Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

Written by: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner

Edited by: StevenBodner and SparkerLightning

A/N: Two important things in this Author's Note.

#1) Sorry this chapter took so long (not that I owe anyone an explanation, Yifan Bao, so please stop constantly spamming me with your expectations on deadlines). In addition to it just being a meaty chapter of fight scenes that Steven, Sparker, and I spent some considerable time on, I am also planning very deeply for the next story arc which, not to spoil anything, will be a massive flashback to a certain fellow's childhood~

#2) You'll notice that this story now has a cover image. It was designed by my friend, usuallycat, who read the ending to Chapter 106 and felt great inspiration. Please, make sure to look at the image and let me know what you think. XD

Chapter 108: The Mysterious New Threat

In the Spectator's Plaza...

The wife squad, Ox-King, and Android 16 all had their attention glued to the nearby screens, watching the various fights as they went down. Suno gently rubbed her stomach and sighed. "He might not win, but just watch closely little one. You're gonna see how much determination your papa has..."

Suno cocked her head. "Gohan hasn't gone Super Saiyan though, so maybe there's a chance..."

Chi-Chi was quick to clarify. "Gohan hasn't gone Super Saiyan yet because he doesn't plan to. He told me as we were flying here, he only plans to transform if he goes up against Piccolo or Bardock and it's absolutely necessary."

Suno nodded. "Ah, I see..."

Android 16 smirked as he watched the screen for Ring #2. "Krillin is certainly looking confident and well-trained. I am proud of him. He's so much stronger now than he was during the Cell Games. He's doing his best for her."

Blonde Launch's attention was glued to Ring #3. "Damn. Tien is actually holding his own against Piccolo. Maybe he'll actually give that big, green punk a nice view of the ocean..."

Bulma, meanwhile, watched the furious fight going on in Ring #4 with a concerned look on her face. "What the hell is going on with Bardock and Gine that they're so pissed at each other?"

Ox-King mumbled to himself as he played upsy-daisy with Baby Chika. "It's been a warzone on Mt. Paozu for nearly a month now..."

Bulma flinched. Chi-Chi sighed. "Bardock and Gine don't argue often. They've kind of grown past that sort of thing for the most part. But when they do find a reason to be at each other's throats..."

Chi-Chi adopted an annoyed look. "It's Bardock's fault, anyway. Stubborn ass is taking too much after Goku lately..."

Bulma sighed. "I mean...Gine is sweet. But she can be just as hard-headed once something gets her going. What did Bardock do that convinced her to pluck herself up and enter a fighting tournament? Gine hates fighting."

Chi-Chi facepalmed. "You're going to think it's really dumb..."

In Tournament Ring #1...

Gohan and Yamcha leapt from their stances and charged at one another. Due to Yamcha's speed, he was actually able to gain a bit of ground on the boy, clashing with Gohan and leaving the young man closer to the edge of the water. Gohan and Yamcha struggled against one another and Gohan chuckled. "This'll be fun. I get to go all-out against one of my dad's oldest rivals..."

Gohan threw another strike, but Yamcha caught him by the wrist. Gohan chuckled again. "I've heard from everyone that you're pretty strong, Yamcha. A real tournament competitor way back when..."

Yamcha smirked. "Yeah? Well, why don't you try saying that with a straight face next time? You're 'going all-out' on me? Really?"

A bead of sweat formed on the side of Gohan's head. "Well...maybe not all out..."

Yamcha shoved him back. "Unless I'm gonna see black hands made of ki or sparking yellow hair, don't patronize me little dude."

Gohan took another stance. "Fair enough."

Yamcha chuckled. "Don't take me saying that as a sign of surrender, though. I have a certain someone who's gonna look up to me one day, I can't disappoint her~"

And then, Yamcha charged at Gohan and the fight began fresh. Gohan nodded. "And that's what I like about you, Yamcha. You never give up!"

The former bandit did a backflip and then shot forward, delivering a spear kick to Gohan's knee. The boy buckled and Yamcha tried to follow up with a right hook. Coolly, Gohan created a burst of air from one of his palms that sent him flying out of the path of Yamcha's punch and into the air. Yamcha growled and fired a ki blast, but Gohan effortlessly slapped it away. Yamcha sighed. "Fine then..."

And then he leapt right into the air after the boy. Fists clashed and Gohan and Yamcha engaged in a fiery display of martial arts. Fists and feet were thrown back and forth as the two arched through the air, falling back into the writhing mass of other fighters beneath them and continuing their brawl. Gohan was being primarily defensive, evading and blocking most strikes and only occasionally firing back a few meaningful attacks of his own. A vein popped on Yamcha's forehead. "Dammit, am I really being coddled by a kid?"

Gohan flinched. "I-I'm not coddling you! I swear!"

In this moment of shock, Yamcha went in. He delivered a mighty strike to Gohan's ribcage and sent the boy flying back. Gohan cringed, feeling that his rib was genuinely cracked. He looked up to see Yamcha lunging at him with an axe-kick and returned with a punch of his own. The boy threw out his fist and it pierced through Yamcha's face, only for the former bandit's body to disperse. Gohan gasped, and was immediately struck upon the back by a Spirit Ball crashing into him. Gohan did a flip forward, landing on his feet and turning to face the smirking Yamcha. He chuckled. "That was mean, Yamcha."

