-I'm back! No excuse for being so late this time, I've just been up to different things. The fight scenes in this chapter aren't all that great, but after a few fights you kind of run out of ways to say this guy punched or kicked this guy. It's kind of like listening to football or wrestling on the radio, it just doesn't come off the same on paper. Well, chapter 19 is here, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own DBZ. Only Taro and Hail sprung from my twisted imagination.

Chapter 19

"Yow!" Ryo yelped, as Hail's leg sailed over his head. Ryo thrust locked his sights on the blue ninja, firing his fists at Hail's upper body. Hail stayed with him step for step, gradually being knocked back towards the edge of the ring. Hail sensed this, and pushed Ryo back with a massive exertion of his energy. Hail took to the air before Ryo could rebound and come back at him, so they continued matching each other's movements from mid-flight. This had gone on for the better part of ten minutes, taking that long for the two combatants to feel each other out. This didn't bother Ryo much, he'd expected a good fight when he walked in the ring, but this pace rattled Hail to some degree. He'd expected to walk all over this simple earth boy, and was quite unnerved to discover Ryo just may be a step faster then he was. He'd have to find a way to compensate for that.

The crowd watched on in silence. They'd grown use to seeing the Tenkaichi fighters take to the air, and in fact were kind of expecting it now, so they weren't as shocked when it happened. They even showed rather decent patience during those moments the fighters were moving too fast for them to see, knowing they'd slow down once somebody got a good whack.

"I'll have to say I'm impressed boy, I wasn't expecting a fight like this," Hail panted, trying to sound confident. It didn't work very well. "If I'd known I would've wore my good boots, but you know you can't keep this up forever. Eventually I'll…"

"Save your breath Hail! You can try all you want, but you can't get into my head! It doesn't matter what you say, it's not going to work on me!"

Hail growled, wanting nothing more then to knock the stuffing out of this insolent brat. "Is that so?! Well I guess I'll just have to pound you the old fashioned way!"

Hail caught Ryo's arm, as it came towards his face, and spun it around. However, Ryo quickly pulled out of his grip, and caught Hail underneath the chin with his boot. Hail wobbled in the air a bit, but managed to brace himself before Ryo pressed the attack on him. Hail caught the boy swooping in, and drove his knee into Ryo's mid-section. Hail put the boy in a headlock as he doubled over, and started a nosedive towards the ring. Ryo tried desperately to wiggle out, as he watched the tile on the ring inch closer and closer to his face. Finally, Ryo managed to free himself, just mere inches away from crashing into the ring. Hail bounced off the surface of the ring, and flipped back up to his feet. He was already ready for Ryo when he came charging towards him, and another brief jousting match ensued. Hail came down low, trying to sweep Ryo's feet out from under him. Ryo skipped over his legs, and barely dodged Hails foot as it came streaking past his face. Another quick sidekick however would catch him in the jaw, and Ryo stumbled back falling to the ground after losing his balance. Hail flared his Ki, and charged towards Ryo as he stood back up. Hail rammed his shoulder into the boy, sending Ryo rolling towards the opposite end of the ring. Smelling blood, Hail summoned up a large ball of Ki, as it could be seen forming in his hands.

"Let's see how tough you are boy! Take this!"

Ryo collected himself just in time to see what looked like a scattered assortment of blue Ki blasts coming his way. With no time to get out of the way, Ryo crossed his arms in front of his face, and waited for impact.

"Ryo!" Gohan chocked, as he watched Hail's blast hit. He, Videl, Piccolo, and Goku watched worriedly, as a cloud of dust raised to the sky from where he had stood, wondering just what kind of shape he'd been in when the smoke cleared.

Hail chuckled as he watched on, wondering how many pieces the boy was in now. He waited for the smoke to clear, and his eyes widened when he saw Ryo staring back at him smiling, not a scratch to be found on his body. "How the hell did you?!"

"An energy shield?" Shin said curiously, as he and Kabito were observing the fight from above the arena. "Interesting…"

"Indeed," Kibito said unsurely, giving his master a questioning look.

"What's the matter Kibito? It appears that something is bothering you. I can't read your thoughts like I can with others."

"Forgive me sir but… Why in the world are we here at this Earth tournament while we should be searching for Babadi's spaceship? I'm sorry master, but I just can't understand your logic."

"Oh, but it's very simple my friend," Shin smirked. "I want to see just how strong these earthlings are, especially young Gohan down there. If he can rediscover the power he admitted when he defeated Cell, he could very well be a valuable weapon in our struggle against Babadi. I need to be certain however. If he can't get by Taro, then it would seem unlikely he could stand up to the likes of Majin Buu… Not that there's many, if any that can mind you."

"I see," Kibito nodded his head, finally understanding his master's intentions.

Ryo appeared confident, but in his mind he sighed with relief. That was a close one… If that attack had any more pop to it, my shield might not have been strong enough to hold up against it. Better not try that again…

"Hmm… You're more resourceful then I'd thought you'd be," Hail chocked, not succeeding in hiding his newfound anxiety so well. One of his strongest attacks just bounced off this kid like a mosquito bouncing off a car windshield , and Hail had no idea how he did it.

"You have no idea…" Ryo said softly, as a cast of purple Ki circled around his body. "Now you see me… Now you don't." Ryo whispered before phasing out, out of the sight of Hail and the crowd.

