Tenkaichi Budōkai Living Quarters, Mr. Satan's Room
Far removed from the tournament arena, Mr. Satan was still residing in his quarters reserved specifically for the Tenkaichi Budōkai. Despite the fact that he no longer competed in the tournament professionally, Majin Bū — known to the world as Mr. Satan's star pupil, Mr. Bū — was a contender. By Mr. Satan's own request, Bū was guaranteed a slot within the tournament, ensuring that the Djinn never had to fight for his spot to compete.
Mr. Satan was seen with some odd company this time around. Bū was eating his way through a mountain of sweets, and stroking the ears of a gigantic dog. It was the puppy he'd saved over a decade ago, having grown to a full adult in the time that had passed. He'd named the former puppy Bē, and had grown close to the dog in that time. But what was perhaps more shocking than the fully grown dog was a blue skinned woman sitting next to Bū.
This woman in question was "Miss Bū", and she was the wife of Mr. Bū, which the latter had created using his unique powers as a Djinn. The woman was a female Majin Bū, and beautiful. She was taller than he was, and her antennae, of which she had multiple, were styled into what resembled human hair, with the longest head tentacle extended behind her like a ponytail. The three were speaking easily, the way old friends would, and Miss Bū broached a subject with more surprising news.
"Do you think our child is going to win the tournament, Bū?" she inquired smoothly. Her voice was rich, and she spoke with an eloquence that her husband lacked. "It's her first Tenkaichi Budōkai, after all."
"Bū not worried," replied the Djinn. "Our kid is super strong! Satan pulled strings, so she can compete in the big division!"
Miss Bū looked over at Mr. Satan, who was leaning back with an imported cigar. Her blue eyes flashed with surprise. "Did you really, Satan?"
"I figured it was only fair," replied Mr. Satan after a long drag. "Your kid is way too strong to be tangling with regular children, even if they are martial artists. I wouldn't want to scare away the kids and ruin the Youth Division for anyone."
Miss Bū giggled, smiling kindly. "You did that, did you Satan? Thank you."
"Don't mention it," replied the former martial artist, exhaling smoke in a ring. "Besides, it works out for all of us in the end."
"Pragmatic as always," the female Majin replied.
Tenkaichi Budōkai Preliminary Atrium
The preliminaries of the Tenkaichi Budōkai had concluded, with the Dragon Team earning their spots in the first rounds. The competitors were taking this time to warm up, and prepare for their true battles in the tournament. Gohan and Erasa were spending time with their daughter, who had — fittingly — defeated everyone and won the Youth Division. Goten and Trunks were sparring. Quirka was off on her own. Erasa and Piccolo were reviewing basics. Tenshinhan was meditating, and Yamcha was casually speaking with a female competitor.
The only one of the Dragon Team that couldn't be found was No. 18. She had left the room after the preliminaries had finished — she knew she had made it, why bother waiting around? — and was currently accessing a contact from her PSA. Holding the device out in front of her, it generated a MatterWave Holoscreen.
Dialing...
This word spun around her HoloScreen, thankfully bereft of the sort of dial tone that old cellular phone models had. The cyborg woman idled by as she waited for the call to connect, and was greeted by the face of her twin brother, No. 17, on the Holoscreen.
"This is a surprise," said the male cyborg without so much as a greeting. "Aren't you competing in the Budōkai right now? I can't imagine you just wanted to chat with your brother that badly. Stage fright?" It was a gentle prodding, and No. 17 smirked.
"Can it," replied No. 18 in a similar tone. "I'm calling to check on Marron; how is she?"
No. 17's eyes widened. "Oh she's..." He panned his own PSA towards a young teenage girl dressed in a ranger's outfit, having wrestled a carnivorous cat to the ground. She was currently applying a leg brace to the creature, despite its loud protests. No. 17 looked, if anything, proud. "She's doing fine, actually. You don't need to worry, she's thirteen, and she can handle herself."
"It's my job to worry," replied No. 18. "Keep her in one piece. I know she's capable, but if I come back and see my daughter injured, I will kill you."
No. 17 waved it off. "I know, I know. She'll be just fine."
"Later," said No. 18, cutting the connection. Pocketing her PSA, she sighed. It was ten years ago already, but she still hadn't completely gotten over the fact that her husband — while she was dead, no less — had been killed by Majin Bū. It had been just like him, that stupid idiot, to try and protect everyone, even if it meant dying. And his death had certainly amounted to change. She'd heard that Yamcha had begun training again. And she, well...