Yamcha smirked and then drew his hands to his sides. "Kamehameha!"

He thrust his hands towards Gohan and fired the destructive beam, but Gohan easily leapt over it. The boy was on his guard. He knew that something more drastic had to be planned. He watched Yamcha like a hawk, his gaze locking onto the warrior's barely twitching fingers. Without looking, Gohan shot his fist backwards and cracked the Spirit Ball apart like an egg. Gohan landed again and Yamcha sighed. "Man, and here I thought that tactic would work..."

Gohan shook his head. "Gotta try harder than that~"

Yamcha closed his eyes, as if deep in thought. Gohan was polite enough to wait for him to be ready once more. However, the rest of the fighters in the arena were not so kind. The group of warriors, realizing from the display that they'd never be able to beat Yamcha and Gohan, rushed at the two with the intent of overpowering them and tossing them into the ocean.

Gohan was nonplussed, effortlessly dodging the various strikes thrown at him and allowing his lesser opponents to knock each other senseless. The boy was too quick and too nimble to even suffer a glancing blow, watching as his opponents' momentum and misplaced strikes sent them careening one way or the other into the ocean.

Yamcha, however, was much less kind. "SHUT UP! YOU LOSERS ARE BREAKING MY FOCUS!"

And then, with a rapid spin and far too many strikes to count, Yamcha launched an attack that simultaneously struck his crowd of opponents from multiple directions at once. "WOLF TEMPEST!"

The various lesser fighters were beaten bloody and exploded into the air, crashing down into the water like weighted stones and collectively ringing them out. Once Yamcha finished his rampage, he and Gohan glared at one another, finding themselves the only two left in the ring. Yamcha smiled. "Okay then. I might not beat you with this, but it's time to go maximum effort..."

He roared at the top of his lungs. "KAIOKEN TIMES 40!"

The power that erupted from Yamcha was immense, but Gohan was still confused. "Forty...? You went Times 50 in the Cell Games, didn't you? Why are you backtracking?"

Yamcha chuckled, and Gohan flinched back. The boy watched as, to his confusion and Yamcha's delight, the swirling red energy of the Kaioken actually seemed to be flowing back into Yamcha rather than exploding out. Soon, Yamcha's aura was completely gone...but his skin had a dull, red glow to it. Gohan was concerned, taking on a fighting stance. "What the heck did you do? This feels...off..."

Yamcha smiled wide, and steam, made from his own superheated saliva, plumed out from his mouth like a cloud.

Up in the announcer's stand...

Jimmy Firecracker spoke loudly into the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, a truly amazing display of martial arts in the ring below! The young boy, going by the name Son Junior, is showing his cleverness and guile and has allowed his foolish and overconfident opponents to defeat themselves!"

The reporter turned his attention to Yamcha. "Meanwhile, the ferocious Yamcha...a noted competitor from previous World Martial Arts Tournaments I might add...had shown a vicious display of prowess and now faces down the young competitor! You love to see it, folks, a clash of the ages right before our eyes!"

Firecracker was revved up. "And these two warriors are fighting for the honor of competing against one of the departed Miguel's favorite fighters: the wicked Spike the Devilman!"

He pointed to a graphic, showing both a mugshot and a body shot of the fanged ghoul. "Spike the Devilman is a warrior who always brings a wicked edge to his fights. Having sold his soul to a witch in the far-off deserts for a secret power, the Devilman is one that only shows up to dispose of the most unworthy and wicked warriors and martial artists! Being the founder of Mr. Satan's former dojo, the Satan School, Spike has always had some presence in the minds of the Satan Household! He is also the focus of Miguel's number one single from her punk period, Bad, Good Devils...now available, signed, at the Miguel Grand Gift Emporium for 3,000 zeni..."

In Tournament Ring #2...

Krillin lunged at Chiaotzu with his fist drawn, launching a barrage of punches at the one friend he had who was shorter than him. Unfortunately for Krillin, the fists all harmlessly bounced off of an invisible barrier. Krillin flinched and Chiaotzu stuck his tongue out at the warrior, sending him flying back with a psionic burst. The monk did several back flips, eventually pushing himself up and landing on the shoulders of a confused competitor. Krillin grumbled. "You're the same as you've always been. My technical skill means next to nothing if you can hide behind that brain power of yours..."

Chiaotzu smirked. "I'm not going to let you land a single hit, bud!"

Krillin rushed in again and Chiaotzu's eyes began to glow. Thinking quick, Krillin called out. "What's 40 times 40?!"

Siri chimed in. "1600."

Chiaotzu chuckled. "Thanks Siri~!"

And then, his mind clear, Chiaotzu formed his next attack. The air swelled between Chiaotzu's hand, trapping and compressing air in a bubble of psychic power. Adding onto this, Chiaotzu charged the compressed air with his own ki and fired it at Krillin. "Aura Sphere!"

The attack shot forward like a cruise missile. Krillin gasped and tried to evade, but it was too late. The attack crashed into the monk's stomach and sent him launching back into a group of martial artists in the rear. Krillin and at least ten other competitors were hit by the force of the attack and sent crashing over the edge. But, thinking quickly, Krillin used one of his competitors as a trampoline and launched himself back to safety.