"What the?!" The MC's shades slipped down his face. "Ryo has appeared to have well… Disappeared. I'm not sure if he's left the ring or not…"

"He must have turned around, and ran out of here so fast we couldn't see him," Hercule said, sounding hopeful as he tried to convince himself of that. Then again he wasn't wild about the idea of facing the guy in the blue pajama's either. "That's got to be it! Doesn't it?…"

"He disappeared!" Videl gawked, wondering what in the hell was going on. She'd been taken by surprise more than enough after watching Ryo take that wicked energy blast without so much as flinching.

"Yeah… At least I think he did," Gohan said, staring at the ring with a similar look on his face. All he could see in the ring was Hail, and a faint purple aurora of Ki circling around him. "Did he turn himself invisible or something?"

"Sort of," Piccolo replied, as the teens turned their attention to him. "Actually, all he did was use his psychic energy to shield his visual image to the naked eye. All he's actually doing is hiding his physical form with his energy, making his Ki visible instead of his physical form. That purple Ki cloud you see in the ring is actually Ryo."

Videl squinted her eyes, but sill couldn't see any sort of purple cloud like Piccolo had mentioned. "But I still don't see anything…"

"That's because you can't sense Ki yet, so you can't see him ," Piccolo explained. "From the looks of it, Hail can't either. Ryo must've picked up on that, and that's why he tried this. It explains a lot considering he hasn't perfected this technique quite yet. It takes an enormous amount of concentration, so if he does so much as walk too fast or trip over a pebble, his concentration will break and he'll become visible again. It's a gamble considering he can't even attack until he reappears. It should be interesting to see what he has in mind."

"Where did you go?!" Hail growled, turning his body in semi-circles. "I know you're still here somewhere! Show yourself!"

"If you insist!" Ryo shouted, as he reappeared. "Kayohata!"

Hail's eyes widened, as Ryo's blast ripped into his mid-section. Several more tiny explosions followed as the energy blast seemingly tore through him. Even the combination wasn't strong enough to knock him to the ground, but he staggered backwards allowing Ryo ample opportunity to pounce on him. Ryo pounded the Ray Lien assassin, landing several well placed blows all around his body. One hard kick to face spun Hail around, and sent him crashing to the ground. Ryo loaded up and fired another Ki blast towards Hail, only for Hail to counter with a Ki blast of his own. They collided with each other, creating a huge burst of energy that sent both combatants back to the ground. Both sat up slowly, Ryo a bit groggy after taking the brunt of the after burst. Hail forced himself up a second quicker, and drove his fist into Ryo's face as he stood up. Ryo tumbled over on his back, while Hail stood above him clutching his side at the spot where Ryo's Ki blast had hit him.

Damn that boy! I can barely feel the left side of my body… I have to finish this now! Hail realized that would be much easier said then down, even before Ryo sprung to his feet suddenly. Hail's face twitched slightly in shock and anger, and took a swing at Ryo. The boy moved out of the way, and kicked Hail in his good side, sending him staggering around the ring once more. Ryo pounced on him whacking him several more times, before Hail tried to retreat to the air. Ryo grabbed him by the leg preventing the Ray Lien from soaring anymore then ten feet above the ring. Hail got Ryo really good once when he kicked him in the face, along with several other foot taps in an attempt to try and knock Ryo off of him. Ryo hung on tight, and pulled him back towards the ground low enough to lay his fist into the small of Hail's back. The blue ninja cried out in agony, and his body went limp for a short time. Long enough for Ryo to bridge Hail's body over his head, and hold him up there.

"This is it!" Ryo grunted, and formed a long sword out of the palm of his hand. He stuck the point into the small of Hail's back, sending a faint but crippling surge through his body. Hail's body jerked upward as if he'd just been impaled, and fell still except for the slight shutter of a few tense muscles. Ryo huffed, rotated his body slightly, and heaved Hail to the ground, the Ray Lien landing face first outside of the ring. Ryo let out a heavy sigh, and dropped to his knees thankful this battle was over with.

"Wow, look at that folks! This fight is over!" the MC raved. "Hail has been tossed out of the ring, so that makes Ryo our winner!"

"What in the world was he…" Videl stammered, staring out at the ring in shock at some of the things she saw Ryo do. She wasn't sure why she was so surprised by all this anymore. What Ryo had been doing was pretty much the same feats just about everyone else she'd watched fight that day had been achieving. Was the bar for marital arts fighting suddenly raised, and she wasn't informed of it? What was with everybody anyway? If seemed as if Gohan, Ryo, Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta, and everybody else were all part of some sort of secret club, and Gohan acted as the bouncer who wouldn't let her through the front door. "This is unreal…"

"No, it's real alright Videl," Gohan said, as he watched Ryo limp back into the waiting area. He smiled at him while Videl gawked at him with a hushed silence. "Good going Ryo! Semifinals, not bad for a couple of rookies huh?"

"Yeah, that was very impressive Ryo," Goku agreed. "You had me worried for a second there. That sure is an interesting bag of tricks you have at your disposal."

Piccolo grunted, then smirked. "Well, I never doubted you for a second. Except for every second after the match started and until it ended that is."

"Your confidence in me is staggering Piccolo," Ryo jeered, jokingly. His eyes shifted towards Videl as he noticed the strange look she was giving him. "What's the matter girl? You still can't believe the fact that I actually know how to fight?"

