By the time a few minutes had passed, the flying glass construct that Grandpa Gohan and the announcer of his Amateur League division were standing inside in was hundreds, if not thousands of miles in the air, giving them a full view of the stars and the sun as they waited to reach their destination. The old man was overcome with a strange sort of nostalgia at the sight; for the first time in what felt like years his mind wandered back to the similar views he'd get in the night sky back on Mount Paozu, observing constellations and counting the stars alongside a young Goku whenever the full moon wasn't out. By that same token, however, it was also rather bittersweet, as that brilliant view was also one of his last sights on that harrowing night when he gave his life to try to stop the boy from torching and stomping on the entire landscape as a raging, uncontrollable Oozaru. But then his train of thought shifted again, this time to their last meeting a few years back and how that boy had set him on his own quest, one that now seemingly had a very real chance in culminating in him being crowned the most powerful warrior in the afterlife. One thing was for sure; in spite of that one incident, Grandpa Gohan owed just as much to Goku as he did back to him.
"We're here!" the announcer called, interrupting Gohan's moment of bittersweet introspection. He pointed outside the confines of their vessel to direct the Turtle School student's attention to a gigantic floating structure, a massive obsidian-cobbled platform with hieroglyphics on all 4 of its sides, gold-tipped edges, a glass dome on top covering two arenas each one flanked by orange stone houses of varying shapes and sizes he was later informed were for visitors and staff members to stay in, docks for ships across the bottom half and 2 holes on each of its edges, holes that upon closer inspection were actually docks which "ships" like Grandpa Gohan's would slot themselves into: He could spot about 7 others, but at his distance he couldn't tell fully who was inside them, but he would find out soon enough.
Upon landing inside its designated slot, the glass opened up allowing the announcer and Grandpa Gohan to walk into the center of the floating complex. Upon reaching the main lobby Gohan was left floored by the mesmerizing indoor garden at the center of the room filled with all sorts of multi-colored animals, flaura and fauna with even a large pond in the middle where a menagerie of aquatic creatures from 3-eyed frogs to rainbow-colored fish roamed and from out of which sprouted a giant tree with a curved trunk and deep red leaves that occasionally loosened themselves and fell onto either the mulch directly below or even on the otherwise spotless, stainless steel floor of the establishment. Around this garden was a bunch of benches lined around the walls where many snazzy-looking audience members sat, chatting about all sorts of things. Gohan actually wanted to introduce himself a bit more personally but his attendant made a point to hastily but discretely guide him to a special "Employees Only" door, which he opened up by lifting up his red mushroom head, revealing a key lying directly at the apex of his momentarily shining, blinding bald scalp which he used to open up the door. After walking up a flight of stairs with dark purple walls and portraits of previous winners across the centuries appended to them Gohan was brought to a second floor VIP lounge, structured like a small gymnasium with all sorts of high-end training equipment and a section in the corner walled off as a rest area with tables, red walls and padded chairs, a refrigerator and a bookshelf all placed in front of a comfortable-looking fireplace. Gohan got a good look at all the people there, and immediately he recognized Olibu who was nonchalantly lifting a 500 pound barbel with 1 finger while flexing with his other for the cameras of a small crowd of on-sight reporters and even a few spectators who seemed way too focused on his well-toned arms and abs, seemingly scanning his skin right down to the droplets of sweat that made their home on it. There were also fighters he did not recognize, such as one particularly strange fellow keeping to himself in the rest area with a bright red samurai suit complete with a fanged oni mask: Opposite to where he was sitting in admittedly pretty eerie silence was a another newcomer, a person with a bug's head reading a book from the ceiling via a self-made upside-down chair of silky cobwebs, who was wearing a vest with yellow rims only partially covering their chest and pants that served to cover all of their 4 legs, the front legs being like those of a beetle and the hind legs being more like a butterfly's with two pairs of wings on their back, the top ones translucent green and the other two a light amber. There was also a third person sitting at the same table the shogun was at, but little could be made out of him other than a black hoodie and the notebook he was totally glued to, his nervousness being telegraphed by how he feverishly tapped his pencil on the table's surface with such volume that eventually both the shogun and the bug person shh'd the hoodied man simultaneously. As fascinated as he was by these three Gohan had two other people in particular on his mind, those being Pikkon and Beelze, and while he tried to scan the room further for those two he received a tap on the back, being stunned by who he saw behind him.
