The Other World Saga Chapter 10: The Halftime Break, a dragon ball z fanfic

CHAPTER NOTICE: This is a LONG, Planet-Busting Chapter! Due to the importance of these fights flowing through to the upcoming Halftime break, I felt it important to keep this chapter as one big package. So, feel free to pace yourself through this chapter as its a biggie. There'll be a total of five matches before the halftime break commences. If Long Chapters are not your thing...I dunno, I can't help you with what I feel like I want to publish, lol

Anyways, with that out of the way, enjoy the chapter!

THE OTHER WORLD SAGA

Chapter 10 - The Halftime Break

Battle 101

JACK LEE

BRUCE HAN

As battles progressed after the Ginyu Force and the Armored Squadron's battles were over, conflicts seemed to keep being spectacular in their own way. Each new fight brought something different to show off in front of the audience. With every battle down, the final battle becomes closer and closer to coming to pass for the first round. With so many fighters, it was hard to keep track of every participant, or label their importance due to the varying times it took for each match to be settled.

Finally after the one hundredth battle had been settled, a pair of fighters of the North Quadrant whom happened to be humans stepped forth onto the stadium's arena. Both began approaching each other, crossing the mile wide platform, only halting but a handful of meters away from each other. As the two greeted each other in ritualistic, honorary greeting with a bow of the head and one fist clasped in an open palm, the audience could then see them exposed in their grandeur.

Jack Lee, a man with long messy black hair, wore a dark blue traveler's kimono, with what looked like a satchel strapped over his shoulder, resting on his right hip. Below he wore a pair of beige hakama slacks, with a pair of tower clog sandals with blue tabi socks on. He bore a carefree grin on his face, and looked at complete ease, as if he was taking a stroll through the park.

The other was known as Bruce Han. Contrastingly, Bruce had a bowl cut crop of shiny black hair sitting atop his head. Bushy eyebrows rest just beneath his cleanly trimmed bangs, complementing the unusually sparkly twinkle coming from his shiny teeth. He wore what could be seen as a sleeveless black jumpsuit, with bright orange leg-warmers over his thighs, just above his leather-wrapped sandals binding over his bare feet. He, like Jack, also held a confident gleam and didn't appeared stressed or look even serious in his own demeanor.

"Who would've thought they'd pair the two of us in the First Round, eh, Bruce?" Jack Lee spoke with a humored chuckle.

Bruce Han raised his hands up, balling one into a fist and slamming it into an open palm with a mighty clap, as he chuckled with bemusement as well, "Fate must want us to clash, as we always should have. This past year has been a good wake up call, and, pardon the pun, but I'm dying to show you all the techniques I've wanted to use in an actual match!"

"I as well! Let us see who truly is the greatest martial artist of this Tournament, between the two of us!" Jack proposed with a pair of beckoning hands, forming the infamous 'come on' stance towards his longtime friend and rival.

"WITH BOTH FIGHTERS ON THE RING, LET THE ONE HUNDREDTH AND FIRST MATCH BEGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!" Tostool announced with dramatic glee, causing the audience to roar with excitement and anticipated enthusiasm.

The two fighters didn't waste a single moment.

"HOOOOOWHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Jack shouted out in a hilariously dramatic shout, placing himself in a crane equivalent stance, before leaping forward towards his opponent, spiraling through the air in a fluent motion that left gusts of wind in his wake, "Spiraling Crane Missile!"

Backflipping to gain as much distance from the incoming fighter, the agile fighter grunted aloud as he increased the space between the incoming whirling opponent and his own body. Bruce waited until the last moment when Jack would narily touch the fabric clinging to his muscular body, and then backflipped much higher, allowing Jack to pummel the arena tiles with incredible force, lacking the accuracy to follow him when he went airborne.

"Take this!" Bruce shouted aloud as his body glided across the air, rearing back his arms, before propelling them out with enormous force, "Raging Blast Cannon!"

Sliding back like a snake, Jack narrowly evaded the roiling dual expansive heads of pressurized wind cannon balls. As the dual projectiles crashed into the arena, an explosive thunderclap of concussive force to rip apart the surface of the arena. Even as the dust flew upwards into a mushroom cloud, Bruce allowed himself to land on the other side of the impact site, readying himself to reenter the fight while exhaling dramatically.

What came through the smoke cloud caused Bruce's eyes to widen with shock.

"Lion Mane Whip!" Jack screamed out, as his hair miraculously stretched out and extended in length dramatically, swinging through the pillar of smoke and landing a deafening crack on Bruce's exposed side, sending him tumbling to his right.

As Bruce winced at the stinging flesh he had on his ribs, he heard Jack guffaw out pridefully, "Like that?! The Lion Mane style allows my energy to flow through my hair, extending it to great lengths while remaining versatile and flexible. Yet its still as hard as steel when it makes contact with its target, smashing anything in its way to pieces!"

"Only steel? I guess you've lost your touch after all these years of being a drunken old man," Bruce taunted, readying himself with upraised hands, settling into what appeared to be clawed appendages, "why don't you try that again?!"

What he got in response was a high pitched scream, as a bundle of black tendrils flew swiftly to and fro around Bruce's being, aiming to repeatedly batter him relentlessly.

Swinging his arms out, reinforcing them with his own energy, he repelled the said hair whip with incredible resiliency, causing each collision to cause sparks and condensed claps of exploding air pressure. The flurry looked almost blinding to the observer, as the two held their ground, with one in offense and the other in immovable defense.

Something happened though.

Bruce managed to grasp the mass of hair, causing his heels to skid to the side a good meter in doing so, with both hands. Inhaling deeply through the nostrils, Bruce's chest inflated dramatically, if not hilariously, before shouting out in excess of a gale force breath.

"Breath Blade Wind!" The words came along with a powerful current of slicing airwaves, slicing up the incredibly extended and reinforced hair, as if it were nothing but butter. It was only by luck that Jack managed to leap to the right to avoid the airwaves, slicing up the surface of the arena before slamming into a distant corner of the stadium with ferocious collapse.

But Jack didn't come unscathed. Several gashes appeared across his clothing, showing signs of bleeding, with one said scratch being across his cheek. Despite this, the two of them could only smile as their eyes.

"This is getting good," Jack chuckled with anticipation, his eyes glimmering with eagerness, "I can't wait to see what either of us is really made of when the gloves come off."

"The feeling is mutual! I haven't felt this alive in a long while," Bruce spoke with eagerness, feeling his muscles twitch with readiness, and his heels turn with excitement, "let's show these guys what's in store for them!"

"Let's!" Jack shouted out with glee, screaming out fanatically as he leaped over the distance with Bruce returning in kind. Their kicks clashing in the air, and their bodies moving within tandem as they renewed the battle with eagerness, it became all too apparent that they were merely testing the waters and had yet to get serious.

The question was: How serious was their strongest abilities put to the test?

"I don't get it," Bardock asked with a twitch of annoyance, his arms crossed over his chest as he observed the fight transpiring in front of him in the horizon, "why are they screaming so exaggeratedly? It seems like a waste of energy..."

"Isn't that what we do in our battles?" Goku asked curiously, scratching his chin with some given thought on the subject.

Ignoring his son's comment with a grunt, he then threw his hand out exasperatedly at the two fighters' direction, "And what's with those weird technique names? I mean c'mon! Breath Blade Wind? Lion Mane Whip?! That's cheezy as Hell, not to mention weak sounding..."

"You're just jealous you haven't come up with good names for your own techniques," Hanassia spoke in a knowing tone, smirking as she heard Bardock visibly twitch at the mentioning of said truism.

"I...I just really want to fight...why the Hell is it not my turn?!" Bardock complained, his eyes appearing bloodshot as he sat down in a squat, facepalming with both of his hands as he groaned with boredom.

"Don't make a scene of yourself, for crying out loud," Hanassia spoke with an exasperated roll of her eyes, "you'll get your turn sooner or later..."

Meanwhile, despite the others' reactions, an amused chuckle of impressment was heard from Olibu. His eyes practically shined with joy at seeing the two fighters battling it out, and seemed to care a lot more than the Saiyans standing next to him.

Goku, curious about what Olibu knew, scooted out from between his parents and placed himself right in between his father's left and next to the giant human's right flank.

Noticing Goku's proximity, Olibu allowed himself to let out a congratulatory sigh as he peered out towards the two fiercely fighting martial artists, "They've improved a great deal, those two."

"You sound like you've known them for awhile," Goku noted offhandedly, as he watched the combatants move in and out of each other's guards, slamming their limbs off each other in parrying glances, not taking full on hits from each other, "how long have they've been dead?"

"Oh, about two thousand years or so your senior, so still quite a bit from my era. Still, I have gotten to know them within the time they've spent in Other Space, and we've all sparred with each other. They're quite talented, and they've learned well from King Kai, despite the time it took for them to adjust to the harsh environment of his planet," Olibu explained.

"Wow! I guess a lot of the Northern Galaxy have been students of King Kai's, huh?" Goku spoke with awe, taking a good look at all the standing and observing martial artists, all of them different shape, size, race, and color complexion, from one to the other.

"Nearly all of them have been trained by the King Kai. I myself was his student when I had passed onto this world," Olibu spoke admittedly, cupping his chin as he gazed at the battlefield beyond, "those two are an interesting pair. Both of them rivals from different cultures and different ideals, becoming rivals within the first meeting of each other. However, they both had a passion and a zeal for justice, which made them fast friends. Its because of them that the Earth had gained a measure of sincere peace and prosperity for generations after their passing."

"Huh, they're that strong?" Goku asked with intrigue, his anticipation in facing them for himself starting to mount, "so how did they die?"

Olibu began to chuckle, before bellowing out loudly enough to warrant most of the fighters' attention around him, including Goku's parents.

"W-What's so funny?" Goku asked with bewilderment.

"Oh well, its just the irony of their deaths that always brings a smile to my face," Olibu mentions with a brush of hand to swipe the tears of humor away from his eyes, before he looked over at Goku's shorter frame, "you see, these two men are an 'all-or-nothing' kind of pair. With only five years into their era of peace, they became incessantly bored and irritated by their mutual wives nagging at them doing nothing but lounging around and training. To solve their restlessness, they decided to have the match of a lifetime. Climbing to the highest mountain, they cleaved the peak right off to make one of the most grand and natural arenas of their time period. The battle they had was so fierce, that the energy produced from their fight gave birth to a terrifying thunderstorm, grander and more fierce than either of them had witnessed. That is, if they had noticed, but they were so ingrained on their personal vendetta they failed to see the danger they were in. After hours of close calls from the storm's barrage upon their skin, as well as their own attacks, they had settled their exhausted bodies into a grapple, trying to see which of them could throw the other off their feet. Neither of them got the chance however..."

"How come?" Goku asked with a blink of his eyes.

With a snicker, Olibu clapped, visibly emphasizing the next part of his story, "They were hit by the largest bolt of lightning of their era. The force did not destroy their bodies, but the stress of their from the battle and the tension from the grapple, caused both of their hearts to stop simultaneously. You could say their stubborn zeal to refuse giving up and wanting to fight to the bitter end was what killed them. But to me, they came to that mountaintop so they could die without regrets. Cause living life peacefully like normal people would've been worse than dying, in their minds anyways..."

"Ouch," Goku winced, his attention only broken by a defining silence elapsing from the arena, and the yelling from the two said combatants had stopped, "I guess I could sympathize. One of the reasons I felt so at peace being dead, at first, was because I died protecting the Earth again. It seemed okay at the time but...now I'm not so sure."

"We can talk more about that later, friend," Olibu spoke empathetically, placing a hand on Goku's shoulder while pointing out towards the arena, "they're about to make this battle a lot more interesting..."

"Well now...this is a surprise," Jack spoke aloud with a cackle, his body only slightly marred from the clashes he had from his adversary.

Likewise, Bruce also sported nothing but minor scrapes and scathing blows, chuckling with mutual bemusing humor at their situation, "If we keep this up, the crowd's likely going to fall asleep from how long this battle could take."

"We could keep this up at the level we're using for days, couldn't we?" Jack asked with a jocular guffaw.

"That we could," Bruce nodded with a grin.

With that being said, Jack reached towards his satchel, unfastening it as he spoke, "So...if you don't mind...I'm going to cut loose with a little secret weapon of mine I've wanted to test out in a place like this."

Bruce humored his longtime rival and comrade, crossing his arms in front of himself as he looked onwards with great anticipation.

What came out of the satchel was comically disproportionate with the container holding it. A giant gourd, almost as large as Jack's own body, with the bold letters inscribed it warning of alcoholic contents within it, withdrew from the forearm sized satchel. As he unscrewed the cork, Jack cackled mischievously as he lifted it up for all to see, before shouting, "BANZAI!" and proceeded to guzzle the bodily sized volume of sake from within.

