Chapter 53: The Final – Part One

Friday 22nd July Age 797 – The World Martial Arts Tournament Final Day

Noca was up early. Even though he had got an early night Noca didn't expect to be waking up when it was still dark. At least, that's how it appeared right away. The only sound in the room came from Dom's steady breathing. He was still deep asleep, and nothing was about to wake him up. Noca's hearing sharpened in the silence and he could tell that everyone was asleep. He was the only one awake.

He moved out of his bed and stepped up to the window. He peeked outside from behind the blinds and noticed the slightest glint of sunlight in the distance and the sky was a dark blue as opposed to the black of night. He stepped away and looked at his clock. It was four in the morning. Noca sighed. He couldn't get back into bed now. He was wide awake. All of his senses had come to life and he was itching to get on with his day. It was too bad he had to wait. He groaned and left the room, wearing nothing but the clothes he had worn to bed. An old t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

Noca made his way through the halls as quietly as he could, heading down the stairs. He needed to do something with the time he had been afforded and what better way than to get in some last-minute training. The gravity room was his destination. The young man stepped inside the room and the whole thing came to life. The door closed behind him and sealed as Noca walked up to the control panel and chose a gravity setting. 250x Earth's normal gravity was a good choice. It wouldn't make things difficult, but he could certainly warm-up in those conditions. The weight began to drop on down on him and Noca started to do some stretches and jogged on the spot.

All he did was the normal stretches and warming up activities, push-ups, sit-ups, all of that kind of stuff. He made sure to get plenty of water while he was at it and took breaks between each activity. He jogged around the room in his isolation, with nothing but the sound of the whirring electricity in the room and his own thoughts. Surprising himself, there were no worries. No anxiety about the upcoming fight. It was a big day. A huge occasion and Noca felt calm, at ease. But he had woken up earlier than normal and that was the only true sign of his nerves. They were there but it wasn't apparent to Noca.

The young man didn't realise how much time had passed while he was in the room, but when he caught a hint of strong energy near him, he started to slow down. People were awake, and one of them was right outside the door. Noca stopped as the gravity powered down and the controls were overridden. The door opened and in stepped Vegeta wearing a shirt and smart trousers. Noca scoffed to himself, never really coming to terms with "casual" Vegeta.

"Sleep well?" The Prince questioned. Noca nodded as he took a big drink of water. "You don't think this will tire you out before the fight?"

"I think I'll be fine," Noca said, chuckling as he put the bottle down and grabbed a towel. He wiped the sweat off and checked the time. 7 a.m. Maybe it was time to get showered and ready for breakfast. Noca went to step out of the gravity room but Vegeta caught his arm.

"Don't treat today like a game," Vegeta muttered. "Your instincts will want you to draw it out and tease him, but your opponent is going to give you that chance. Don't be arrogant. Go all out from the start."

"Show him everything I've got right away? I haven't even seen what he has yet," Noca explained, not really liking Vegeta's advice. He didn't want to go out there and end things before they could be fun.

Wait.

That's what Vegeta meant. Don't treat the fight like it should be something fun. Take it seriously.

"He will not hold back, he won't wait for you to catch up, he wants to win more than you," Vegeta clarified. "So, what if you haven't seen his full power? He hasn't seen yours."

Noca nodded again, knowing that nothing else needed to be said between the two. Vegeta let go of Noca's arm and let the young man leave.

All thoughts of the fight had been pushed to the back of his mind while Noca showered and dressed. He went down for breakfast and ate whatever he could. His appetite hadn't been affected by any nerves but Noca opted not to fill up and eat a regular portion. Not everyone was awake at that time, and Pan hadn't come down for breakfast. Once Noca had finished he decided to go see his girlfriend and friends before heading to the arena.

He didn't even knock on the door before Bra poked her head out.

"You can't come in!" She commanded.

"How did you even…" Noca started before being cut off.

"Pan could sense you coming, she's not decent," Bra informed him. Noca raised an eyebrow and looked up and down the hall.

"You do realise that I'm her boyfriend, right? I know what she looks like when she's not 'decent'" Noca said, a smirk on his face. Bra didn't appear to be amused.

