Chapter 8-The Finals Begin:
As the two fighters arrived at the waiting area, Tien patted Chiaotzu on he back. "You did great, Chiaotzu. I can't believe you've improved so much," he complemented.
"Thanks, Tien. It means a lot coming from you," Chiaotzu said with a happy smile, looking up at Tien.
As the two reached the waiting area, Tien turned and addressed Yamcha. "Be careful during your match. We still don't know what kind of tricks he can pull, and he gives me a really bad feeling."
Yamcha grinned and said, "Don't worry, I've got this in the bag. I've been working on some new techniques."
"Just don't let your guard down. That guy was just playing with me the whole time and he doesn't even have a ki signature to sense," Krillin added. Yamcha trotted up to the stage and entered his fighting stance, facing the hulking Nine.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen! This will be the last match before the finals. Whomever wins this fight wil get to face off against Tien for the championship," the announcer said, briefly pausing and turning towards the fighters. "Contestants, begin!"
Yamcha briefly sized up his opponent, looking over him. Yamcha's eyes fell upon the Red Ribbon logo that Krillin mentioned. 'I wonder...maybe he used to be a soldier in the Red Ribbon army?'Yamcha theorized. 'Whatever, it doesn't really matter. I'll beat this guy, and then I'll finally beat Tien.'
Yamcha pushed off the ground towards Nine, swinging a punch at Nine's jaw. The massive man tilted his head and narrowly avoided the punch. Nine buried his fist into Yamcha's gut, causing the ex bandit to fold over. Nine then grabbed Yamcha's head in both hands and slammed his knee into Yamcha's face. A small trail of blood leaked from his nose as he staggered back. Nine jabbed at Yamcha, but Yamcha recovered and managed to block the attack.
Yamcha and Nine began trading blows, moving around the arena stage. Neither fighters seemed to have an advantage over the other. Suddenly, Yamcha was sent flying back by a kick. He managed to right himself in time to dodge Nine's elbow. Yamcha swerved around Nine to avoid a punch and slammed a double fisted blow into the back of his head. Nine stumbled slightly, but managed to recover and leap over a kick from Yamcha.
The lavendar skinned fighter whirled around and jammed his elbow into Yamcha's ribs, winding him. Nine raised his leg and swung it down heavily, slamming into Yamcha's forehead and sending him flying towards the ground. Yamcha only just barely stopped himself before going out of bounds and quickly flew back up at Nine.
Yamcha began a rapid barrage of attacks that were all blocked or dodge by Nine. Nine reached up and caught Yamcha by the wrist. Yamcha struggled against his opponent, attempting to wrench his hand free, but to no avail. Nine suddenly swung him downwards and fired a quick energy blast down after him.
Yamcha raised his arms to form an X just as the blast connected. There was a small explosion and Yamcha was sent hurtling towards the tiles even faster than before. Yamcha's back crashed against the tiles, knocking the air out of his lungs. Nine was sailing towards him, knee at the ready for another attack. Yamcha tried to get out of the way, but before he could, Nine's knee rammed into his gut and knocked the air out of him once more.
Nine backflipped away and stood with his arms crossed, waiting for his opponent to stand up. Yamcha slowly staggered to his feet, gasping for air. "Dammit...how can this be happening...?" Yamcha muttered under his breath. Yamcha crouched low before springing off the tiles at his opponenet.
"Try this on for size, tough guy! Wolf Fang Fist!" Yamcha landed a spinning kick across Nine's face, causing him to stumble a little. Before he could regain his balance, Yamcha began raining doezens of blows on his unguarded body. "HYAA!" With a yell, he landed a heavy blow with both hands, launching Nine away.
It seemed like Nine was going to hit the arena wall as he went flying through the air. Just before he could though, he suddenly stopped in midair and flew quickly at Yamcha. He came in from the side, ramming a punch into his abdomen. Yamcha flipped head over heels for a few moments before stopping himself. Nine stood waiting, beckoning him with a finger.
"Why, you...!" Yamcha lunged forward and swung an uppercut. Nine stepped back and avoided the attack. Yamcha feinted a punch, and as Nine went to block that, he suddenly kicked Nine back. "Now I'll end this! Kamehameha!" Yamcha thrust his hands forward and fired off the blue energy attack. It quickly rushed towards Nine, covering the distance in a matter of seconds. Nine barely had time to raise his arms before it collided into him.
