Gotta Get Away
Author`s Note: Heh heh... Almost to the finish. As for diamondgirl`s previous question about Videl`s crystal that I forgot to answer: You`ll see. The same can be said for the other question any readers are probably asking...
Disclaimer: I own a bottle... Of... WATER!
Hybrid Theory: Opaque Portents
Gotta Get Away
Silence followed Vegeta`s exit among the crowds, most of whom were shocked to see him spring back up almost unharmed, and all of whom were extremely surprised to watch him fly away in a burst of speed that defied the abilities of their eyes to even follow as more than a blur. In that crowd however, there was a select number of people that had been stunned out of their senses several times over, in specific to this crowd was one Bulma Briefs, currently staring off in the direction that her husband had vanished to. It had been rather disgusting that he had been so beaten down - and it had been the first time Bulma had even seen him in action outside of those rare instances where she saw him training or sparring with Gohan or Goten and Trunks.
Sobering, really. Especially when Vegeta could be, and was considered the single second strongest figure on Earth, or at least one of the strongest. "Not that surprising, really," Roshi stated. "Vegeta`s pretty bullheaded, he`ll prob`ly be gone for a week or two," he added a few seconds later. Bulma grimaced. "He`d better not," she uttered. "Want me to go talk to him?" Yamcha asked, glancing over at Bulma. "No," Bulma replied. "Can you sense where he is though?" She asked. "Yeah, he`s in his usual spot to sulk around when things aren`t going the way he wants," Yamcha replied calmly. "Good," she replied sharply. "We`ll just have to go get him after the tournament. And after I make sure Trunks is asleep."
"Puar and I could babysit him again if you want," Yamcha offered, earning a slight groan from Puar. She still remembered the last time they`d babysat that little lavender haired terror. "If you`re up for it then... Sure." With a shrug, Bulma rubbed her temple with two fingers, glancing towards the lounge. "Speaking of Trunks and Goten, how long do you think it`ll be before ChiChi drags them back kicking and screaming?"
"Knowing her... Five more minutes tops if they don`t cobble themselves together and fly away," Yamcha answered with a smirk. "We can only hope for their sake," Roshi added with a snicker.
"How long before the next match?" Gohan asked curiously, sitting with a lean onto the edge of the doorway. "Probably long enough for them to clean up and re-tile the ring. Again," Zangya answered cynically. It was the only thing anyone had said in the past minutes since Vegeta had left and the initial questions had all been asked and answered. Videl had taken a seat on the floor a few feet behind Gohan, leaned back-first to the wall, the two cyborgs were still sitting next to each other on a bench, though now joined by Krillin, who was being oddly quiet and just watching things, probably since no one was bothering to make a conversation. Piccolo and Zangya both stood next to the sign that marked the space just behind the exit of the lounge. Chaozu and Tien were quietly standing a few feet right of the bench, and Jun-Yah was no where in sight. Suta was resting himself on the bench across from the twin cyborgs and Krillin, and Hercule had just taken up a standing spot between Gohan and Videl, unable to even think of anything to say or do.
It was probably one of the first times in nearly twenty years that the former Shinto priest in training had ever found himself with nothing to say.
Either way, the seconds and the minutes ticked by as the clean-up crews went to work all over again. One could almost see in their eyes that they were beginning to get more than a little annoyed at all of this, but they understood that if it was necessary it was worth doing. As the minutes slid by like sand in an hour glass, moment by moment.
Finally though, the dead quiet was shattered into thousands upon thousands of pieces as Capel`s voice boomed through the ears of everyone in and within a block of the arena, echoing through the minds of hundreds, maybe even a few thousand given how tightly packed the arena was. "Well, since the arena`s been quick fixed - Again... - Who wants to see the next match?!" He yelled to the people, who replied with one massive 'YES!' as a result. Capel gave one of his trademarked poses, something people had learned to tolerate over the years - if not like or love - and then went to work hyping the match that was to come.
"Our next match is going to be a contest of old gaurd against the new, former champion versus a first time Budoukai fighter, Tienshinhan against Suta!" Capel exclaimed to the roars of the crowd, continuing a few moments later. "Tien has taken part in at the past Tenkaichi Budoukai tournaments, as well as his squashing match against Spopovitch, not to mention his impressive first time run as the Tenkaichi Budoukai champion, losing only to Son Goku in the semi-finals of the 23rd Budoukai. The 'Three Eyed Man' is something of a legend in his own right, and ranks as the second youngest champion in history, having won the 22nd Budoukai at the age of twenty and been edged out by just a year or two when Son Goku won the 23rd Budoukai. It`ll be spectacular, win, lose or draw, to see if he can regain the success of his first run on the third go-round!"
Tien stood at the edge of the doorway, third eye closed for the time being as his remaining two focused on Suta, who stood at the same height and bore a similar build to the one Tien had during his early-to-mid-twenties. Suta on the other hand was cracking his knuckles and sweating lightly, highly anticipating the chance to take on one of the legends of the world`s most prestigious martial arts competition.
Capel let his lungs rest for a few seconds before introducing the two, even as they walked towards the ring. "Suta on the other hand, is a little known practitioner of the Ryusennin school of fighting, but an accomplished fighter all the same. A hard fighter from far north, Suta`s record in two of the more recent Northern Budoukais speaks for itself, despite sustaining internal injuries that prevented him from moving on to the Tenkaichi stage sooner. At the age of twenty years old, he looks to be one of recent crop of prodigies making themselves known to the world. Does anyone else think he`s going to make it very far in the Tenkaichi this year?" Capel asked after his lengthy explanation of the second fighter, who now climbed the stairs alongside Tien.
I'm getting edgy all the time
There's someone around me just a step behind
It's kinda scary, the shape I'm in
"This should be interesting," Tien mumbled as the crowd roared out a 'yes' to Capel. Suta gave a brow raise in Tien`s general direction while rubbing his eyes with those fingerless Thai kick-boxing gloves he wore. "Nervous?" Tien asked. Suta only gave a nod, his previously laid back personna having melted away in the face of an opponent he felt he stood exactly zilch in the way of a chance against. "Being nervous won`t win a match," Tien chastised, moving into the center of the ring while Suta moved just a few feet opposite of him.
Suta only offered a chuckle. "Fear helps your reaction time, I suppose," he replied after a moment. "But absolute calm helps your thought processes, which in turn can allow you to plan three moves ahead which can in turn allow you to chop down any edge in reaction time," Tien replied with a scientific smirk. So rare, the chance was, for him to be an utter smartass like he wanted to be. Suta didn`t reply in words, but the slight twitch from his cheek said it all.
"Ready... And... FIGHT!" The announcer demanded with a loud yell over the microphone.