"Oh dear Gamikai, no!" King Kai wailed aloud, his hands clasping his face as his brow profusely sweat bullets as he looked onwards with recognition.

"Something the matter, ol King?" Grand Kai asked with a tone of curiosity.

"Jack Lee...that numbskull...he's drinking the sake I asked him specifically NOT to drink!" King Kai shook his hands up and down.

"What's the big deal, Northy? So the guy wants to get drunk in the middle of a fight, big whoop, who cares?" West Kai spoke offhandedly with ignorance.

"It seems unruly for a man to drink that much, especially when he's expected to compete," East Kai fanned herself, also blissfully unaware of the coming storm King Kai knew was coming.

"Wait a minute...is he doing what I think he's doing?" South Kai asked with a sense of familiarity, as if he's seen the event transpire before.

"He's a Drunken Boxing Master, so much so that whenever he drinks alcohol, his body releases a deep hidden power trapped within his being. As if unlocking all of the restraints on his mind, while also welling up his energy to the surface, he becomes an unnaturally gifted warrior with unprecedented power. Out of all the humans I've ever trained, Jack Lee is perhaps one of the most hellbent on using his irrationality when induced into drunken stupor as a means of unlocking his battle instincts to their maximum," King Kai spoke aloud with reverence, though still seemed to be bathed in nervous sweat.

"That sounds rather impressive," Grand Kai spoke with an impressed grin, stroking his beard in thought, while noticing this did nothing to stop the flow of beading sweat crawling down his scalp, "but you don't sound convinced its helpful...?"

"That's not it. Whenever he drinks that kind of sake, the Fire Blood Sake, he unlocks a power far greater than he's capable of consciously bringing out. Ultimately, he goes into a mode that I've called...the Drunken God state!" Hanging his head, he pointed towards the ring in emphasis of his embarassment, "and he's not the most dignified when he's this drunk..."

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Jack Lee shouted out with glee, as his lips left the now empty gourd with a wet smack, crushing the container with both hands as his skin almost turned blood red from the consumption process, "I...J-J-JACK LEEEEEEEEEEEE...AM NOW...OFFICIALLY...INVINCIBLE! BUAHAHAHAHAHA!~"

As he placed his hands on his hips, he unabashedly laughed aloud in a proud manner, causing his opponent to snicker in remembrance and nostalgia of seeing his friend so stricken with drunken stupor.

"Now...I shall dazzle everyone...with my amazing...power!" Jack Lee proclaimed with a haughty laugh, rearing back his arms, as if he was preparing to do just that.

FLOP! But then, he fell onto his face with an audible smack, and began to snore.

Having seen this ruse before, the only person who didn't appear phased by the antics of the drunken fighter was Bruce himself. Despite this, Bruce decided to play along, acting like he was confused, "Oh dear...I guess you're giving up early in the fight in favor of a nap? Oh well, let me just inform the referee to begin the countdown-"

And just like that, Jack's seemingly prostrate body stood up, comically on the head and began moving around in a dizzying circle like a spinning top. The force however, yielded enough friction to create a monstrous twister, with himself at its epicenter, that drove forward with an unstoppable fury towards the opponent in question.

Backflipping out of the way, Bruce reared back his arms until they formed an 'X'. When the twister leaned towards him, he charged a good portion of energy into his limbs, and cut through the twister, dispersing it within one fell swoop. The exertion caused a thunderclap of force to smash into the ground, with Jack lying flat on his back.

Descending down upon his seemingly inert form, Bruce spun his body with his knees tucked towards his chest, spinning with enough force to appear like a rotating ball. The rotations were enough that he briefly disappeared, before reappearing where Jack's body once lied prone, denting the tiles before racing off after the retreating form of Jack.

However, despite the good chase he was giving Jack, Bruce was outmaneuvered with ease. Each exaggerated movement allowed Jack to swing out of reach, flopping to the ground before returning to his feet with comical staggering steps on the ground, swinging his arms out with drunken stupor.

Then, Jack retaliated.

"SSSSSSTRIKE ONE!" Jack shouted out, catching an incoming fist from Bruce, before dishing out a powerful knee kick into the gut. The force caused him to gasp aloud, saliva spewing out from the damage created by a single kick.

"SSSSSSSSSTRIKE TWO AND THREE!" Jack snickered aloud, as he swung Bruce around and slammed him onto the ground with a deafening slap on his back, following up with a solid kick to his side, sending him reeling backwards across the airspace.

Following him, Jack laughed aloud as he began hailing Bruce's helpless frame with dozens of punches and kicks, sickening crunches and powerful bursts of air pressure flowing around them as the drunken fighter mercilessly hammered his rival's frame.

"AND YER OOOOOOOOOOUT!~" Jack guffawed, as he headbutted Bruce's back, sending him reeling into the ground like a bomb, creating a reverberating shockwave to thrust across the surface of the arena for a good quarter of a mile.

Landing on his buttocks, Jack shouted out with joy and victory, his face alight with rosy cheeks, sporting his drunken state while he hiccupped, "Well now...that was certainly qui-HIC-ck...now...I wonder if there...is anymore sake left?"

However, the drunken Jack Lee spoke too soon.

"Ow, that really smarts," Bruce spoke as he slowly rose to his feet, revealing a bruised but not beaten warrior. Spitting out a wad of blood, he grinned with great anticipation as he clasped his fist into an open palm as his drunken opponent regarded him, "I know you're holding back, to get me into the mood, but I just wanted to make sure you had it in you. Leave it to me to underestimate you, hehe!"

"Brucey...your...your hair is really shiny!" Jack ogled Bruce's head with an unnerving desire, "c-c-can I have HIC...have it? I've...always wanted a wig like that!"

A nerve vein suddenly protruded on Bruce's forehead, suddenly causing the air to distill around him, even superheat. A column of distorted air rose around his body, as his energy brewed to the surface within the glow of a orange hue. Raising a fist with indignation and rage, Bruce's energy skyrocketed, as his body ignited with a brilliant aura of orange-white light, with crimson-black brands appearing along his forearms, his body's muscular disposition expand, and a pair of three black bands on either jaw emerged. With finality, a pair of black slitted irises emerged in exchange with his formerly onyx round ones.

"You want my youthful, gorgeous matte of locks?! Then you'll have to rip them off my dead body, Jack!" Bruce shouted out viciously, as the tiles around him flew up in the air slowly, signifying the density of his energy flowing around his person, "3rd Stance, Crimson Tiger!"

"Yeah...now that's the stuff right there!" Jack's cheeks flew back, as if he was in the middle of a power fan, grinning ridiculously all the same, "well now...I guess I got to get excited...myself! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

A brilliant aura of emerald energy erupted from Jack's person, as his skin turned stark red, pumping an excessive amount of the alcoholic induced blood across his body, causing a large burst of energy to swell to the surface. His messy black locks stood upright, and his eyes seemed to white-out from the exertion, his mind going numb and his body responding only to pure instinct. The Drunken God has awoken!

With the two at their most powerful, they stared down at each other with dangerous sensations of killing intent, rolling off the dense and volatile waves of energy flowing around their pores. A legendary rivalry that's existed for nearly two thousand years, finally could be solved within a single match within the first round of the Other World Tournament.

KRAK-KOOM! The two leaped, disappearing before the audience's eyes, and struck each other's limbs, causing an enormous ripple of orange and emerald energy to be exuded within an instant, shattering the mile wide arena platform. As the two disappeared, they began to bounce across the barriers dividing the various sides of the stadium, flowing upwards until they entered the artificial space high above the viewers.

As Bruce managed to land a grapple to Jack, the force of his throw caused the drunken master to dent a nearby moon, creating a glistening flash of light followed by a ballooning wave of excess concussive force from the impact.

Jack narrowly evaded a follow-up claw-palm thrust, discharging a blazing wave of energy that seared through the core of the moon and shattered the other side of it on its opposite flank.

Bruce raised his left arm to parry a spinning roundhouse kick, forcing him off his feet and skidding across the surface of a planet. Even as he did so, he flipped his body vertically upside down, clawing the ground hard enough to halt his momentum. By the time he had slowed down efficiently, he suffered an overhead hammer fist, forcing him deep into the earth, creating a voluminously expanding crater upon the red sand-filled planet's surface.

Leaping high up into the air, Jack clapped his hands, causing a brilliant emerald-white aura to enrapture his red-skinned frame. Rearing his head back, he bucked his head forward, causing all of his hair to suddenly create an enormous wave of black tendrils of condensed and versatile hair. It might as well been a wave of searing hot, diamond lances, as they made the barest contact with the planet's sediment, shredding it to pieces as it aimed to overwhelm and skewer Bruce's body.

With a feral roar, Bruce retaliated by raising his hands upwards before swiping them down, creating solid ten meter tall crimson claw-shaped blades. As the wave of spear-like hair raced towards him, Bruce spun on his heels appropriately, and swung the elongated claws like projectiles, cutting through the bladed-tendrils with incredible ferocity that lied in front of the feral fighter. The rest of the hairs dug deep into the planet's surface, spearing through almost to its other side, all the while the ten crimson pillar-sized claws cut swathes of hair once more up towards Jack.

A purposeful severance made, Jack spun downwards within the wake of a emerald trail of energy, only receiving a gash from the bottom tip of the fast flying claws that sped into the distance, cutting through a distant moon within the distance.

The two once again met within the middle of the artificial vacuum of space, repeatedly striking against each other, faster than most of the audience could see. Every impact caused a vibrant flash of light, followed by grandiose explosions of friction and air pressure. It was as if they were entirely different fighters than what was shown beforehand. Mere mortals transcending into the incarnations of gods, smashing and shredding moons and obliterating planetary surfaces. It was truly something to behold.

Then, the two entities roared down onto the smashed arena floor, creating tremendous shockwaves by their landings, emitting contrasting flares of light.

Both of them bore gashes, discolored bruised skin, and were on their last bout. The two, despite all of this, wore ecstatic grins that met each other's eyes.

"Time to end this!" Bruce announced, stepping forward and rearing back his right hand, condensing all of the Ki he had left into his hand. The result caused a maelstrom of crimson fiery energy to erupt from his hand, expanding, and creating the effigy visage of a snarling tiger, encompassed within his right forearm and almost visibly alive.

Jack likewise raised a fist upwards, streaming all of his emerald energy to convert into a pure, white transparent energy aura. It shined brilliantly, and was surprisingly a lot more honed and controlled than the raging inferno barely restrained by his own opponent. It wasn't until his entire fist condensed the energy into his fist, that it shined almost as bright as a star that he stood ready as well.

A palpable silence deafened everything around the crackling and thrumming powers emanating from the two primed ultimate techniques. All waited at the edge of their seats to see what would occur, and who would triumph.

Then, the two lunged towards each other, their bodies crossing the threshold within the blink of an eye, and their fists clashing against each other the moment of their mutual utterance.

"Elixir Fist!"

"Tiger's Maw!"

As the two techniques collided, a brilliant excess of flashing light emanated, sending thunderous gale force winds behind each of the struggling men's posterior flanks. They struggled with all of their might, their feet digging into the rocky ground, indenting the grassy field slowly but surely. It seemed neither would give ground, despite the unstable field of array of blue bio-electricity between the two colliding strikes.

"YOUR HAIR IS MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!~" Jack shouted out in a gleeful tone of anticipating victory, pushing forward, slowly gaining purchase against his opponent. Then, he saw that it was a mere ploy, as tiger's maw seemed to open and clamp over his brightly shining fist, before it was wrenched back, taking his Elixir Fist with it. This caused Jack to open his mouth with aghast shock, as the avatar of Ki transformed right before his eyes.

"NO ONE," Bruce snarled out, as his slitted eyes glowed brightly with rage, as he condensed the aura of energy into the palm of his right hand, causing it to glow a bright hot orange glow.

"TAKES MY HAIR!" Bruce shouted aloud as he lunged forth, swinging his palm out to thrust into his chest, discharging the energy all out from the single miniscule point of his hand, creating a monstrously sized tiger visage that devoured Jack, "TIGER INFERNO BOMB!"

Swept away within the current incinerative energy, Jack wore a goofy grin as his body slammed into the Northern Quadrant barrier, before his body was completely disintegrated within the orange-tinted blast. A deafening roar shook the stadium mightily, as the remaining energy flowed upwards within a pyre of destructive flames, consuming the distant moon that had been damaged by the pair's earlier fight.

"Whoo...got a little carried away there," Bruce wiped his forehead with a sign of exhaustion. His brands disappearing and his aura lessening, with his eyes reverting back to orbs, completing his regression back into physical normalcy, "best work out I've gotten in the past two thousand years."

