A/N: Wow, twenty chapters and only 12 reviews! I must say that I'm a
little disappointed. Well, maybe now that I'm away from the tournament and
actually getting to the real plot I'll start hearing some responses so I
can stop crying myself to sleep every night! {sniffle} Seriously now, let
me know what you guys think of this story, is it good? Bad? Stupid? Is
anyone even reading it? Come on now people; let me hear from you!
Chapter 21
After winning the final fight, Akira was rushed to a changing room were he was given some new clothes and allowed to shower. A couple of attendants were rushing around trying to get him ready for the presentation of the new championship belt. Akira was a little annoyed by all the fuss, but followed their instructions anyway. When he emerged from the changing room, he was wearing a freshly pressed shirt and dress pants, his normally wild hair had been combed and gelled into place, and he smelled better than he had all day.
He was just beginning to wonder where he was supposed to go when Bulma came running up. "Ah, Akira, there you are. Okay, here's the deal, in about ten minutes the ring should be repaired enough for the ceremony, the announcer will walk out there with Hurcule and then call for you. They'll give you the belt and the prize money, then you'll do a quick interview and we can all go home. Got it?" Akira nodded. "Great..."
Bulma was about to say something else, but her cell phone rang. She instantly forgot about the young man and hurried down the hall as she spoke, leaving him alone again. He walked to a small bench and sat down; figuring some one would let him know if he needed to be anywhere.
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The announcer and Hurcule accompanied, at his request, by Pan, stepped to the center of the ring and began the ceremony. Hurcule gave a short speech mostly filled with battle cries and reminders to everyone that he was still the greatest fighter in the world, then the belt was brought out and finally they called for Akira. The young man was very red as he walked to the ring with the crowd cheering for him every step of the way.
Hurcule presented him with the championship belt and shook his hand. Then Pan, to the delight of her mother and grandmother, gave Akira a hug and a light kiss on the cheek. The announcer was about to do his interview with the New World Champion, when all the celebration came to a screeching halt.
Akira felt the blast a moment before the explosion ripped through a section of the stands. Everyone in the ring stared in disbelief at the wreckage and death.
Suddenly a large, purple skinned alien with long, dark hair dropped out of the sky. He grinned evilly at his handiwork, then fired another ki blast from his mouth at a group of fleeing humans. Shortly before the blast connected with the group, Akira appeared in front of it and swatted it into the sky. The alien did not look pleased.
"Wan toak natcho conzak!" it shouted.
"Okay, I don't know what the hell you just said, but I hope you're ready to get your ass kicked." Akira said, dropping into his fighting stance.
The alien tapped a few buttons on his belt and then said in eerily perfect English, "My master has decided that this planet shall be the starting point for his new empire, I am simply disposing of the unwanted vermin that inhabit it."
Akira stared hard at him, "You mean Ammit?"
The aliens face twisted into a snarl, "Silence! You are not worthy of speaking the Dark Lord's holy name! You will pay for this sacrilege with your life."
Several power surges caused Akira to look over his shoulder and smile, Pan's friends and family had all powered up and were heading toward the ring. The alien followed Akira's gaze, then chuckled.
"Oh, I don't think that your friends are going to be helping you out today." He raised a clawed hand and shouted something in a different language. Suddenly there was a dark red sphere of energy surrounding the approaching Z fighters. Gohan and Vegeta were smashing against it with all their might. The sphere seemed to be weakening slightly under the assault, but at the rate they were going it would be sometime before they could break free. The sphere fell to the ground, still holding the trapped warriors. "There, a little privacy. Now then, where were we... ah yes, I believe you were about to die."
With an explosion of golden light, Pan was flying at the alien. The purple being didn't even look; he simply swatted her away like an annoying insect. She fell to the ground in an unconscious heap and slipped out of her Super Saiyan form.
The alien grinned and flew at her, charging an energy blast as he did. Just as he was brining his arm forward to finish her off, Akira's foot slammed into the side of his head, sending him crashing to the ground. The creature lay stunned for a moment then shook his head and looked up.
