Chapter 21 – "The unprecedented results of Uub's training burst forth! Who will win the Tournament?"

Aggressive…

The energy of the battle between Uub and Choi elevated to a new level as the tension heightened. Choi's Super Saiyan aura blazed forth around him, pulsating and expanding outward, his aqua-green eyes staring silently at Uub. Uub returned that gaze with equal determination, eager to test Choi's newfound transformation. Part of the training he had been doing with Goku for all these years allowed Uub to rub off some of Goku's flair for fighting, more akin to his strong desire to fight a stronger opponent. Although Uub wasn't as enthusiastic about this as Goku, he nonetheless was curious how stronger Choi had become now that he unlocked his Saiyan half's legendary transformation.

Bok was still amazed, unaware of how much time had passed since he saw his twin brother transform before his very eyes. His fists were clenched tightly on his lap, shaking almost. He very rarely felt negative emotions, those seemed to have been given solely to Choi when they were still very young. Yet he began to feel these emotions himself, bordering on jealousy.

He stared hard at Choi, thinking back to a time during their youth when they discovered their knack for fighting, a trait inherited from their father. Lemo filled them in on what he learned of Saiyan heritage during his time in the Cold Force (later transitioned to the Freeza Force) and concluded that most Saiyans held a strong desire to fight. He didn't object to the idea of the boys learning how to fight, but not having a suitable teacher would prove awkward for them.

Lemo made a few passing glances at the twins and smirked. He could sense a bit of pride in Broly's eyes as he stared at his son and lounged back, waiting for the moment when Choi would make his move on Uub. This was an explosion of energy waiting to ignite and he didn't want to miss out on it. Long ago he would've likely avoided such catastrophic confrontations, especially during the initial first few days of meeting Broly with Cheelai. Seeing that fight take place between Broly, Goku, and Vegeta unnerved him a great deal, but that paled in comparison to how tense he felt being near the emperor of the universe himself. The simplest of looks Freeza would give when they locked eyes made his blood chill and his mouth dry. However, the more time he had spent with Broly, seeing his friends grow close together and start a family of their own on a planet that wasn't inhabited by giant bugs, worms, and all sorts of nasty beasts, the better it made him feel overall that seeing a few scuffles and sparring sessions from the boys was like a relaxing stroll on the beach.

Bok wished he could feel proud for his brother having grown in power so much. He spent a considerable amount of time training his muscles so he could use them for pure strength, yet Choi's prodigal knack for fighting made him feel as though he was leagues behind him. It reminded him of one training session where they were fighting as usual and using his perfect defense strategy wore him out due to Choi's ferocity and quick movements. Keeping up with him taxed his body that he felt sore all over the next day. Yet when he saw how Choi was still able to move around without being burdened by their fight the day before, he grew resentful. A few comforting words from his mother however made those feelings melt away and he dedicated himself to supporting Choi more than ever. He didn't like that Choi was better at this than he was, but he knew in the end it was more about their bond as brothers than petty jealousy.

He took a moment to breathe in the air and focus his mind on the fight and could feel the considerable gap between what Choi was then and what he is now. It amazed him how much of a difference a Super Saiyan transformation made and he knew that when this fight was over, he would stop at nothing to achieve this as well. This did bring a smile to his face for once.

Choi turned around to face Uub completely, staring up at him. Uub put up a fighting stance in the air, waiting for Choi to make the first move, but he was stunned to see the boy right in front of him.

When did he? Uub thought quickly and he barely took a full blow to the head from a roundhouse. Had he been a split-second too slow, Choi would've knocked him out cold and sent him crashing into the stands with that kick.

Uub grunted when he felt the impact and the kick was strong enough to push him down. With a burst of energy he propelled himself back onto the fighting stage before he landed on the ground and Choi was immediately on him, flying down to land on the stage. He burst in a full-on sprint, gunning straight at him and Uub frantically blocked a barrage of punches and kicks, Choi flipping around and twirling his body so fast that it was disorienting to keep up. Uub relied on his own power and knew he needed to increase it to keep up, yet he wasn't able to gauge how powerful Choi had become in his Super Saiyan form.

Pan watched the fight, her concern for Uub's safety growing more and more. This was a situation she didn't want to see Uub witness and seeing him front and center in the stage fending off this brat gave her a great deal of anxiety. She clasped her hands to her chest and her breathing was a bit more rapid, her heart pounding fiercely under her rib cage. She felt annoyed that this was making her so tense and Bulla waved at her.

"Bulla, don't tell me to relax, because I really can't right now," Pan said and Bulla giggled.

"I know, I wasn't going to say anything. But maybe use that tension to cheer him on instead?" she reassured her and Pan blinked. She couldn't help but give a chuckle to that and nodded, smiling. She stood up along with Bulla and they both glanced at Arugula, who gave them a cute smile in return.

"Arugula! We're going to cheer the loudest as we possibly can for Uub, okay? You gotta go loudly too, you hear me?" Pan told her and Arugula nodded, holding up Mr. Bronto.

"Mr. Bronto! Let's all shout very very loudly at Uub, for Pan-Pan and for sissy!" Arugula said, holding the dino as high up as she can.

"UUB! FIGHT HARD! FIGHT HARD! YOU CAN DO THIS! WE BELIEVE IN YOU!" Pan screamed as loudly as she could and Bulla joined in as well.

"C'MON UUB! DON'T LET THE POWER OF A SUPER SAIYAN HOLD YOU DOWN! WE KNOW YOU'RE STRONGER THAN THAT!" Bulla screamed out and they flashed a thumbs-up to Arugula, who was ready to belt out her cheer.

"UUB! DO YOUR BEST! WIN THIS FOR PAN-PAN!" she yelled and the three girls continued their cheering.

It seemed to have an effect on Uub as his cheeks were red with embarrassment. The girls reassurance and positive encouragement moved him to grab Choi's wrists as he was pelting him with punches, reluctantly taking a few in the process but Choi frowned, blowing Uub's hands away with his power and hitting him in the mid-section with an energy blast that sent him pushing back. Choi rushed forward, running fast and nimbly on the stage to pursue Uub as he cancelled the energy with a blast of his own and he took to the air to avoid getting another flurry of blows from Choi. But the boy was still hot on his heels and gave him pursuit in the air, meeting him midway. The two started exchanging blows as a grin appeared on Choi's face.

