrior from another planet and a former Demon King who only drank water possibly need with a hundred million zeni?
Despite having come to tolerate Piccolo and view him as an old family friend, Chi-Chi still felt a little iffy about him at times. Maybe he was just a little too strange for the Son mother to really become attached too… or maybe because his aloof personality made him close to unapproachable. She was learning more towards the latter than the former.
After seeing Trunks roll out onto one of the platforms above Krillin's, Bulma's smile brightened, "Well… that should be everybody. The only one I don't see out there yet is Gohan."
"He's probably still wandering around the food court or exploring the island," Chi-Chi wondered out loud, shaking her head and looking across at the blue haired scientist. "Just like his father. He thinks more with his gut than he does with his brain." Her expression then blinked to one of confusion as she watched the young mother make funny faces to her giggling son. "Speaking of fathers, didn't you ask Vegeta if he wanted to come along?"
This question quickly had Bulma frown and look towards the platforms exasperatedly, "Hmph. No way. The guy's been moping around the house every day for the past month. He's not even going out to train anymore. I don't know what's gotten into him."
Chi-Chi, giving it a moment of consideration, looked back over the railings in front of her solemnly, "He hasn't been the same since Goku died."
After several moments of thought, the raven haired woman decided that they'd had enough negativity and decided to brighten the mood a little. Sucking it up, the Ox King's daughter reached into her purse and pulled out two fans with the words 'Son' and 'Victory' imprinted on each one. Since she was here to support her number one, she was going to give it her all and make sure he had all the positive energy he needed to win.
All she needed to complete the equation was a son to support who, as of right now, was still absent from the arena.
OOO
(Meanwhile)
Beaming across at the raven haired girl on the other side of the table, Gohan set his chopsticks down and folded his arms on the surface of it, "So you're a martial artist as well, huh?"
"Yeah. I've been learning how to fight ever since I was four years old. That was back when my dad was training for the next World Martial Arts Tournament and was still living in a small house with my mum," the raven haired girl said, fumbling about with her used kebab sticks before setting them and her plate aside. "He was a great man back then. Dad taught me all of the moves and techniques I needed to know and for the past several years I was the best student in his class. But… recently I stopped taking his group sessions and started training by myself."
"Hmm? Why's that?"
Videl shrugged and looked away with an off-handed gesture, "Let's just say that I've grown a little tired of his teaching practices and everyday shenanigans. It was all fun and games at first and I loved hanging out with my dad… but then he started acting all high-and-mighty the more famous he got, and I decided to follow my own training regimen. I wanted to expand my horizons and learn other forms of fighting that didn't involve his showboating… so that's what I did… and it's what I'm still doing."
"Oh." Puzzled by her rather off-put response, the spiky haired hybrid leaned forward, "Who is your dad, anyway?"
Glancing across at the boy to see his curious gaze staring back at her, the girl breathed a sigh and turned to face him fully, "You should know him. Hell, the entire world knows who he is and what he supposedly did." She then gave him a serious look, "My father's the 'great' Hercule Satan: the Champion of the World and the man who defeated the earth's greatest terror, Cell."
Gohan had the sense of mind to blink in surprise, "Really?"
Videl nodded and turned away irritably once more, "Yeah. The one and only." After that, her mind started to work and her displeasure started to sink in. "Great. Now this really nice boy I just met is gonna start fawning over me like everybody else I run into. Damn it…" She mentally bumped herself in the head for messing up what could have been something great.
However, after a minute of waiting for the praise and exclamations she was expecting to receive from the energetic adolescent, Videl then looked up in confusion when she got nothing. Eyes slowly panning over to the youngster, she saw he was still sitting there, in his seat, with the same innocent look he'd worn while he'd been listening to her for the past hour.
After a moment of silence, the raven haired girl recoiled, "W-What?"
"Oh. Nothing," Gohan answered quickly and smiled once again, "I just wanted to ask what other fighting styles you were interested in practicing. That's all."
"Huh?" Videl was baffled, "Y-You don't care that my dad is the world champion; the man who single-handedly defeated the greatest terror of our age?"
"Hmm?" the young demi-Saiyan pulled back a little before cheering up a second time, "Oh. Yeah. I think it's great that your dad is super famous and all, but I'm more interested in hearing about you and what you like."
"Uh… buh…" The girl was speechless, unable to form an articulate word in her mouth. After a few attempts, she then shook herself out of her reverie and stared back at the grinning youngster in disbelief, "B-But why? Surely I can't be as interesting as my dad. Don't you want to ask me about him and all the stuff he does?"
"Well… umm… how can I put this?" Gohan then regarded the girl with a bit more consideration and a sincere gaze. "I can tell from looking at you that you don't like how your dad acts and that you don't want to talk about him right now. If I'm being honest, I don't really want to talk about your dad either." He then tilted his head and sent her a disarmingly friendly smile, "I'd rather just listen to you and chat about stuff we're both interested in, you know… and get to know each other a little better."
After looking him in the eyes to determine whether or not the boy was messing with her, Videl stared back at him in amazement. "H-He really isn't interested in my dad at all." From his sincere remarks and cheerful statements, Videl could only blink and gulp. "Really? You just want to… talk about other things?"
"Yeah," Gohan nodded promptly and gave the girl a warm smile. "I think you're a really interesting person with a lot of different hobbies and interests. I don't live too close to the city and I don't go out to town very often. You're also one of the first kids I've met outside of my area who's as passionate about fighting as I am." He then grinned and leaned across the table, causing the girl to pull away a little. "I think its super cool that you want to learn more about martial arts outside of your father's classes. You must be super talented if you're able to train all by yourself."
Taken aback by Gohan's exclamations and how close his face suddenly became to hers, Videl was quick to process the youngster's words and look the kid square in the eyes. Noticing every intricate detail of his profile from her proximity with him, from his friendly smile, to his boyish nose, to his honest gaze and to his locks of wild black hair framing his face, the girl felt her breath unexpectedly catch in her throat and looked away momentarily.
Feeling her cheeks warm, Videl shuffled uncomfortably on the spot and smiled, "Th-Thanks."
"No problem."
Before either one of them could say anything else and continue on with their banter, the speakers in the food court blared into life once again and drew their focus upwards. "Attention all fighters; please report to your assigned platforms. The preliminary rounds will be starting in five minutes."
