"Dragonball AS: 32nd Budokai Saga"

Chapter 44- "Another Level?"

By- Tiny

Yuno's eyes finally fluttered open after what seemed like an eternity, gazing through transparent green plexi-glass at his father-in-law. Gohan hadn't wasted any time in trashing his daughter's mate, going into his Super Kaio-Ken stage and knocking the young man unconscious in a matter of relatively few blows. It was the fastest match of the whole day, clocked at only twenty-five seconds, and Yuno was humiliated.

"You should look on the bright side," Gohan smirked, "I saved the humiliation of being beaten by Bra in the next round."

"Easy for you to say," Yuno growled, sliding into some clothes, "You're not the one who was knocked out in only five hits!"

"That's right Dad!" Pan snapped, stroking her mate's back, "You don't need to be so condescending about it!"

"Would you have preferred I drag it out and really humiliated him by defeating him after I made a fool out of him?" Gohan asked flatly, raising an eyebrow.

Pan and Yuno couldn't think of a feasible argument, hanging their heads in defeat, much to Gohan's delight. The three remained silent while Yuno got back into his clothes, Gohan seeming slightly distant the whole while. His face was rather serious, despite the company he was in, as though he was pondering something that the other's didn't know about.

"Just how strong have you gotten over the years, Vegeta?"

Back at the stadium while waiting for Bardock to start the announcements, Vegeta sneezed for some unknown reason. He couldn't be sick, since he had never been sick his whole life, so he just shrugged it off as something in the air.

"Alright folks, our first competitor in this fourth round of the 32nd Budokai, is a legend at the tournament," Bardock smiled, "A brilliant fighter and intelligent man as well, since he is married to the Capsule Corp. heiress Bulma. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Vegeta to the stadium!"

Vegeta stalked into the arena with a very cold, angry sneer on his face, but everyone knew it was just put on. The Saiya-jin prince was dressed in the uniform he had worn back when the battle with Majin Buu started up, bringing back a lot of memories that some people would care to forget. His upswept, dark hair waved slightly in the wind as he waited for his opponent to show up.

"Our next fighter is a relative newcomer to the Budokai, but is still a skilled warrior regardless," Bardock continued on, "He is a giant of a man at close to seven foot tall and has come here today to prove his worth as a fighter at the planet's most prestigious fighting tournament there is. Please welcome Diive!"

The crowd cheered and applauded as the Saiya-jin warrior stepped into the arena, his long, dark hair waving in the slight breeze that drifted by. Diive was clad only in a pair of tight blue jeans and a pair of combat boots, showing off his build as he stepped into the open sunlight. Vegeta also noted that he was beginning to look more like Nappa with hair, as Diive now sported a somewhat scruffy goatee-moustache combo on his well tanned face.

"Alright gentlemen, get ready," Bardock signaled, "FIGHT!!!!"

Vegeta shot to level three instantly, as did his opponent, and so started the first serious battle of the whole Budokai. Vegeta swung a kick at his opponent's head, which Diive easily avoided, retaliating with a punch to the Saiya-jin prince's face. The shorter Saiya-jin man recovered quickly, however, and threw a kick over the son of Nappa's head. Diive wasn't hit by the blow, but the force behind it was enough to knock the Saiya-jin right on his behind...hard.

"This is really bad," Diive grumbled, rising to his feet, "And he's not even at full power yet..."

"Well, I guess it's time to activate the safety mechanisms," Bulma sighed, "I hadn't counted on these two fighting...."

"Safety mechanisms?" Chi-Chi mused, "Why would we need those? They've never been required before."

"But the fighters were never this powerful before either," Bulma rationalized, "One stray blast and the whole stadium goes up in a loud, fiery death for all it's inhabitants."

"Good point."

"I thought so as well," Bulma grinned, putting on an earpiece, "Marron, turn on the energy shield and dampers we had placed under the arena."

"Right away, Bulma," Marron responded through the earpiece, "Sequence commenced. It should be online in a maximum of one minute."