Suta slid into a stance of fighting that resembled a combination of traditional martial arts and American-styled boxing. Tien almost wanted to snicker at it, but he didn`t. Instead, he gave Suta the once over and then decided to go easy on the young fighter, jumping forward and putting a twist into his movement, allowing his leg to sling around towards Suta`s face. The younger fighter countered with unexpected mastery, sliding into a breakdance-like twist followed by a handspring, which allowed his feet to slam right into Tien`s cheek.
It caught the veteran off gaurd and he flew from the air and to the ground on his feet, truly unharmed but stunned despite himself. "Interesting counter," he uttered thoughtfully. Suta, now righted and back on his feet, smirked. "My teacher liked trying that kind of kick, I know the counters to it by heart these days," he replied. Tien gave a nod and then shifted into his typically serious trademark of an expression, blurring forward and reappearing behind Suta.
The other fighter didn`t even have time to block, flying forward and right off of the ground almost instantly and leaving Tien standing with his hand out in the typical pose of his original variation of the kiai yelling attack. Suta halted himself on the tiling of the ring, feeling a bit lightheaded but easily shaking it out. Tien quickly sensed the other`s increasing power and dove out of the way the moment Suta finished powering up, avoiding a fairly powerful version of the attack that Suta used to down Killa.
Rather than hit the crowd however, Suta, who`s hand was still anchored firmly in the base of the trail of the attack, shifting his fist to point at Tien, which caused the fireball at the head of it all to pull around in a complete 180* turn. Tien barely had time to react, backflipping up over the attack and letting out another kiai, which slammed Suta`s fireball into the tiling and detonated the entire chain of it to within a few feet of the other fighter`s hand.
The walls are shakin` and they' re closing in
Too fast or a bit too slow
I'm paranoid of people and it's starting to show
"Eep," Suta muttered, releasing the remainder of the attack at the last second and hopping back. Tien almost had to avoid keeling over in a fit of laughter, but he managed to avoid doing so. Touching back down a few feet to the right of the horse-shoe shaped smoke cloud, he looked over at Suta with a smirk. "Need to improve some of your attacks, eh?" He asked. "I`m workin` on it," Suta replied almost dejectedly. Tien shook his had at the sense of deja vu it all gave him, then burst forward and drove his fist squarely into Suta`s gut.
"Don`t let your gaurd down with small talk," he advised sharply, just above a whisper while forcing Suta right up off of the mat. "Same to you," Suta replied, grasping onto the other fighter`s wrist and letting out a loud shout before letting go and allowing his momentum to carry him away, through the air and landing in a crouch on the tiling of the ring. He slid along several feet backwards, arriving to his stop in a kneel. For several seconds, Tien felt nothing out of the order.
And then his skin felt like it was burning off. And then, all around him, an aura formed, solid blue flame, which promptly consumed him from the sight of others before detonating in a ball of orange-red fire that arched up several dozen feet into the air before dispersing at it`s peak. "Fire Bomb technique," Suta explained with a wary smirk, holding his stomach and breathing heavily. "Gotta love it, huh?" He asked. Tien`s reply wasn`t immediate, but it could certainly be felt as not one, not two and not even three Tiens emerged from the cloud of smoke, but a quartet of them.
"Twelve Eyes Technique," they explained in the simplest english possible, all four of them voicing the words in perfect unison, each one looking as though they were having trouble avoiding having to snicker at Suta`s expression. Suta twitched visibly, especially since none of them even seemed hurt by what he`d done to the original. One by one, the grouping moved until they were spread out in front of Suta, each one in the same stance.
There`s one guy that I can't shake
Over my shoulder is a big mistake
Sitting on the bed
Or lying wide awake
Suta grimaced for a moment and then dove towards the nearest Tien clone to him, power flaring up around his right forearm as he crossed the distance. In a blur, he touched down in front of the clone and slung his arm forward, a ki-packed punch with more strength than Tien thought the young man capable of performing. The clone was faster and stronger though, dodging his head out of the way and slamming an open palm into the other`s stomach, picking Suta up off the ground and throwing him into the air.
Suta had only barely recovered from that when another clone flew in and slammed his leg right into the younger fighter`s back. Rather than yeilding and flying out of the ring though, Suta flipped forward from the impact, holding energy in his entire right forearm and hand and uppercutting the Tien clone right in the jaw. He heard a yelp and fell towards the ground, meeting a knee into the forehead while touching down. Suta wobbled backwards and then collapsed to his knees, dazed and now bleeding somewhat as the clone fell to the ring and lay there, unconcious.
"Please let the rules work," he begged, hoping the clone would stay down long enough for a ten count to remove him, all the while falling out of the way of another speedy kick and successfully tripping the older, more experienced, stronger fighter up before slamming both of his knees into the back of the Tien clone`s own right knee. There was a snapping sound and the clone yelled loudly while Suta found himself yanked right off the ring floor and slung across the mat, moving by the already downed Tien and meeting the elbow of the fourth, which caught him in the side, between the bottom left rib and the hip bone.
With a yell, Suta flopped onto his stomach on the ground while the Tiens grouped up and pulled themselves back together as one, though this one looked a bit scorched, bruised on the chin and walked with a subtle limp. Suta barely moved for a few seconds but made it to his hands and knees by the five count, and was on his feet by eight.
"Guess I can hurt you after all," he muttered out with a daze before cartwheeling towards Tien and then handspringing himself to the other fighter`s side. What would`ve been Tien`s neck only felt like solid titanium though, and Suta recoiled his arm quickly with a swollen hand now. "What the hell?"
"I decided to stop playing around," Tien answered before smacking Suta on the side of the face. Blood spurted from a busted cheek and Suta fell unconcious to the mat, several yards from the still limping Tien.
There's demons in my head
And it's more than I can take
I think I'm on a roll
But I think it's kinda weak
"One... Two... Three..."
Tien cut off the monk who was administering the count while turning towards the lounge. "Don`t bother, he`s unconcious," he explained simply before making his way back towards the fighter`s lounge. As Tien made his way towards the lounge however, Suta`s eyes pried themselves open and, the moment Tien started moving down the steps, Suta got back up onto all fours, then fell over onto his rear end and sat there, smiling like an idiot.
"Suta wins!"
"WHAT?!" Tien demanded, shooting a glare at Capel, who pointed into the ring at the sitting, cackling Suta. "You were playing opossum?!" He demanded. Suta shook his head vaguely and then forced himself onto his feet with a stagger towards the lounge, snickering hard. "What an out-of-no-where upset this has become..." The announcer stated to the crowd while Tien slapped himself on the side of the head and continued his move towards the lounge, more than a little annoyed at his loss. Suta was a bit drunk on victory but didn`t brag about it.