"No, just the way you fight, and everybody else for that matter," Videl mumbled. She didn't continue on with the subject however, assuming nobody would jump at the chance to tell her anyway. Her expression grew troubled as a thought popped into her head. "You know what this means now don't you?"

"No, what?"

Videl wouldn't have to answer right away, for the MC was about to lead into it. "Your attention please fans! Due to the fact that Eighteen was disqualified for excessive force against Rain in the last round, that means Hercule will get yet another bye, and advance to the semifinals! Let's give it up for the World Champ, what do you say?!"

Hercule was already in the ring doing his poses for the cheering crowd, as he received yet another gift-wrapped victory complete with the little bow and silver platter. Videl half frowned and half groaned at her fathers embarrassing actions in the ring. "It means you have to fight my dad in the next round…"

"Oh no, anything but that," Ryo mouthed, as he rolled his eyes. On the inside he smiled, thinking of just how sweet it would be to finally shut that ninny up once and for all.

Hail groaned as he involuntarily rubbed his face into the dirt. His eyes widened as he felt his body suddenly flip over onto his back. They widened yet more when he saw Eighteen smirking down at him. He would've gotten up and ran if it wasn't for the annoying little fact that he couldn't quite feel his legs at the moment. That damn energy attack that blasted boy had used on him shot straight through his spine, completely messing up his range of motion. He did manage to quiver slightly, as his eyes seemed to say *oh shit*.

"Hey there ninja boy, how's the view down there?" Eighteen asked, as Hail waited anxiously to find out just what she was going to do to him. Then Eighteen surprised the Ray Lien by walking away. The only catch was she used Hail as a bridge, pressing down hard on Hail's chest one foot at a time as she stepped over him. Krillen followed after his wife, whistling as his hands rested behind his head.

"Oops!" Krillen grinned, as his left foot *accidentally* slammed right between Hail's legs. "Sorry, didn't see you down there buddy."

Hail would've shot upward if his body could, but instead his eyes just rolled in the back of his head as his face turned red. He rolled over on his face, and promptly passed out.

Another fifteen minutes passed, and Hercule was finally finished with his pose down. With that in mind, the MC stepped into the ring, and excitedly called a start to the semifinals. "Your attention please fans! I'd like to begin by congratulating our final four combatants in this year's Tenkaichi Budokai! Gohan, Taro, Ryo, and our current World Champion Hercule! Now, without further adieu I give you Taro vs. Gohan!"

Gohan's body tensed up, then eased back down again. His father smiled, and patted his son on the back. "Calm down Gohan. You'll be just fine. Just keep your head up, and don't fall into the same trap Vegeta did."

Gohan took a deep breath, and smiled up at his father. "I'll try my best dad. I was nervous at first, but I figure if I was lucky enough to beat you today then maybe I can ride that wave of luck through this match. Well, here goes nothing."

"Be careful Gohan," Videl smiled. "After watching what you did to Spopovitch, I'm sure you won't have any trouble with this ugly freak."

"I wish I could share your newfound confidence in me Videl," Gohan sighed.

"Don't worry so much Gohan," Ryo told him, placing his hand on his shoulder. "If you need a little extra motivation, then do this for Videl, or maybe even your mother." Ryo squinted his eyes, and leaned his head over Gohan's shoulder. He whispered into Gohan's ear, so Videl couldn't hear him. "Or if nothing else do it for me. I really don't want to have to face that guy in the finals if you catch my drift."

Gohan frowned playfully. "Yeah I catch it. What's the matter? Did your spine turn into jelly all of the sudden?"

"No, I'm just partial to my internal organs staying where they're at right now. Plus I'm a realist, if both you and Vegeta lose to that guy, then I don't stand a chance in hell. I'd hate to have everyone forced to rely on me to stop that guy."

"Well, you have a point there, but I still think you doubt yourself too much. Anyway, I'm going to do my best to make sure you or anyone else has to worry about that. Well… Guess I'd better get out there."

Gohan walked out onto the walkway, Taro already standing in his place waiting for him. Taro smirked down at him, and Gohan just sneered his way and looked back towards the ring.

The MC began his introduction the second Gohan and Taro moved towards the ring. "Both of these fighters have had two very impressive victories today already, and I can only expect they're going to give each other one hell of a match this go around. Let's hear it for these two semifinalist!"

Gohan walked into the ring, and stared across it at Taro's grinning mug. "Well boy, do you have anything more to show me then your friend, or is that little Super Sayian glowworm trick all you have to offer?"

Gohan smirked back at him. "Well, it is true you did manage to defeat Vegeta, but I don't think you're going to be as lucky with me. Vegeta's Super Sayian power wasn't quite enough to defeat you I suppose, so I guess that means I need to step it up to the next level."

Taro's smirk curved into a frown. "You're bluffing! There is no second level for a Super Sayian."

"Maybe I am," Gohan smirked, as he powered up to his Super Sayian form. "Then again, maybe I'm not." It was true, Gohan was bluffing. He wasn't sure if he even had enough power to reach level two anymore, and if he did he was certain he needed to be extremely angry to reach it. If anything, he hoped he could at least get into Taro's head, and make Taro think he could. For the time being it worked."

"I don't have time for these ridiculous games! Shut up, and fight me!" Taro pulled his arm back, and slammed his fist into Gohan's face. Unlike Spopovitch earlier, he indeed felt this one. Gohan grimaced, and returned the favor by planting his fist into Taro's kisser. Taro's head snapped back in a similar manner, and after that everything exploded.