Krillin held his aching stomach and Chiaotzu looked smug. The little warrior chuckled. "Give up yet, Krillin?"

Krillin shouted back. "Absolutely not!"

And then, with no hesitation, Chiaotzu leapt into the air and charged an attack on each index finger. "Dodon Barrage!"

As the flurry of golden beams came crashing down, Krillin went on the evasive. The warrior weaved his way through the various other fighters in the arena, hoping they would shield him from Chiaotzu's gaze. Chiaotzu rolled his eyes. "I can sense ki, Krillin!"

Krillin scoffed. Chiaotzu gave a slightly wicked cackled. "Also, I don't care if I hit those guys! They're competitors too!"

And then, just to prove his point, Chiaotzu stopped firing with one hand and blasted a hefty kiai into the ground, causing a massive pressure burst that rendered dozens of fighters unconscious and sent them flying out into the sea. Krillin yelped, his cover gone, and Chiaotzu smirked. "Gotcha!"

Chiaotzu stared right at Krillin and his eyes flashed with intense light. "Freezing Glare!"

Unable to dodge, Krillin was stuck in place by a wave of psychic power. And Chiaotzu easily took advantage by firing five Dodon Rays into Krillin's unprotected chest. Krillin fell back, groaning in pain, and Chiaotzu prepared his next move. "Let's try this...I wanna see what my new limits are..."

Holding up his hand, Chiaotzu formed a massive, pink ball of energy. He smirked and crashed towards the ring, crushing the ball against the ring surface. However, instead of simply exploding and damaging the platform, the ball of energy burst and sent an ethereal, pink mist hissing out across the entire ground. Krillin and the other fighters all looked confused. Krillin gasped. "Wh-What the hell...?"

The fighters watched on as Chiaotzu stood up and many were unnerved. Krillin threw up his guard. "This probably isn't good..."

Chiaotzu smiled as his entire body seemed to glow. It wasn't an aura. Chiaotzu's pearly white skin was simply just producing light. He chuckled. "A new technique I made up: Psychic Terrain. You might be stronger than me, Krillin, but let's see you fight back when I'm in such an energy rich environment!"

Krillin looked around. "You mean...this fog...?"

Chiaotzu nodded. "Made from my ki. Being enveloped in it allows me to tighten my focus and produce even greater psionic energy~"

The little warrior chuckled. "And, to make sure that I don't run out of ki to fuel it...KAIOKEN TIMES 15!"

Chiaotzu's ki skyrocketed and the light emanating from his body shined even brighter. One of the other fighters in the ring, terrified, began to run towards the water. "I AIN'T DEALIN' WITH THIS SPOOKY SHIT!"

But then, as he was about to leap into the water, the fighter suddenly stopped. They all stopped. And then, in unison, they all turned and faced down Krillin. All of the fighters lifted their heads and their eyes shined with bright, white light. Chiaotzu hovered above them. "Like I said, Krillin...I'm not losing this time~"

Krillin slowly backed away as the mob began to advance on him. "Oh, come on! This is cheating and you know it is!"

Up in the announcer's stand...

Jimmy Firecracker spoke loudly into the microphone. "Things aren't looking good for Krillin in Ring #2, folks! It would appear as if all of the other competitors have decided to gang up on the poor, fighting monk! Will he make it out of this in one piece to be allowed to fight the second of our Miguel Fighters?!"

Firecracker pointed to the screen behind him. "And now I will take the honor of introducing our second fighter! Ladies and gentlemen: Pamput!"

The image of a curly-haired fighter blipped onto the screen. Jimmy Firecracker continued. "Miguel was a woman who certainly knew how to pick 'em! Pamput should be a name that any martial arts fan recognizes! Not only is he a master of his craft in Muy Thai and a famous actor, but he is also a multiple time small-circuit tournament champion! Being one of the first big names that Mr. Satan defeated in pitched combat, Miguel was taken when Pamput, a fighter famed for his arrogance, was able to put aside his pride and raise Mr. Satan's hand in the middle of the ring! Years later, those two mighty martial artists would team together for one night only with dear Miguel acting as their manager and valet!"

In Tournament Ring #3...

Piccolo's arms extended out, clawing and swiping at Tien as the three-eyed warrior retreated. Tien flipped and slid across the entire platform, just barely managing to avoid being struck by an opponent whom he couldn't deny was quite a bit stronger than him. Unfortunately, Tien's evasiveness only got him so far and he was eventually caught by the Namekian. Piccolo gripped Tien's wrist tightly and dragged him back in. Tien scowled, but maintained focus. Instead of panicking, he gripped Piccolo's wrist tight and allowed himself to be pulled back in.

Once the two were able to lock eyes, Tien held up his free hand and fired his shot. "Tri-Beam!"

The ki blast shot through the air and Piccolo jerked his head out of the way. With a roar, he yanked even harder and drew Tien inward, meeting the defenseless martial artist with a huge punch to the gut. Tien wheezed, but then he sprang up and kneed Piccolo right under the jaw, knocking him back. The two warriors stumbled away from one another, and then Tien shouted. "Kaioken Times 50!"