"Oh! Right! The fights!" Gohan exclaimed, quickly leaping to his feet and moving towards the exit. Stopping for but a moment, he turned back to the table and grinned across at Videl, "I have to get going now."
Stumped by the boy's sudden haste, the raven haired girl spluttered and stood up, "W-Wait. You're participating in this tournament?"
"Yeah," the half-Saiyan responded immediately without hesitation. "My friend Trunks and I signed up together and were given separate blocks for the first half of the tournament. Maybe after we get through the first round I'll be able to meet up with him in the quarter finals and have a match with him."
Videl had to resist the urge to stumble, "B-But… you're just a kid! And there are hundreds of other fighters out there." Massive ones too. That Doskoi sumo wrestler in particular was terrifyingly huge.
"Yeah… but that doesn't mean I can't try," Gohan replied, giving the girl a salute. "I'll see you later, yeah?"
At first appearing stunned, Videl slowly managed to pull herself out of her stupor and float back down to earth. Initially hesitant when figuring out a way to respond to the demi-Saiyan, the young fighter in training then gave the beaming boy a smile and a nod, before then raising her hand in a timid wave. "O-Okay. Good luck, Gohan."
With one final gesture of his own, the gutsy Z-fighter took off and vanished into the crowd, leaving Videl standing alone by the table.
Upon seeing him disappear, the girl remained there in silence for a few moments. Videl fingered her empty bottle of tea, looking down at it while thinking about the young man and everything they'd talked about. No doubt, Gohan was the nicest boy she'd ever come across and, whenever she'd seen him smile, it'd brought one to her lips as well. The hour they'd spent eating and chatting with one another had been the most fun she'd had on an outing in a long time.
And damn it, they didn't even exchange contact details! How was she going to find him again should he suddenly up and leave?
After thinking it over some more, Videl then made the unanimous decision as to what she was going to do next and, slapping her hand on the table, turned her gaze towards the exit.
"I'm going to watch him fight." Hell, what else had she come here to do? Sit in the food court the entire time and sulk? While this day was really all about her dad, the 'aliens' and the competition that'd been lined up for them, after meeting Gohan and getting to know him a little, Videl now had somebody else in this wacked up, acid trip of a tournament to support.
It didn't hurt that she was also very curious about him and really wanted to see what a boy of his disposition could do. Not just anybody their age signed up to fight in a tournament with over two hundred strong fighters also participating. For all she knew, he had some secret weapon he was hiding.
So, leaving her plate and bottle where it was, the girl quickly abandoned the table and dashed out towards the nearest balcony, disappearing into the crowd just as Gohan had minutes before.
OOO
(A little while later)
The moment the starting gun was fired, the whole of Battle Island exploded into a frenzy of excited cries and flying fists as all across the various disk-shaped arenas, every single fighter in sight went at each other all at once. From top to bottom of the oddly designed stadium, the audience watched on excitedly as the two-hundred plus martial artists began battling one another in a fantastic display of strength, agility and skill for a spot in the quarter finals of the competition, while at the same time trying to avoid getting pushed into the surrounding ocean.
As stated by the announcer, the rules of the preliminaries were simple. On each stage, over two dozen contestants would fight one another in a series of free style, free-for-all battle royals. Fighters are disqualified if they fainted, surrendered, or fell into the sea. The last one standing on each stage would move on to the quarter final rounds for a shot at the championships. Killing is prohibited of course, as was the use of weapons.
Right from the get-go, every single combatant threw themselves into the fray, dashing across their spaces in an effort to engage and take down as many opponents as they could. On one ring, the massive sumo wrestler Doskoi took on an entire swath of fighters attempting to force him over the edge. Managing to turn the tide with a quick reversal, he instead picked up the main balk of the group and shoulder tossed them over the side. The maneuver earned him a spirited cheer from the audience, who went on to watch the many other engagements taking place over the other platforms.
No man or woman was left out, as groups of fighters squared off against one another in heated one-on-one exchanges or all-on-one bouts with the most imposing competitors in their fields. It was a messy start at first what with the amount of bodies taking up each of the arenas, but when the warriors managed to find their speed, spaces and targets, the simultaneous battles quickly started to gain a little more traction.
For the Cash family overseeing the tournament from their roving skybox, the mother and father were completely invested in their fights, while their son was more interested in Hercule and his afro.
"You know, hair like this doesn't grow on trees. It takes a lot of tender care and special conditioners to actually get it like this," the man exclaimed to the glasses-wearing youngster, who was currently devouring a bowl of ramen like there was no tomorrow.
The Z-Fighters on the other hand, were having a ball in the madness of it all. Unlike in the tournament that'd been hosted by the maniacal Cell, this competition didn't have the entire world, population, or the fate of the universe at stake. Instead, it was an enormous free for all where each of the group's members could, for the first time in a long time, battle how they wanted and have some fun.
Krillin was especially enjoying himself, bounding across his platform which had a continually moving surface and clearing the stage of every single fighter in sight. The competition on his end was so easy in fact that he didn't even need to put any effort into his attacks. He just jumped from one block to the next in an invisible blur, knocking out guys with a gentle poke of his finger and backhanding them over the side of the platform.
A hearty laugh escaped his lips when he flicked a guy between the eyes and sent him tumbling into the sea, before placing his fists on his hips heroically. "That's Krillin with two 'L's' and I do accept personal checks. Thank you." Was pretty much his introduction while ducking a boxer coming in from his blind spot and effortlessly kicking him into the sky.
Unfortunately, the young monk's celebrations were cut short by a loud yet familiar cheer echoing in from the sidelines.
"GO GOHAN!"
Krillin's head snapped to his left where he saw, standing on one of the balcony's railings, his best friend's wife Chi-Chi waving a pair of fans around her in cheerleading fashion, while at the same time drawing odd gazes from the people behind her.
"BEAT EM' ALL! YOU CAN DO IT!"
The short fighter stammered in disbelief, "What? Gohan's fighting? But he's a Super Saiyan! That's not fair!" In fact, it wasn't fair for anyone. As it stood, Goku's son was currently the strongest man on the face of the planet and probably the entire universe.
In an instant, Krillin's confidence plummeted like a rock.
The feeling of despondency only seemed to gain weight when, moments later, the Z-fighter's ears caught on to the sound of a familiar battle roar. Looking to his right, Krillin then saw dozens of stunned fighters flying into the ocean one after the other, with the echo of rapid-fire blows reverberating across the island.