Tostool, having somewhat been caught within the shockwave struggled to get to his feet, amazed to find the ash-layered field just bare inches away from where he could've been victimized by the two fighters' culminated attacks. Standing up to his feet, he shouted out with the most enthusiasm he could muster, "JUST INCREDIBLE, I MEAN INCREDIBLE! AFTER A CASUAL START BETWEEN TWO RIVALS, THESE TWO TITANS TAKE OFF TO THE SKY AND START WRECKING THE SCENERY! ONE LAST CLASH AND BRUCE HAN PULLS A FAST ONE AND ENDS THE FIGHT WITHIN A BRILLIANT FLASH OF LIGHT! WITH JACK LEE DECEASED, BRUCE HAN WINS THE ONE HUNDREDTH AND FIRST BATTLE, ALLOWING HIM TO PROCEED TO THE SECOND ROUND!"

Battle 124

GORILLA

OLIBU

As the battles progressed, the audience was curious to see more human fighters of the Northern Quadrant do battle, eager to see if they were all as skilled and powerful as the 101st combatants that were demonstrated. As the conflicts flew by, it was finally the one hundred and twenty fourth match, and the infamously skilled warrior known as Olibu had finally been called to the arena.

"Looks like its my turn to do battle," Olibu spoke with a smile, turning to face the Saiyans proximate to him, "wish me luck?"

"If you're a real warrior, you won't need it, Golden Boy," Bardock spoke derisively, grinning with afterthought as he winked at his mutual Northern Galactic contender.

"Show us what you're made of, Olibu!" Goku spoke with enthusiasm, raising his hand up to clasp Olibu's in a show of camaraderie.

Returning it with fervor, Olibu nodded to the shorter acclaimed Champion of the Northern Quadrant, before taking flight towards the ring.

Within a minute's time of casual gliding through the air, Olibu lands on the arena a dozen meters away from his opponent. In doing so he was granted the opportunity to observe his designated opponent, and allow himself to mentally prepare to combat him.

Gorilla, appropriately named, was a fighter with a visibly larger stature than Olibu. Even hunched over, Gorilla's chin met Olibu's forehead, showing his muscular brown skinned body. He had brown fur covering his obtuse shaped head, stopping at the end of his temples, reflecting his dark brown eyes well. Like other large built fighters from Heaven, he wore a pair of wrestler-type shorts and a pair of grey cloth boots, accented by the grey belt wrapped around his waistline with a nickel colored buckle and a pair of orange wrist bands.

In contrast, Olibu seemed to embody a much more sophisticated, if not archaic fighter. A sleeveless white tunic enamored most of his torso, down to his upper thighs, allowing part of his enlarged chest to be visible from the upper pectorals to around his collar bone. A pair of similar piece of fabric wraps neatly over his forearms, with the rest of the white linen to be wrapped around his feet, hidden by large brown boots. Brown leather straps hold the white tunic cloth intact, and a large brown belt with teal colored buckle wraps comfortably around his waistline. Finished with an orange headband, hidden by his long curly golden locks, Olibu almost personified what an Olympian god must've looked like.

"Its been awhile, Gorilla," Olibu greeted his opponent, as they were given a few moments before the round started, "how's those arms of yours doing? You look to be in incredible shape."

Gorilla just chuckled, as he responded nonchalantly back, scratching his left pit without any thought, "Oh you know, three hundred years and I think I've bulked up a little bit."

"That's good! I trust you'll hold nothing back, this time?" Olibu asked with a good natured laugh.

"Seeing as the Kais made this arena to be safe for people to watch, I'll try not to," Gorilla smiled challengingly, his eyes narrowing at Olibu in front of him, "though, it'll be hard to keep myself from killing you. Sometimes I don't know how to contain my excitement when my arms start swinging."

"Oh trust me, you're not going to hurt me, at least in the matter of which would warrant alarm," Olibu spoke confidently, waving Gorilla's concerns dismissively, as he squatted into a fighting stance.

"My strength is second to none within the Eastern Galaxy! You better not underestimate me this time around, Olibu," Gorilla spoke insistently, beating his fists together in emphasis of his raw power stored within his body.

"We'll see about that," Olibu smirked, settling himself into a stance not much unlike Goku's own preferred posture.

"WITH BOTH FIGHTERS GATHERED AT THE CENTER OF THE RING, LET THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIFTH BATTLE BEGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!" Tostool announced aloud, before jumping off the arena and running as far away from the massive arena as he possibly could, diving into a barrier protected area where the contenders stood. He didn't want to be caught within another explosion again.

Within the moment he spoke, Gorilla chuckled, his arm moving at an unprecedentedly swifter speed than most would give him credit for. The sudden movement caused the air to warp in front him, before tearing apart, and heading straight for Olibu's person.

Luckily, Olibu's instincts and battle prowess were well honed, as he quickly settled into a limber stance, moving his arms like water in front of the distortion. As if thunder had manifested by merest touch towards the transparent force of kinetic energy, Olibu pivoted on his heels and swung his arms around to the side, sending the force to fly elsewhere.

Screaming with incredible fury, a gouging fissure of raw power tore through the arena effortlessly and created a powerful crack within the grassy fields, moving with enough momentum to clap against the Western Quadrant's barrier with a vibrant explosion. The flames caused by the super friction blasted across the stadium's barrier protected height, before swiftly dispersing into oblivion, as quickly as the blast had came.

"I guess your strength isn't the only thing you've improved, old friend," Olibu grinned wryly, readying himself into a defensive posture as his eyes narrowed at his enemy's muscular frame, "found a way to control your awkward movements, I see. Very good, should make the fight all the more interesting."

"HA! I'm just getting started!" Gorilla shouted out with glee, his body suddenly moving forward with incredible momentum, pouncing upon Olibu's form with immense force. The resulting said crash caused the entire arena to indent a good twenty meters inwards, creating a huge pillar of debris and dust to rise within excess of a thunderous shockwave.

However, Gorilla's eyes widened at not finding Olibu in his arms, and instead saw a shimmering image of him dissipating within his grasp, "Afterimage?"

"Above you," Olibu whispered, almost teasingly as he hovered vertically upside down right next to Gorilla's form.

This caused the simian warrior to turn around with an instinctive growl, as he swung around and threw a fist towards his form, narrowly avoided by a spinning flip away from the blistering concussive force thrown where he was moments ago. The force that flew upwards continued, and didn't stop until it collided through a moon, vaporizing it into dust, before shattering a planet within a vibrant explosion.

The total miss caused Gorilla to be open to counterattack, as a powerful flying kick caught him in the jaw, causing the immense ape fighter to spin around in the air. Before the massively larger combatant could recover, he found a lariat maneuver halting his spin, hitting him straight within the midriff, as Olibu propped himself sideways slanted across the smashed arena floor and airspace with one arm and one foot.

Grappling the dazed fighter, Olibu turned around within the middle of the air and hurtled him upwards into the large artificial black sky, giving them a large amount of space between each other.

With a burst of light from his ridiculously small wings on his back, Gorilla finally halted his ascent, being at the highest point within the stadium's perch as he stared down at a confidently hovering Olibu. Arms crossed and a daring smile encroached across his face, as if he wanted to allow Gorilla an opportunity in landing a definingly one-shot attack to finish the battle.

"Heh, if you think you can take this on, be my guest!" Gorilla shouted from the top of the stadium's airspace, clasping all ten of his meaty fingers together, lifting them up over his head as he prepared to launch a powerful attack of his own. After a few deep breaths, Gorilla's arms clenched tightly, dozens of veins protruded across the brown skin as he readied himself for the ultimate attack.

Then, the hammer swung down.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Gorilla roared out mightily, as he swung his massive arms down, along with his fists, causing a distorting crack within the space in front of him. Forming what could be seen as a lightning-enraptured airwave of sheer kinetic momentum, the power hurtling down towards Olibu and the stadium would be enough to shatter a planet instantaneously, as well as continue to plow through anything for countless light years past it.

As the wave of destructive force crashed into the grass field and the crumbled, indented arena as a whole, an immense explosion of pure hyper-friction collision was felt, creating a near blinding flash of light to emanate within the moment of connection. The audience, as well as the contenders had to shield their eyes, as even portions of the blistering gale force thrusting winds hit them relentlessly within aftermath of the kinetic head's collision.

Gorilla lowered himself down into the smoldering smoke, waving a single arm out to dissipate it, to find his opponent. As he did so, he found his mouth agape and his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.

There, hovering within the epicenter over where the crater of the arena had been formed, was none other than Olibu, perfectly intact and visibly untouched by the destructive force thrust his way. A smile worked its way up on his strong jawed face, as he unfolded his arms expectantly, clapping with sincere admiration, "That was great, Gorilla, just wonderful! You used a great amount of power in that attack. However, without any precision or guidance to it, the movement is easily dispersed and makes it irrelevant how strong it really is."

"The movement, yes," Gorilla sweated slightly at the sight, but slightly grinned with renewed confidence, as he reared back a fist and swung it towards Olibu's nonchalantly floating body, "but what if the impact hit you point blank, would you have time to stop it?!"

As the distorting force coiled around the blurring rush of Gorilla's right arm, something else seemed to move much faster than Gorilla's massive right limb.

SMACK! Gorilla's eyes widened with shock, as he felt his fist stop dead in his tracks, as it made contact with something halting its progress. What he saw dumbfounded him. Olibu outstretched a single forefinger from his right hand, and tapped it on the middle finger's knuckle. This halted the force, dispersing it as if it was nothing more than a gust of wind, and incapacitated the arm's physical power within an instant.

As he felt his arm go limp, falling towards his side, Gorilla sweated bullets with shame, as he looked up sheepishly at Olibu's stalwart smiling face. With a belated sigh, Gorilla extended his sole working hand, "I surrender. I know when I am clearly outmatched, and once again, you've proven to be the stronger warrior."

"Strength alone isn't the solution, Gorilla. Finesse, grace, technique, and poise are all necessary in harnessing the power you need to overcome foes ten times to a hundred times stronger than yourself. Remember that," Olibu continued, clasping Gorilla's hand with a friendly shake, as he grinned with finality, "and you will assuredly surpass even the likes of me, in time."

Tostool, barely finding the strength to stand from the billowing winds that breached the barrier he took shelter within, had his mouth open wide with amazement and joy. Raising the mike to his mouth, he began relaying the conclusion to the match, "ISN'T THIS SOMETHING?! DESPITE HOW VIOLENT AND UNEXPECTED THIS MATCH STARTED, WE MANAGED TO GET A HANDSHAKE BETWEEN TWO HONORABLE FIGHTERS, WITH BOTH THEM BEING ABLE TO WALK AWAY FROM THE CONFLICT! WITH GORILLA'S WILLING SURRENDER, OLIBU WINS THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIFTH MATCH, GRANTING HIM PRIVILEGE OF ENTERING THE SECOND ROUND!"

Battle 175

LOGAN

KOGU, THE EDGE

After the match with Olibu and Gorilla, a few fights soon after followed in suit, admiring Olibu's gentleman attitude and Gorilla's admittance of defeat. The prospect of walking back with less broken bones, bruises, and possible utter annihilation sounded more appealing to those who believed to be outmatched in certain matches that transpired afterwards.

But it would not be the case for this match.

Logan, a savage humanoid resembling a denizen of Earth, was condemned to Hell from the Western Quadrant. He was asked to be part of the battle against a well known Galaxy Soldier underneath Bojack's command.

When the two fighters assembled within the center of the arena, they were allowed a few moments of respite, allowing them to observe each other and sense each other's true strength for themselves.

Logan seemed short, yet robustly built, vaguely similar to a certain Saiyan Prince's stature. A cigar was wedged firmly between his teeth, simmering with an idle orange glow as he puffed small clouds of toxic vapor, rolling across his grizzly black sideburns, leading up to spiked out black mane that moved in either direction. As he reached up for his stag, he tossed it to the ground and used one of his dark brown cowboy boots to smother it out, as the rest of the vapors crawled up his black slacks, brown belt waistline, fur-lined sleeveless coat. This revealed his trademark weapons, a pair of silver vambraces with retractable tiger claws built within their knuckle wrapped compartments.

Kogu on the other hand was a tall, muscular and apparently alien humanoid, with a dark blue skin complexion and a crop of torch-styled orange hair. With a purple piece of linen wrapped around his forehead, letting its tassel hang freely near his right jaw, showcasing his pair of golden spiral-shaped earrings, matching the golden spiral necklace wrapped around his neck and hung over his chest. A crimson sash wraps around his left shoulder and folds within the beige slacks that lead down to his golden-black boots, with a long-sleeved jacket with poofy shoulders and open golden clasps near his wrists. The most defining thing about his visage was the elaborate, golden-triangle-guard and blue handled sword sheathed on his right hip, encased within a black and golden scabbard.

One thing was clear. Neither were interested in exchanging pleasantries, and both looked ready to kill the other. For the prize of life restored to their bodies and returned to the realm of the living, they'd do anything at any cost to gain that gift.

