Boom

Author`s Note: The second part, thanks for the reviews to anyone who actually R&Red it! As for Hiro, a response is at the bottom of it to answer any questions/gripes you may have. Would`ve mailed it but ol` AOhelL wouldn`t accept your e-mail address.

Disclaimer: I own the box I live in! :]




Hybrid Theory: Opaque Portents
Boom



Late morning was the time, Tinoca Island`s Tenkaichi Budoukai Arena was the place. The sun hadn`t yet hit the mid-day mark but the fighting in the junior division had already started. While most of the fights were pretty boring, somewhere along the way there were two walking roadblocks toward every other kid`s chances at becoming the junior champ. Son Goten and Trunks Briefs had been running rampant through the Tenkaichi in all of their matches, knocking their opponents out in one or two moves at the most with each progressive fight, beating a steady path towards the finals. Twenty eight junior fighters had come in, but only two looked to be coming out, as was being predicted early on. Six rounds were being held, two were already down.

Currently, it was Trunks facing off with a boy roughly twice his height and three times his weight, a heavyset blonde kid by the name of Rendosa. The kid was a brawler and an intimidator, lacking on fighting skill he had essentially punched, thrown and scared his way up to this point. Right now, he was giving Trunks 'The Look,' that is to say, he was essentially saying he was about to murder the boy in cold blood if he didn`t get out of the ring and go crying to his mother or the announcer. "I`m gonna cripple you," he stated threateningly, stomping forward inch by inch. Rendosa was a fairly well known school bully in the district he came from, a fairly brutal one at that. Drove twelve kids to home school, intimidated the school staff and drove one boy to almost shoot himself.

"Scared yet? Ya little lavender haired, blue eyed prissyboy?" He asked, inching forward in that slow methodical manner. Trunks didn`t even bother to look at him. "Do you really think you`re scaring me?" The four and a half year old demi-saiyan asked. Rendosa blinked. "I mean... Really, can you even read and write? Let alone throw a punch with any actual skill?" Trunks asked. Rendosa snorted. No, he couldn`t read or write but he could certainly kick this little punk`s ass!

Right?

Wrong. Trunks dashed forward, zinging around Rendosa and to the big kid`s side, not attacking though, just standing there. Rendosa looked around wide eyed and then spotted Trunks at his side, throwing a heavy punch toward`s the boy`s skull. Rendosa`s lack of skill caused him to lose balance, counting on Trunks taking the shot to actually keep Rendosa himself on his feet. Trunks tilted his head out of the way, bending over and allowing Rendosa to fall and flip over him, onto his back on the mat. The boy`s mother screeched angrily and Rendosa got up.

"You little sissy! You didn`t even take my punch!" Rendosa glared accusingly. "Welcome to fighting, dumbass. You aren`t supposed to take the hit unless you can`t avoid it or it won`t hurt you at all," Trunks responded calmly, utilizing that 'One Cussword Per Day' rule that Bulma and ChiChi both enforced to keep he and Goten from being foul mouthed all together. Sure, he`d probably slip up sooner or later, but hey...

"I`m gonna kill you!" Rendosa shouted, diving forward at Trunks and moving to grab him in a bearhug. Rendosa liked bearhugs you see, especially on skinny kids like this one. They let him fall forward and slam his victims into the ground under his full weight.

Unfortunately for him, Trunks jumped this time. Nothing fancy, nothing major, he just jumped from where he had been standing, straight up. Rendosa flew underneath him and skidded along, and Trunks landed without even turning to face him. Rendosa got up, sweating and breathing hard. He charged Trunks again, skidding along on one foot and throwing his leg out for a jumping kick to the head. It would`ve sweeping along and knocked into Trunks` skull at an angle like one would sidekick a soccerball, but Trunks simply looked down, as if finding something more interesting in the tiling of the matt than with Rendosa`s ability to throw wildly unguided blows at random.

Rendosa on the other hand, fell into a twist and ended up on his hands and knees, now directly to front and right of the lavender haired boy he was trying so desperately to take down. Trunks scratched his temple lightly and yawned as the announcer spoke.