The sight and the presence of a powerful ki signature had Krillin pale.
"P-Piccolo too?" The man then glanced up with tears in his eyes. "Where's Trunks? Make it a full set." As soon as he said that, a swath of bodies crashed into the ground behind him, causing Krillin to spin around and look up. When he did, he freaked out when he saw, on the platform high above, the lavender haired face of Trunks peer over the side and smirk. The sight had Krillin scowl, "Me and my big mouth. This is now officially unfair!"
xxx
Standing at the railings of the balcony just outside of the food court, Videl gazed across the island in silent awe as the battles taking place on the various platforms took off. From one arena to the next she saw swarms of fighters ramming into one another to clash in a furious display of skill and power. The diversity of forms and styles was simply extraordinary.
On some stages she saw small fighters using speed and technique to take on larger and much slower opponents. On others she saw massive fighters using their size and bulk to either knock out their foes or toss them into the sea. Then there were the unorthodox fighters, who used various techniques from in-fighting based ones to out-fighting strategies to swiftly overpower or outpace their adversaries.
All in all, it was one hell of a skirmish between professionals.
Ignoring the great majority, including the strange, turban wearing green man dominating the competition on his platform and the three-eyed fighter knocking his opponents out in rapid succession, Videl's attention swiftly turned to the one Gohan was on.
Easily recognizable from his orange and blue garb she'd seen him wear in the food court and his wild, untamed black hair waving on the wind, the young girl saw the boy battling on the lowest platform closest to the sea. Despite there being so many other people around him, she was able to make him out for one reason and one reason only.
He was clearing house of all his opponents.
Eyes widening in amazement, the girl watched on as Gohan darted between fighters at ludicrous speed and took each and every one of them out with a series of lightning fast punches and kicks. It was almost like he was gliding across the surface of the arena, like he had wires holding him up or something. What's more, not only were his attacks shockingly fast, nearly untraceable to the human eye; he was also wearing a big smile on his face, as if the act of taking out his opponents meant nothing to him.
He was knocking them out one after the other seemingly without effort.
To put it into perspective, Videl was astounded.
"Wow. He… He's amazing," the girl whispered, before a wide grin spread across her lips and she thrust a fist into the air in encouragement. "Yeah! Go Gohan! Get em'!"
Her heart was pounding as she called out his name. Whether it was from the excitement of watching the many fights taking place or his in particular she didn't know. All Videl knew was that she wanted to see Gohan kick ass, win, and push his way clear through to the finals.
xxx
"I can't believe Gohan and Trunks entered the tournament. Just my luck," the melancholic voice of Yamcha spoke up as he lay across a large, arcing surface with his hands behind his head, completely ignoring the fighting taking place far below. "Ugh. One-hundred million beautiful zeni."
Having signed up for the preliminaries hoping for an outstanding streak, despite being aware that Tien and Krillin were also participating, the moment he heard that Piccolo was also entering the competition, the Z-fighter's enthusiasm from the beginning of the day dropped. Figuring he should have done this in the first place, Yamcha then reached out with his senses to see who else was there.
Sure enough, the man had then let out a groan of defeat when he sensed Gohan and Trunks in the area too. So, wallowing in a sea of self pity, the human fighter immediately flew up to the top of the massive pole on his arena and lay there to mope.
A heavy sigh escaped Yamcha's lungs, "Oh well. It was a nice dream while it lasted."
xxx
Bulma gave a sympathetic smile when she saw her ex appear on the television screen atop his arena's spire across from them. "Poor Yamcha. I wonder what's wrong. He seems to have lost his drive." She had a good idea as to what was probably gnawing at him. Chi-Chi did as well.
The Son mother smirked and turned away, "The competition must be overwhelming."
Feeling haughty herself, Bulma spared the woman a grin, "True. How can anyone expect to beat Trunks?"
Catching onto that snide remark, Chi-Chi immediately threw her best glare at the Brief mother, "Except Gohan!"
Lying in his mother's arms, the Baby Trunks, who'd previously been enjoying the scenery, then looked up worryingly when he saw the two women stand up and begin shooting daggers at one another. The scene soon turned incredibly worrisome for him and the people in the surrounding seats when they saw menacing auras appear around the mothers and electricity start to crackle between them.
In fact, the scene became so tense that everyone completely missed the sight of the massive Doskoi backhanding one of his opponents into the pillar Yamcha was lying on, bending it, and sending the Z-fighter plummeting into the ocean. The man had the common courtesy to let out an unmanly scream as he fell several stories before crashing into the water.
xxx
With a loud rumble and a collective cry of terror, the remaining fighters on the lowest battle platform found themselves crowded together before being sent flying over the edge. The collection of bodies hitting the surface of the water concurrently caused a splash about three stories high, a sight that drew an excited cheer from the crowd.
After plowing the rest of the competition off of his platform, Gohan held up a fist and grinned from ear to ear. "I heard the World Martial Arts Tournaments helped hone my father's skills. Perhaps this Intergalactic version will do the same for me."
As soon as the cameras scanned the ring, the referee's voice came up over the speakers. "Son Gohan is the first to pass the preliminaries!"
Upon celebrating his victory by throwing the same fist into the air, the boy then turned to the stands where his mother was and waved. When he saw her wave back at him with her victory fans, the youngster then sensed out the new friend he'd made in the food court. Looking up towards one of the nearby buildings, he quickly spotted Videl standing at the balcony and, smiling radiantly, waved to her as well.
The pig-tailed girl, at first overwhelmed by the way Gohan had handily dealt with all of his opponents, couldn't help but grin back and let out a cheer. "Yes! Way to go!"
xxx
"Trunks advances!" the announcer again announced inside of Cash's sky box, informing the family and their attendant of a second competitor. To the wealthy father and his wife, the sight drew expressions of interest and admiration.
To the mighty Champ Hercule though, it brought an expression of absolute dismay and horror. With spaghetti jammed inside of his mouth, the man gawked up at the screen when he recognized the faces of the advancers Gohan and Trunks sitting in the monitors. Able to recognize them from their attire and faces, the man could only shake his head in denial before turning toward another monitor.
There, he saw the moving platform retract and tilt, tossing all of the fighters standing on it into the ocean except for one, who managed to cling on despite all of the tumbling men and women making a grab for his head. He then gave the camera a victorious grin before his name was announced.
