Author's note: Hey, guys, thanks for the reads, & the reviews. I love getting those alerts. Please feel free to keep them coming, & let me know your thoughts as the story progresses.

Author's note 2: I've tried posting a poll, but am having trouble getting it to post on my profile. So, I have a question. After Chapter 58, should we stay on Earth for the Android Saga, or should we follow Turles, Nappa, and Raditz, into space? Either way both will happen, but which should happen first?

Written by: SparkerLightning.

Edited by: StevenBodner

Chapter 57

Age 767

Papaya Island

World Martial Arts Tournament

Gohan kept his arms crossed as he watched the fight in front of him. It had been five years since they came back in time, five years since they left their homes. In those five years, they went to school, they launched a war against the Cold Force remnants, they nearly lost his father, and now Videl was proving herself to hers. Shifting from foot to foot, he felt the bulge in his pocket. He didn't like how it poked into him, but tradition was tradition.

Down below, in the ring, Hercule, Mr. Satan as the announcer proclaimed him, rolled backwards. Barely managing to stick the landing, he rubbed his cheek where Videl's foot had pushed him away. He pushed down his mild frustration, allowing a smile to cross his lips.

Taking one step backwards, he charged forward. Rapidly closing the distance between him and his eldest daughter, he launched himself into the air. Soaring several feet over the arena, he kept his forward momentum going as he shot his foot in front of him. "Dynamite kick!" he exclaimed.

As his foot pushed through Videl's face, the girl shifted omnidirectionally, fading away as the After-Image ended.

Looking left, expecting a punch, Hercule was thrown to the ground. Videl appeared to his right, and a spinning kick slammed into the back of his head, dropping him like a stone. Not slowing for a moment, Hercule rolled back to his feet once more. Lunging forward, he aimed a powerful cross chop at her neck. He knew she'd be fine. He knew she'd dodge, or block, or if he was lucky, she would fail to avoid the attack, and go down for ten seconds, bouncing back to her feet ready to continue.

Videl's arm shot up, absorbing the attack. As a counter she swung her hips, shoulder, and arm, delivering a nose crunching blow towards her father's face. She caught herself as the strike was closing in, she pulled her punch, or attempted to, but she was too slow.

Hercule snapped his head to the side, barely avoiding what could have been a devastating, surgery requiring, blow. Letting his failed cross chop bounce off of Videl's arm, failing to follow through, he latched onto her punching arm, and threw the lightweight girl, or rather woman, over his shoulder. Turning as he did so, he watched her nimbly land on her feet, where she took a split second to collect her thoughts.

It wasn't much time, but it was all Hercule needed. He hammered his fist into the top of her head, making her recoil in pain. His second punch went to her cheek, then her ribs, chest, shoulder, chin, and up to her forehead. This felt wrong, it felt bad, but Videl was a tough girl, and Gohan was a tough teacher. She could take it. Feeling the stinging in his hands though, Hercule wasn't so sure he could… Luckily for him, luckily for his hands, Videl began to dodge his punches, both knocking them away and simply stepping out of his swing.

As Videl threw each punch away, her concentration broke. Muscle memory was easy, it was the key to true skill. Every day of practice, every month of training, each year she spent with Gohan, was leading to this. And, she had to throw it out the window. Her father's guard was good, but he was so slow she could just blitz right past it. His defenses were strong, and so was he, for a human, but she was stronger. She could still just push through him. She could pick him up, and throw him out of the ring, out of the arena.

As she watched his fists, guiding them away, she was brought back into the moment. Hercule's foot slammed into her ribs. She saw the momentary grimace on his face, and to tell the truth, that actually hurt her as well. Instinctively, she brought her hand to her side, but his foot was already gone. She used the failed grab as an excuse to rub her sore side. It would bruise, no doubt about that.

"Ultra Megaton Punch!" Hercule shouted as his fist shot forward.