They went at each other at a furious pace, throwing every type of punch, kick, or block you could imagine. "What's the matter boy?! Where's the rest of this power you were bragging about just a few minutes ago!"

Gohan growled, realizing his deception was warring off. The real bad thing about it was, it hadn't even done Gohan all that much good. He was hoping he'd catch the big goof off guard, or intimidate him into over committing himself and making a mistake. Neither to that point had worked, and now Taro seemed to be catching on. Oh well, looks like he'll have to do it the old fashioned way. "I don't need it! Not for the likes of you!"

"I see," Taro sneered. "Is that bullshit for, I'm a liar?"

"Last time I checked you were the bull, and you were the one full of…" Gohan took a swing at Taro's face when the monster grabbed him by the wrist.

Taro sneered, and rammed his forehead into Gohan's face. Gohan stumbled backwards, holding his aching kisser. Taro charged forward, but Gohan spun out of his way. He tried to land a sidekick to his face, but Taro was too quick and ducked under it. Taro buckled to his knees, and rammed his head into Gohan's mid-section knocking the Demi-Sayian halfway across the ring and to the ground. Gohan pushed himself up to his feet, and hopped over Taro as he charged at him again. Gohan landed on his feet, and whirled around just in time to watch Taro's fists come flying at him. He braced himself just in the nick of time to defend himself from Taro's blow. Hoping to land a big hit, Taro left himself open and Gohan took advantage, ramming his knee into the big man's stomach. Gohan landed several punches, knocking Taro around the ring with the force of each blow. Taro growled, and fired a sloppy Ki blast at Gohan's head that the Half-Sayian easily swatted into the sky. Taro used the momentary distraction to his advantage, and charged his opponent. Gohan braced himself and met Taro head on, locking their hands as their faces nearly pressed into one another's. Both battled hard trying to force the other one back, but neither man would budge an inch during this test of strength.

All at once an idea flashed in Gohan's head when he realized this little skirmish was going nowhere fast. He intentionally eased up allowing Taro to wrestle the advantage from him. Taro sneered, figuring he was overpowering the boy. He folded his arms around Gohan's, locking them in place at his sides, and forced Gohan up into the air with him. Taro squeezed on him tighter expecting to do some sort of damage to the boy. However, he was shocked when Gohan just smiled at him. With a large exertion of his energy, he powered out of Taro's grasp, and knocked him backwards. Shocked by this, the next thing Taro was aware of was when Gohan began to pummel him in midair. After a dozen well placed blows, Taro went crashing to the ring. Taro got up quickly, only to find Gohan torpedoing back down towards him. The Demi-Sayian planted his fist in Taro's face knocking him backward. Taro grunted and grimaced, as he struggled to maintain his balance. He had barely even managed that before Gohan was back on him, pounding him with blow after blow, until he crashed back to the ground. Taro sat back up slowly this time, and made it up to his knee before he crumbled back to the ground. Gohan took to the air, hovering a few feet above Taro as he pushed himself back up, so to make sure Taro didn't attempt some sort of sneak attack.

"Please have mercy…" Taro wheezed, standing on his hands and knees. "I can't take much more I…"

"You're giving up?" Gohan asked, as he cocked an eyebrow. There's no way… He must be up to something. I haven't even really done anything to him yet.

Goku grimaced as he stared out at the ring. "Something's wrong. Taro's too strong to be worn down that quickly."

Videl looked at him with an annoyed look on her face. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it Videl," Ryo answered for Goku, sensing that the Sayian was more interested in what was going on in the ring, rather then answering Videl's question. "You saw how hard Vegeta had to work to ware Taro down in their match, and he still came up short. Gohan hasn't thrown half of that at Taro yet, and he's already on the edge of defeat? I don't think so. Besides, Taro doesn't strike me as the type who begs for mercy."

"You may have a point," Videl grumbled, upset that her buzz had been killed. She had been excited just a minute ago believing Gohan was on the verge of victory, but now she wasn't so sure. "But maybe Taro hasn't recovered from his fight with Vegeta either."

"It's possible, but I wouldn't go to bank on that yet Videl. All I'm saying is don't celebrate until he's won."

Vegeta snarled, as he looked out towards the ring at Taro. There was something eerily familiar about Taro's Ki at the moment. Vegeta's face went wild, when he realized what Taro was preparing to do. "GOHAN! BOY, DON'T LOOK INTO HIS EYES!"

Everyone looked at Vegeta surprised by his outburst, and then back at the ring to see what the hell he was talking about. Only Ryo knew the answer for sure.

"What?" Gohan looked in Vegeta's direction, barely able to hear what he had said. By the time he picked up on the warning it was already for not. Taro sprung forward like a cat, grabbing Gohan by the wrists. Gohan turned his head in surprise, and found himself staring straight into Taro's face, red-eyes and all. Gohan flinched at the bright glow of light, and grabbed his face as his eyes started to burn. "Damn it! My eyes! What the hell…"


"Too late!" Ryo groaned, while Vegeta growled.

"Too late for what?!" Goku demanded.

"Taro possess some sort of special attack through his eyes that renders the victim's senses completely useless," Vegeta snapped informatively. "It's the same damn technique he used to defeat me… I'm afraid your brat's in serious trouble Kakarott. He's blind as a bat out there, and now deaf to boot."