"What's wrong, Uub? Having trouble keeping up?" Choi's cocky grin unsettled Uub, yet Uub was still doing his best to keep up.

"You have no idea how awesome this Super Saiyan power is! I feel more power, more speed, more fluid in my motions! This is the best thing I could've come across!" Choi yelled as he chuckled, increasing the aggression in his movements, something Uub took notice of.

Dammit, he's getting a bit carried away with his newfound power.

Uub felt the struggle now as he was taking more hits than he could block and he flew back down to gain some distance. Choi was still very much like a shadow attached to him at this point, staying on him at all times, and when Uub landed on the stage, he took a hard punch to the face from Choi's left hook and he staggered back a few steps before taking a heel kick from above that knocked him flat on his face. Choi landed in front of him and bounced up and down, dancing on his taped feet, waiting for Uub to stand back up.

"I can do this all day, faux-hawk. C'mon, gimme some more," Choi said, grinning down at him.

"Contestant Uub is down! I'll start the count! ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!" the announcer began and Uub was able to get to his hands and knees. He felt the side of his face and winced at how hard a blow it was. A trickle of blood poured from the corner of his mouth and he wiped it with the back of his hand. He glanced over at Choi who was dancing and bobbing up and down on his feet and frowned.

"This is what your power is at now, is it?" Uub said, rubbing the side of his face. He let his hand drop down and shook it, making it into a fist.

"You got that right. What're you gonna do about it now? You'd probably be more of a challenge for me if you were also a Saiyan but I guess that's the limit of your human physiology."

"Don't underestimate me because I'm just a human," Uub said. "I've been training under the best Saiyan that's ever lived. That man named Goku, right there."

He pointed to Goku and Choi glanced over at him, disgusted. But then he started laughing out loud, which threw Uub off a bit.

"Are you serious? That guy is the best Saiyan that's ever lived? He couldn't even beat my father, even if he was actually trying."

"I'll show you why you'll regret those words when I show you the results of my training right here and now," Uub told him and Choi gave him a slightly sinister grin.

"Then quit wasting my time and do it," he said.

Another infected victim…

Whatever had infected Tenshinhan seemed to weave its way within his very DNA, completely influencing the way he was thinking. He didn't want this to become noticeable and had some measure of control of this energy that festered inside him. It took over his mind and body now and told him to hide the eyes so they appeared normal. He did just that, closing his eyes and when he opened all three of them again, the red lines that were on his eyes were no longer there.

He still gazed ahead with malicious intent, closing in on the one he was sensing. Piccolo was on his way to Bulma's group, who were travelling together to hunt the remaining Dragonball since the last two were kept safe and secure at Capsule Corporation. He knew this energy stuck out like a sore thumb and he suppressed it within himself. Whether these warriors would still detect it or not was left entirely up to chance.

As Piccolo flew, he caught a faint hint of the evil energy he knew Goku had sensed earlier, yet when he pinpointed the source, the energy mysteriously vanished and he chose to ignore it for now. He could still sense Tenshinhan coming his way yet he didn't want to slow down, concerning himself more for Bulma than anyone else for the time being.

It felt unusual that Tien was catching up to him rather quickly and he couldn't avoid it any longer, stopping to let him meet him half way and he turned to face him.

"Hey Piccolo," Tien said, waving at him. Piccolo eyed him cautiously, since the evil energy he picked up on earlier came from his direction.

"I heard you had some trouble earlier with a pair of androids," Piccolo noted, wondering where this conversation was leading him to.

"I did," was all he replied with, yet the way he was staring at Piccolo made him feel a little more apprehensive about engaging him in idle chit-chat.

"You should rest and heal up, you still look hurt from whatever fight you were involved in," Piccolo told him but Tien grinned.

"I'm fine. Where are you headed?" he asked. The way Tien was speaking seemed a bit odd from what he could remember of his interactions in the past with him.

"That shouldn't be your concern, Tien. Go on home, I'll take care of your assailants," Piccolo said, eager to end this conversation as quickly as possible and make sure Bulma was safe. He never thought that Bulma of all people needed to be kept safe but this was something he vowed to Goku that he'd make sure she wasn't in any danger from whatever these androids were.

"We can fight those androids together, if you want." What made Piccolo feel unsure about all this was that Tien's smile never seemed to fade and he gazed at him with even more suspicion.

"What happened to you? Did those androids do something to you?" Piccolo asked.

"They roughed me up, that's all. Why do you ask?"

He could start feeling it again, the evil energy from earlier. It was nothing like any energy he had felt before, yet the familiarity of it reminded him of Freeza the most and when he started to focus more closely, his eyes widened when he could sense it clearly within Tien.

"What the hell did they do to you?!" Piccolo yelled and Tien's eyes shifted, the grid lines reappearing on his eyes and Piccolo gasped a bit. At that same instance, Tien fired a few energy blasts that Piccolo defended himself against and Tien launched himself right at him.

"Tch, I don't have time for this. I'm sorry Tien," Piccolo said and kneed him hard in the gut, which made him recoil in pain and pause while in mid-air, but when he started to chuckle a bit it seemed to frazzle Piccolo even more.

"What?"

Tien resumed his aggressive attacks which Piccolo was able to block and he had to start powering up a bit more to put more pressure and keep Tien from this frantic attack and he caught him with a hard hook to the face and sent him flying down to the earth with a powerful elbow that connected with his face.

When Tien crashed into the ground, Piccolo glanced at him a moment and sighed. Stay down, I'll deal with you later.

He waited a moment for Tien and his face darkened when he felt a blip of the evil energy surge once more and Tien stood up, aiming his hands up at the Namekian and his eyes widened.

"What the hell?!"

Although Tien was quite a distance below him, he could still make out a crazed look on his face as he held out his hands in a cupped format, a technique Piccolo was very familiar with. He just barely had enough time to raise his arms in defense, as Tien's Kikoho attack was so sudden and powerful.

When the attack subsided, Tien was right back up to engage Piccolo again and Piccolo glared at him aggressively.

