"Dragonball AS: 32nd Budokai Saga"

Chapter 41- "Match-ups"

By- Tiny

Boxer stepped out of the regen tank after only a few minutes, not having been all too seriously injured, and was warmly greeted by several familiar faces. Bra and Ubuu, his parent's, were the first to grab up the small Saiya-jin boy before anyone else could even look at him. Other's were there too, but it was one particular Saiya-jin that caught the grandson of Vegeta's eye.

"Kimuchi, my friend," Boxer smirked, getting into some clothes, "I believe you promised me an explanation? What was that move you used against me at the end?"

Kimuchi opened his mouth as though to speak, but was cut off by a gruff, low pitched growl from the far end of the room. Vegeta had been waiting patiently to speak his mind the whole time, and now it looked as though his time had finally come.

"That was a negative energy attack," Vegeta growled, "It appears to disappear as it courses through the body, canceling out and basically draining you of any and all power you might possess."

"So you mean to tell me Kimuchi can sap people of their power?" Rhubra asked curiously, "That would mean he was probably the best fighter here, despite how young he is!"

"Not really, it only works on opponents close to your own strength," Vegeta shook his head, "If he tried to use it on his father, then he'd be in for one hell of a surprise!"

"That would explain a lot," Boxer gulped, "Where'd you ever learn a move like that? I've never seen any of the adults use it."

"That's because they can't," Kimuchi sighed, "I've been able to use negative energy to a small degree since I was two, but nobody else can do it. Dad says that makes me special, but I'm not so sure sometimes."

"Well, you just keep working on that little technique of yours, brat," Vegeta smirked, "After all, my grandson will be king one day and such a skill would be quite...beneficial to have."

"Um...thanks Vegeta," Kimuchi gulped, "I'll be sure to work on it."

The Saiya-jin prince smirked at the son of Raditz, knowing that the boy was still scared of him, even though he meant no harm to him. That thought brought great joy to the prince of the long gone Vegetasei, and anyone who knew him could tell as much.

"At least one of these third-class morons remembers their place!"

Repairs to the ring were relatively short yet again, simply replacing tiles and such, and after fifteen minutes the ring, not to mention the fans, were ready to start the Adult Division. Bardock himself was still a little fatigued from trying to follow the children's fights without transforming himself, but still put on a brave face and a fresh suit before stepping into the ring again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting so patiently while we repaired the ring yet again," Bardock smiled, "But now that that's over, it's time to draw numbers to see who fights who in the Adult Division of the Budokai. Now, let's hear a round of applause for the group of warriors who will be contending for the title of world champion!"

The crowd went wild as the sixteen warriors walked out of the waiting area in a single line, lined up from tallest to shortest. Piccolo, naturally, was first and dragging at the back of the line was, naturally, Pan as they all made it to the ring. The crowd continued to cheer loudly as the warrior's waved to the people in the stadium, even after Bardock began speaking again.

"Alright, when I call your name come up and pick a number from the box," the Saiya-jin pointed, "The number you draw will determine who you fight in the matches. I assume you all know the rules?"

"Yes, now get one with it!" Vegeta scowled, "We don't have all day."

"Very well then, let's get started," Bardock gulped, "First up is...Roshi.""

At the sound of his name, the son of Yamcha walked up to the box and pulled out a little green ball with the number five on it. Things continued in that order for several minutes more, with each fighter reaching in to pull out their number until, finally, all sixteen were on the board and they could call out the fighting order.

"Alright folks, looks like a real treat to see this year!" Bardock boomed, "This years line up will go in the following order."

Round 1- Ice vs. Sanil

Round 2- Pan vs. Goten

Round 3- Roshi vs. Bra

Round 4- Gohan vs. Yuno

Round 5- Vegeta vs. Diive

Round 6- Raditz vs. Trunks

Round 7- Piccolo vs. Ubuu

Round 8- Goku vs. Brolly

"Great, I get stuck fighting with Kakarot!" Brolly grumbled, "I guess it could've been worse, though."

"Yeah, you could've been paired off against someone like Roshi or Yuno who'd barely put up a good fight before losing!" Trunks laughed, "At least with Raditz I'll get a decent fight!"

"Oh, you'll get more than that, young prince," Brolly chuckled, "Like a big bruise on the face as he clobbers you!"

"All competitors, save the two in the first round are to now leave the ring so that we can begin the next stage of the Budokai," Bardock instructed, "Sanil and Ice, please step forward."

As the Saiya-jin man finished his little speech, the two warrior's stepped forward and faced each other with identical smirks on their faces. Both had grown quite a bit, in both power and size, and anyone who looked at Sanil in particular could tell as much.

"Sanil is an extremely powerful fighter who is a veteran of tournament style fighting, as he was one of the contestants that fought to defend the Earth almost eight years ago," Bardock announced, "He is truly a skilled fighter and will no doubt be a sight to behold in this tournament."