"You're starting to remind me of Chi-Chi," a familiar voice finished No. 18's train of thought aloud. The blonde cyborg looked up, seeing a tired woman with pale lavender tresses standing in the doorway. Bulma, freehand in her labcoat pocket, walked into the light, a tired smile on her face. "I never would have taken you for the overprotective mother."
"Circumstances change," shrugged No. 18. "Kuririn is dead. But he died protecting Marron. So I'm going to keep Marron safe. I won't do something so pathetic as abandon fighting, but I will improve my strength. I'm only here at this Budōkai to test it."
Bulma nodded. "I figured you weren't just here to see what the Tenkaichi Budōkai, funded by Capsule Corporation, looked like. Is that why you haven't said hello to any of your old friends?"
"I...don't have anything to say right now."
"Nothing that can't be said in the ring, anyway," surmised Bulma. "I figured." Turning on her heel, she waved, and No. 18 caught sight of the bandages on her left arm. It was completely covered, so she couldn't even see what were likely severe burns from a bad reaction underneath them. "Make sure you show me some of that in battle. I'll be watching!"
No. 18 frowned, but said nothing as Bulma's figure disappeared into darkness. It was clear to her that she wasn't the only one impacted by the death of a loved one. Following Vegeta's passing, Bulma had revolutionised the entire Solar System, not just Earth. The former president of Capsule Corporation had never been so interested in the performance of fighters in the ring, either. The cyborg had always seen Bulma as one of the more sane members of that little ragtag group.
Ten years certainly was a long time.
The 30-minute recess had concluded, the those who succeeded in the preliminary rounds had gathered around a holoscreen, and the familiar announcer that those who had competed in the Tenkaichi Budōkai before would recognize. If anyone was the most elated at the reinstatement of the tournament — nay, the direction the world had shifted — it would have been the announcer of the Tenkaichi Budōkai, who loved witnessing intense battles more than anyone.
When the announcer saw Goten, he was positively ecstatic.
"You! Goku! You're back again!" The man, who had aged considerably, ran over to the Dragon Team to greet them with the enthusiasm of an old friend. "Oh! All of you are here too! I couldn't be more excited for this tournament!"
Goten chuckled, scratching the back of his head weakly. "That's nice and all, but Goku's my dad. I'm Goten."
"Oh!" The announcer recalled instantly. "Goten! The little boy who gave us such a display in the Youth Division ten years ago with Trunks! Was the little blonde girl in this year's Division your daughter? She put on quite a show out there!"
Goten grinned, before pointing at his brother. "No, that was my niece." The announcer looked in the direction Goten was pointing, and saw the older Gohan standing there. Gohan smiled, waving jovially.
The announcer grinned. "Oh, this will be a fantastic opening tournament! You'll love the changes we made, I swear!" The man continued prattling on before he realised he had to go announce the match-ups, and left the group. The others smiled among themselves; he was quite a sight, that announcer. Though it helped that he was one of the only ones who at least thought differently about what happened with Cell.
"What do you think he meant by changes?" asked Trunks.
"Now that you mention it, none of us have seen the fighting arena," noted Videl.
"I suppose they'd done renovations," offered Piccolo "Bulma expanded on this entire island, didn't she? I wouldn't say its a stretch that she redesigned the entire arena."
"We'll see when we get there," said Erasa.
The competitors who had passed the preliminaries gathered around. Fifteen fighters — not counting Majin Bū, their sixteenth competitor — of varied appearances, talents, and origins had all assembled at this Tenkaichi Budōkai. In all of its years, the Tenkaichi Budōkai had not seen this sort of congregation; aliens, half-aliens, androids and cyborgs, and fighters raised right on planet Earth.
It was enough to make one shiver in anticipation.
Surely the announcer thought so, as he seemed to barely be able to contain his excitement, surveying the group that stood before him. "Competitors! Welcome to the Tenkaichi Budōkai, and congratulations on passing the preliminary rounds!" He appraised the group once more, but no one made a sound — this lot was a group of dedicated fighters. "To those of you familiar with the Budōkai proceedings—" he passed over Gohan's group with a look "—we'll be conducting the orders of the matches differently than we've done before. Rather than draw lots, we'll decide the match-ups based on the blocks in which you've competed!"