What kind of power is making him do this and how is he getting back up after taking that much damage? Piccolo thought to himself as he was blocking Tien's blows. The aggressive nature of Tien's onslaught was completely different than his usual fighting style and this worried Piccolo greatly. Clearly this evil energy had an effect, heightening Tien's adrenaline to a frightening amount and he was worried what sort of effect this was having on his body. Piccolo realized that if this keeps up, Tien will surely die from his own power or worse, by Piccolo's own hand.

Piccolo continued to counter everything Tien was throwing at him, overwhelming him with his strength, yet this newfound strength in Tien kept pushing back, despite the amount of damage he was taking from his punches and kicks. Piccolo had to put a stop to this immediately and charged up a large energy blast from his hands aimed right at Tien.

"I'm sorry, Tien," he told him and as he was about to fire, Tien put his hands to his face, glaring at him menacingly with that eerie smile of his.

"Crap!" Piccolo cried out, unable to avoid covering his eyes in time.

"Solar Flare!" Tien yelled and an intense bright light enveloped the area around him, directly affecting Piccolo as he clutched his face in pain from the blinding attack that was right in his face. Unable to see anything, he felt a pair of hands grab him by the arms and he grunted, unable to shake himself free from Tien's grip, holding him by the wrists.

He randomly fired off several energy blasts in defense. Some hit Tien point blank but he still held his firm grip, his grid-like eyes widening in madness as he smiled ear to ear and his aura began glowing a sinister dark color. The aura began to leak onto Piccolo, slowly enveloping him and Piccolo cried out in pain, feeling this energy begin to consume and corrode him from the inside.

When the strange dark purple-black energy surrounded the Namekian, Tien let go and waited for it to take effect. Piccolo struggled, still temporarily blinded and he screamed, holding his eyes, his eyes shut tightly to stem the intense glare that was still burned in his retinas. In his last ditch attempt, he reached out telepathically.

Gohan! Gohan, listen to me! Don't come near me, whatever you do! Something's taking over me and I won't be able to control it for very long. You have to warn everyone!

Seconds passed by and he went silent, lowering his hands, then the same eerie grin appeared on his face as he opened his eyes, red grid lines fading in on his eyes like Tien's. He and Tien both nodded together and turned around to fly onward to Bulma's location.

Back at the tournament grounds, Gohan's eyes widened as he gasped, looking away from the fight between Choi and Uub and he stood up.

"Gohan?" Goku started but he too felt something was very wrong and he stood up beside him, looking in the same direction.

"Something happened to Piccolo!" Gohan cried out and Goku nodded.

"That dark energy I felt earlier, it got to him as well," he noted and Gohan clenched his fists.

"What's going on, grandpa?" came Pan's inquiry and Gohan dismissed her with a wave.

"Pan, stay here with mom. Your grandfather and I will handle this," he said. Sorry Piccolo, I can't ignore this.

"Kakarot, wait," Broly's voice called up to the two and they stopped to face him.

"Let me come with you," he said and Cheelai gave him a look.

"Why?" she asked him. Broly set Arugula back down beside her mother and stood up. He gave Goku and Gohan a determined look and the three Saiyans nodded.

"Hey, if you all are going, we should help you out, shouldn't we?" Pan said, standing up and Videl glared at her.

"I don't think so. And I don't think you three should be leaving at the first sign of trouble either," she told everyone, gazing a moment at each one of them. Gohan couldn't help but continue to stare outward at the source of the evil energy, moving fast within both Tien and Piccolo and Goku's eyes widened when he could feel where they were heading to.

"That's where Bulma's at!" Goku cried and put two fingers to his forehead. "C'mon, it'll be faster this way."

"Right," Gohan said and Broly quickly put a hand on Goku's shoulder. He was still unfamiliar with this whole instantaneous movement, but trusted Goku enough that this would take them where they needed to go.

"What about Choi and Uub's fight?" Bok asked, gesturing to the two on the stage. Goku sighed, closing his eyes.

"Bulma's in grave danger. What I thought was evil energy that took over Tien has now taken over Piccolo. I don't know why but they're closing in on Bulma fast. If we don't hurry, Bulma might either be killed by them or be taken over."

"What?!" Bulla yelled, standing up. "What do you mean, 'taken over'?"

"I sensed Piccolo and Tien were fighting a moment ago. But after a moment, Piccolo's energy vanished and whatever evil energy that was inside Tien took over Piccolo and now he too has this. I'm worried this is going to spread if we don't put a stop to it and your mother might be the next one to be possessed."

"Then I'm coming with you!" she shouted, grabbing his arm. Goku paused a moment, unsure whether involving Bulla was a good idea or not but given how strong she's become over the last few months, he couldn't help but smile down at Vegeta's daughter and nodded. She glanced over at Pan and Pan could tell there was a great deal of worry all over her face. She became tense, struggling with the idea of going with them and knew there was only a few precious seconds to make up her mind about joining them or not.

"Stay with the family, Bok," Broly told his son, catching him eyeing the group. He could tell Bok wanted to tag along but this was something he wasn't sure his son should be involved in.

"Hey, whatever evil energy is threatening your friends, I don't want to sit by and let it happen," Bok said, already on his feet walking behind Lemo to join his father, who raised a hand in protest.

"Stay where you are," he said in a grave voice, the only tone Bok knew had set even Choi straight. Arugula wrapped her arms around Broly's leg tightly.

"Papa, don't go!" she whined, burying her face in his large leg and Broly's eyes widened a bit. He glanced at the others and sighed. Cheelai stood up and gave him a look only Broly knew she would give him, the look she had when he was putting himself in danger. Her beautiful lavender eyes were begging him to stay and be with his family and Broly began to relent, gently lifting his hand off Goku's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Kakarot, I cannot help you," Broly felt defeated but his hand on Arugula's little head of white hair did give him some comfort. Videl sighed, glancing at Gohan.

"I wish you wouldn't go either," she told him, her voice matching the look Cheelai gave Broly. She had been fraught with so much worry since Pan's fight with Choi that Gohan couldn't help but give her a sympathizing look.

"Dad and I can handle our own, and I want to be sure Bulla here stays safe against whatever this threat is. If possible, we should just grab Bulma and bring her back here so she's out of harm's way."

"That solves one problem, but I'm just as worried about what happened to Tien and Piccolo and whatever these Freeza androids did to them," Goku said and began focusing his energy to sense Bulma, which took him a bit because of how small the aura was compared to someone like Piccolo. He didn't want to chance it and teleport directly to Piccolo on the off chance that a similar situation could happen to the three of them. Keeping Bulma safe and secure was his top priority now. I'm sorry, Uub. Keep fighting hard and don't worry about winning or losing, just do your best.

