Chapter 11: Friendly Rivals

Lightning sparked in the centre of darkened room. Pitch black. It was as if there were no walls and it felt like some sort of temple. Darkness, as far as the eye could see. The only light came from the small ball of energy sparking in the middle. Noca was standing nearby, and he slowly approached the ball. As he got closer to it the ball started to react and expand, as if threatened by Noca, but it was more than that. It was connected to Noca.

It would spark lightly or remain idle if Noca was to stand still, but once he began to walk forward it started to grow and shoot lightning as far as the young Saiyan's feet. It was like a little threat, telling Noca to stop. He wanted to get as close to it as possible and just touch it. Feel it. He knew that if he could do that then it would be more helpful than anything a single person could give him.

He took a few more steps forward and as he did so the ground below him began to rumble, despite being invisible in the darkness, Noca was certain there was a floor there. The whole place, or realm, that Noca found himself confined in felt chaotic, but then again, it made sense.

Noca had little control over the energy in that room, but that was exactly why he was there. He went in to tame it. He wanted to calm it down and make it agree with him, obey him. As he got within inches of it there was a huge spark and the energy gripped onto Noca and started to flood within Noca's veins. He felt it coursing through his entire body, and it felt good, it felt… right.

Suddenly, breaking Noca's concentration, there was a voice that called out. Noca fell out of his meditative state and lost all of that progress and focus. He silently cursed the announcer's voice for bringing him away from that room. That was the closest Noca had ever come to getting his energy to fully agree with him, but it felt like he had lost all that progress.

Noca stood up and was about to walk out of the room he had gone to. It was just a small room he found that happened to be empty and decided to use it for some isolation. Upon opening the door Noca was met by a tall being standing ahead of him. It was Piccolo.

"You still have a very long way to go. Having your energy agree with you is one thing, but controlling it and becoming one with it, that's a totally different matter," The wise Namekian explained to the young fighter. Noca sighed.

"You know what I was doing?" Noca asked.

"Anyone adept at sensing energy would be able to notice," Piccolo replied, folding his arms in front of him.

"What can I do to help become one with my energy?" Noca enquired, wanting to know how to be a stronger fighter, and knowing that Piccolo would be good help.

"Maybe focus on trying to meditate for a couple of days, longer periods at a time. It would help if you were like me and could go for long periods of time without food," Piccolo suggested, as if trying to point out that Noca could never truly master it. Noca scoffed.

"I had to ration my food a lot last year, and I missed a few days, so I think maybe I could do it," Noca suggested, smirking. "I'm not like the other Saiyans when it comes to food."

Piccolo scoffed and smirked.

"Then take my advice. When you find the chance, after this tournament, attempt some intense meditative training. Work on truly understanding every facet of your energy," Piccolo continued, unfolding his arms and turning away, leaving Noca alone in that doorway.

Noca smiled to himself, but that soon vanished when he remembered he was about to have what would be his most intense fight so far. It didn't take a genius to realise it was going to be a tough one. Noca appreciated that he still had a lot to learn in comparison to Uub, but that didn't mean he couldn't prove to be a formidable opponent.

When Noca eventually returned to the waiting area he saw that Uub was there waiting, sitting on a bench, with Goku standing nearby. The mentor was just giving his student some last-minute advice and tutoring. Vegeta was also standing nearby, arms folded, back against the wall.

Noca sighed and went to walk to the doorway, ready to go out onto the stage when called but Vegeta called out for the teen.

"Boy," Vegeta said, catching Noca's attention. He turned to face the Saiyan Prince, brow furrowed, worried about what comment the man might have for him. "Show him true Saiyan power."

Noca was surprised by that. Were those words of encouragement from Vegeta, the arrogant and proud Saiyan Prince? Noca smiled weakly and nodded to Vegeta, a little uncomfortable with those words coming from him. He walked up to the doorway and Uub was very soon by his side. He was clearly very focussed, more so that Noca in that moment. The teen Saiyan was still concerned for the condition of his mentor, and he was a little disappointed that Pan hadn't come down to say anything more to him, but he understood her fear.

He reached a hand to his cheek and felt where she had planted that quick kiss before. He caught himself smiling and took a deep breath, letting the smile drop away, to be replaced by an effort at fierce determination and focus.

