"Dragonball AS: 32nd Budokai Saga"

Chapter 51- "Green Dragon"

By- Tiny

Trunks stepped out of the regen tank after about a half hour, his body still sore despite the fact that he was in perfect condition now. The Saiya-jin's long, lavender hair was clinging to his face as he stepped out into the open, much to the embarrassment of his little sister and a few of the nurses, and went over to get dressed. On his way, the Saiya-jin ran into a much shorter, very angry looking prince, who had made sure to be there when Trunks got out of the tank.

"What are you doing here?" Trunks muttered, grabbing his pants off the table, "I figured you'd be off gloating right about now."

"I came to see my son get out of the tank," Vegeta stated matter-of-factly, "Is there a problem with that?"

"Yeah, the fact that I don't want you here!" Trunks snapped, fastening his belt, "You dragged out Diive's match to humiliate him and then, against your own flesh and blood, you did the same damn thing!"

"I tried to end that match quickly, but then you transformed," Vegeta sighed, his anger rising, "It was something I hadn't counted on and that is what drug out the match, not my own desire to see you humiliated."

"Bullshit!" Trunks spat, "You wanted to prove to everyone in the stadium that you were the best there was, even if it meant humiliating me in front of everyone! How can you be such a bastard to your own children!?!"

"You watch that mouth, brat!" Vegeta growled, "I am your father and you will not talk to me like that!"

Trunks had been keeping a hold on his rage before, but listening to his father he could no longer contain what was brewing inside his body. Erupting in a golden aura that blew the water off of his body, Trunks grabbed Vegeta by the shirt and slammed the older man into the infirmary wall. Vegeta looked angry, furious in fact, but he didn't lash out against his son nor did he try to stop him from overreacting. He just stayed perfectly still as he son tightened his grip on the older man's collar and pushed him further into the wall, his face dangerously close to the older Saiya-jin's.

"I will talk how I damn well please," Trunks hissed, his words dripping like venom, "I'm a grown man. You can't tell me what to do anymore!"

Vegeta didn't say a word and showed no emotion, but he knew in his heart that the younger Saiya-jin was right and that Vegeta still treated him like a kid. It reminded the older man vaguely of how his own father used to treat him, but he didn't have long to reflect on that as Trunks drove a fist into his father' gut. Vegeta coughed out a little bit of blood, which landed on the floor as Trunks moved to walk out of the infirmary.

"Trunks, have you lost your mind!?!" Bra screamed, "He is our father!"

"My mind is perfectly fine sis," Trunks huffed, walked through the doorway, "And he is not my father...."

The damage to the ring itself had been relatively minimal, but the electronics were virtually fried and had to be completely rerouted in order to function properly. However, it was all fixed now and they were ready to start the final match of the quarter finals.

"Ladies and gentlemen, that last brawl was exciting but now you folks are in for one hell of a treat!" Bardock smirked, "Our two competitors in this round faced off for the title of World Champion many years ago at the 23rd Budokai and now they have returned to face each other on the field of competition again today! Please give a warm welcome to Son Goku and Daiamo Piccolo!"

Goku was already in his most powerful form, the LSSJ2, and the fans had to put sunglasses over their eyes just to look at him as the light reflected off of his radiant silver hair and white fur. The bottom of his body was covered by a pair of his classic orange gi pants and a blue belt, black boots on the Saiya-jin's feet just to top it all off. The crowd cheered wildly for their former champion, bringing a sheepish grin to his childlike features.

Piccolo was in his third form, believed to be his most powerful to date, and looked more than a little excited at the prospect of fighting his former rival. The Nameksei-jin warrior was clad in a pair of purple gi pants with a light blue belt around his waist and his traditional little brown boots over his feet. The crowd didn't cheer much for him, but that was alright by the massive green warrior.

Stepping into the ring, both fighters felt a little nostalgic as they remembered the last time both of them actually fought in the tournament. Back then, they were so much closer in power that it made the current situation almost humorous, although neither fighter was laughing. Goku had come out on top then, and everyone clearly believed that he would do so again this time around.

"He isn't going to win this time!" Piccolo chuckled, "I am going to move on to the next round this time..."

"Alright boys, get ready to rumble," Bardock whispered, "FIGHT!!!!!!!"

Goku jumped into the air as though to charge his green opponent, but stopped his charge when he got a good look at what Piccolo was doing. The Nameksei-jin warrior had his hands clenched at his sides and his familiar aura flaring wildly around him as his power level began to rise tremendously. Goku noticed that almost instantly the whitish-blue hair turned entirely crystal blue, covering the whole top of the Nameksei-jin's head and extending slightly down his back.