"R-Rawbla?" Gohan asked with shock upon seeing the familiar yellow bird man behind him. He looked a a lot more presentable than he did back at their notorious first fight; he still had his loose blue shorts, but now he had an accompanying, equally colored tracksuit and a white bandana with a stylized logo at its front of a stern-looking North African ostrich, starring daggers at whoever its wearer came face-to-face with. Despite the negative weight Gohan's exclamation of the name carried Rawbla merely replied with "Who else could I be?" before reaching out his taloned hand for a handshake which the old earthling went along with.
"I hope I didn't give you the wrong idea, Mr. Rawbla! I'm genuinely impressed you've managed to make it here!"
"Ah don't worry, it's no biggy," the former joke of a warrior replied, "especially considering you're the reason I got this far to begin with! When I saw your incredible attitude and the kind of progress you made in such a short time, why there was simply no excuse for me anymore! I dusted off my feathers, stopped being complicit with consistent failure and the rest was history."
"That's excellent!" Gohan responded. "Mind telling me more?"
"I would, but then I couldn't sell ya the upcoming product of my recent book deal! Don't worry though - I'll remember to give you a free spot at the front of the line when I hold its public signing!"
The two warriors had a hearty chuckle together at Rawbla's quip when the two of them were suddenly startled by a nearby feminine whistling. They turned around to see someone who looked like a very alluring, scantily clad angel lady, who strutted over while waving and blowing a kiss.
"Heya little men," the woman uttered seductively, "are you feeling lonely tonight? The tournament ain't gonna start until tomorrow morning, so I can get you all cozy in the meantime. Maybe even do you a little 'favor' if you're up for it..."
"No thanks!" Rawbla said before pulling out a portrait from his tracksuit pocket of him with some other bird-like people, including a feminine peacock in a kimono. "I'm a big man, and there's nothing more manly than being faithful!"
"Understandable... and how about you?" Rawbla got a bit of second-hand embarrassment upon seeing how steaming red Grandpa Gohan's face was getting but after inspecting the girl carefully he seemed to regain composure, even giving her a suspicious glance.
"Have to admit, you almost got me there. Nice try, Beelze!"
The woman groaned before suddenly poofing from a cloud of smoke into a smaller but familiar man to Gohan. The two masters embraced each other with Beelze introducing himself to the surprised Rawbla, and when they began talking about their training regimes over the past year the Satan master couldn't help but brag a little.
"Gohan, I love ya, but bouncy balls, really? I'm sure it took you a lot of effort, but wait until you see the crazy stuff I've picked up! The shapeshifting's just the beginning, my man!"
"In that case, I look forward to seeing what you can do!" Gohan said before they once against fist-bumped each other for the first time in over a year.
About an hour later all of the 7 currently available warriors treated themselves to a commemorative feast in a luxurious dining room with a large table, massive windows with gold-tinted silk drapes and a live orchestra of suited and very bizarrely musically talented frogs, all manner of food from fresh vegetables to perfectly cooked meat to even a giant chocolate cake being served to them in two plates whose circumference spanned each half of the long, purple-clothed table. The mysterious samurai was the first to finish their meal, being very discreet about it and not striking up much conversation or really any at all until they quietly hurried themselves back to their quarters, and due to the other 3 taking their time Grandpa Gohan and Beelze ended up being the ones to finish second and third respectively in this invisible contest. While the others were still at the table, or, in the mysterious samurai's case, off to their quarters, the pair excused themselves to take a moment to chat at the edge of one of the balconies of the top-floor dinner table located at the very highest level of the Employees Only section, with the older master showing the middle-aged one the stars he would lack at back when he was still alive. As both finished up the ice cream cones they had received from the waiters they felt a familiar pressure immediately behind them, one that perturbed Beelze. However, with Gohan's silent encouragement which the Satan Dojo veteran nodded back to, they turned around to stare down Pikkon in unison, this being the first time he had made his presence known to any of the finalists all day. The long-time champion, however, seemed to once again only be interested in the older of the two humans, as he was the first he walked up to wish good luck to him and upon finishing shaking hands with him he turned to leave.
"Hey!" Gohan called back to him. "Aren't you going to show some manners to my friend?"
Pikkon turned to look at the other man, eventually walking up and giving him a handshake, albeit with no verbal acknowledgement and very little gusto in it.
