Come Out Swinging
Author`s Note: First of all, thanks for the reviews everyone! Also to diamondgirl, Goten and Trunks won`t really be playing major roles until I do another EP(I intend on doing several of them) for Opaque Portents. Either that or whenever the next story(be it the final one or another lead-in, haven`t made up my mind yet), the two of them will be ready to take a pretty major role in things. In fact, assuming Hybrid Theory leaves itself open for a sequel series of some kind, it would probably center almost entirely around Goten, Trunks and some other next generation fighters.
Depends on what the story wants though. These things write themselves, I just type it up.
Disclaimer: I own a pair of dirty socks, does that count?
Hybrid Theory: Opaque Portents
Come Out Swinging
The aftermath of the Junior Tournament was little more than utter pandemonium as reporters tried to swarm the two unconcious boys and fans endlessly chanted their names in a tidal wave of applause. The adult fighters, and those among them who had qualified to join them on strength alone, had commenced their trek towards the fighter`s lounge as required, and things had gone by without any real incident aside from Hercule managing to occupy the reporters` attentions away long enough for a monk to swipe the two kids up and get them to an infirmary. For the time being, Trunks and Goten were out cold, sleeping in the treatment room usually reserved for extremely injured adult fighters, which meant that the reporters were cut off from harrassing them any further.
The adult fighters though, were now gathered up in that same open air space from the strength tests. You could pretty much pick them out depending on the three little groups that had seemingly formed. You had the normals, the psychotics and the outright strange. The normals consisted of Hercule, Videl, Suta, Killa, and the military looking guy now identified as Bill. After that there were the psychotics, a group that consisted of Dabura, Spopovich and Yamu. After this there were the outright strange, grouped by everything from attitude to strength to who they stuck closer to. This was the largest group, consisting of Vegeta, Piccolo, Zangya, Gohan, Krillin, Tien, Chaozu, Juuhachigou, Seventeen and then another who wasn`t really a part of the group but could be classified as such. Jun-Yah had yet to really make his presence known at all during the tournament sign-up. He was the quiet type from the looks of things, but still quite odd.
It was time, however, for the drawings. The box filled with numbered balls was set-up as it had always been, the list was presented on a board behind Capel and out in the ring there was a copy of it manned by two monks, one with a walkie-talkie that linked right to the one held by one of the two monks that stood with Capel.
"Since most of you are new, I`m going to explain the rules first and then begin the drawing, anyone have any problems with that?" He asked, looking over the crowd. The strange group was surprisingly the one that didn`t even seem to care. The psychotics seemed to just be bored and the normals looked almost insulted. "Okay then... First off, you lose if you get knocked out, taken down for the ten count, give up or get thrown out of the ring to the ground outside. Crying or hitting below the belt will get you disqualified, and there is absolutely no killing your opponent. Doing so will result not only in your immediate disqualification, but also being banned from the next tournament if it`s intentional. Accidental will just mean disqualification," he explained before moving behind the small box. "Alright, now that that`s been settled, who`s first?"
Videl cracked her knuckles and moved up for first, reaching into the box and pulling out the number 16 from within. Capel gave a nod and had her marked down. After this came Chaozu. "Fourteen," the tiny fighter murmured, that same ball rising from within the box and turning so that it`s number faced Capel. "Alright, next," the announcer asked, seemingly ignoring what had just happened. He was used to things like this by now. Piccolo moved up after this, trading no words with the ever-chatty announcer and simply pulling out a ball marked as number two. "Good luck this year then," the announcer mumbled, having failed to start any sort of conversation.
Piccolo moved off to the side with Videl and Chaozu as Hercule stepped up and blindly swiped a ball up. "Thirteen, moving along," the announcer stated. Jun-Yah went next, swiping a ball from within the box and showing it to Capel. "Eight, good luck," the announcer read and mumbled. Jun-Yah stepped off to the side, away from everyone and returned to brooding. Krillin stepped up, smirking to himself. "Long time no see Capel," he said jokingly. "How was the honeymoon?" The announcer asked while tipping the box just a bit so that Krillin wouldn`t have to dislodge his arm from the socket to reach inside. "Pretty good actually. See you`re still rebuildin`, eh?" Krillin asked cynically while reaching into the box and fumbling around. He could almost swear he felt a bit of movement without intending to.
"Yeah, that last tournament pretty much smashed most of the stadium in. How`s the married life goin` for ya?" Capel asked. "Very good," Krillin bragged, withdrawing a ball. "Three," he stated with a nod. "Good luck," Capel said, and meant it, before looking back over at the crowd. "Next?" He asked. Vegeta stepped up, plundering his hand into the box and pulling out a six. "Al... Right..." Capel mumbled as Vegeta pulped the plastic ball in hand menacingly and tossed it aside before walking to the group that had formed.
Gohan moved up next, cracking his knuckles and rubbing his hands together briefly. "Nervous?" The announcer asked. "Not really, I just want a good opponent for my first match," Gohan replied with a smirk. "Goku`s kid alright. Take your time, these things are random anyway..." He mumbled. Chaozu grinned and grimaced in the same expression. True, telepathically rigging how fighters were selected wasn`t exactly the fairest thing, but he`d done it before and it at least meant the regulars stood a blazing chance in hell. Too bad Krillin had slipped by him.
Gohan blindly fumbled around with his hand in the box, eventually pulling out another ball. A wide smile set across the demi-saiyan`s face as he stood there, earning a few suspicious looks from some of the other fighters. Capel raised his eyebrow and Gohan leered over at Piccolo before displaying the ball at his mentor. Piccolo smirked in reply, that old gleam returning to his eyes that hadn`t been there since the days he and Goku had fought on an even plane.
"What number did you get?" Capel asked after a moment. "One," Gohan answered, still beaming at his first mentor. Anyone who actually knew what the two were capable of, and anyone that knew the history involved literally came close to falling over. Even Zangya blinked a few times. "Alright," Capel mumbled. "Anything significant you want to tell me?" He asked. "He`s the one that trained me," Gohan admitted finally before stepping off to the side with the rest of the group, grinning like an idiot almost.
Zangya took her turn next, swiping a ball without even bothering to think of it. The announcer nodded. "Five," he stated. Zangya moved out of the way, ignorant of that death glare Vegeta was giving her. Bill went next, reaching into the box and muttering a prayer before removing a ball with his eyes shut. "Fifteen, wow," Capel said with a raise of both brows. Bill let out a huge sigh of relief. At least if he lost to Videl he`d probably live through it...
Bill moved out of the way and Suta came, pulling a twelve. Killa went and got an eleven, then came Yamu with a seven, and Spopovitch with a ten. Tien went after this, reaching in and swiping a nine before joining the rest off to the side. Juuhachigou went after this, reaching in and pulling out an eleven before her brother moved in and got a twelve. This surprised virtually anyone that knew the two were brother and sister, themselves included, but the others didn`t really know what the fuss was about.
Seventeen walked off to the side after Juuhachigou, a look of stunned silence on his face before Krillin jumped in. "Care to make a bet?" He asked his brother-in-law. The two hadn`t ever been on the closest of terms mind you, even though they had gone on several fishing and hunting trips together once Krillin figured out he had a bit of an outdoorsman in him. "About?" Seventeen asked. Krillin grinned smugly. "If Juu-chan beats you, you move into Kame House," Krillin answered. Seventeen shrugged. "And if I win?" Krillin looked over at Juuhachi, who spoke for both of them. "If you win, we`ll stop nagging at you about living in the wilderness like you do. And let you name our first child when they`re born," she improvised that second part of the bet, but Krillin didn`t seem to mind. "Deal," Seventeen stated.
Finally, it was time for the reigning champion`s turn. Dabura stepped up with his most imposing expression set. He had wanted to face Gohan in the first round but he didn`t care, reaching up and slicing the box, and the table, right in half with his hand, swiping the ball the tumbled into the air as a result before Capel could even blink in surprise. "Four," the annoyed Demon King muttered while stepping off towards the lounge, followed closely by Yamu and Spopo.
Chaozu slapped himself on the forehead. He`d forgotten about that little technicality. "Oops," he mumbled sheepishly as Krillin fainted.
You brace and hold it all inside
It's more than you can stand
No one around even tries
Tries to understand
Gohan was worried, sure. Krillin was his godfather, a close friend and his second actual mentor due to the ride to Namek. He was worried for the short ex-monk alright, but he was more focused, for now, on his match with Piccolo. Gathering his breath, he moved with the former Kami in stride for the time being, giving a nod to the grouping and contemplating to himself. "Good luck!" Videl called out to him. Gohan paused briefly and Piccolo began to gain a bit of ground on him, but the Namek halted in mid-step, deciding to give his protege a moment or two.
"Thanks!" Gohan replied after a moment, waving at Videl with a slight pinkish tint to his cheeks. He turned back to Piccolo though, noting the cynical little smirk on the Namek`s face as the two resumed their walk. "Don`t hold back anything Gohan, I`d like it if we both fought at our hardest," Piccolo stated. Gohan shrugged. "I will if I have to, wouldn`t be fighting at my hardest if I went all out," Gohan replied after a moment. "That made no sense," Piccolo muttered. Gohan sheepishly glanced to the side as he and Piccolo walked into the fighter`s lounge.
The anticipation from the crowds was noticably high, a good many hardcore Tenkaichi watchers knew to recognize the names Ma Junior and Son Gohan. After their respective showings at the last tournament it was impossible not to. The announcer stood off to the side of the lounge exit/entrance, having somehow covered the space in only a few seconds without anyone noticing.
"These are two Budoukai veterans and legends. At his last showing, Son Gohan, eldest son to the legendary Son Goku, namesake and a great grandson of the also-legendary Son Gohan Senior, and the elder brother to the Junior Runner-up, Son Gohan was the youngest ever to compete in the stage of the Tenkaichi Budoukai adult division. Tying with the reigning champion, Dabura, after an epic battle that stands in the Tenkaichi Hall of Fame, it seems a gauruntee that this now-fifteen year old prodigy will one day capture the world gold and the recognition that comes with it!" Capel stated to the roars of the crowd. One particular voice, that of a woman in her early forties, seemed to echo over them all though.