The announcer called for them to come on out, so the two young fighters did that. Noca, the young Saiyan, and Uub, the reincarnation of the pure evil Majin Buu. They stepped up onto the stage and each took their positions. Once the announcer had finished hyping up the crowd, he realised that the two contestants were more than prepared to get started immediately. He started to walk away, and the bell sounded.

There was a cheer from the crowd as both young fighters had earned their fans throughout the tournament, but neither of them was paying that any attention. The only thing they could see, or feel was the opponent ahead of them.

"Don't hold back," Uub instructed, fully aware of the challenge awaiting the winner. Uub saw Noca as more than just an opponent in this fight, but a rival for Goku's teachings.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Noca said confidently, knowing the personal stakes he had in the final, should he reach it.

Both fighters wore glares, but neither saw the other as a threat, merely a temporary opponent, and an obstacle in the way of the greatness that awaited one of them. There was a calm as the crowd started to quieten, but that was disturbed when the auras of both fighters burst out of them at the same moment and their powers raised astronomically. Neither of them had even moved a muscle, but everyone could tell that the best was yet to come.

Goku smiled while looking out at the stage, knowing he could finally see the true extent of Uub's progress properly, and he would get a chance to see Noca fight in a situation where he was entirely by himself, with no one to give him any lessons. Vegeta's eyes were also fixed upon the stage. Noca was the only Saiyan left in the competition and the person he wanted to see bring Wun to his knees. He felt that Noca would prove himself to be a true Saiyan in this fight.

The Prince glanced to Goku and scoffed.

"I had a hand in training the boy, Kakarot. So, in a way, it's like my student against yours," Vegeta said, with a slightly teasing tone, but there was strong competitive feeling from Vegeta.

"I guess it is. But remember, Noca's not as experienced as Uub," Goku explained, trying to get a rise out of the Prince.

"That won't matter, he's a Saiyan!" Vegeta snapped.

"I don't think that's the only reason it won't matter," Goku muttered, just so Vegeta couldn't really hear.

The first move in the fight was made by Noca, he was quickest to dart from his position and immediately charged towards Uub, but there wasn't an obvious attempt to attack. Uub, noticing Noca's increased speed, knew that an attack would likely come at the last moment, so he waited and phased at the precise time to avoid whatever Noca had planned.

He reappeared behind the young Saiyan and attempted to punch him in the back of the head. Uub assumed that Noca would be too slow to react, he would have been distracted by his own attempts and the attack was coming from such close quarters. Uub was confident.

This meant Uub was very surprised when his attack didn't connect with anything and just sailed through the ghost like illusion of Noca's head. The afterimage faded and Uub could sense something else coming in, fast. He turned and was instantly met by a soaring Ki blast which he so swiftly managed to swat away to avoid connection.

Noca was flying down at the same time and he darted in with a fist aimed for Uub's face after the blast had been knocked away. Uub noticed it in his peripheral vision and managed to duck under and threw his own punch towards Noca's gut, but it was the young Saiyan's turn to phase away, and once again another attack struck nothing.

Neither of the two young fighters had landed a hit, but it was starting to look like a great contest was beginning. Noca phased in again, mere inches from his previous position and attempted to scissor kick Uub in the face. The young adult managed to back-flip away from the attack and land on the stage, safely, before firing a Ki blast towards Noca.

The blast was very close to striking Noca, but he was quick enough to dodge it, even from that close range. He phased out of view and reappeared in the same spot once the blast had passed. Uub didn't waste his time and was already flying back towards Noca for another attempt, his fist aimed right for Noca.

As the attack came in the young Saiyan managed to hop over Uub, and as he fell behind the young man he kicked back and drilled his foot into Uub's back, landing the first hit and knocking the fighter into the stage. Using the impact of his kick on Uub Noca managed to flip up into the air higher, but very quickly moved on, phasing out again.

Down on the stage, Uub pushed himself up, getting to his feet very quickly and he looked up, knowing that Noca was going to be in the air somewhere. He was a little annoyed with himself for letting Noca land the first hit, but it hadn't been too effective and just proved to the audience that the fight wasn't going to be all flying around and dodging.