Krillin was on the floor laughing his head off when Tien reached into the pouch and tugged out two of the remaining three Senzu beans, chucking one over at Suta and then swallowing the other whole himself. It was the honorable thing to do, though the former assassin/gaurdsman would`ve probably prefered knocking the younger fighter`s teeth out. Tien could stomach losing easily, but not when it was like that.
It was a matter of principle.
As for the crowd? Their 'money match' of sorts was about to take place. The most anticipated match of the day, even more so than Gohan`s rematch with Dabura, was going to happen now. It was Videl Satan versus her own father, Hercule. The people were almost foaming at their collective mouth to see the two battle it out, and chants of 'Satan' dominated virtually every word you could hear from them all, though which Satan they were cheering was easily pretty subjective.
Regardless of who they were chanting for though, everyone in the crowds, everyone watching from whatever venue they could find, knew what was about to happen was invariably a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see something.
Saying all I know is
I gotta get away from me
"Our next match..." Rang in over the loudspeakers across the arena. In the lounge though, in the ears of one Videl Satan, it was little more than a whisper off in the distance. Looking expectantly towards the muscular, afro-do wearing man she called a father, then around the lounge at the encouraging looks from virtually everyone but Jun-Yah and Seventeen, Videl wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and made her way up to her feet, making one last glance at her father before leering over at her current best friend.
Gohan was standing next to the edge of the doorway, that weird little smirk that she`d observed on images of Goku, and seen on the tape of Goku at the Cell Games, even observed during the few chance times she`d seen Goten and spotted him thinking he knew something nobody else did, was present on Gohan`s face. One of confidence and a shred or three of pride, and one that Videl could only draw a bit of strength from. Hercule glanced over his shoulder and popped his knuckles before moving forward, intent on making the first entrance, if only because he felt it`d probably give Videl a bit of time to get herself ready and into a good state of mind, not to mention the chance for him to get one last shot at a bit of glory beforehand.
"I`ll be in the ring," he stated offhandedly before exiting the lounge entirely. The roar of the crowd was absolutely deafening for more than one or two of the fighters in the lounge area, but those that weren`t deafened by it were still able to keep themselves pretty composed.
Videl stopped in her walk next to Gohan, glancing up at his face and sticking out a fist at him. "I`d better see you in the finals," she said with a smirk. "Oh, you will," Gohan replied, gently smacking the forward part of his fist into that of Videl and then turning to watch her the rest of the way out of the lounge. "Good luck! Knock `im dead!" He shouted, though most of it was pretty much obscured by the crowds.
Videl heard it anyway, if only because she knew Gohan well enough that he would`ve said it regardless.
I tell you something just ain`t right
My head is on loose but my shoes are tight
Videl`s eyes focused straight ahead and into the ring, where her father was doing one last round of flexing just for the heck of it. The change in his attitude showed through even in his posture. "This should be one heck of a fight," she thought to herself while ascending the steps alone, one by one. After a moment, she was in the ring, and the crowd fell silent almost instantly as Videl stood a few feet across from Hercule at the center of the ring.
With the crowd having lulled down somewhat, Capel seized the opportunity and spoke up, not even bothering with the usual introduction and instead cutting to a record of what the two had over each other.
"In all of my life I don`t think I`ve ever overseen a match like that one we`re about to see here and now. These two are two fighters who need no introduction, so I`m not even gonna bother. It`s the one time battle of a lifetime folks, welcome to history in the making! Ready?" He asked, looking between the two. No reply came but Capel didn`t really care either way. He was a bit too psyched that this was finally going to be the end of the era of Hercule. Much as he liked the guy, he didn`t like most of his matches.
Then again, Hercule didn`t blow up entire arenas, so that was one thing Capel was going to miss.
"FIGHT!!!"
Avoiding my fiends cause they all bug
Life is like a riddle and I'm really stumped
If you reason, don't you know
Almost instantly, Videl tore from a plain stand and dashed forward, jumping halfway there and delivering a classically styled Karate dropkick, which Hercule swiftly turned out of the way to avoid, twisting and bringing the back of his left forearm to bear as a result. Videl slammed into the blow at full speed and fell back out of the air onto her back, rolling backwards and away from Hercule as a result. Videl was on her feet at an instant while Hercule dove forward with a roll, barely missing Videl with both legs while arriving in a kneeling position just in front of her. One muscular arm lashed out in a blur but Videl tilted out of the way at the last second, snap-kicking Hercule twice in the side of the face with the same leg before righting herself and jumping up with a twist.
The sole of her boot smacked right into her father`s forehead and Hercule fell back, while Videl landed on one feet facing opposite of him. Videl dove forward and away, landing after a handspring and a twist in mid-air, during which, Hercule got himself back up to his feet and slid into a fighting stance once again.
Hercule waited and Videl dashed forward again, lashing out with a flurry of punches, all of which Hercule had calculated a move or so beforehand, allowing them all to rain in on one of his forearms which he manuevered to block each of Videl`s attacks, luring her in move by move before pressing him his advantage and turning out of the way, causing Videl`s twentieth or twenty-first punch to miss entirely, and setting her up with a wide open space of a few seconds where she had no defenses up.
Hercule took advantage instantly, kneeing her in the gut and then, while she was bent forward from the impact, reaching down and around her right ankle. Videl gave off a yelp of surprise as Hercule yanked her from the ground and into the air, throwing her forward a few feet and allowing her to slam onto the tiling on her shoulders and neck with a slight skid. She was quick to her feet almost an instant later, only to fall back into a backwards handspring to avoid her father`s right arm. Hercule had come almost flying at her with his arm out like a clothesline, jumping for emphasis on the amount of impact it would all have. His move cost him since his landing left him on all fours and allowed Videl to finish springing back onto her feet and jump backwards, elbowing him in the back of the neck an instant later before sliding off of his upper body and into a crouch, twirling her own mass around and knocking his already balance-losing feet out from under him.
Hercule toppled over entirely onto his hands but swiftly retaliated like the pro most people don`t believe he was, slinging both legs towards Videl and knocking her off of the tiling she was situated on and into a roll.
Moments passed as the two sat or laid on the tiling across from each other, breathing hard and looking somewhat bruised, but both were able to get back to their feet at around the same time. Youthful fire and a nice exploitation of size difference were barely able to counter the gap that experience and strength provided. Despite the fact that it wasn`t half as spectacular as many of the earlier matches, this had the crowd on the edge of their seats the most.
"You`ve gotten better," Hercule stated with a bit of pride, no where near as much as his former ego. Videl just smiled in reply and the battle resumed.