"Krillin moves on!"
"It… It's them… the guys from the Cell Games!" the martial arts champion with the afro thought, a cold sweat dripping down his face as he rose from his seat. Nobody, not even the kid sitting right next to him, seemed to take notice of the statue of a man turning around to clamp a hand over his mouth in an effort to cover his expression of fear. "W-Why are they here? T-This can't be happening… it's just… not possible…"
Moments later, another announcement was made.
"And Piccolo is headed for the quarter finals as well!"
The sight of the green skinned man in the turban and cape had Hercule sink to his knees, curl up into a little ball and start whimpering like a girl. Miraculously, for him, none of the family seemed to take notice of that either.
It was one of the many perks of being a charlatan of his high standing. Everybody just seemed to overlook all of his shortcomings whenever it was convenient.
"Nightmare… nightmare…"
"Tien Shinhan has also made the cut!"
xxx
With the preliminary rounds coming to a decisive close, the fighters that'd qualified then moved down to the lowest section of the island for the start of the next round. Forming up into a line on the waiting stage, they turned their attention toward the large screen above. As soon as all eyes were on it, the monitor flickered on from a picture of their group to a tally, which showcased all of their profiles in pairs, aligning each of them to their opponents for the quarter finals.
The announcer began reading off the arrangement. "Ladies and gentlemen, the matchups for the eight quarter finalists have been decided! In the first round, we have Son Gohan vs Udo! Second match is between Trunks and Tien Shinhan! After that, Piccolo and Krillin will battle it out in the third match! And last but not least, we have Doskoi and Sky Dragon competing for the fourth spot in the semi-finals!"
While the crowd clamored excitedly, placing bets on who out of the selected would be most likely to advance, Krillin deflated on the spot.
"Oh man! I'm fighting Piccolo." For some strange reason, the tiles at his feet suddenly became incredibly fascinating. "If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any." As if dreading the worst, the short man then glanced across at the Namekian standing at the end of the row of fighters, whom he saw smirk his way. The man's confident expression had Krillin shiver and gulp.
"Yep. I'm boned."
With their names announced, Gohan and Udo casually strolled out onto the large, circular platform that would serve as their battleground for this part of the finals. The crowds, expecting a big fight, cheered wildly as soon as they saw the two contestants appear on the screen, showing everyone which out of the remaining eight fighters would be battling it out.
Almost immediately on the first glance, it looked pretty grim for one of them.
The man the young demi-Saiyan was up against was enormous; a hulking, burly wrestler who stood at least one story high. Topped with a pair of blue fighting boots and red Speedos, the martial artist also had long blonde locks and a bushy mustache, matched by a very aggressive look in his sharp blue eyes. Needless to say, he had a very Western appeal to him, something that his hybrid opponent didn't take much notice of. Gohan was just glad to be fighting.
Videl, still holding her position up on the balcony, broke out into a bit of a sweat when she saw the person Gohan was set to fight. "This doesn't look good." She hoped nothing bad happened to him.
Though she was actually referring to Gohan, in reality she should have been referring to his opponent.
"Fighters! Take your stances!"
Raising an eyebrow at the smiling child standing underneath his shadow, Udo snorted. "Feh. I'm fighting a baby? I gotta get a better agent," the man muttered to himself before giving the boy a wide grin in an attempt to intimidate him. "Hey listen, kid. I'm not into beating weaklings, but the training wheels are coming off today. Understand?"
Unshaken, Gohan brought his hands up, placed his right fist in his left palm and bowed. "I'm ready. Let's have a good fight."
The big man chuckled, "You've got a lot of guts kid… and I'm gonna show them to yah!" The second the starting bell rang, the man let out a snarl and reached down to grab the boy with his gigantic hands.
However, the second he saw his foe move, Gohan acted.
Focusing, the demi-Saiyan darted forward and, with a lazy sweeping kick, knocked the unsuspecting man off his feet and sent him flying. The poor, unsuspecting wrestler let out a startled cry when his body flew backwards at high speed, smashed through one of the stadium walls, and crashed into one of the stands a second later. The spectators in that box had barely enough time to barrel out of the way before the cannonball of a man crashed straight through their balcony, flew out the other side and soared over the ocean.
He landed in the water two kilometers away.
The entire island sat in stunned silence, save for one mother and her friend, who rose from her seat while punching the air victoriously.
"BOO-YAH! That's my son!"
Having watched the entire thing from her spot at the railings, Videl's sapphire blue eyes had widened to the size of dinner plates as she stared slack jawed at the splash Udo made in the distance.
Naturally, she was just as shocked as the rest of the island.
"W-Whoa. Did Gohan do that?"
If she had blinked she would have missed it. Even though she didn't, she swears she'd just missed something important.
xxx
After making a literal impression on the audience in the form of a massive, human-shaped hole in one of the bleachers, Gohan happily vacated the ring to make way for the next two contestants. Once everyone had been shaken out of their stunned reveries, the referee quickly went on to call the next two fighters, only to realize that they were both already out on the stage.
"M-Moving onto the second match, Trunks battles Tien Shinhan!" the arbitrator stammered, drawing a cheer from the audience as they watched the two men prepare.
Knowing his next fight was going to be his toughest one yet, the three-eyed former assassin removed the white shirt from his back and tossed it away. Showing off his scarred, muscle-layered body, the man then took a deep breath and brought his fists to his sides.
Meeting the lavender haired Saiyan's gaze, Tien smiled, "Hey, Trunks. Whaddaya say we give these people a good show?"
The time-traveling warrior smiled and nodded in return. "Okay."
With the crowds cheering and the stage set, the officials sounded the bell. The second it blared, both Trunks and Tien vanished from the arena and bounded up the island from platform to platform in the form of two, fast moving blurs. Once they reached the apex, they both leapt into the sky and flew right at each other, engaging in a flurry of lightning fast blows hundreds of feet above sea level.
The sound of powerful attacks cutting through the air rang out as both Tien and Trunks danced across the sky, trading punches and kicks while dodging and parrying blows in turn. When the three-eyed fighter struck out, the hybrid Saiyan countered with a swift kick, only to be met with a check and a left hook, which he was forced to avoid. Both crisscrossed, avoiding simultaneous blows from the other before Trunks flew at his opponent with a spinning kick, which Tien ducked at the last moment.