He turned to the holoscreen, holding his P.S.A. across from it. "The first match of the tournament will consist of the victors of Blocks 1 and 2!" With the press of a button, the names "Quirka" and "Carmina" materialised onto the holoscreen. The Capsule Corporation-manufactured automaton blinked in surprise. She'd consulted data from the past Budōkai and had been hoping for lots; this way, she wouldn't have to be the opening match.
Carmina, her opponent, was a blue-skinned girl that resembled Majin Bū — namely, Miss Bū — with the same blue skin, though her antennae were styled in pigtails. Her eyes, however, were angled; like a wider variation of her father's when open, and were bright red. She was short in stature, and wore a yellow shirt with puffed sleeves, and six buttons on the front. It covered her down to her thighs, which exposed just enough skin between the hem of the shirt and her purple leggings. She also had a purple scarf which flared out at the ends with two yellow baubles, and black boots.
Though no one paid her any mind, the excitable Djinn girl looked around for her opponent. She was going to be the opening match. That meant she could put on a show!
"The second match will be the winners of Blocks 3 and 4!" With the press of a button, the names "Piccolo" and "Son Gohan" materialised onto the holoscreen.
"So it'll be us in the second round?" Gohan looked up at his former teacher, flashing a cocky grin. "I'd much rather us have this fight in the ring compared to the last one we had."
"I hope you aren't expecting me to hold back," Piccolo replied, returning his student's grin. "I haven't been slacking off just because I've been raising three brats. I'm going to wear you down out there, boy."
Turning to the Holoscreen, the announcer pressed a button on his P.S.A. once more. "The third match of the tournament will consist of the winners of Blocks 5 and 6!" The names "Erasa" and "Videl" materialised onto the holoscreen.
"There it is," Videl grinned, looking at the holoscreen with excitement. "Those are the two names I wanted to see!"
Erasa blinked, the woman looking at the names that appeared on the holoscreen with a measure of amazement. Perhaps she hadn't been paying attention to the numbers, or simply had already forgotten in that 30-minute recess that she and Videl had been only a block apart. She'd assumed they'd wind up having their match in the semi-finals, if they had one at all. But here they were, damn near the opening act.
It made her smile.
"Ten years," Erasa said, looking at Videl. "It's been ten years since we fought. And now we finally get a rematch." She extended her fist towards her rival, grinning. "I'll show you being the head of a school isn't just for show. My students will be watching this."
Videl bumped fists with Erasa, and two sets of blue-eyes met. "You don't think Piccolo's training has made me soft, do you? He's a rough sensei. I'll just have to embarrass you in front of your students."
The two were set, and the anticipation for their match could be cleanly felt between them.
"The fourth match of the tournament will consist of the winners of Blocks 7 and 8!" The names "Son Goten" and "Rayo" materialised onto the holoscreen. To Goten, this name was more or less unfamiliar. He and Trunks, after all, had not paid the best amount of attention to the Adult Division ten years ago. To Erasa, however, the name rang clear as crystal, and she lifted off the ground slightly to look for the man she'd fought in the previous Tenkaichi Budōkai.
She saw him near the end of the assembly. He looked almost the same, as though his aging was following the same odd pattern that Videl's had been. This was curious, but not enough to make Erasa ask questions; if she'd learned anything in these past ten years, the world was strange. Despite his near-static appearance, he had at least grown a little in height, as well as muscle mass, becoming more sturdy. Additionally, she noticed small markings on his face — almost tattoo-like — but she couldn't tell if these were the end of them. His outfit consisted of a simple white gi with golden lining on the collar, and a golden coloured sash to match. The pants were a similar white, and his attire were flat shoes.
Rayo noticed her looking, and spared her a wave of the hand and nod of the head. His grin was confident, but she couldn't tell whether he'd become truly stronger. Was he suppressing his ki?
"The fifth match of the tournament will consist of the winners of Blocks 9 and 10!" The names "Mifune", written in basic characters, and "Trunks", materialised onto the holoscreen. Trunks looked at the name, and began to look for any sign of recognition from one of their fellow competitors. And he found it; a pale woman with blue-eyes, pointed ears, and skin nearly chalk-white. Her hair was a dark ebony, and waist length. She wore an outfit that resembled a hakama, the dark blue contrasting neatly with her skin. At her waist, tucked neatly within the sash, was a bokutō. She looked up at the mention of her name.
It was clear she was Trunks' opponent.