A red aura enveloped Tien and he charged back towards Piccolo. The Namekian adjusted his jaw and blocked a punch from Tien with his forearm. Piccolo chuckled. "Only 50? Isn't that half of what you're really capable of?"

The two warriors brawled, springing around between other fights surrounding them but never leaving the ground. They both knew that the first person to take to the air would only be giving the other an opening for a free hit. Tien drove a solid punch into Piccolo's gut and Piccolo responded by driving his elbow into the top of Tien's head. Tien slumped for just a moment, but wrapped his arms around Piccolo's waist and heaved him into the air, driving the Namekian face-first into the floor. Tien leapt off of the ground, corkscrewing in the air and going for a punch, but Piccolo was too quick and delivered a devastating strike to Tien's ribs. The warrior went flying and Piccolo got to his feet, spitting blood to the side and wiping his busted lip.

Tien stood, his Kaioken aura still raging but showing no signs of fatigue. Piccolo nodded. "I see. You've managed to train yourself to maintain that level of Kaioken without fatigue. That's...inhuman."

The three-eyed warrior smirked. "Superhuman, not inhuman. Everything you see in front of you was born and raised on Planet Earth."

The Namekian nodded. "Such strength. I suppose the fight with Cell inspired you to some extent? If you were this strong when he absorbed the Androids from the future...the Cell Games might not have happened."

Tien sighed. "And yet, it still proves not enough. I might have eclipsed that Cell in strength, but you, Goku, and Vegeta have already eclipsed the monster that Gohan killed. And Gohan himself remains stronger than the three of you, despite having no real passion for martial arts. It's...challenging? Or, perhaps the better word is infuriating..."

Piccolo took a stance. "Are you going to cry?"

Tien scowled, taking a stance of his own. "No. I'm going to win."

Piccolo cackled. "I respect that. This might be an interesting tournament yet."

Tien watched, but did not flinch, as a mob of fighters suddenly tried to jump Piccolo from behind. Piccolo watched on as the exact same happened to Tien. Tien, without so much as a grunt, activated the Four Witches technique and used his extra set of arms to bash away the lesser fighters.

Piccolo thrust his hands behind and fired off two kiais, causing shockwaves large enough that all of his attempted attackers were blown through the air and into the sea behind him. The force of the kiais sent Piccolo shooting forward where he was eagerly met by Tien. The two of them clashed, as the remaining other fighters in the ring quickly backed away. They both got right in each other's face and then, they both smiled. Tien huffed. "I won't be losing today, Piccolo."

Piccolo chuckled. "Then you'd better hope that Dende on high send down a miracle for you!"

Up in the announcer's stand...

Jimmy Firecracker was hyped by what he saw going on in Ring #3. "Such an amazing fight, dear spectators! We have two exceptional fighters duking it out below! While some might not recognize their personas, our crack research team's hard work has revealed who those two down below are! The gentleman with three eyes is none other than Tien Shinhan, a former World Martial Arts Champion! And the other is Ma Junior, the runner-up from the Tournament where noted competitor and attempted slayer of Cell, Son Goku, became the champion! Truly two amazing specimens of fighters in the chaos below!"

Firecracker chuckled. "And these two are fighting for the thrill of facing down Miguel Fighter Number Three, the sumo yokozuna, Doskoi!"

Once again, the screen lit up to show the mugshot and profile of the fighter in question. A truly immense man appeared on the screen, his intense girth dressed in the traditional sumo attire with a stern look on his chubby face. "Miguel was always a massive fan of sumo wrestling! It was how she and Mr. Satan introduced their young child to the world of martial arts! And Doskoi was a big part of that, no pun intended! After winning the World's Sacred Yokozuna tournament, and having his arm raised in victory, Doskoi noticed Mr. Satan and his family sitting in the crowd! So, as a show of respect to a fellow warrior, Doskoi went out of his way to make Young Videl smile! He took her into the ring and let her have her moment in front of the crowd! Miguel's heart was so touched by this, that she even made it a point to mention Doskoi in her first memoir as a person with a heart of gold!"

In Tournament Ring #4...

The ocean itself rumbled in fear as the blows exchanged between two combatants in Ring #4 rang out. The various other competitors stood to the side in slack-jawed horror as they watched two fighters, a burly man and a petite girl, slug one another with such force that air currents were created.

Bardock and Gine's Super Saiyan power surged as they laid into each other. They both pulled their fists back and each tossed a punch with such force that the resulting shockwave blew all of the other fighters out of the ring. Neither of the Saiyans seemed to notice as all of their competition splashed into the water, instead laying into one another like they were both out to kill.

As they both pressed against one another in a test of strength, Bardock snarled through gritted teeth. "Why are you being so bull-headed about this?! Floors get dirty! Why can't you just accept that and move on?!"

Gine sneered back. "I'm not an idiot, Bardock! I know floors get dirty! That's not the point! The point is you're getting to be an inconsiderate, lazy jackass lately and it's getting on my nerves! If you're going to drag mud into my freshly cleaned house, the least you could do is either sweep it up or do one...JUST ONE...of the chores I've asked you to do! Just one!"

Bardock shouted. "NAME ONE GODDAMNED CHORE I HAVEN'T DONE!"