"Just make yourself useful and go wake Dom up," She instructed him. Noca was taken aback.

"He's not awake yet?" Noca questioned turning to face down the hall to his and Dom's room, but he immediately turned back to face Bra, "And don't tell me what to do."

Bra had already shut the door. Noca scoffed as he turned to walk back down to his room. Bra was right, Dom hadn't woken up yet. Noca looked down on his sleeping friend and considering leaving the task for Bra to do. He shook his friend awake, even though Dom was very reluctant to actually get up. Noca managed to get him out of bed though. He went back down the hall to see Bra, she opened the door, again only peeking her head out. He could tell she had been doing her make-up.

"Your boyfriend has awoken, your majesty," Noca said doing a little bow. Bra shook her head.

"You do realise I'm actually a Princess right, that does make me royalty," Bra said, a little proud that she caught on to that fact.

"And you remember that you and I are related, right? Meaning that I too am royalty," Noca replied, putting on fake arrogance.

"Yeah but you're just the cousin," Bra informed him, sticking out her tongue in the process. Noca shook his head, a weak smirk on his face.

"Will you just let him in," Pan's voice ordered from inside the room. Bra rolled her eyes and muttered a simple 'Fine.' Noca smirked smugly as Bra opened the door for him.

"Even though we're both royalty we're still under her thumb," Noca joked as he stepped in. He looked over to his girlfriend, she was just sorting out her outfit for the day and had a towel wrapped around her, she didn't seem as indecent as Bra had made her out to be, but he could tell, by the clothes she was contemplating and all the make-up stuff that Bra had left out, that the two of them were planning to dress-up very nice for the day.

"Morning, you sleep well," Pan asked, smiling and making sure that her towel stayed up.

"Yeah, fine," Noca was distracted as he looked from the make-up back to Pan, "It's just a fight, you don't have to dress-up all fancy-like."

"Sure, we don't have to, we want to," Pan replied, her brow furrowed.

"Seems a bit much though… you look great either way," Noca said, shrugging his shoulders. He looked over to Bra and then pointed at her, looking back to Pan, "Bra on the other-hand, she has to make the effort."

Bra gasped and smacked Noca on the arm.

"How dare you?!" She was definitely offended by that, even though Noca meant it as a joke. He quickly apologised and hugged his cousin, but she turned her nose up at him and walked away. Noca attempted to justify his joke but she was having none of it.

Pan shook her head as Noca held his hands up as if enquiring as to what he did wrong.

"I just came up to let you know that I've eaten and I'm going to head over to the Stadium. Wanted to see you both before the fight," Noca let them know. Pan stopped what she was doing and walked over to her boyfriend, she gave him a big hug, arms wrapped around his torso. Noca reciprocated and they embraced tightly.

"Good luck," Pan whispered. Noca smiled and kissed her on the head.

"Thanks," Noca replied. They broke the hug and Noca started to walk out of the room. As he started to close the door Bra called out to say good luck, unable to stay mad at him. Noca chuckled softly as he closed their door and headed down again.

A few more people were up, and they all wished Noca luck as he walked through on his way out. Holline was up and ready too and decided to walk with Noca.

There wasn't a lot of conversation between them as they walked through the markets towards the stadium. Noca asked her about spending time with her family and they briefly mentioned how Noca was feeling before the fight. Holline had actually fought Uub so she spoke candidly about how she had felt in the fight. Noca took on-board any information but for the most part even Holline felt that Uub was more mysterious than ever before. Noca tried not to think about it and focus on himself.

They arrived at the Stadium and said bye to each other, Holline wishing Noca luck and giving him a hug. Noca appreciated everyone supporting him but knew he had to push thoughts of everyone else out of his head while he was out on the stage. The fight was about two people. Himself, and Uub. Speaking of which, Uub wasn't at the Stadium yet. Noca entered the waiting area and noticed he had it to himself. He sat down on one of the benches and waited for whatever would come next. He closed his eyes and focussed inwardly for the time he was alone. He took the chance to meditate and little, to focus solely on his own Ki.

