Dragonball Z Alternate Path
Chapter: 10
The Quarter-Finals
Yamcha came back inside the fighters' lounge after celebrating his win outside in the ring.
"Hey guys! Look who's back!" he said triumphantly, but all he was met with were sour faces.
"Not all everybody congratulate me at once." Yamcha dryly said.
"Hey guys? I won. Isn't that worth celebrating?" questioned Yamcha.
"Yeah, you won but at what price? That guy shouldn't have given you that much trouble. Shouldn't that be more alarming to you?" asked Goku.
"Come on, that guy was weak! Sure he was a little tougher than normal but that shouldn't be that alarming to us." said Yamcha.
"Yeah, but those guys shouldn't be as powerful as they are. It's unnatural how powerful they've gotten. Something weird is going on out here. And we won't rest until we find out. Just watch your back in your next match. We don't know what surprises that Yamu guy has in store." warned Gohan.
"Sure, sure, whatever. You guys are way too paranoid for your own good." replied Yamcha with a nonchalant waive of his hand. Gohan could only hope that Yamcha would take it some serious consideration later, because it didn't look like he was taking it now.
"Okay, let's get on with the first match of the quarter-finals, the following match is promising to be a doozy! Our champion Gohan versus Shin!" announced the announcer.
"Well, that's my cue." said Gohan as he went out. He stayed out in front of the divider as he waited for his opponent.
Shin came out afterwards and walked up next to Gohan. "Well, this should prove very interesting." He said with his usual confidence.
'I just don't know how this guy could've psyched out Piccolo? It doesn't make any sense? He doesn't feel all that strong to me.' Thought Gohan as he kept an eye on his opponent. The two then started walking to the ring.
"Gohan is the defending champion and is a true master with dizzying amounts of power. Shin on the other hand we know little about since in his last match he won with throwing a punch! What does this means for our champion? Shin could have any number of tricks hiding up his sleeves." introduced the announcer.
The two fighters then stopped and faced each other in the ring.
'I just don't get it?' thought Gohan as he now faced his unknown opponent.
"Fighters ready? Then fight!" declared the announcer.
Gohan took up a defensive stance and readied himself for anything. The Supreme Kai just remained standing. The tension was high.
"Well this is what you said you wanted, now here it is. Your match against me." said out loud Gohan.
"Yes, indeed it is." replied Supreme Kai.
"You won't be intimidating this target like you did Piccolo. Whatever you have to do, you have to get through me." roughly said Gohan, fully intent in th look in his eyes.
"Yes, I know. That's why I'm going to have to do this." said Supreme Kai, as fist he looked at Kibito and he gave a nod. Supreme Kai gave a nod back and then turned to the announcer.
"Announcer, I forfeit." declared Supreme Kai. This reacted with shock and surprise by the surrounding people, including the announcer who reacted with a gritted teeth reaction.
"Alright? If that's what you want? But don't you want to give these people a good fight?" asked the announcer.
"Circumstances prevent me from doing so. Please tell the good people my humblest apologies." Said Supreme Kai as he bowed.
But no one was more surprised at this then Gohan, who was stunned still with his mouth open. The Supreme Kai then walked up to him.
"Why aren't you fighting? You said you wanted this. What happened?" Gohan asked.
"The current situation prevent me from fighting. I know you would give me a fight and unfortunately circumstances prevent me from roughhousing with you. There are bigger things happening here than me and you and I have more important things to do today. So good day." said the Supreme Kai as he then moved past and gave Gohan his surprise victory.
Supreme Kai walked past the divider and walked past the Z-Fighters wordlessly and walked back up to rejoin Kibito.
Gohan walked back to rejoin his friends.
"Sorry guys I just don't know what to say. The guy just forfeited on me again. There was nothing I could do." Said Gohan, addressing his friends.
"It's no problem Gohan. Something very weird is going on around here. Did he say anything that might be useful?" asked Goku.