Pan's eyes darted nervously back and forth between her father and mother and she made a hasty decision to get up and run to grab Bulla's hand just as Goku spotted Bulma's energy trace and began the teleportation sequence.

"Pan, no!" Videl cried out but she was too late to react as Pan disappeared with the other three.

"Dammit, Pan!"

On the stage, Uub stopped a moment and narrowly blocked a shot from Choi, who eyed him quizzically.

"What's wrong with you?" Choi asked.

"Master's no longer in the stands," Uub noted, glancing up at the audience. He saw that Goku, Gohan, Bulla, and Pan were no longer there and his face grew grim with worry.

"You left yourself open!" Choi yelled and caught Uub with a right hook to the face, almost knocking Uub down, and Uub had to block the subsequent flurry of blows from Choi.

"Will you wait a moment?! Something's going on outside!" Uub told him, catching a fist in his hand.

"So? Who cares what they do? Fight me!" Choi yelled and freed his hand from Uub's grasp. Uub stood ready for the next assault and glared at Choi.

"Master wouldn't go through the trouble of leaving like this if there wasn't something really bad happening out there. Haven't you been picking up on some strange dark energy off in the distance?" Uub asked and Choi sighed, stopping himself from attacking again.

"What of it?"

"Something happened to Piccolo," he told him and Choi cocked an eyebrow.

"Who's that?"

"Seriously? The tall green-skinned guy with the turban and mantle," Uub informed him and Choi crossed his arms, but then shrugged seconds later.

"If something happened to him, that's his problem, not mine. He probably got careless," Choi remarked and Uub glared at him.

"Piccolo would never be careless about anything!" Uub shouted and Choi smirked at that quip.

"Oh good, I was starting to get bored," Choi said and Uub growled a bit. He didn't like that Choi got to him so easily in that one moment and he calmed himself down.

Master Goku has enough confidence in me to let me fight this to the end. I hope that whatever this is, you can take care of it and come back.

Uub planted his feet firmly on the stage and focused his gaze squarely on Choi.

"I trust Master Goku enough that he's got this situation under control. I don't have to worry about his safety distracting me from defeating you," Uub said and Choi's eyes lit up.

"Ho? Defeat me, you say? What could you possibly do that can defeat a Super Saiyan like me?" Choi remarked coyly and he planted his hands on his hips, waiting for whatever Uub was about to do.

"Time to put my training to use. You've been waiting for this and I apologize that we got distracted earlier," Uub said and Choi waved him off.

"Yeah yeah, just get on with it already."

Uub clenched his fists and began powering up, closing his eyes. His energy spiked up considerably as the ground shook around him and Choi continued to glance at him nonchalantly. He wasn't impressed with whatever Uub's doing at the moment and felt that his powering up only delayed the inevitable in his eyes.

The wind started to pick up and blow around Uub, blowing fiercely against Choi's hair and the ground below began to crack underneath him. Choi's smile faded as he lowered his hands, watching Uub more closely. It was then that he felt the biggest jump in Uub's energy and his eyes widened.

"KAIO-KEN!" Uub screamed and a bright red aura blazed around him. Broly's family watched in shock as Arugula's face lit up in excitement.

"Woah!~" she gasped in amazement, watching Uub's red aura flare around him.

"Kaio-ken? The heck's that?" Lemo asked, arms crossed. Bok shrugged his shoulders, but couldn't help but stare on, excited for where this was heading. Broly stared a moment at Uub and narrowed his eyes.

"Haven't I seen Kakarot have an aura like that before?" Broly thought out loud. Uub's hair was still the same color and he was left feeling as confused as both Bok and Lemo were. Arugula was admiring the red aura that surrounded Uub and she couldn't help but giggle while holding Mr. Bronto.
"You were right, Mr. Bronto! Uub looks like a big red tomato!" she squealed admirably. Cheelai stifled a snort of amusement, looking away red in the cheeks while she could see a mixed array of emotions in Videl's face as she sat alone now. The woman sighed heavily and crossed her arms, feigning the urge to bury her face in her hand but it was heavily pressed against the side of her head regardless. Cheelai felt the need to put a hand on the woman's shoulder and Videl nearly gasped from the reaction, turning around in surprise.

"Huh? Wha? Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to be spooked like that," she told her, taking in a few breaths before standing up to walk over to their row. She sat down beside Cheelai and breathed a heavy sigh of dismay and sadness. This was more stress than she wanted and this was supposed to be a vacation away from housework and from Gohan's daily grind at the University giving lectures, and attending conferences that were either about economics, science, history, or archeology. She felt helpless in trying to keep that man grounded at home and started feeling as if her own daughter was slipping away from her. She scanned the family to her side and smiled warmly at Arugula when the two locked eyes.

"I miss when Pan was that age," Videl said, leaning forward.

"Um, I never got the chance to give you a proper apology for what my son did to your daughter. Please forgive me," Cheelai said, her tone serious but shaky.

"No apology is necessary. I should apologize myself for being too lenient and permissive with Pan. She shouldn't be out fighting. I couldn't bear to see her injure herself so much from a fight."

The two women continued their chat while Uub floated a couple of feet above the stage, gearing himself for his attack on Choi. The Super Saiyan was ready for this, wondering what sort of trick Uub had up his sleeve, now that he made himself glow red.

Choi took up a fighting stance and grinned at Uub, his eyes narrowed and focused. "Come."

Uub was right on him, taking him by surprise. He wasn't prepared for how fast Uub had become and it was equally surprising when he took a hard punch right in the gut that managed to lift him off his feet. He was hit so hard people thought they could see a bulge coming out from his back from how deep Uub's fist dug into him and his eyes widened.

Uub followed up with a roundhouse that sent Choi reeling back on his side but he was able to get enough of his bearings together and stop himself from flying off the stage, moving in for a flurry of blows that Uub was able to dodge and block, tagging Choi's fists with his own with several shots blocked by his forearm and feet.

What the hell kind of power is this? Choi yelled in his head and he was growing visibly frustrated with the impact of some of Uub's blows, adding onto the damage he took moments ago from the strong uppercut.