"As for Ma Junior... What introduction is needed that can give this... Ehm..." Capel paused. "Namek," Piccolo stated. "... Namekian powerhouse the kind of credit he deserves?" Capel finished, actually getting it right even though it was mostly a guess. "Currently the second most prolific fighter at these tournaments after Krillin Chestnut, Ma Junior is a legend to those who`ve been keeping tabs on the Budoukai for the past two decades, as his initial entry into the tournament was marked with the near total demolition of the entire arena, but also marked his first time as a Budoukai finalist, having only narrowly lost to Son Goku, the father of his current opponent. His last showing at the tournament was against one of this year`s returnees when he and the woman known only as Zangya brought the house down, ending in a record setting forfeit. Another interesting tidbit about Ma Junior is that he not only battled his opponent`s father, he also trained Son Gohan himself, and likely grew to be close friends with Son Goku prior to his death."
The two fighters exchanged sideways glances and continued on into the ring, climbing the steps one at a time with mirroring postures. The lounge doorway soon became occupied however, as Videl, Zangya, Krillin and a morbidly fascinated Seventeen moved to watch the soon-to-erupt chaos, accompanied, albeit discretely, by Dabura. "Ready..." The announcer began as the two fighters moved to their places at the center of the ring. "Set..." Piccolo narrowed his eyes, a strong wind kicking up around the ring as the two fighters began to power up.
"Fight!"
Capel dashed back a good ways from the ring as the two fighters stared one another down. The wind settled, both remained physically unchanged by appearances, though Gohan`s hair had risen up slightly and Piccolo was looking a bit more tensed. Anticipation was high as the two began to circle one another, neither falling into fighting form just yet, only moving to gauge each other`s defenses and trying to find a slipping point. Cheering died down and the crowd anxiety to begin rose up by several miles. Those in the lounge that gave a damn, minus Dabura, were all mentally excited. Tien joined them, followed by a floating Chaozu as Piccolo and Gohan stopped and settled into position.
Gohan assumed a fighting stance and Piccolo reached up, pulling off his turban and yanking off his cloak and mantle in a flashy looking display. The turban flew off to the side and the cloak passed in front of him as he faded and reappeared in the air, a strong wind falling around him and a lightning blue aura shocking up around him. Piccolo descended, Gohan dodged out of the way and the fighting began in earnest as the two tested each other. Blows fast enough to barely qualify as blurs to the human eye streaked through the air with sonic booms, and each one was seemingly intercepted by the increasingly strained looking Son Gohan.
Gohan blocked a downward moving hammer strike, then absorbed a viciously moving kick into the side, blocking with his entire arm and faltering his stance from the force of the impact. Piccolo took full advantage, sweeping his leg back and twisting around. With a lightning streak, his leg swept beneath the other`s feet and knocked Gohan off balance. Piccolo got back to his own feet and in a literal flash, decked the boy square in the face so hard his own aura flared around Gohan and detonated in a flare of light with no real force. Gohan wobbled back, Piccolo wound up to strike and then let loose with a hard right hook.
Don't turn away, don't turn away
Come out swinging
Come out alone
They're in your way
But as long as you're swinging
Strong then you'll get by
It never connected. There was a solid golden flash of air and then the newly Super Saiyan Gohan, complete with golden hair, jade eyes and a sun-light aura of golden fire, extended his knee up and blocked the incoming fist, standing on one leg on the edge of the fighting ring. Piccolo smirked and Gohan replied with a similar gesture.
The warm-up had just ended. "Ready to take it up a notch?" Gohan asked confidently, still in that same pose as before. Piccolo acknowledged him with nothing but a smirk, drawing back and then flaring out of existence with a blur. Gohan`s eyes followed movements that weren`t really there, and as he straightened up and into a more stable stance, he pooled visible ki into one hand and then shot that same hand forward. A whistling sound later, a streaking ki blast flashed through the air with a wide barrel roll and slammed into Piccolo as he re-materialized, throwing the Namek back several yards with streams of smoke flowing off of his clothing. Piccolo touched down shakily only to throw his arms up and block Gohan`s first strike, a hard elbow that would`ve hit him in the collar. Gohan blurred and reappeared behind Piccolo, jumping at the former Kami, who turned to try and spin-kick him only to hit an after image which drifted by him, the real Gohan appearing off to the side with a kiai of a yell, thrusting his hand forward.
A sonic crack later, the force of the ghost punch smacked into Piccolo and sent him reeling. The Namek flew back, purple blood streaking out of his bruised cheek as he spun in the air and skidded along on his hands and knees. Gohan dashed forward again, jumped and descended with a loud scream, sending a lightning kick into the small of Piccolo`s back, only to find out it was an after image a hundredth of a second too late to do any good.
Piccolo reappeared with a crack as his elbow caught itself most brutally in the back of Gohan`s neck. Gohan yelped and faltered forward as Piccolo whipped around, catching the youth in the stomach with a hard kick with an extended leg. Piccolo flared his ki abruptly, throwing Gohan back and away and sending the youth flying, bouncing off of the ring floor and into the air to an abrupt stop. Gohan spat onto the ring floor and wiped his mouth off, breathing hard. He hadn`t expected Piccolo to come at him like this, but that just meant a little change in tactics. Gohan raised both arms up and narrowed his eyes, gathering power from that bottomless well within his body and soul. His aura lit back up and he let out a shout, a shockwave of energy rising from around him and into the air in the form of a spherical tornado of gold. Piccolo was unintimidated, rushing forward along the ring floor and jumping up.
He was met by a bone breaking, mind numbing wall of force, almost like getting keelhauled on a major highway, only this one sucked you into it and kept smashing into it. The attack was brutal, but Gohan couldn`t maintain it. Releasing his power-up, he flung Piccolo back into the ring floor, causing the Namek to form a body sized trench about a foot deep, and then blurred to meet him on the ground at the side of the trench, ki ball in hand. Gohan let out a yell and threw the attack like a bowling ball at Piccolo, who crossed his arms in front of himself and took the attack full on.
There was an explosion hard enough to throw the announcer from his feet and then Piccolo erupted from the smoke, essentially unharmed aside from a bloodied forearm. Piccolo darted downward and bounced off of the ground, uppercutting Gohan right in the chin before the two began another rapid exchange, blurring from view.
Explosions sounded off around and above the ring as the two fought it out, blow after blow making impact with blocks, parries or counters, rarely doing any damage. High in the air, the two re-materialized with a dual scrambling effect, hovering with their backs to each other. Gohan took a deep breath and a cut opened up on Piccolo`s cheek, the only testament to the brutality of their brief confrontation at the speeds human eyes can`t comprehend.
Piccolo turned around, as did Gohan. Both took one more moment to get their bearings straight and then...
Your pacing's wearing out a line
Right beside your bed
The scene replays a million times
Stuck inside your head
Chaos reigned. A cataclysm of light and fire surged through the air above the arena. Explosions echoed through the skies, ki blasts shot off in every direction, generic beams of energy and the occasional shockwave from it all, nothing hitting the spectators though. The control of the two fighters was so that their errant attacks always curved at the last possible second to avoid striking the crowd or anything else. It was a light show almost, only this was one that could kill you at an instant if performed incorrectly.
A growing cloud of smoke and flames formed above the arena, and then finally there was a blinding flash as the Taiyoken flare was utilized. Only the announcer clearly saw what happened next, watching as Gohan dove down out of the cloud and touched down to the ring floor, energy flaring up in one hand as he let out a shout and threw the spherical ki blast up into the cloud of smoke over head. It streaked right through, emerging out of the other end before detonating into dozens of smaller energy spheres, which dove back in on a seeker course within the cloud. Several dozen explosions flared within the cloud of smoke, all going off from a focal point within the cloud, which itself was utterly annihilated by what was happening within.
And that was when Piccolo appeared behind Gohan lashing outwith a straight punch at the back of Gohan`s head. Gohan tilted his head to the side, barely avoiding the blow. Piccolo drew back and tried it with his other hand. Gohan again tilted his head out of the way and a pattern formed, Piccolo throwing straight punches and Gohan tilting out of the way by inches to avoid them.
This was where hardened fighting spirit and experience came in, things that Piccolo possessed in spades by the dozen. Gohan was extremely skilled for a fifteen year old, any disputing that and you`d likely be insane, but Piccolo was a warrior with close to eight hundred years of fighting experience infused into him, from Kami, the original Piccolo, himself, Piccolo Daimou and Nail wrapped into one. Skill like that isn`t something that can be taken lightly no matter the difference in powers. Piccolo was a well balanced veteran at fighting, when he entered combat he went into it without hesitation. All and then some or nothing and a little less, that was his approach to fighting and it paid off. This skill imbalance showed as Gohan became trapped in a pattern, and Piccolo took full advantage of it, halting his attacks off key and allowing Gohan to expectantly dodge to the side. Piccolo formed a ki blast in one hand and Gohan tilted his head back into the line of fire expectantly to dodge another attack, only to get smacked in the back of the head with a ki blast that detonated with no where to go.
In mid-explosion, Piccolo had grabbed Gohan by the back of the head and slammed him into the concrete with a feral cry, pounding the Son male into the ring with enough force to shatter the average man`s skull down to it`s basest atoms, only to feel part of his stomach cave in from the force of Gohan`s desperate uppercut. Piccolo let go and staggered back, spitting out a bit of purple blood onto the ring floor only to fly back as Gohan`s knee connected with his jaw. Piccolo landed with a harsh crack when Gohan faded to where he was flying beside the Namekian warrior and dropped an elbow with the utmost ferocity into Piccolo`s gut.
There was a small explosion of dust and Piccolo lay there coughing, while Gohan landed with a roll onto his side, catching his breath. Despite his brief raging assault, Piccolo`s tactic had done a lot of damage to him. "Can`t let him get me into another pattern like that," Gohan chastised himself harshly. "Still fights at random when he`s in a bad situation," Piccolo thought, managing to clear his vision of the small dark splotches that had appeared as a result of Gohan`s furious assault. "Might be advantagious sometimes but a serious foe could probably dismantle him if he did it at the wrong time," Piccolo added.
"And it looks like both fighters are down trying to recover from the fighting so far. Gohan just took a pretty serious beating, but Ma Junior`s taken some serious damage as well, and both are taking a short breather it seems. Given the history of these two, I doubt it`ll be a very long lull in fighting..." Capel stated to the awe of the crowd. Dollar signs were visible in his eyes, Sons always put on a good show and Ma Junior had proven to be a pretty massive contender as well.
