Chapter 37

The Bear & The Beast

The crowd gathered around Gohan, and in a flash they were gone, back to the planet of the Kais. Upon their arrival, Goten immediately broke from a sparring session with his father and rushed over to Uub, tackling him into the grass.

Gohan examined the crowd around him and found the Supreme Kai fidgeting nervously. The Old Kai was observing the newcomer calmly, and Goku was beaming, no doubt at the obvious progress Uub had made.

"He's ready." Gohan reassured the old man. "Piccolo knows what he's doing."

"Uub will do fine." The Supreme Kai said, exhaling lightly to himself as he smiled at the boys rolling in the grass. "If we can't trust him in a sparring match, we certainly can't rely on him in a battle. Besides, we wouldn't want to disrespect our sister universe with anything but our best."

"Yes. We'd best be going if we don't want to keep them waiting." Kibito offered.

"Goten, let's go!" Goku yelled, to which the Saiyan and his human companion quickly complied.

The group gathered around Kibito, each placing a hand where they could find room on his massive frame, and vanished from sight.

"5…4…3….2…1!"

On the final count, Trunks threw his energy in front of his speeding body with all his might, trying as best he could to stop dead in his tracks. He failed, but stopped his drift shorter than in his previous attempts, this time a few thousand yards, still well within the confines of the small planet's atmosphere.

Reasonably pleased with himself, Trunks flew back to his starting point, where he reconvened with Whis.

"You've improved!" Whis praised. "If you can master the art of stopping, this skill becomes considerably less dangerous. Coming to a halt in outer space would likely be the end of you."

Trunks knew this, of course, but being patronized by Whis was part of the deal if he wanted his instruction, and today he desperately did. Finally, he had begun to master his energy, and his strength was skyrocketing. Impressed with his progress, Whis had finally agreed to teach him a new technique.

With this technique, he would have the speed and skill to travel anywhere in the universe – even between planets, without need of a ship. His speed would be incomparable to all others, and it wouldn't require condition of a target to latch on to that Goku's legendary technique carried.

"Remember, Trunks, the goal is to be in full control while you're rushing." The blue man droned again. "Once you've learned to adjust your coarse and stop at will, there is no limit to the places you'll be able to travel, and your speed will be nearly unmatched – over distances, at least."

Whis's last words weren't lost on Trunks, either. This technique was unmatched in it's speed and versatility, but it fell short in other areas. It would never be as fast as Goku's Instant Transmission, no matter hard he pushed, and worse, it was largely impractical as a battle maneuver. The technique required him to enter a state of "rushing" – essentially, a high-speed vortex, where his body's metabolism slowed to a crawl, allowing him ample time to travel across space with minimal oxygen. By the time he reached this speed, there wasn't a planet in existence large enough for him to contain it. If he intended to use it in a fight, he would have to leave and then return the planet's atmosphere, or else take his opponent with him. Neither option seemed particularly practical.

Still, there was no doubting it's usefulness in travel – or retreat, if necessary – and the allure of mastering such an advanced skill excited him greatly. Trunks checked to make sure his hair was still tied tightly behind his head, and fired off again.

Kibito reappeared with his allies on a thin bridge, just wide enough to hold them all. The bridge sat beneath a clear dome, the only thing separating them from the cold, dark expanse of space. On one end, there was nothing, only a dead end where it met the dome. On the other, a spiraling portal, glowing aqua blue.

"Well, let's not keep them waiting." The Supreme Kai said, and stepped into the portal. A quick look amongst themselves was the only hesitation the group gave, and a moment later, they passed through as well.

The other side was identical to it's predecessor, save for the addition of a tall, thin man. He was lean and old, sporting a thin, white mustache with long white hair to match Kibito's and blue skin to match the Supreme Kai's. He smiled warmly as the group appeared, and spoke quietly with the Supreme Kai, before extending his hand to the group in invitation. Without another word, the group linked again, and vanished once more.

This time, their reappearance was starkly different, as their senses were shocked at the sudden explosion of light and noise surrounding them. Up above them, a crowd packed tightly into bleachers exploded into cheers at their arrival, disorienting them further.