"It seems ten year old Rendosa can`t even touch five year old Trunks in the match, but by the same token, it doesn`t even seem as though Trunks is trying! We could be about to see one major upset with who`s favored to win the tournament folks..."

Rendosa sniffled and charged at Trunks again, like an American football player. Trunks bent over backwards with ease, at an almost impossible angle for a human to achieve even with years of training. Rendosa flew over him again and landed on his chin, scraping badly as Trunks straightened up. Rendosa was now crying turning around and running at Trunks once more, this time with his eyes shut. Trunks hopped back with each step Rendosa took, taunting him all the while.

"Come on mister 'I`m gonna cripple you,' can`t keep up with someone who can actually fight?!" Trunks taunted, moving on one foot now. Rendosa jumped at Trunks, Trunks jumped straight up and Rendosa went flying out of the ring, landing smack dab on his face and falling unconcious from the weight of his own body coming down on his head and neck.

"What an upset! Trunks has beat Rendosa for the victory without even once touching him!" Capel called out.

It was essentially poetic justice that the one opponent that didn`t fight back was the one opponent that beat Rendosa the worst, especially to the kids at his school and neighborhood. The big bully was down and out for the count as Trunks lazily walked out of the ring, passing by a few monks with a stretcher on his way to the fighter`s lounge, greeted halfway by an ecstatic Goten.

I never knew that a kid like me
Could take his mic around the world and flash the big S.D.
And rock the masses, from Madrid to Calabassas
Tijuana, Mexico, bootleg demos in Tokyo

Gohan smiled, watching the action from his vantage point with the rest of the group up on the walkway above the stands. Videl was staring at the ring, standing beside him, and most everyone else was intent on watching chaos reign down in the ring as Goten moved out of the fighter`s lounge, following a thinly muscular looking kid in plain clothing. Krillin was the only one that really, really voiced his support for the time being, concealing pity for the kid Goten was about to face.

"Come on Goten! Freight train the kid!"

Zangya shrugged and joined in a few seconds later, shouting out to Goten down in the ring. "Come on kid, take him out!" Zangya called. Gohan voiced his own support a few seconds later, cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling down at Goten. "Don`t beat `im too hard Goten!" He shouted, the only sane comment any of the three had really said in the past few seconds. Goten looked somewhat bashful but then the bell rang...

The match ended in roughly two seconds. Goten`s opponent flew out of the ring in a straight line, right back into the fighter`s lounge and into a wall, leaving an imprint and flopped down onto his face before a paramedic ran up and carted him off. Goten chuckled sheepishly and quickly left the ring, honestly afraid he`d killed the boy by accident.

"How can your little brother be that strong?" Videl asked with a slight wince. "Runs in the family, I guess," Gohan replied with a smirk, watching his little brother literally flee the ring to check on the other kid. "I`m glad I made it into the adult division," Videl muttered. "Those two are probably strong enough to give most of the adult fighters a run for their money," she added. "Not yet," Piccolo cryptically mumbled.

The matches edged on, one by one until it was again Trunks` turn to fight someone. The fighters watched him casually walk to the ring, and they watched him casually exit the ring, his opponent having gone down from a singular kick. Goten`s match was essentially the same, and it became more and more apparent as time went by that they wouldn`t have any good matches until they fought each other.

"Anyone want anything to eat?" Vincent asked. "No thanks, Seventeen," Piccolo muttered, blowing the cyborg`s cover entirely. Everyone in the group that had ever seen Android Seventeen up close and not recognized him just now promptly did a double take and fell over in surprise. "What?" Seventeen asked. "Why didn`t you tell anyone you were entering?" Krillin asked his future brother-in-law annoyedly. "Wanted to surprise you," Seventeen shrugged. "Besides, I figure I was getting rusty and needed some cash. I had the power, so why not take a run at it?" He asked. "Good point," Krillin replied. "But since you offered, mind gettin` me a drink?"

"Same here," Tien added. "And here," Chaozu added as well. Gohan and Videl both requested a drink each, as did virtually everyone else but Piccolo and Juuhachigou, neither of which really ate or drank very often. Heck, the last time Piccolo had eaten anything was at Gohan`s 9th birthday party, not a bite since. Juuhachigou just didn`t eat or drink as much as a normal person.