Uub darted up into the sky, looking around everywhere to spot Noca, knowing full-well that the Saiyan was moving around as quickly as he possible could, making things difficult. He had to close his eyes so he could narrow his senses as much as possible and find some calm. He managed to get a fix on Noca's energy and realised he needed to be ready. Uub threw up his right arm and managed to block against an attempted punch from the Saiyan.

Noca's punch connected with Uub's forearm and managed to cause a bit of a shock wave to ripple through the air around them, and it even shook the ground slightly. The waves of energy that emanated from the two fighters made the rest of the onlookers realise they were both putting a lot of effort into the fight. It was obvious they were witnessing two future heroes of Earth fighting it out.

The connection was broken and each fighter darted back, but then shot towards one another again. They crashed into each other, immediately backing off again and flew in another time. Each time they did that there was another small ripple of energy through the air, like lots of little shock waves occurring inside the arena.

It may have looked like needless clashing, but it was useful for each fighter's attempts to try and break down the other's barriers and defences. Both fighters wanted to take a full-on offensive approach, but neither one had fully opened themselves up, knowing that it could be potentially costly if one were to slip up. Either way, it was clear that they were evenly matched in that moment.

Instead of clashing again, when the two fighters charged towards each other for the last time they both powered up and threw Ki blasts towards each other, at close range. The two blasts exploded upon impact, flooding the stage with smoke. Noca remained inside the smoke cloud while Uub flew up and out of it. Noca could sense Uub's movement and prepared himself for an inevitable attack.

Uub powered up when he was in the air and threw down a barrage of Ki blasts, towards Noca's position, but because of the smoke cloud there was some blind fire. Uub, fully focussed on his attack, was unaware of Noca's incredibly swift movement that brought him out of the cloud and up behind the older of the two.

Noca tapped Uub on the shoulder and as Uub stopped firing and swiftly turned around he was only greeted by a quick punch right to his face. The attack sent him down a little bit and back a few feet.

The Saiyan had shown he was quicker than Uub had expected, and sneakier too. He had managed to move out of the cloud and away from Uub's attack so efficiently that Uub didn't even sense it. Noca charged back towards Uub and smashed a fist into his gut and as Uub bent over Noca pulled back and performed a roundhouse kick to the side of Uub's face, knocking him flying to the other side.

Noca then charged on after Uub and was about to slam his fists down on Uub's body to send him to the ground, but the more experienced fighter phased away, avoiding the attack. He rapidly moved above Noca and slammed his fists down on the Saiyan like a hammer, dropping him towards the stage at an alarming pace, but Uub was equal to it. He moved below Noca and punched him back up into the sky, then he phased away again, that time he arrived level with Noca and kicked the teen in the ribs, knocking him flying again.

Noca managed to pulse out his energy to halt himself and regain his composure, but Uub had moved quickly once more. Noca could sense Uub behind him and narrowly managed to duck and dive to avoid a few Ki blasts that were thrown his way. Noca managed to avoid two of them, but the last was too quick and all he could do was slightly move his head to the side, but the blast sliced just past his cheek and flew off.

The Saiyan could feel the warm trickle of blood down his cheek as the blast had managed to slice at his skin. He cursed but immediately realised the mistake he made by stopping. Uub fell towards Noca with both of his feet forward and struck Noca in the face. The teen felt his jaw crack a little and he fell away towards the stage again, but he halted himself and prepared for another attack from his opponent.

Uub was already flying towards Noca with an intense speed, but he phased out at the last possible moment and then it seemed like lots of clones of Uub appeared out of nowhere, but Noca knew better than that. He was a little put off initially, and even worried, but his mind was clear and told him that they were either just afterimages or Uub moving really quickly. No matter what it was, Noca had to be focussed on his defence.

Noca quickly closed his eyes and tried to narrow his senses to Uub's signature and keep a lock on it. He wasn't going to let himself be fooled, he was far more intelligent than that. He just had to hope he could figure it out quickly otherwise Uub would retain an advantage and be stronger on his attack.

With his eyes closed he managed to lock onto the light that belonged to Uub and when he opened his eyes it was almost like that same light had illuminated Uub like a target and Noca could clearly see the real one. Noca made it look like he was wrong and moved in a different direction, to try and confuse Uub. Noca went to punch one of the fake Uubs, or afterimages, but as he did that all that happened was two afterimages cancelled each other out.