"Yeah, he said that circumstances prevented him from roughhousing with me. And that he said that more important things were going on here than me and him." said Gohan.
"Then that just confirms my suspicions that something else is going on around here. Something bigger than us." said Goku.
""Now that that's over with, let's get on with the second match of the quarter-finals. Would Brody and Jun-Yah please come out to the ring?" declared the announcer.
Brody got up from leaning against the wall waiting for his turn and the mysterious Jun-Yah walked out from his corner.
The two fighters walked their way past the Z-Fighters at the entrance way, the fighters eyeing Brody hard as he walked past. Bitter feelings still reigned over his handling of Videl. For Jun-Yah they had almost no feelings at all as they didn't know him. The two fighters walked past.
"Who do you think is gonna win Gohan?" asked Krillin. "Honestly I don't know. Brody is very powerful, but Jun-Yah is very fast given from what I saw. And he could be hiding all sorts of power underneath that cloak. But personally, I'm hoping for Brody's victory. Because I want to beat him personally after what he did to Videl." Replied Gohan with clenched fist at that last remark.
The two fighters walked past the divider and started making their way to the ring.
"Brody is a prominent fighter at this tournament. Twice he's made it to the semi-finals and once to the finals. All three times he was stopped by none other than our champion Gohan. Those two have had many classics over the years. Their first match ended in a draw and ever since then victory has come up just short for Brody every single time. And those two have not just engaged in matches here in the World Tournament, but also in exhibition matches, other smaller tournaments, and various unsanctioned matches from what I've heard. Yes, those two have got quite the rivalry going. Most people put Brody as second only to Gohan himself in terms of strength." introduced the announcer.
"Jun-Yah by the opposite token we know very little about. Other than his name that he's given us and his record, dispatching Mighty Mask in quick fashion and earlier today he scored a record breaking over 5000 points on the punch machine to qualify. This mysterious contender proves he has some serious power, this match should be interesting." declared the announcer.
"I give this guy five seconds against Brody." said one fan in the stands. "Yeah, no one can take Brody down if he's wearing a silly disguise like that. But then no one stands a chance against Gohan." replied another.
"I don't know guys. This guy we could be blowing way out of proportion. I mean, he could be harmless for al we know?" questioningly said Krillin. "Yeah, Brody's about to take this guy down in five seconds, just you wait." said Yamcha, concurring with his buddy.
"Fighters ready? Alright you may begin the match!" declared the announcer from his safe position on at the edge of the stairs on the ground beyond the ring. Thinking better of it then to go out in the danger zone with these two fighters.
And with good reason because as soon as the word "go" was made Brody charged. Not taking any time to give to his opponent Brody went to bury his shoulder into the mysteriously cloaked Jun-Yah.
But Brody found himself passing through nothing as he walked straight through what appeared to be an Afterimage, an advanced one at that. The cloaked figure faded through like a ghost. Brody couldn't tell where the man had gone. No tell tale movement of super speed to follow, just straight up disappearance. This guy was good.
Too late Brody found himself streaking past and Jun-Yah found himself in another position, arms leveled with palms open, ready to shoot. Jun-Yah found himself shooting an invisible shot of energy and Brody found himself blasted by an invisible force which propelled him out of the ring.
But fortunately for Brody he caught himself and stopped himself with a burst of energy in the air. "So? Tall, dark and chicken shit knows a few tricks?" said Brody to himself. Letting his inner Vegeta go in this time. After spending so much time training him the man seems to have rubbed off on Brody.
"That's the way my student." muttered Vegeta to himself under low breath so no one could hear him.
Brody then slowly levitated himself to the ring and landed before Jun-Yah in the middle of the ring.
"So? You think it was pretty clever how you tricked me back there?" said Brody, his rhetorical question was met with stony silence from the cloaked figure.