Noca remained in his meditative state even when Uub entered the room. Somehow, that large amount of energy joining his presence didn't resonate in a disturbing way. It was almost as if the two energies agreed to coincide in the peaceful place even though they would soon be at conflict with one another. There was an underlying sense of unrest in the room, but it didn't disturb that peace. Noca knew Uub had something on his mind, something he had against Noca, but it didn't matter then. Noca knew it would only matter to him when he was finally fighting. Whether or not that meant it didn't matter to Uub wasn't a concern on his mind. It was a purely selfish thought but it was what Noca told himself so he could stay in the peace and focus of his meditation. Uub ignored what the Saiyan was doing and sat away from him.

The two opponents remained in that silence for some time before the announcer finally entered, he was reasonably surprised that the two of them were there that early. Both turned to face the man as he stepped in.

"Oh, you're both here… the fight doesn't start for another two hours," The announcer said, looking down at his watch and awkwardly chuckling. Noca looked to the clock. It was barely passed 10 a.m.

"I'm just an early riser, thought it would do me good to get here early," Noca said, an awkward smile forming on his face. The announcer nodded and rushed off, saying he needed to make sure everything for prepared. He informed them they were welcome to go get refreshments and return closer to the time. They didn't need to hang around until their fight began but neither of the fighters left. They both took them time to remain in their concentrated isolation.

It was getting closer to midday. The crowd had been growing and getting louder. Music was playing over the P.A. system and sometimes adverts would be shown over the screens. At about eleven-thirty there was a musical act that started to perform some sort of opening ceremony before the final. Noca took the time to step out and watch them perform. He sort of enjoyed what he was hearing. It was some big rock band, but Noca hadn't heard them before.

Outside in the audience there was another young man, with a hood up, listening along with the crowd. He was enjoying the music as well, but it may not have appeared that way. The hood served to cover his face a little and he had his hands in his pockets. People were clapping and singing along, but he was just subtly tapping his foot. Until someone pushed through the crowd to get next to him and placed a hang on his shoulder, bringing him back to reality. When they spoke, it was with a concerned tone.

"Yaiko, what are you doing out here?" Sofia asked, turning him around to face her. Yaiko pulled away and took his hood down, he had a big bruise on his left eye with a cut across his eyebrow. There was some dried blood on his face.

"What? I'm just listening to the band. Is that a problem?" Yaiko snapped. Sofia was taken aback, but not just by his tone, these injuries to his face were new.

"What happened to you?" Sofia asked, lifting a hand to his face. He whacked it away.

"What do you think?" He mumbled, some bad attitude in his tone. He turned back to face the band and pulled his hood up. Sofia sighed.

"Joji…" She muttered. Putting a hand on Yaiko's shoulder again. "Come on, we should get out of here."

Yaiko ignored here and kept his gaze on the band, but inside he was seething. He had tears in his eyes and his jaw was clenched. Sofia could sense the unrest and took his hand in hers.

"Let's go," She said, softly. Yaiko let out a heavy sigh and let her lead him away. The two walked through the crowds and eventually out of the stadium. Yaiko looked back again, watching as the crowds continued to filter in.

"We didn't get our chance…" Yaiko said, solemnly.

"We'll get it," Sofia said, looking back at the Stadium herself. She and Yaiko walked off together, heading back into the city, they had to find Joji and get out of there.

Back inside the stadium, the band was finishing up and it was very nearly 12 p.m. The announcer had said the fight would start at midday, but that may have just been an estimated time. Although that didn't really bother Noca, he had dropped back into a meditative state, his attention drawn on something outside of the stadium, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. He dropped back into reality when the music stopped, and the crowd applauded. His eyes snapped open and he looked back to the door. As the crowd started to quieten down the Announcer stepped up to do his thing.

"WELCOME BACK TO THE WORLD MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT! Today we are excited to present to you THE FINAL!" The announcer was yelling at the top of his voice, doing his best to ramp up the crowd and get them ready for the entertainment. They were cheering, clapping, some were screaming. Noca's and Uub's names were both being chanted by people. Noca couldn't help but let a little satisfied smirk cross his face when he heard his name. Uub however, was indifferent.

