My connection to fanfiction.net is in serious jeopardy. It is not helpful in any way that it at times decides that I should not be able to log in. But I am not about to nag our administrators, as I am certain they are doing their best to handle the problem. Administration, especially of a site of fanfiction.net's size, is a difficult business. In any case, I should still be able to give weekly updates.

I'm glad that you like tournaments. I do (hence this section). Also, it's a chance to deal with issues somewhat less grave. It will not be swiftly truncated, either, as its DBZ counterpart.

Though this section is relatively original (nearly all original opponents), the Buu Saga isn't extremely so. I'm glad that you aren't bothered by this. And rest assured, I do have at least two twists in hand for it. Meanwhile, however, we have a tournament to handle.

-

Long before her opponent had finished his match, 18 was already at the room. Before he even considered which

room he needed to go to, she had found out his name was Jewel, and about his reputation. By the time he began moving to the room, 18 had a lock on his ki. When he arrived, he had already been analyzed and dismissed.

"Who's my opponent?" he flashed a cocky grin at the official, who pointed. Turning, Jewel realized he had walked past 18 without even noticing her. He grinned again, more of a leer this time.

"Perfect."

Rising to her feet, 18 crossed her arms and waited for him to get on the opposite side of the ring. Jewel ran a hand through his hair and smirked.

"Say, what do you say I save us a lot of trouble?"

18 raised an eyebrow and mentally sighed.

"It'd be a shame to beat on someone as beautiful as you. How about you just give up now and I'll make it up to you later, eh?"

For an instant, 18 wished the illusion was dropped and he could see who she really was. The look on his face would have almost been worth it. Since that wasn't possible, she resigned herself to beating him. Locking into a fighting position, her eyes glowed briefly.

"How about not?"

"Your loss."

She was surprised he gave up that easily, and he attacked. As she slid past his offense, 18 reflected that he had intentionally made a slow attack, expecting her to be easy. As her hand stuck the back of his head, she remembered at the last second to tone down the strength to avoid killing him. Even so, the wall he crashed into was left with several cracks. Flicking back a lock of hair, she figured out where her match was and left.

It didn't take long to get to room 63. Slipping in unnoticed, Goku found the match already underway. Both fighters were clashing in the middle of the arena. He noticed a hole had already been knocked in one of the walls, allowing sunlight to come in and a brief glimpse of an arena outside. Before he could look further, both combatants broke apart, and began circling, watching each other carefully.

Assuming the green-haired woman was Lorelli, Goku focused on the other combatant, as he felt a strange type of ki coming from him. It wasn't that strong, weaker than his opponent's, but it felt odd somehow. Just then, they charged again, and Lorelli's fist broke Saurian's jaw. He fell backward, and shook himself, barely avoiding the follow-up kick. Running backward, Saurian retreated to the light that shone on the arena.

His blond hair appeared to glow for a second, and his eyes flared a deep green. Blinking, Goku watched carefully as he jumped forward, launching another assault. Lorelli defended, and moved back. Leaping forward and catching Saurian off guard, Lorelli delivered a smashing kick.

Falling to the ground in the sunlight, Saurian seemed to glow once again, and his hand caught Lorelli's foot a second before it connected with his chin. Throwing her backward, Saurian leaped to his feet. Goku's eyes narrowed as he felt that his ki had risen slightly. Had the sun done something to power him up? Lorelli took another hit, but responded with a series of blows that sent Saurian hurtling across the arena.

Slowly getting to his feet, Saurian smiled savagely and flickered once again. Moving into the patch of sunlight, he glowed, confirming Goku's suspicions. Lorelli charged, but Saurian's hands lifted and a bolt of golden light lanced out, striking her directly. She fell backward and out of the ring. Staying in the sunlight a moment longer, Saurian smiled, then walked from the ring. Goku noticed he seemed nearly unharmed, and immediately began thinking. This was an interesting development. Raising two fingers to his forehead, Goku teleported to just outside room 8 and walked in. Sitting down, Goku waited for Saurian. His wait was not long.

Moving outside, 18 glanced at the small area within the building. The sun shone down over the two arenas that were set up in the open. Officials scurried around, setting up tournament details and further matches. Glancing at the door again, 18 confirmed this was Arena C and moved inward. Her match was actually in a different chamber, but if she won she moved on to here, and she wanted to stake out the area first. Several contestant milled around, waiting for matches or having just been defeated. Avoiding them disdainfully, 18 found a darker corner and leaned against the wall, only to find it already occupied.

Hidden a short distance from her, a dark form glanced in her direction. She caught a glimpse of two eyes, which then closed again.

"Hello." His voice was dark and terse, seeming to match him perfectly.

"Who are you?"

"My name's Jayden. I will ask the same."

"Juuhachigou." That had been Goku's idea. Literally, it meant the number 18 in the Ancient language. He had figured few at the tournament knew Ancient, so it would be safe.

"Hmm. You've won two fights, correct?"

"Yeah. Is it usually this easy?"

"No. The competition is weak this year because of the massive lack of a population. You know why, of course," he smiled slightly. In the dark, anyone without enhanced eyes might have seen nothing.

"How'd you survive?"

"Lowered ki, stayed far away. I would have been found eventually, but it never came to that."

"I see. Can you tell me anything about who I'm fighting next?"

"Identification?"

She glanced down at her paper to check, "66."

"Hmm. Yes. Your next opponent will be a Morai, Ryu or Silvia, depending on the matchups."