Seventeen got everyone`s order and departed to go find a vender or a shop. The tournament continued.

They know me though, 'cause I be puttin' in work
Commit my life to rebirth, well respected, 'cause that's my word
I'm sure you heard, about a new sound going around
She might have left my hood, but she was born in my town

And it dragged on. One by one, opponents came and went but two fighters remained by the end of the hour long bonanza of underaged brutality, Goten and Trunks. There was a blaring of trumpets and a pounding of drums as the two began to head for the ring, one standing about a half a head taller than the other. To at least one of the onlookers, standing atop an in-stadium speaker tower, it was like deja vu. Goten, barring his long sleeves and change of shoes, was essentially Goku redux. Trunks could be considered Vegeta with blue eyes and lavender hair. All that was needed now was a big bald guy, a few people to serve as cannon fodder, a fat samurai, a half-bred coward-turned-savior-at-the-last-second, a midget with no hair and a desert mountain range to serve as a battlefield.

Trunks and Goten climbed the stairs into the ring as the announcer introduced them. "These two are first timers at any Tenkaichi Budoukai but already they`ve established a major fan following among the audience, am I right?" Capel asked, the crowd responding with a cheer. "Thought so. Trunks Briefs, son to the adult competitor known only as Vegeta, and Bulma Briefs, one of the richest women on Earth, is a total newcomer to the Tenkaichi, without any major showings I know of, save that he bears a striking resemblance to former competitor 'Trunks Mirai,' right down to sharing hair and eye color and first names!" Capel stated. "As for Son Goten, he comes from the same family that produced Son Gohan Senior, the legendary Son Goku, and his elder brother and the youngest fighter ever to come to the Tenkaichi Budoukai, Son Gohan. Given the great fighters his family has produced over the years, it`s no surprise that he would get involved in one himself when the time was right, and now, here he is with his best friend, ready to take it to the mat in the world`s most prestigous junior tournament!"

The crowd cheered and Goten and Trunks looked over at each other. "Just ignore `em," Goten heard, not from Trunks or Capel, but elsewhere. He did just that though, Jack always was pretty good at keeping him leveled up. The two boys advanced away from Capel and into the center of the ring, both assuming classic stance. "And..." The announcer began, hopping out of the ring. "Fight!" He shouted over the mic.

We rep the South, so what you talking about
I'm not running off my mouth, I know this without a doubt
'Cause if you know these streets, then these streets know you
When it's time to handle business, then you know what to do
Me and my crew, we stay true, old skool or new
Many were called, but the chosen are few

Two small sonic booms later there was a mind rattling impact at the center of the ring as the two locked up. Forearms ground together in a show of strength as a shockwave lifted from the air around them, fading a few moments later. Trunks was a shred stronger but Goten just barely seemed able to hold him back with supreme effort. Trunks shouted and pulled back, Goten ducked the incoming punch and struck his opponent squarely in the stomach, causing Trunks to lurch forward and elbow Goten in the back of the head. Goten stumbled forward by Trunks and Trunks wobbled sideways holding his stomach. The two boys paused to gain their bearings and Trunks dashed forward, kicking up a small cloud of dust as Goten blurred.

Trunks corrected his course at the last second, darting towards the reappeared Goten and lashing out with both hands in a double axehandle type of movement. Goten ducked moving in a quarter-twist while lowering himself, his elbow moving into an uppercut and catching Trunks in the throat, sending the elder of the two young finalists into a forward moving backflip almost to the edge of the ring before Trunks handsprung his way to a stop, actually springing backwards but going forward, right to the edge of the ring. Trunks instinctively ducked and Goten whistled by overhead, missing a sweepkick and ending up with Trunks grabbing him by the ankle.

The lavender haired boy jumped backwards, turning to face where he would land and dragging Goten along for the ride, slamming the younger boy down into the tiling with enough force to leave a body imprint of Goten, right down to the details of his hair, and kick up a circular wave of dust. Trunks stood up straight only to lurch over forward and then fly back entirely, kicked first in the stomach and then in the chest by a soon-to-re-emerge Goten, who rocketed up from his imprint and caught Trunks off gaurd, slamming both hands into the other boy`s stomach and throwing him down.