This conflict would be no different.

"WITH BOTH FIGHTERS PRESENT ON THE RING, LET THE ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIFTH MATCH BEGIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!" Tostool announced, before scurrying away the ring, stopping just short of the edge to watch it from a good distance.

"Let's dance, bub!" Logan growled out, swinging both hands out with a flick of his wrists, causing a pair of three blades per vambrace to emerge with a metallic click, as his body lunged towards its prey.

With a hand on his sword, Kogu backpedaled away from his charging opponent, thrusting his free hand towards his short-statured enemy and launched a sphere of emerald-white energy at his direction. Much to his surprise, Logan simply swung his right hand's pair of claws, cleaving through it effortlessly, dispersing it into a shower of sparks as he kept sprinting towards his enemy.

As Logan leaped upwards, he swiped one of his weapons towards the Herasian, snarling as he did so. The edge of his claws scraped lightly across the durable blue skin, causing a spurting motion of violet blood to emerge from his flesh, causing alarm to the taller fighter. The fact the weapons could pierce his durable flesh, which was comparable to a Super Saiyan's skin, made Logan all the more dangerous.

Unsheathing his sword in a fluid motion, he managed to duck and weave through Logan's continuous barrage of relentless strikes, using his heightened speed to his advantage. Then, he parried the claws with his Darkness Blade, bringing up a shower of sparks as he expertly crossed metal against his mutual foe, as he gritted his teeth in concentration. Within but a few moments, his parries began to put Logan on his defensive, and before too long, he found an opening...

SHINK! Within a precise arcing movement as he vaulted over Logan, a diagonal cut practically cuts through Logan's body, issuing a dramatic spilling of blood from the short man's body, before he was deftly brought to his knees.

However, this didn't stop Logan from returning the favor.

With a deft snarl Logan rushed towards the Herasian's backside, taking two long swipes through his jacket and cutting deep through the flesh of his back. As violet blood flew into the air, Kogu's rage was issued forth.

"You'll die for that!" Kogu snarled out, as he swung his Darkness blade around, now bathed within an aura of black flames, and cleaved the man in a perfect horizontal half, while lighting him aflame. Despite being cut in half, the man was able to live long enough to yell out with rage, as his skin began to char and his blood began to leak from his cleaved body parts.

Not bothering to wait for the flames to do their work, Kogu raised his hand towards the writhing opponent, and released a voluminous wave of emerald-white energy, disintegrating him to ash. Taking awhile to admire his handiwork, his painful grimacing only served as a reminder of his carelessness of his opponent. With a wad of spit striking where his enemy's remains lie, Kogu sheathed his blade and made his way back towards the Eastern Quadrant area where he belonged, taking off long after Tostool regained his composure to announce properly.

"WOW! ANOTHER QUICKIE UNDER THE TABLE, KOGU, THE RAVISHING'S VICTORY IN THE ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIFTH BATTLE HAS EARNED HIM A SPOT WITHIN THE SECOND ROUND!"

Battle 249

CHAPUCHAI

ZANGYA, THE RAVISHING

With the show of the first Galaxy Soldier, many of the audience waited and anticipated to see the remaining Galaxy Soldiers show of brutality and efficiency displayed on the battlefield against their opponents. Many battles transpired, some just as quick, others of great magnitude, while others seemed to be pale and bland in comparison to the prior fights.

Finally, the two hundred and forty ninth battle signaled the sign of another show of Herasian bandit dominance. The femme fatale, Zangya, was called out onto the ring along with mutual fighter from the Eastern Quadrant, Chapuchai.

As the pair landed onto the ring's center, a few moments of respite would pass, allowing the two to analyze each other and consider their placement in the battle before them.

Chapuchai, unlike some of the more recognizable fighters of the North, South, and West Quadrants belonging to Heaven, was an incredibly short fighter. With a shade of brown skin over a muscularly fit frame, he withholds a fist tail shaped black beard which matches his dark brown eyes. A pair of long white linen fighting slacks and a pair of fighting slippers, defines Chapuchai's appearance.

In contrast, Zangya had beauty that was envy and rivalry of many of the beautiful female combatants within the Tournament. As an Herasian, her blue pigmented skin looked smooth and soft, while displaying her lithe athletic bodily disposition, and enhance the ankle long orange curly hair running down her shoulders and back, with a pair of dazzling blue eyes. Like her prior comrade, she donned a pair of golden earrings and a necklace, signs of her allegiance to Bojack as a Galaxy Soldier. Her attire consisted of a sleeveless white jacket, atop a black matted sash wrapped around her chest, leaving her navel and lower back bare. Matching the sash in coloration was a pair of arm warmers, wrapped firmly around her forearms. With a golden buckled pair of white linen combat slacks,with a purple sash tied around her waist to have it hang behind her thighs and posterior, Zangya's look is completed with a pair of golden-black colored combat boots.

Bias alone, many of the male members of the audience were rooting for the orange haired woman. While those who detested anything to do with Bojack and his band of thug-acting pirate lieutenants, naturally shifted in support of the lesser known fighter of the Eastern Quadrant. Regardless, the ambient atmosphere of shouts and boos were mingled into static to the two fighters, as they studied their enemies with a reasonable calm gait.

That is, Zangya did.

Chapuchai on the other hand, couldn't help but retain a pair of blushing cheeks, nearly drooling at the sight of the goddess-equivalent opponent he'd been selected to combat. But the look quickly vanished when Zangya's aura darkened and her eyes smoldered at the disgusting visage he had not but moments ago. He didn't know whether he was lucky or unlucky being paired against such a ruthless woman with looks that could kill.

With nothing brought up in particular, Zangya exhaled in a bored manner, as she announced with a wave of her right hand, keeping her left arm wrapped around her midriff, "Let's get this over with..."

"Am I that much weaker than she is? Is that why she's so calm?" Chapuchai began to think, as beads of sweat trailed down his bald scalp. Gulping in excess of his growing hesitation in fighting the dangerous dame of the Galaxy Soldiers, he shook his head as he tried to renew his vigor, "no! I am still an honored warrior of the Eastern Galaxy, trained by East Kai, makes the likes of Tapkar from the South Quadrant look incredibly slow in comparison! I can win this!"

"WITH BOTH FIGHTERS STANDING ON THE RING, LET THE TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY NINTH BATTLE BEGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!" Tostool shouted aloud eagerly, now keeping himself off the constantly destroyed and repaired ring, preferring the safety of the green lawn in front of the North Quadrant's viewing booth. Being closer to the Kais gave him a sense of reassurance he'd be safe. Coupled with the proximity of a barrier protected contender's area he could retreat to, he felt his place was to be a lot farther away from the combatants and more to the audience.

With his said announcement, Chapuchai made the first move.

A brief growl emanated from the back of his throat, as he flexed his arms together and squatted, generating a bright blue aura of Ki around himself. Even as the ground shook, and energy rose to the surface, he didn't see Zangya bat an eye in the least. A confident chuckle emitted from his throat, as an aura of electricity gathered around his body, making him almost transparent in front of the audience and his enemy.

Zangya sighed, closing her eyes as Chapuchai called out challengingly, "Here I come!"

With a zipping motion, Chapuchai disappeared from view, appearing directly overhead the Herasian woman. Swinging a fist down to hit her in the jaw, he found it swiftly deflected by a pendulum swing upwards by Zangya, sending him reeling backwards. This caused his eyes to widen with surprise, as he barely sensed any rise of energy from within his opponent when she reacted to his attack. How could she detect him, with her eyes closed no less?

"Was that it?" Zangya asked with a sneer, turning to face him fully, glaring daggers at him, "all that powering up and you're only that fast?"

"I-I can go faster!" Chapuchai found himself stuttering, growling at himself for looking pathetic in front of the beautiful bandit. Rearing his arms back, his aura intensified, relaxing his visage to being visible, but with a constant stream of visible tendrils of bio-electricity flowing around his skin and attire. Then, he charged, this time moving at a rate that seemed to produce multiple afterimages in his wake.

Without unwrapping her free, left arm, Zangya used her right hand to slap and deflect each and every charging attack from Chapuchai. Even though it seemed his presence was omnipresent, Zangya's arm moved too fast for him to detect or evade. In the end, Chapuchai found his beard within the grasp of the deadly Galaxy Soldier, and slammed into the ground with a mighty crack. He didn't even get a chance to utter aloud in pain as he was tossed a good dozen meters away, by his merciless opponent.

"Ready to give up?" Zangya cackled with a cruel grin as she observed his wincing form.

"I can't go any faster than I have...the only technique I have left...is my Legion technique..." Chapuchai thought with belated breaths, hesitantly raising a hand to wipe away the blood trailing from his mouth as he observed his opponent.

Seeing no other choice but to give it his all, Chapuchai crossed his arms to have his knuckles brace against each other. Closing his eyes, he began to hum aloud, as his aura began to strengthen around his body. Within a few seconds time, transparent copies of himself began multiply from him, dividing from him and all taking the same stance. What was bizarre was that his strength didn't seem to wave or decrease, even as nearly the whole arena began to be populated by all of the transparent avatar effigies of himself.

Then, retracting his fists, he slammed them together, causing all of them to materialize and gain substance. All of them donning the same hyper-speeding aura as the original, the Chapuchai clones all bore a similar grin and acted accordingly of their will. Its as if they all were born out of existence, with the same mindset and thought process, and even physiological as their original. Even more fascinating, none of them possessed halos, like the original, making him stick out almost like a sore thumb.

"HA! What do you think of my ultimate technique, the Legion Cloning technique?!" Chapuchai asked with haughtiness, as he crossed his arms over his small, burly chest.

Zangya was reasonably taken aback. She'd never seen so many replications before. She knew it was a common skill among martial artists, even for her people, but the cost of distributing the energy was too taxing and in the long run, wasn't a worthwhile tactic. However, what this man did was entirely different. Had he an ounce of threatening power on his behalf, she knew this would be a very troubling predicament.

However, a bemusing chuckle graced exited her darkly smiling lips, as her eyes locked onto Chapuchai's form, "You have an impressive technique. But the fact of the matter is that your power is so weak, it makes this technique so useless. I should not have to remind you it took the likes of a Kai to subdue person, and it wasn't done quietly. Are you so arrogant as to believe this power of yours makes yourself more deified than they are?"

"I...no, I uh..." Chapuchai stuttered, completely taken aback by Zangya's choice of words to him. He never considered the idea of him being the equivalent of a Kai's level of strength. Even if they complimented him, he knew he could never be a match to them. If this was true, and this woman was the same kind who could match martial might!

Of course, it was all a ploy for Zangya to assume her cross-armed stance, holding both linen-covered forearms in front of her face. With only dark smiling lips revealed, her hair began to rise up into a complete vertical alignment, as her aura of violet-black energy rose to the surface and crackled around her person with menacing intensity.

"Let me show you the power of a true goddess, little man!" Zangya snarled out, her arms swinging out before her, as her eyes glowed a frightening blue-white.

The whole world went white for Chapuchai. What could be seen as a maelstrom of violet-black energy, it detonated all around her body and exploded outwards, taking the whole arena with her, and nearly hitting Tostool in the process. The fireball that launched into the sky would only be dwarfed by the thunderous clap of the explosion's shockwave that thrummed the stadium, signaling the total annihilation of her opponent being consumed within the vibrantly dark maw of explosive energy.

Within the aftermath, Zangya's arms were let down along with her hair, as she stared boredly at the indented ground around her. The only thing still standing was a good twenty meters of solidly erect earth and arena tiles, her own power proximate to it being the sole thing from keeping it topple over. Rising to the air, it crumbled into dust into the center of the large, ash filled pit, joining the single golden halo that used to be Chapuchai, as all of his clones were vaporized within the blast.

Zangya smirked as she caught the look of satisfying fear emit from Tostool, as he stood up to his feet, trying to compose himself to announce the end of the fight.

"L-L-LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! IT APPEARS THAT AFTER A STUNNING BLAST WAS RELEASED BY ZANGYA, THE RING ALONG WITH CHAPUCHAI AND HIS ARMY OF CLONES HAVE BEEN TURNED TO DUST! WITH VICTORY ATTAINED BY ZANGYA, THE RAVISHING, ALLOWING HER TO PASS THE TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY NINTH BATTLE ONTO THE SECOND ROUND!"

"Boy," Bardock whistled out, having witnessed the dominance Zangya had placed in the ring. It was one of the few battles he actually paid attention to, let alone kept him from falling asleep. That, and the fact she was easy on the eyes caused him to grin wryly, as he spoke aloud, "if I wasn't mated right now-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW!"

"Well you are, hot shot, so deal with," Hanassia uttered flatly, yanking Bardock by the ear downwards to discourage his longing gaze of the Herasian bandit.