Unfortunately for him, Videl's concentration broke and her instincts took over. As his fist shot forward, he shot backwards. Videl's fist connected with the underside of his jaw, sending him into the air, and crashing onto his back.

"AND HE'S DOWN!" The sunglasses-wearing announcer shouted into his microphone. "That was a spectacularly performed counter, from the far-shorter warrior. She expertly weaved under his Ultra Megaton Punch, and sent him flying! Now, let's get to the count! ONE!"

"Dad." Videl took a step back. He was moving, he would be on his feet soon. "You're incredible. You've got a great hold on the basics, but you're too predictable."

"TWO!"

She cleared her throat. "You're only thinking two steps ahead, and I'm just too quick for that."

"THREE!"

Hercule heaved himself off his back, and into an upright position. She's right, of course she's right. He was average, and trained to be spectacular. Nam, King Chappa, maybe even Jackie Chun, he was in their league, he was on their level. With the training from his daughter, handed down from Gohan, he blew right past them, but he was still not at her level, not yet.

"FOUR!"

He pushed himself to his feet, and the announcer continued hyping up the crowd. Hercule heard him talking, shouting, but didn't notice a single word. The battle had been going on for minutes. He was sore. His hands felt like that they had been coated in shattered glass. He was pretty sure he had at least one broken toe. He landed blow after blow on Videl, and she was panting, she was starting to sweat, but she was standing tall, looking as powerful as ever.

"Are you sure you want to keep going, Dad?" Videl took another step back, turning her side to her father. A narrower target, easier to defend, and easier to counter with far more powerful blows.

"Yeah." He said, loosening the belt around his waist slightly. "In fact, I think this is the perfect time to let you in on a little secret, Baby Girl." He widened his stance, squatting low. Clinching his fists, he slowly dragged them from his parted knees, towards his chest. His face contorted in strain, as if there was a river flowing through the eye of a needle, and he was providing all the force to move it himself. His brow wrinkled as he grunted, sinking lower, still slowly pulling his hands in.

"DAD!" Videl shrieked, before lowering her voice. "If you need to relieve yourself, just, just ask the announcer." Her stage whisper was loud enough to carry to her father's ears, as well as well beyond them.

"Max… Power." He groaned. Suddenly, Hercule's muscles pulsed as they rapidly inflated. The stitches on his clothing strained, but managed to barely hold together. A pale blue aura flashed around him, as he thrust his hands forward. A beam of energy, roughly as thick as one of his overly-muscled arms shot out, and hit the surprised girl in the leading hip.

Videl's eyes were wide in surprise as the blast scorched her skin. Her black shorts were carbonized, spread to the wind, where the energy cut through them. Her leg gave out, and she dropped to her knee. Before she could recover, her father was on her.

Hercule's knee smashed into Videl's stomach, sending her into the air. Leaping into the sky he passed her, spun, and aimed a Dynamite Kick between her shoulder blades. As she landed, a moment before her father did as well, she rolled onto her hands, launching herself into the air as well.

His foot sailed past her face, cracking the reinforced concrete tiles.

Her foot hit home, knocking him back away from the ground. Flipping in the air she delivered a follow-up kick to her father's arm, spinning his face away from her. With a double palm strike to the base of his back, she threw him forwards, towards the edge of the ring.

First skimming over, then skidding along, the tiles, Hercule fought to regain control of himself. As he felt the tile beneath him give way to air, he frantically flailed to grab onto something, anything. With an unseen pulse of ki he dented the smooth tile, giving himself just enough of a handhold to stop his flailing legs from touching the grass.

As the assembled crowd burst into applause, one voice rang out over them all.

"AWESOME!" Videl enthused, while rushing towards her father. When she was almost within his striking range she slowed and stopped. "How did you learn that? When did you learn that? Dad, you can project your ki!"

As Hercule caught his breath, the announcer was giving a brief recap of previous tournaments, the Kamehameha, the Dodon Ray, flight, the After-Image, and what he described as techniques only known to the masters.