Punches and kicks flew between the two, Hercule`s `fro and Videl`s pigtails swung about wildly in the contast and to pretty much everyone watching but a small group of people, every attack made was nothing but a blur of movement, with the occasional pause whenever one of them took a drastic hit and lurched forward or tipped backwards. Hercule got in less hits than Videl, since she was smaller, faster and by far more agile, but every hit he did manage to get in made up the difference in spades since he was physically stronger in a pinch, though he was doing his best to keep her from getting the chance to gather herself up for an all out strike like she`d pulled against the punching machine earlier.
Another hard blow into the stomach and Videl looked to be a bit dazed, but it was a carefully constructed act from the looks of her next action, which was to toss all of her weight into a hard roundhouse ankle kick, slamming her foot straight into Hercule`s chest, which was as high as her leg could reach without jumping or doing a split to make the kick. Hercule faltered back and Videl pulled her arm back in reply, winding up and then thrusting her whole weight into another straight punch right into Hercule`s stomach. With a wheeze, he lurched forward and winced, only to take a hard uppercut into the chin and stagger to the side slightly.
Your own preoccupation is where you'll go
I think I'm being followed, I look around
It's only my shadow creepin' on the ground
His recovery was almost artful to watch as he spun around and sent a leg flying at Videl`s leg. Her recent training paid off however, and in an instant, Hercule was corkscrewing through the air sideways, landing with a thud and a jarred feeling knee from how Videl had caught and thrown him by his own kick. Springing back up, Hercule hopped backwards out of the way, avoiding a diving knee from Videl, who recovered from the shock of the fall with a good bit of speed and twisted out of the way of a fast moving straight legged kick.
Videl`s leg thrashed into Hercule`s side and the larger of the two faltered from the impact, falling over an instant later when Videl fell into a sweeping kick that took his legs out from beneath him. A thud and he slammed into the tiling of the ring. A spring and he was back to his feet, albeit a little lightheadedly, which wasn`t helped when Videl slammed her entire arm across his face, knocking him back down instantly.
Videl faltered back and away from the fallen, wheezing Hercule, breathing hard herself and having a bit of trouble maintaining balance. "Either I improved a lot or he`s letting me win," Videl thought, watching a now-bruised Mister Satan drag himself back up to his feet and wipe off the dark patch of skin on his forehead. He was ragged looking but more than able to continue fighting, crouching down and back into a ready stance once again while Videl wiped the sweat from her brow.
A loud yell and Hercule charged at Videl, running like a wild boar and throwing a haymaker-styled punch. Videl reacted in kind, using a Judo styled throwing technique to not only catch his fist, but also sling him over her shoulder and onto his back on the ground as a result. With this accomplished, and it was no easy feat either, Videl got back to her feet and dropped her right knee across her father`s shoulder, causing Hercule to grunt in pain and curl himself up almost reflexively. Normally a reaction to pain from the stomach, Hercule rooted himself to the ground with his arms and hands, forcing his curling motion to carry his knees right into Videl`s gut.
The girl staggered back and fell over with a groan, holding her stomach with one hand and catching herself in mid-fall with the other. "Give up yet?" Videl asked while hobbling back up. "Nope," Hercule replied simply while sitting himself up and then hauling his bulk off of the tiling. "Then I`ll just have to make you," Videl threatened. "Try me, chib`," Hercule replied, pulling up an old nickname he`d had for his daughter when she was only four or five. Videl blinked a few times and smiled briefly.
And so it went, father and daughter exchanged a right of passage in a sense, that wasn`t all that different from sharing a dance. It was just a little bloodier and a bit more violent, but hey...
Least they were bonding like any family should, even if they had a fairly banged up way of doing it, right?
Sitting on the bed
Or lying wide awake
Videl flung herself beneath Hercule`s right arm, arching back up and slamming both hands into the back of his head as his momentum carried him by. Hercule replied in kind by backflipping right over her and jutting his leg out at the last second, catching Videl unaware and smashing into her left shoulder with a dropkick. Videl winced and bit her tongue against the pain, turning around rapidly and catching her father in the middle of his landing with the back of her left leg, sweeping it across his stomach and twisting him over so that he landed face first.
Moments passed and Hercule looked like he wasn`t going to get up. Videl dropped her gaurd and stepped back while the ten count began, but at four, Hercule sprang back up surprisingly and caught Videl in the stomach with a full impact kick. Videl yelled out and fell back, rolling along the surface of the ring in a ball before ending up on her side, curled into a fetal position. Hercule groaned and faltered onto his knees, breathing raggedly and allowing the ten count to begin again.
There's demons in my head
And it's more than I can take
I think I'm on a roll
But I think it's kinda weak
Videl lay on the cement of the ring, eyes opening slowly enough that all she saw was a blurry, fuzzy looking image of her father. It was all she needed. "Good. He`s got his gaurd down. Only got one shot at this Videl, did promise to see Gohan in the finals and I`d hate to disappoint him about it," she thought while curling up her left hand into a fist and allowing the ten count to continue. At three she was almost ready, at five she was ready and at six she was springing back to her feet in a blur to the human eye. Hercule was caught off gaurd and it was already too late to get a block up when Videl closed the distance and let loose with everything she could muster.
The blow was powerful enough that it cracked Hercule`s cheek bone and left a fist-shaped bruise on his face where Videl had hit him, pooling every ounce of strength she could into the attack. It was enough to probably gut another punching machine instantly, all that saved Hercule from having his head caved in or outright torn from his shoulders was the same luck that had kept him alive when he`d so foolishly rushed into 'battle' against Cell.
With a twist and a heave, Hercule Satan - the People`s Champion - fell over, bleeding from the enormous bruise on his cheek, eyes shut, breathing slow but steady. He was out like a light.
"Videl Satan wins it!"
Videl stared at her own hand in utter shock, that nervous chuckle combined with the 'family twitch' as it was called, slowly etching itself onto her face and into her voice. For most it was like watching a torch get passed, for a few it was just watching an adopted member of an overly extended family come of age and for the girl who did it, it was nothing less than a miraculous epiphany. For a moment, she herself didn`t even believe it, and then she heard the chants of 'Satan, Satan, Satan' for the first time. More appropriately, she listened to them for the first time. She listened as they gradually shifted from the family name and then settled on her own.
Saying all I know is
I gotta get away from me
Within all of this flurry though, the now blushing Videl, still staring at her own fist for at least a few more seconds before gazing around the crowds one at a time, finally scratched the back of her neck and said the only word that came to mind, and probably the only word she could even give voice to.
"DAMN!"
End Part Ten
Author`s Note: Eheh... Ain`t over yet folks, we got two more parts to this one. You can all probably guess what`s going to happen next but... I won`t spoil it for you.
*Glances over at Gohan.*
Gohan: *Stares at Videl.* @.@
Well, we all know where he`ll be when the next part is ready to start...