Seeing his opponent fly past him, the triclops gritted his teeth and shot up after him with a swift one-two combo and a kick, all three of which Trunks calmly avoided before countering with a left roundhouse. The blow impacted against the human's chest with a sonic boom, the force of which sent Tien spiraling towards the ocean with the scream of a passing jet. However, before Tien could hit the water's surface, he pulled up at the last second and leveled out, tearing a shallow trench through the sea.
xxx
Up in X.S Cash's roving sky box, the entire family of three could be seen gawking out the window as they watched the battle between Trunks and Tien unfold. At first they'd all been sitting quietly and patiently, expecting to watch a simple ground match between the two contestants. But then, just as they were getting comfortable, their moods did a complete one eighty when the two men suddenly vanished and reappeared in the skies above the island seconds later, throwing punches at each other that simultaneously echoed with every swing and broke the sound barrier with every impact.
In a matter of seconds everyone, including the camera crew covering the family and the Champ's communal in their part of the island, were stunned.
"They're fighting in midair," the portly, wealthiest man in the world exclaimed, unable to comprehend what was happening. All he knew was that it was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen.
His son was also speechless.
The mother, looking on nervously, glanced across at her husband, "Honey, are you sure they're not using wires?"
Her question was promptly silenced when the two fighters vanished once again and the sounds of sonic booms started to ring across the island like thunderclaps. Each invisible blast was marked by a tremor, which had the audience holding onto their seats and looking on in amazement when the two blurs that were the fighters darted through the sky in a fantastic aerial dogfight.
Wanting to get a secondary opinion, the reporter Sarah and her cameraman Tom, both of which were standing in the skybox, turned their attention to the world champion. Neither of them seemed to notice the look of abject horror on the man's face, as his back was completely turned to them.
"Mr. Satan. Can you explain this extraordinary event?" the woman asked, holding the mike out to him.
Timidly glancing over his shoulder, the afro fighter gulped before launching into a tirade of preposterous theories, "It's a simple parlor trick! They just make a quick switch-a-roo with smoke and mirrors, and what no-GAAAH!" He was cut off when the sound barrier seemingly exploded right next to their balcony and caused the entire island to shake, causing the people standing in the box to let out a startled yell before falling over.
Face-planting the cold floor, the thunderstruck Hercule Satan could do nothing except mutter gibberish to himself.
"Why… out of all the tournaments did they have to enter mine, I hate this." He could almost cry.
xxx
Their connecting blows taking the form of earthshaking thunder claps, the two fierce warriors engaged one another at invisible speed throughout the skies above the island. Eventually, after battling one another in their own plain of perception that literally shook several spectators out of their chairs, the two eventually reemerged in hot pursuit of one another.
Gaining altitude as fast as he could, Tien quickly spun around, threw both his hands up, and formed a familiar diamond shaped crosshairs. Gathering ki between his palms, he took aim with his hands and zoomed in on the approaching Trunks, who quickly spotted the attack being aimed at him.
"TRI BEAM-HAAAA!" Tien bellowed, before unleashing a square shaped blast of golden energy from his hands that shot towards the hybrid at ridiculous speed.
The attack, despite its enormous size and range, was effectively dodged when Trunks zipped out of its path. The blast ended up striking one of the island's tors where, upon impacting, caused a massive explosion that not only disintegrated that uninhabited portion of the island and caused the formation of rock to topple into the shallows, it also generated towering waves in that rippled out across the ocean. The audience practically cried out in terror at the violent tremors the explosion created.
Ignoring the smoke and the debris pelting their surroundings, Trunks and Tien continued their battle. Darting through the air at great speed, the pair eventually collided with one another with simultaneous, full-body checks. The impact resulted in another enormous shockwave, which was followed by an ear-splitting crack when Tien's fist smashed across Trunks's face. The blow sent both blasting away from one another across the water, where they then suspended themselves to catch their breaths.
Seeing his foe smiling across at him and returning it likewise, Tien's face quickly became serious. "He's still holding back a great deal of his strength. Looks like I'm going to have to go all out if I want to make him work." With that thought, Tien powered up, a white aura of energy exploding off of his body and enveloping him completely.
Responding to the threat, Trunks quickly shot up into the air to gain some distance. Once he'd secured a good altitude, he turned back to his opponent, threw his arms and legs out, and powered up as well. With a shout of effort, golden energy exploded off of the demi-Saiyan like wildfire and blasted outwards, a transformation which was marked by his hair spiking upwards, turning gold, and his eyes flashing a greenish-blue.
The crowds were completely awed by the display, watching on while the two glowing fighters prepared for a second bout.
Practically leaning over the railings at this point, a completely stunned Videl blinked in amazement when she watched the two competitors take off from their low altitude positions to engage each other above the island once again. At first overwhelmed by their sheer display of speed, ferocity and power, as well as their ability to fly, the girl was once again sent into an inner spiral of thought when she saw the pair light up like flames and start trading blows with one another at an even greater speed. It was completely mindboggling.
While she continued to watch the pair dogfight through the clouds and between the towering platforms, the raven haired girl remained completely silent, locked in a daze that would not be so easily broken. But then, as memories of watching the Cell Games flickered through her mind and a group of familiar faces from that same day began to surface, the child was eventually able to piece two and two together and soon enough blinked herself out of her startled reverie.
"W-Wait a second… super strength, super speed, beams of bright energy… golden hair…" Videl's thoughts came to a screeching halt when she finally realized what she was looking at. "Th-These are the people who were at the Cell Games with dad!"
Holy crap. So the men who'd fought Cell after her father were here at this tournament as well. That was outstanding! Looking up at the screen showcasing all of the competitors, she was soon able to recognize four of the ones that she remembered seeing there on the news, as well as the one that'd been knocked out in the preliminaries by Doskoi. Startled by this discovery, the girl then took a moment to tally up the faces before looking out across the island a third time, watching on as more explosions rippled through the skies.
"A couple of them are missing though," Videl thought, since she couldn't see the blonde haired father and son anywhere. They were the two she remembered fighting Cell after her dad and his friends had been knocked out, and displayed the exact same powers as the fighter with the previously lavender hair now battling it out with Tien.
Of course, thinking on it a little more, after witnessing the competitor's startling alteration, Videl then realized that the father and son duo must have the same ability to change their hair color as well. Apparently this Trunks's normal hair color was purplish. If that were the case and his change in hair color was part of his transformation into that golden form, then the father and son from the Cell Games could probably do that too.