"We have had a tremendous tournament this year. With fantastic competitors, old and new. But now it comes down to the two best fighters in the world. But only one can walk away with the coveted title of WORLD CHAMPION! Today is finally the day where a new champion will step up to take the place of the one and only Mr. Satan!" The announcer continued on but upon mention of the legend's name the whole audience went insane. Chants of 'SATAN' rung out. The announcer smiled. He was like a giddy child. "How about we hear from the Champion himself?"

Another huge cheer. But it got so much louder when the Champ himself stepped out and threw his arm into the air, showing off that two-fingered victory sign. He was carrying the belt under his other arm, but not for long as that was also thrust into the air. The balding, ageing man could still draw out an energetic and committed audience. He was handed a microphone, and everyone started to go quiet.

"Thank you for that great welcome. Are you ready for some high-quality entertainment?!" Mr. Satan asked. The crowd responded in unison with a resounding 'YES.' The champ wasn't satisfied. "I can't hear you!"

Another loud 'YES' echoed around the stadium.

"Now you're ready. I just need to say that I couldn't think of two fighters more deserved of this title and this belt. It is unfortunate that only one of them will walk away as number one."

Noca's smirk faded a little as it all started to dawn on him. He wasn't just fighting to show off his own abilities and prove himself to his teacher and allies, but he would be taking on the heavy burden of being the World Champion if he were to win. The people of the world would look to him as their symbol. Just like they had with Mr. Satan. Noca quickly dismissed those thoughts, remarking that the people were only like that with Mr. Satan because of Cell and he started to calm himself. For a second there he was starting to get anxious, but he couldn't let that happen. He forced himself to smile as he listened to the Champ, but his breathing has sped up and his heart rate had increased. His senses made him all too aware of that.

"I don't want to make you wait any longer. I want you to watch a great fight. Are you ready for a great fight?!" The Champ asked the audience. They were all positive with their response, but once again the Champ wasn't satisfied. "You can do better than that. DO YOU WANT AN AMAZING FIGHT?!"

They all yelled out the affirmative and Mr. Satan was satisfied. He handed the microphone back to the announcer and headed into the commentator's box.

"Here we go folks! On this stage, in this stadium, here on Papaya Island, you are about to witness the Final of the World Martial Arts Tournament between NOCA and UUB!" The announcer yelled as he stepped off of the stage and went back to the Commentators box. Fire shot out of the roof of the stadium and from boxes on the ground and there was a light show as a spotlight shone down on the waiting area. Noca and Uub stepped up and slowly walked out, not saying a single word to one another. The audience were cheering and screaming as they walked up towards the stage. Noca started waving to people but his nerves took a hold of him and he began to sweat. Why was he feeling this anxious before the fight? He had been fine before every other one. Uub could tell that something was up but he just made a mental note of it, believing he could somehow use it to his advantage in the fight.

Both made it to the stage and stepped up. The spotlight stayed in the middle, so the fighters did too. Soon, the ground started to rumble, and the stage lifted up out of the ground like it had done previously in the tournament. As it rose up the stage also appeared to curve into a bowl shape, although not too steep. The audience could still see into the stage just as well as before and any people who were even too far away or at risk of missing any action would be satisfied by all the huge screens, with some extras put up for this fight specifically. There were also drones located high up in case they were needed to come in closer on the action. They were truly prepared for an insane fight.

"When the bell sounds both fighters will begin! Let's not waste any more time and get on with this!" The announcer yelled once more. The crowd cheered out again, and it won't be the last time. The bell sounded and it was time to fight. The spectacle of the whole thing had distracted Noca slightly and Uub saw his advantage.

The pink aura from Uub's previous fight burst out of him as he phased right in front of Noca. The intensity in those eyes and the static aura around Uub showed that he wasn't messing around. This was it. The Final had begun and despite everything, Noca wasn't ready.

Sorry about the delay with releasing this chapter, but at least you'll get the next chapter next week. And after this one, we have only 4 left until the end. Exciting times. Approaching the end of this story which took me little over 3 years to write.

Drop some reviews if you want!

Next Time... Chapter 54: The Final - Part Two