Now if he could just keep them from demolishing the ring during their matches...
"Ready to go again?" Piccolo asked, looking over sideways at the still downed Gohan. "Gimme a second," Gohan replied while rolling onto his back and staring into the air. He and Piccolo both looked back up and the Namek closed his eyes. "Five... Four... Three... Two... One..."
Gohan blurred, coming down hard on Piccolo right off of the ground, slamming both knees into where the Namek`s chest would`ve been, only to hit an after image as the real Piccolo stood off to the side, both hands held behind himself as he spoke up, calling out for one of those rarely used attacks he shared with Krillin.
"TSUIHIDAN!!!"
Piccolo shot one hand forward, sending off a simple, thin beam of energy while aiming the other up and saying the attack name again, a second firing from his hand and into the air. Gohan dodged the first beam, which wheeled around and managed to strike him in the back, and then took the second one dead on into the chest. The jarring motion of the joint attack was enough to almost take him out of Super Saiyan, but as he was thrown into the ground from the second impact, he simply reached into that well of energy and got a second wind. Gohan was back up in seconds, arms outstretched to either side, power building.
"How is it he did it?" Gohan asked himself, trying to remember. His father had tried to teach him during the stay in the Room of Spirit and Time, and he`d seen Mirai Goten pulling it off before, so could he himself manage the move created by his quadrant`s highest deity?
"Super... Kaio... KEN!!!"
He could always try, eh? Piccolo fell back as Gohan pulled off the power up, only to have it back fire and injure him even worse than before. The resultant half-shockwave was enough to cause Piccolo to get keel hauled into the tiling and almost thrown from the ring though. Gohan fell to his knees holding his stomach, which felt as if it had been filled with sulfuric acid. A most unpleasant feeling, to say the least. The pain passed though, and Gohan vomited up a bit of blood as testament to his screw-up. Piccolo was on his feet by now, wondering just where in the heck his student had learned how to pull that off when Goku himself had never really been able to do it during the time he was alive. "Remind me not to try that again," Gohan asked while spitting out some remaining blood from the little vomit-fest and looking up. "Good try at least," Piccolo commended. Gohan frowned. "Not compared to what Mirai Goten could do," Gohan uttered.
Piccolo would`ve asked, but Gohan had silenced any questions by blurring and reappearing to Piccolo`s side, lancing out with a downward swiping chop. Piccolo dodged backward and right into a kick, snapping his spine brutally and causing him to skid forward, flipping over several times before the injury mended itself from Piccolo`s willpower alone. Piccolo sat up after a moment or two, getting to his feet afterward. He hadn`t expected an easy win, hell he had expected to have lost by now but Gohan had kept things sane. Even if Piccolo was outpowered by a noticable factor, not too much but enough, he could bridge the gap with experience and skill. Gohan apparently had some vendetta against fighting Beyond Super Saiyan.
Not that Piccolo minded much at the moment. He wasn`t like Vegeta, odds where he stood a chance in hell were pretty nice for him to experience and he didn`t like throwing himself into battles he couldn`t win even with help unless he was all there was left.
Piccolo glanced at Gohan, noting the youth was still very winded from usage of a backfired attempt at making the Kaio Ken`s more souped up variation. Gohan wheezed lightly and dodged to the right, only to appear as an after image. It was a predictable move, and Piccolo swiftly kicked to the left in reply. Gohan appeared to his right, crossing Piccolo with his left fist and doubling it with a follow up right handed, mid-air haymaker that sent Piccolo flying with a slick of purple in the air and staining Gohan`s right hand. He wiped the blood off on his gi pants and pooled up energy into both hands, throwing them to his side and then assuming the classic stance as an ethereal blue glow appeared. Piccolo, still airborn, tapped two fingers to his forehead in reply, landing with a skid and turning broadside to Gohan.
"KAME HAME HA!!!"
"MAKANKOSAPPO!!!"
Both attacks were fired off in the same instant, and both slammed into one another midway. The Devil`s Corkscrew and the Turtle Plight Wave smacked into one another with enough force to level the entire planet and have power to spare. If not for the control the two combatants held, the resulting mushroom cloud explosion would likely glass the arena like a nuclear bomb, but instead the explosion was contained, spinning violently like a newborn sun and then dying down with an expanding mushroom cloud straight up. No one was injured.
Gohan and Piccolo stood across from each other, both breathing heavily and both looking taxed to their current limits, each standing in the pose of firing their attack at the other and each desperately trying to think up some way to end the fighting without killing each other.
Piccolo lurched forward, supporting himself by bracing on his knees, and Gohan staggered back, leaving both barely able to stand. Gohan flared his aura back up and Piccolo responded in kind. A pair of brilliant flashes later, Gohan touched down where Piccolo was standing and Piccolo touched down where Gohan had been standing. Both now sported new bruises, a few blood stains in their clothing and a cut or two that hadn`t been there before.
Piccolo wheezed, as did Gohan, and the two unsteadily turned to face each other again. "I have an idea," Gohan muttered breathlessly. "What?" Piccolo asked. "One last charge with everything we`ve got. No dodge, just impact. Whoever goes out loses," Gohan proposed. Piccolo frowned. He couldn`t win that sort of thing, even now he was just too outpowered, however bare the advantage was for Gohan. "It`s either that or we kill each other doing this," Gohan replied.
"When you put it like that..."
"Glad we agree. Ready?" Gohan asked. Piccolo gave a nod. Power gathered visibly in his fist, everything he could bring to bear. Raw energy surged around that clenched piece of his body, fingers shut so tightly the palm bled from the pressure of his sharpened claws. Gohan replied in kind, golden flames surging around his same hand until it was so bright as to be a solid yellow mass of energy, the actual hand itself obscured from view. "Let`s go..."
Both fighters, now pumping literally all availible energy into their right hands, dashed forward, covering the way to each other in seconds. Both fists shot forward and made impact, and a gold and lightning silver-blue explosion sounded off in the center of the ring, a massive shadow-like shockwave erupting from the blast as the two colossal powers smashed into each other with the energies to detonate entire worlds without so much as a blink. The impact was such that the shockwave ripped signs from their places and threatened to down aircraft all around, even throwing several spectators skyward for a few dozen feet before it all ended. A crash, a crack and a dull thud later, a golden haired youth surrounded in neon smoke stood ragged in the middle of the ring, gasping for air as his mentor sat against a wall outside the ground, hovering on unconciousness.
And though you stand in place
Your mind escapes
Read between the lies
Smile's on your face
You fake like you're ok
"Holy mother of God!!!" Capel yelped out. "Ma Junior is out! What a way to begin the first round of the Adult Division!" He yelled in shock as Gohan stumbled forward, fell to one knee and let out a chuckle while his hair fell a bit shorter and faded to black, eyes performing a similar transition from jade. His hand dropped to his side and he slowly forced himself back up, staggering the way out of the ring to be met halfway by Videl and Krillin. Videl`s jaw was hanging open but she wasn`t going to say anything just yet, instead looping one of Gohan`s arms over her shoulders while Krillin floated up and did the same. Gohan was laughing exhaustedly due to his victory, but it had left him beaten in pretty heavily.
Zangya on the other hand, had made her way over to the fallen Namek with a cynical frown. "Had your ass handed to ya by a teenager, shame on you," she teased annoyingly. "Shut it she-bitch," Piccolo grumbled while trying to get to his feet. He failed each and every time. "Now what`s the fun in that?" Zangya asked. "Then at least annoy me while dragging me over to the lounge," Piccolo ordered. "Dragging you might be fun but... Nah," Zangya muttered, grabbing Piccolo by the wrist and forcibly yanking him up onto her shoulders. "That`ll work," the Namek groggily uttered. "Glad we agree," Zangya replied cheerfully while carrying the battered fighter back to the lounge.
"We`re gonna need a quick clean-up out here so, give us a few minutes folks, we`ll have things set up for our second match soon enough!" Capel stated, much to the mutual delight and astonishment of the crowd.
Unfortunately, Dabura wasn`t going to wait that long. Forcibly, he shoved his way past Zangya and Piccolo, moving to the ring with villainous intent apparent in his step. Krillin flenched visibly, watching the Demon King move up into the ring. "Guess it`s time for me to go get my ass kicked," the midget uttered. "Krillin," Gohan wheezed out. "Taiyoken him and keep your power down. He can`t hit what he can`t see," Gohan said tiredly while removing his arm from the monk`s shoulders, supported now by only Videl.
"Alright," Krillin said sheepishly while cracking his knuckles and looking over at Juuhachigou. "Die on me in there and I`ll beat the hell out of you," the blonde haired cyborg stated sharply. "Understood," Krillin mumbled sarcastically as his wife marched over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Now go out there and take him down," Juu ordered. "I`ll try hon," Krillin replied while turning back to the ring and, with a shaky confidence, walking towards it.
"You two wanna fight without the ring being cleaned up?" Capel asked, walking alongside Krillin toward the ring. "I`ve fought in worse places than a mauled 50x50 concrete mat," the fuzzy headed ex-monk replied. "Alright..." Capel stopped and began the introductions.
"I`m sure neither of these fighters needs any sort of introduction, agreed? Krillin Chestnut is a hardened veteran, and the current record holder for the fighter who`s been through the most Tenkaichi Budoukais. Also a veteran of the once-a-decade Eight Masters Tournament, the week long martial arts war waged by students from the eight most known schools of fighting, Krillin is one of the strangest success stories in Budoukai history. Despite being only 4'6" or so, and weighing only a hundred pounds, Krillin`s Tenkaichi history speaks for itself as being one of those competitors you just can`t count out to the end," Capel explained, introducing Krillin with as much respect as he could. The two were actually pretty decent friends outside of the tournaments.
"As for Dabura..." Capel paused. The crowd booed loudly, memories of Mister Satan`s brutal defeat still fresh in many people`s minds. "You people have said it all for me," Capel replied to the crowd with a snort before moving away from the ring.
Krillin cracked his neck and stretched his limbs, shaking each leg just a bit. The gi he wore signified a newly evidant fact, it read that Krillin Chestnut wasn`t just a student of the Kamesennin style of fighting, but it read that he was the Turtle Master now. Roughly a month after the last Eight Masters Tournament, Krillin had managed to wrest control from Roshi as it`s master in a fairly quick sparring match. Taking several deep breaths and listening to the crowd voicing their support, Krillin fanned his fingers out over his face and popped his jaw. Dabura stood ready.