Author`s Note: Heh heh... Almost to the finish. As for diamondgirl`s previous question about Videl`s crystal that I forgot to answer: You`ll see. The same can be said for the other question any readers are probably asking...
Disclaimer: I own a bottle... Of... WATER!
Gotta Get Away
Silence followed Vegeta`s exit among the crowds, most of whom were shocked to see him spring back up almost unharmed, and all of whom were extremely surprised to watch him fly away in a burst of speed that defied the abilities of their eyes to even follow as more than a blur. In that crowd however, there was a select number of people that had been stunned out of their senses several times over, in specific to this crowd was one Bulma Briefs, currently staring off in the direction that her husband had vanished to. It had been rather disgusting that he had been so beaten down - and it had been the first time Bulma had even seen him in action outside of those rare instances where she saw him training or sparring with Gohan or Goten and Trunks.
Sobering, really. Especially when Vegeta could be, and was considered the single second strongest figure on Earth, or at least one of the strongest. "Not that surprising, really," Roshi stated. "Vegeta`s pretty bullheaded, he`ll prob`ly be gone for a week or two," he added a few seconds later. Bulma grimaced. "He`d better not," she uttered. "Want me to go talk to him?" Yamcha asked, glancing over at Bulma. "No," Bulma replied. "Can you sense where he is though?" She asked. "Yeah, he`s in his usual spot to sulk around when things aren`t going the way he wants," Yamcha replied calmly. "Good," she replied sharply. "We`ll just have to go get him after the tournament. And after I make sure Trunks is asleep."
"Puar and I could babysit him again if you want," Yamcha offered, earning a slight groan from Puar. She still remembered the last time they`d babysat that little lavender haired terror. "If you`re up for it then... Sure." With a shrug, Bulma rubbed her temple with two fingers, glancing towards the lounge. "Speaking of Trunks and Goten, how long do you think it`ll be before ChiChi drags them back kicking and screaming?"
"Knowing her... Five more minutes tops if they don`t cobble themselves together and fly away," Yamcha answered with a smirk. "We can only hope for their sake," Roshi added with a snicker.
"How long before the next match?" Gohan asked curiously, sitting with a lean onto the edge of the doorway. "Probably long enough for them to clean up and re-tile the ring. Again," Zangya answered cynically. It was the only thing anyone had said in the past minutes since Vegeta had left and the initial questions had all been asked and answered. Videl had taken a seat on the floor a few feet behind Gohan, leaned back-first to the wall, the two cyborgs were still sitting next to each other on a bench, though now joined by Krillin, who was being oddly quiet and just watching things, probably since no one was bothering to make a conversation. Piccolo and Zangya both stood next to the sign that marked the space just behind the exit of the lounge. Chaozu and Tien were quietly standing a few feet right of the bench, and Jun-Yah was no where in sight. Suta was resting himself on the bench across from the twin cyborgs and Krillin, and Hercule had just taken up a standing spot between Gohan and Videl, unable to even think of anything to say or do.
It was probably one of the first times in nearly twenty years that the former Shinto priest in training had ever found himself with nothing to say.
Either way, the seconds and the minutes ticked by as the clean-up crews went to work all over again. One could almost see in their eyes that they were beginning to get more than a little annoyed at all of this, but they understood that if it was necessary it was worth doing. As the minutes slid by like sand in an hour glass, moment by moment.
Finally though, the dead quiet was shattered into thousands upon thousands of pieces as Capel`s voice boomed through the ears of everyone in and within a block of the arena, echoing through the minds of hundreds, maybe even a few thousand given how tightly packed the arena was. "Well, since the arena`s been quick fixed - Again... - Who wants to see the next match?!" He yelled to the people, who replied with one massive 'YES!' as a result. Capel gave one of his trademarked poses, something people had learned to tolerate over the years - if not like or love - and then went to work hyping the match that was to come.
"Our next match is going to be a contest of old gaurd against the new, former champion versus a first time Budoukai fighter, Tienshinhan against Suta!" Capel exclaimed to the roars of the crowd, continuing a few moments later. "Tien has taken part in at the past Tenkaichi Budoukai tournaments, as well as his squashing match against Spopovitch, not to mention his impressive first time run as the Tenkaichi Budoukai champion, losing only to Son Goku in the semi-finals of the 23rd Budoukai. The 'Three Eyed Man' is something of a legend in his own right, and ranks as the second youngest champion in history, having won the 22nd Budoukai at the age of twenty and been edged out by just a year or two when Son Goku won the 23rd Budoukai. It`ll be spectacular, win, lose or draw, to see if he can regain the success of his first run on the third go-round!"
Tien stood at the edge of the doorway, third eye closed for the time being as his remaining two focused on Suta, who stood at the same height and bore a similar build to the one Tien had during his early-to-mid-twenties. Suta on the other hand was cracking his knuckles and sweating lightly, highly anticipating the chance to take on one of the legends of the world`s most prestigious martial arts competition.
Capel let his lungs rest for a few seconds before introducing the two, even as they walked towards the ring. "Suta on the other hand, is a little known practitioner of the Ryusennin school of fighting, but an accomplished fighter all the same. A hard fighter from far north, Suta`s record in two of the more recent Northern Budoukais speaks for itself, despite sustaining internal injuries that prevented him from moving on to the Tenkaichi stage sooner. At the age of twenty years old, he looks to be one of recent crop of prodigies making themselves known to the world. Does anyone else think he`s going to make it very far in the Tenkaichi this year?" Capel asked after his lengthy explanation of the second fighter, who now climbed the stairs alongside Tien.
I'm getting edgy all the time
There's someone around me just a step behind
It's kinda scary, the shape I'm in
"This should be interesting," Tien mumbled as the crowd roared out a 'yes' to Capel. Suta gave a brow raise in Tien`s general direction while rubbing his eyes with those fingerless Thai kick-boxing gloves he wore. "Nervous?" Tien asked. Suta only gave a nod, his previously laid back personna having melted away in the face of an opponent he felt he stood exactly zilch in the way of a chance against. "Being nervous won`t win a match," Tien chastised, moving into the center of the ring while Suta moved just a few feet opposite of him.
Suta only offered a chuckle. "Fear helps your reaction time, I suppose," he replied after a moment. "But absolute calm helps your thought processes, which in turn can allow you to plan three moves ahead which can in turn allow you to chop down any edge in reaction time," Tien replied with a scientific smirk. So rare, the chance was, for him to be an utter smartass like he wanted to be. Suta didn`t reply in words, but the slight twitch from his cheek said it all.
"Ready... And... FIGHT!" The announcer demanded with a loud yell over the microphone.