Gine immediately fired back. "You haven't mowed the yard in months, you never take the trash out anymore, you don't pick up your towel off the floor after a shower, the bathroom floor and the tub are covered in old hair shed off of your tail, and I MADE YOU A TRAY OF YOUR FAVORITE CORN MUFFINS FOUR WEEKS AGO TO PAINT OUR NEW CHICKEN COOP, AND YOU NEVER PAINTED IT!"

Bardock yelped at everything being thrown in his face. "Uh...uhm...th...THOSE CORN MUFFINS TASTED LIKE SHIT!"

Gine's eyes went wide and she gasped. Bardock realized what he said and began to stumble back. "N-Now...now Gine..."

In the water, former competitors spoke up to Bardock. One of them called out. "Hey, man! That was low!"

Another shouted. "You really should be doing more around the house. She's a wife, not a kitchen appliance! You can't just toss all of the work in the house onto her!"

And yet a third called out. "If I had a smokin' bombshell like her for a wife, I'd've painted a dozen chicken coops by now just to make her happy!"

Bardock sneered and glared down at the water. "ALL OF YOU SHUT YOUR DAMNED MOUTHS BEFORE I-"

Gine charged in, clashing with Bardock who was barely able to defend himself. He looked down at Gine, seeing clear hurt in her eyes. But still, Bardock was too pig-headed. Gine spoke in a deadly serious tone. "Paint. Our. Chicken. Coop."

In his mind, Bardock knew he had to apologize. It was too bad that his dumbass mouth was a lot faster than his brain most of the time. "MAKE ME!"

Gine shrieked with fury and lunged onto Bardock, wrapping her hands around his throat and driving him to the ground in a showing of over-the-top anger.

Up in the announcer's stand...

Jimmy Firecracker tugged nervously on his collar. "Good god, it's like an episode of Springer down there..."

He quickly cleared his throat. "Th-Things are, uh, certainly heating up in Ring #4! And those two...spirited...competitors are fighting for the honor of facing our final martial artist! The formidable King Chappa!"

King Chappa's image appeared on the screen, showing the respectful martial artist having aged. His hair had become gray and his face had become wrinkled. Firecracker spoke. "When the villainous hitman, Mercenary Tao, slaughtered the Satan School and evaded authorities...Mr. Satan seemed lost. However, he and his then-girlfriend Miguel refused to give in! They traveled together to the far northeast! And there, they were taken in by King Chappa. The kind king took in both of these poor travelers and helped Mr. Satan to finish his training! And both he and Miguel never forgot this kindness. Despite his age, King Chappa was honored to receive the invitation to this event that would honor the life of someone who he cherished as such a close friend!"

Back with Bulma's group...

Bulma stared at the screen showing Ring #4 with an unimpressed look in her eye. "They're fighting because Bardock refuses to do his chores? Jeez...are all Saiyan men lazy bums?"

Blue Launch puffed out her chest, adopting a look of prideful joy. "My Raditz does all of his chores without complaint! I guess I lucked out, huh~?"

Up in Cash Tower...

Monty Cash was totally blowing off the events taking place on the screens. Instead, he was trying his best to gain Videl's attention. He shook her shoulder. "Hey! Let's watch the matches together!"

Videl was silent. Monty frowned. "Hey!"

She still didn't respond. And so, Monty got petulant. "HEYYYYYYYYYYYY-UH!"

And so, Monty continued to whine and shake Videl. The poor girl simply sat in her chair, curled up in a ball and trying her best to stay indifferent. But, eventually, the annoyance got to her and she snapped. "ENOUGH!"

Monty flinched back in horror. Videl scowled at him. "Just leave me alone! I don't care about stupid martial arts, I don't care about this festival, and I don't care about this dumb tournament! I..."

Videl's eyes welled with tears and she crashed back into the chair, pulling the hood from her jacket over her face and curling into an even tighter ball. "I just want to go home and decorate this Christmas tree with my Mommy and Daddy...but now I can't even do that..."

As Videl began to sob and cry again, Monty rolled his eyes. He wanted her to stop, but he didn't know how to make that happen. She wouldn't listen to him like all of his servants at home would. Monty glanced around the room, looking for some cure to Videl's little attitude problem. And then, with a smirk, and idea popped into his head and he got up and walked out of sight.

Back in Tournament Ring #1...

Yamcha took a deep breath and unleashed another cloud of hot steam from his mouth. And then, moving slowly and deliberately, Yamcha thrust his fist towards Gohan and his attack launched out. With the force of a piston the size of a house, a wave of pressure launched out of Yamcha's fist and shot straight towards Gohan. The boy flinched and, even with his speed, was barely able to dodge as the bullet of compressed force from Yamcha's fist shredded a divot into the ring and went flying into the distance, parting the sea in two as it went shooting out. Gohan gasped. "What was that?!"

Yamcha's body was vibrating, causing small cracks to spiderweb beneath his feet. "I call it...Kaio-Compression! Rather than letting the raw power of the Kaioken go surging out of my body, I compress it into my core and release it in bursts!"

It was clear that the former bandit was straining, but he smirked. "I can't fly. Or even shoot ki blasts in this state. But..."

