Reliving History

DISCLAIMER: I don't own DBZ.

CHAPTER 11: Arithmetic Adversary!

There was a large black scorch mark on the spot in the arena where, only moments before, Krillin had been standing. The warrior in question was nowhere to be seen.

Up in the air, Chiaotzu looked surprised. "He's... gone!"

Suddenly, a shape materialized directly behind him, wearing a red gi with a bald head and an orb of blue energy in his cupped hands. It was Krillin!

"Right here!" he said.

Chiaotzu turned.

"HAAAAAAAAH!" Krillin finished, and a huge Kamehameha erupted out of his palms and sped towards Chiaotzu, slamming full-force into him and sending him careening out of control and flying towards the ground.

"It worked!" exulted Krillin.

"Look, Chiaotzu's gonna fall right out of the ring," Yamcha observed. "That was a nice shot, Krillin!"

"Yeah, go Krillin!" Goku cheered happily.

"Chiaotzu!" Tien shouted worriedly from the crowd next to Master Shen.

Gohan said nothing. He had sensed Krillin's Ki as he moved around and used the Kamehameha on Chiaotzu, but he could also sense it hadn't been as strong as it could have been had he used a full-powered Kamehameha; apparently, Krillin had wanted to conserve energy.

And indeed, just before he hit the ground Chiaotzu managed to gather enough of his Ki to cushion himself on the air, and gingerly floated back to the ring, looking mightily winded and panting exhaustedly.

"Aww, give me a break!" Krillin complained. "You're telling me after that he's still floating?!"

Aside from his torn clothing and the drain on his Ki, Chiaotzu looked relatively okay.

In the crowd, Tien was surprised and more than a little angry.

I didn't think a student of Roshi's was capable of such skill, he thought. He dodged and then attacked within seconds!

"Whoa," said Bulma from the audience. "It's not that often I'm surprised, but I didn't think Krillin was that strong."

For a few moments Krillin and Chiaotzu simply stood there, staring at each other.

"Contestants, please keep fighting!" the tournament announcer urged. "The match is still in session!"

"I'm not usually forced to resort to this, but for you I'll use my ultimate attack," Chiaotzu told Krillin.

"Ultimate?" Krillin repeated.

"Most excellent," said Shen from the audience. "You know what's coming next," he added to Tien.

"Oh yes," Tien replied. "This fight won't last much longer."

Krillin jumped and flew at Chiaotzu with a kick, but Chiaotzu leapt to avoid it, jumping back towards Krillin and propelling himself into a spin, using his near-bald head as a point in a variant of an attack he had used earlier. He smashed into Krillin's face, knocking him back.

Using the dividing wall as a springboard Chiaotzu launched himself at Krillin again.

"That's not ultimate!" Krillin retorted. "I can do that!"

As he neared, Krillin threw himself at Chiaotzu in the same manner, but Chiaotzu's spinning head increased power to his charge, and Krillin was once again knocked helplessly to the side.

"Krillin!" Goku said in concern.

Krillin was nursing a bump on his head. "And they say I'm hard-headed," he grumbled.

"Unless Krillin does something, Chiaotzu has the advantage," Gohan said.

"Come on, Krillin!" Yamcha cheered. "Don't give up on us now, you've gotten this far!"

Chiaotzu, up in the air, threw himself back at Krillin with a cry of, "Bombs away!"

"Watch out!" Gohan shouted.

Seeing Chiaotzu at the last minute, Krillin leaped to the side to dodge, and Chiaotzu slammed into the tiled floor, creating a small crater.

Krillin chuckled. "Sorry pal, but you won't catch me off guard so easily!"

But Chiaotzu emerged from the crater, looking completely unaffected!

"Boy has a high tolerance for pain," Jackie noted.

Gohan nodded. He remembered a time when he was six years old, watching as a small figure latched onto the larger back of a hulking brute with a tail and armor, named Nappa, and how that figure, Chiaotzu, had valiantly sacrificed himself despite a merciless thrashing from Nappa, even as Gohan himself was so terrified he felt he couldn't watch, using his Ki to detonate, intending to take Nappa down with him.

Even though it hadn't worked and Chiaotzu died for nothing, Gohan still remembered the courage and heroism Chiaotzu had displayed for years to come. He clenched his fist.

I hope there's still some of that Chiaotzu left, Gohan thought sadly, knowing how deep Shen's corruption ran.

Back with the fight, Chiaotzu was now using a cloth to clean off his dust-covered head. It shone brilliant in the sun once he had removed it.

Shen smirked in the crowd. "Good boy," he said. "Stay calm, focus on your target, and annihilate him."

"I won't let you down, Master," Chiaotzu declared, throwing himself into another spin attack. But Krillin wasn't moving!