Despite this new information though, Videl still had a few more questions that had been left unanswered.
"W-Where does Gohan fit in to all of this?" He obviously didn't display the normal traits of a strong fighter. The fact that he sent his previous opponent on a two kilometer flight was proof of that. Her dad was one of the strongest people she knew and even with his ridiculous hitting power; there was no way her father could do something even close to that. But again, after meditating on it a little bit more, something in the girl's mind clicked that had her staring at the screen with the demi-Saiyan's face smiling back at her. "No way… could… could Gohan be…?
After the things she'd seen and was now watching live in front of her, everything was starting to come together.
OOO
(Meanwhile)
(Capsule Corp – West City)
Far out of the way of BattleIsland and sitting across the bed in his room, the Prince of all Saiyans Vegeta, adorned in his full body spandex and armor, could be seen watching the television quietly with his arms folded and legs crossed. Having flipped to the channel of the fights earlier that morning, the man had then proceeded to watch with mixed interest as all of the Z-Fighters, sans Yamcha, dominated the battle royal portion of the Intergalactic tournament before moving on to the quarter finals.
However, after seeing Gohan's one-sided match against his hulk of an opponent and watching Trunks battle Tien to the point both of them powered up, the flame haired Saiyan quickly grew tired of the little sideshow and took immediate action.
Picking up the remote, Vegeta switched off the television and scoffed, "Hmph. Give me a break." He then set the remote down and fell back into his pillow, hands behind his head.
Right now, the last thing he wanted to think about was fighting. So, finding a serene place of his own in the far corners of his mind, the man shut his eyes and decided to take a nap; completely ignoring the television and his son's sword gleaming in the corner behind him.
OOO
(Back on the Island)
"Well… it looks like Tien is done for," Krillin murmured to himself, rubbing his arm uneasily as he continued to observe the aerial light show between the Super Saiyan and his human opponent. "I can give him extra points for effort, but that man has gotta face the fact that he was beaten the moment he stepped into the ring."
Even though the fight was still going strong, the short, bald warrior could do nothing to hold back his river of pessimism.
"Ah, cheer up Krillin," Gohan chirped, grinning across at his friend. "Even though Trunks has an advantage in speed and power, there's still a chance for Tien to win. All he has to do is knock him into the ocean."
Krillin snorted, glancing at the youngster who looked to be the most cheerful person in the world, "Heh. That's easier said than done, Gohan." The two of them then looked up when an explosion lit up the entire sky and, after watching it fade, spotted Tien emerge from the cloud trailing smoke.
A split second later, the entire audience including Gohan and Krillin winced in unison when the transformed Trunks flickered into view directly behind the triclops and backhanded him into the ocean below. The man rocketed into the water like a bullet, creating a splash large enough that it soaked all of the people sitting in the nearby stands and boats. When the waves finally subsided, a loud cheer went up and the referee announced the victor.
"After an awesome display of gravity defying speed and strength, Trunks emerges as the winner!"
"Oh well. He gave it his best shot," Krillin murmured, before throwing Gohan a lopsided smile, "Looks like it's time I gave mine. I'll see you in the infirmary, buddy. Provided I even make it there in one piece…" He then patted the boy on the shoulder and walked past him, leaving the spiky haired hybrid puzzled.
After Trunks helped Tien out of the water, the pair quickly cleared the stage for the next two contestants who were set to battle. The audience clamored excitedly when they saw Piccolo march out onto the stage followed closely by Krillin. While the former appeared completely calm, folding his arms over his chest with his eyes shut in meditation, his shorter opponent looked absolutely terrified. Most of the people reasoned that it was because of the atmosphere of the tournament and decided to cheer the poor guy on, hoping for another spectacular battle.
"The third match is about to begin as Piccolo and Krillin square off inside the ring!"
Under the applause and cheers of the spectators, the smaller fighter gulped nervously. "Okay. You can do this. He's not unbeatable." Krrilin's expression then became one of deadpan, "Well, unless he uses his Special Beam Cannon… then I'm dead." Yet he'd completely forgotten the fact that killing was strictly prohibited in this competition.
This was solid proof that once again the power of fear far outweighed the power of rational thought.
Taking a stance, Krillin slapped his game face on. "I may not win, but I'm going out in style." He then trained his gaze on that of his opponent's, only to realize moments later that the man had his side turned to him and his eyes closed. The sight of the Namekian standing there without the slightest care for his presence at all had the monk recoil. "I don't believe it! He's not even going to look at me?!" And with that, the poor monk snapped and his frustrations took hold of him. "THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD IT! I'M NOBODY'S FOOL!"
The sound of the starting horn blared. Once it did, Krillin dropped into a running start and, with the loudest battle cry he could muster, blasted forward at incredible speed. In a split second he was right on top of the Namekian warrior and was just about to land his first blow.
Unfortunately in his haste, Krillin lost complete track of where he was going and ended up running headlong into the man's cape like a raging bull. Popping out the other side, the monk let out a hilarious cry when he unexpectedly plummeted over the side of the ring. Quickly recovering from his descent, the short fighter started flapping his arms like a bird to regain some altitude, saving himself from a premature fall into the ocean. The moment he returned to his platform's level though, Krillin suddenly felt himself grabbed from behind by his collar and forcibly turned around.
Looking up, he saw Piccolo glaring at him. "I thought I came for a tournament, not a circus performance. This is just a waste of my time." Without another word, the man tossed Krillin back onto the ring and onto the ground. Then, the second the short man sat up, the Namekian turned heel, leapt over the side, and blasted off.
As soon as the Namekian disappeared over the horizon, the referee spoke up over the silent crowd. "Piccolo has forfeited the match! Krillin wins by default!"
Applause and cheers raining down on him moments later, the bewildered monk blinked a couple of times before grinning. "Oh. That was surprisingly easy."
Standing on the sidelines, a disappointed Gohan breathed out a sigh. "Aww man. I was hoping he would stick around for a little bit longer. Oh well."
"And now for the final match, Doskoi against Sky Dragon!"
OOO
(Sometime later)
With the end of the quarter finals, which saw the challenger Doskoi tossing his opponent over one of the upper platforms and literally out of the competition, the four remaining contestants were then escorted into the waiting room while the audience was told to remain as they were. Though this announcement initially confused the spectators waiting eagerly in their seats, every single person on the island soon found out why they were told to hold fast as then, all of a sudden, the entire landmass began to move.