The crowd cheered for the tall, green alien as Sanil waved happily to the anxious and overeager crowd. The Nameksei-jin didn't look very enthusiastic about his high praise, but inside it felt as though he was going to burst out of his chest.

"Ice is also a veteran of tournament style fighting, making it to the final round a few years ago before losing to Ubuu," Bardock continued, "I'd wager that he too will be great at this year's matches. I imagine that this will be quite a match!"

The crowd's cheers intensified as the Kurudo-jin moved into stance, followed shortly there after by Sanil. The two warrior's were ready for blood, anyone could see that, and with two such as themselves in the ring then it was almost guaranteed!

"Alright boys," Bardock smirked, "FIGHT!!!!"

Sanil clenched his fists at his side as soon as Bardock finished speaking, his screams echoing throughout the stadium as his power level began to rise. The pink parts of his large, bulky arms faded to a dull yellowish hue as the muscles underneath his skin bulged out enough to increase his height by almost a foot. Sanil's aura was now a bluish-silver color as his eyes turned a shimmering crystal blue, the power he had building finally capping off.

Ice didn't appear to be worried about his opponent's transformation to the second level of Super Nameksei-jin, but rather a small smirk played across the Kurudo-jin's features. Sanil looked confident with his newly displayed power, moving his arms around as he tested out the full extent of his speed and how much the muscles hindered him. This brought great joy to both fighters, as anyone with eyes could tell, but nobody was more tickled than the other fighter in the ring.

"Well what do you know?" Ice chuckled, "He's not as weak as I thought...."

Sanil launched himself quickly at the Kurudo-jin, swinging a slow punch just to test the waters a bit, which Ice easily dodged. Quickly the Nameksei-jin dropped a kick into the Kurudo-jin's face, making the young man bounce off the floor and into the air, where Sanil delivered an elbow to Ice's ribcage. Dark purple blood flew from the alien's mouth as the Nameksei-jin's elbow drove further down into Ice's ribs, cracking a few on the way.

Sanil pulled back to strike again, but found himself unable to as Ice wrapped a demonic looking tail around his arm. The green man tried to free himself, but couldn't manage to break out of the Kurudo-jin's iron grip as Ice glared evilly right into his opponent's face. Sanil growled with frustration and went slack suddenly, glaring right back at his opponent.

"Giving up so quickly, green man?" Ice smirked, "And here I expected to get a decent challenge out of you!"

"You underestimate me, moron," Sanil laughed, using every last ounce of his power to pull his arm right off.

The crowd went silent as Sanil's disconnected arm fell to the arena floor as purplish blood oozed out all over the tiles. Ice himself looked dumbfounded, to distracted by the unexpected move to defend himself as Sanil grabbed a hold of his head and lifted him into the air. Sanil chuckled wickedly to himself as he held out the stump that had once been his arm and shot a brand new one out, smashing into the Kurudo-jin's face so hard that he flew into the air.

The mighty warrior soon righted himself in midair, however, as his eyes narrowed in both anger and primal, seething rage directed solely at the Nameksei-jin in the arena below. In an instant Ice's aura shot out all around him, blazing the same purple color that was reminiscent of the former galactic tyrant Frieza, bringing up a small twinge of anger up in the Saiya-jin's.

"Not a bad move there, Nameksei-jin," Ice chuckled, clenching his fists at his sides, "However, this little game is over. You just sealed your fate!"

"Big talk from a man without the power to back it up," Sanil laughed, "How do you plan to finish this match? By making idle threats until I collapse and die of laughter?"

"Oh no, not at all," Ice smirked, his eyes turning red, "I had something far more painful in mind!"

Sanil looked confused at first, but his eyes soon widened in shock as the powerful Kurudo-jin's aura flared out around him, little black energy bolts shooting out all around him. His tail was the first thing to change, growing over a foot and stopping just above his ankles, making him look more and more like his relatives. The hair came next, growing in thick spikes down to just above his shoulders as his muscles bulged to the point that his clothing ripped almost clean off.

To cap off the power this new form held, or rather just to make him look more intimidating, a small mouth cover went across the Kurudo-jin's face as the aura died down, leaving only a faint glow behind. Sanil was shaking in his boots as Ice descended to the ring, the tile cracking under his considerable bulk, the face mask making his laughter echo throughout the stadium.

"This, my poor, foolish friend," Ice laughed loudly, "This is how I plan to finish you off. Like the new look?"

"Looks like he was right," Sanil gulped, backing away slightly, "I knew I should've trained harder!"

NEXT TIME: Ice has displayed some new form of Kurudo-jin, one that clearly gives his Nameksei-jin opponent something to be afraid of. Sanil's fate seems to be sealed, but is he really down for the count already? Also, how will Pan react to fighting her older, more experienced uncle, Goten, in the first round of competition? All this and more in the next installment of Dragonball AS!!!!!!!!