"I can't see a damn thing!" Gohan screamed out loud to himself… At least he thought he had, but was surprised to find he couldn't hear the sound of his own voice. "What the hell did he… This must be what he did to defeat Vegeta! I'm in trouble…"

"You have no idea boy," Taro jeered, if anything just for show considering Gohan couldn't hear him. He did feel it however, when Taro's fists began to rain in on him. The burly beast knocked Gohan around the ring. Still shocked by what Taro had done to him, Gohan could barely defend himself having no real idea which direction Taro was coming from. A few more blows, and Gohan was sent sprawling down to the ring.

"Damn it…" Gohan grumbled, rubbing the back of his head as he stood up. Immediately, he felt Taro's horns ram into his back, knocking Gohan right back where he came from. Gohan sprung up quickly, trying to feel for Taro's Ki. Locating it, he took a wild swing at Taro that missed horribly. Taro cackled, and continued to pound on the Demi-Sayian after his misfire.


"Damn it Gohan! Concentrate and lock in on his energy! Just don't dance around, and let him beat on you!" Goku barked as he watched Gohan hit the ground again.

"It's no use Kakarott," Vegeta snorted. "Your son's fighting sense has gotten rusty over the years. He doesn't seem to know how to defend himself and sense his opponent at the same time. If he doesn't come up with something and quick, he's destined to be nothing more then a punching bag until this fight is over. Besides that, you have no idea how difficult it is to fight when you can't see or hear a damn thing! I find it amazing how much I really do rely on all my senses."

"I know Vegeta," Goku grumbled. "I don't think I want to imagine it… Just hang in there Gohan."

Little did the two older Sayians know it, but Gohan was doing just that. He pushed himself up to a knee, and stood there motionless while Taro paced all around him. Just like with Vegeta, Taro was too cocky and arrogant to go ahead and put away his opponent. He had to rub it in. Add insult to injury if you will. However, the big man seemed to have learned from his previous mistakes for this time he left a good distance between him and the Super Sayian so he wouldn't be caught off guard. "Don't even bother little man. I see that you Sayians seem to have some special ability that allows you to sense me without the aid of your usual senses. Well, I'm not about to be baited into that again, so go ahead and sense all you want, you won't catch me by surprise again."

"Maybe so…" Gohan smirked, just barely hearing him while he locked on to Taro's Ki. "Or are you just afraid to attack a blind man?"

Taro snarled. "Fine, you want to hurry this along then so be it!"

Gohan stood up in the direction he felt Taro approaching from, and put his hand up to his face. "Mind Bender!"

"What?!" Taro howled, as a strange tingly feeling came over his face. He suddenly felt woozy, and began to stagger around the ring. "What the hell did you?…"

Taro regained his balance, and once he focused his eyes found about a dozen Gohan's circling him all over the ring. "What is this?! Some sort of second-rate illusion! I demand that the real you show yourself this instant!"

"Why don't you come find me?" All the Gohan's chimed at once. His ears were slowly beginning to pick up sound again.

"Fine then! I'll destroy all of you until I find the real one!" Taro growled, and took a swing at the Gohan nearest to him. His fist went straight through him feeling nothing solid. He went after another Gohan with the same result, and a third with still no luck. With Taro distracted, this gave Gohan ample to time to lock on to Taro's Ki, and he waited. Taro attacked a fourth mirror image of himself, one that was relatively nearby the real him. Gohan seized the opportunity, and pounced smashing his fist into Taro's face. Gohan attacked the big man rapidly landing blow after blow. Taro was attempting to block erratically with a distressed look on his face. From his vantage point it looked as if all the Gohan's were attacking him at once, forcing him to try and defend himself from all of them at once considering he wasn't sure which direction the real limbs were coming from. Needless to say, this didn't work out all that well, and Taro got absolutely pelted along the way. Soon enough, the big bull realized most of the solid blows were being landed from in front of him, so he concentrated on blocking that Gohan's attacks, trying to ignore the other illusions. It wasn't easy but he managed at first, that was until Gohan's fist connected with his chin, sending Taro sailing towards the edge of the ring. Taro groaned and rubbed his chin as he sat, and was surprised to feel himself nearly tumble out of the ring. He thought he had landed somewhere in the middle of the ring… But then again, the arena was kind of turning out of control at the moment, so he had no idea where the hell he actually was at the moment. His eyes widened at the sight of a dozen Gohan's flying towards him. With no real idea which one he should defend himself from, he hit the ground instead of taking him head on. Taro rolled out of the way, and managed to hop up towards the middle of the ring before Gohan caught up with him. Gohan landed another pair of blows before Taro quickly singled him out as the real image. Taro fought him off for a good while, but that added distraction got the best of him. Gohan capitalized as his fists finally began to hit their marks, and after a few good whacks sent Taro back to the ground.

"Damn… How can he still manage to assault me when he can't even see!" Taro snarled, as he pushed himself up to his knees. He wondered briefly why Gohan wasn't attacking him, but he figured he was probably the type of guy that would have some sort of honor code that forbade him from attacking someone while they were down. His eyes widened in surprise when he noticed several of the Gohan images were beginning to disperse, and merge back in with the original copy. Eventually, they all merged back into one carbon copy, and the world suddenly stopped spinning and all was normal once again. Seeing his chance, Taro smirked and charged forward. Gohan braced himself and meet Taro head on, locking up with him as Taro glared into Gohan's eyes evilly. "Guess what boy. I can see you now!"