"Start the match already," Krillin thought anxiously. "Fight!" The announcer yelled. Dabura turned to face Krillin with that devil`s smirk, crouching to rush forward. "That`s it you big ugly pink son of a bitch, come get me," Krillin thought with utter defiance. He`d found a courage that simply wasn`t there before and now? Now he was ready to wage war, even if outmatched so much that it made Frieza`s advantage at Namek look pathetic.
"TAIYOKEN!!!" Krillin screamed, that blinding aurora shooting up all around him in the process. Dabura screeched and shut his eyes, relying on ki detection now.
Only to hear something along the lines of 'Shishin No Ken' before that ki split in three and all three energies faded to where he couldn`t detect them. "Damn it," Dabura growled, trying to hear for him now. The crowd`s incessant cheering made things impossible though, and Dabura was reduced to being unable to even find Krillin to hit him. The three Krillins themselves however, were now standing off to the side.
"Kame..." One Krillin muttered, all three of them forming up power into the space between their hands.
"Hame..." Another added a few seconds later, that glow becoming brightened significantly.
The last Krillin smirked for all of them, and the other two followed that expression while power built up subtly. Dabura realized this though, managing to sense the energy of the ex-monk and home in on it. Dabura turned to face them but it was already to late.
"HA!!!"
Three silver-blue beams shot out in a salvo and Dabura took all of them squarely in the chest, pushing him back bit by bit. The Krillins pumped more and more energy into it, and while Dabura could easily swat it all away if he`d wanted, it was really the only thing allowing him to keep tabs on the midget`s location. One by one though, each Krillin stopped the attack, and then the three of them blurred out of existence, right as Dabura lunged forward through the assault of energy and stabbed his arm down into where the middle one had been standing. One Krillin reappeared, the other two dropping down from above and rejoining him.
They're in your way
You may be stinging
But you'll get by
Don't turn away, don't turn away
"Come out swingin`," Krillin thought while dashing forward and hopping up. His ki rose sharply for the attack and Dabura swung around blindly, missing Krillin by inches as the ex-monk plunged his foot right into Dabura`s throat. Purple static tinted blood and spit flew out of the Demon King`s mouth and Krillin drew back, falling down to the ground, darting between Dabura`s legs and elbowing him in the back of each knee. Dabura fell over backwards and right into a backbreaking jump from the smaller fighter, who`s arms wrapped around Dabura`s waist while he flew back down, slamming Dabura onto his stomach on the ground.
Dabura reached out blindly and grabbed Krillin by the wrist, sweeping a kick at him only to have the former monk twist out of the way, although Krillin couldn`t exactly run.
Never alone again
The pain inside can guide your way
Dabura slammed Krillin into the mat and wound up to punch straight through the smaller fighter`s body, only to have Krillin fade out and reappear several yards away. Blinking several times, Dabura`s vision cleared a bit and his slit eyes focused angrily on the defiant Turtle Master. Krillin fanned his hands over his face and shouted again. "Taiyoken!" Dabura lunged forward even as the world went white again. Krillin dove to the side, twisting and driving his arm straight into the other`s hip. "Agh!" Dabura growled out, landing with a twist.
"Can you believe this people? Krillin is managing to take down Dabura!"
"Just block `em out Krillin," he reassured himself. "That`s what Goku would do," he added in thought. Dabura got back up to his feet a few seconds later, holding his right hip and, for lack of a better term, gimping around. He still couldn`t figure out just where the hell Krillin was, but that didn`t matter.
Dabura raised two fingers to the sky and concentrated. After a split second the entire ring seemed to erupt in a pillar-like explosion. After a few moments though, it ended, leaving Dabura and the ring itself unscathed.
Unfortunately, Krillin happened to be hovering outside of the ring. An instant before he could be hit, he`d vanished and reappeared elsewhere, effectively dodging the 50x50 bullet by a few yards. Dabura expectantly felt around for his energy, only to find it no where at all. Krillin scowled. "Can`t let him get too reckless or he`ll start killing off people in the audience..." Krillin thought. "When my eyes clear...!" Dabura threatened loudly, flinging his arm around desperately. He could tell Krillin was still around, the people wouldn`t be cheering if he`d killed the smaller fighter or knocked him out.
A spike of energy filled his senses and Dabura rocketed towards it only to smack face first into a ki blast. Krillin reappeared in the ring, grinning like an idiot and raising his energy up again. Dabura whipped around and threw a bolt of energy at him, Krillin blurred out of the way and reappeared at the corner of the ring, blurring again and reappearing in front of Dabura. His boot ground itself into the 'M' on Dabura`s forehead but the other was barely phased by it, roaring his anger and willing the ki-laced air around him to explode. He himself was unharmed but Krillin was lucky to escape by the singed, short hair on his head. Touching down in the center of the ring, Krillin looked up and watched as Dabura finally wiped his eyes clear.
"Now I`ve got you..."
"Taiyo-" Krillin was cut off as Dabura rushed in, slamming his fist into the ex-monk`s gut with enough force to knock the wind and a bit of blood and saliva from the smaller fighter`s mouth. Krillin flew back, skidding along on both feet and bringing his arms up. Dabura feigned a downward chop and kneed the shorter combatant in the forehead, throwing Krillin off of the mat and into the air.
Midnight, no sleep
Inside, you scream to
No one, hears you fall
Daylight, prove me today
One more try
Don't turn away, don't turn away
Krillin screamed as Dabura`s fist caught him in the stomach again. In slow motion, Krillin seemed to wrap his body around Dabura`s hand from the sheer impact of the blow. "So much for that edge," Krillin thought as he flew off from Dabura`s hand and smashed into a concrete wall hard enough to leave a Krillin sized imprint in the spot he landed in. Capel didn`t call the match over just yet though, Krillin had yet to land on the ground outside the ring so it was still on.
Dabura touched down on the edge of the ring and Krillin stayed in the body imprint, feigning unconciousness for several seconds, smirking, and then...
"TAIYOKEN!!!"
Another flare and Dabura screamed out every cuss word he knew. Most of the audience had managed to bring sunglasses for some reason or another, those that didn`t were cursing their luck and hoping not to be permanently blinded. Dabura growled and uttered enough profanity to make a sailor green with envy. He was really beginning to dislike the Taiyoken, and Tienshinhan, the creator of the attack, was currently laughing his head off that anyone was actually beating the snot out of someone easily a few hundred times stronger because of it.
Come out swinging
Come out alone
They're in your way
You may be stinging
But you'll get by
Krillin tore from the body imprint now, rushing forward and assailing Dabura with a flurry of punches and kicks. Everyone sent Dabura`s increasingly bruised face in another direction, and the Demon King staggered back under the furious attack, slowly beginning to bleed as blow after blow rained in. For him, it was equivelent to getting attacked by a swarm of honey bees, for Krillin it was equivelent to opening up with everything one hand in a desperate situation with few, if any alternatives. Dabura pulled back and thrust his arm forward, Krill ducked downward, touching down and throwing his fist into Dabura`s stomach with little effect. Dabura altered the momentum of his arm and managed to backhand slap Krillin on the cheek, sending the short fighter into a screeching roll away.
Krillin rested on hands and knees as Dabura covered his face and wheezed, having had little chance to breathe during the titanic assault he`d endured from the much smaller, much more resourceful opponent. Krillin panted heavily though, sitting on his knees now and idly watching Dabura coughing violently while he planned his strategy. "Let`s see, used everything but the Kakusandan and the Double Tsuihidan... Can`t Kienzan the bastard, that`d probably kill him so what do I do..." Krillin thought while easing back up to his feet. Despite how much he`d beaten on Dabura during the battle, he wasn`t exactly peachy keen either. As much of an advantage as he held over the Demon King due to sheer ingenuity, Dabura`s infrequent hits had taken a toll on him, and dodging around and working to supress his energy as he had wasn`t exactly easy to do in that state.
Dabura growled and rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision. Krillin rushed at him, the crowd quieted just so, Dabura`s large bat-like ears came into play and the Demon King jumped back, pooling ki into an open, flat hand and then slamming it forward on a wild guess. Krillin yelped as the energy was forcibly slammed into his chest and detonated, ripping part of his douji`s overshirt and flinging him out of the ring. Dabura howled cheerfully and dove forward, guessing again and once more hitting it right on the money...
Don't turn away, don't turn away
Come out swinging
Never alone again
Pain inside
Leads you through so you'll get by
"KAKUSANDAN!!!"
Dabura`s fist slammed into Krillin`s stomach right as the ex-monk threw both hands forward and unleashed the powerful attack into the other`s face. The Demon King roared and found himself carried back as Krillin slammed into the ground, his attack ending the moment it began. He bounced up with an explosion of dust and smashed against a wall, shattering a skull-sized imprint into it and sliding down onto the ground, right as Dabura landed outside of the ring with a hard crash. Dabura`s face was charred somewhat and he was sore all over the head, and Krillin was just plain sore all over as he got to his feet with a stumble and rubbed the small of his back ruefully.
"It`s over folks, after one incredible fight, it`s over!" Capel stated while gazing at the two fighters. "After a surprisingly balanced off match, Krillin has lost by only a few split seconds and a fluke to Dabura, who will go on to face his opponent from the last Tenkaichi Budoukai`s main event, Son Gohan!" The announcer explained as Krillin limped his way back to the lounge tiredly, met by a newly healed Gohan and Piccolo, as well as everyone else. Dabura wasn`t far behind, growling about damnable hell midgets as it were and looking a bit worse for wear overall.
With the first two chaotic matches out of the way, Vegeta smirked, moving to the exit of the lounge with Zangya in tow. With the two sharing sideways glances packed with unspoken insults, they walked from the lounge towards the scorched, still smoking, unrepaired ring, neither voicing anything.
End Part Three
Author`s Note: Thanks for readin`, leave a review and all that blah!
Gohan: *Snort.*
*Points at the plot device.* Don`t make me use this.