Uub was able to gain some distance before he smiled and let the aura fade out. Choi noticed a slight increase in the size of Uub's muscles but they quickly faded back to their normal size. He clutched at his stomach with one hand and glared at Uub.

"So what is that Kaio-whats-it?" Choi asked, rubbing his stomach and wincing at how bad it felt.

"The last thing Master Goku needed to teach me before he felt I was ready for this tournament," Uub informed him and Choi's face darkened. Giving praise to that Saiyan again, what rubbish Choi felt compelled to think on it but his face told Uub all the same…

Locked away within the vast emptiness of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, the four that walked in: Goku, Uub, Pan, and Piccolo, were gauging the surroundings while Goku and Piccolo exchanged looks.

"This is the first time we've stepped in together like this," Piccolo told him and Goku smirked.

"Yeah. It's been such a long time since I last set foot in one of these rooms. Yo, Uub! Make sure you don't stray too far away from this building! If you get lost, you'll be lost forever out there!"

Uub felt the increased gravity the moment he stepped off the lone step and onto a surface he hadn't felt before under his feet. It felt warm yet cold at the same time and the texture was nothing like anything he had felt before. Smooth? Grainy? Bumpy? It was very confusing to his mind to process this but watching Pan take all of this in was noted in how she almost looked freaked out by how much of a void existed beyond their sight. It stretched on endlessly and she couldn't fathom the proper expression to react to all this.

"Grandpa? Why in the world would you want to train in a place like this? Someone could go insane cooped up in here for so long!" she cried out and Goku chuckled a bit.

"You get used to it. The fridge is always stocked full of food, the baths and toilets are to your left, and the beds are to the right. Besides, with four of us here, we'll get you guys good and ready for the Tournament. There's a reason why I wanted to bring you in here, Uub."

"There is?" Uub asked, turning to face him.

"Yeah. I think you're ready to learn a very important technique, something that only I know how to do. But I know you have the potential to learn it and the body to withstand it," Goku said and that left Uub a little lost.

"Withstand what, exactly?"

"The Kaioken technique," Goku told him and Piccolo couldn't hide his surprise.

"You're seriously going to teach the Kaioken to Uub? King Kai once said that you were the only one with the physiology capable of mastering it, being a Saiyan. Why would you want to pass that along to a human like Uub?" it was a legitimate question on Piccolo's part and Goku walked over to Uub, putting his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Because he's a human gifted with incredible power and durability that the Kaioken won't wreck his body if he knows how to use it effectively. By the time we've used a full day outside, I think Uub will have the ability to go as high as a times five multiplier with enough training."

"Um, Master? I'm completely lost here. What is Kaioken and what do you mean by multipliers? Is this how you get so crazy strong in your fights from what you've told me before?" Uub asked and Goku clenched his fist, flexing his left arm.

"You betcha," he said. "King Kai taught me this a long long time ago when I was training on his planet for the first time. You use your energy to focus every single molecule of your body to bring it into balance. Once you can do that, you can then enhance everything multiple times. Your strength, speed, durability, focus, sight, sound, they all become elevated."

"Wow, that's amazing! I bet you got incredibly powerful against your opponents then, huh?" Uub said but his excitement was short-lived with Goku's serious gaze staring back at him.

"This doesn't come without a heavy price though. Using Kaioken for too long taxes your body considerably. You risk putting yourself in grave danger by wrecking your body with overuse. With your body, you can probably at most handle four of five times, but any higher and you'll damage your body too much. I can't imagine what that might do to a human, because I know what it did to me as a Saiyan."

"He's also not as reckless as you are when it comes to fighting, Goku," Piccolo chimed in and Goku blushed out of embarrassment, chuckling nervously.

"I know, I know, I do get carried away sometimes, don't I?" he said and Piccolo smirked.

"Do what you must to make sure Uub masters this before we leave. I'll see what I can do with Pan here," he said and Pan strolled over to him briskly.

"Uncle Piccolo, do you have anything you'd like to teach me? I've seen you do quite a few things whenever you sparred with my dad," she said and glanced over at Uub and Goku. She thought of an idea.

"Hey, how about we each do our own training, then we can have a two-on-two fight afterwards? I can team up with Uncle Piccolo while you two make the other team," Pan told the three of them and Uub nodded with a smile.

"I like that idea. If I can master Kaioken before that day comes, I hope whatever training you do with Mr. Piccolo will be just as good."

"But I don't want to just do any old boring training. I want to develop something that I can have for myself, you know? A technique that I can build on and make it look really awesome, like a new version of the Masenko, or a homing Kamehameha, or that technique where Uncle Piccolo fires so many energy blasts randomly he makes them all hit his opponent like BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!" she couldn't hide her overly enthusiastic display of admiration towards Piccolo and the Namekian blushed a bit before clearing his throat.

"I do have other techniques," he stated and charged up his energy, using it to split himself into three copies and Pan's face lit up, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Wow! So many of you! I want to do that one!" she yelled and rushed over to grab his hands, jumping up and down.

"Uncle Piccolo, teach me that copying technique! I want to surprise Bulla at the Tournament with how many copies of myself I can make," Pan gleefully continued hopping up and down and Piccolo calmed her down with a look, stopping her from making herself dizzy from all that hopping.

"You just had your potential unlocked by the Supreme Kai but using a multiplication technique requires a lot of focus of the mind and the body to pull it off. What Goku and I want out of you both for the first few months is a steady regimen of mental focus and meditation to balance your energy. Once we're sure you're ready, we'll begin the proper training."

"Ugh, that long? I got so bored standing still while that Kai guy was doing that stupid dance of his. Just sitting down and doing nothing for months?" Pan rolled her eyes, sighing but steeled herself with a single look from Piccolo as he crossed his arms.

"If you've got time to whine, you should be using that to sit and meditate," he told her sternly and Pan nodded reluctantly.

"Y-yeah. Sorry Uncle Piccolo," she told him, holding her arm with her hand in a half-hug while looking away.

While Uub and Pan were busy with meditation and mental training, Goku and Piccolo got in a few training sessions of their own to pre-occupy themselves over the next few weeks. Half of their time was split between sparring and meditating along with the kids to make sure that things were progressing smoothly until the day arrived when Uub first attempted the Kaioken technique. While difficult at first, he was able to get a grasp of the boost in a little over a month's time. Pan got better with her multiplication technique, first splitting into two, then doubling that, and doubling it two more times until she showed everyone sixteen different copies of herself.