"Look at them go!"

Trunks skidded to a halt above the ground, just barely above it, hovering by inches on his stomach with legs and arms spread. Ki gathered around him and he suddenly blurred, right as Goten darted in. Trunks reappeared off to the side, hands placed to his side. "Gallick Gun Fire!" Trunks shouted, thrust his hands forward in classic stance while falling to a half crouch. Goten blinked and then threw his hands to his side, shouting in kind.

"Kame Hame Ha!" He yelled, building the power for the attack and then thrusting it forward at the last possible second. Goten`s beam barely collided with that of Trunks, who yelled and poured more energy into it. Goten snorted and flared his ki up, forming an aura around himself with his own attack and slowly pushing Trunks` beam back to a standstill.


"That`s odd... Don`t know about Trunks, but nobody`s ever taught Goten how to use Kame Hame Ha," Krillin thought, mirroring the astonishment of everyone but Gohan, who virtually expected Goten to do something like this. "Did you teach him that?" Krillin asked, glancing over at Gohan. "Nope," the other replied simply enough. "Weird," Krillin mumbled.

Elsewhere in the arena, someone else felt like he was experiencing deja vu from a distance.

We rise to the top, what you want? Just in case you forgot
Rush the stage, grab my mic, show me what you got

"You won`t win!" Trunks chided, struggling forward and pouring more energy into his attack. Goten replied in kind, his steps forward being labored and leaving track marks in the mat. "Sure I won`t!" Goten retorted after a few seconds of strain. The arena shook and tiles began to rip up from the floor. Winds rippled around the two combatants as Goten and Trunks forced their attacks at each other harder with each passing second. With supreme effort, the two closed the gap until the battle between their attacks was literally point blank with both seperated by only a 5 foot wide expanse of energy, half of it Trunks`, half of it Goten`s, the equator a raging mass of white amid a background of blue and green.

"We should try and get this out of here. I don`t know about you but I don`t want to kill everyone here by accident, our moms`d be mad at us!" Trunks yelled over the echo of the ongoing explosion of power between them. Goten yelled out a 'yeah' in reply. "Guide it up above us!" Trunks advised, following through on his own instructions. Goten followed suit and soon the spherical conflict of energies was sent skyrocketing up above the arena, where it detonated in a fireworks display magnificent enough to outrank the Fourth of July by a wide margin.

The action paused as Trunks and Goten looked back down, staring at one another amid the golden glow of the explosion overhead. Neither said a word but the mood of intensity was just the same. Goten crouched backward into fighting stance, as did Trunks. The tiling that had been lifted up quickly lost it`s defiance of gravity and fell back down with a number of thuds into the same set up as before...

That`s when the crowd started to really cheer. "This is incredible!" The announcer stated. Chants of the boys` names went roaring through the crowds, shocking the two boys` ears briefly before the two began to circle one another, seemingly oblivious of the actions of those around them. "Blast him!" A voice echoed out in Goten`s head. He ignored it for once, though he noticably jerked slightly as a result of it. Trunks noticed. Midway through Goten`s movements, Trunks had blurred out of existance, reappearing behind him and locking his arms tightly around the other boy` s neck in a sleeper hold.

Trunks rocketed up off the ground, taking Goten with him before turning right back around and dive bombing. Goten was offered to the mat like a shield against impact, head first. With a loud kiai of a yell, Trunks flew back, ki shoving him from Goten`s body and towards the crowds. He slowed and stopped in a hover above them all, glaring at the now upside down Goten, who had by now turned to face him. Goten snorted, Trunks grinned, and both vanished in a blur to reappear at the center of the ring, trading punches in a flurry of movement so fast it distorted the air around them.