"I can't help but feel repressed, woman!" Bardock complained, freeing himself from her grip as he flailed his arms insistently, "the Kais must have something to do with that supposedly random name selector! I mean, Kakarot and Bojack happen to start first?! What kind of Tournament starts like that?! I feel like this has been set up somehow..."

"I'm sure you'll get your turn soon, dad," Goku tried to reassure his dad, whom shook it off while still looking infuriated.

"Don't talk to me about composure! I watched each and every one of you fight! Hell, even Golden Boy over there got to fight!" Bardock emphasized, motioning towards the stoically silent and patient human standing not too far away.

"How about you chill for a few moments and see what the next match is, then?" Fasha proposed with a roll of her eyes.

An announcement however, interrupted them with an important message, issued by Tostool, "I'M GETTING WORD FROM THE GRAND KAI THAT EVERYONE WILL TAKE A HALF TIME BREAK! CONCESSIONS WILL BE PROVIDED FOR THE CONTENDERS AND THE RING WILL UNDERGO MAINTENANCE FROM THE LAST BATTLE THAT WILL TRANSPIRE. A TOTAL OF SIX HOURS REPRIEVE IS GRANTED SO THAT ALL CAN GET ANY REST THEY WISH BEFORE THE NEXT MATCH BEGINS!"

"Well I can't stand six more MINUTES, little twerp!" Bardock shouts angrily, waving a hand towards Tostool's form, causing the latter to sweat nervously, "I want to be in that match now, or I will start doing very BAD things to everyone around me! As in, the kind of things that cause people's bones to snap and pop like poorly presented musical instruments! THAT kind!"

With that said, a good portion of the fighters standing near Bardock gave a comical retreat, and a considerable amount of space was given to the rage-fueled Saiyan. By reputation alone, his power overwhelmed a good number of skilled fighters, and they knew if he went on a rampage, they would undoubtedly suffer from it like the collateral they'll become.

However, before much more arguing could be done, the name listing began to spin on the digital board within the skyline of the stadium. All those present held their breaths as they awaited the inevitable announcement for the names that'd be listed.

Then, as a ringing sound was heard, the names came up for the 250th battle's combatants...

BIDO, THE GRAPPLER

BARDOCK, THE LEGENDARY SUPER SAIYAN

As Bardock saw his name, especially the oddly flickering letters of the additional title at the end. But when he did, he could only chuckle a while, even as a bright blue aura began to coat around his skin, flowing upwards like a flickering flame that worked its way to the surface, waiting to turn into an inferno within an instant. As he walked forward, he swung his arms out to either side of himself, letting out a bellowing shout, "ABOUt...DAMNED...TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!"

The shout released an unintentional Kiai, causing Goku to wince as he moved his hands up with everyone else to plug their ears. Any lesser fighters were knocked off their feet by the sheer might of the shout, tumbling head over heels by the shockwave leaving the Saiyan's mouth and shaking the Northern Quadrant seating of all those within proximity.

At the sign of this, the crowd erupted into a excited roar in return. The idea of seeing another battle with a Super Saiyan, legendary among the depths of Hell, as well as seeing one of the infamous Galaxy Soldiers be one of his opponents assured all viewers of an exciting conflict.

Above them all, however, King Kai's eyes narrowed at the title and looked over at the Grand Kai with scrutiny, asking him lowly, "You wouldn't happen to be responsible for the addition of a title on that screen, would you?"

"Its all random, King Kai! How could suspect that I had such a hand in something so crafty? For shame, King, for shame," Grand Kai waved dismissively at King Kai, while laughing it off with humor.

"Whatever you say," King Kai sighed heavily, sweating with embarrassment, now fully under the conclusion the Grand Kai had been responsible.

Battle 250

As Bardock touched down onto the arena floor, he was met by the eager and haughty glare of Bojack's largest henchmen, Bido.

A few moments of respite was given, allowing the two combatants to make up their mind about doing battle, as well as analyze their opponents properly.

Bardock was in average in height, with a profound muscular figure, showing around his armored and cloth covered body. A black breastplate, with lime green straps wrapping over his exposed shoulders, covered his chest, with a similar shade of green over his abdominal plating. A pair of ribbed green thigh guards stretched out from his waistline, from which had his tail wrapped firmly across like a fur-lined belt, with a pair of black fighter slacks and black-green tipped boots. Wrapped around his calves and forearms were blood red linen wrappings. Lastly was the symbolic headband, which had been in his life bathed in Tora's blood, tied tightly around his forehead, underneath his raven locks. A look as iconic as the 'X' shaped scar adorning his left cheek.

Bido on the other hand was a good two heads taller, with a robustly heavyweight-type figure. Rippling blue-tinted skin defined by large muscles, Bido certainly lived up to the title he had while among the living, shown to be a true physical type for a grappler. With an orange Mohawk, and a goatee, it contrasted vividly against his large blue-skin jawed visage, and his bright blue eyes. The Herasian also had a much more colorful attire than his Saiyan opponent had. A high-collared, purple jacket lied open and unclasped, revealing his muscular torso and arms, only lightly adorned with a golden necklace that matched his earrings. A black sash hung out from mid-front of his white linen slacks, tucked into a pair of golden-black pair of combat boots, matching the pair of golden gloves adorned on either hand.

Both of them looked intimidating and brimming with power. Feral grins quickly adorned their faces as they could feel this would be a battle worth remembering.

"WITH BOTH CONTESTANTS ON THE ARENA FLOOR, LET THE TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH MATCH BEGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!" Tostool announced, already standing within the Northern Quadrant's area, comically right next to Goku, sweating profusely with stark fear for what would come about from their battle.

Bardock and Bido immediately powered up, feeling there was no reason to hold back.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Bardock bellowed out, as a wave of golden light engulfed his body, bursting from his skin as the ground around him exploded violently from the exertion. Fully emblazoned in golden energy, it contrasted vibrantly to the bulky and emerald-white glowing form of Bido, whose jacket was ripped to tatters during the process.

"Let the dance to your grave begin, Super Saiyan!" Bido shouted out, racing head first towards Bardock, swinging his now pea-green colored fist towards Bardock's form.

However, what he hit was the open air where Bardock's head was, receiving a punishing punch in gut. This caused him to wince as saliva leaked from behind his clenched teeth, signifying the severity of the damage left on the now purple welted abdomen. His eyes twitched madly and he suddenly had the inclination that he was somehow slower than his opponent.

Swinging out a left haymaker in retaliation, Bardock ducked underneath the hastily thrown attack until his back was nearly touching the ground. Springing his legs upwards, Bardock kicked Bido leaning pectorals, sending him reeling high into the air.

Even as Bido winced at the sudden movement, he only had time to blink as a golden stream of movement flew up to him, ramming a elbow strike into his face. The deafening crack of force that was heard drowned out the pained gargle uttering from the Herasian's throat, as his nose been shattered within the midst of the impact, forcing his eyes to tear up and blood to ooze from his nostrils, drenching his upper lip with violet colored liquid.

"I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT!" Bido shouted aloud, his emerald-white aura bursting out even brighter than before. Rearing his arm back, his orange-gloved fist made a deafening impact, even causing bright blue sparks emanate from the point of which he struck. Bardock's jaw turned along with the punch, as the knuckles firmly submerged into the flesh of his cheek.

However, Bido suddenly felt pain from his own knuckles. It had been delayed due to the force of the impact, but he could clearly feel the skin between the bones tear open into gashes, along with the surface of the gloves being burnt off by coming into contact with the protective aura Bardock mounted up. Retracting his fist, he saw steam roll up from his violet-stained blue knuckles and the sizzling smoke the rolled up from the ruined protective weaving.

"So, I guess I wasn't imagining things," Bardock spoke aloud with a chuckle, even as a small trickle of blood oozed from a portion of the corner of his mouth, having been cut by the attack his enemy made. Raising his left fist, he wiped it as his eyes narrowed dangerously, "that punch was more like a tickle. I barely felt a thing."

"W-What?!" Bido cried out in alarm, backing up slightly at the sight of Bardock laughing at his punch.

"I guess its true what they say. The taller and bigger guys of a select group of exceptional fighters are often the weakest. At first I thought it was the short guy with the turban, considering he was pummeled by a kid. But you? King Vegeta's brat tanked through all of your hits like nothing, and THIS is the power you used on those two humans. I have to say, I'm sorely disappointed you're not as strong as you think you are," Bardock ended with an irritated glare, his feet propelling him ever closer within the airspace as he approached Bido in the air.

"T-This guy's like Vegeta! There's no way I can beat him!" Bido's eyes twitched with fear and felt his mouth gape with wonderment how the Super Saiyans continued to outclass his strength. Clenching his teeth hard, he didn't want to end up like how he did against him, let alone his untimely demise at the stronger-than-average humans' hands. Raising his voice, he began to utter aloud with great humiliation, "I-I'm no match for you, Bardock. I'm no match for any of you Super Saiyans..."

"The Hell?" Bardock glared heatedly at Bido, suddenly knowing exactly where Bido was going with this, "is he really going to wuss out, right at the beginning of a fight?!"

"I s-surren-GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUGH!" Bido tried to utter, as he suddenly saw stars. Literally, his body was uppercut with enough force to send him high up into the artificial space, directly into the surface of a moon. He felt his back painfully contort, as it dented the entirety of the facing side of the planetoid, forcing blood out of his mouth.

Again, he felt a painful earth-shattering punch, this time driving him through the surface of the moon and through its core, barelling out the posterior side. Before he could even streak out much further, Bardock was upon him, slamming a descending kick of powerful proportions, caking his body in a painful burning aura of golden light, sending him hurtling down towards the arena.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Bido shouted in stark terror, as his body slammed face first into the arena floor, causing an enormous explosion that blew away a good quarter of a mile in diameter, sending a mushroom cloud upwards from the force.

He struggled to get out of the crater, his body layered in violet welts, bloody gashes, and burnt skin. Heaving with great effort, Bido couldn't halt the blood streaming down his crushed nasal cavity nor his bleeding mouth.

CRACK! Even as he got up, he wasn't given a second of mercy, as he felt his jaw shatter from an incoming right hook to the left side of his face. Tumbling head over heels, his bleeding and bruised body rolled across the ground, even as the Super Saiyan walked towards his wounded form.

"You don't get to call the shots of when you're going to give up or not. At least have some dignity intact, and die on your feet!" Bardock snarled, as he reached his shaking body, his emerald eyes glaring heatedly at him.

"B-Brrock...plzzz...dnt..." Bido begged, despite the immovable and shattered jaw he had.

"If you can't fight back, allow me to do something that Vegeta did to your leader," Bardock chuckled maliciously, rearing back his right arm, clasping the upper portion of his limb with his left. Within but a few moments, his arm became engulfed with compressed golden energy, sparking wildly and disorienting the air around him with golden streaks of bio-electricity. The landscape cracked, and debris rose up in a moment of zero gravity, all the while Bardock retained a dark smile focused on the look of absolute terror Bido had.

"Now take this!" Bardock shouted aloud, moving faster than his opponent's eye could see, as he impaled his golden-light-blade outlined arm through his enemy's torso. With a sickening splash of violet blood emitting from the point of entry, all the way to his back, Bardock smiled with satisfaction as he heard one last gargled cry of outrage from his enemy.

"GLAAAH! Huaats ike errr!" Bido garbled out loudly, despite the voluminous quantity of blood that now rushed out of his jaw and leaked onto Bardock's exposed left shoulder and arm, spattering a little on his face.

"What's that?! I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of your guts squirting out!" Bardock mocked, as he wrenched his energy blade out of Bido's body as leaped up into the air backwards. Raising his arm, he then declared mightily, intending to make it one heck of a show, "SAIYAN BLADE!"

Swinging downwards, Bardock's blade extended astronomically, bisecting his opponent in half while splitting a good portion of the arena in front of him doing so. Bido's eyes rolled over to either side as his body split in half cleanly, both portions of his body now seared from the points of the cut, fell limply backwards from the sudden life that had been wrenched from his being.

Landing onto the ring, Bardock smiled at his handiwork, as he propped both of his fists on his hips, "Not too shabby. Could've made it a little wider and bigger, but no need to be too excessive," turning around, he looked over towards Tostool's direction, whom was rushing in the arena's direction. When he clambered onto it, he sped swiftly towards Bardock, he saw the result of Bardock's impressive finish, causing Bardock to declare with a thumb's up, "we good, ref?"

"Uh, sure," Tostool spoke back, as he gazed over with slight detestment at the sight of Bido's bisected body, before clearing his throat, "WELL THERE YOU HAVE IT! THE TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH BATTLE HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO A CLOSE! BIDO, THE GRAPPLER, WAS NO MATCH FOR BARDOCK, THE LEGENDARY SUPER SAIYAN, AND GRANTS THE LATTER VICTORY AND PRIVILEGE OF ENTERING THE SECOND ROUND!"