"Well I won't be holding back as much this time!" said Brody as he then powered straight up to Super Saiyan 2. Quick flashing to this famous state, the quick change to the golden hair and yellow flame aura and sparking blue lightning surrounding him.
"Now let's see how you do when I take you on seriously." said Brody. The silent fighter then responded by powering up a aura of his own. This aura was very much like a Super Saiyan 2 aura with yellow aura and blue electricity coursing through.
"Hey, do you feel that guys?" asked Krillin. The others were feeling it too.
"Yeah' I've felt that energy somewhere else before. But where?" said Gohan.
Then, the expression of recognition dawned on Piccolo's face. "That's the energy from Cell!" exclaimed Piccolo.
"What!? No way!" exclaimed Yamcha. The others turned to Piccolo like he had a second head.
"Yeah, it's rough, and it's somewhat different in some areas. But there's no mistake, it's Cell's energy." said Piccolo.
"What!? But we all saw Cell disintegrated by Gohan's energy blast. We all saw it! We were all there." said Krillin. Meanwhile, Gohan himself was having some serious thoughts of his own.
'How did this guy get Cell's energy?' asked Gohan in his mind, looking out at the ring wondering while the others bickered about what they sensed.
Meanwhile, back in the ring, there was a match that was underway. Brody was having a serious standoff with the mysterious contender.
Then, at the drop of a hat Brody struck. Shooting in like a streak with punch leveled, but Jun-Yah stayed unmoving.
Once again Brody passed through the cloaked figure like a ghost, another advanced Afterimage. Only this time after Brody passed through and continued on he then found himself hitting and running into the knee of Jun-Yah. The irises turned white and Brody had his mouth wide open as he got the crushing knee from the side with his body fully staggered from the blow.
But soon the irises returned and Brody closed his mouth, smirking through clenched teeth. He returned the favor with throwing a left punch that connected. That lead to a series of punches and counter-punches from both sides and they settled into a fast melee of attacks.
Then, Brody's fist once again passed through an Afterimage. To tell the truth Brody was getting sick of this little game.
"Raaaaaaaah! Stand still you elusive worm!" screamed out Brody as he once again charged, streaking in at the standing Jun-Yah who was off in his own corner of the ring.
But Jun-Yah appeared to take Brody up on his challenge. But he had a surprise waiting. As soon as Brody reached the standing cloaked figure, Brody's fist and himself and his whole body bounced off like he was hitting a steel statue of the figure as it faded from existence.
Now Brody was getting sick and tired of these games. So that was when Brody concocted a plan. His savage nature belied a brilliant, brilliant fighter.
When next Jun-Yah appeared Brody once again seemed to charge at him. But this time Brody didn't send himself, he sent an Afterimage after him. Once Brody reached the body of Jun-Yah, both figures faded out in Afterimages.
Too late to matter as he had been already in motion, Jun-Yah from his Position fired a thin beam from one finger. A thin purple beam that passed through the Afterimages of both participants and drilled a small hole in the wall separating the audience from the ring.
Too late to realise his mistake, Jun-Yah from his position got drilled by a knee to the solar plexus.
"Guaaaarh!" went Jun-Yah as purple spittle of some kind came out of hole of the hood. Brody could see little inside the hood and he thought he saw the outline of a face. The face was attached to a very strange crown that looked like it had two horns-like things. But then the image was gone as the cloak returned to it's mysterious shade hiding the figure.
Brody next charged up a yellow ball in his hand and threw it right in the slit of the hood. The blast generated exploded out the limbs of the cloak and Jun-Yah was left tumbling head over heels down the ring.
Jun-Yah right himself and looked no worse for wear as Brody was then on top of him. The two exchanged blows at a rapid pace as Brody set the pace and was the one mostly offensive the whole time. Then the two vanished in a pair of blurs and appeared hovering over the ring, fighting. This time they were fighting upside down and were fighting down to the ring.