"The Turtle Hermit." Hercule panted, slowly standing back to his full height. How is she still in this good of shape? It was an energy blast, a full-powered energy blast. It burnt a hole in her pants, but, but she's walking, she's running, and she's more happy for him, than injured. He wouldn't want to injure her, no, she still has another fight ahead of her. Not his fight, no, he knew he wouldn't win, but he at least hoped to draw out her power, make her fight seriously, if only for a few moments. He knew he'd see her true strength, when she faced her next opponent, but damn it, watching it is nothing compared to experiencing it firsthand. He stepped forward, and Videl stepped back. Slowly, inch by inch, he continued regaining ground.

"He trained you?" Videl asked. "I thought he wanted..."

"Yeah." Hercule cut her off. "He had some requirements, but I met them." His breathing was getting under control, and his muscles snapped back to their normal form. "I was really hoping that would have more of an impact on you, Honey."

"Well, it hurt." She smiled, rubbing her bare skin. "You surprised me, you actually hit me, you knocked me down. Don't feel bad, Dad, you've been pushing yourself so hard with me, and, even harder than I thought. You've improved so much."

Hercule chuckled to himself. Wasn't it the father's job to encourage his daughter? But, when your daughter was this unique, this special, this driven, he couldn't help but be inspired.

"Not enough, apparently." He grinned through the shot at himself. It was true, undeniable, and nothing to be ashamed of.

"Well, Old Man." A mischievous smirk crossed her lips. "Don't feel too bad. You are getting on in years."

Without a trace, she vanished.

Without understanding the reason, Hercule found himself flying into the air, his chin on fire. As Videl cracked her knuckles, he landed. Using a hand on the ground to stop himself from falling over, he processed the strike, the uppercut, and just how quick it was, how powerful it was, how much she'd really been holding back. Reacting more on instinct than by any conscious thought, he dodged to the side, barely avoiding being the victim of film worthy, energy-infused, cross chop.

Not letting up, Videl continued the assault.

"Dad." She said, letting him step just out of the range of her next punch. "Stop thinking of me as your daughter."

She aimed her kick just slightly to her right of his chest, she didn't want to kill him. "You held back on me. Stop it."

She allowed the tips of her knuckles to graze his ribs, which was still enough to knock him off balance. "If you have more, show it to me."

Nope. That was it. That was all his power, his maximum power, and it wasn't enough. Maybe if she was asleep, and he could gather energy for a day, then maybe he could beat her… But that wasn't all… No, she was more powerful, but he was more experienced. He trained all his life for this, his chance at the championship. She was strong, but he was older, wiser, and more skilled.

"Please tell me that the great, the mighty, the someday best of the best, Mr. Satan, isn't already a washed-up old fart?" She pulled her hands back in, bringing them to a mocking impersonation of her father's favored stance. Hopping onto her toes, she began to kick out in an indeterminable pattern. "Reached his peak before his daughter took her first step? A skid mark on..."

Mr. Satan ducked a high kick, grabbing Videl's rising ankle in his iron grip. Dropping to the ground he dragged her foot with him, as he spun and swept her other, dancing, foot out from under her. She was in the air, back to the ground, legs spread and arms flailing, and he had already gotten back to his feet. Not thinking, just acting, he launched a Kaia, pushing her away.

The breeze that carried her may as well have come from his lungs, with how winded he was after the effort. It did come from him, from his body, it was his energy, and he was harnessing it… but he didn't know how much he had left. He lowered his shoulder as she flew backwards. He charged as she began to sink towards the ground. Smashing into her, he shot her further, closer to the edge.

As she tumbled out of control, she shot one palm towards the ground, releasing an invisible pulse of energy, towards the tiles. With her path redirected upward, she was able to regain control of herself, get her feet under her, and land safely, back in the center of the ring. Quickly turning around, she was surprised to find that she was alone. No, she turned right, he came from her left… Videl ducked, her hair trailing her as it was whipped around by the force of her father's round house kick.