"Wow, you got really good with that technique, Pan," Goku noted and Pan couldn't hide her pride, flashing a V sign at her grandfather.

"I got so focused on mastering this that I wasn't paying much attention to Uub. How is he with the Kaioken?" she asked and Goku pointed to him with his thumb.

"See for yourself," Goku noted, and the three watched Uub blaze around the area, a bright red flash that blurred across their field of vision. Pan couldn't see what he was doing but she assumed it was done at incredible speed. Uub finished off with a Kamehameha blast that shot across the endless void, and he touched down in front of them afterwards. When he powered back down, he collapsed to his hands and knees and Pan gasped, running over to help him sit down.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Uub gave her a weak smile but he nodded nonetheless.

"That…that was about a four times multiplier…right there," he muttered and hissed as he gritted his teeth.

"Take it easy, don't push yourself so much," Pan told him and Uub was slow to get back to his feet.

"I lost count of how long I've been going at it today. I'm pretty wiped now," Uub said, arm around Pan's shoulder as she helped him up the step to the beds. She eased him onto his bed and gave Goku a look that wondered if he was going overboard with this training.

"You've been doing an amazing job, Uub. However, you should avoid using Kaioken during the tournament unless you absolutely need to, so long as you don't push yourself beyond what your body is capable of" Goku informed him and Uub's eyes were fixated above him. He tried to sit up but his body ached all over that he felt like a huge magnet confined him to the bed.

"Sorry if I'm worrying you, Pan," Uub told her, reaching up with his hand to her and she took it within her hands. He did steal a smile from her and returned one of his own before he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep…

…Choi's Super Saiyan aura was still flaring wildly around him. Had this fight took place during the night, he would've been the brightest source of light to illuminate the whole island with how powerful it was.

He went back on the offensive, disappearing and reappearing in short bursts to move in on Uub, who prepared himself by going back into Kaioken and the two traded blows on the stage, Uub getting in a few blocks while Choi nimbly dodged any counterattacks. He anticipated Uub's movements a bit more this time, factoring the increase in speed and strength. The two caught each other's arms and Choi tried to bring in a few knee shots up at Uub, who blocked them with his own legs and the two were tied-up in a heated close-quarters battle before Choi broke it off by swatting Uub's arms out and going for an uppercut which Uub dodged by flipping backwards and in his momentum brought up his leg for a flip kick to Choi's head, which had been narrowly blocked. Uub flipped back a few feet to gain some distance again and fired off a few energy blasts that Choi swerved to avoid and counter with some of his own.

The two continued trading energy blasts that either missed or connected with each other and the resulting explosions rocked the stage and the island as a whole, coughing up dust clouds and flashes of light from the explosive impact. The intensity of the energy given off by the two generated lightning bolts that sparked outward and travelled along the ground in random directions, miraculously avoiding the spectators, though one did drop their tray of snacks in the process that got fried in the aftermath.

"What an intense battle we're witnessing here today! Contestants Choi and Uub are really giving their all in this final battle!" the announcer cried, though he was mostly shielding his face from the dust and debris while calling what he assumed was the apex of the fight between the two.

Uub felt the pressure of Choi's movements bear down on him, forcing him to go into a higher multiplier just to keep up. Choi's Super Saiyan power was proving itself to become a bigger problem the more he was fighting him and that initial blow he dealt to him with the single multiplier was his best chance to catch him off-guard when he found an opening due to the confusion surrounding the technique that none of them had seen before. He was keeping a steady pace and felt evenly matched at this point when he hit the three-times multiplier, but he knew this needed to be done quickly otherwise too much of it was going to start hurting his body and leave him vulnerable.

If this keeps up any longer, I might have to go all the way to five times, Uub thought as he swerved to avoid another set of kicks from Choi, using his leg strength to his advantage and he kicked off from the stage below and charged energy in his hands, slicing the air to send energy arcs barrelling down on Uub. But due to the increase in speed and power from his Super Saiyan state, the arcs were coming down more rapidly and in increased numbers, forcing Uub to flip and move around the stage to avoid them, but wasn't so lucky a couple of times when he caught one slicing his shoulder and his left leg and he grunted as the cuts were a bit deeper than they usually were and blood spurted out onto the stage as Choi landed back down and Uub grabbed at the cut on his shoulder with one hand, the other going to his leg above the knee.

"You should be thankful for that Kaioken; it's been saving your butt so far," Choi said disparagingly. He broke into a sprint, running straight at Uub, who lifted his hand to fire a few energy blasts that Choi moved around on the stage to avoid and Uub was forced to ignore the cuts entirely to focus on the boy rushing towards him. Choi was ready to attack him again with his hands outstretched and surrounded with energy, primed for another set of energy arcs that if Uub wasn't careful, would cut him even more all over his body.

Uub felt not only perplexed but a bit concerned for Choi's newfound aggression, as if he was showing signs of bloodlust more so than his competitiveness. His discomfort paired with the pain of not only the cuts on his body, but the slight burden he felt from the Kaioken technique. I only have so little time to use Kaioken before it wears me out completely so I gotta go five times if I'm gonna take him down.

Choi closed in on him and Uub had his eyes focused solely on him, his mind ready with his senses attuned to Choi's energy. Choi was running so fast, it looked like he was low to the floor of the stage and readying himself to swing upward with his attack, something Uub knew he only had one shot to pull off.

When Choi swung upward with his hands, Uub ducked low, stretching out his legs to widen his stance and he swung his arms to bring his hands together below Choi.

Choi's eyes widened as he was still moving, unable to stop in time for what Uub was going to do and he braced himself for the worst. Uub flashed him a gaze from below, his expression hard and direct.

"Times five Kaioken!" Uub screamed and thrust his hands forward, quickly charging up energy to drive Choi up to the sky with an energy beam that pushed him off the stage and directed him towards the heavens.

Choi screamed as he was being launched upward at an alarming rate, eyes wide with panic and fury as he was caught in the blast. He moved as quickly as he could to push himself off the energy beam and he managed to roll himself off and watch as the beam soared out of the planet's orbit and out into space.