"Alright!" Bardock pumped his hand, as the crowd roared with excitement and applause, glad to see such a spectacular finish, despite it being a completely one-sided battle.

"WITH THE HALF OF THE FIRST ROUND FINISHED, I NOW OFFICIALLY DECLARE IT TO BE TIME FOR THE HALFTIME BREAK! CONCESSIONS WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE KAIS AND A INTERMISSION OF SIX HOURS WILL BE GIVEN TO THE AUDIENCE AND YET-TO-BE ANNOUNCED CONTENDERS! USE YOUR TIME WISELY AND BE READY FOR ANOTHER TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY BATTLES YET TO BE HAD!" Tostool charismatically announced, causing the rest of the stadium to roar with excitement and anticipation.

In six hours time, the Tournament would resume. The question was: What would happen in the meantime?

Within the next few minutes, the Kais had transformed the grassy field in front of the four rows of competitor waiting areas into a large recreational lobby. Rows upon rows of lavish foods of exquisite kinds ranging across the Universe gathered high upon a buffet line. Steaming, chilled, buttered and seasoned, all of the foods familiar and unfamiliar to the many fighters who've fought and yet to fight in the coming matches.

As the contenders dived towards the rows and rows of tables of delicious food, the Kais also took advantage of the ensuing distraction to rearrange the stadium's seatings, while the Grand Kai delivered food to the masses that were still seated within the stadium's seats.

Due to the fact there would be five hundred fighters who wouldn't pass the first round, with more on the way, each Kai went to their designated seating area for the Quadrant sections the fighters were already waiting. With a combination of Psychic abilities and low tier magic, they remodeled the lower seatings of every partition of the stadium to provide lavish and distinguished seating for the five hundred fighters who wouldn't pass the first round. With arched out roofs that extended all across each section of the stadium, red cushions on comfortable chairs and with good viewing was provided for all those closest to the stadium.

The idea is that the stadium would increase in size to accommodate more and more rows of disqualified and defeated fighters, while the victors would stay within the original designated waiting area. Of course, it too was modified to have their own preferred seating, for which would be immediately removed upon their loss of a match.

With all the renovations going on, the ring itself was turned into a dining area, where many circular tables were placed for the dozens to hundreds of competitors who wished to commune with each other and eat their food at their own pace.

However, as pleasant as the events were going through the first half hour, things were guaranteed to take an unexpected turn, sooner or later...

"Torbie!" A giddy, musical voice called out towards the red-black armored insectoid fighter.

Before the humbled warrior realized what was happening, Butterwing flew right into his proximity. Wrapping her arms around his neck tightly as she giggled at the sudden burgundy shaded blush that worked its way on the normally stoic fighter, "Its so nice to see you like this. Wasn't my match awesome?!"

"Y-Yes you were surprisingly spectacular out there," Torbie spoke, trying to remain impassive to his transformed comrade's teasing nature. Her fingertips sent odd electrical impulses through his exoskeleton, bringing an unknown sensation to the forefront of his brain. He couldn't place it what he was feeling, but considering he'd never become romantically close to any of the fellow warriors of Heaven, he never cared to experience the disturbing euphoria threatening to overwhelm his brain.

Thankfully, Butterwing relented, donning an adorable semblance to a pout, as she hovered gracefully and effortlessly in front of her robust companion. Her lips squeezed together to make a comical fish-face, narrowing her eyes in a disapproving glare, "Torbie, you're not acting like yourself around me."

"Considering I've never considered you to be of the female gender, when and if you ever went under your transmutation, I guess its leaving me in an awkward position in how to communicate to you. That is all, really," Torbie spoke factually, crossing his arms and looking away, closing his eyes with a sign of contempt.

"No, I mean, considering how long its been since any of us had a break. You haven't made a single dash towards the buffet lines," Butterwing emphasized with a wave towards the tables stocked with food, and the makeshift dining area beyond it, "you've hardly made a reaction, moreso than usual since your loss against that Atom-"

"Cell," Torbie corrected her with a serious stare.

"I hope you aren't holding onto a grudge and refusing to eat anything because of it! I mean, this happened when you loss to Pikkon, and you pushed yourself like crazy to get where you are now," Butterwing tried to implore, but Torbie remained unaffected.

"Cater-uh-Butterwing, levitate up a dozen meters with me," Torbie spoke awkwardly, but in a much more commanding tone.

"Why?" Butterwing arched a brow with curiosity.

"I need you to see something, and its best if you do it with me," Torbie said insistently, as his body rose up in altitude.

With a sigh, Butterwing gently fluttered her wings as she rose up with her friend, now gazing way above the mass of contenders mingling and consuming food. On the opposite end of the stadium, standing perfectly still with arms crossed was the entity of Torbie's attention: Cell. It appeared as if he neither was willing nor cared to move in and socialize with the others. Even the seats that had been formed near where he stood were unused, as his eyes were the only things that seemed to be moving.

"He's standing like a statue. That's no fun," Butterwing spoke with a pout, crossing her arms over her voluptuous chest, eyeing Torbie who gazed longingly at Cell. It was one of contest and determination, up to the point of stupidity. With a sigh, Butterwing stroked her temples as she continued, "look, Torbie, I know you mean well in aspiring to find a new rival, but you're NOT him, despite what you think of yourself. He's a monster and a machine, with the sole purpose of destroying things precious to others. You are a fighter of justice and champion for peace. And just because you lose to the bad guy once, doesn't mean you should deprive yourself of fun."

"I don't know how I'm supposed to get stronger by relaxing," Torbie frowned, crossing his arms over his chest, "if they are set with the singleminded desire to win, then they seem to have the right idea-"

"It may work for him, but you're not him," Butterwing corrected, smiling up at him with a bright grin, earning a resigned smile from Torbie. Before he could react, the Space Faerie looped an arm around his left, and swiftly soared down towards the buffet lines, "now c'mon! We're going to gorge ourselves until we're stuffed with contentment!"

"At least your appetite hasn't changed," Torbie could only roll his eyes, as his smile wryly spread across his face. With resignation, he knew there would be plenty of time to aspire to catch up to the infamous Bio-Android. What he knew was that his comrades were willing to stick by his side, winner or not, and he knew that was what mattered in the end.

As the majority of contenders, both of Hell and Heaven, communed they seemed to be all in good cheer. Only a couple hours had passed and it seemed to increase the cheer, and the animated chatter between the fighters. Former enemies in the prior life, or with radically distant ideals, now all ate and tolerated each other's presences with a much greater enthusiasm.

Encouraged by this notion, Grand Kai decided to add a wide variety of liquors within his knowledge of throughout the Universe. In doing so led to great approval, as he spread it around conservatively to the audience, while giving special bountiful quantities to the contestants. While over consumption wasn't a huge problem at first, it did lead to an interesting jingle, held by the Ginyu Force's table and spread like wildfire into the audience's seating.

The people were clapping, and the majority of those around them in the festive mood sang with them in the chorus. It had a irish tune familiar to those within the Northern Galaxy's human fighters, but was sung in a collectively understandable tone.

"~Now everybody's died!~" Jeice began to sing in cue, smiling widely.

"~So until our tears are dried!~" Guldo sang to the best of his ability.

"~We'll drink and drink and drink and drink, and then we'll drink sssssome more!~" Burter chimed in.

"~We'll dance and sing and fight until the early morning light~!" Recoome bellowed musically.

"Now everybody!" Jeice added quickly, as the chorus broke into full swing once more.

"~Then we'll throw up, pass out, wake up, and then go drinking once again! HOI!~" The entirety of those singing with the Ginyu Force spoke aloud, as they bent their drinks back and all downed as much as they could, laughing in aftermath.

"That was certainly fun to sing," Fasha spoke with a flushed grin, holding a large mug in one hand, while sitting across from Hanassia.

"I'll give those guys credit, they sure know how to work up a crowd. I didn't even know they COULD sing. Just that they had fragile limbs," Hanassia snorted and laughed at the joke, for which Fasha giggled as well.

"But you know what would be more interesting?" Fasha asked with a challenging grin towards Hanassia.

Hanassia narrowed her eyes, as she took another gulp from her own pint-sized mug, "What are you suggesting?"

"Nothing that won't disqualify us by the stuck-up Kais, mind you, but a bit of a preliminary match. Something to show just how strong I am, and how much you should take me seriously," Fasha grinned as she winked the last sentence out.

"Preliminary as in not a fight?" Hanassia queried, as her attention was at its peak now.

"We have an arm-wrestling contest, RIGHT here, RIGHT now!" Fasha struck her elbow onto the table, an open palm beckoning her with the challenge and invitation.

Hanassia couldn't help but smirk at the prospect of having an opportunity such as this. Not only would she be able to sense the power dwelling deep within Fasha's core, she'd also get a chance to truly get a work-out. Her fight with Zorn was sadly disappointing, and she knew there would hardly be any real good fights within the first few rounds of the Tournament. This would help work off some nerves she's been bundling, as well as settle the score with the would-be mate of Bardock.

As the mother of Raditz and Goku rested her own elbow on the table, she spoke confidently as her hand clasped Fasha's, "Are you sure you're up to this, Fasha? You can walk away now without suffering any real pain. I wouldn't blame you if you did so right now-"

"Like Hell I will!" Fasha shouted out, loud enough to usher in a sudden silence and attraction to their current activities. Turning her head, she caught sight of the Ginyu Force, shouting over to them, "you four! Act as the refs for this one! We're going to arm wrestle over here!"

"Arm wrestling bonnies? No way we're missing out on that!" Jeice spoke aloud with a rosier complexion, beckoning his other drunken teammates, "c'mon Ginyu Force! We got a hot event to spectate on!"

"Recoome will not complain on this idea!" Recoome spoke with a chuckle, as he and the others quickly clambered through the crowd that gathered around the two Saiyan women.

With both Saiyans locking eyes, they inhaled and exhaled deeply. Each of them could feel their own heartbeats slow, as they gripped each other's hands in preparation. Despite it not being a death match, the intensity didn't feel any less between the two Alpha female Saiyan warriors. One reputed as the strongest of her gender in her lifetime and the other being one of the fiercest elites, tasked with the strongest warrior under the Commanders, Bardock.

"Alright, ladies! On your mark! Get set! AND GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!~" Jeice swung his arm down as he shouted jubilantly to get all onlookers, and the two competitors, into the game.

As soon as Jeice spoke, they began their competition.

At first it didn't appear their arms were really moving, even their visages didn't waver. Their hands appeared to be vibrating, as the true struggle was being initiated through the point of contact. At first, only minimal energy was placed into their little contest. But as the minutes drew by, the forearms began to vibrate as well, and looks of grimace crossed both of the Saiyan women.

"C'mon, Fasha! Show who's boss!" Guldo shouted from the said Saiyan's left.

"Recoome is a'cheering for you, Hanassia!" Recoome bellowed near Hanassia's right.

"Work it, girlsssss, work it!" Burter cheered nonsensically.

Finally, Jeice shouted with a fist held high, "Do your best in the name of Captain Ginyu!"

"WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP?!" Both Saiyan women shouted at the Ginyu Force standing around them. As they renewed their concentration, their brows began to project beads of sweat and protrude veins of frustration. Their palms began to crackle with unstable energy, as their arms practically glowed with fueling Ki to increase their chances of overpowering one or the other.

Hanassia internally thought it was surprising that Fasha kept up with her every step of the way. With every passing second, she slowly let out controlled minute amounts of her power flow into her arm and focusing it to the palm of her hand. In this manner, their battle for dominance wouldn't be as destructive because of the control had. However, as time continued to crawl, the energy output began to rise exponentially higher than either of them expected they needed for such a rudimentarily simple contest.

Blocking out all the sounds, she began to only concentrate on the limb standing in the way of her victory and her assertion of dominance over Fasha. Slowly, but surely, her arm began to move towards its goal, and press against the stubborn hand of her opponent. She knew if she kept this up for just another minute, she would be able to proclaim victory and-

"Hey, Hana! Have you seen your son, Raditz, anywhere?!" Aosai appeared behind Hanassia out of thin air, placing a hand onto her shoulder impatiently.

The sudden and instantaneously loud voice shattered her concentration, thus her slowly gaining victory. She could only gasp as she felt her arm snap in the opposite direction entirely, causing her body to move with the arm as the table shattered from the impact. Hilariously enough, the center of the arena buckled with the release of pent-up energy within Hanassia's freed limb, sending a vibrant shockwave that knocked everyone off their feet within a twenty meter radius.

While Fasha and Aosai were on their feet and unharmed, they soon could feel the waves of bubbling rage ebbing off the mate of Bardock's body.

"Oh...were you two having a match or a competition?" Aosai asked incredulously, her eyes widened as she realized what happened.