Suta slid into a stance of fighting that resembled a combination of traditional martial arts and American-styled boxing. Tien almost wanted to snicker at it, but he didn`t. Instead, he gave Suta the once over and then decided to go easy on the young fighter, jumping forward and putting a twist into his movement, allowing his leg to sling around towards Suta`s face. The younger fighter countered with unexpected mastery, sliding into a breakdance-like twist followed by a handspring, which allowed his feet to slam right into Tien`s cheek.
It caught the veteran off gaurd and he flew from the air and to the ground on his feet, truly unharmed but stunned despite himself. "Interesting counter," he uttered thoughtfully. Suta, now righted and back on his feet, smirked. "My teacher liked trying that kind of kick, I know the counters to it by heart these days," he replied. Tien gave a nod and then shifted into his typically serious trademark of an expression, blurring forward and reappearing behind Suta.
The other fighter didn`t even have time to block, flying forward and right off of the ground almost instantly and leaving Tien standing with his hand out in the typical pose of his original variation of the kiai yelling attack. Suta halted himself on the tiling of the ring, feeling a bit lightheaded but easily shaking it out. Tien quickly sensed the other`s increasing power and dove out of the way the moment Suta finished powering up, avoiding a fairly powerful version of the attack that Suta used to down Killa.
Rather than hit the crowd however, Suta, who`s hand was still anchored firmly in the base of the trail of the attack, shifting his fist to point at Tien, which caused the fireball at the head of it all to pull around in a complete 180* turn. Tien barely had time to react, backflipping up over the attack and letting out another kiai, which slammed Suta`s fireball into the tiling and detonated the entire chain of it to within a few feet of the other fighter`s hand.
The walls are shakin` and they' re closing in
Too fast or a bit too slow
I'm paranoid of people and it's starting to show
"Eep," Suta muttered, releasing the remainder of the attack at the last second and hopping back. Tien almost had to avoid keeling over in a fit of laughter, but he managed to avoid doing so. Touching back down a few feet to the right of the horse-shoe shaped smoke cloud, he looked over at Suta with a smirk. "Need to improve some of your attacks, eh?" He asked. "I`m workin` on it," Suta replied almost dejectedly. Tien shook his had at the sense of deja vu it all gave him, then burst forward and drove his fist squarely into Suta`s gut.
"Don`t let your gaurd down with small talk," he advised sharply, just above a whisper while forcing Suta right up off of the mat. "Same to you," Suta replied, grasping onto the other fighter`s wrist and letting out a loud shout before letting go and allowing his momentum to carry him away, through the air and landing in a crouch on the tiling of the ring. He slid along several feet backwards, arriving to his stop in a kneel. For several seconds, Tien felt nothing out of the order.
And then his skin felt like it was burning off. And then, all around him, an aura formed, solid blue flame, which promptly consumed him from the sight of others before detonating in a ball of orange-red fire that arched up several dozen feet into the air before dispersing at it`s peak. "Fire Bomb technique," Suta explained with a wary smirk, holding his stomach and breathing heavily. "Gotta love it, huh?" He asked. Tien`s reply wasn`t immediate, but it could certainly be felt as not one, not two and not even three Tiens emerged from the cloud of smoke, but a quartet of them.
"Twelve Eyes Technique," they explained in the simplest english possible, all four of them voicing the words in perfect unison, each one looking as though they were having trouble avoiding having to snicker at Suta`s expression. Suta twitched visibly, especially since none of them even seemed hurt by what he`d done to the original. One by one, the grouping moved until they were spread out in front of Suta, each one in the same stance.
There`s one guy that I can't shake
Over my shoulder is a big mistake
Sitting on the bed
Or lying wide awake
Suta grimaced for a moment and then dove towards the nearest Tien clone to him, power flaring up around his right forearm as he crossed the distance. In a blur, he touched down in front of the clone and slung his arm forward, a ki-packed punch with more strength than Tien thought the young man capable of performing. The clone was faster and stronger though, dodging his head out of the way and slamming an open palm into the other`s stomach, picking Suta up off the ground and throwing him into the air.
Suta had only barely recovered from that when another clone flew in and slammed his leg right into the younger fighter`s back. Rather than yeilding and flying out of the ring though, Suta flipped forward from the impact, holding energy in his entire right forearm and hand and uppercutting the Tien clone right in the jaw. He heard a yelp and fell towards the ground, meeting a knee into the forehead while touching down. Suta wobbled backwards and then collapsed to his knees, dazed and now bleeding somewhat as the clone fell to the ring and lay there, unconcious.
"Please let the rules work," he begged, hoping the clone would stay down long enough for a ten count to remove him, all the while falling out of the way of another speedy kick and successfully tripping the older, more experienced, stronger fighter up before slamming both of his knees into the back of the Tien clone`s own right knee. There was a snapping sound and the clone yelled loudly while Suta found himself yanked right off the ring floor and slung across the mat, moving by the already downed Tien and meeting the elbow of the fourth, which caught him in the side, between the bottom left rib and the hip bone.
With a yell, Suta flopped onto his stomach on the ground while the Tiens grouped up and pulled themselves back together as one, though this one looked a bit scorched, bruised on the chin and walked with a subtle limp. Suta barely moved for a few seconds but made it to his hands and knees by the five count, and was on his feet by eight.
"Guess I can hurt you after all," he muttered out with a daze before cartwheeling towards Tien and then handspringing himself to the other fighter`s side. What would`ve been Tien`s neck only felt like solid titanium though, and Suta recoiled his arm quickly with a swollen hand now. "What the hell?"
"I decided to stop playing around," Tien answered before smacking Suta on the side of the face. Blood spurted from a busted cheek and Suta fell unconcious to the mat, several yards from the still limping Tien.
There's demons in my head
And it's more than I can take
I think I'm on a roll
But I think it's kinda weak
"One... Two... Three..."
Tien cut off the monk who was administering the count while turning towards the lounge. "Don`t bother, he`s unconcious," he explained simply before making his way back towards the fighter`s lounge. As Tien made his way towards the lounge however, Suta`s eyes pried themselves open and, the moment Tien started moving down the steps, Suta got back up onto all fours, then fell over onto his rear end and sat there, smiling like an idiot.
"Suta wins!"
"WHAT?!" Tien demanded, shooting a glare at Capel, who pointed into the ring at the sitting, cackling Suta. "You were playing opossum?!" He demanded. Suta shook his head vaguely and then forced himself onto his feet with a stagger towards the lounge, snickering hard. "What an out-of-no-where upset this has become..." The announcer stated to the crowd while Tien slapped himself on the side of the head and continued his move towards the lounge, more than a little annoyed at his loss. Suta was a bit drunk on victory but didn`t brag about it.