He let his momentum continue spinning him. Planting his left foot back on the ground, he smashed a thunderous right hook towards the base of his daughter's neck. She'd dodge, she'd block, she'd be fine, but if this kept up for much longer, he wouldn't be…

Videl dodged forward, and Mr. Satan's hand smashed into the ring. The tile he struck lost cohesiveness, turning to rubble.

As his daughter effortlessly dodged his potentially lethal strike, Mr. Satan once again let his body propel his combo forward. Flipping upright he spun his body around, delivering a brutal kick into Videl's gut, carrying her sideways, launching her backwards, over the edge of the ring.

Stopping his rotation, watching his daughter fall, fear spiked through Hercule's body. No, no no, he didn't mean to win. Well, he did, but, not here, he didn't want to beat Videl in the semi-finals. No, he'd have to fight again. He'd have to fight someone with as much power as his daughter, and as much skill as himself, with absolutely no reason to hold back. Yes, he knew the other finalist from gatherings here and there, but the virtual stranger didn't owe him anything. There was no chance he'd even put on a good show in the next…

Videl stopped falling, her hair just barely an inch over the blowing grass. Slowly, rotating as if around a peg mounted through her heals, she got herself upright. Slowly she rose higher into the air, the crowd going wild, the announcer screaming about how rare of an ability they are all witnessing, before planting her feet in the center of the ring.

Again, she joined the clapping. Gone was the childlike awe for her father, gone was the knowledge that she could win this whenever she wanted to, replaced with a sincere appreciation for the skill he displayed. Yes, she could overpower him, but he was still a far more technical fighter, and she could still learn from him, for years to come. She gave him the lessons Gohan gave her, but she'd need to ask for some in return.

"I'm not going to hold back anymore." Hercule gritted his teeth. He shouldn't have said that. Expectations were getting way to high. He had nothing else to give, nowhere higher to climb to, this was it, this was his all. "You're not a little girl anymore. You're an incredible young woman. But you're still my daughter, and before we continue, I need you to know just how proud of you I am right now. I'm always proud of you, but here, and now, effortlessly fighting at a level I can barely even reach, is absolutely incredible."

Her father blurred as a tear ran down her cheek. The crowd roared. The announcer gushed. She, she couldn't tell who she was fighting. Mark Hercule, Mr. Satan, the man that had raised her for the last five years, or, Daddy, the man that she hadn't seen in just as long. This was it. This was her father's dream. This was her dream. A few more minutes of this, and one more fight, and, and she'd be there. Her father would be at her side, and, somewhere, somewhere far away, her original father would be with her as well. Her eyes began to sting as the sweat and tears mixed. Closing her eyes, she took a jagged breath.

"Thank you, Daddy." She snapped her eyes open and got prepared to fight once more. "I'll get serious too."

In a blink Videl was gone, and Hercule spun in place to counter what he knew was coming. He was fast, but not fast enough. The punch was a glancing blow, but still enough to knock him slightly off guard. Kick after punch, after palm strike, after headbutt, rained down on him. Videl was a woman on a mission, and she was not going to disrespect her father by pulling her punches. Hercule managed to block, or almost dodge, a majority of the blows, but several were still getting through.

As one particularly heavy strike crashed into his sternum, he stumbled back a step, leaving his stomach wide open.

"Morning Barrage." She spoke under her breath as she took a knee in front of her father.

Letting a small bit of ki launch forward, behind Hercule, she began her assault. Her fists smashed into his stomach, one spot, over and over, harder and harder, four fingers landing where four fingers had just landed, with thumbs alternating sides. His body wanted to recoil in pain, be thrown back, but the small amount of ki she launched her attack with held him in place.

This was bad. The dull punches quickly shifted into feeling like sharp knives, and eventually fine needles, as Hercule had no choice but to suffer through. Despite the pain, he kept his lips sealed, and did not scream in pain, did not grunt in effort, did not vocally react, mostly due to the lack of air in his lungs, but also due to the momentarily paralyzing realization of just how much power his daughter had.