Once again, Yamcha thrust his fist towards Gohan and released an explosion of force so fast and so mighty that Gohan had no defense. The burst of power hit the boy dead-on the shoulder and blasted away the orange overshirt of his gi. Gohan stumbled back, clearly in pain. He grabbed his arm and, with a harsh yank, he reset his shoulder back into place. Yamcha chuckled. "Sorry, little dude. You don't get involved in a martial arts fight without a little bit of pain!"

Gohan smirked and, to Yamcha's surprise, the boy went Super Saiyan. Gohan spoke. "I was going to save this for my grandpa or Mr. Piccolo. They're both strong enough to warrant that. But, with what you're doing right now, I guess I really do have to try against you!"

Yamcha took a deep breath. "You'll have to do more than just try, Gohan!"

And then, Yamcha lurched forward and fired two bursts of compressed force from the bottom of his feet. He surged forward like a bright red missile and drew his arm to the side back. Yamcha moved with such speed that even Gohan's advanced eyes and heightened senses had trouble keeping up. He turned to see that Yamcha was right on top of him and ate an elbow to the face for his trouble. Gohan went skidding and heard another loud burst. Yamcha was hovering over him again and drew his fist back once more, thrusting it toward Gohan and unleashed another burst of compressed force right into the boy's face. Gohan's head bounced off of the arena and Yamcha went in for another attack. This time, Yamcha used his right foot and unleashed a devastating pressure kick that launched Gohan high above the ring. As Gohan went spiraling, he watched on and saw Yamcha used his left foot to unleashed a burst of pressure to stop his backward momentum.

Gohan thought hard about how he was going to do this. Yamcha was actually hurting him with this new technique. If he wasn't careful, he knew that he might end up losing. Yamcha's feet were flat against the arena and sent out two more Kaio-Compression waves to launch himself into the air. Gohan flinched, thinking that Yamcha was going to be right in his face again, but watched on as Yamcha's upward momentum quickly petered out. Once he reached the apex of his jump, Yamcha fired off another burst of compressed force from his fist to strike at Gohan, but Gohan was able to dodge. The boy watched as Yamcha plummeted back to the arena and landed on his feet. However, the sheer force of Yamcha's landing was enough to make the ring splinter and crack beneath him.

Gohan smirked. "Oh, okay. I know how to beat this now~"

The boy hovered above the arena as Yamcha moved deliberately once more. Gohan recognized the movements he was making. The boy chuckled. "Doing the Wolf Fang Fist, Yamcha? With those pressure waves? That's a bit dangerous. You might hurt me..."

Yamcha smiled. "And I'll make sure to apologize to your father and avoid your mother like the plague the moment I do~"

Gohan and Yamcha both laughed at that. They knew that this would be the make-or-break moment. Keeping all of that power locked within was straining the hell out of his body. But, if this were to hit Gohan dead-on, it would definitely do enough damage to knock the boy unconscious, even if for just a moment. As Yamcha finished his deliberate movements and took that stance of the Wolf Fang Fist, Gohan drew his fist back and prepared to meet the strike with a strike of his own. Yamcha snarled. "EAT THIS! FERAL WOLF FANG FIST!"

Yamcha swiped at the air several times, and then he thrust both hands forward and launched a massive, red, wolf-shaped pressure wave directly at Gohan. Gohan watched as this wolf-shaped pressure wave shot toward him and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes. And then, once the wolf was on top of him, Gohan opened his eyes and his Super Saiyan power quickly shifted to Super Saiyan 2!

Gohan's hair spiked up high and Yamcha flinched in shock. The boy thrust his fist forward and sent a pressure wave of his own that shot into the wolf's mouth and made it burst apart like a balloon. Gohan's attack pierced down towards Yamcha and, although the former bandit was able to block, Gohan's desired reaction was unavoidable. The ring beneath Yamcha crumbled apart and he, alongside the few remaining competitors, were left without solid footing to stand on. All of the normal humans fell into the water and Yamcha, weighed down by the power compressed within, was unable to do anything and crashed into the water as well.

Gohan landed on a piece of floating debris and his Super Saiyan aura faded away as it was announced over the loudspeaker. "THE WINNER OF BRACKET NUMBER ONE: SON JUNIOR!"

Yamcha's head burst from beneath the water, he looked angry and annoyed as he started to tread. Gohan knelt down and smiled at him with a light-hearted chuckle. "That was a cool technique, Yamcha! You're awesome~!"

The former bandit tried to maintain a dour façade, but he couldn't help but smile. "Man. You are exactly like Goku, ya know that?"

Gohan reached his hand down and Yamcha took it, grateful to be helped out of the water. Gohan smiled up at him. "It was a good fight, Yamcha. The best fight that I've had since Cell~"

Yamcha blushed and scratched the back of his head. "W-Well...thanks for that, I guess..."

Back in Tournament Ring #2...

Krillin grunted in frustration as he jumped between the swiping hands and charging fists of his various, lesser opponents. Balancing on top of two of their heads, Krillin kneed his assailants in the face and sent them flying into the water. Krillin shouted up at his real opponent, floating up high. "Come on, Chiaotzu! You know this isn't fair!"

Chiaotzu flinched, but then he shrugged. "Fair hasn't ever won me a damn thing, Krillin! I try my best, but everyone constantly out-does me! I got my brains blown out during the Cell Games without being able to do a thing about it! I'm sick of playing it fair!"