The next thing anyone knew they were lose to the surface of the ring when they separated. Both contenders streaked in and landed to the opposite edges of the ring. They then skipped off and launched themselves at each other once again. Then when they reached each other they started to fight. Again going for a fast paced kind of fighting as their arms were barely below blurs.
Then the two started to levitate and move up into the air. Once they were high into the air they stopped and separated.
"You know, for a cloaked freak you're not half bad at fighting." complimented Brody to his opponent, a rare feat. The figure didn't respond with anything, not even an acknowledgement.
"What? Too chicken over hiding your identity to even acknowledge me? Well that does it, prepare to be unveiled!" said Brody as he then reached in for the hood. But all he got was empty air as Jun-Yah vanished in a blur.
Brody tried again at the next appearance of Jun-Yah but this time he also didn't get anything. Time and time again Brody reached in only for Jun-Yah to blur away. Finally at the last time Brody swiped to get the hood but Jun-Yah blurred away and appeared down and away between the stadium and Brody high in the sky.
Brody got frustrated and screamed in frustration at the top of his lunges. Next he spread his arms out and his legs spread. Then he brought his hands forward and cupped them horizontally as he gathered an enormous amount of energy for the move taught to him by his mentor.
Meanwhile, he was casting some worried eyes down in the fighters' lounge.
"No, that's way too much energy." said Goku.
"No, this place is way too much crowded to be firing energy blasts like that. He's aiming for the stadium. We can't let him do it!" exclaimed Gohan. Meanwhile, Vegeta was watching his student with a impassive face.
"I won't be playing around with a petty cloaked punk like you who hides behind a cloak!" yelled out Brody.
"Now disappear!" he yelled as he charged up a yellow electrified ball of energy in between his hands.
"FINAL FLASH!" screamed out Brody as he fired the distinctive yellow beam at his opponent.
But Jun-Yah was equal to the task as he stuck out his arms in an appearance to catch the beam. The beam approached and as it struck there was a flash. The energy stopped and swirled in a giant mass of swirling energy floating in the air. Jun-Yah had apparently caught the attack and stopped it. He then went around it and kicked it away.
The energy went shooting away into the ocean somewhere near the island and exploded in a massive gusher of water, the attack fallen harmlessly.
The two fighters then floated down to the ring, Brody left wondering what had happened to his attack.
'How did he do that? Better yet, how is he still alive after that? Vegeta-sensei has been holding back on me.' thought Brody as they touched down in the ring, the danger averted.
"Holy cow! Did you guys see that?" exclaimed Krillin back in the fighters' lounge.
"Yeah, it looks like Vegeta taught Brody the Final Flash." Said Goku, still not believing his eyes about that.
"Yeah, but not only that, Jun-Yah was able to counter it and block it and then avert a disaster. Who is this Jun-Yah?" said Gohan as he too was disbelieving of what had just happened. Vegeta was shocked too, his prized attack was blocked. There was only once that had been done and that was… No it couldn't be… Vegeta thought.
But meantime, there was a match that was still on.
"Well, you certainly surprised me with that last maneuver. You're certainly proving to be a worthy challenge. But… let's see how you do when I fight at full strength." said Brody as he separated his arms and prepared to power up again.
"HAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaah!" screamed Brody as he powered up. Green circles-like shock waves rippled off of him and then a white explosion of circle exploded out from him in the center,
From the flash in the eye of the storm came Brody, fully buffed up and powered up to his Legendary Super Saiyan transformation. He was still powering up when Jun-Yah decided to strike.
A red aura enveloped Jun-Yah and his robes and he shot in with a whining sound accompanying him. He then shot in and the next thing anyone knew was Jun-Yah with his fist buried in Brody's Legendary Super Saiyan gut. Brody was in the middle of gasping with his mouth hanging open.
Brody then shrunk down his hair going back to black and his eyes with his irises still gone. He then dropped down, unconscious.