Breathing heavily as he spent a great deal of energy moving himself off the energy beam, he glared maliciously down at the island far below him. The storm of anger that boiled deep inside his mind had been amplified considerably from his Super Saiyan form and he flew back down to the island. When he approached the stage, he could see Uub was still nursing those cuts and a wicked grin appeared on his face.

"Red suits you, faux-hawk," Choi uttered, his anger ebbing at his sanity now as he stalked his way over to him. "You'll be bleeding red all over your body and clothes like that aura."

Uub grunted, making occasional glances at his cuts. This kid's really something else. Heh.

Uub managed a confident smile and stood again in a fighting stance, eyeing Choi with as much anticipation as he could muster before his body would give out on him.

Choi's breathing was still pretty laboured as Uub noticed that he too was reaching his limit. The damage he was taking, regardless of his Super Saiyan form, might be enough to bring him out of it and back to his base. If he could hit him hard enough with his times five Kaioken, he might be able to pull it off.

Clenching his fists, Uub screamed and powered up again, the red aura flaring even bigger and brighter than before. Choi's cry of rage preceded his direct flight towards Uub and the two connected with their fists, the energy shaking the ground with a sudden shock. With his times five Kaioken, Uub was slightly faster, but only for a moment, connecting with a few body blows and punches to Choi's head before the boy caught his fist and laid into him with a few punches of his own, aiming for the open cut on Uub's shoulder which caused him to cry out. Choi was aiming a punch for Uub's leg but his face was met with Uub's in a head-butt that made him stagger back a few steps, grabbing at his face.

The crowd had a variety of reactions: Awe, wonder, concern, and confusion as to what they were seeing, or rather what they couldn't see since the two were going at it so fast that an untrained eye and lack of energy sensing wouldn't know where they were.

Cheelai gasped and put her hands to her mouth as she saw Choi headbutted in the face. Videl couldn't help but wince as well from the sight, just as she had earlier when she saw Uub get sliced by those energy blades.

Arugula tried to put on a brave face and cheer Uub, but the intensity of the battle forced her to hide her face in Broly's chest, clutching at his shirt until her knuckles were white. Broly had his arm around her, soothing her with his hand on her head while both Lemo and Bok were on the edge of their seats.

"C'mon bro, stay in there," Bok whispered.

"Do it kid! You can win this!" Lemo was way into the fight with enough excitement for the whole group, the only one who seemed the most fired up out of anyone in their whole section while Broly watched the fight quietly.

A trickle of blood seeped down from Choi's nose as he wiped it on the back of his hand, staining his taped wrists. He glared at Uub, lowering his hand. He never realized how much the fight was taking its toll on his own body, since this was the first time he was experiencing the Super Saiyan transformation. It was taxing his body and the heightened emotional response he was feeling, much to his chagrin, was making it harder to focus on Uub.

"Gotta…gotta end this…" he said through laboured breathing and he took up a fighting stance once more.

Uub stared back and eyed his shoulder a couple of times. He couldn't afford to have his arm give out on him due to the numbness he was feeling, wondering if all the blood loss was making it hard for him to use his right arm effectively. He closed and opened his hand a few times, shaking it and felt that there was still enough strength to finish this fight. He cupped his hands together and charged up energy one more time. Choi laughed a bit through his heavy breathing.

Screaming, Choi flared up his golden aura as high as he could push it, fists clenched tightly and feet planted firmly on the stage. Uub brought his hands to his side, ready to fire.

This one's for you, Master.

Choi stepped forward, stomping the stage to launch himself and Uub screamed as he fired the Kamehameha blast at him. Choi caught it, stopping himself in his tracks and was able to hold it at bay. Uub winced at the sharp pain he was feeling in his shoulder and leg, the combined effort of his Kamehameha and his times five Kaioken holding Choi in place but it wasn't pushing him back. If anything, Choi was starting to push the energy beam back at Uub and Uub's eyes widened.

"What the?"

Choi grinned as he took one step after the next, slowly pushing the energy beam back at Uub.

What do I do now? If I let go, he'll either knock me out of the ring or knock me out cold.

He felt lost for a moment. Without Goku's encouraging voice and motivation, Uub felt a bit of panic growing within him and he wasn't sure whether he could win this now. He wanted to win this fight to prove that all his training meant something to him, and that the prize money would help his village sustain itself for the rest of his life, as well as build that monument to honor his parents.

He stared through the light of the energy beam at Choi's face, twisted with a slight sadism as he smiled, pushing the energy back towards him. Each step brought that face closer to Uub's and Uub felt disgusted staring at it.

If this kid wins, I won't hear the end of it. I'm sorry master, I can't let someone like him win this, he doesn't deserve it!

Uub felt his legs weaken underneath him and almost felt his knees buckle. If they gave out on him, he would've lost control of the Kamehameha and burned himself out from the output of the Kaioken. But he steeled himself and stared back, eyes wide and determined.

Broly's eyes widened as well as he could sense the sudden jump in Uub's energy, more than he had anticipated and he actually felt genuine concern for the boy as much as he had for Choi. Out of the group that was still there to watch the tournament, Broly was able to sense how much energy was put out from the boys.

"Kaioken…" Uub muttered and Choi's smile disappeared. What's he up to now?

"TIMES TEN!" Uub screamed and the surge of power flowed into the Kamehameha and Choi's face was stricken with panic as he saw the overwhelming energy barreling towards him as though the dam broke completely and the raging river gushed forth in one fell swoop.

Unable to do anything, Choi was swallowed by the energy beam and he screeched. The crowd of spectators who were behind Choi scurried off before the beam hit their section, tearing through the section leaving a huge section demolished. It streamed across the island and over the ocean in a straight path, nowhere near any islands or civilizations for it to be a threat.

When the beam subsided, Choi was still standing. What little clothing he had on during this fight, shorts, taped wrists and ankles, were torn up. Smoke jutted out from his body from the aftermath of the energy blast as sections of his hands, arms, face and chest were blackened. His necklace of fangs and claws was vaporized and he no longer stood in his Super Saiyan state.