Uub was surprised to see what Noca had attempted and it distracted him, meaning that Noca had an opening. The Saiyan appeared behind the real Uub and smashed a kick into his back, knocking him towards the ground. Uub found it easy enough to compose himself again, but Noca had looped around in the opposite direction and smashed into Uub from behind again.

The young man rolled through the air but was quick to regain his focus and steady himself again. Once he managed to stay still, he looked side-to-side and behind him, but the attack was coming from right in front of him. Noca appeared with his fist aimed right for Uub's face, but this was the chance for Uub to show just how fast he could be.

He took in a deep breath and managed to easily catch Noca's fist and then pushed the young Saiyan back with a pulse towards his chest, and then he moved in for a barrage of punches. Noca crossed his arms in front of him and tried to keep up a strong block, asking for Uub to attack him. Which is exactly what Uub did, all of his punches were aimed for Noca's arms in an attempt to break down his defences. Noca was of the mind-set that if he held strong then Uub would tire out, while Uub believed the opposite would happen and Noca would be the one to lose energy.

Uub could tell that Noca couldn't keep it up and decided to increase his impacts, so he reeled back his arm and sent a full-powered fist forward into Noca's arms, breaking right through the block and crashed a punch right through into Noca's chest. The Saiyan was knocked back, feeling winded, and Uub finally exhaled, having held his breath for that whole attack.

However, Noca wasn't out of it just yet. He powered forward, his aura flaring around him, and Noca smashed a punch into Uub's jaw, moving far too quickly for the young man to react in time. He then phased out, appearing behind Uub, and aimed a kick to the back of Uub's head, however the more experienced fighter had recovered quickly and managed to duck underneath the attempt.

He twisted and moved up, sending his foot into Noca's gut, practically winding him again. Noca coughed and tried to recover but Uub pulled his leg back and kicked up again, this time striking Noca in the chin. It presented another opening that Uub took advantage of and he phased above Noca and hammered his fists down on the Saiyan's head, sending him towards the ground again.

Noca soared down, realising he was headed for the ground outside of the stage and he had to power up and regain his control to avoid touching the ground, and then he charged right back towards his opponent.

Uub watched and let out a little scoff as he realised that Noca was performing similar actions every time he was knocked away. He would always power in again, with the hopes of taking the advantage. Perhaps Uub could use it to gain a bigger advantage. He just had to accurately predict Noca's first attack.

When he noticed another fist coming for his face, Uub realised that he could take control. He raised an arm, catching that fist with ease and he pulled Noca towards him, sending a knee into his gut. The knee propelled Noca through the air and Uub sped up, phasing to the other side and managed to kick up into Noca's gut, sending him higher into the sky.

Noca rolled and managed to halt, keeping still as Uub charged in again. Noca saw the attack coming and managed to dodge back a couple of inches to avoid it, but he wasn't out of the woods. Uub stopped, right in front of Noca, and pounded a quick one-two into Noca's face which sent him flying back in the opposite direction again. Noca had to very quick stop himself again, and luckily, he managed to do so and then dodged out of the way of another attempt from Uub and he quickly backed away, realising he needed the time to reassess. Uub allowed him that moment.

Uub watched Noca trying to make sense of the difficulty he was being presented with, and it actually offered him some amusement. The young Saiyan tried to dart towards Uub again, phasing one side and then phasing to the other as he fired right towards Uub, but as it turned out, Uub was of course equal to that also.

The more experienced fighter dodged back to avoid a fist that flew right by his face and he grabbed Noca's arm, opening him up wide, and jabbed a punch into his gut. Noca fell back, coughing up as Uub managed to wind him again, but he wasn't willing to back off and lay down that easily. He moved towards Uub again, but the young man just powered forward a pulse of Ki that pushed Noca back through the air again.

"I've been watching you throughout this fight," Uub mentioned, trying to gauge what Noca's reaction was when he realised, he was facing up against a more intelligent fighter. "You might think of it as holding back, but I call it learning."