Pikkon turned to look at the other man, gazing deeply at his initially nervous facial expression. As he was being stared at, both Gohan and Pikkon were surprised to see Beelze suddenly develop a strange bravado as he looked right back, almost glaring at the more prolific fighter as a show of his utter lack of fear. It was a sort of look Pikkon hadn't seen directed towards him in quite some time which in conjunction with Beelze's purple gi and multi-braided hair seemed to unearth something deep within Pikkon's soul.
"Get the hell up, you oaf! We aren't even close to the summit..."
Pikkon had to shake himself off real quickly to restore his mind to reality. He quickly walked up to Beelze, shaking his hand with little gusto before quickly shuffling away without acknowledging him in any other way. The malaise created by the awkward exchange was only compounded when before heading for their quarters the two looked at the bracket and realized that, should Beelze win his first match, he'd be going up against Pikkon Round 2. Gohan normally would've expected to have to help his rival calm down a bit, but in keeping with his earlier show of mental fortitude he was not only unphased, but in fact wearing a confident smile on his face at the prospect of this challenge.
"So... You ready to see me show that creep who's boss? Because after that, I'm coming for you!" he exclaimed to Grandpa Gohan before running off with the same brand of excitement as that of a small child about to see a blockbuster they had been asking to see for weeks. As he watched him go up the stairs the older man felt a similar sort of hype: Tomorrow was going to be a big day, that much was for certain.
As the final hours of dusk faded away into the darkest depths of the night, so too did the last clangs of the fighters' silverware scratching against their dinner plates and the soft swishes of maids and butlers cleaning up the crumbs and leftovers off the table and the dirt that had accumulated on the floor, even though thankfully for them this didn't take too long as their guests showed good manners all-around. And then they were let off for the night and returned to their special bedrooms elsewhere in the small floating city, so too were the fighters guided by an imp to the apartment complex near the stadiums where they were in turn each led to their own labeled quarters, each with amenities tailored to their specifications. As Grandpa Gohan got his gilded room key, took the single flight of soft-rugged stairs that guided him to the floor and turned the corner he caught a glimpse of Pikkon about to enter his own room on the far end of the hallway, all 8 rooms down from where the old man would be staying. He wished his potential future opponent a good night's rest, a greeting that was moreso a formality considering their undead nature, but one that Pikkon nonetheless replied to with a quick wave even though Grandpa Gohan could easily distinguish its hasty nature before the Otherworld champion walked inside his room, locking its green door behind him. And just as all other sounds had faded back in the dining room, so too did the footsteps of the fighters entering their dorms and closing their doors come and go, their last sounds before retreating into solitude for the night being the flickers of them turning off their lights.
Due to the circumstances they found themselves in, many of the so-called "Great 8" vying for the title of Champion did not need to sleep, with all but Grandpa Gohan, Beelze and the hooded man opting to do some kind of leisure activity to pass the time until they'd need to be awoken. But even if they had all still been alive and as such required the needs of mortal beings, it would be more than likely that Pikkon would be no less restless as he currently was, the next best option for him being to try to meditate on his bed, keeping calm as much as he could so that the sheets wouldn't be fried by the trademark intense heat of his silently crackling, wild energy. But even this barely sufficed, for he couldn't resist gritting his teeth at the thought of the types of warriors that had arrived to challenge the title he had claimed time and time again on this year. Even in spite of predicting it back at the Tower of Cokade it was still so surreal to see Grandpa Gohan and Beelze walking within the halls of Warriors' League apartments and being able to say good night to him in person. And even though he'd hopefully never have to battle him, Rawbla getting to this stage as well was just as terrifying a concept. If the bird man had gave any other explanation for his sudden turnaround that didn't involve the old master from Earth, Pikkon would've very likely flexed his clout to order his matches investigated for any sort of foul play by the Otherworld Circuit staff, but under the context of Grandpa Gohan serving as an inspiration that part of his mind begrudgingly realized the truth of the matter and shut itself up, even though Pikkon would rather go to purgatory than ever admit that to himself or out loud. He hated all three of these unlikely heroes and how close they were to turning his whole way of life upside-down. And that fear continued to dredge up bad memories in his mind, memories of a time long gone that he'd rather remain that way physically and spiritually. In order to keep himself from going mad from this cocktail of negative feelings on that night, Pikkon had to drill a a simple mantra into his brain over and over and over - I cannot lose, I will not lose, I cannot lose, I will not lose, I cannot lose, I will not lose... If the figure that still haunted the deepest recesses of his mind had been able to see him in his quarters and hear his repetitive inner thoughts, he would've brazenly barked the same sort of thuggish insults that had led to his own demise.