Goten met Trunks kick for kick, breath for breath, punch for punch, blow for blow. Every attack was met by a mirror of itself. Trunks threw a kick, Goten countered with an elbow and slung his own leg forward in a similar fashion, which Trunks also blocked. The two stood in that pose for a moment and then ripped apart from one another, colliding again an instant later as Trunks` fist slammed hard into Goten`s stomach and threw him back a few feet. Goten fell to his knees and twisted out of the way on the ground, avoiding a hard right and locking his arms around Trunks` midsection while getting up. Trunks let out a yelp and Goten managed to tuck the larger boy around his side and slam him down hard enough to leave an upper body imprint, as well as to spit out a small amount of blood. It was nothing really, just enough to have to wipe off later though.

Goten rolled away and to his feet, Trunks kicked up to his feet and into a fighting stance, only to wobble back as Goten`s foot crashed into his cheek.

Trunks spun through the air and Goten darted after him, only to miss and fly through an after image. "Where`d he go?!" Goten asked. Trunks answered the question with an explosion from behind, sending a weak ki blast into the back of Goten`s head and causing him to fly forward, where Trunks reappeared and clubbed him towards the ground. Goten yelled and stopped his momentum, Trunks dashed down and then came the unexpected...

You didn't know, thought we was new on the scene

Goten let out a loud scream, stopping Trunks in his place.

Well, it's alright! It's alright!

Goten`s hair rose up as if forming into a crown, pulses of color flooding through it at an incredible rate before it finally became a shade of solid gold. His eyes quickly faded from black to white and then to teal in a flash of gold, an aura rising up all around him as Trunks halted.

I know you know, I see you smiling at me

Gohan joined virtually everyone else in gawking at those in the ring. Goten had just done the impossible for his young age, at only three and a half he had just turned into a Super Saiyan, and his power could easily be felt by everyone of the group but Videl. Even she could vaguely detect it, but she was too stunned to say anything. "Just like Dad," Gohan mumbled. He was the only one aside from Frieza who had seen Goku`s first transformation. The stance that Goten was in, the way he had screamed, the way he had gained that same hair styling, how his eyes had faded. It was virtually the same minus the black clouds, explosions of energy, life and death situation and the galactic tyrant part.

"This one is about to end if Trunks doesn`t have any tricks up his sleeves," Krillin yelled in shock.

Nobody bothered to disagree.

Well, it's alright! It's alright!

"Huh?!" Trunks yelped as Goten looked up at him only to vanish, reappearing with his knee in the other boy`s stomach. Trunks flew back only to find himself held by the wrist and flung back down. He landed with a harsh impact, exploding up a fairly large amount of dust and dirt as Goten hovered up above, seeming to wait for something.

"Burning Attack!!!"

A flash of bluish light shot up from within the dust cloud at Goten, who simply punched it back down. There was a blast of flame and then silence, just a pillar of smoke. "I`ll try the Gallick Gun again, maybe that`ll work," Trunks though, glad he had been blocking when Goten threw his own attack at him. "Gallick Gun..." He began, placing his hands to his side and gathering up ki from within himself. The aura of tell-tale purplish energies formed around him and began to light the smoke from within, and then...

"FIRE!!!"

The top of the cloud literally blew away in a flash of light, and a perfectly rounded beam of purplish-white energy shot from within, streaking towards Goten. The attack hit, and it kept on going, blurring to gold only at a singular point before finishing. Trunks looked up from within the dust cloud he still sat in, only to see Goten standing there, staring down at him unphased. Trunks growled and began to think, anger increasing gradually...

"How is it he`s so strong? I`m stronger, he should be the one having trouble fighting!"

"I`m royalty, he`s just a peasant!"

"Why can`t I hurt him?!"

"Why is it he`s stronger?! I`m the Prince, I`m the stronger one!"

Trunks let out a feral scream loud enough to shake the Earth. Overhead there was a crack of lightning, even though the skies were bright and clear, and then everything went black. Then there was a blinding flash of golden light and the darkness lifted to reveal another glowing, golden avatar. The smoke had cleared but now the newly Super Saiyan Trunks stood there, golden hair spiked up in a crown, eyes faded to solid teal with no distinction between colored iris and pupil. A gold aura lit up around him, tinged green at the edges.