As it turns out, the island that the spectators and all of the other fighters were on wasn't actually fixed to the ground at all. The entire mass of earth and steel was in fact an enormous vessel that, after being unlatched from the seabed, set a course for the competition's final destination. Even though the preliminaries had been held on this island, the semi-finals and final match was actually set to be held on a second landmass dubbed Battle Island II; an actual atoll with two enormous mountains making up its topography, both dormant volcanoes, with the main stadium sitting in the heart of the larger of the two edifices.
Those that'd partaken in the festivities on the first island would be able to witness the final battles on the second. It wasn't a long trip to get to the place either; a quick sail out of the inlet and across the channel and the entire entourage of over eighty thousand spectators were there in just over forty minutes. The passengers were quick to disembark from the mobile landmass as soon as it docked with its significantly larger counterpart, where everyone was then driven via a fleet of buses to the dome serving as the final stadium.
The excitement hanging in the air was almost palpable.
For most anyway. As it turns out, X.S Cash's attendant had actually caught Mr. Satan trying to jump ship prematurely and ended up having to escort the man personally onto the second island, where he quickly adjourned to the nearest bathroom. The Champ had apparently come down with some sort of a chronic stomach ache, an illness that the staff reasoned the man had contracted due to a severe case of motion sickness.
Anyway, once all of the spectators had been filed into the stadium, the staff was then able to take the four winners of the quarter finals to their next room. Bringing them into the levels beneath the stadium itself, the group was sorted into a separate chamber where they were able to mingle and rest up before they were called to the elevators that would take them up to the final ring.
Each settled down to their own devices. While the imposing sumo wrestler Doskoi adopted an Indian style position in the corner of the room, Trunks had taken to leaning against a wall with his arms folded, Krillin a spot on the couch, and Gohan, energetic as always, had decided to stay on his feet and wander about the waiting room, taking in the various paintings and other embellishments hanging around the place. The smile he wore throughout his entire lap of the room told everyone that he was the most relaxed there, a sight that put a smile on Trunks's face.
"Excited?" the lavender Saiyan asked.
"You bet. I've never actually participated in a tournament like this before and I actually made it into the semi-finals on my first go," the younger hybrid chirped while looking across at his friend.
"Same here. The World Martial Arts Tournament in my time was shut down due to the havoc the androids were creating across the planet and since we were so busy fighting them, nobody had time for these kinds of activities," Trunks replied, his smile brightening somewhat as he looked down at the ground. "But now that their nightmare is over, we're able to go back to the way things were."
"I hope you guys are able to pull through it," Gohan spoke, beaming brightly with his hands behind his back. "You're the earth's protector now in your time… so that means everybody will be looking to you for support. I'm sure you'll do fine."
"Yeah," Mirai responded, nodding towards his mentor from the past with a heartfelt gleam in his eyes, "Thanks, Gohan."
"Ah, you shouldn't worry about it too much," Krillin said from the couch, soda in hand and a smile on his face. "Now that #17 and #18 are gone in your time, you and the rest of the planet can rest easy, knowing that the greatest threats have been wiped clean from the board. I mean, after all the stuff you and Bulma had to go through, I can imagine you guys are exhausted."
"Mm," Trunks nodded in agreement.
While the two had their heart to heart across the way, Gohan decided to pace around a little more. When he went to check out the bonsai trees growing along the table in the back, he sensed a pair of eyes watching him and glanced around to see Doskoi staring at him.
The youngster, blinking at the man's serious contours, beamed. "Hi there."
Appearing stoic at first, the big man soon broke out a smile, "Hello. You were the little one that sent Udo on a free trip across the pond, yeah?"
Gohan giggled and scratched his cheek, "Guilty."
"Impressive. You may not look it, but you're an incredibly powerful fighter," Doskoi replied while at the same time tilting his head towards the young man. "I'd fought Udo a few times before in previous tournaments. Even I found it difficult to toss a man of that size." He then gave the youngster a curious glance, "What's your secret?"
Giving it a moment of thought, the spiky haired hybrid chuckled, "The trick is to take their weight, pull them forward, and reverse their momentum. That way you'll not only throw them off balance, you'll also be able to use their strength against them."
Doskoi laughed heartily, which sounded more like a rumble that could be felt rather than heard, "You're a very technical fighter I see… just as I expected of someone of your character. To each their own, I suppose" Seeing the boy smile at his comment, the man then nodded towards him respectfully and spoke. "I hope that we get to meet each other in the final round to see who'll get to take down that Mr. Satan fellow." The wrestler frowned a bit and closed his eyes, "Between you and me, I do not believe that a man like that could have taken down somebody as terrifying as Cell. I saw what that monster did on the news. No way could someone of that caliber have fallen so easily to someone of Hercule Satan's skill set."
His remark actually had the three Z-fighters present smile, especially Krillin.
"At least there are some people out there with a little bit of common sense about them," Trunks thought, sharing an acknowledging nod with his companions. "We think so too, friend."
"Mr. Satan may know how to please a crowd, but defeating someone who can crush mountains with their bare hands… no way," Krillin added.
"Yeah. It takes a different kind of stuff to take on somebody like that," Gohan led on, earning a wide smile from the large sumo practitioner.
"Stuff that you three possess, I assume," the man responded, earning surprised blinks from Krillin and Gohan. Grinning slightly, the hulking figure winked, "I've seen how you three do battle. As someone who's been practicing martial arts for years now, I think I know when I've been outgunned. But that doesn't mean I won't give it my best shot."
Initially surprised, the three Z-fighters then smiled and gave their respects to the big wrestler. As one-dimensional as he initially came across, this man was actually one sharp customer. Of course, not wanting to rain on the man's parade, they simply returned his friendly exclamations with gestures of acknowledgement and thanks.
"I wonder what Chi-Chi and Bulma are doing right now," Krillin wondered out loud, turning to Trunks with an inquisitive expression. "You guys did mention that those two came along the watch the tournament."
"Maybe they're still arguing over who out of the three of us is going to win this thing," Mirai suggested with a shrug.