To the Z-Fighters, this was shocking beyond belief. Someone had actually knocked out Brody while he was in his Legendary Super Saiyan form.
"I-I see it but I don't believe it. Tell me I'm dreaming? I mean, Brody was a Legendary Super Saiyan and someone other than Gohan knocked him out? Tell me this guy isn't real. I mean even Gohan couldn't do that when he fought his father." Said Krillin with no small amount of fear. The other were no less amazed at the feat then he was.
"Did you you notice it?" asked Piccolo, looking as serious as ever.
"Yeah, you?" replied Gohan, himself looking seriously at the situation.
"Yeah, he may have been a Legendary Super Saiyan but he let his guard down. Trusting in his powers to take the blow." replied Piccolo, ever the analyst.
"Yeah, and did you notice that attack? It was the Kaioken attack." said Gohan, his eyes shifting over to Piccolo's direction even though Gohan had his back turned to him.
'Where did he get that attack? Who taught him?' asked Gohan of himself in his mind.
The announcer finally got out from behind cover as he was cowering the whole time. "M-m-m-mercy, is it over?" he said as he peered from behind cover. He then ran over to check on Brody.
"He's out cold. The winner by default is Jun-Yah!" declared the announcer. A pair a stretchers came and took Brody away.
The audience were dumbfounded that Brody had lost. People were bug eyed, shocked and stunned beyond belief. People now feared Jun-Yah.
Jun-Yah calmly made his way out of the ring and through the entrance way of the main building housing the fighters' lounge. Jun-Yah made his way passed the Z-Fighters, people like Krillin, Yamcha and Mr. Satan giving him a wide berth because they feared him. Others like Gohan and company just eyed him seriously like he was a danger. Vegeta eyed him with calm, like he was analysing him, the man who beat his student.
"Man, I gotta contend with freaks like that? This guy beat Brody, and he was a Legendary Wacthamacallit." Said Mr. Satan with no small amount of fear.
"Don't worry dad. You won't have to contend against that guy until the finals. Worry about your own opponent first." reassured Videl. Giving her father a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"Now, let's get on with the third match of the quarter-finals. Let's get Mr. Satan and Jewel out here!" declared the announcer.
Mr. Satan quickly got over his worries and got his game face on. Jewel on the other hand had been busy sitting in a corner. But as soon as he heard his name being called up he opened his eyes and lifted up.
The two fighters then walked past the divider between the entrance way.
"Jewel is an accomplished fighter at this tournament. He already made it to this round in last years tournament. These two have fought before in an exhibition match years ago. That match went the distance and Mr. Satan won that match by a narrow margin. What does this mean for our former champion? Has Jewel improved enough to topple this star of the ring? Watch and find out!" introduced the announcer.
The two fighters faced each other in the center of the ring.
"Face it Satan, I've always been a challenge for you. What does this mean when I've been improving all this time?" asked a confident Jewel before the match.
Hercule however kept his eyes shut and regarded him with calm. "It's true that you used to be a challenge for me. But now I have evolved." said Satan.
"Fighters are you ready?" declared the announcer. Jewel slid into a stance while Mr. Satan just remained standing.
"Then begin!" declared the announcer.
Immediately after the match had begun, Mr. Satan vanished in a blur. "Huh? Where did he go!?" asked out loud Jewel. The next thing he knew was he heard someone go "DYNAMITE KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!" and the next thing he saw was Mr. Satan coming at him with a flying kick.
There was nothing Jewel could do as the kick hit him square in the side of the head and he went flying. He crashed into the wall dividing the audience from the ring.
"Told you I'd evolved past guys like you. Now guys like you aren't even a challenge for me" said Mr. Satan.
"Woah! What a kick! That was too fast for the eye to see! Mr. Satan has been training these past six years. He now appears to have the powers similar to our famed Z-Fighters." said the announcer. The crowd cheered wildly. Mr. Satan just pumped his fist in the air as he left.