"No, really? Exactly what did you think the source of the chanting of our names and the look of intense staring was for? A dinner date?!" Fasha snorted at Aosai as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh...sorry," Aosai bowed her head with apologies, which were immediately waved dismissively by Fasha.

"Forget me, carrot top. I won the competition thanks to your inadvertent interruption. Its Hanassia you should be worrying about," Fasha snickered, even as she backed up away from the slowly rising woman, she added hastily, "she's a really sore loser when this happens..."

"Oh, Gamikai," Aosai's eyes widened with comical fright.

As Hanassia fixated a white-eyed glare at the woman responsible. Her hair rose up within sync of an explosive glow of golden energy, changing its tint to glowing blonde locks, as her voice bellowed with a bloodthirsty shout, "AOSAAAAAAAAAAAAI!"

Hanassia's rampage lasted a good half hour. Aosai screamed shrill cries of desperation as she dodged and weaved within the artificial space horizon, with the maddened and vengeful-crazed Super Saiyan in hot pursuit. Wherever the Herasian Galactic Champion went, the inferno-tempered Hanassia followed. Each fist and kick she threw annihilated planets and moons, left and right.

It took both Goku and Bardock to grab a hold of either arm, holding her back as Super Saiyans themselves, in order to calm the enraged woman.

Aosai tried to apologize, but that only made the series of incoherent swears come out faster and more vulgarly from Hanassia's mouth. Within a blipping movement of disappearance, Aosai whisked herself away out of sight, allowing the woman to completely calm down.

A grumbling King Kai drove the Zamboni across the decimated arena before taking it towards the skies, aiming to restore all of the planets and moons back to their original designated spots. As he came across the de-powered family trio of Saiyans, King Kai asked incredulously as his machine climbed vertically into the black space horizon, "Is the woman half sane now?"

"She would be more sane if hyperactive Herasians didn't ambush her from behind," Hanassia growled lightly, but exhaled the tension from her nostrils regardless, "if you're talking about my tirade, I...apologize..."

"Yeah, you know women these days take their little contests so seriously, haha-OW!" Bardock laughed aloud before feeling an elbow impact his armored abdomen, causing him to grimace and glare at his mate, "dammit, woman! Lighten up for a change!"

"I WAS lightened up, Space Rambo! That is, until Miss Perfect came and blindsided me, ruining the only REAL fun I was having!" Hanassia growled as she poked insistently her mate's breastplate.

"Welcome to the club, Hanassia! Until the fight before this break, I was having NO fun at all!" Bardock growled back his forehead practically inches away from hers as they glared at each other.

It was within a single instant that they felt a painful tug by their scalps, as a exasperated pair of glaring onyx eyes projected from their youngest son, as he pulled them apart and halted their squabbling.

"Alright, both of you get a grip! Everyone has to wait their turn to fight, so that gives neither of you an excuse to act put-out! I'm the son for crying out loud and you don't see me acting fidgety as Hell for the first round to be over!" Goku spoke sternly, releasing his grip on his parents' hair and crossed his arms over his own armored chest. Turning to his mother, he relayed a much calmer tone, though kept his eyes steeled, having been accustomed to his mother's more primal nature from training with her, "mom, be honest with yourself and was all this destruction really necessary? If anything, you're giving Saiyans AND Super Saiyans all-around a bad name by spazzing out in such a childish manner. What Aosai did was an accident, and as naturally upsetting it is to lose a challenge, you really shouldn't blame her for it."

Both parents spent the first few moments of Goku's lecture just jaw-dropped and wide-eyed, with the King Kai even joining in as he stopped his Zamboni to listen. As his tone lessened in severity, and became focused on his mother, both Bardock and Hanassia could only wince and grimace at their own childishness. What any normal Saiyan would excuse himself or herself as being instinctive or natural, was now being judged as immature. They couldn't look at Goku due to the shame of their own son actually working up the nerve to call them out.

"So...I'm going to go and clean up the mess and leave you three alone," King Kai spoke nervously, pushing the gas on his Zamboni and into the stars, already rejuvenating the debris-ridden remains of the planets and moons back to normalcy.

"Kakarot," Hanassia finally breathed out, glaring back at Goku enough to cause him to take a step back in fright, "under any other circumstance, I'd beaten your face in for talking that way to me. But, as it stands you were right THIS time," sighing, she relaxed her stare back to an understanding one, "I'll make sure to behave myself better from now on. Only promise that you let your father and I be the ones on your side of the lecture table, instead of vice versa. Capiche?"

"Sure," Goku smiled widely, breathing out a sigh of relief, glad to know his mother was mentally stable once more.

"Now, to relieve all this stress, your father and I will have to consume what's left of the buffet lines," Hanassia snickered, wrapping an arm around her mate's free one, yanking him insistently downwards, back towards the stadium.

"No need to be pushy, woman," Bardock grumbled, albeit smiling with a roll of his eyes, happy to oblige at the mentioning of food. Within but a seconds, the two descended back towards the stadium, leaving their son in peace.

But he wasn't alone for long.

"Is your scary mom gone?" Aosai asked, her form coming into view from behind a piece of space debris, blinking hesitantly.

"Yeah, she's gone," Goku spoke with much more cheer, turning around to greet Aosai fully and with a wide smile, "you alright?"

"Say what you will about her temperament, but she's a lot faster than I gave her credit," Aosai chuckled sheepishly, moving a few stray bangs across her smooth forehead back behind her left ear, "I'm just glad she was destroying artificial worlds instead of real ones. I'd hate to think what would've happened to the audience if I hadn't taken off up here..."

"Mom's a little hot-headed and rough around the edges, but she's caring on the inside. Even if she doesn't know that herself," Goku said honestly, smiling blissfully as he gazed down at his black breastplate, stroking it thoughtfully, "its just been awhile since she's actually socialized. Her life wasn't one I envy, that's for certain."

"I see," Aosai spoke in a soft tone, her eyes looking to the side. She couldn't help but smile as she muttered in a whisper, "it must be nice to have a caring family..."

"Hm?" Goku cocked his head to the side, scratching his head, "did you say something?"

"Oh, no," Aosai raised her hand up, her face glowing a tinge of pink around her cheeks as she insisted, "I just..."

"Pardon for the intrusion, you two, but this is Olibu," Olibu spoke in a good-natured tone, via telepathy, "but I thought it best since none of you have officially made acquaintance, I thought it best that you all sit down and have a drink! And just to clarify, its most of a sweet drink than an actual form of alcohol, so don't fret about the details, Son Goku."

"Oh! Okay," Goku thought back with a smile, raising his forefingers to his forehead, sensing out where Olibu's presence was, "are you standing right next to them?"

"Yes, and its probably for the best I was here. Pikkon is not one for contacting people for an engagement, and Rao is a bit socially withdrawn. He's not as forthcoming as you or I, if you understand," Olibu explained with a sheepish laugh.

"Its alright! I'll just grab Aosai and-" Goku began to respond, before his eyes blinked. Aosai had whizzed away, once again using a mysterious alternate form of instant movement, "oh...I guess she found her own way. Very well, here I come!"

Within an instant later, Goku appeared before the assembled group.

As the son of Bardock and Hanassia looked around, he realized that they were within a special booth just a dozen meters away from the Kais' viewing booth. It retained a interior filled with red velvet carpet, with a tunnel leading towards a staircase that circled down towards the exit, as well as lead to the Kais. Smooth dark hardwood enamored the ceiling and walls, leading up to the four viewing seats, specially reserved for the champions.

But what caught Goku's eyes was the four seats assembled around what looked like the sleekest mahogany dining table. Olibu had his hand resting on a crimson cushioned, wooden chair, indicating where Goku would sit, being one of the two who would sit nearest towards the balcony beyond.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting," Goku scratched the back of his head, as he took his seat laid out by Olibu, "you weren't waiting long, were you?"

"No need to be so modest, Goku. You are a guest and an honored one at that," Olibu spoke with insistance, waving his hand towards their table and his mutual Galactic Champions, "please drink and acquaint yourself with your mutual champions. I feel you may have more in common with each other than you realize."

Raising a brow with question, Goku turned to see Olibu walk towards the balcony, "Wait, aren't you going to join us, Olibu?"

"It isn't my place to intrude," Olibu waved his hand back, smiling reassuringly at Goku, as he hefted himself onto the balcony's perch, "this is the table you've earned. Try and enjoy it to the fullest!"

Without a thought of hesitation, the golden-haired fighter of Earth leaped upwards acrobatically before descending down, out of sight, leaving Goku with the other Champions of the Universe with him.

"Well, uh...okay," Goku returned his attention back to his mutual fighters for justice, sitting down before the elegantly carved table, "so...you guys are Galactic Champions to, huh? What exactly did you guys do to earn such a cool title?"

Seeing that the others wouldn't voluntarily start off their history, Aosai turned her eyes to Goku and began speaking first, "My name is Aosai. As you know, I'm from the Eastern Galaxy, born and raised on Hera. Seven centuries before Bojack's reign of terror, Hera was a beautiful and prosperous planet, with a rich culture. Unfortunately, it was also based on a caste system, one of which restricted freedoms for the Herasians and chose their destinies the moment they were born. I was one of the servant class of my kind, born only to serve the hierarchy and the royalty that followed. I never complained, but I always desired to be something more. I'd often confide with my fellow handmaidens of my desires. They teased me, but they didn't discourage me to stop.

Then, one day everything changed. Intergalactic pirates raided our world, using technology far more advanced than we could have anticipated. They bombed our cities and kidnapped our people, as if they were the worst kinds of thieves. They even kidnapped my friend, Eleyna, one of the few people who shared my own dream of becoming something greater. The military tightened around our world, but they had no intention of finding my friend. So I entered the prison from which they held a few of the bandits, one of which was a forced recruited child. I begged him to take me to their hideout, offering him freedom in doing so.

After highjacking one of the transports we possessed, we took off towards the coordinates the boy pirate knew where to go after their mission was over. What lied within the asteroids field was an immense, talon-shaped space station. We narrowly evaded search by the other pirates, as we navigated our way to the holding areas where our friends were being kept. What greeted me horrified me to a degree of immediate trauma. The pirates were not only beating the boys and elderly they had in their possession, but were doing the most vile and disgusting things to my friend and other females of various ages.

It was there I was able to let loose the power within me through a bout of righteous felt rage. The power that coursed through my young veins was a rare one, which very few Herasians are ever given the privilege to be born with. The power to harness starlight into our bodies, and then increase our strength at an astronomical rate. I felt more alive than I ever was, using the natural martial artistry talents the Handmaidens of the hierarchy are given, I incapacitated and subdued all of the pirates within their stronghold. Not only did I rescue those who've been captured, but I also rescued a good number of slaves under their control, and returned them back to Hera.

It was that day that the caste system was given extreme reconsideration. Exemption was given to any Herasian man or woman whom has proven his or herself to be deserving of another role, so to speak. It wasn't the change I hoped, but I was given the title of Guardian, and there was much peace that was brought about my oversight. I taught both the hierarchy and the lower classes to draw upon the power within their bodies and their souls, and imbue it with the energy we absorbed from the radiant two stars within our solar system. A whole line of Herasian warriors with the ability to use their inner strength, and the ability to harness the power of the stars was granted to them. My final days were spent in peace, my life only ending when I sacrificed before I had chance to grow much older. I had left to curb an arrogant student that attempted to usurp the throne, but his blow to my heart ended my life.

Ever since my death, I learned advanced martial arts and trained my body on East Kai's planet, also learning to augment my abilities to heal that I learned as a Handmaiden to a higher degree than I ever thought possible. For a thousand years I watched Other World continue to glisten with magnificence and wonder, and I rarely ever partook in any request the Grand Kai would have for me culling abnormally misbehaving forces within Hell. Though I have made acquaintance with some of the fighters of the South Quadrant and the North, I spent the majority of my time training, meditating, and relaxing in this lifetime. Who knew I'd get the chance to challenge myself and use my skills from both my past and present lifetime, right?"

Goku had nothing but wide eyes and a open mouth, as he listened to Aosai in awe. He couldn't believe that Aosai had endured so much, and complained so little for the majority of her childhood. He knew if he was placed in her situation, he'd be griping and fidgeting about being suck in a class that he never felt comfortable with. It only made his admiration for her just grow, and truly cherish her as a friend.

But, he had a question, one that made his brows furrow with confusion, "Hey, Aosai. That story of your life was incredible, but there's one thing I'm a little confused by..."

"Ask away," Aosai smiled at Goku, finding his confusion cute to observe.

"How did your people assign children to a specific class? What you just described to me sounded like that their system was flawed, due to you being more of a warrior than a servant. So, how did they keep it like that for so long?" Goku asked as he leaned on the table by his elbows, propping his face up as he blinked curiously at Aosai.