Trunks snorted, bent his legs and readied. Goten dashed up into the air and looped around, launching himself at the other, who replied in kind by darting from the ground with a visible shockwave through the air. Two Super Saiyan powers rushed at each other, much to the amazement of everyone in the arena, and then collided, ki laced fists slamming together with enough power to level a small city in seconds.

Boom! Here comes the Boom!

Goten drew back, Trunks dove forward and the younger missed a hard jabbing kick while Trunks flipped half-over backward and brought his shins down on Goten`s shoulders and sent him flying downward only to stop in mid-movement. There was another shockwave from the impact of Goten`s knee with that of Trunks, and then both simply vanished entirely.

All over the area above the arena, combat sounded out, shockwaves blasting into view, occasional blurs coming into focus and infrequent bolts of energy flying all over the place but never hitting anything. Eventually though, Goten reappeared with a skid on the ring, bending backwards and pooling ki into one hand. "Ha!!!" He shouted out, slamming the attack point blank into Trunks` stomach and causing him to become visible again as he slowed down and stopped altogether on the ki blast, which detonated soon after and sent Trunks to his feet in a backward stumble. Goten shouted and jumped up, spinning and then bringing his ankle down into the other boy`s cheek, causing Trunks to stagger sideways. Goten jumped forward and decked him in the opposite cheek, and Trunks staggered in the other direction, and then Goten ducked down and sweep kicked Trunks` legs out from under him.

Ready or not, here comes the
Boys from the South

Trunks regained his senses and backflipped from the impact, handspringing up over Goten and to his feet only to take a dropkick with both feet into the shoulderblades. Trunks staggered forward and Goten jumped over him, twisting and mule kicking Trunks right in the forehead with one leg before touching down and carrying the momentum for another sweeping kick. Trunks jumped up and formed ki into one hand, sending a generic energy beam right into the other boy`s chest. The front of Goten`s overshirt scorched as the beam hit and exploded, causing the boy to fall onto his back in a roll.

Trunks flashed down in a blur and missed the chance to implode his friend`s skull by mere inches. Goten pulled a Zanzoken fade and reappeared a few yards behind Trunks, ki in his hands, hands over his head. "Eat it!" Goten taunted, throwing his hands down and forward and sending off a hard, golden energy beam. Trunks felt the attack slam into his stomach and send him skidding backwards towards the edge of the ring in the direction of the fighter`s lounge, only to have it detonate right as he came near the edge.

Boom! Here comes the Boom!

Trunks came flying right out of the smoke, part of his gi shirt missing as he touched down, jumped back up and through the area of the ring, lashing out and catching Goten in the temple with his knee. Goten wobbled but then utilized the one weapon the Son Family men, even Gohan Senior, had a knack for managing to use. He wound up and then slammed his forehead right into that of the other boy, headbutting Trunks hard enough to leave a visible bruise on the other boy`s forehead. Trunks fell over backwards and Goten grabbed him by the ankle, throwing him straight up and then sending off a multitude of high powered ki blasts.

How you like me now?

Every last one of them hit Trunks at some point, and every last one of them detonated with a fairly vicious looking fireball. Trunks flew up a bit higher from each blast, curled up with his arms crossed in an 'X' in front of him, ki barrier up to it`s limit as bolt after bolt of energy ran at him. Eventually though, the attack stopped and Trunks hovered there. A few seconds later, he powered up and blew away the smoke, revealing that he was still in the fight to the people in the crowd who mostly thought him dead. Goten smirked, Trunks gasped for air and both boys met up again at a midway point above the ground.

"Is that all you got?" Trunks asked mockingly. "I`ll take your best shot," he taunted a few seconds later, grinning and wiping a trickle of blood from his busted lip.

"Your funeral," Goten replied, placing his hands to his side and forming a ki ball there. "Kame... Hame..." He began, his golden aura turning blue and the air around him supercharging with electricity.

Is that all you got?
I'll take your best shot!

"HA!!!"

The world turned white and a beam of energy powerful enough to annihilate the planet shot from the hands of a boy no more than three and a half years old. His target: His own best friend, who seemingly vanished in the flare of energies. The entire island shook and out at sea, the ocean rumbled violently from the output of Goten`s power, until he finally ended his attack and hovered there, wheezing and gathering air back into his nearly emptied lungs.