"So, you aren't as pathetic as you look after all." He began grinning again, "What a pleasant surprise. I am General Xellos, a commander in the armies of Ammit. No need to tell me your name, you won't be around long enough for it to matter." He fired a ki blast at the young warrior who, despite getting his arms up in time to block, was sent flying into the air. Akira managed to gain control of his flight just in time to look up and see Xellos fist smash into his face. He fell to the ground like a stone.
Xellos landed next to the hole the boy had made and began to laugh. An explosion of golden light caused the laughter to die on his lips, he backed away as the crater grew larger and larger. Finally a golden-haired Akira floated out of it, his nice clothes were shredded, but other than that he appeared to be unharmed.
"Ya know," he said with a cocky smile, "you're really starting to piss me off!" Akira shot forward and landed several crushing blows to the face and body of the purple alien. After a moment, Xellos recovered from his shock and the two warriors clashed with amazing speed and ferocity.
Akira fired several ki blasts, then rushed in while the alien was distracted and hit him with a brutal uppercut followed by a kick to the chest that sent the large creature flying into the now empty stands. Xellos was only down for a moment and then he was right on top of Akira, his razor sharp claws ripped into the young Super Saiyan's chest and face.
The young man fell back and touched his face in surprise, "Wow, those are some sharp finger nails you got there." The alien smiled and held up his hand, showing Akira the bloody claws.
The Super Saiyan flew forward and hit Xellos in the mouth, breaking several of the alien's sharp teeth. Xellos staggered back and spit blood from his now gushing mouth; he let out a low growl and charged Akira. The two super powers traded several painful blows before backing off again.
"You know, you surprise me," Akira said through deep breaths.
"Oh? And how is that?" the equally winded Xellos asked.
"Well, you're actually a pretty strong fighter. I didn't expect that from a coward who sneak attacks innocent bystanders."
The alien attacked Akira in a rage; he threw a wild right hook that Akira ducked under and then an uppercut that was also dodged. The Saiyan retaliated by hitting Xellos with a hard knee to the stomach and then threw the alien over his shoulder, smashing him into the ground. Akira appeared above the alien and flew at him with his fist cocked. At the last second, Xellos disappeared and Akira punch hit nothing but rocks.
The young man immediately jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a huge ki blast. Then the two flew though the air, exchanging punches and kicks at blazing fast speeds. Akira threw a mighty punch, putting a lot of power into it, but Xellos was too quick, he ducked under the attack and punched Akira in the gut, doubling the young man over.
As Akira struggled to regain his breath, the alien's hand shot forward and his claws sand deep into the Super Saiyans chest. Akira's eyes went wide in shock and pain; he coughed up blood. Then with a Herculean effort, he grasped Xellos's powerful arm and slowly pulled the claws out of his chest. The huge alien pushed back as hard as he could, but the boy's strength was incredible.
When the claws finally slipped out of his chest, Akira head-butted the alien, then spun and kicked Xellos towards the ground, firing a ki blast after him for good measure. There was an enormous explosion as the ki blast struck Xellos at the same time he hit the ground. For a moment the mighty Saiyan thought he might have won, but then Xellos shot out of the ground and landed a short distance from the blast zone, the young man dropped to the ground and faced him.
Akira was gushing blood from a dozen different spots were the razor sharp claws of Xellos had slashed him, however, the purple alien was not fairing much better, he was bruised and bloody from head to toe due to Akira's unrelenting assault. The two were breathing heavily and beginning to feel the effects of the massive blood loss. Akira was especially tired, as he still had not recovered from his battle with Vegeta. Finally, the young Saiyan flew forward and hit Xellos hard between the eyes, stunning the large alien for a moment. The moment was all Akira needed, he kicked the alien into the air, threw his hands over his head and then shouted, "Sei Kaze!"