"Shen!" A fat, green man yelled as he waddled over toward them. "Thank you so much for coming!"

"Fuwa!" The Supreme Kai shouted back, and he rushed to meet him. "What's all this? I thought we were to have a private match!"

"Yes, I apologize!" Fuwa the fat Kai replied. "This is our Otherworld arena. We placed it here to keep out the living world, but it seems our Grand Kai has turned it into an event for our deceased residents! They've been worked up quite a bit!"

"Awesome!" Goten yelled, though Gohan scratched his neck anxiously beside him, and Uub grew visibly restless.

"Throwing us right into it…" Gohan noted to his father, who he found visibly shaking with excitement.

"I'm sorry all of our finest warriors couldn't be here!" Fuwa continued over the noise. "I wanted to give you our best to help train your warriors, but two of them are locked in a private dispute! These three should do nicely, though! There's one I think you'll find particularly impressive!"

"Let's not waste time!" Kibito shouted above the noise toward his superiors, fully conscious of Uub's state.

"Of course!" Fuwa shouted back. "Kibito, please relay the parameters to your team, I'll return to my own. Let's enjoy the show, Shen, I hope all the warriors impress!"

"Thank you, Fuwa!" the Supreme Kai replied, as the group turned to a thin staircase behind them, the crowd still loudly chattering up above them.

The group stepped inside the stairwell to block out the noise from the crowd.

"Quickly, here are the parameters:" Kibito began. "Killing is off limits, obviously. There are no ring-outs, all fights end with either surrender or 10 seconds of unresponsiveness, so recover quickly if you are put down. The Supreme Kai can also surrender on your behalf at any point, as can Fuwa for our opponents. Does everyone understand?"

The group nodded affirmatively, and the Supreme Kai spoke up.

"Uub, you'll be the first to fight. Are you ready?"

Uub gave no response, but only turned and walked purposely out of the stairwell. Goten gave the Supreme Kai a shrug, and the group continued up the stairs to their seats.

Uub stepped out onto the dirt floor coliseum and looked across to the opposite tower. Standing across the arena was a hulking golden bear clad in red armor, who quickly locked eyes with the boy and smirked confidently. Uub's only reply was a snarl on his lips, and a swirling of dust around his body. After a moment, Uub began to pace nervously back and forth in front of his tunnel, eyeing his opponent menacingly all the while.

"Man, Uub looks intense." Gohan said as the group settled into their booth some twenty yards above the arena floor. "He's prowling an animal."

"This place is awesome!" Goku yelled, drowning any response his son might've gotten. "This is way better than the World Martial Arts Tournament!"

Gohan looked around, and found that from a purely martial standpoint, it would've been hard to argue with his father. The arena floor was circular, about 50 yards in diameter, made of clay and sand, and surrounded on all sides by walls that went straight upward. Twenty yards off the floor were two booths, one on either side of the arena, with short-fenced balconies that hung over the arena floor. The opposite booth held their opponents, but was too far off to make out it's inhabitants. Twenty five yards from the ground, just above their booth, the walls of the arena gave way to bleachers that extended upward and out for three decks. It was a raucous, capacity crowd, and Gohan guessed the capacity at nearly 50,000, each one sporting a halo above their heads.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Otherworld!" a voice boomed from the speakers. "Thank you for coming to this friendly matchup between warriors of the living world, and warriors of our sister universe, Universe 7!"

The crowd again cheered wildly, but the voice boomed on, undeterred. "Fighting for Universe 7 is Uub, a human from planet Earth! And fighting for Universe 6 is Botamo, a Urisine from planet Hiber! Combatants, enter the arena!"

On cue, both fighters stepped out of their tunnels to uproarious cheers from the crowd. Once inside, Uub dropped to a knee and rubbed the sand between his fingers, examining it closely, before looking back up and locking eyes with his opponent. When he did, he found he could no longer hear the crowd.

The bear enormous, easily ten feet tall and over a thousand pounds. He stood in stark contrast to Uub, much to the crowd's pleasure, and he raised his arms in a show of strength, urging the crowd into a fever pitch. Uub bared his canines in response, and bore a low growl in his throat.