"That's nice, but guess what horn head!" Gohan grinned, surprising Taro that he actually responded to his question. "I can see you too."

Taro's face faulted in panic then folded against Gohan's fist, and the big man skidded back from the blow. Taro howled in frustration, and shot a Ki blast from his hand then went sailing towards a group of spectators up in the bleachers. Gohan reacted with panic, and raced to the air managing to knock the blast into space before the blast could take out a large section of the arena. Taro smiled and shot another blast towards the other side of the arena. Gohan outran the blast to its target, and knocked that shot into the stratosphere along with the original. Gohan frowned, as he looked down at Taro.

"Are you insane you idiot?! You could've killed somebody with that! Your fight is with me, not these people!"

"You're the idiot! You wasted a perfectly good opportunity to attack me to save these miserable people! Well, since I know this now I might as well use it to my advantage!"

Taro's body began to glow as he powered up his Ki. Surges of energy flowed around his body, and the arena began to shake violently. The fans in the crowd began to scream as the ground began to move beneath their feet, and bits of rock and marble began to pry lose from the building's structure. The Z-senshi still in the fighters waiting room, struggled to keep their balance as the ground began to crack below them.

"What the hell is he doing?!" Videl screamed. She lost her footing, and would've hit the ground if Goku hadn't caught her and helped steady her while keeping his own feet on the floor.

"He's trying to destroy the whole damn arena!" Vegeta screeched over the rumbling going on all around him. "The fool must be desperate, though I don't see what the hell this is going to accomplish!"

"What the hell are you doing?!" Gohan demanded, as he looked on in shock at the arena rumbling below him. The boy had taken to the air to avoid the suddenly moving Earth.

"Playing my trump card!" Taro cackled, as his energy built up even stronger. "I believe that's an expression you humans use isn't it?! You have two choices boy! Either you surrender this match to me right now, or I'll crumple this arena into dust along with everybody in it! It's your callboy! What will it be?!"

"But you can't do that?!"

"Like hell I can't! The rules say I can't kill my opponent, or I'm disqualified! They don't say anything about the people in the crowd! Make your choice boy, because once I power up all the way this place is going to hell and back along with everybody in it!"

"No, it won'! I won't let you!" Gohan swooped down, and swung his fist at Taro's chest. He hit a wall of energy that backwashed right back through his body like the wattage surging through a light bulb, and Gohan was sent flying backward crashing hard on the ring surface. Taro just laughed as the boy struggled to get to his feet, fighting the ever-shaking ground beneath them.

"You can't touch me while I'm summoning up all this energy boy! There's no way you can stop me because you can't touch me, so submit to me or I'll destroy this arena!"

Gohan took to the air to avoid the shaking ground below. He looked on hopelessly at the scene below, watching innocent people scattering for their lives. Some stayed glued to their sets, unable to move from the combination of the mass hysteria of people and shaking Earth below them. Gohan's face grimaced with determination. He knew what he had to do now… He couldn't surrender the match to him, he'd probably just level the place anyway for show. He'd have to take it to the next extreme…

Goku's eyes widened as the ground beneath him began to give way, and he took to the air. "Everyone take to the air quickly, unless you want a self guided tour of the Earth's core that is!"

Everyone did as instructed and took flight, flying outside of the waiting room hovering a few feet above it. Krillen looked out anxiously at the mayhem breaking out all over the arena. "Things aren't looking pretty out there. We might want to do something before people start trampling each other!"

"There isn't much we can do!" Goku growled. "If you see anybody in mortal danger then by all means help out, but until then…"

"What's that maniac trying to do?! Kill us all?!" The MC howled, before loosing his footing and tumbling to the ground.

"Hercule, please do something!" One of the monks pleaded with him. "Only you are strong enough to stop that guy!"

"What do you want me to do?!" Hercule said, as he hopped up and down off the shaking Earth. "I can't even stand up straight! Whoa!!!!!"

"Boy, what the hell are you doing?!" Taro cackled, as Gohan floated towards the ground. He stopped just inches above the ground, and closed his eyes apparently concentrating on something hard. "Are you praying now boy?! I don't think that's going to do you any good!"

"Not exactly…" Gohan grunted, as a ball of Ki formed in his hands. "Ka-me-ha…"

"A Ki blast?" Taro asked sounding amused. "You really except that to work?"

Gohan didn't respond, just finished his incantation. Taro would get his answer in a moment. "Me-ha!"

Taro's eyes widened as the huge ball of Ki sped his way, much, much larger then he had expected it to be. Sensing the immediate danger, Taro broke off his attack to brace himself for the blast but he was a second to late. The Kamehameha wave collided with the large aurora of energy that had developed around the bull demon, combusting violently as they came together. Taro screamed as he was enveloped in the explosion that followed, completely washed in an irresistible sea of energy. "NOOOOOOOO! THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE!"

The light from the small explosion started to fade out, and all of the sudden the ground stopped shaking. The light dimmed out completely, and all that was left to be seen was the ashy remains of Taro in the wake of the explosion. Gohan sighed in relief, thankful that near disaster was averted.

The MC plopped his head up reluctantly, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose, somehow still holding on to his microphone. "It's over?… It's over! I can't believe this folks, but Gohan has stopped Taro dead in his tracks!"