"What's he doing?" Yamcha demanded. "Krillin, move!"

Gohan saw at the last second what Krillin was going to do, and indeed, he grabbed onto Chiaotzu's head much like he had done earlier, Chiaotzu once again pushing him towards the edge of the arena, but Krillin held strong, staying in position even as he stood on the lip of the stage, and eventually Chiaotzu's momentum died down, and he stopped spinning.

Chiaotzu jumped down, looking a little disappointed.

"Sorry, but you'll have to come up with something better than that!" Krillin said. "That trick won't work on me anymore!"

"Lucky," Tien said, looking grim. "Next time Chiaotzu won't play so nice."

Tien didn't know how to feel about that; for some reason, it felt like there was a great conflict within him, raging with all the power and burning intensity of the glowing sun above. He hated that kid, Icarus, and his lies and false promises of power. Thanks to that little imp, he felt like something as hard as stone had been set in his path and was barring him from his true nature.

What is it? he wondered. What could it be? That kid is wrong; I'm a killer, like Tao! That is my destiny! Shen has shown me power and for that, I have sold him my soul. "Duty" and "honor" limit you, weaken you, all the while denying you the real pleasures of life! Arrgh, I almost hope that Icarus kid does get through the tournament so I can pound the snot out of him for what he's done to me!

Shen looked over at Tien. "Huh?" he said. "Tien, is something wrong? You're looking a little under the weather."

Tien regained his composure and did something he hadn't done to his Master in a while: Lie.

"I'm feeling fine, Master," he said. "Just a little concerned for Chiaotzu, but I almost feel sorry for poor little Krillin."

Shen cackled menacingly. "Ah yes, too true! Soon there won't be any meat left on his bones, not even for the birds!"

Tien nodded, wondering all the while how he truly felt about that.

Back in the ring, Krillin was dominating Chiaotzu, and finally Chiaotzu, seeing Krillin was going to win, threw out his hands and concentrated deeply. Krillin froze, holding his stomach. Chiaotzu laughed softly, still with his palms out, and hovered back away from Krillin.

Gohan gasped; he could sense strong psychic waves emanating from Chiaotzu and into Krillin's body, effectively paralyzing him.

"Oh no!" he said. "You guys, I think Krillin's in trouble!"

"No kidding," Yamcha said. "Man, what's Chiaotzu doing to him?!"

"Oh no, Krillin!" Goku yelled. "Fight it! You can do it, Krillin!"

"How many special techniques does Chiaotzu have?" Jackie muttered to himself.

"I haven't felt this bad since... when was the last time Launch cooked?" Krillin muttered through the strain.

Chiaotzu floated closer, and he kicked Krillin into the wall. Chiaotzu chuckled evilly.

"My stomach... feels... like it's on fire!" Krillin groaned.

"Don't give up, Krillin!" Gohan called. "Beat him! Focus!"

"Krillin, get back up!" Goku said. "Please! Fight him!"

"Ha," said Shen from the audience. "Your encouragement, is amusing but futile. Why give the boy false hope?" He adopted a very ugly look on his face now. He spoke directly to Goku. "Chiaotzu will destroy him, but his demise will be on your hands. For the death of my brother Tao!"

Chiaotzu resumed his campaign, kicking Krillin and finally knocking him back, all with his legs. Gohan was the first to realize it.

He's using only his feet! he thought. That must mean he needs his hands to maintain the connection!

"Krillin, do something!" Gohan encouraged. "He needs his hands to keep you under control! You have to exploit that somehow!"

Goku looked awed. "Really? That's incredible!" he said. "How did you figure that out?"

"I noticed Chiaotzu wasn't using his hands," Gohan explained, "so I deduced he must need them to keep Krillin frozen."

"Wow!" Yamcha said. "You're a smart kid, I've gotta hand it to you, I'm impressed."

Gohan chuckled.

"But, will Krillin be able to exploit that as a weakness?" Master Roshi, as always the calm voice of reason, managed to bring the attention of the others back onto the match.

Icarus is right! Krillin was thinking. Chiaotzu needs his hands to control his powers. I've got to act now, and stop him before he turns me into mincemeat... and I think I've got the perfect solution.

"You think you're clever, huh?" Krillin taunted him.

"Well, I'm no genius, but I'm smart enough," Chiaotzu admitted, "to know you're stalling."

Just as Chiaotzu was coming in for another attack, Krillin blurted out, "What's 3 plus 4?"

Chiaotzu stopped, looking confused. "Huh?" he said.

"Come on, that was easy!" Krillin further insulted Chiaotzu. "You've got to think faster than that!"

Chiaotzu removed his hands from their position in containing Krillin and used them to try and solve the equation.