The energy blast carried a screaming Xellos high into the sky before he was able to roll off of it and plummet back to earth. Akira landed; breathing heavily and staring at the crater the mighty alien's landing had caused. His senses searched for any sign of the creature's ki, but came up empty. Akira smiled; he had won, there was no way the alien could have taken a blast like that and survived.
With a frightening suddenness, the ground behind Akira erupted. A deep voice shouted in an alien tongue, "Tankata Cha Pacha!" Five green beams of light shot out and struck Akira in the chest before he had time to react. He flew several feet and crashed to the ground in exhaustion and pain. A loud thud announced that Xellos was likewise spent. The young man's vision began to blur; he shook his head, trying to pull himself together. Dispite his exhaustion, he forced himself to his feet, every muscle and joint in his body crying out in protest. He knew he had to finish the alien before it could do anymore damage; he staggered in Xellos' direction.
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Xellos opened his eyes and attempted to stand, but his legs gave out and he fell to his knees. He had never been beaten like this, the young man's skills were unparalleled by anything he'd ever encountered. Still, every fighter has a weakness, all he had to do was find the boy's soft underbelly and exploit it. A soft groan caught his attention; he glanced in its direction and smiled.
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Akira was nearly to the kneeling Xellos when he heard Pan groan; he was about to tell her to stay back when he felt a surge of power. He spun and to his horror saw Xellos firing a ki blast at his friend, in her weakened state there was no way she would survive the attack. He made his choice without thinking.
Using the last of his strength, Akira moved just quickly enough to put himself between Pan and the oncoming blast. He brought up his hands, knowing even as he did that it was pointless. The energy wave ripped into his chest and he screamed in pain. The attack lasted for only a few seconds, but it was more than enough. When it had ended, Akira collapsed to the ground and lay very still. At the same time, Xellos also fell and was unable to rise; he had used every ounce of his power to put enough in to the blast to finish the boy off.
Pan pulled herself to her feet and stumbled to where Akira had fallen. She turned him over in her arms and gave a small sob. His face was bruised and lopsided looking, both eyes were nearly swollen shut; his body was oozing blood from dozens of wounds and his chest had been ripped open and burned by the last attack. Akira's breath was coming in small, irregular gasps as he desperately clung to life.
"Please Akira...hang on..." she whispered quietly.
Chapter 21
After winning the final fight, Akira was rushed to a changing room were he was given some new clothes and allowed to shower. A couple of attendants were rushing around trying to get him ready for the presentation of the new championship belt. Akira was a little annoyed by all the fuss, but followed their instructions anyway. When he emerged from the changing room, he was wearing a freshly pressed shirt and dress pants, his normally wild hair had been combed and gelled into place, and he smelled better than he had all day.
He was just beginning to wonder where he was supposed to go when Bulma came running up. "Ah, Akira, there you are. Okay, here's the deal, in about ten minutes the ring should be repaired enough for the ceremony, the announcer will walk out there with Hurcule and then call for you. They'll give you the belt and the prize money, then you'll do a quick interview and we can all go home. Got it?" Akira nodded. "Great..."
Bulma was about to say something else, but her cell phone rang. She instantly forgot about the young man and hurried down the hall as she spoke, leaving him alone again. He walked to a small bench and sat down; figuring some one would let him know if he needed to be anywhere.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
The announcer and Hurcule accompanied, at his request, by Pan, stepped to the center of the ring and began the ceremony. Hurcule gave a short speech mostly filled with battle cries and reminders to everyone that he was still the greatest fighter in the world, then the belt was brought out and finally they called for Akira. The young man was very red as he walked to the ring with the crowd cheering for him every step of the way.
Hurcule presented him with the championship belt and shook his hand. Then Pan, to the delight of her mother and grandmother, gave Akira a hug and a light kiss on the cheek. The announcer was about to do his interview with the New World Champion, when all the celebration came to a screeching halt.
Akira felt the blast a moment before the explosion ripped through a section of the stands. Everyone in the ring stared in disbelief at the wreckage and death.