Uub powered out his aura and clearly raised his power level in the process. Noca watched on as Uub seemed so calm and composed in the wake of his boost, but in his senses Noca could tell this wasn't some generic power-up. Uub was ready to truly go all out. Noca sighed and went to raise his arms in a defensive form but that was pointless.

Uub fired forward and immediately powered a strong fist into Noca's chest, again, sending him flying through the air. Noca wasn't given a chance to slow down as Uub had already phased behind him and was prepared with a barrage of punches and kicks that carried Noca back through the air more.

There was nothing the Saiyan could do in that moment. Uub's attacks were too rapid, frequent, and rough. Not a single opening had become available for Noca to take advantage of. He could only let Uub keep the barrage up for the moment and hope that he still had the energy, or the chance, to do something once it was, for lack of a better word, over.

While stuck in the barrage Noca did start to figure out something about Uub's style, and focus, he was paying more attention to keeping the fight in the air, and utilising distance between starting new attacks. He may not do it the same way as Uub, but Noca was using his time wisely, and he was learning his opponent.

Uub broke the barrage with a strong kick to Noca's gut that knocked him back a few feet through the air. Noca steadied himself, as best as he could, but Uub flashed forward again jabbed a strong punch into Noca's head and then moved in with his elbow, which he whacked into Noca's temple. The Saiyan wasn't doing too well to find his chance to move or change things.

After being struck in the temple, Noca tried to react with a very quick kick, aimed high, but Uub caught that leg, twisted Noca, turning him in the sky, and then he managed crack a knee into his back and then hammered his fists down into Noca's gut. The attack propelled the Saiyan towards the ground at pace, but Uub quickly darted down and moved in a sort of curved style, so that he could meet Noca before he came close to the ground.

Noca closed his eyes as he fell, doing his best to lock onto Uub's energy signature, and ignore the pain he was feeling. He got a feeling for Uub's energy and started to track it as it moved ever closer towards him. Noca had to hope that his focus, and his own energy levels, would help him out. He just needed that quick moment and maybe he could find an upper hand. He was hurting, but if he could upset Uub's comfort in the fight then that's still a point in the Saiyan's favour.

Uub was charging in, he was getting close, and he was already prepared to fire a kick up into Noca's back again, with the aim of sending him back into the air. Noca, surprisingly, was very equal to Uub's attempt. He managed to turn in the air and put his hands forward for a block. He caught Uub's foot and knew he would need to do something quick, otherwise Uub had a clear opening. Noca yelled out as his aura flared around him again and he managed to let out a pulsing wave of energy that pushed Uub away, and possibly blinded him for brief moment.

It was the brief moment that Noca needed to dart towards the ground and land on the stage, with his freedom, and the time to recover. He hoped. Uub remained in the air, shaking off the effects of Noca's attack and he glanced ahead, expecting an attack. Nothing came. He looked up and around him but there was nothing. Then he glanced down to the ground and saw that Noca was standing on the stage, but there was nothing that signified control. He was tired, struggling, trying to find a way to get the upper hand.

Uub scoffed and powered up a strong Ki blast, firing it down towards the stage. Noca looked up and took a deep breath, knowing he couldn't truly get the time he needed to think ahead. He needed to act on impulse, on instinct. Noca darted out of the way of the attack and remained on the stage, just. Uub noticed and phased down, kicking Noca off of the stage, hoping he would strike the ground, but Noca had already proven he was good at avoiding the ring outs.

Noca darted back, moving close to the wall and practically beckoned for Uub to follow him. The more experience fighter opted not to and started to back away, remaining close to the stage for the moment. Noca smirked as he realised, he was correct: Uub preferred aerial combat, where he could control the area.

The Saiyan moved back towards the stage, setting his feet down, both of them coming to an understanding that this was a moment for both of them to step back and look at the fight as a whole.

"I guess we both managed to figure each other out," Noca suggested. Uub scoffed and smirked.

"You're still a reckless fighter," Uub responded. Noca was amused.

"Well, I did only start my energy training within the last year," Noca replied, still smirking, but that just riled Uub. He preferred to take his fighting seriously, and honestly, Noca had never had a real reason to take a fight seriously.

This was the first fight where it was clear that he truly needed to break the bank to win, but he also had to admit to himself, Uub might have been easy to figure out in the end, but that didn't make him easy to break down.