"Well, the way they did so hardly ever led them astray. They based on what kind of passion a child would have by the alignment of the stars, the year he/she was born, and the bloodline they possessed. I'd like to believe it had a 95% accuracy rate, but as it went the longer I lived, it turned out to be only 50% accurate. I was a rare exception due to the unique power I inherited far beyond my line's conception," Aosai raised a finger in emphasis during her explanation.

"Huh, sounds a bit controlling if you ask me," Goku said with a shrug, crossing his arms behind his head as he leaned back in his seat, staring up at the ceiling, "every person deserves the chance to be free, to choose their own path. For better or for worse, I think it'd be a lot better that way for the Universe."

"It might work for some races, Goku, but it can't work for everybody," Aosai argued, her brows furrowing into a frown as she leaned forward on her side of the table, "if you were go give the same kind of freedoms to beings capable of malicious torment and evil, would you think a equal rights citizenship make them upstanding entities to the rest of the galaxy?"

"Tell that to the Saiyans," Goku spoke in a non-humorous tone, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at Aosai's blue eyes, "My brother, Vegeta, myself, and thousands of children were never given the opportunity to choose for ourselves what we wanted. We were only instructed to kill, maim, and destroy anything that could breathe on the planet we've landed on. I was lucky I found such a kind man to care for me, and if I hadn't gotten sense knocked into me, I'd done the same because I wasn't given a choice. Frieza took away any dignity, pride, and honor the Saiyans had, and turned its survivors into barbarians, expecting nothing less than complete ruthlessness. I may not be the smartest guy, but its hard for me to distinguish the difference between your society's caste system and Frieza's imposition of working the Saiyans like dogs, giving them no other choice in the matter."

Aosai bit her tongue and looked away from Goku's hardened stare of seriousness. As much as she could argue against it, the Saiyan from Earth had made some points of his own that she couldn't deny. The fact he's seen some horrors and darkness in his lifetime than most veterans would care to see. His sincere and honest way of looking at things caused her to verbally run into an impasse.

She was only glad to hear Rao clear his throat, to break the tension in the air.

"Not many people know about my past, so I'd appreciate if this doesn't leave the room," Rao began speaking in a hospitable tone, grasping the edges of his hood and throwing it back, allowing them to see his violet colored hair, knife-arcing ears, and soft smile revert back to an impassive grimace, "I grew up in the Southern Galaxy's planet called Konats. Konats itself was known as a beautiful world, filled with luminous starry nights, lush forests, and oceans so clear that you can see its bottom. I spent most of my early days within the Church of the Supremes, a tradition passed on to pay respect to the highest of Kais that reigned over all four corners of the Universe, including our Galaxy. I was a mere acolyte, training to become a priest and I believed my days would be spent in harmony and peace within our isolated world's society.

But then, the day came when it all came crashing down. An insidious cult, known only as the Kashvar, practiced the deranged arts of black magic and reveled in the act of genocide of any race that wasn't their own. We'ved dealt with them from time to time, ultimately proving their ordinary methods vain as they are a physically weak species, and would often rely on using their witchcraft to reign in beasts and servants of darkness to do their bidding. What they did during our time of peace, however, was far worse than our previous clashes. They revived a Demon of unspeakable power, simply named Hirudegarn.

A demon of colossal size and insectoid in shape, the creature's body seemed resistant to almost any form of damage our meager military could project. It fed on the flesh of those it purposely left alive, wounded, and traumatized, as if to satiate its sadistic appetite as well as its voracious bloodthirst. It would come in the form of billowing smoke, and would often retreat as fast as it came, in order to further ensure it wouldn't be harmed by any acts of extreme measure. Within a matter of ten years, our once large populace had dwindled to a quarter of what it used to be, and many of our cities became graveyards across the span of the unending attacks.

I prayed day and night to the Supremes, hoping that we would be delivered from the evil that plagued my people. When I wasn't doing so, I tended to the sick and the wounded, giving all the care and hope I could to those within my reach, and would encourage the spread the word of faith in a better tomorrow. Because of our dire situation, I didn't expect any good will to head my way, resulting in many sleepless and tiring nights for me.

But I was blessed by two pure-hearted souls. Tapion and Minotia, two orphans whom were being taken care of by the Church I oversaw, decided to pay respects to me on a daily basis. They'd volunteer to help me tend to the wounded, ration out food, and even help me on my wearier days to my bedside. Had I considered the possibility of raising a family, I wouldn't want better sons than the two boys who cared for others, each other, and my own well-being.

These acts of good deed and cries for help weren't ignored. Low and behold, I was greeted by the Supreme of Kais himself, bestowing upon me gifts that would help end my race's plight and grant me peace of mind. Taught spells in tongue and movement I never would've dreamed to be possible, as well as the art of the sword, I soon became a veteran warrior. The two boys became my disciples, and we began to rally hope as we were given a plan to defeat the beast and claim peace once again for our world.

Before we could fully subdue the menace that haunted my people, the Supreme blessed us with two gifts.

The very flutes used to reign in the beast soon came into our possession and was cleansed, only pouring forth what the Supreme called the Song of the Universe. My disciples weren't even fluent in playing music, and because of their pure desire to free their kind, the notes came out naturally. The last gift I was granted was the greatest work of Kai craftsmanship, the Brave Sword. A weapon capable of cleaving through negative energy at will and is empowered by the courage flowing through any being who wielded it, was the perfect bane to the evil demon Hirudegarn.

With the combined efforts of both flutes and a precise cut from my Brave Sword, the beast lied helpless and defeated. But it couldn't be slain, and already tried to realign its split halves within seconds of its decapitation. So, the boys performed a selfless act, and drew in both halves of the terrifying beast into their inner beings, imprisoning it, and ending the plight of our people.

Unfortunately, the sacrifice was a cost I didn't realize until later. Due to the danger the beast's body had, despite being lodged within a disembodied stasis, it came to our attention that the moment either boy's consciousness fades to unconsciousness, the beast would be freed. No matter which half, it would try to ferret out destruction once again and seek out the other half to reunite itself and continue its rampage of genocide and chaos. With this in mind, what was left of my people's government and military decided to set the boys in a stasis of their own, hopefully giving them rest they so rightfully deserve, and launch them in modified rockets. Designated to be thrust into the far corners of the cosmos of the Eastern and Western edges of the Universe, in order to keep either half from being possibly reunited together.

I wept for many days, as the two boys who gave me solace and comfort were taken away from me. Even still, I was regarded as a hero and a legend, and I did my best to use the influence I had to better my people. I had an effigy of their likeness at their finest moments in the subduing of the demon placed within the center of our new capital, Tapiotia, in further honor of the sacrifice those brave children made. I used what knowledge attained by the Supreme's teachings to be passed down, and a line of holy warriors were established, as the ability to employ magic was to be the greatest gift I could offer to my race.

Doing all I could, I spent my remaining days in the Church, thanking the Supreme Kai daily for his service and blessings to my people and that his hand would guide my two disciples to peace of their own. I passed away in pleasant slumber in my final days, passing onto this world and being granted the ability to train with the South Kai. There I learned advanced martial arts, honing my body to perfection and giving me a finer warrior spirit, as well as making me a formidable match for any fighter of my quadrant.

I never thought it be possible, but as a token of goodwill, I was also granted the original blade given to me by the Supreme Kai, the Brave Sword. A piece of home I've never parted with, has given me great comfort and rest through the many years I've lived in this world of blissful peace and harmony. To think I could be granted the ability to fight at odds with so many fine warriors also gives me a smile, knowing that I didn't put the past millennia of training to waste."

Goku had been reserved and silent throughout Rao's story. He never had felt so rattled and so moved for a complete stranger before. The man's past was filled with both good and so much pain, heartache, and suffering. If there ever was a sympathetic warrior worth giving reverence, Rao would fit Goku's book for ones needing empathy.

Still, throughout the latter explanation of the gifts given to him by whoever was the "Supreme" Kai, he saw him gesturing to a sword that was sheathed within a leather scabbard, leaning next to his chair. The hilt, the guard, and everything about its craftsmanship made it uncannily similar to a weapon he had seen turned against him by a young man. He never saw it again, but...he could've sworn there was a defining parallel design to them both.

It was at this period of time, Goku's attention turned to Pikkon, whom seem to have been glaring at him. He seemed to be eerily quiet, and almost as if he was being irreproachable on purpose. Personally, the Saiyan of Earth never had a problem with the green skinned, amphibious looking fighter of the Western Quadrant, but he always held a certain dislikement to how stoic and stone-faced he's been around him.

Having sensed a silence with Goku's stare fixated at him, Pikkon spoke bluntly, "I'm not about to share my past life, nor anything about myself to you, Son Goku. I don't think you've earned that kind of knowledge."

"Fair enough," Goku spoke levelly, trying to remain hospitable to the fighter, despite his disdainful choice of words, "though I think I'll earn it, once I've won this Tournament, right?"

"Hmph," Pikkon rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke, "forget about winning your way back to your family. Unlike what you believe to be a fantasy, death in that world is the end for you. You may have been given a second chance, but you blew any chance of a long and prosperous life. If I were you, make peace with the idea that your family is never going to see you again, and that you're now content to be within this realm."

A sudden, chilling silence elapsed over the room. It only took a small amount of words for Pikkon to literally suck any form of festivity and joy between him and his mutual fighters. Whether it was a painful truth or not, Rao and Aosai couldn't help but cast their own scowls, as futile as they were towards the cold hearted companion of theirs.

Then, Goku spoke with a sudden serious edge, as his eyes locked onto Pikkon's, "Listen here, Pikkon. You may have given up on the real world cause you don't think you can make a difference. Well I have the power to make that difference. So losing this Tournament isn't an option for me. I may die a thousand times in this eternal world, but I will never give up. My feelings for my friends and love ones; my passion for justice and protecting what matters to me; and my Will to never give up is what makes me strong, stronger than anyone I've ever faced. You may be fine with being cold, lonely, and empty, but you will be very surprised to hear this. But there is no way a person like you will ever win against me. EVER!"

Pikkon, despite hearing the impressive rhetoric Goku spouted from his mouth, could only smile challengingly back at Goku, "Really? Then here's a cold hard fact I'll issue back to you. I'd rather spend the rest of my days in Hell then see a childish, ignorant, empty-headed fool like you get a third chance at living in your blissful world of innocence and laughter. There will never be a day where you can win against me, Son Goku. Not today, not tomorrow, and not in the next ten thousand years. It is not boast, it is just fact. You will never be better than me."

Standing to his feet, Goku could only glare back at the green skinned entity, proclaiming to be an ultimate obstacle in the path to his life back on Earth. He couldn't help but keep his eyes locked onto the determined, red orbs of Pikkon's assumedly cruelly smiling face. The haughtiness rolling off him wasn't undeserved Goku could feel the power barely withdrawn and contained, ebbing off him like a steaming pot of boiling water.

And yet, Goku couldn't help but smile challengingly back, catching Pikkon by surprise by the gusto the Legendary Saiyan of the North Galaxy's next words, "I've heard better speeches made by Frieza. If that's all the confidence you got, I'm sure I can take whatever you can throw at me."

Before anyone could protest, Goku strut out of the room, turning his back on Pikkon as he would leave the viewing box and return to his family's side. He knew that is where he belonged. It didn't matter what he earned or what he deserved. The ones he loved and who loved him were the best people to stand with, even till the bitter end.

"Hang in there, Chi-Chi, Gohan, Goten. Just wait a little longer, and I'll be home soon," Goku whispered to himself as he descended from the balcony back into the crowd below.

A/N: AND DONE! Whew, this is probably the second biggest chapter I've ever written in my life XD

So, I want to cover a few things.

Jack Lee and Bruce Han are a culmination of several real-life iconic martial artists. Jack Lee is more based on some of Jackie Chan's more ridiculous roles,and Bruce Han is based off of Jet Li and Bruce Lee. Their techniques, personalities and attitudes were totally whimsical when it entered my mind, as I had no intention of them being vivid counterparts to either the real people or any characters they've acted to in the past. I also tried to make out how badass the old Kung Fu masters would've been in the DBZ world, especially if they were given ample time to bulk up and train in Other World.

I had a lot of fun writing out all the fight sequences, despite how long it took me, I also enjoyed writing the Halftime break. It helped show that this is a funny and playful atmosphere, but I also wanted to show the maturity building within Goku, as well as his ultimate goal being revealed before the Galactic Champions. I hope you liked my takes on them and the pasts that were revealed.

If you have any questions, feel free to send a PM to me or vaguely imply it within your Review over the Chapter.

I'll try and get the next Chapter out by next week Friday or Saturday (so not this week but the following week) as I am intending to spend some time catching up on The Vegeta Chronicles.

Until then, I'll see you guys on the next, The Other World Saga!