The crowd appeared stunned, as they all settled down thinking the danger was over. Once the realization hit them, they all began to cheer in celebration that they all had survived near destruction by a madman. Gohan blushed slightly, and rubbed the back of his neck as the crowd began to chant his name. "Awe… It was nothing…"

"He did it, I can't believe it!" Videl cheered, and jetted down towards the ring.

"That's my boy!" Goku laughed, and flew after her.

Vegeta huffed, and smirked slightly. "I could've done that."

"Alright Gohan!" Krillen yelped happily. "He sure showed that overgrown slab of beef!"

"Yeah…" Ryo said, frowning. "But he had to kill Taro in the process…"

"Yeah, so what?" Krillen asked him looking confused. "Don't tell me you feel sorry for that thing!"

Ryo looked over at Krillen. "No, of course not! It's just that you know what this means…"

"Oh right!" Krillen recalled, looking dejected as he realized what Ryo was getting at. "Bummer…"

"Don't worry about it guys," Piccolo told them. "The important thing is that nobody innocent was hurt. Let's get down there and congratulate him."

"He's got a point, let's go!" Krillen said, as he and the rest of the group headed for the ring.

"Gohan!" The Demi-Sayian grunted, catching Videl in his arms as she torpedoed down at him. He laughed as he was forced to spin around one time from the impact, and set her back down on her feet.

"Careful girl! You almost knocked me out cold there!"

"Gohan! Congratulations!" The MC said, as he approached him. "You just saved this arena from being turned into rubble! Allow me to thank you on behalf of myself, and everyone present at the tournament today!"


Hercule looked pouty as he looked on with his arms folded across his chest. "It's no big deal! I could've stopped him if I wanted to!… The kid just beat me to it, that's all…"

"I just did what I had to sir…" Gohan replied shyly.

The MC's expression suddenly grew grim. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid I'm going to have to disqualify you from the rest of the tournament…"

Gohan's eyes widened while Videl looked absolutely incensed. "What?! Are you insane?! He didn't have a choice but to kill Taro, or he would've killed all of us!"

"I know that Videl, but the rules are the rules…" The MC explained. "It's still excessive force, and I can't make an exception… Please forgive me Gohan, but I don't have a choice."

"I understand," Gohan smiled. "You're just doing your job, and I don't want you bending the rules for me. I knew what was going to happen when I made my decision anyway."

The crowd wasn't all that thrilled with the MC's announcement, and voiced their displeasure accordingly. However, they quickly settled down, and reclaimed what was left of their seats in anticipation that their hero Hercule was finally going to climb into the ring for actual combat. The Z-senshi walked back towards the waiting room, Gohan being quite satisfied with the results of his fight. Sure he was officially eliminated from the Tenkaichi now, but saving a few thousand people from certain death wasn't that bad of a trade off. However, some of his comrades weren't all that thrilled with the official decision, Videl being the most vocal about it. "This is a bunch of crap! What did they expect you to do! Let Taro level the place and everybody in it!"

"It's no big deal Videl," Gohan smiled. "I'd rather not be the World Champion anyway, so I can live with the decision. I've drawn enough attention to myself today as it is."

"Yeah, but it's still the principal of the thing," Ryo argued. "Fighters like Taro practically have us by the balls with things like this, because they know their opponents can't do anything about it unless they want to get disqualified."

"Yeah, this all sucks, but let's concentrate on more pleasant thoughts," Krillen chuckled excitedly. "Namely that Hercule is about to finally get his in a minute!"

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Videl barked, shooting Krillen an evil glance.

"He didn't mean anything by that!" Gohan shouted towards Krillen, causing the short man to back off. "He just tends to shoot off his mouth, and say things that don't make any sense!"

"Hey, that's right…" Videl smiled, as she remembered what match was up next. She'd forgotten all about it within the excitement of the stunning finish of Gohan's match. "Ryo has to fight my father…"

"Your attention please fans!" The MC announced to the crowd. "I know the place has gotten a little messy over the past few minutes, but the tournament shall go on! Since Gohan was unfortunately disqualified for excessive force that means our next and final match will be for the World Championship! Ryo vs. Hercule!"


Ryo's eyes widened in horror, as the announcement rang through the arena. "Eek…"

"Hey, that's right!" Krillen shouted, and patted Ryo on the back. "How does it feel to know you're going to be the world champ in about five minutes?"

Videl gave Krillen that look again. "Are you delusional?! Even on the slim chance Ryo could beat my dad, it would definitely take him more then five minutes!"

"Boy, are you going to be surprised," Krillen muttered under his breath.

"What's the matter Ryo?" Goku asked him. "No need to be nervous, you've gotten through your first two matches just fine. You better get out there, they're all waiting for you."

"Umm… Yeah…" Ryo sweat dropped as he examined the large crowd anxiously awaiting the finals to begin. Ryo smiled nervously. "Now that I think about it, Hercule really enjoys this entire World Champ thing doesn't he? Maybe I should just back down, and let him have it… He's a lot better at handling fame than I would be, and I really don't want to be World Champion anyway…"

"Don't be ridiculous Ryo!" Gohan said to him. "If you didn't want to be the champ then why did you sign up for the tournament in the first place?"

"So I could help you watch out for Videl remember?! I thought I'd end up having to fight you, Goku, Vegeta, or somebody and get my ass kicked! I wasn't supposed to make it all the way to the finals!"


"Neither was Hercule," Krillen muttered again.