Gohan: ... *Flies off.*
BWAHA! Oh, and if anyone is wondering, EP means Extended Play. An idea I had from when I heard Linkin Park did a five song bonus CD called 'Hybrid Theory EP.' EPs for me are just short stories which tie into the main plot and explain or set things up to happen in another story. I already have one done for OP, 'In The End,' though I used the Reanimation lyrics for it. The original will show up eventually though, but it ain`t gonna be in a Gohan-centered piece...
Sh33p ou-*Earth blows up.*
Gohan: NYEH NYEH!
Author`s Note: First of all, thanks for the reviews everyone! Also to diamondgirl, Goten and Trunks won`t really be playing major roles until I do another EP(I intend on doing several of them) for Opaque Portents. Either that or whenever the next story(be it the final one or another lead-in, haven`t made up my mind yet), the two of them will be ready to take a pretty major role in things. In fact, assuming Hybrid Theory leaves itself open for a sequel series of some kind, it would probably center almost entirely around Goten, Trunks and some other next generation fighters.
Depends on what the story wants though. These things write themselves, I just type it up.
Disclaimer: I own a pair of dirty socks, does that count?
Hybrid Theory: Opaque Portents
Come Out Swinging
The adult fighters though, were now gathered up in that same open air space from the strength tests. You could pretty much pick them out depending on the three little groups that had seemingly formed. You had the normals, the psychotics and the outright strange. The normals consisted of Hercule, Videl, Suta, Killa, and the military looking guy now identified as Bill. After that there were the psychotics, a group that consisted of Dabura, Spopovich and Yamu. After this there were the outright strange, grouped by everything from attitude to strength to who they stuck closer to. This was the largest group, consisting of Vegeta, Piccolo, Zangya, Gohan, Krillin, Tien, Chaozu, Juuhachigou, Seventeen and then another who wasn`t really a part of the group but could be classified as such. Jun-Yah had yet to really make his presence known at all during the tournament sign-up. He was the quiet type from the looks of things, but still quite odd.
It was time, however, for the drawings. The box filled with numbered balls was set-up as it had always been, the list was presented on a board behind Capel and out in the ring there was a copy of it manned by two monks, one with a walkie-talkie that linked right to the one held by one of the two monks that stood with Capel.
"Since most of you are new, I`m going to explain the rules first and then begin the drawing, anyone have any problems with that?" He asked, looking over the crowd. The strange group was surprisingly the one that didn`t even seem to care. The psychotics seemed to just be bored and the normals looked almost insulted. "Okay then... First off, you lose if you get knocked out, taken down for the ten count, give up or get thrown out of the ring to the ground outside. Crying or hitting below the belt will get you disqualified, and there is absolutely no killing your opponent. Doing so will result not only in your immediate disqualification, but also being banned from the next tournament if it`s intentional. Accidental will just mean disqualification," he explained before moving behind the small box. "Alright, now that that`s been settled, who`s first?"
Videl cracked her knuckles and moved up for first, reaching into the box and pulling out the number 16 from within. Capel gave a nod and had her marked down. After this came Chaozu. "Fourteen," the tiny fighter murmured, that same ball rising from within the box and turning so that it`s number faced Capel. "Alright, next," the announcer asked, seemingly ignoring what had just happened. He was used to things like this by now. Piccolo moved up after this, trading no words with the ever-chatty announcer and simply pulling out a ball marked as number two. "Good luck this year then," the announcer mumbled, having failed to start any sort of conversation.
Piccolo moved off to the side with Videl and Chaozu as Hercule stepped up and blindly swiped a ball up. "Thirteen, moving along," the announcer stated. Jun-Yah went next, swiping a ball from within the box and showing it to Capel. "Eight, good luck," the announcer read and mumbled. Jun-Yah stepped off to the side, away from everyone and returned to brooding. Krillin stepped up, smirking to himself. "Long time no see Capel," he said jokingly. "How was the honeymoon?" The announcer asked while tipping the box just a bit so that Krillin wouldn`t have to dislodge his arm from the socket to reach inside. "Pretty good actually. See you`re still rebuildin`, eh?" Krillin asked cynically while reaching into the box and fumbling around. He could almost swear he felt a bit of movement without intending to.
"Yeah, that last tournament pretty much smashed most of the stadium in. How`s the married life goin` for ya?" Capel asked. "Very good," Krillin bragged, withdrawing a ball. "Three," he stated with a nod. "Good luck," Capel said, and meant it, before looking back over at the crowd. "Next?" He asked. Vegeta stepped up, plundering his hand into the box and pulling out a six. "Al... Right..." Capel mumbled as Vegeta pulped the plastic ball in hand menacingly and tossed it aside before walking to the group that had formed.
Gohan moved up next, cracking his knuckles and rubbing his hands together briefly. "Nervous?" The announcer asked. "Not really, I just want a good opponent for my first match," Gohan replied with a smirk. "Goku`s kid alright. Take your time, these things are random anyway..." He mumbled. Chaozu grinned and grimaced in the same expression. True, telepathically rigging how fighters were selected wasn`t exactly the fairest thing, but he`d done it before and it at least meant the regulars stood a blazing chance in hell. Too bad Krillin had slipped by him.
Gohan blindly fumbled around with his hand in the box, eventually pulling out another ball. A wide smile set across the demi-saiyan`s face as he stood there, earning a few suspicious looks from some of the other fighters. Capel raised his eyebrow and Gohan leered over at Piccolo before displaying the ball at his mentor. Piccolo smirked in reply, that old gleam returning to his eyes that hadn`t been there since the days he and Goku had fought on an even plane.
"What number did you get?" Capel asked after a moment. "One," Gohan answered, still beaming at his first mentor. Anyone who actually knew what the two were capable of, and anyone that knew the history involved literally came close to falling over. Even Zangya blinked a few times. "Alright," Capel mumbled. "Anything significant you want to tell me?" He asked. "He`s the one that trained me," Gohan admitted finally before stepping off to the side with the rest of the group, grinning like an idiot almost.
Zangya took her turn next, swiping a ball without even bothering to think of it. The announcer nodded. "Five," he stated. Zangya moved out of the way, ignorant of that death glare Vegeta was giving her. Bill went next, reaching into the box and muttering a prayer before removing a ball with his eyes shut. "Fifteen, wow," Capel said with a raise of both brows. Bill let out a huge sigh of relief. At least if he lost to Videl he`d probably live through it...
Bill moved out of the way and Suta came, pulling a twelve. Killa went and got an eleven, then came Yamu with a seven, and Spopovitch with a ten. Tien went after this, reaching in and swiping a nine before joining the rest off to the side. Juuhachigou went after this, reaching in and pulling out an eleven before her brother moved in and got a twelve. This surprised virtually anyone that knew the two were brother and sister, themselves included, but the others didn`t really know what the fuss was about.
Seventeen walked off to the side after Juuhachigou, a look of stunned silence on his face before Krillin jumped in. "Care to make a bet?" He asked his brother-in-law. The two hadn`t ever been on the closest of terms mind you, even though they had gone on several fishing and hunting trips together once Krillin figured out he had a bit of an outdoorsman in him. "About?" Seventeen asked. Krillin grinned smugly. "If Juu-chan beats you, you move into Kame House," Krillin answered. Seventeen shrugged. "And if I win?" Krillin looked over at Juuhachi, who spoke for both of them. "If you win, we`ll stop nagging at you about living in the wilderness like you do. And let you name our first child when they`re born," she improvised that second part of the bet, but Krillin didn`t seem to mind. "Deal," Seventeen stated.
Finally, it was time for the reigning champion`s turn. Dabura stepped up with his most imposing expression set. He had wanted to face Gohan in the first round but he didn`t care, reaching up and slicing the box, and the table, right in half with his hand, swiping the ball the tumbled into the air as a result before Capel could even blink in surprise. "Four," the annoyed Demon King muttered while stepping off towards the lounge, followed closely by Yamu and Spopo.
Chaozu slapped himself on the forehead. He`d forgotten about that little technicality. "Oops," he mumbled sheepishly as Krillin fainted.
You brace and hold it all inside
It's more than you can stand
No one around even tries
Tries to understand
Gohan was worried, sure. Krillin was his godfather, a close friend and his second actual mentor due to the ride to Namek. He was worried for the short ex-monk alright, but he was more focused, for now, on his match with Piccolo. Gathering his breath, he moved with the former Kami in stride for the time being, giving a nod to the grouping and contemplating to himself. "Good luck!" Videl called out to him. Gohan paused briefly and Piccolo began to gain a bit of ground on him, but the Namek halted in mid-step, deciding to give his protege a moment or two.
"Thanks!" Gohan replied after a moment, waving at Videl with a slight pinkish tint to his cheeks. He turned back to Piccolo though, noting the cynical little smirk on the Namek`s face as the two resumed their walk. "Don`t hold back anything Gohan, I`d like it if we both fought at our hardest," Piccolo stated. Gohan shrugged. "I will if I have to, wouldn`t be fighting at my hardest if I went all out," Gohan replied after a moment. "That made no sense," Piccolo muttered. Gohan sheepishly glanced to the side as he and Piccolo walked into the fighter`s lounge.
The anticipation from the crowds was noticably high, a good many hardcore Tenkaichi watchers knew to recognize the names Ma Junior and Son Gohan. After their respective showings at the last tournament it was impossible not to. The announcer stood off to the side of the lounge exit/entrance, having somehow covered the space in only a few seconds without anyone noticing.
"These are two Budoukai veterans and legends. At his last showing, Son Gohan, eldest son to the legendary Son Goku, namesake and a great grandson of the also-legendary Son Gohan Senior, and the elder brother to the Junior Runner-up, Son Gohan was the youngest ever to compete in the stage of the Tenkaichi Budoukai adult division. Tying with the reigning champion, Dabura, after an epic battle that stands in the Tenkaichi Hall of Fame, it seems a gauruntee that this now-fifteen year old prodigy will one day capture the world gold and the recognition that comes with it!" Capel stated to the roars of the crowd. One particular voice, that of a woman in her early forties, seemed to echo over them all though.
"As for Ma Junior... What introduction is needed that can give this... Ehm..." Capel paused. "Namek," Piccolo stated. "... Namekian powerhouse the kind of credit he deserves?" Capel finished, actually getting it right even though it was mostly a guess. "Currently the second most prolific fighter at these tournaments after Krillin Chestnut, Ma Junior is a legend to those who`ve been keeping tabs on the Budoukai for the past two decades, as his initial entry into the tournament was marked with the near total demolition of the entire arena, but also marked his first time as a Budoukai finalist, having only narrowly lost to Son Goku, the father of his current opponent. His last showing at the tournament was against one of this year`s returnees when he and the woman known only as Zangya brought the house down, ending in a record setting forfeit. Another interesting tidbit about Ma Junior is that he not only battled his opponent`s father, he also trained Son Gohan himself, and likely grew to be close friends with Son Goku prior to his death."