Suddenly a large, purple skinned alien with long, dark hair dropped out of the sky. He grinned evilly at his handiwork, then fired another ki blast from his mouth at a group of fleeing humans. Shortly before the blast connected with the group, Akira appeared in front of it and swatted it into the sky. The alien did not look pleased.
"Wan toak natcho conzak!" it shouted.
"Okay, I don't know what the hell you just said, but I hope you're ready to get your ass kicked." Akira said, dropping into his fighting stance.
The alien tapped a few buttons on his belt and then said in eerily perfect English, "My master has decided that this planet shall be the starting point for his new empire, I am simply disposing of the unwanted vermin that inhabit it."
Akira stared hard at him, "You mean Ammit?"
The aliens face twisted into a snarl, "Silence! You are not worthy of speaking the Dark Lord's holy name! You will pay for this sacrilege with your life."
Several power surges caused Akira to look over his shoulder and smile, Pan's friends and family had all powered up and were heading toward the ring. The alien followed Akira's gaze, then chuckled.
"Oh, I don't think that your friends are going to be helping you out today." He raised a clawed hand and shouted something in a different language. Suddenly there was a dark red sphere of energy surrounding the approaching Z fighters. Gohan and Vegeta were smashing against it with all their might. The sphere seemed to be weakening slightly under the assault, but at the rate they were going it would be sometime before they could break free. The sphere fell to the ground, still holding the trapped warriors. "There, a little privacy. Now then, where were we... ah yes, I believe you were about to die."
With an explosion of golden light, Pan was flying at the alien. The purple being didn't even look; he simply swatted her away like an annoying insect. She fell to the ground in an unconscious heap and slipped out of her Super Saiyan form.
The alien grinned and flew at her, charging an energy blast as he did. Just as he was brining his arm forward to finish her off, Akira's foot slammed into the side of his head, sending him crashing to the ground. The creature lay stunned for a moment then shook his head and looked up.
"So, you aren't as pathetic as you look after all." He began grinning again, "What a pleasant surprise. I am General Xellos, a commander in the armies of Ammit. No need to tell me your name, you won't be around long enough for it to matter." He fired a ki blast at the young warrior who, despite getting his arms up in time to block, was sent flying into the air. Akira managed to gain control of his flight just in time to look up and see Xellos fist smash into his face. He fell to the ground like a stone.
Xellos landed next to the hole the boy had made and began to laugh. An explosion of golden light caused the laughter to die on his lips, he backed away as the crater grew larger and larger. Finally a golden-haired Akira floated out of it, his nice clothes were shredded, but other than that he appeared to be unharmed.
"Ya know," he said with a cocky smile, "you're really starting to piss me off!" Akira shot forward and landed several crushing blows to the face and body of the purple alien. After a moment, Xellos recovered from his shock and the two warriors clashed with amazing speed and ferocity.
Akira fired several ki blasts, then rushed in while the alien was distracted and hit him with a brutal uppercut followed by a kick to the chest that sent the large creature flying into the now empty stands. Xellos was only down for a moment and then he was right on top of Akira, his razor sharp claws ripped into the young Super Saiyan's chest and face.
The young man fell back and touched his face in surprise, "Wow, those are some sharp finger nails you got there." The alien smiled and held up his hand, showing Akira the bloody claws.
The Super Saiyan flew forward and hit Xellos in the mouth, breaking several of the alien's sharp teeth. Xellos staggered back and spit blood from his now gushing mouth; he let out a low growl and charged Akira. The two super powers traded several painful blows before backing off again.
"You know, you surprise me," Akira said through deep breaths.
"Oh? And how is that?" the equally winded Xellos asked.
"Well, you're actually a pretty strong fighter. I didn't expect that from a coward who sneak attacks innocent bystanders."
The alien attacked Akira in a rage; he threw a wild right hook that Akira ducked under and then an uppercut that was also dodged. The Saiyan retaliated by hitting Xellos with a hard knee to the stomach and then threw the alien over his shoulder, smashing him into the ground. Akira appeared above the alien and flew at him with his fist cocked. At the last second, Xellos disappeared and Akira punch hit nothing but rocks.