"Ha, how'd ya like that? Looks like I..." Yamcha trailed off, his opponent revealed to be relatively undamaged except for some minor burns on his fore arms. Yamcha stared in amazement. 'Damn, he wasn't even fazed by that. Looks like I have to use 'that' move...'
"Tch...I'm a little ticked off I'll have to show off my secret technique before my fight with Tien, but there's no avoiding it. Prepare yourself, buddy." A blue orb of energy began forming in his hand. Yamcha threw it, but Nine easily sidestepped it. "Ha, idiot!" Yamcha swung his hand and redirected the attack towards Nine's back. Nine suddenly leapt over it. The attacks course changed again and spun around, flying straight towards him.
With a burst of speed, Nine flew around the attack and flew full speed at Yamcha. Before Yamcha could cancel his attack and block, Nine slammed his fist forward, breaking Yamcha's nose under the pressure and sending him flying out of bounds. Yamcha lay slumped against the arena walls, clutching his broken nose. "M-my beautiful nose..."
Yamcha was attended to by some doctor's that were on stand by for contestants in case that got too seriously injured or needed treatment for any wounds. "What an exciting match that was. It seems that Nine will be the one to go against Tien," the announcer said.
There was a brief break before the finals. Tien walked into the ring, glaring at Nine as he sauntered into place. "Now, for the final match! We've seen some amazing fights this tournament, and I expect no less from this fight. We have defending champion Tien facing off against Nine, who has show amazing fighting skills so far. Will Tien be able to defend his title, or will Nine takeover as champ?"
The gong sounded, the sound thundering through the arena. The triclops was the first to move, not wasting any time. He zipped forward, aiming a palm strike at Nine's chest. Nine slapped his arm away and kicked Tien in the rips, sending him skidding back. Tien quickly lunged forward again and swung his fist forward.
VSSSH! Tien's attack passed through thin air and Nine reappeared behind him, his boots landing between Tien's shoulder blades. Tien tumbled forward, losing his balance and falling over. Before he could hit the tiles, Nine moved in front of Tien and slammed his knee into his ribs, sending him flying in the air.
Tien stopped himself a few dozen feet in the air, wiping spit from his mouth. Tien carefully studied his opponents movements as Nine zoomed towards him. Nine threw an uppercut, but Tien was ready and caught the fist and replied with his own. It collided with Nine's cheek and sent him flying back a few feet. Tien flew forward and guided his elbow towards Nine's gut, sending Nine crashing into the tiles below.
Nine lay in a small crater as Tien hurtled down through the air like a comet. Nine pulled himself to his feet and raised his fore arms, blocking Tien's kick. The impact sent a shockwave through the arena and shook the ground. Tien pushed off Nine's fore arms and landed lightly on the arena tiles, entering his stance.
Nine made a grab for Tien, but the triclops was already on the move, evading Nine's attempt. Tien wheeled around, his boot colliding with the side of Nine's head and knocking him off balance, then following up with an uppercut to the chin that made the fighter stagger back. Tien jumped forward with a spinning kick, and Nine ducked under the attack. Nine's feet shot upwards, but Tien caught Nine by the ankles and swung him away.
Tien launched himself at Nine, and the two collided in the air. Nine wheeled around for an attack, but found himself having to dodge a volley of ki blasts. Nine rushed at Tien, planting his fist into the fighter's face and catapulting him away. Nine thundered after Tien, landing a powerful punch to the stomach. Nine followed it up with even more punches, each one pushing Tien back. Tien grunted with each hit, unable to counter. His third eye suddenly glowed and fired a thin beam at Nine. Nine barely managed to avoid the attack and before he could regain his balance, Tien kicked him down and away.
Both fighters landed on the stage again, clashing again. They traded blows, zipping around the stage. Both fighters were completely concentrated on the battle, and each hit sent shock waves reverberating through the air. There was a particularly loud shock wave as the two of them both threw punches simultaneously. They both somersaulted away, facing each other with a good distance between each other.
Nine dashed forward and the two clashed. Their hands clasped together as they struggled for dominance, pushing with all their might. "So tell me, why can't I sense your energy? I should be able to sense it if you're fighting like this," Tien questioned as he began pushing Nine back.