The two fighters exchanged sideways glances and continued on into the ring, climbing the steps one at a time with mirroring postures. The lounge doorway soon became occupied however, as Videl, Zangya, Krillin and a morbidly fascinated Seventeen moved to watch the soon-to-erupt chaos, accompanied, albeit discretely, by Dabura. "Ready..." The announcer began as the two fighters moved to their places at the center of the ring. "Set..." Piccolo narrowed his eyes, a strong wind kicking up around the ring as the two fighters began to power up.
"Fight!"
Capel dashed back a good ways from the ring as the two fighters stared one another down. The wind settled, both remained physically unchanged by appearances, though Gohan`s hair had risen up slightly and Piccolo was looking a bit more tensed. Anticipation was high as the two began to circle one another, neither falling into fighting form just yet, only moving to gauge each other`s defenses and trying to find a slipping point. Cheering died down and the crowd anxiety to begin rose up by several miles. Those in the lounge that gave a damn, minus Dabura, were all mentally excited. Tien joined them, followed by a floating Chaozu as Piccolo and Gohan stopped and settled into position.
Gohan assumed a fighting stance and Piccolo reached up, pulling off his turban and yanking off his cloak and mantle in a flashy looking display. The turban flew off to the side and the cloak passed in front of him as he faded and reappeared in the air, a strong wind falling around him and a lightning blue aura shocking up around him. Piccolo descended, Gohan dodged out of the way and the fighting began in earnest as the two tested each other. Blows fast enough to barely qualify as blurs to the human eye streaked through the air with sonic booms, and each one was seemingly intercepted by the increasingly strained looking Son Gohan.
Gohan blocked a downward moving hammer strike, then absorbed a viciously moving kick into the side, blocking with his entire arm and faltering his stance from the force of the impact. Piccolo took full advantage, sweeping his leg back and twisting around. With a lightning streak, his leg swept beneath the other`s feet and knocked Gohan off balance. Piccolo got back to his own feet and in a literal flash, decked the boy square in the face so hard his own aura flared around Gohan and detonated in a flare of light with no real force. Gohan wobbled back, Piccolo wound up to strike and then let loose with a hard right hook.
Don't turn away, don't turn away
Come out swinging
Come out alone
They're in your way
But as long as you're swinging
Strong then you'll get by
It never connected. There was a solid golden flash of air and then the newly Super Saiyan Gohan, complete with golden hair, jade eyes and a sun-light aura of golden fire, extended his knee up and blocked the incoming fist, standing on one leg on the edge of the fighting ring. Piccolo smirked and Gohan replied with a similar gesture.
The warm-up had just ended. "Ready to take it up a notch?" Gohan asked confidently, still in that same pose as before. Piccolo acknowledged him with nothing but a smirk, drawing back and then flaring out of existence with a blur. Gohan`s eyes followed movements that weren`t really there, and as he straightened up and into a more stable stance, he pooled visible ki into one hand and then shot that same hand forward. A whistling sound later, a streaking ki blast flashed through the air with a wide barrel roll and slammed into Piccolo as he re-materialized, throwing the Namek back several yards with streams of smoke flowing off of his clothing. Piccolo touched down shakily only to throw his arms up and block Gohan`s first strike, a hard elbow that would`ve hit him in the collar. Gohan blurred and reappeared behind Piccolo, jumping at the former Kami, who turned to try and spin-kick him only to hit an after image which drifted by him, the real Gohan appearing off to the side with a kiai of a yell, thrusting his hand forward.
A sonic crack later, the force of the ghost punch smacked into Piccolo and sent him reeling. The Namek flew back, purple blood streaking out of his bruised cheek as he spun in the air and skidded along on his hands and knees. Gohan dashed forward again, jumped and descended with a loud scream, sending a lightning kick into the small of Piccolo`s back, only to find out it was an after image a hundredth of a second too late to do any good.
Piccolo reappeared with a crack as his elbow caught itself most brutally in the back of Gohan`s neck. Gohan yelped and faltered forward as Piccolo whipped around, catching the youth in the stomach with a hard kick with an extended leg. Piccolo flared his ki abruptly, throwing Gohan back and away and sending the youth flying, bouncing off of the ring floor and into the air to an abrupt stop. Gohan spat onto the ring floor and wiped his mouth off, breathing hard. He hadn`t expected Piccolo to come at him like this, but that just meant a little change in tactics. Gohan raised both arms up and narrowed his eyes, gathering power from that bottomless well within his body and soul. His aura lit back up and he let out a shout, a shockwave of energy rising from around him and into the air in the form of a spherical tornado of gold. Piccolo was unintimidated, rushing forward along the ring floor and jumping up.
He was met by a bone breaking, mind numbing wall of force, almost like getting keelhauled on a major highway, only this one sucked you into it and kept smashing into it. The attack was brutal, but Gohan couldn`t maintain it. Releasing his power-up, he flung Piccolo back into the ring floor, causing the Namek to form a body sized trench about a foot deep, and then blurred to meet him on the ground at the side of the trench, ki ball in hand. Gohan let out a yell and threw the attack like a bowling ball at Piccolo, who crossed his arms in front of himself and took the attack full on.
There was an explosion hard enough to throw the announcer from his feet and then Piccolo erupted from the smoke, essentially unharmed aside from a bloodied forearm. Piccolo darted downward and bounced off of the ground, uppercutting Gohan right in the chin before the two began another rapid exchange, blurring from view.
Explosions sounded off around and above the ring as the two fought it out, blow after blow making impact with blocks, parries or counters, rarely doing any damage. High in the air, the two re-materialized with a dual scrambling effect, hovering with their backs to each other. Gohan took a deep breath and a cut opened up on Piccolo`s cheek, the only testament to the brutality of their brief confrontation at the speeds human eyes can`t comprehend.
Piccolo turned around, as did Gohan. Both took one more moment to get their bearings straight and then...
Your pacing's wearing out a line
Right beside your bed
The scene replays a million times
Stuck inside your head
Chaos reigned. A cataclysm of light and fire surged through the air above the arena. Explosions echoed through the skies, ki blasts shot off in every direction, generic beams of energy and the occasional shockwave from it all, nothing hitting the spectators though. The control of the two fighters was so that their errant attacks always curved at the last possible second to avoid striking the crowd or anything else. It was a light show almost, only this was one that could kill you at an instant if performed incorrectly.
A growing cloud of smoke and flames formed above the arena, and then finally there was a blinding flash as the Taiyoken flare was utilized. Only the announcer clearly saw what happened next, watching as Gohan dove down out of the cloud and touched down to the ring floor, energy flaring up in one hand as he let out a shout and threw the spherical ki blast up into the cloud of smoke over head. It streaked right through, emerging out of the other end before detonating into dozens of smaller energy spheres, which dove back in on a seeker course within the cloud. Several dozen explosions flared within the cloud of smoke, all going off from a focal point within the cloud, which itself was utterly annihilated by what was happening within.
And that was when Piccolo appeared behind Gohan lashing outwith a straight punch at the back of Gohan`s head. Gohan tilted his head to the side, barely avoiding the blow. Piccolo drew back and tried it with his other hand. Gohan again tilted his head out of the way and a pattern formed, Piccolo throwing straight punches and Gohan tilting out of the way by inches to avoid them.
This was where hardened fighting spirit and experience came in, things that Piccolo possessed in spades by the dozen. Gohan was extremely skilled for a fifteen year old, any disputing that and you`d likely be insane, but Piccolo was a warrior with close to eight hundred years of fighting experience infused into him, from Kami, the original Piccolo, himself, Piccolo Daimou and Nail wrapped into one. Skill like that isn`t something that can be taken lightly no matter the difference in powers. Piccolo was a well balanced veteran at fighting, when he entered combat he went into it without hesitation. All and then some or nothing and a little less, that was his approach to fighting and it paid off. This skill imbalance showed as Gohan became trapped in a pattern, and Piccolo took full advantage of it, halting his attacks off key and allowing Gohan to expectantly dodge to the side. Piccolo formed a ki blast in one hand and Gohan tilted his head back into the line of fire expectantly to dodge another attack, only to get smacked in the back of the head with a ki blast that detonated with no where to go.
In mid-explosion, Piccolo had grabbed Gohan by the back of the head and slammed him into the concrete with a feral cry, pounding the Son male into the ring with enough force to shatter the average man`s skull down to it`s basest atoms, only to feel part of his stomach cave in from the force of Gohan`s desperate uppercut. Piccolo let go and staggered back, spitting out a bit of purple blood onto the ring floor only to fly back as Gohan`s knee connected with his jaw. Piccolo landed with a harsh crack when Gohan faded to where he was flying beside the Namekian warrior and dropped an elbow with the utmost ferocity into Piccolo`s gut.
There was a small explosion of dust and Piccolo lay there coughing, while Gohan landed with a roll onto his side, catching his breath. Despite his brief raging assault, Piccolo`s tactic had done a lot of damage to him. "Can`t let him get me into another pattern like that," Gohan chastised himself harshly. "Still fights at random when he`s in a bad situation," Piccolo thought, managing to clear his vision of the small dark splotches that had appeared as a result of Gohan`s furious assault. "Might be advantagious sometimes but a serious foe could probably dismantle him if he did it at the wrong time," Piccolo added.
"And it looks like both fighters are down trying to recover from the fighting so far. Gohan just took a pretty serious beating, but Ma Junior`s taken some serious damage as well, and both are taking a short breather it seems. Given the history of these two, I doubt it`ll be a very long lull in fighting..." Capel stated to the awe of the crowd. Dollar signs were visible in his eyes, Sons always put on a good show and Ma Junior had proven to be a pretty massive contender as well.
Now if he could just keep them from demolishing the ring during their matches...
"Ready to go again?" Piccolo asked, looking over sideways at the still downed Gohan. "Gimme a second," Gohan replied while rolling onto his back and staring into the air. He and Piccolo both looked back up and the Namek closed his eyes. "Five... Four... Three... Two... One..."