"FINAL FLASH!!!"

Boom! Here comes the Boom!

Another blinding flash of light, another echoing crack of sound and another forceful shockwave that shattered the glass of the windows of buildings for miles around, and a smoking Son Goten went flying into the ground, a visible spherical cloud of silver smoke and a shockwave spreading from where he had formerly been floating.

Ready or not, here comes the
Boys from the South
Boom! Here comes the Boom!
Haha! How you like me now?!

Goten landed with a massive impact, kicking up a visible cloud of dust and debris as the exhausted, victorious Trunks touched down in the ring, both fading from Super Saiyan at the same moment. In the crowd, one mother passed out, the other looked severely worried. A father atop a tower looked proud and a brother on a walkway looked visibly concerned and upset, but all fears were soon dispelled as the defeated runner up emerged from a twelve foot wide, thirteen foot deep crater, bruised and bleeding from a few minor wounds but unharmed aside from that.

"Good fight," Goten ceded. "Wimp!" A voice chided, one only he could hear. "Ah shyaddap Jack," Goten muttered before falling over in exhaustion. Trunks stumbled forward, cackling to himself as he walked out of the ring and scraped his best friend from the ground. The two hugged one another and let go before Goten forcibly raised Trunks` hand in victory.

"What a match!" Capel finally intervened, moving in and raising Trunks` hand in victory. "Give it up for these two young prodigies! Trunks has won this year`s Junior tournament, and he and Goten both have earned themselves a place in Tenkaichi history! And to cement it, they`re both good sportsmen and great friends, the adults could learn a thing or two from these two," Capel stated while letting Trunks` hand down. He and Goten staggered towards the fighter`s lounge only to stop midway as Capel looked at Trunks. "Don`t you want to fight the champ?"

Dabura was in the backgrounds, smirking. Trunks glanced at him tiredly and shook his head. "I don`t think I wanna die at the age of five," he muttered, remembering to lie about his age. He and Goten continued their haggard walk and vanished into the lounge, keeping clear of Dabura by a wide margin and eventually flopping down against a wall, both of them snoring. They`d fallen asleep on the spot from exhaustion.

The adult division would begin soon. For once, Gohan and everyone else had been glad they actually planned for casualties. A small amount of Senzus held currently by Piccolo, and they would surely be needed. The adult tournament was about to begin...

End Part Two



Author`s note: Hope you enjoyed the story. And don`t mind the fact the two are way too young to have done what just happened, Goten`s advanced nature will be explained at some point and Trunks is just smart and mature for his age(as four year olds go...).

And unfortunately, yes, Gohan has been abusing me a good bit these days. Probably the reason for the delay, really, not that easy to type when you`re using your tongue and all...



To Hiro and any other confused readers: Any annoyances/confusions you have about anything in the story would likely be resolved if you read the previous stories - OP is just the latest in three or four such stories that tie in together in one plotline - or in a future story. Hercule had his pride broken about two stories back in Redux by Dabura, and spent the past years rethinking his life, as for Videl: She`s changed from the original due to being influenced by hanging around all of the others(mostly Gohan) since she was ten or eleven. She also took a hard fought loss back in Redux to her father and as such, her confidence against him isn`t exactly very high. She`s also only 14 or 15 in this one, another aspect that can be traced to the other stories. And no, she doesn`t know any ki control or anything like that, if she uses any energy-type attacks it`s on subconcious skill alone. That could change by the next story, or even any EP this one has, but for no it`s still in effect. Apparently I didn`t write that part down properly... Oh well *Shrugs.*

It`s a fairly complex timeline, a good bit of which is still yet to be explained, so if you`re upset, go through and read it all, and if you have any questions, leave `em in a review(unless they`re about things in the plot which haven`t been revealed just yet). I`m quite aware Hercule`s an egotistical dick for most of the series(he DID end up becoming a good bit better after he befriended Buu, pretty clueless and still an idiot, but no longer an outright dick) and the other things you pointed out, but this is an alternate universe and some things will be different because of it.

That`s it for now, leave a review and see ya next time!