"That's just the way this tournament works out sometimes Ryo," Goku said. "You never know how the thing's going to go, and it just happens that you're in the finals this year. You've earned this shot, so go out there and make the best of it!"

"But I really don't think I want to go through with this guys…" Ryo laughed nervously, as he started to back further into the waiting room. "I might just call it night, and consider this a job well done…"

"Enough of this!" Vegeta growled as he stalked over to the boy. He grabbed Ryo by the collar of his Gi, and gave him the most evil glare the Prince could manage. "You listen here boy! I refuse to be submitted to another seven years of that moron's ramblings about how strong, and unbeatable he is because you decided to have a sudden case of stage fright! Now, get your ass out there, and get this over worth so we can go home!"

Vegeta tossed Ryo out of the waiting room, and Ryo hopped to a stop in the entryway. Ryo looked back into the waiting room dejectedly seeing the encouraging smiles on the faces of the Z-senshi, except for Vegeta, whose grimace said take a step towards here and die. Ryo hung his head in defeat, and gave Gohan a somewhat dirty look. "You just had to blow Taro to kingdom come didn't you?!"

Gohan shrugged his shoulders, and smiled. "Hey, just try to take it easy on Hercule okay?! For Videl's sake!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Ryo mumbled as he headed towards the ring. "How did I get into this?"


"What did you mean by, for Videl's sake?" Videl frowned at him.

"Listen Videl," Gohan said softly, putting his hand on her shoulder. Videl's eyes eased up, sensing Gohan was about to tell her something important. "You know that I promised I was going to tell you everything after this tournament's over… I'm saying this now because I'm sure you're going to have a few more questions as soon as this match is over. All I'm saying is, don't be too surprised or distraught when your father loses this match, and don't be even more shocked when he loses it rather quickly and handily."

"You're kidding right?!" Videl laughed. Her smile faded when Gohan's expression remained serious. "You're serious aren't you?"

"Remember, I warned you…" Gohan said, then looked out towards the ring."

What am I going to do? Ryo thought to himself as he climbed in the ring. Maybe I should just throw the match? Everyone thinks Hercule's the strongest man in the world, so nobody would know any difference… Except… Ryo looked back towards the Z-senshi. Except, they'd know, and they're the only people whose opinion really matters… Oh boy, I am so screwed.

What am I going to do?! Hercule asked himself, as he climbed in the ring. I can't beat this guy! Hero's don't get beat up by scrawny rookies! I'll be a laughing stalk! All my fans are going to turn on me! I've got to think of something! Whoa, whoa, hold on here Hercule! It doesn't matter what you saw him do in his last two matches… They were just tricks, that's right! You're not going to fall for them like those other fools… They're just tricks… Aren't they?… Why couldn't he have just gotten himself disqualified too, and I wouldn't have to worry about this! Maybe I can intimidate him, and use that to my advantage! I am the world champ after all! I can do this! I CAN DO THIS!… I think…

As the fighters readied themselves, the MC was busy giving his overdramatic introduction to the crowd. "Ladies and gentle ready yourselves for what might be one of the greatest matches in Tenkaichi history! We have on one side our current champion who has proven himself time and time again in that ring, and he's sure to be put to the test in this one as he faces off against a young newcomer whose been very impressive in this tournament so far, and has also showed off some very interesting techniques. I hope you don't have any prearranged plans, because this one might take a while! This is the championship round, so there's no time limit! Everybody please give a big hand for our two finalists Hercule and Ryo! I'm sure the other fighters in the back are just enamored with the suspense as are the rest of us!"

"Try not to blink anyone, you might miss it," Krillen muffed, as leaned against the wall looking rather bored.

"I give him thirty seconds at the most," Vegeta snorted.

"Nah, I think you're underestimating Hercule just a bit," Goku disagreed. "I'm sure he'll last five minutes at the least."

Vegeta looked at Goku as if he'd grown a second head. "You can't be serious Kakarott! Have you just been dead too long, or are you forgetting what fool is in the ring!"

"No, I'm well aware of whose in the ring Vegeta. That's why I said five minutes… It will probably take Hercule that long to shut up."

Videl frowned and badly wanted to speak out against all these people who were making fun of her father, but she advised against it. For the first time since his fight with Cell, Videl was starting to have some doubts about her father's true ability. Well, it looked as if she'd find out soon enough. The announcer had finished promoting the match, and his hand was already cutting down through the air.

"Okay then fighters! Let the finals of the 25th annual Tenkaichi Budokai begin!"

End.

-Ha, ha! That's all for now. You know I had several different scenarios mapped out for the way this tournament was going to flow… My original plan was to have Gohan win, but that's kind of been done to death by now… I even seriously tinkered with working out a way to have Videl or Krillen win, but couldn't come up with anything believable, or that wasn't just down right boring. Anyway, this next chapter is by far going to be my favorite so far. That reason being because I have Gohan do something to Hercule I've been waiting for him to do to him for months now! I doubt he ever actually will do it in the show, but he does here. Check it out, and see for your self… He, he.

Preview of Chapter 20 The exciting finally to the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai… Okay maybe not so exciting, but everything going on around it is a hoot! Will Ryo wus out, and give the match up to Hercule, or will the crafty champ find another way to hang on to his beloved title? Whichever way, total chaos is bound to occur afterwards. Gohan might even have his little talk with Videl, though I might save that for another chapter depending on how long 20 runs. Well, until next time, bye-bye!