Gohan blurred, coming down hard on Piccolo right off of the ground, slamming both knees into where the Namek`s chest would`ve been, only to hit an after image as the real Piccolo stood off to the side, both hands held behind himself as he spoke up, calling out for one of those rarely used attacks he shared with Krillin.
"TSUIHIDAN!!!"
Piccolo shot one hand forward, sending off a simple, thin beam of energy while aiming the other up and saying the attack name again, a second firing from his hand and into the air. Gohan dodged the first beam, which wheeled around and managed to strike him in the back, and then took the second one dead on into the chest. The jarring motion of the joint attack was enough to almost take him out of Super Saiyan, but as he was thrown into the ground from the second impact, he simply reached into that well of energy and got a second wind. Gohan was back up in seconds, arms outstretched to either side, power building.
"How is it he did it?" Gohan asked himself, trying to remember. His father had tried to teach him during the stay in the Room of Spirit and Time, and he`d seen Mirai Goten pulling it off before, so could he himself manage the move created by his quadrant`s highest deity?
"Super... Kaio... KEN!!!"
He could always try, eh? Piccolo fell back as Gohan pulled off the power up, only to have it back fire and injure him even worse than before. The resultant half-shockwave was enough to cause Piccolo to get keel hauled into the tiling and almost thrown from the ring though. Gohan fell to his knees holding his stomach, which felt as if it had been filled with sulfuric acid. A most unpleasant feeling, to say the least. The pain passed though, and Gohan vomited up a bit of blood as testament to his screw-up. Piccolo was on his feet by now, wondering just where in the heck his student had learned how to pull that off when Goku himself had never really been able to do it during the time he was alive. "Remind me not to try that again," Gohan asked while spitting out some remaining blood from the little vomit-fest and looking up. "Good try at least," Piccolo commended. Gohan frowned. "Not compared to what Mirai Goten could do," Gohan uttered.
Piccolo would`ve asked, but Gohan had silenced any questions by blurring and reappearing to Piccolo`s side, lancing out with a downward swiping chop. Piccolo dodged backward and right into a kick, snapping his spine brutally and causing him to skid forward, flipping over several times before the injury mended itself from Piccolo`s willpower alone. Piccolo sat up after a moment or two, getting to his feet afterward. He hadn`t expected an easy win, hell he had expected to have lost by now but Gohan had kept things sane. Even if Piccolo was outpowered by a noticable factor, not too much but enough, he could bridge the gap with experience and skill. Gohan apparently had some vendetta against fighting Beyond Super Saiyan.
Not that Piccolo minded much at the moment. He wasn`t like Vegeta, odds where he stood a chance in hell were pretty nice for him to experience and he didn`t like throwing himself into battles he couldn`t win even with help unless he was all there was left.
Piccolo glanced at Gohan, noting the youth was still very winded from usage of a backfired attempt at making the Kaio Ken`s more souped up variation. Gohan wheezed lightly and dodged to the right, only to appear as an after image. It was a predictable move, and Piccolo swiftly kicked to the left in reply. Gohan appeared to his right, crossing Piccolo with his left fist and doubling it with a follow up right handed, mid-air haymaker that sent Piccolo flying with a slick of purple in the air and staining Gohan`s right hand. He wiped the blood off on his gi pants and pooled up energy into both hands, throwing them to his side and then assuming the classic stance as an ethereal blue glow appeared. Piccolo, still airborn, tapped two fingers to his forehead in reply, landing with a skid and turning broadside to Gohan.
"KAME HAME HA!!!"
"MAKANKOSAPPO!!!"
Both attacks were fired off in the same instant, and both slammed into one another midway. The Devil`s Corkscrew and the Turtle Plight Wave smacked into one another with enough force to level the entire planet and have power to spare. If not for the control the two combatants held, the resulting mushroom cloud explosion would likely glass the arena like a nuclear bomb, but instead the explosion was contained, spinning violently like a newborn sun and then dying down with an expanding mushroom cloud straight up. No one was injured.
Gohan and Piccolo stood across from each other, both breathing heavily and both looking taxed to their current limits, each standing in the pose of firing their attack at the other and each desperately trying to think up some way to end the fighting without killing each other.
Piccolo lurched forward, supporting himself by bracing on his knees, and Gohan staggered back, leaving both barely able to stand. Gohan flared his aura back up and Piccolo responded in kind. A pair of brilliant flashes later, Gohan touched down where Piccolo was standing and Piccolo touched down where Gohan had been standing. Both now sported new bruises, a few blood stains in their clothing and a cut or two that hadn`t been there before.
Piccolo wheezed, as did Gohan, and the two unsteadily turned to face each other again. "I have an idea," Gohan muttered breathlessly. "What?" Piccolo asked. "One last charge with everything we`ve got. No dodge, just impact. Whoever goes out loses," Gohan proposed. Piccolo frowned. He couldn`t win that sort of thing, even now he was just too outpowered, however bare the advantage was for Gohan. "It`s either that or we kill each other doing this," Gohan replied.
"When you put it like that..."
"Glad we agree. Ready?" Gohan asked. Piccolo gave a nod. Power gathered visibly in his fist, everything he could bring to bear. Raw energy surged around that clenched piece of his body, fingers shut so tightly the palm bled from the pressure of his sharpened claws. Gohan replied in kind, golden flames surging around his same hand until it was so bright as to be a solid yellow mass of energy, the actual hand itself obscured from view. "Let`s go..."
Both fighters, now pumping literally all availible energy into their right hands, dashed forward, covering the way to each other in seconds. Both fists shot forward and made impact, and a gold and lightning silver-blue explosion sounded off in the center of the ring, a massive shadow-like shockwave erupting from the blast as the two colossal powers smashed into each other with the energies to detonate entire worlds without so much as a blink. The impact was such that the shockwave ripped signs from their places and threatened to down aircraft all around, even throwing several spectators skyward for a few dozen feet before it all ended. A crash, a crack and a dull thud later, a golden haired youth surrounded in neon smoke stood ragged in the middle of the ring, gasping for air as his mentor sat against a wall outside the ground, hovering on unconciousness.
And though you stand in place
Your mind escapes
Read between the lies
Smile's on your face
You fake like you're ok
"Holy mother of God!!!" Capel yelped out. "Ma Junior is out! What a way to begin the first round of the Adult Division!" He yelled in shock as Gohan stumbled forward, fell to one knee and let out a chuckle while his hair fell a bit shorter and faded to black, eyes performing a similar transition from jade. His hand dropped to his side and he slowly forced himself back up, staggering the way out of the ring to be met halfway by Videl and Krillin. Videl`s jaw was hanging open but she wasn`t going to say anything just yet, instead looping one of Gohan`s arms over her shoulders while Krillin floated up and did the same. Gohan was laughing exhaustedly due to his victory, but it had left him beaten in pretty heavily.
Zangya on the other hand, had made her way over to the fallen Namek with a cynical frown. "Had your ass handed to ya by a teenager, shame on you," she teased annoyingly. "Shut it she-bitch," Piccolo grumbled while trying to get to his feet. He failed each and every time. "Now what`s the fun in that?" Zangya asked. "Then at least annoy me while dragging me over to the lounge," Piccolo ordered. "Dragging you might be fun but... Nah," Zangya muttered, grabbing Piccolo by the wrist and forcibly yanking him up onto her shoulders. "That`ll work," the Namek groggily uttered. "Glad we agree," Zangya replied cheerfully while carrying the battered fighter back to the lounge.
"We`re gonna need a quick clean-up out here so, give us a few minutes folks, we`ll have things set up for our second match soon enough!" Capel stated, much to the mutual delight and astonishment of the crowd.
Unfortunately, Dabura wasn`t going to wait that long. Forcibly, he shoved his way past Zangya and Piccolo, moving to the ring with villainous intent apparent in his step. Krillin flenched visibly, watching the Demon King move up into the ring. "Guess it`s time for me to go get my ass kicked," the midget uttered. "Krillin," Gohan wheezed out. "Taiyoken him and keep your power down. He can`t hit what he can`t see," Gohan said tiredly while removing his arm from the monk`s shoulders, supported now by only Videl.
"Alright," Krillin said sheepishly while cracking his knuckles and looking over at Juuhachigou. "Die on me in there and I`ll beat the hell out of you," the blonde haired cyborg stated sharply. "Understood," Krillin mumbled sarcastically as his wife marched over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Now go out there and take him down," Juu ordered. "I`ll try hon," Krillin replied while turning back to the ring and, with a shaky confidence, walking towards it.
"You two wanna fight without the ring being cleaned up?" Capel asked, walking alongside Krillin toward the ring. "I`ve fought in worse places than a mauled 50x50 concrete mat," the fuzzy headed ex-monk replied. "Alright..." Capel stopped and began the introductions.
"I`m sure neither of these fighters needs any sort of introduction, agreed? Krillin Chestnut is a hardened veteran, and the current record holder for the fighter who`s been through the most Tenkaichi Budoukais. Also a veteran of the once-a-decade Eight Masters Tournament, the week long martial arts war waged by students from the eight most known schools of fighting, Krillin is one of the strangest success stories in Budoukai history. Despite being only 4'6" or so, and weighing only a hundred pounds, Krillin`s Tenkaichi history speaks for itself as being one of those competitors you just can`t count out to the end," Capel explained, introducing Krillin with as much respect as he could. The two were actually pretty decent friends outside of the tournaments.
"As for Dabura..." Capel paused. The crowd booed loudly, memories of Mister Satan`s brutal defeat still fresh in many people`s minds. "You people have said it all for me," Capel replied to the crowd with a snort before moving away from the ring.
Krillin cracked his neck and stretched his limbs, shaking each leg just a bit. The gi he wore signified a newly evidant fact, it read that Krillin Chestnut wasn`t just a student of the Kamesennin style of fighting, but it read that he was the Turtle Master now. Roughly a month after the last Eight Masters Tournament, Krillin had managed to wrest control from Roshi as it`s master in a fairly quick sparring match. Taking several deep breaths and listening to the crowd voicing their support, Krillin fanned his fingers out over his face and popped his jaw. Dabura stood ready.