Krillin was on the floor laughing his head off when Tien reached into the pouch and tugged out two of the remaining three Senzu beans, chucking one over at Suta and then swallowing the other whole himself. It was the honorable thing to do, though the former assassin/gaurdsman would`ve probably prefered knocking the younger fighter`s teeth out. Tien could stomach losing easily, but not when it was like that.
It was a matter of principle.
As for the crowd? Their 'money match' of sorts was about to take place. The most anticipated match of the day, even more so than Gohan`s rematch with Dabura, was going to happen now. It was Videl Satan versus her own father, Hercule. The people were almost foaming at their collective mouth to see the two battle it out, and chants of 'Satan' dominated virtually every word you could hear from them all, though which Satan they were cheering was easily pretty subjective.
Regardless of who they were chanting for though, everyone in the crowds, everyone watching from whatever venue they could find, knew what was about to happen was invariably a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see something.
Saying all I know is
I gotta get away from me
"Our next match..." Rang in over the loudspeakers across the arena. In the lounge though, in the ears of one Videl Satan, it was little more than a whisper off in the distance. Looking expectantly towards the muscular, afro-do wearing man she called a father, then around the lounge at the encouraging looks from virtually everyone but Jun-Yah and Seventeen, Videl wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and made her way up to her feet, making one last glance at her father before leering over at her current best friend.
Gohan was standing next to the edge of the doorway, that weird little smirk that she`d observed on images of Goku, and seen on the tape of Goku at the Cell Games, even observed during the few chance times she`d seen Goten and spotted him thinking he knew something nobody else did, was present on Gohan`s face. One of confidence and a shred or three of pride, and one that Videl could only draw a bit of strength from. Hercule glanced over his shoulder and popped his knuckles before moving forward, intent on making the first entrance, if only because he felt it`d probably give Videl a bit of time to get herself ready and into a good state of mind, not to mention the chance for him to get one last shot at a bit of glory beforehand.
"I`ll be in the ring," he stated offhandedly before exiting the lounge entirely. The roar of the crowd was absolutely deafening for more than one or two of the fighters in the lounge area, but those that weren`t deafened by it were still able to keep themselves pretty composed.
Videl stopped in her walk next to Gohan, glancing up at his face and sticking out a fist at him. "I`d better see you in the finals," she said with a smirk. "Oh, you will," Gohan replied, gently smacking the forward part of his fist into that of Videl and then turning to watch her the rest of the way out of the lounge. "Good luck! Knock `im dead!" He shouted, though most of it was pretty much obscured by the crowds.
Videl heard it anyway, if only because she knew Gohan well enough that he would`ve said it regardless.
I tell you something just ain`t right
My head is on loose but my shoes are tight
Videl`s eyes focused straight ahead and into the ring, where her father was doing one last round of flexing just for the heck of it. The change in his attitude showed through even in his posture. "This should be one heck of a fight," she thought to herself while ascending the steps alone, one by one. After a moment, she was in the ring, and the crowd fell silent almost instantly as Videl stood a few feet across from Hercule at the center of the ring.
With the crowd having lulled down somewhat, Capel seized the opportunity and spoke up, not even bothering with the usual introduction and instead cutting to a record of what the two had over each other.
"In all of my life I don`t think I`ve ever overseen a match like that one we`re about to see here and now. These two are two fighters who need no introduction, so I`m not even gonna bother. It`s the one time battle of a lifetime folks, welcome to history in the making! Ready?" He asked, looking between the two. No reply came but Capel didn`t really care either way. He was a bit too psyched that this was finally going to be the end of the era of Hercule. Much as he liked the guy, he didn`t like most of his matches.
Then again, Hercule didn`t blow up entire arenas, so that was one thing Capel was going to miss.
"FIGHT!!!"
Avoiding my fiends cause they all bug
Life is like a riddle and I'm really stumped
If you reason, don't you know
Almost instantly, Videl tore from a plain stand and dashed forward, jumping halfway there and delivering a classically styled Karate dropkick, which Hercule swiftly turned out of the way to avoid, twisting and bringing the back of his left forearm to bear as a result. Videl slammed into the blow at full speed and fell back out of the air onto her back, rolling backwards and away from Hercule as a result. Videl was on her feet at an instant while Hercule dove forward with a roll, barely missing Videl with both legs while arriving in a kneeling position just in front of her. One muscular arm lashed out in a blur but Videl tilted out of the way at the last second, snap-kicking Hercule twice in the side of the face with the same leg before righting herself and jumping up with a twist.
The sole of her boot smacked right into her father`s forehead and Hercule fell back, while Videl landed on one feet facing opposite of him. Videl dove forward and away, landing after a handspring and a twist in mid-air, during which, Hercule got himself back up to his feet and slid into a fighting stance once again.
Hercule waited and Videl dashed forward again, lashing out with a flurry of punches, all of which Hercule had calculated a move or so beforehand, allowing them all to rain in on one of his forearms which he manuevered to block each of Videl`s attacks, luring her in move by move before pressing him his advantage and turning out of the way, causing Videl`s twentieth or twenty-first punch to miss entirely, and setting her up with a wide open space of a few seconds where she had no defenses up.
Hercule took advantage instantly, kneeing her in the gut and then, while she was bent forward from the impact, reaching down and around her right ankle. Videl gave off a yelp of surprise as Hercule yanked her from the ground and into the air, throwing her forward a few feet and allowing her to slam onto the tiling on her shoulders and neck with a slight skid. She was quick to her feet almost an instant later, only to fall back into a backwards handspring to avoid her father`s right arm. Hercule had come almost flying at her with his arm out like a clothesline, jumping for emphasis on the amount of impact it would all have. His move cost him since his landing left him on all fours and allowed Videl to finish springing back onto her feet and jump backwards, elbowing him in the back of the neck an instant later before sliding off of his upper body and into a crouch, twirling her own mass around and knocking his already balance-losing feet out from under him.
Hercule toppled over entirely onto his hands but swiftly retaliated like the pro most people don`t believe he was, slinging both legs towards Videl and knocking her off of the tiling she was situated on and into a roll.
Moments passed as the two sat or laid on the tiling across from each other, breathing hard and looking somewhat bruised, but both were able to get back to their feet at around the same time. Youthful fire and a nice exploitation of size difference were barely able to counter the gap that experience and strength provided. Despite the fact that it wasn`t half as spectacular as many of the earlier matches, this had the crowd on the edge of their seats the most.
"You`ve gotten better," Hercule stated with a bit of pride, no where near as much as his former ego. Videl just smiled in reply and the battle resumed.