"Damn…you…" Choi breathed, glaring one last time at Uub before he fell forward face-first on the stage. Uub let go of his aura and collapsed on the stage as well, holding himself up on one knee. He chuckled a bit before he lost consciousness and fell to his side. The announcer rushed to the stage after he opened his eyes and saw that there was a hush that blanketed the area. He sighed heavily when he saw the demolished section of the stands and could see many cracks and tiles destroyed on the stage. He paused when he saw both Choi and Uub unconscious and swallowed after what felt like a while, sweating. He prayed that the worst-case scenario wasn't a reality and calmly approached the two boys.

"Ah, both contestant Uub and contestant Choi are down," he started before taking a deep breath and reassuring himself that this was still an official match. "Whomever is able to get back to their feet before I count to ten will be declared the winner! ONE!" He started the count. Everyone was waiting now, watching the two youths on the stage for any signs of movement and listening with bated breath on the announcer's count as he continued.

"TWO!"

"THREE!"

"FOUR!"

"FIVE!"

"C'mon Choi, get up," Lemo said, standing up and clutching his toque tightly in his hands. Cheelai had her arms wrapped around Broly's tree-trunk like arm, her face slightly pale from seeing her son lying down again on the stage as both Bok and Broly waited, staring in stony silence for the finish. Videl had her hands clasped together and closed her eyes. She couldn't figure out where her thoughts were going, but she couldn't ignore Uub's current predicament and hoped that he was still okay and that he'd get back up before the ten count was finished.

"SIX!"

"SEVEN!"

The crowd was starting to break their silence as they cheered on Uub to get back to his feet. By proxy, they wanted to support him as much as they had supported Pan, hoping and praying that Uub would rise up to his feet before the announcer finished but neither boy had moved yet.

"EIGHT!"

"NINE!"

Not even the announcer was sure whether he wanted to say the number ten, since this was something he hadn't seen before. In all the tournaments he's announced, officiated and ran as head chairman, this was the first instance that the final match was going to end in a double knockout. He couldn't avoid it and felt a huge amount of regret in his voice as it shook slightly.

"TEN!"

He closed his eyes reflexively as he said that word. It was the hardest ten count he had ever had to make and when he opened his eyes, he saw that there was still no movement from either Choi or Uub and he checked on them quickly. He looked over each boy for a few seconds and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I have good news! They're still alive! They're unconscious but they're still alive and breathing!" he yelled into the microphone and the crowd collectively sighed in relief as well. Cheelai couldn't help the tears streaming down her face and was held a bit more tightly by Broly while Videl grinned, elated that Uub was still okay.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this will no doubt go down in history as the wildest Tournament to declare the 'best under the heavens'!" he yelled and glanced a few more times at the boys to see if they started to move. Monks with stretchers quickly made their way to the stage to load the boys onto them and the announcer gave them the okay to haul them to the infirmary as quickly as possible.

"Since neither competitor was able to get back up on their feet by the count of ten, this match will be declared a draw!" he said and murmurs were starting among the crowd.

"A draw?"

"What does that mean?"

"Hey Ref, we want a winner!"

"Yeah! We want a winner!"

Chants of "we want a winner" began pouring down onto the stage and the announcer sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I was afraid this was going to happen," he muttered to himself.

"The rules of the tournament are enforced for a reason. But because the match ended in a draw, neither competitor is declared the winner!" he stated.

"Then they both win!" said a burly man and the crowd roared in acknowledgment. The announcer blinked, removing his sunglasses for the first time, revealing heavy tan lines around his eyes.

"Two winners? Can I really allow that?" he pondered, pacing around the stage. He stopped when he saw the crowd all waiting on him and he smiled, putting his sunglasses back on.

"Well, since I didn't say that they both lost, by virtue of the Tournament committee, I officially declare the 30th World Martial Arts Tournament concluded with two winners splitting the prize money and sharing the coveted title as co-champions!"

The crowd burst in cheers and applause, Bok and Lemo standing up and hugging each other with Bok pumping his fist in the air. "Yeah, bro! Way to win one for the family!"

"That boy never ceases to amaze me," Lemo said, directed more at Broly than anyone and the large Saiyan grinned a bit. He glanced down at Cheelai and the two stared at each other. Videl stood up and started walking away.

"Where are you going?" Cheelai asked her, catching her in the corner of her eye.

"To get my daughter and bring her back here," Videl stated and walked away without saying another word. Cheelai could still tell that she was considerably upset and watched as Videl took to the sky and flew off the island.

"Eh? How is she able to do that? Dammit, now I want to learn how to fly. Broly, you're teaching me how to fly first thing tomorrow," Cheelai said and Broly blinked in confusion, getting an elbow in the chest from her when she wanted him to acknowledge her request.

"Uh, I don't know how to um…teach you…" he said, rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed. She gave him a look then stared at Bok.

"What about you? You and your brother have this nailed down," she stated matter-of-factly and Bok stared back like a deer in headlights.

"There's a lot more to it than just being able to fly, mom," he told her and Cheelai glared at him.

"We're not leaving this planet until I learn how to fly, then. Seeing the lot of you able to do it while I can't sucks, you know that?" Cheelai said and both Bok and Broly exchanged looks, wondering who was going to have to buckle down and teach Cheelai how to channel energy and learn the flying technique.

"Hey, I can't fly either but you don't hear me complaining," Lemo piped in.

"Zip it, Lemo," Cheelai said with her arms crossed and eyes closed, looking annoyed.

The harbinger arrives…

Kelerot appeared several miles beyond the outskirts of Netfiss city. The air was serene and calm as he flew up to the sky to get a better view of the city. He studied the activity going on down below and saw several surveillance aircraft flying around with searchlights scanning the city below them. A small grin appeared on his face.

"As tenacious as ever. They'll never give up until they find me," he muttered and crossed his arms. He closed his eyes and sensed the energies of everyone on the planet, searching for specific signs and he opened his eyes.

"Cae and Toppo aren't here. But then again, neither is Jiren." Kelerot felt a slight moment of relief when he couldn't sense Jiren's presence on the planet. The last thing he wanted was another rematch against him for the time being. Engaging Jiren would put a halt to his quest to find Toppo rather quickly and he still wasn't certain of Jiren's true strength. But for now, he wanted to smoke out Dyspo and Kahseral first to extract Toppo's location out of them, confident that they were no longer a threat to him.

He raised a hand and aimed it directly at Netfiss city, channeling a dark purple swell of energy from his palm, his face calm and focused as he stared down below.