This reply had the short monk cackle sarcastically, "Oh please. No need to beat around the bush on this one, pal. What you really meant to say was who out of the two of us is going to win this thing. If you haven't forgotten, you and Gohan are products of a pair of terrifying space monsters and I'm just a poor little sack of flesh human with no hair."
While Trunks rolled his eyes, Gohan smiled and looked up as well, "Everyone should be getting comfortable right about now. I'm just wondering how Videl's doing. Maybe she's up there in the stadium waiting for us."
This little exclamation took Krillin out of the conversation a bit and had the man look in the youngster's direction, "Videl? Who's that?"
"Oh. This girl I met up in the food court. She's really nice and really tough… and she's learning how to fight using different kinds of martial arts. I think she's pretty cool. Maybe you guys can meet her afterwards." The moment he finished his little exclamation, Gohan then saw Krillin and Trunks look across at one another. After that, he then saw the monk grin slyly at him, while the man with the lavender hair threw the demi-Saiyan a very Vegeta like look of curiosity. Gohan actually felt a shiver run down his spine when he saw the pair's eyes flicker with mischief. "Uhh… why are you guys looking at me like that?"
"Oh, this is going to be fun," Krillin sung in his head while a wide grin pulled across his lips.
Poor innocent Gohan. He had no idea what kind of teasing was going to be coming his way.
OOO
(Half an hour later)
"Thank you for your patience ladies and gentlemen! We hope you've all had plenty of time to rest, because now it's time to begin the semi-finals!" the announcer hollered out over the mike, earning a loud cheer from all those present.
Inside the massive dome, all of the spectators had been arranged into a very large, yet very basic stadium setup. The steel structure inside the mountain wrapped around an enormous coliseum that circled an arena center that, unlike conventional rings, contained an enormous pyramid in the middle. At the very apex of the construct, leading off from each of the four corners, there sat four jet car tracks with four pods stationed at the beginning of each slide. These slides led into four completely different directions through tunnels that disappeared into the walls.
With spotlights focused completely on the center stage and enormous monitors set up throughout the entirety of the dome, the audience was guaranteed full and complete coverage of the next round of matches to come. The entire building was literally quivering with excitement.
Videl, who'd found a spot somewhere closest to the top of the coliseum, was rocking back and forth excitedly on her heels while she leaned against the railings. Having made her way up here after leaving the first battle island, the girl was obviously looking forward to the next series of events. After all, Gohan had made it into the finals, and if her instincts knew any better she was bound to see one hell of a show.
"I know you're going to do awesome, Gohan. If you were able to wipe the floor with that last guy, then I have no doubt you're going to kick butt in this one," the girl cheered inwardly, beaming brightly as she looked intently towards the center pyramid. "Show me what you can do!"
When the stage lit up, the crowds cheered as one after the other, hatches opened up beside each of the four rocket pods. As soon as they did, four figures were then elevated onto the stage under a chorus of shouts and applause. The sound the plus fifty thousand people made was almost deafening, but neither one of the four warriors were shaken up in the slightest.
That is… until a couple members in the audience decided to be more vocal than the people around them.
"GOHAN, I LOVE YOU SWEETIE!" the cry of Chi-Chi echoed throughout the chamber.
The shout out had Gohan look down and blush. "Mum… not so loud," he mumbled.
Seeing the boy's abashed face on the big screen after hearing the woman's yell drew a giggle from Videl.
"You own this, Trunks! Get em' and then we can go on vacation!" the call of Bulma followed shortly afterwards.
Mirai had the common sense to blush just as much as his fellow Saiyan did. "Tactful as always, mother."
"Krillin! Don't get yourself killed," the yell of Oolong echoed in from another part of the stadium, earning a deep scowl from the bald fighter.
"Oh, I'll survive. Then it's bacon time."
As soon as all four contestants had appeared, the spotlights overhead faded, and the mediator's voice one again rang true throughout the dome. "New island, new rules! We've got four tunnels running underground! They lead to specialized battle zones in each direction. Now that the qualifiers have been assigned a tunnel, they will each be transported to their decided battle zone via the rocket pods you see positioned beside them. There they will face our special guests; FIGHTERS FROM ACROSS THE GALAXIES!"
Overhead the television screens showed to the audience close up images of the tunnels and tracks, before then flipping over to a feed of the four 'space aliens' descending a set of escalators in the marketing stage of the main event. Once everyone had been informed of the opening proceedings, the speaker continued to read out the rules to the four fighters waiting patiently on the pyramid.
"Now pay attention, because here's where things get really spicy! Once a fight ends, the challenge isn't over. The victor must then find and take a special lift, and be the first to return to the center stage here inside this coliseum. The winner will then proceed to the final round against Mr. Satan!" The end of this statement drew an earsplitting cry and cheer from the collective audience.
Just like the other Z-fighters, Krillin sprouted a grin and clambered into his rocket pod, "Perfect! A race! That means I'll have the advantage." Snickering as he strapped himself in and pulled down the brace bar, the man then watched as the cockpit closed and the sound of the audience became muffled by the dividing glass. "After all, I do have the least wind resistance."
As soon as all the rules had been explained, the three other fighters leapt into their pods and buckled up. With Doskoi lagging behind due to being hampered by his immense size, soon each and every one of the competitors was strapped in and ready for action. Once the staff was certain that the fighters were locked down good and tight, they gave a thumbs-up to the chief commentator, who then shouted into the microphone once more.
"Let's begin the count down!"
A massive screen switched to a clock, which started to tick. With every second that flipped by, the audience started to chant in unison.
"Ten!"
"Nine!"
"Eight!"
"Okay. Here we go!" Trunks thought, grinning as he took hold of the handle bars.
"Seven!"
"Six!"
"Five!"
"Let's do this!" Krillin shouted in his pod, licking his lips and tasting the sweetness of impending victory.
"Four!"
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
"Lift off!" Gohan smirked.
With a blast of fire and a sonic boom, the four shuttles took off down their tracks at breakneck speeds. Trailing smoke as they shot down their respective slides, the carts and their passengers vanished down the tunnels one after the other. Once they were gone, the reporters down on ground level, who were covering their part of the battle, waved away the fumes and turned to their cameramen to continue with their broadcasts.
"And they're off!"
The whole event was shooing to be an incredible hit and the audience was holding out for every second of it.
What the Z-fighters didn't know however, as they rocketed down their respective tunnels towards their assigned arenas, was that their greatest battle was just about to begin.