"The rules are simple!" the voice continued. "Each fight will continue until a fighter or his Supreme Kai surrenders! There are no ring-outs! This is a Friendly, so killing is not allowed! Any fighter who intentionally kills an opponent will be deemed an enemy of the world!"

"Enemy of the world?" Gohan asked.

"Begin!" The announcer bellowed, as Uub shot out of the sand.

Botamo hadn't yet lowered his arms when his eyes caught Uub's charge. He started to dodge, but failed, as Uub's fist collided squarely with his open jaw. Uub drove through his target, but knew he had failed as soon as he made contact.

Botamo made a late swing with his off arm to counter Uub, but the boy had already retreated to the opposite side of the ring, much to the crowd's confusion.

"What was that?" Goten asked aloud. "A punch like that should've knocked his teeth out!" He looked to his brother for confirmation, but both he and their father were staring harshly down at the arena floor, deep in thought.

"Is Universe 6 that strong?" Goten asked.

"No." Goku replied flatly. "But something's going on."

Down on the arena floor, Uub was rattled. He looked across at the armored behemoth openly taunting him, grinning without so much as a scratch on his jaw. Every fiber in his body told him to attack again, but he held his ground, studying his situation.

"I hit him clean, I know I did." The boy muttered. "But it didn't sink in. Why not? Why not…?"

Before Uub could think further, Botamo made his first move. Tall and fat, the bear came bounding over to him, literally bouncing off the arena floor at certain points, and in an erratic pattern, presumably designed to either corner or mesmerize his target.

What mesmerized Uub most, however, was how slowly his opponent moved. "Freeza would've killed him by now." He thought angrily. "If he could hit him."

By then, Botamo closed the gap and forced Uub's hand, so the boy rushed forward again and met him in the air between bounds, intent on firing into a combination. Uub's first blow again landed cleanly, but again Botamo's body absorbed the shock. Uub threw his right leg toward the bear's jaw to follow up, but was too late. The golden fighter grabbed his leg with his left paw, engulfed his head with his right, and raised the boy up high over his head.

"Not good." Gohan said uneasily.

"For which one of them?" Goku asked in response.

The bear smashed Uub down, cracking his back against his wide skull with all his might. Surprisingly, he didn't hear his spine crack, and so he tried again, and again, and again. He aimed to try a fifth time, but the boy let out a shriek and a sudden rush of energy enveloped the arena floor. Caught off guard, Botamo was shot from where he stood and sent crashing into the arena wall, leaving Uub in an awkward pile in the center of the arena.

"Whoa! Alright, Uub!" Goten yelled. "Do that again! Physical attacks won't work on this one."

"That kiai did land." Gohan noted, and looked to his father for assurance, but the old Saiyan just kept silently studying the arena floor.

"Is that it?" Uub asked himself again, as the bear peeled himself out of the hard rock wall. "Is it because I fired my energy instead of hitting you? Or because I caught you off guard?"

"Think you've figured it out, do you?" Botamo yelled as he rose back to his feet. "Go ahead and try what you're thinking! I've defeated a thousand warriors who thought they'd learned my secret!"

Uub fought the urge to fly off the handle again before making his decision. An open invitation was almost always a trap; he'd have known that much even if Piccolo hadn't drilled it into his head for years. Still, this was an opportunity to test his theory, and so he opted to return the taunt.

"One shot." The boy yelled back, extending his arm and raising one finger, much to the pleasure of the crowd. "One shot, and I'll drop you like the animal you are."

"Hey…" Goku said, drawing curious looks from his companions. "What? I never liked Freeza calling me a monkey. How's that any better?"

"Ha!" the bear scoffed, as he sunk his hips and opened his arms to reveal his exposed chest. "Take your shot, boy!"

Uub stood bolt upright and closed his eyes as he brought his right index finger to his forehead, where he held for nearly thirty seconds. Just as the crowd began to get restless, Uub's eyes snapped open, and he fired with a shout.

"MAKANKOSAPPO!"

The drill-like beam raced from Uub's fingertips with a hiss, but Botamo never moved.

"Uub, no!" Goten screamed. "You'll kill him!"