"I plan to end this quickly. It's clear that I have the best chance of beating that monster in the final," Uub said, but Noca didn't take too kindly to that suggestion. Perhaps it was something to do with what had been said to him earlier.

Noca realised that Wun had hurt Omar, Vegeta, and Gohan, all people that Noca seemed to have some sort of connection to. Wun also clearly had some sort of vendetta against Noca, or so it seemed. The teen was starting to think that perhaps he was the only person who deserved to challenge Wun in the final.

He wouldn't get that chance if he got too hung up on his own thoughts. Uub took advantage of Noca's distraction and managed to charge in close to him again and stopped, immediately in front of Noca. He quickly struck with an uppercut that smacked up into Noca's chin and lifted the Saiyan into the air a little. Uub then dropped back, his hands on the ground, and he pounced up, kicking with both feet into Noca's back, sending him soaring higher into the air again.

Uub then dropped down on one knee, with one hand down, and with an electrifying intensity, he fired himself up, rattling the stage as he shot up into the sky, aiming right for Noca's body. As he flew up there, he managed to strike another strong punch into Noca's back that sent him up further, but Uub continued on. He managed to get another hit into Noca's back, but that one didn't propel him, as Uub moved up above Noca's body and reeled his arm back, firing a very strong punch into Noca's gut that sent the teen Saiyan firing back towards the ground.

Then Uub took a moment to slow down as he watched Noca falling towards the ground. He had some ways to go, and he could probably recover, but that's why Uub had already been focussing his Ki. He pulled his hands down to his right side and uttered the words everyone had grown accustomed to.

"Kame-Hame," He muttered to himself, and then threw his hands forward together, igniting the blue Ki, and he fired the attack towards Noca. "HA!"

The energy wave exploded from Uub's hands and blasted right into Noca, sending him rocketing into the stage with an intense crash, that created a slight crater, and cracked the stage right to its edges. The ground rumbled and the stadium shook. The crowd were in awe. The energy wave quickly dissipated and Noca was there on his back, almost unconscious, but his eyes were still just open.

He looked up into the sky, at the tiny object that was Uub's body, and from his senses, Uub still had energy to keep going. Noca looked within himself, trying to find some of that energy he had utilised or touched before. He was silently wishing to find his instinct, to bring it out, and that's when the lightning in the centre of his body began to fizz.

Noca closed his eyes as the announcer had run up to the side of the stage, ready to start the countdown, assuming that Noca had fallen unconscious.

"One!" He started.

"WAIT!" Goku yelled from the waiting area. The announcer, Vegeta, and Uub all looked to Goku with confusion on their faces, but Goku was only looking towards Noca. There seemed to be a slight crackle, and then, almost like a flash of lightning. Noca was back to his feet and already firing towards Uub at a blistering pace.

Uub's eyes widened as Noca shot up in front of him, floated for the briefest of moments and then phased right towards him and smashed a brilliant left hook into the young man's face. Uub's body felt like it was about to leave him, but he wasn't given the chance to move anywhere as Noca swung around and kicked him in the back, sending him soaring towards the ground.

Noca followed on, punching Uub ahead of him a few times on the way towards the ground and then he pounded a final punch into Uub's gut and sent him crashing into the stage. Uub slid for a bit and then bounced the rest of the way, coming to a halt right at the edge. He moved up to one knee and then to both feet.

He looked up to see Noca hovering above the stage, on the opposite side. He was about twenty feet in the air. Uub saw the flaring aura around Noca and could sense the energy that Noca had on display. It was fierce, but there was a heavy flaw: Noca was wasting it. He was forcing it. He wasn't in complete control. Uub scoffed.

"And this is why I should be the winner," Uub stated. Noca cocked his head to the side. "It's not about who has the most stakes, it's about who is the most capable fighter, and you, my friend, are not."

Noca still didn't appreciate Uub's words, and he couldn't deny he was beginning to feel quite arrogant about his own abilities, but it was right, he was wasting a lot of energy. Noca started to pour the energy he had left into the very same signature attack that Uub had utilised. He noticed it, and he scoffed again.