Punches and kicks flew between the two, Hercule`s `fro and Videl`s pigtails swung about wildly in the contast and to pretty much everyone watching but a small group of people, every attack made was nothing but a blur of movement, with the occasional pause whenever one of them took a drastic hit and lurched forward or tipped backwards. Hercule got in less hits than Videl, since she was smaller, faster and by far more agile, but every hit he did manage to get in made up the difference in spades since he was physically stronger in a pinch, though he was doing his best to keep her from getting the chance to gather herself up for an all out strike like she`d pulled against the punching machine earlier.
Another hard blow into the stomach and Videl looked to be a bit dazed, but it was a carefully constructed act from the looks of her next action, which was to toss all of her weight into a hard roundhouse ankle kick, slamming her foot straight into Hercule`s chest, which was as high as her leg could reach without jumping or doing a split to make the kick. Hercule faltered back and Videl pulled her arm back in reply, winding up and then thrusting her whole weight into another straight punch right into Hercule`s stomach. With a wheeze, he lurched forward and winced, only to take a hard uppercut into the chin and stagger to the side slightly.
Your own preoccupation is where you'll go
I think I'm being followed, I look around
It's only my shadow creepin' on the ground
His recovery was almost artful to watch as he spun around and sent a leg flying at Videl`s leg. Her recent training paid off however, and in an instant, Hercule was corkscrewing through the air sideways, landing with a thud and a jarred feeling knee from how Videl had caught and thrown him by his own kick. Springing back up, Hercule hopped backwards out of the way, avoiding a diving knee from Videl, who recovered from the shock of the fall with a good bit of speed and twisted out of the way of a fast moving straight legged kick.
Videl`s leg thrashed into Hercule`s side and the larger of the two faltered from the impact, falling over an instant later when Videl fell into a sweeping kick that took his legs out from beneath him. A thud and he slammed into the tiling of the ring. A spring and he was back to his feet, albeit a little lightheadedly, which wasn`t helped when Videl slammed her entire arm across his face, knocking him back down instantly.
Videl faltered back and away from the fallen, wheezing Hercule, breathing hard herself and having a bit of trouble maintaining balance. "Either I improved a lot or he`s letting me win," Videl thought, watching a now-bruised Mister Satan drag himself back up to his feet and wipe off the dark patch of skin on his forehead. He was ragged looking but more than able to continue fighting, crouching down and back into a ready stance once again while Videl wiped the sweat from her brow.
A loud yell and Hercule charged at Videl, running like a wild boar and throwing a haymaker-styled punch. Videl reacted in kind, using a Judo styled throwing technique to not only catch his fist, but also sling him over her shoulder and onto his back on the ground as a result. With this accomplished, and it was no easy feat either, Videl got back to her feet and dropped her right knee across her father`s shoulder, causing Hercule to grunt in pain and curl himself up almost reflexively. Normally a reaction to pain from the stomach, Hercule rooted himself to the ground with his arms and hands, forcing his curling motion to carry his knees right into Videl`s gut.
The girl staggered back and fell over with a groan, holding her stomach with one hand and catching herself in mid-fall with the other. "Give up yet?" Videl asked while hobbling back up. "Nope," Hercule replied simply while sitting himself up and then hauling his bulk off of the tiling. "Then I`ll just have to make you," Videl threatened. "Try me, chib`," Hercule replied, pulling up an old nickname he`d had for his daughter when she was only four or five. Videl blinked a few times and smiled briefly.
And so it went, father and daughter exchanged a right of passage in a sense, that wasn`t all that different from sharing a dance. It was just a little bloodier and a bit more violent, but hey...
Least they were bonding like any family should, even if they had a fairly banged up way of doing it, right?
Sitting on the bed
Or lying wide awake
Videl flung herself beneath Hercule`s right arm, arching back up and slamming both hands into the back of his head as his momentum carried him by. Hercule replied in kind by backflipping right over her and jutting his leg out at the last second, catching Videl unaware and smashing into her left shoulder with a dropkick. Videl winced and bit her tongue against the pain, turning around rapidly and catching her father in the middle of his landing with the back of her left leg, sweeping it across his stomach and twisting him over so that he landed face first.
Moments passed and Hercule looked like he wasn`t going to get up. Videl dropped her gaurd and stepped back while the ten count began, but at four, Hercule sprang back up surprisingly and caught Videl in the stomach with a full impact kick. Videl yelled out and fell back, rolling along the surface of the ring in a ball before ending up on her side, curled into a fetal position. Hercule groaned and faltered onto his knees, breathing raggedly and allowing the ten count to begin again.
There's demons in my head
And it's more than I can take
I think I'm on a roll
But I think it's kinda weak
Videl lay on the cement of the ring, eyes opening slowly enough that all she saw was a blurry, fuzzy looking image of her father. It was all she needed. "Good. He`s got his gaurd down. Only got one shot at this Videl, did promise to see Gohan in the finals and I`d hate to disappoint him about it," she thought while curling up her left hand into a fist and allowing the ten count to continue. At three she was almost ready, at five she was ready and at six she was springing back to her feet in a blur to the human eye. Hercule was caught off gaurd and it was already too late to get a block up when Videl closed the distance and let loose with everything she could muster.
The blow was powerful enough that it cracked Hercule`s cheek bone and left a fist-shaped bruise on his face where Videl had hit him, pooling every ounce of strength she could into the attack. It was enough to probably gut another punching machine instantly, all that saved Hercule from having his head caved in or outright torn from his shoulders was the same luck that had kept him alive when he`d so foolishly rushed into 'battle' against Cell.
With a twist and a heave, Hercule Satan - the People`s Champion - fell over, bleeding from the enormous bruise on his cheek, eyes shut, breathing slow but steady. He was out like a light.
"Videl Satan wins it!"
Videl stared at her own hand in utter shock, that nervous chuckle combined with the 'family twitch' as it was called, slowly etching itself onto her face and into her voice. For most it was like watching a torch get passed, for a few it was just watching an adopted member of an overly extended family come of age and for the girl who did it, it was nothing less than a miraculous epiphany. For a moment, she herself didn`t even believe it, and then she heard the chants of 'Satan, Satan, Satan' for the first time. More appropriately, she listened to them for the first time. She listened as they gradually shifted from the family name and then settled on her own.
Saying all I know is
I gotta get away from me
Within all of this flurry though, the now blushing Videl, still staring at her own fist for at least a few more seconds before gazing around the crowds one at a time, finally scratched the back of her neck and said the only word that came to mind, and probably the only word she could even give voice to.
"DAMN!"
Author`s Note: Eheh... Ain`t over yet folks, we got two more parts to this one. You can all probably guess what`s going to happen next but... I won`t spoil it for you.
*Glances over at Gohan.*
Gohan: *Stares at Videl.* @.@
Well, we all know where he`ll be when the next part is ready to start...