He smiled wide and raised his hands, his glow becoming even brighter. "I'm an esper, Krillin! A powerful esper! And I'm gonna make that everyone else's problem!"

More of Chiaotzu's mind-slaves charged at Krillin, all of them attacking with enhanced strength like none had experienced before. One of the hulking martial artists punched Krillin in the forearm and his entire arm went numb. Krillin gave him a harsh kick to the jaw and sent him flying up at Chiaotzu, who fearfully slid out of the flying martial artist's path. Krillin nodded. "Oh, I see..."

As more and more of the controlled fighters came rushing in, Krillin expertly disposed of each of them, knocking them into the water and keeping his attention focused on his power-crazed friend. Krillin used one of the hulking fighters as a step-stool and leapt into the air towards Chiaotzu. Chiaotzu's eyes glowed and, as Krillin went to deliver a kick, a psychic barrier formed and cut the monk off. As Krillin went falling back towards the ring, he called out. "Hey! Chiaotzu! How many days are there in a year?"

Chiaotzu's smart watch called out. "365. 366 during a leap year."

The little warrior chuckled. "Thanks SIRI~"

Chiaotzu thrust his palm at Krillin and caught him in a psychic hold, slamming him harshly into the ring below. Krillin went rolling and got to his feet, dodging out of the way of a second Freezing Glare. The monk responded by tossing a Destructo-Disc, but Chiaotzu countered by grabbing a cluster of martial artists, surrounding them in a layer of several barriers, and then using them to smash the Destructo-Disc to pieces. Krillin flinched in shock and was unprepared as Chiaotzu suddenly tossed the cluster of martial artists right at him.

Krillin leapt out of the way, allowing the fighters to bounce off of the ring and into the water. He went into the air, but was quickly struck in the back by a Super Dodon Ray. Chiaotzu smirked as Krillin twitched in the air. "Shouldn't turn your back on people, buddy! That's rude!"

Krillin hit the ground on all fours and then turned and shot a Scatter Bullet up into the air. Chiaotzu rolled his eyes, encasing each of the Scatter Bullet blasts in their own little psychic bubble and redirecting them harmlessly into the ocean. Krillin growled in frustration and drew his hands to the side. "Kame! Hame! Haaaaah!"

The beam attack went shooting at Chiaotzu and Chiaotzu dodged out of the way. He charged another Super Dodon Ray onto his finger and turned his attention to back to Krillin's position. "Now, take-"

Chiaotzu flinched, seeing Krillin was no longer in sight. "What the hell?!"

Chiaotzu scanned around and quickly noticed the shining trail of an energy blast. Realizing that the trail lead behind him, Chiaotzu quickly turned but was met with a harsh punch to the cheek. Krillin called out. "Shouldn't turn your back on people, buddy!"

Chiaotzu spiraled to the ground and hit hard, causing a small crater in his wake. Krillin landed after him and went in for another hit. "This is gonna end it, Chiaotzu!"

But, to Krillin's shock, Chiaotzu got back up. A trickle of blood slid down the little warrior's lip. But he still smirked. He thrust his hands at Krillin and shouted. "Disable!"

Krillin was frozen tightly in place. Chiaotzu clenched his hand in front of his chest. He formed a ball of mist, the same as his Psychic Terrain, and thrust it right at Krillin's stomach. "Mist Ball!"

The monk shuddered, feeling all of his senses dull as the mist enveloped over his body. Chiaotzu clenched his fists tight and pressed them together. And then, he shot a beam of light right at Krillin's face. "Luster Purge!"

The light hit Krillin dead-on and sent him flying back. Krillin's senses were all muffled. His motor controls were utterly scrambled. Chiaotzu stood and wiped his face. "Now then..."

Chiaotzu raised his hands high into the air and all ten of his fingertips began to glow. He chuckled and fired off his next attack. "Eat this, Krillin! Prismatic Dodon Ray!"

Krillin watched as a storm of shining, luminous lasers came rushing towards him. He watched as they sliced through the arena, dicing it into pieces. He knew he had to move or he was going to be thrown out, if not worse. Focusing all of his senses that weren't totally numbed into his leg, Krillin aimed his massive, bald head directly at Chiaotzu's chest. And then, he shoved himself forward with his right foot. Chiaotzu wasn't expecting that and, unable to stop firing off the Prismatic Dodon Ray, he took Krillin's massive headbutt directly to the chest. Chiaotzu's attack immediately dispersed and he was sent flying back towards the water. Krillin smirked. "Left yourself wide open..."

Chiaotzu sneered. "That's it!"

Rather than falling into the water, Chiaotzu floated high into the air. His entire body went from glowing bright white to bright blue. "You wanna play, Krillin?! We can play! This is the ultimate move that I've been developing since the Cell Games! My Sorahikari Moyasu! The Light that Burns the Sky!"

Krillin flinched in shock as he felt a massive bubble of ki form above Chiaotzu's head. He grunted. "Man, if I get hit by that it really will be over. Wh-What do I do...? He has that damned watch and it'll answer anything I do to try and confuse his psychic powers..."

Krillin slammed his fists against the floor. "If I'm going to get him, I'd have to distract him with something that watch can't...OH!"