Nine grinned, and in his grating voice replied, "If it really matters to you, I suppose I'll tell you. I am an android created by the Red Ribbon army. My purpose is to eliminate King Piccolo and his sons."
"So, you're on our side? That's surprising, I couldn't imagine the Red Ribbon army doing anything good like that," Tien said, a hint of surprise in his voice.
Nine gave a sharp, disrupting laugh, like nails on a chalkboard. "You think we'd be on the same side as you? No, nothing of the sorts. Once Piccolo's out of the way, any living participants of the tournament will be killed. Than we will be able to take over the world unimpossed!"
"Like hell, you will!" Tien flared up his energy and headbutted Nine before slamming his knee into the android's gut. Tien followed up with a haymaker that knocked the android on its back. Nine pulled himself up and dodged a wild kick from Tien. Nine flipped over Tien and landed behind him, driving an elbow into the back of the triclops head.
Nine then kicked Tien's legs out from under him and he fell backwards. Nine's knee crashed into Tien's spine, rewarding him with a gasp of pain from Tien. Grabbing Tien by the back of his neck, he slammed his face into the tiles with enough forcing to crack them. Nine grinded Tien's face against the tiles as Tien struggled to get out of Nine's grip.
Tien's aura suddenly exploded out from under Nine and knocked the android away. Tien flew forward, his fist cocked back. Nine swung his fist forward, but it just passed through an after image. Tien suddenly reappeared behind Nine and swung his elbow, sending him skidding across the tiling.
Nine stood up and flew forward like a missile. Tien ducked under Nine and placed both his hands on the ground before thrusting his legs upward, knocking Nine into the air. Tien reappeared behind Nine and swung a right hook, but Nine spun out of the way and countered with a flurry of his own attacks.
Tien dodged each one of the attacks, sweat beading on his forehead. As one of Nine's jabs sailed past his head, Tien suddenly brought his knee up, catching Nine in the stomach. Before Nine could straighten himself up, Tien's elbow came flying into Nine's chin. Tien brought a double fisted attack down upon Nine's head and launched him downward. Nine flipped and landed on his feet atop the stage.
Tien didn't let up, flying down and showering Nine with dozens of punches and kicks. Nine was thrown off balance, and Tien kicked Nine away. Tien took to the air and formed a diamond with his hands. "Kikoho!"
Nine quickly fired a blazing red orb of energy up, colliding with the attack. There was a brief struggle before the attacks detonated. Nine suddenly appeared in the air, jabbing at Tien. Tien barely had time to dodge and countered with a left hook, but Nine tilted back and avoided it. Nine brought his knee up, causing Tien to double over in pain as it was firmly planted in his gut. A mixture of blood and spit came out of Tien's mouth.
Tien righted himself and his elbow landed against Nine's cheek. Nine was briefly pushed back by the attack before backhanding Tien. Tien was sent spinning by a doublefisted attack. Tien stopped himself and swerved just in time to avoid two red eyeblasts. Nine was suddenly next to Tien, his fist painfully slamming into Tien's cheek.
Tien landed on the tiles, panting heavily. Nine set down just a few feet away from Tien. "Impressive...I never imagined an organic being could be this strong. You're much more fun to play with then the others..." Nine goaded, an eerie grin encompassing his face.
"Dammit! I'd better think of something quick. This guy doesn't seem tired at all. Then again, he is an android." Tien began racking his brain, thinking of possible move or strategies he could use.
Nine slowly walked towards Tien. "Are you tired already? The fun is just beginning."
Oh, wow. Nine being an android was totally a surprise and wasn't obvious at all. I can't believe I didn't see that coming. Will Tien be able to beat the android? Or will the others have to get involved? And what has Piccolo Junior been thinking this entire time? Guess you'll have to find out next chapter, which will conclude the tournament.
Power Level(s):
Nine-400
Q&A:
Q: Half of 260 is 130
A: Yes, yes it is.
Q: I'm glad to see that there is an update for this story. The tournament seems to be going really well and I am curious to see how things will turn out. The fight between Krillin and android number nine was well done. I figured that android number nine would win but he had more trouble than I thought he would. As for the rest of the fights they were very entertaining. I can't wait for the next update and to see how things turn out. there wasn't much development for this chapter so I couldn't go into detail about that LOL, however, the content of the chapter was excellent.
A: Glad you thought so! And as for Nine, he might have a tendency to screw around, though there are reasons why.