"Let's see, 1... 3, 2..." he said in confusion.

"Wrong, 7!" Krillin said, free from Chiaotzu's psychic paralysis. "But he's your other 5!" he shouted, slamming his fist into Chiaotzu's stomach, causing his eyes to pop. Chiaotzu staggered back, clutching his stomach in great agony.

"Now's your chance, Krillin!" Goku yelled.

Krillin launched himself at Chiaotzu again, but Chiaotzu seemed to get his bearings back and once again held out his hands, causing Krillin to stop short and clutch over his stomach.

Chiaotzu cackled.

"Nice work, Chiaotzu," Shen commented from the audience. "It seems that pest is a glutton for punishment!"

"I may have trouble counting, but one thing's for sure," Chiaotzu said. "My ten beats your 5!"

"16 plus 27!" Krillin shouted.

Chiaotzu looked confused, and he removed his hands again, trying to count it all out manually, even as Gohan had figured it out in his head to be 43 instantly.

"9 minus 1!" Krillin continued, further confusing poor Chiaotzu.

Once Krillin was freed from his hold he threw his strongest punch into Chiaotzu's face, and Chiaotzu was sent flying from the ring and out-of-bounds, making Krillin the winner! Chiaotzu himself looked to be unconscious.

"The winner by knockout is Krillin!" the announcer blared.

"The answer," Krillin said, extremely smugly, "is 8."

"Yes, all right, Krillin!" Gohan shouted.

Gohan was so excited that he momentarily forgot himself and threw his arms around Goku. Goku looked shocked, and Gohan, remembering his situation, quickly released him and jumped back, his face a flaming red as he stared down at the ground, highly embarrassed.

Goku grinned. "Aw, hey, you don't have to be embarrassed," he said, putting his own arms around Gohan in a big hug.

Gohan was surprised, but eventually he melted into the hug. He could always feel safe when his father took him in those strong arms, and with a jolt he remembered this could be the last time he hugged his father, and it took all of his enormous self-control not to fall into a fit of weeping right then and there.

Meanwhile, in the stands, Shen was boiling with rage. "Chiaotzu, how could you disappoint me like that?" he snarled. "I was counting on you! How would ever have guessed a fighter needed mathematics?" he added as an afterthought.

The others had walked up to Krillin and were congratulating him on his victory.

"You did good, Krillin," Gohan told him. He leaned in closer for a whisper. "I'm glad you saved your flying technique, because you know who you're going to be fighting in the semifinals."

"Tien!" Krillin exclaimed, looking suddenly sick, as though Chiaotzu had put him back under his psychic paralysis again.

"Krillin, I'm very proud of you, you did an excellent job," Yamcha complimented him. Then he grew serious. "Be careful in the semifinals. I know how Tien fights. He's unlike anyone we've ever faced. Be on alert."

Krillin nodded, still looking incredibly leery at the thought of fighting Tien. Then he turned to Gohan and said, "By the way, thank you, Icarus. If it hadn't been for you, Chiaotzu would have beaten me! Thank you for the wonderful tip."

Gohan chuckled while rubbing the back of his head. "Thank you, Krillin."

Then the announcer came in with another announcement. "The tournament committee has ruled that that's enough action for one day, folks. There's going to be a brief intermission. Match 2 is scheduled for tomorrow morning at eight, so go home, get plenty of rest, and be here tomorrow when defending champion Jackie Chun battles it out with Vice-Champion Goku!"

Slowly, one by one, the stands emptied until it was only Bulma and all the rest of their friends left. Gohan had seen Shen collect Chiaotzu and storm off, no doubt furious at learning what had befallen his brother at the hands of Goku, not to mention the fact that his youngest pupil had just been defeated by his rival's other pupils.

"Hey guys, what do you say we all go out to eat?" Bulma said. "My treat!"

"Yippee!" Goku shouted. "Food!"

Gohan chuckled. "Somehow, I knew you were going to say that."

Goku smiled at Gohan, taking his hand as they walked happily away from the tournament grounds.

Meanwhile, in a secluded spot not too far away, a lean, insect-looking creature with a green exoskeleton and black wings with a helmet-like face peeked out from around a bush, smirking heinously.

"That's right, Gohan," he said smoothly. "Enjoy the time you have remaining with your friends, for at the end of this tournament, I can put my plan into action, and you will be defeated. Sleep well, boy, the time of your demise is fast approaching."

Chuckling, the creature known as Cell placed two fingertips to his forehead and vanished, leaving the tournament grounds as bare and as empty as they had been before.

P.S.: All right, I hope that was enough Cell for you fanatics out there. I do intend to use him again in the next chap, though I'm not saying how. (zips lips) OK, ciao!