"This is what I mean," Uub started, standing with his hands on his hips. "If you were to pull something like this out in the final against Wun and it didn't work, you would lose all your energy and the fight."

Noca saw sense in Uub's words.

"This is a last resort. That's not how you want to win a fight. You'll only lose it," Uub stated. Noca started to nod.

"Maybe you're right, but there's something you've overlooked, something that's very different between you and me," Noca replied, his smirk returning. A frown crossed Uub's face because he clearly couldn't see what his opponent was possibly talking about.

"And what's that?" Uub asked, but his answer was soon delivered, as he began to feel a surge within Noca. A new energy that seemed to come out of nowhere but was very clearly there the whole time. Something Uub shouldn't have ignored when he came into this fight, something that he should have known was going to come up at some point. Uub looked up at Noca as the Kamehameha gathering grew, and Noca's aura began to flash golden, as did his hair.

"I'm a Saiyan," Noca replied, almost with a sinister tone. "KAME-HAME-HA!" He yelled as his aura exploded, his hair stood up and turned golden, and he fired the energy wave down towards Uub. The young man could do nothing as the energy barrelled towards him and knocked him from the stage, practically destroying half of it in the process.

Uub was smashed into the grass outside of the stage, and Noca managed to hold back enough on the attack to let it dissipate after it had done what he needed, and then, surprising a lot of people that knew Noca and knew his Saiyan origin, the boy remained as a Super Saiyan as he slowly descended to the stage and stood there, confidently.

There was a huge cheer from the crowd as they had clearly enjoyed what they witnessed, and Noca couldn't hide the smile that crossed his face.

"And after a thrilling contest, Noca has beaten Uub and will proceed to the final of the World's Martial Arts Tournament where he will face off against Wun!" The announcer called out, practically dancing about. As of that moment, everyone in the audience was behind Noca. They knew Wun needed to be stopped and they would support whoever made it their mission to do so.

While the announcer continued on, confirming the details of the final day of that tournament, Noca, still powered to a Super Saiyan, finally dropped back to his base form and looked towards Uub, as the fighter returned to his feet. Noca hopped off of the stage and walked over to Uub as he was dusting himself off.

"I had to end it, Uub," Noca said, "Wun is here because of me, I know it. It's my fight."

"If we were outside the constraints of this tournament I would have beaten you. If it wasn't a tournament and a real situation, I wouldn't have been so easily put down," Uub explained, almost in a threatening manner, but he was clearly disappointed in himself for the loss.

"Well, let's hope that day never comes," Noca joked, smiling. Uub smiled weakly and looked around at the crowd, some of whom were still cheering for Noca.

"Congratulations, and good luck in the final. You'll need to be wary, and be prepared," Uub said, holding out his hand for Noca to take. They shook hands and then Uub headed back into the waiting area where Goku was waiting to console his student.

Noca walked through, earning a pat on the back from Vegeta, and a nod of approval from Piccolo. It was odd, and it wasn't quite settling in. He was going to the final match. He was probably meant to be a little excited, but he knew that a very tough challenge lay before him.

As Noca headed outside of the arena some passers-by were congratulating him and wishing him luck. They were behind him, and that felt weird. But up ahead, he could see his friends waiting for him. Holline was the first to go to him, running up to him and wrapping him in a hug.

"You've become so strong, I can't believe it," Holline said, excitedly. "Well, I can, but like… a year ago you were nowhere near…" Holline motioned up and down on Noca. "This."

Noca chuckled nervously as Kiera walked up as well.

"Yeah, that was incredible," She said, patting Noca on the arm. He smiled to her.

"I just can't believe you got further than my father and brother, and you really didn't know you had this kind of power before you came to us?" Bra questioned, hands on hips, a fake glare on her face. "Just make sure you kick that guys ass for what he did to my dad!"

Noca was about to say something but Pan cracked her knuckles by clenching her fists and it was loud enough to draw attention. She was wearing an annoyed, almost sad expression, but it disappeared when her friends looked at her. She cleared her throat and turned around. Noca sighed and walked up to her.

"Pan…" Noca started.

"I can't believe you're going to fight that freak," Pan huffed as she continued to walk, quite quickly, away from the stadium. "I can't see you end up like my dad… or… worse."