"Excellent, good job sweetie!" Bulma nodded, "Now Chi-Chi, watch and learn!"

Chi-Chi looked as though she might question further, but a loud humming noise silenced the human woman almost immediately. As she watched a large, translucent shield of sorts came over the stands, much to the surprise of the onlookers that sat underneath. Most of the fighters themselves seemed incredibly stunned, so much so that Diive actually stopped moving as Vegeta smashed a fist into his face. The Saiya-jin prince actually seemed quite smug about the whole situation, as though he knew something that Diive didn't.

"Bulma, what did you do?" Chi-Chi gulped, "What is that thing over the stands?"

"It's an energy shield that Vegeta helped me design about a year ago," Bulma smiled, "They used to use it on his home world as protection for the 'low-class idiots', according to Vegeta anyway."

"How does it keep the energy from hitting us though?" Chi-Chi asked, "It looks like it wouldn't even stop a baseball."

"The dampers underneath the fighting arena take any energy put off by the fighters and that energy strengthens the shield's resistance to damage," the blue-haired scientist explained, "The stronger the fighter, the more resilient the energy shield. Understand?"

"I think so,"Chi-Chi nodded, "At least I'll feel safe now....."

"So, the woman has activated the field already," Vegeta smirked, dropping into his famous pose, "I guess now I can stop holding back on you."

"And I on you," Diive snickered, "Things should get real interesting now."

"Indeed they will," Vegeta chuckled, his golden hair already shrinking, "I intend to so to that personally!"

With an ear-shattering scream the two fighters began to power up, their golden locks of hair shrinking back down to just below the shoulders. The long hair then darkened to a rich blackish-brown color as the two fighter's grew almost a foot, their shirts ripping clean off from the increase in muscle mass. Red fur spread out all around the two Saiya-jin's backs, as well as their stomachs and arms, as the two made the stadium tremble under the sheer force of their power.

Everyone in the stands, particularly those who had seen them fight five years earlier, were certain that now it was all over. However, they were sorely mistaken...

Right before the spectator's eyes the two fighter's red fur faded in color gradually until it had become a radiant, spotless white color that was almost blinding to look right at. The black hair grew out a little bit, though not much, and turned a brilliant silver in color as it clustered up on the fighter's heads. But it was the eyes, those cold, icy blue orbs that chilled you to the bone, were the most intimidating part of this new, unusual form....

The two Saiya-jin had ascended.....

"Now this is much better!" Vegeta smirked, his silver aura flaring wildly around his body "No more restrictions, no more holding back for the sake of the onlookers. Wouldn't you say, Diive?"

"Indeed, my prince," Diive chuckled, "This will truly be a fight of the ages!"

"I should hope so, with two Saiya-jin in the ring!" Vegeta laughed, "Shall we commence?"

"Give it your best shot!" Diive mocked, "I'll bet you don't land one punch!"

"You think so, huh?" Vegeta grinned, "Well, we'll just see about that!"

The freshly transformed Saiya-jin prince launched himself at Diive, who sidestepped Vegeta, expecting him to attack from the front. Vegeta surprised the son of Nappa, however, by appearing above his opponent and slamming a fist into the stunned man's face with a sickening crack. Blood flowed from the Saiya-jin's nose, but his prince would give him no quarter as Vegeta delivered blow after blow to Diive's middle with speed that even the view screens had difficulty tracking!

"Note to self," Diive coughed, barely avoiding another kick, "Never mock Vegeta..."

NEXT TIME: Vegeta and Diive, thanks to Bulma's intervention with new safety devices, have kicked it up a notch by displaying a new level of Saiya-jin power! This new power is sure to make for some interesting fights as the Budokai progresses, but just how many of the Saiya-jin can reach this level? More importantly, will Trunks be able to take down the powerhouse warrior Raditz and move on to the quarter finals? Find out in the next installment of Dragonball AS!!!!!!!