As the energy behind Hercule faded, the punches lost power. His body was more easily able to absorb the blows, be knocked back rather than shattered through. He gave up ground, but not much. When Videl stopped, Hercule took deep breaths through his nose, and out his mouth. He tried to disguise his labored breathing, but knew he was failing.

"Okay..." Videl's voice trilled off. "I, I expected that to be the end of it..."

Hercule wanted to speak, but knew he couldn't. Planting one hand on his knee, he flashed his daughter a thumbs-up and a toothy grin.

"Let's see just how far you've come." She quickly summoned a ball of ki in her right hand, and overhand threw it at her father, only a few paces away.

His eyes bulged as he quickly thought through his options. His body already reacted though, it knew he had none. Opening his palms he leaned forward and caught the blast. It was hot, burning. He felt his own ki, he had struck himself with his own ki to familiarize himself, desensitize himself, to the pain. It was nothing compared to this.

His heels lifted off the floor as he leaned forward into the ball.

"No." He muttered under his breath, pushing with all his might. As he resisted, he began to skid backwards, zipping across the ring.

Halfway to a ring out, it began to grow weaker. He began to slow. It was a ball, not a beam. She wasn't feeding it. He could resist it. He could hold it off. It would fade. She couldn't prevent that. He got his feet planted once more, still skidding, but as he stopped, his heals went unsupported once again, as the rings edge snuck up behind him.

He didn't know if he'd ever be able to use his hands again. Punching his daughter nearly shattered them. Stopping this attack cooked them. They were just as dexterous as normal, but the pain flooding his body from them was like no other he had ever felt before. So, this was what a real ki blast felt like. He wanted to dip them in an ice bath, but had to settle on blowing on them.

As her father recovered from her last attack, Videl formed another ki ball in her right hand. Planting it in space, locking it in position, she called its name.

"Kamehameha!" The modified wave shot towards Hercule, with her at its tip.

Bringing her elbow up, her merciful elbow, she swung into Hercule's undefended chest from her low position. With little fanfare, she flipped in the air and stood where her father had a moment ago.

He was launched out, flying a dozen feet up and out before reaching the top of his arc. Flapping his arms, trying to resist gravity, he forced his energy out. He forced it out, and down. She launched forward, he'd launch up. She flew. He'd fly. As he fell he flapped more and more frantically, until a moment later, he stopped, inches above the grass.

The crowd fell silent. The announcer didn't have a word to say.

"Dad, you're flying!" Videl lifted off the ground. This was it, one final strike. She could come in from above, smashing him into the ground. She'd be out of the ring, but he'd hit the ground first. She could miss, she could lose, but no, he was far too new at this

"I am?" He looked around, hanging in the air completely unsupported. "I am!"

He slowed his flapping, leaning forwards, towards the ring.

"Videl!" He looked up, at where she was still rising into the air. "Oh, crap..."

As he processed what she was about to do, the ground rose up and hit him. He sprawled out, willing, but unable, to move. Nope, he couldn't do it. He could fly, but that was all he could do…

"RING OUT!" The announcer hollered. "Moving on to the finals, to face Yamcha, the Desert Bandit, is Videl!"

A few minutes later:

After taking her bows and making sure her father was alright, Videl walked through the doors to the back room of the World Martial Arts Tournament. Gohan was already there, warm towel and cold water in hand.

"Good fight." He smiled at her, handing her the water first. "Congratulations on making it to the finals. You're doing incredible."

Videl took the water. Rolling the iced bottle under her wrists and behind her neck, she began to relax.

"Thanks, Gohan." Slowly she cracked the seal on the bottle, before draining it in one go. "Hey, did I do the right thing? Should I have gone so easy on my dad? Or should I have just gotten it over with?"