"The sixth match of the tournament will consist of the winners of Blocks 11 and 12!" The names "Kisua" and "Yamcha" materialised on the holoscreen. The new Turtle School Master, much the way Trunks had, looked for some sign of recognition among the fighters to get a sense for his opponent. Though to say he 'looked' would be inaccurate; Yamcha used his enhanced senses to feel a disturbance within the ki of the individuals. It would show which one was his opponent, simply by which one was internally preparing for battle. And he found them.
It was a man in a cloak. His skin was an average tone, and he seemed to have sandy blond hair beneath the hood of the cloak, but beyond that, Yamcha could see nothing else. An enigma?
That'll be just fine, he thought.
"The seventh match of the tournament will consist of the winners of Blocks 12 and 13!" The names "No. 18" and "Qumohi" materialised onto the holoscreen. The woman was by no means interested in gauging her opponent, who had an appearance truly alien. He looked somewhat reptilian, with thin lips and sharp teeth. His eyes were wide, with red sclerae and yellow irises. He had thick eyebrow ridges, with prominent ears that were nearly batlike. At the top of his head was a crimson crest, and similar markings were on his neck. He was clad thick black robes, which possessed white inlay. His thin fingers twitched, and the man looked towards the monitor.
"So she's my first opponent?" the man muttered in a language foreign to Earth.
"The eighth match will consist of the the winner of Block 14, and Mr. Bū!" The names "Tenshinhan" and "Mr. Bū" appeared on the holoscreen with the press of the button. All three of Tenshinhan's eyes swiveled to holoscreen. He wasn't surprised; Majin Bū was the only contender remaining, but he considered it a fine irony that he would engage the one who killed him in the ring. This would be a fine chance...to see just how far he'd come.
"And those are the match-ups!" said the announcer, gleefully gesturing towards the holoscreen, which now displayed the round names in full. They read as such:
Round 1 - Quirka v. Carmina
Round 2 - Piccolo v. Son Gohan
Round 3 - Erasa v. Videl
Round 4 - Goten v. Rayo
Round 5 - Mifune v. Trunks
Round 6 - Kisua v. Yamcha
Round 7 - No. 18 v. Qumohi
Round 8 - Tenshinhan v. Majin Bū
"The first round of the Tenkaichi Budōkai will begin momentarily! Until then, please follow me into the waiting room!" The competitors followed him into the waiting room, while the announcer bid them good luck and exited into the arena. It was here where some of the changes were very apparent. The seating had been completely rearranged, with Bulma's new styling of the Tenkaichi Budōkai stadium positioning the audience in massive seating structures that encircled the arena. These stands towered above the arena, giving the audience their best view in years. And yet, within the centre, there was no arena. Merely empty space and a mass of projectors embedded into solid ground.
"Welcome, one and all, to the Tenkaichi Budōkai!" The announcer crowed into the stands, his voice ringing throughout the area. "It's that time again, and the Tenkaichi Budōkai — sponsored generously by Capsule Corporation — is going to begin! It's been a strange few years, but the Tenkaichi Budōkai is now more lively than ever! With Earthlings and aliens alike participating in this year's reinstatement of this time-honoured tradition, let me introduce you to one of our newest adjustments! For those of you who missed the Youth Division, the Tenkaichi Budōkai no longer has an arena proper!"
With the snap of his fingers, there was a blinding flash and the projectors launched into action. Where there had been nothing, a massive ring was formed, flickering before solidifying into a massive effigy of the Tenkaichi Budōkai arena of ages past. The fighting space was massive, and stood several feet high, though the stands were still above the ring proper. The announcer was now standing on air himself — not the effect of ki, but of MatterWaves — and presided over the arena himself. Floating even higher, level with the stadium, were holoscreens for the purpose of replaying action for the benefit of the viewers. As not everyone watching was a user of ki, various other applications — including a perception dilation field — were implemented by Bulma to ensure maximum enjoyment of the Tenkaichi Budōkai.
"This massive arena is created purely from Material Waves — MatterWaves — and is impervious to all but the strongest damage," he bragged. "But since it is made of solid light, we can easily adjust the arena between even the most crushing of matches! We no longer need to fear the destruction of our fighting ring, as we might have in past Tenkaichi Budōkai!" Piccolo, in the waiting room, heard this and flinched. "Ladies and gentlemen, and fans of violence the Solar System over! For your added protection, we've included a containment field! Created by Bulma herself, this barrier will survive even the strongest ki attacks!" The announcer turned towards the waiting room, as cheers filled the stadium.