She stopped walking and took a deep breath. Noca had walked ahead briefly but stopped and looked back to her.

"Thanks for the support," Noca said, sounding a little disappointed, but then he broke into a calm chuckle. He walked back to Pan. "I'm not gonna lose."

"And how do you know that? You saw my dad, he's supposed to be stronger than you," Pan explained, trying to make Noca see sense. "You can't just walk in and beat him; it's going to be rough… and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Wun wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me, that much is clear," Noca replied, taking a stern tone, even raising his voice a little. The three girls that had been following behind all stopped and kept their distance. "I can't see why you don't just understand that this final is going to happen. You need to support me."

Pan looked up at Noca and wanted to protest, but she couldn't find the words. She closed her mouth and carried on walking, heading back to the hotel. Noca stood there watching after her as the girls walked up beside him.

"She needs you," Noca said, turning to Bra. She nodded and headed off, Kiera walked with her, leaving Holline with Noca.

"She's just scared," Holline said.

"I know," Noca replied.

"So am I," Holline continued, looking down. Noca looked to her and wanted to say the same thing he said to Pan. He wanted to let her know that he would be ok, but he didn't know that. He couldn't know that. He could just try his best.

"Me too," Noca simply replied, looking ahead again. Holline took his hand and held it tightly.

"But you'll give it your all," Holline stated. Noca smiled weakly and nodded.

"Absolutely," Noca agreed.

Once they got back to the hotel, Noca was given words of encouragement from everyone there, all the people that had become his supporters, his friends, and practically his family. But Noca couldn't take his mind off of that one person who hadn't offered up encouraging words. The one person he truly wanted to wish him luck, tell him he could do it, be there for him.

But Noca understood her stance completely. After all, he could feel what she could, and vice-versa. Pan could tell that Noca didn't truly believe he could do it, and that was part of what scared her. She had rushed off ahead and returned to the hotel before Noca, but she, Bra, and Kiera were sitting together in their shared bedroom, practically in silence. Pan didn't want to speak to anyone at that time.

At one point, she pretended that she needed to go and grab something, leaving the bedroom, but she only went down the hall to Noca's bedroom, knowing that he had just arrived downstairs and was talking to the others she had decided to wait for him there so she could speak to him. They couldn't leave things in such a negative way before what would be a very tough day for Noca.

When he eventually came upstairs Noca could sense that Pan was in his room. He took a moment to prepare himself and entered, closing the door behind him immediately. Pan jumped up and rushed over to him, hugging him, tightly. Noca was thrown by the action and slowly brought his hands up to her back.

"I do support. I do believe in you," Pan said, her voice muffled by Noca's chest.

"I know you do," Noca replied. She pulled away and looked up at Noca ready to explain herself, but she noticed in his face, and her senses, that Noca completely understood her, and that no words were really needed. There was calm, but there was still fear. She hugged him tightly again, and Noca returned the gesture.

"It's getting late, we should eat," Pan said. The tournament had suffered a heavy delay when Gohan had gone to the hospital wing, where he would remain overnight, so Pan was right. They broke their hug and Pan headed for the door, she opened it and stood in the hallway. She turned to see that Noca was just standing in his doorway. "Are you coming for food?"

"In a little bit. I need to wash up," Noca said, smiling.

"Ok," Pan said, rocking on her feet for a moment. They could feel what was going on in each other's heads, and hearts. Pan stepped forward, Noca stayed still. Pan moved closer and planted a quick kiss on his cheek, but she lingered close to his face for a moment. There was eye contact and Noca started to lean closer to her, but a door opening down the hall distracted them and Pan quickly took a step back.

It was Bra, Kiera, and Holline, all ready to go down for dinner, and they had noticed Noca and Pan, but not what had been going on.

"See you down there soon then, yeah?" Pan asked, hiding her nervous smile. Noca scoffed and smiled.

"Sure," Noca replied, watching as Pan joined the other girls and disappeared down the hall further. He returned to his room and smiled to himself, lifting a hand to his cheek.

After dinner, Noca was back in his room, ready to go to bed and get some sleep. He needed to be fresh for the morning, but unfortunately his subconscious had other plans, as Noca drifted off he slipped into yet another nightmare.