Uub never budged, however, and followed through as his attack landed squarely in the bear's chest, momentarily blinding the arena in a flash of light. Soon, however, the smoke had cleared and the hiss had subsided, and there stood Botamo, with only a hole in his armor to prove the attack had landed.

Botamo raised his arms again, and the crowd erupted once more for their champion. In the Universe 7 booth, the Supreme Kai was stewing.

"That Fuwa…" he said through gritted teeth. "We agreed to put our weakest fighters forward, and he goes and does this."

"But Supreme Kai," Kibito replied, "Fuwa has been our friend for centuries. Surely he wouldn't betray our trust now, with nothing to gain."

"That's not it." Goku interjected. "That bear guy's not that strong. Uub's the only one who's done any damage at all."

"Then what's going on, Dad?" Goten asked.

"I haven't figured it out." Goku replied, "But it's not a trick. He's got some kinda special ability."

Uub was shaken. Physically, he was fine; Botamo had given him four good hits, sure, but nothing worse than what he'd become accustomed to with Piccolo. Mentally, however, he was at a loss' his attacks were being completely neutralized, and his only profitable strike had come on a fluke when his opponent dropped his guard.

He thought of attempting a sneak attack, but was unsure how to go about it. The arena was small and well lit, his opponent now well aware of his strength, and he was still relatively inexperienced. His training had been devoted to defeating his foes, not subverting them, and his present environment left him little room for improvisation.

"Lost, boy?" the giant taunted again. "I'll let you in on a secret." Botamo motioned toward the crowd as he spoke, clearly playing to his audience.

"This idiot's gonna tell me how to kill him." Uub thought.

"You've got strong attacks, I'll give you that, and your spine's tougher than most, but you'll never be able to hurt me! Know why? I'm sending your attacks to a different dimension!"

The crowd gave the appropriate "oohs" and "ahs" here, but Uub never flinched.

"That's right, boy!" He continued, "I open a door to another dimension when your attacks hit, and then they're gone forever! It's just a matter of time until I break you down!"

"This is gonna take forever…" Goku whined, to which Gohan looked over inquisitively. "Uub can't hit the bear guy unless he drops his guard, and the bear guy's too weak to hurt Uub more than a little bit at a time…"

Uub never wavered, but closed his eyes and thought for a long moment. Finally, he opened his eyes, and raised his finger once more.

"One more shot." He announced, to which Botamo laughed loudly. "One more shot and I'll kill you." The boy's eyes seemed to glow as he glared at the bear through pink bloodshot eyes.

"I'll cut you a deal, little man." Botamo responded. "One more shot, just like the last one. If you lay a scratch on me, I'll bow out. If not, you surrender."

"Deal."

Uub drew his finger to his brow again and fell into a deep trance, this time for a full minute. This time, the crowd never made a sound. Uub mustered every bit of energy he had, snapped opened his eyes, and fired.

"Majin-kankosappo."

The attack seemed to crawl out of his fingertip like molasses. It spiraled, as his previous attack had, but slowly and deliberately, and pale pink in color this time. Botamo was confused, but held his ground, and the attack hit him squarely in the chest again.

Botamo released his ability as naturally as ever, and the attack passed harmlessly through him and into the next dimension. And then it stopped. Botamo's eyes widened as he felt Uub's beam recoil, and crawl back through the hole he had created.

Botamo screamed as Uub's attack filled his body, but the boy kept his arm outstretched, a crooked smile growing on his face as Botamo's screamed grew louder and more desperate.

"That's…magic." The Supreme Kai stuttered in horror.

"What's going on?!" Fuwa the Kai screamed. "Surrender! We surrender! Stop this!"

"Universe 6 has surrendered!" The announcer boomed over the shocked crowd, but Uub never let up his attack. Botamo's screams only intensified, until they were drowning the coliseum.

Gohan and Goten appeared on either side of Uub, but still he kept up his attack. Gohan yanked his outstretched arm, shocking him back to his senses as Goten clasped his body tightly from behind and forced him away from Botamo. Uub's face bore pure bewilderment as Botamo's screams finally faded away, and he fell into the sand unconscious.