"Start the match already," Krillin thought anxiously. "Fight!" The announcer yelled. Dabura turned to face Krillin with that devil`s smirk, crouching to rush forward. "That`s it you big ugly pink son of a bitch, come get me," Krillin thought with utter defiance. He`d found a courage that simply wasn`t there before and now? Now he was ready to wage war, even if outmatched so much that it made Frieza`s advantage at Namek look pathetic.
"TAIYOKEN!!!" Krillin screamed, that blinding aurora shooting up all around him in the process. Dabura screeched and shut his eyes, relying on ki detection now.
Only to hear something along the lines of 'Shishin No Ken' before that ki split in three and all three energies faded to where he couldn`t detect them. "Damn it," Dabura growled, trying to hear for him now. The crowd`s incessant cheering made things impossible though, and Dabura was reduced to being unable to even find Krillin to hit him. The three Krillins themselves however, were now standing off to the side.
"Kame..." One Krillin muttered, all three of them forming up power into the space between their hands.
"Hame..." Another added a few seconds later, that glow becoming brightened significantly.
The last Krillin smirked for all of them, and the other two followed that expression while power built up subtly. Dabura realized this though, managing to sense the energy of the ex-monk and home in on it. Dabura turned to face them but it was already to late.
"HA!!!"
Three silver-blue beams shot out in a salvo and Dabura took all of them squarely in the chest, pushing him back bit by bit. The Krillins pumped more and more energy into it, and while Dabura could easily swat it all away if he`d wanted, it was really the only thing allowing him to keep tabs on the midget`s location. One by one though, each Krillin stopped the attack, and then the three of them blurred out of existence, right as Dabura lunged forward through the assault of energy and stabbed his arm down into where the middle one had been standing. One Krillin reappeared, the other two dropping down from above and rejoining him.
They're in your way
You may be stinging
But you'll get by
Don't turn away, don't turn away
"Come out swingin`," Krillin thought while dashing forward and hopping up. His ki rose sharply for the attack and Dabura swung around blindly, missing Krillin by inches as the ex-monk plunged his foot right into Dabura`s throat. Purple static tinted blood and spit flew out of the Demon King`s mouth and Krillin drew back, falling down to the ground, darting between Dabura`s legs and elbowing him in the back of each knee. Dabura fell over backwards and right into a backbreaking jump from the smaller fighter, who`s arms wrapped around Dabura`s waist while he flew back down, slamming Dabura onto his stomach on the ground.
Dabura reached out blindly and grabbed Krillin by the wrist, sweeping a kick at him only to have the former monk twist out of the way, although Krillin couldn`t exactly run.
Never alone again
The pain inside can guide your way
Dabura slammed Krillin into the mat and wound up to punch straight through the smaller fighter`s body, only to have Krillin fade out and reappear several yards away. Blinking several times, Dabura`s vision cleared a bit and his slit eyes focused angrily on the defiant Turtle Master. Krillin fanned his hands over his face and shouted again. "Taiyoken!" Dabura lunged forward even as the world went white again. Krillin dove to the side, twisting and driving his arm straight into the other`s hip. "Agh!" Dabura growled out, landing with a twist.
"Can you believe this people? Krillin is managing to take down Dabura!"
"Just block `em out Krillin," he reassured himself. "That`s what Goku would do," he added in thought. Dabura got back up to his feet a few seconds later, holding his right hip and, for lack of a better term, gimping around. He still couldn`t figure out just where the hell Krillin was, but that didn`t matter.
Dabura raised two fingers to the sky and concentrated. After a split second the entire ring seemed to erupt in a pillar-like explosion. After a few moments though, it ended, leaving Dabura and the ring itself unscathed.
Unfortunately, Krillin happened to be hovering outside of the ring. An instant before he could be hit, he`d vanished and reappeared elsewhere, effectively dodging the 50x50 bullet by a few yards. Dabura expectantly felt around for his energy, only to find it no where at all. Krillin scowled. "Can`t let him get too reckless or he`ll start killing off people in the audience..." Krillin thought. "When my eyes clear...!" Dabura threatened loudly, flinging his arm around desperately. He could tell Krillin was still around, the people wouldn`t be cheering if he`d killed the smaller fighter or knocked him out.
A spike of energy filled his senses and Dabura rocketed towards it only to smack face first into a ki blast. Krillin reappeared in the ring, grinning like an idiot and raising his energy up again. Dabura whipped around and threw a bolt of energy at him, Krillin blurred out of the way and reappeared at the corner of the ring, blurring again and reappearing in front of Dabura. His boot ground itself into the 'M' on Dabura`s forehead but the other was barely phased by it, roaring his anger and willing the ki-laced air around him to explode. He himself was unharmed but Krillin was lucky to escape by the singed, short hair on his head. Touching down in the center of the ring, Krillin looked up and watched as Dabura finally wiped his eyes clear.
"Now I`ve got you..."
"Taiyo-" Krillin was cut off as Dabura rushed in, slamming his fist into the ex-monk`s gut with enough force to knock the wind and a bit of blood and saliva from the smaller fighter`s mouth. Krillin flew back, skidding along on both feet and bringing his arms up. Dabura feigned a downward chop and kneed the shorter combatant in the forehead, throwing Krillin off of the mat and into the air.
Midnight, no sleep
Inside, you scream to
No one, hears you fall
Daylight, prove me today
One more try
Don't turn away, don't turn away
Krillin screamed as Dabura`s fist caught him in the stomach again. In slow motion, Krillin seemed to wrap his body around Dabura`s hand from the sheer impact of the blow. "So much for that edge," Krillin thought as he flew off from Dabura`s hand and smashed into a concrete wall hard enough to leave a Krillin sized imprint in the spot he landed in. Capel didn`t call the match over just yet though, Krillin had yet to land on the ground outside the ring so it was still on.
Dabura touched down on the edge of the ring and Krillin stayed in the body imprint, feigning unconciousness for several seconds, smirking, and then...
"TAIYOKEN!!!"
Another flare and Dabura screamed out every cuss word he knew. Most of the audience had managed to bring sunglasses for some reason or another, those that didn`t were cursing their luck and hoping not to be permanently blinded. Dabura growled and uttered enough profanity to make a sailor green with envy. He was really beginning to dislike the Taiyoken, and Tienshinhan, the creator of the attack, was currently laughing his head off that anyone was actually beating the snot out of someone easily a few hundred times stronger because of it.
Come out swinging
Come out alone
They're in your way
You may be stinging
But you'll get by
Krillin tore from the body imprint now, rushing forward and assailing Dabura with a flurry of punches and kicks. Everyone sent Dabura`s increasingly bruised face in another direction, and the Demon King staggered back under the furious attack, slowly beginning to bleed as blow after blow rained in. For him, it was equivelent to getting attacked by a swarm of honey bees, for Krillin it was equivelent to opening up with everything one hand in a desperate situation with few, if any alternatives. Dabura pulled back and thrust his arm forward, Krill ducked downward, touching down and throwing his fist into Dabura`s stomach with little effect. Dabura altered the momentum of his arm and managed to backhand slap Krillin on the cheek, sending the short fighter into a screeching roll away.
Krillin rested on hands and knees as Dabura covered his face and wheezed, having had little chance to breathe during the titanic assault he`d endured from the much smaller, much more resourceful opponent. Krillin panted heavily though, sitting on his knees now and idly watching Dabura coughing violently while he planned his strategy. "Let`s see, used everything but the Kakusandan and the Double Tsuihidan... Can`t Kienzan the bastard, that`d probably kill him so what do I do..." Krillin thought while easing back up to his feet. Despite how much he`d beaten on Dabura during the battle, he wasn`t exactly peachy keen either. As much of an advantage as he held over the Demon King due to sheer ingenuity, Dabura`s infrequent hits had taken a toll on him, and dodging around and working to supress his energy as he had wasn`t exactly easy to do in that state.
Dabura growled and rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision. Krillin rushed at him, the crowd quieted just so, Dabura`s large bat-like ears came into play and the Demon King jumped back, pooling ki into an open, flat hand and then slamming it forward on a wild guess. Krillin yelped as the energy was forcibly slammed into his chest and detonated, ripping part of his douji`s overshirt and flinging him out of the ring. Dabura howled cheerfully and dove forward, guessing again and once more hitting it right on the money...
Don't turn away, don't turn away
Come out swinging
Never alone again
Pain inside
Leads you through so you'll get by
"KAKUSANDAN!!!"
Dabura`s fist slammed into Krillin`s stomach right as the ex-monk threw both hands forward and unleashed the powerful attack into the other`s face. The Demon King roared and found himself carried back as Krillin slammed into the ground, his attack ending the moment it began. He bounced up with an explosion of dust and smashed against a wall, shattering a skull-sized imprint into it and sliding down onto the ground, right as Dabura landed outside of the ring with a hard crash. Dabura`s face was charred somewhat and he was sore all over the head, and Krillin was just plain sore all over as he got to his feet with a stumble and rubbed the small of his back ruefully.
"It`s over folks, after one incredible fight, it`s over!" Capel stated while gazing at the two fighters. "After a surprisingly balanced off match, Krillin has lost by only a few split seconds and a fluke to Dabura, who will go on to face his opponent from the last Tenkaichi Budoukai`s main event, Son Gohan!" The announcer explained as Krillin limped his way back to the lounge tiredly, met by a newly healed Gohan and Piccolo, as well as everyone else. Dabura wasn`t far behind, growling about damnable hell midgets as it were and looking a bit worse for wear overall.
With the first two chaotic matches out of the way, Vegeta smirked, moving to the exit of the lounge with Zangya in tow. With the two sharing sideways glances packed with unspoken insults, they walked from the lounge towards the scorched, still smoking, unrepaired ring, neither voicing anything.
Author`s Note: Thanks for readin`, leave a review and all that blah!
Gohan: *Snort.*
*Points at the plot device.* Don`t make me use this.
Gohan: ... *Flies off.*
BWAHA! Oh, and if anyone is wondering, EP means Extended Play. An idea I had from when I heard Linkin Park did a five song bonus CD called 'Hybrid Theory EP.' EPs for me are just short stories which tie into the main plot and explain or set things up to happen in another story. I already have one done for OP, 'In The End,' though I used the Reanimation lyrics for it. The original will show up eventually though, but it ain`t gonna be in a Gohan-centered piece...
Sh33p ou-*Earth blows up.*
Gohan: NYEH NYEH!