Hercule then made his way to his friends in the fighters' lounge.
"Way to go Satan." cheered Krillin, getting a fist pump. "Yeah, no kidding, you put some serious good use of your training. "Thanks but it's all thanks to your training that I was able to do that." Thanked Mr. Satan.
"Way to go daddy, you may have the makings of a real warrior some day." said his daughter Videl. But that comment only seemed to dampen Mr. Satan's mood.
"Great, when I have my daughter telling me I might have a future, I know I've been surpassed." Said the rain clouds wearing Satan.
"Now would Yamcha and Yamu please come to the ring?" announced the announcer.
"Well, that's my cue. Catch you later guys." said an ever confident Yamcha. But Goku grabbed his shoulder before he went.
"Remember your last fight? This guy could have any number of surprises for you." said Goku. "I know." Said Yamcha, before he tugged his arm off and went his way.
The two fighters made their way to the ring. Soon they were standing apart in the middle of the ring.
"You're one of those guys Shin said would attack Gohan." accused Yamcha. "That's right." Replied Yamu with an impassive face. "Well I'm going to make you pay for that. For even being a threat to my friend." Said Yamcha as he slid into his signature Wolf-Fang Fist stance. Yamu got noticeably nervous with sweat beating down his face at that.
"Fighters are you ready?" went the announcer, but Yamu held his hand in a motion to stop.
"Wait, before we begin. I'd like to announce my withdrawal from the match." announced Yamu.
"Uh? Does that mean that you're quitting? Before the match has even officially begun?" asked out loud the announcer.
"Yes." was the simple response.
"What is this? The tournament for withdrawals?" asked the announcer out loud as the crowd were throwing all sorts of things at the ring for another withdrawal.
"But Okay, the winner by default is Yamcha!" declared the announcer.
Yamcha should be elated, but currently he was having other concerns. "What did you have to quit for?" asked Yamcha.
"It's clear to me that I'm no match for you and I have more important things to concern myself with then you." answered Yamu as he then made his way out of the ring.
"This is an exciting moment folks. Because just now Yamcha has advanced for the first time in his career to the semi-finals. Isn't coming out of retirement good?" said the announcer.
Yamcha then tured around and looked at him. "Oh yeah? That's right!" he exclaimed before he broke out and lifted both arms into the air and started to celebrate, with the crowd cheering along with him.
"Looks like Yamcha is happy." said Goku. "Well he should be, it's a huge accomplishment for him. Coming out of retirement this year sure had some benefits." said Gohan. "We should let him celebrate." said Goku. "Yeah, but wish it was under less concerning circumstances." said Gohan. "Yeah, that's another time someone has told us that they're withdrawing over bigger concerns than us." said Goku. "Yeah, it's majorly stressing. What is going on around here?" asked Gohan. "I don't know let's just let Yamcha have his moment for now." said Goku. "Yeah, I hear that." said Gohan as the father and son duo then waived over at Yamcha who waived back as he celebrated in the ring.
Once Yamcha had stopped celebrating and was back with the guys it was time for the next match. "And now. The first match of the semi-finals, we have Gohan against Jun-Yah. This match should prove intriguing." declared the announcer.
Author's Final Thoughts: And there you have it, the matches for the quarter-finals. I'm sorry as once again I've left you waiting. I've got to admit my mind just wasn't in it much this past week. I've been watching a lot of tennis. I love watching tennis. So the match between Brody and Jun-Yah is mostly inspired by the match between Vegeta and Jun-Yah from Hybrid Theory. So unless you've read that series you won't figure out who is Jun-Yah until then. But I promise I won't take so long with the next one. The next one features one of the most epic matches of all time for me. I've got it all figured out in my head so it shouldn't take too long. Then again it's going to be one of my longest chapters ever so prepare for some lengthy reading and a bit a of a wait time. But other than that I promise to work on it as hard as I can. Well anyway, until then…