A loudspeaker crackled, and the announcers voice came through loud and clear. "After that spectacular match, the Daddy-Daughter brawl to end them all, we are not yet done with the Hercule family. No, it is time for the first ever Junior Division finals. In one corner we have Sissy Hercule, sister of Videl Hercule, daughter of Mr. Satan, Mark Hercule. In the other corner we have Johnny Lawrence, an up-and-coming star fresh off of a victory at The All-Valley Karate Tournament. Now, with no further delays, let's get ready to rumble!"

Turning their attention back to each other, Gohan answered.

"I don't think he would have believed it if he won. And I don't think he would have appreciated it if you humiliated him in front of the world. No, I think you did just fine with what you did. Now, should we?" He nodded towards the arena door, and Videl shook her head.

Grabbing another bottle of cold water, Videl cracked the lid.

"No, she's nervous enough as it is. She asked me and dad not to watch." She drank a good portion of water before recapping the bottle. "You're probably right. But I still feel kind of bad. This was his dream, and by no fault of his own, he didn't stand a chance of achieving it. If we hadn't come back, well, I suppose Yamcha still probably would have entered."

"Yeah, no offense to your dad, but Yamcha is in an entirely different league." A smirk crossed his lips. "Also, if you feel bad about winning, well, you don't have to be here? Sissy will almost certainly take home the belt, and isn't one champion in the house enough?"

Videl reached over and smacked Gohan's arm. He pretended to be hurt, recoiling in pain and rubbing the spot she hit.

"I want to be here." Her smile faded to a neutral contentment. "But it was his dream first. I know Dad, Original Dad, would be ecstatic for me. He'd be so proud of me. He'd never let me live it down if I had even a second of doubt. But, while Dad, this Dad, loves me, I don't know if he'll be alright losing."

"It doesn't matter if it was his dream first. It doesn't matter if he's the exact person that you grew up with since day one. He's your dad, and from what I've seen he's a damn good one." Hearing a wine of pain he glanced to the arena before returning his gaze to his girlfriend, his student, his past and future. "I'm sure he'd agree with me."

Videl winced as she heard Sissy yelp. "Yeah, you're probably right."

The door beside them swung open, pushed from the inside. Hercule stepped out in fresh clothes. "He is. I'd expect my future son-in..."

"ACHEW!" Gohan shouted a sneeze. "Thank you, Mark"

A faint blush crossed over Hercule's cheeks. Reaching out he placed a hand on Videl's shoulder. He masked the pain in the effort as best he could, but he couldn't hide just how tired he was. "You did absolutely incredible out there. I am proud of you, and I know your original dad would be as well."

"Is." Videl responded meekly, looking down at her father's shoes. "Well, I'm sorry you lost. But only one of us could proceed. It was just bad luck that we didn't meet in the finals."

Hercule laughed boisterously. "If I had to go up against that next guy, there's not a chance I'd have made it to the finals. I'm okay with how this ended. And, win or lose, we're going to celebrate tonight."

Videl lifted her gaze, blankly looking into her father's eyes for a moment. "Thank you."

Hercule placed his other hand on Gohan's shoulder. "So, what can you tell my baby girl about this big bad wolf fellow?"

Videl chuckled.

"Dad, if Gohan had anything else to say, he would have done so a long time ago… I think?" She narrowed an eye at Gohan, and he nodded.

"Of course." He smiled. "I couldn't hold back information on him from you. But then again, he's known my parents for years, so, that may have been a two-way flow of information there."

A gong rang out and the speaker crackled again. The announcer had been jabbering over their conversation the entire time, but with the gong announcing the end of the fight, the trio turned their attention to the speaker once more.

"AND SISSY HERCULE WINS!" His voice boomed. "I give you, the first ever winner of the World Martial Arts Tournament Junior Division, Sissy Hercule!"

Videl's eyes flashed with anger. "Wait, you told him about me?"

"It wouldn't be fair if only one person had that advantage." Hercule patted his daughter's shoulder. "And all is fair in love and war, isn't it, Gohan?"

Author's note: Next chapter, the finals of the World Martial Arts Tournament.