Two giant black spikes shot out of the Nameksei-jin's elbows as the Saiya-jin watched in wonder, unable to believe what he was seeing was real. The arm muscles darkened from golden yellow to a pure, glowing royal blue color as the Nameksei-jin continued with his transformation and two black horns shot out of where the antennae had been just moments before. Capping off the transformation, much to the Saiya-jin Goku's surprise, a very long, lizard-like tail shot out of the Nameksei-jin's backside with a sickening slurp, which made Bardock throw up.

"I can't believe it," Goku gulped, "He's discovered a new level!"

"Well now Goku, I think this puts us at a little less of a power difference, wouldn't you say?" Piccolo chuckled, "Maybe now I'll be able to defeat your Saiya-jin ass!"

"Don't count on it," Goku smirked, moving into stance, "You may be more powerful now, but it's nothing in comparison to my power."

"Oh, we'll see about that," Piccolo snickered, "LIGHT OF DEATH!!!!!"

Goku jumped up out of the way of the move that killed his brother years ago, allowing it to hit the ring and bounce off into the air. Piccolo growled at the move and went after the Saiya-jin warrior, throwing a punch aimed right for his exposed stomach. Goku saw the move coming, however, and grabbed Piccolo's green arm in his powerful grip and squeezed down on the thick muscle. It sent great pain through the Nameksei-jin's body, but he wouldn't allow his opponent to see that if it killed him!

Goku smirked as he saw the pain flash momentarily across Piccolo's face and let go of the Nameksei-jin's arm, swinging a kick into the green man's middle. Piccolo lurched over from the sheer force behind the blow, a small trickle of purple-blue blood spilling down towards the ring below. Goku followed up the blow with a small ki blast to the back, knocking his opponent hard into the tiled ring underneath them.

Piccolo landed on the floor hard, spilling a little bit more blood onto it's shiny new tiles as he struggled to get back on his feet. Goku appeared right next to the green man in a flash, giving Piccolo new motivation as he jumped to his feet and threw a punch right at the Saiya-jin's head, which Goku dodged. Piccolo grew incredibly angry that he was still losing without even landing a good hit on the Saiya-jin warrior and he vented his rage in a flurry of blows aimed for his opponent.

Goku dodged each of his former rival's attacks with some difficulty, though not too much, and threw a blow right at the Nameksei-jin's chest that shattered several ribs. Piccolo staggered back slightly as he tried to regain his composure and fight on, but it was just no use to even try. He was beaten after only a few blows and it was absolutely humiliating, especially since he was in his most powerful form and still lost.

"Sorry about this Piccolo," Goku sighed, "But you wouldn't last very long against someone like Vegeta. Beside, I have a score to settle with him...."

Piccolo looked up at the Saiya-jin warrior and could clearly see the anger in his eyes when he said Vegeta's name, showing just how much the two warriors had to settle. What he didn't see, however, was the blue ball of ki charging in Goku's hand until it was too late to do anything about it. The energy attack impacted hard in the green man's side, sending him spiraling out of the ring and into the wall that lay around the stands, leaving a giant imprint in the wall as he fell down.

"I'll make this up to you someday Piccolo," Goku sighed, "After I beat Vegeta...."

"Umm...that was certainly interesting folks and Goku is now going on to face Vegeta in the semi-finals!" Bardock cheered, watching his son help Piccolo out of the arena, "So let's not waste any time and keep this thing rolling on. Next up in the ring, we have Nijam Bra squaring off against Son Gohan!"

The crowd cheered wildly as the two Saiya-jin warriors walked out of the waiting area, both waving stupidly to the people around them. Both fighters were in the third form of Super Saiya-jin, their golden locks reaching just above the knees as they stepped up into the ring and facing each other.

"I am going to win this thing Gohan," Bra smirked, moving into stance, "You know that, don't you?"

"Your so confident, but also very foolish to think you can beat me," Gohan chuckled, "I guess you get that from your father."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Bra inquired, "To be like one of the planet's greatest warriors of all time?"

"I guess not," Gohan smirked, "Then again, I am one of this planet's greatest warriors!"

"Okay kids, keep it clean now!" Bardock chuckled, "FIGHT!!!!!!"

NEXT TIME: The semi-finals are underway, with the aqua-haired Saiya-jin princess facing off against the older, much more powerful Son Gohan. Despite all that, Bra is confident that she will overcome the older fighter and move to the finals. Will the Saiya-jin princess prevail over these overwhelming odds? More importantly, why is Goku so angry with Vegeta? Find out in the next installment of Dragonball AS!!!!!!