The young man immediately jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a huge ki blast. Then the two flew though the air, exchanging punches and kicks at blazing fast speeds. Akira threw a mighty punch, putting a lot of power into it, but Xellos was too quick, he ducked under the attack and punched Akira in the gut, doubling the young man over.
As Akira struggled to regain his breath, the alien's hand shot forward and his claws sand deep into the Super Saiyans chest. Akira's eyes went wide in shock and pain; he coughed up blood. Then with a Herculean effort, he grasped Xellos's powerful arm and slowly pulled the claws out of his chest. The huge alien pushed back as hard as he could, but the boy's strength was incredible.
When the claws finally slipped out of his chest, Akira head-butted the alien, then spun and kicked Xellos towards the ground, firing a ki blast after him for good measure. There was an enormous explosion as the ki blast struck Xellos at the same time he hit the ground. For a moment the mighty Saiyan thought he might have won, but then Xellos shot out of the ground and landed a short distance from the blast zone, the young man dropped to the ground and faced him.
Akira was gushing blood from a dozen different spots were the razor sharp claws of Xellos had slashed him, however, the purple alien was not fairing much better, he was bruised and bloody from head to toe due to Akira's unrelenting assault. The two were breathing heavily and beginning to feel the effects of the massive blood loss. Akira was especially tired, as he still had not recovered from his battle with Vegeta. Finally, the young Saiyan flew forward and hit Xellos hard between the eyes, stunning the large alien for a moment. The moment was all Akira needed, he kicked the alien into the air, threw his hands over his head and then shouted, "Sei Kaze!"
The energy blast carried a screaming Xellos high into the sky before he was able to roll off of it and plummet back to earth. Akira landed; breathing heavily and staring at the crater the mighty alien's landing had caused. His senses searched for any sign of the creature's ki, but came up empty. Akira smiled; he had won, there was no way the alien could have taken a blast like that and survived.
With a frightening suddenness, the ground behind Akira erupted. A deep voice shouted in an alien tongue, "Tankata Cha Pacha!" Five green beams of light shot out and struck Akira in the chest before he had time to react. He flew several feet and crashed to the ground in exhaustion and pain. A loud thud announced that Xellos was likewise spent. The young man's vision began to blur; he shook his head, trying to pull himself together. Dispite his exhaustion, he forced himself to his feet, every muscle and joint in his body crying out in protest. He knew he had to finish the alien before it could do anymore damage; he staggered in Xellos' direction.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
Xellos opened his eyes and attempted to stand, but his legs gave out and he fell to his knees. He had never been beaten like this, the young man's skills were unparalleled by anything he'd ever encountered. Still, every fighter has a weakness, all he had to do was find the boy's soft underbelly and exploit it. A soft groan caught his attention; he glanced in its direction and smiled.
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Akira was nearly to the kneeling Xellos when he heard Pan groan; he was about to tell her to stay back when he felt a surge of power. He spun and to his horror saw Xellos firing a ki blast at his friend, in her weakened state there was no way she would survive the attack. He made his choice without thinking.
Using the last of his strength, Akira moved just quickly enough to put himself between Pan and the oncoming blast. He brought up his hands, knowing even as he did that it was pointless. The energy wave ripped into his chest and he screamed in pain. The attack lasted for only a few seconds, but it was more than enough. When it had ended, Akira collapsed to the ground and lay very still. At the same time, Xellos also fell and was unable to rise; he had used every ounce of his power to put enough in to the blast to finish the boy off.
Pan pulled herself to her feet and stumbled to where Akira had fallen. She turned him over in her arms and gave a small sob. His face was bruised and lopsided looking, both eyes were nearly swollen shut; his body was oozing blood from dozens of wounds and his chest had been ripped open and burned by the last attack. Akira's breath was coming in small, irregular gasps as he desperately clung to life.
"Please Akira...hang on..." she whispered quietly.