"Competitors! Give us your all, show us how fighting is done at the Tenkaichi Budōkai! The first round begins now! Quirka vs. Carmina!" Twirling his microphone and gesturing toward the waiting room far below, the announcer continued. "Both of these fighters are first-time contenders to the Tenkaichi Budōkai! Quirka is a complete unknown, but she seems to be associated with Bulma, the former president of the Capsule Corporation! Carmina is the young daughter of Mr. Bū, the student of Mr. Satan! She's every bit as strong as her father, and just barely escaped being assigned to the Youth Division by nepotism alone!"
Hearing their names called, Quirka and Carmina proceeded through the waiting room, and were lifted via MatterWaves to the towering arena. As they stepped onto the virtual tiles, it was clear Quirka had an advantage in height over Carmina, if nothing else. The two painted a pretty picture; the shy automaton and the energetic Djinn girl. Quirka's eyes flitted about the area, her sensors searching for her Master. They found her.
Bulma was sitting away from the crowd, in a hoverbooth created entirely from MatterWaves. Out of anyone, Bulma had the best view in the house. She'd put too much time into reinstating this tournament, and she wouldn't miss it now. Every battle here was something valuable; data.
"So I'm gonna fight you?" asked Carmina, her innocent face breaking into a smile. "I'm warnin' ya, I'm really strong!"
"I-I see..." replied Quirka quietly. "Let's both do our best, then..."
"Fighting fans, the competitor are in the arena!" The announcer crowed. "And now...LET'S GO AHEAD!"
The Universe, Western Galaxies, Planet Unfu
Beerus hadn't seen a planet like this in some time. It was one of the older planets in their Universe, but the humans here were of a low breed. The deity looked over the planet with a disdainful eye. Despite having existed for a good ten thousand years, the Unfuians had only progressed to the basic dregs of society. Rudimentary tribal groups with pointless bickering, barely beginning to form language or culture.
"I couldn't imagine a planet with a duller presence," muttered the deity, overseeing it from the skies. His attendant, Whis, stood near him. "For all the work that Kaiōshin is still half-assing it, isn't he? These sorry excuses for humans." He sighed, inclining his head towards the surface. "But I'm feeling generous today, Whis. What do you think?"
Looking into the wand he held, Whis examined the past of this planet. Despite only being a short ten thousand — well, ten thousand was short to the likes of them — the species had nearly killed each other off at several points. There were only three hundred living Unfuians currently residing on planet Unfu, and many of their native species were being hunted for simple sport.
"I believe this planet is one our Universe could do without, Lord Beerus," replied the angel, as casually as if they were discussing the matter over tea. "I don't see anything in their past that shows this planet being of benefit to us."
The Hakaishin exhaled. "Pity. If only they'd had a some sort of delicacy to offer, I might have passed them over. But I suppose it doesn't matter. Before creation, comes destruction." His body began to glow a soft purple, and the Hakaishin extended his finger toward the planet. A beam, razor-thin, shot from his claw and pierced the surface of the planet easily. Before anyone could blink, his ki ruptured the core of planet Unfu.
The chain reaction began. The crust of the planet began to split, as magma rushed from the beneath the planet, breaching into lava as it spread across the surface. The planet began to shake, violently; trees were uprooted, the ocean crashed into the shore, and tidal waves began to form. Avian-like creatures took flight, but there was no escape. As the gravity of the planet began to compromise, the inhabitants started to float, if slightly; each movement was stranger than the last.
Hakaishin and attendant watched as the planet began to crumble and collapse under itself, before finally exploding in a beautiful array of colour. Floating in pace, illuminated by this glow, Beerus turned from his latest conquest. "Let's get a move on, Whis!"
A/N: So, it's been about a month, but here we are, finally! Sorry folks, this is what happens when I wind up getting a new game, and am also trying to update Heart of Adventurers at the same time. Regardless, here we go, a new chapter. Believe it or not, creating five new characters on the fly is not an easy feat. In fact, it was almost impossible and I kept stopping because I couldn't settle on designs I liked. But, in the end, I think these turned out OK. I want to show as much of the Tenkaichi Budōkai as I can, before Beerus demands more of the plot. I won't let you all forget he's here, but I see this Tenkaichi Budōkai section as crucial, so we'll be here just a bit longer. To everyone who wants to see Beerus in more than just segments, don't worry; we're almost there. Let's thank Firegod00, the Heart of Adventurers editor, for doubling down and helping me proofread this chapter as well! I'll see you all soon in the next exciting chapter of the Erased Chronicles!