"Anyone particularly of notice?"

"Not really. Morai and Ryu aren't bad. Not enough to prove a challenge."

"What about Silvia?"

"She's never been to another of these tournaments, but so far she hasn't taken a hit."

"So she's good?"

"No," Jayden shook his head, "there's a catch. She has no abilities, and no ki worth speaking of. Basically the only reason she's winning is because she charms her opponents to the point where she pushes them from the arena."

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious." Something in his tone seemed final.

"I'm unimpressed."

"Yeah. I was hoping I'd get matched against her." Jayden smiled again, a cold smile. In a way, 18 hoped the same thing. It would be good to see this Silvia get beaten badly by a good warrior. Or Goku, anyone competent who wouldn't be effected by it. She shook her head. Disgusting.

"Jayden!" A voice called from the other side of the area, and he shifted.

"My match is up. I wish you luck."

"You too."

Striding from the corner, his red cape fluttering behind him, Jayden moved across the arena and vanished into one of the doors on the opposite side. For a second, 18 digesting what had just happened. An ordinary conversation seemed so incredibly alien to what she was used to. Her name was called, and she shook herself and left, smiling slightly.

Saurian stepped up onto the arena platform and faced off with Goku. Getting to his feet, Goku looked at him impassively.

"Do either of you have anything to say?" the official asked. Both shook their heads.

"Then... fight!"

Energy burst away from Saurian as his power began rising. Putting out a burst of his own, Goku added just enough to dwarf his opponent's power and worry Saurian just a bit. Eyes widening, Saurian unconsciously backed up, then fired toward the ceiling. The massive blast took out the roof, sending shrapnel raining around them. Allowing it to deflect off him, Goku faced his opponent, who now was bathed in full sunlight. Energy flooded around him, and his eyes blazed a nearly solid green.

Aiming his hands toward Goku, Saurian fired three of the lance rays he had used before. Easily batting all three aside, Goku smiled at his opponent. Gritting his teeth, Saurian fired a large beam that struck Goku, who raised his hands and let the energy bounce off harmlessly.

Before the light had faded, Goku slammed a foot into Saurian's stomach, doubling him over. A cuff to the back of his head sent him tumbling across the ring, where he barely made it to his knees, the light around him much dimmer than it had been before.

"Well." Goku waited for him to regain his feet. "We've seen what you can do. But watch this."

Raising a hand, Goku closed his eyes and concentrated. The frightened official peaked out from between his hands to see what was going on. Barely keeping himself standing, Saurian could only watch. For a brief second it appeared nothing was happening, but slowly a darkness began collecting in the sky. As if something had eclipsed all light, it spread from the horizon. Surprised yells could be heard echoing in the distance.

Then, quite suddenly, the darkness closed around the sun, enveloping the world in darkness. The effect on Saurian was profound, as he instantly fell once again. Around him, the golden light flickered and went out. Worried that he might have killed his opponent, Goku released the darkness, and the slowly growing light revealed the fallen Saurian, who lay still. As the sun hit him again, Goku saw his body move as he began to breath in a deep sleep. Nodding, Goku turned from the arena and to the official, who was looking incredibly confused.

"Where's my next match?"

"Well, since this is the last of the Prelims, we're moving you to one of the outside arenas. Go to Arena B."

"Okay."

Walking from the chamber, Goku tightened a fist experimentally. He actually still felt fine, and he was already nearly to the finals. Of course, in every past year, the Prelims had been easy, but he hoped for something a bit more challenging than this. Then again, if all else failed, he'd fight 18 in the last round. Smiling, Goku headed for his next match.

"Oh, you're here."

The official spared her a glance and returned to his clipboard.

"Who am I fighting?"

"Fighter 34: Silvia."

"Really?" Turning, 18 smiled slightly. Interesting. Well, if that was how things were going to turn out, so be it. While it was a bit disappointing she'd have another easy match, this one just might be worth it. Instead of going to the arena to wait, 18 stood nearby. It wasn't long before Silvia entered the room as well.

Nothing 18 hadn't expected. Skin-hugging clothing. Extremely low neckline. Lots of hair. Gaudy jewelry. The only challenge in this match would be not annihilating her opponent.

"Well," Silvia purred, glancing around, "who am I fighting?"

"Me."

Stepping up onto the arena, 18 resisted the urge to smile at the expression on Silvia's face. Hesitantly, she mounted the arena opposite 18, who remained silent.

"Go!"

Neither did. Probing what little ki Silvia had, 18 sensed fear. Good. Something in Silvia could sense exactly how much power she was dealing with. Or maybe she was just panicking being paired against another female fighter.

"Now," Silvia began, her voice much less confident, "I'm sure we can work someth-"

"Get out of my sight."

"I beg your pard-"

"I'll let you leave if you go now. Trust me, you don't want to stay."

"That's no reason to be so mean!"

"You disgust me. Last chance."

Seeing Silvia made no move, 18 allowed herself to smile. It was better this way. Stroking back a lock of hair, 18 leaped forward. None in the room could comprehend the attack itself, only the aftermath. Silvia was lying against the opposite wall, unmoving.

"Is... is she...?" the official shifted nervously.

"She's alive," 18 told him. "I can't guarantee she'll be awake anytime soon. But she's alive."

"Well, alright. Go to Arena C."

"Right."

-

Good thing this wasn't a lame chapter ending or anything.