Still a bit numb, Krillin got to his feet and shouted up towards Chiaotzu. "HEY! COME ON, CHIAOTZU! HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT! COME ON, BUD, THROW YOUR SUROKI MOSOMOSOMOSO AND FINISH ME OFF!"

Chiaotzu flinched. "Suroki Mo...? NO! It's called the Sorahikari Moyasu!"

Krillin held his hand to his ear. "The Sugomi Momonosuke?"

Chiaotzu shouted. "The Sorahikari Moyasu!"

Krillin continued acting confused. "Sukuyomi Morinami?"

Chiaotzu was frustrated, clenching his eyes shut and screaming. "SORA! HIKARI! MO! YASU!"

And with that, Krillin had won. Now that Chiaotzu was distracted and frustrated, the monk fried off another attack in his repertoire. Krillin's hands sparked with electricity and he thrust them toward Chiaotzu. "THUNDER SHOCK SURPRISE!"

Twin lightning bolts shot through the air and struck right into Chiaotzu's chest, sending surging volts of electricity going through his entire body. Utterly paralyzed, Chiaotzu had no defense as Krillin drew his arms to the sides and charged his final attack. "Kamehameha!"

The beam shot through the air and crashed into Chiaotzu, knocking him out of the sky and sending him dropping like a stone into the ocean below. The bald monk looked around and saw, to his relief, that all of the other opponents had been launched into the water by Chiaotzu's power-mad rampage. And so, Krillin allowed himself to collapse under his own weight. "Jeez...Chiaotzu...is a lot tougher than he looks..."

The loudspeaker crackled to life and the announcer called out. "THE WINNER OF THE SECOND BRACKET: KRILLIN!"

Back in Tournament Ring #3...

Tien's breathing was calm and controlled as he continued his brawl with Piccolo. The three-eyed warrior knew that he needed to remain calm and focused in order to maintain this continuous output of Kaioken. Piccolo threw a sharp strike that Tien managed to catch and Tien threw a solid strike back that Piccolo managed to block. Tien opened his eyes and saw Piccolo glowering at him. The Namekian spoke. "You keep closing your eyes. Trying to maintain focus, I assume? Trying to keep your body and spirit calm in order to prevent the Kaioken from tearing you apart?"

Piccolo chuckled. "I must say, it's impressive that you're able to keep that up for as long as you have. I suppose that third eye isn't just for show. But the real question is...what level of enlightenment are you at?"

The Namekian kneed Tien in the gut and the human buckled. And then, to add onto it, Piccolo sent Tien flying back with a harsh strike to the jaw. Piccolo lunged to continue the assault, but Tien caught the Namekian mid-charge with a kick to the side of the head. Piccolo cartwheeled and landed on his feet and Tien backflipped to land on his. Not letting up for a second, Tien thrust his finger towards Piccolo. "Dodon Ray!"

Piccolo sneered and easily slapped the bean aside, charging in and keeping the pressure on his foe. Piccolo and Tien continued to brawl back-and-forth. Tien threw a punch, but Piccolo managed to leap over that punch and elbow the warrior in the back of the neck. Tien stumbled forward, but used the momentum that was forced upon him to lunge down and kick Piccolo's feet from under him. Piccolo nearly feel forward, but instead took to the air and charged a blast in each hand. "Scatter Shot!"

Piccolo rained down a storm of ki blasts onto Tien, a plan clearly in mind. Tien scowled. "I won't be letting you catch me in a Hellzone Grenade!"

The Namekian chuckled. "Pah! You think I'm giving you a choice?!"

Tien was taken aback, but then a small sliver of stone flew up and jabbed him in the cheek. Tien looked down and gasped. Rather than simply gathering in place, the Scatter Shots had pierced through the tiles of the ring. Piccolo was hiding them under water!

Piccolo smirked. "Try dodging them when you can't see. I'm sure you can, but it would require that you shift your precious focus from maintaining the Kaioken!"

The Namekian roared. "Hellzone Grenade!"

Tien sneered. He was definitely in trouble here. If all of those attacks that Piccolo fired off were really under this ring, then he had no choice. Tien leapt into the air and formed a diamond shape with his hands. "NEO TRI-BEAM!"

To Piccolo's shock, Tien fired his attack directly at the ring below, blowing it to pieces in an instant and leaving only little chunks of ground left to stand on. Hovering in the air across from Piccolo, Tien smirked. "Well, looks like I've done it now. The next person to lose and exchange between us will be the one to lose!"

Piccolo cackled. "You humans have always been so self-destructive~"

And then he charged right at Tien and gut-checked the three-eyed warrior with a hearty shoulder charge to the midsection. Tien coughed as he felt the true strength of his opponent drive into him. Piccolo grabbed Tien by the belt and heaved him high into the air, firing a Mouth Blast at the warrior that Tien was barely able to dodge. Tien groaned as he thought to himself. 'He's right...I've been neglecting that training for so long...'

Piccolo came flying in and chopped at Tien's neck, but the warrior managed to feint out of the way. Tien kicked Piccolo in the face and then rapidly began to retreat backwards. 'Master Shen helped me to unlock this third eye of mine. Mercenary Tao helped me perfect my control of it. And now...now that they're both disgraced in such a way...'

Tien sneered. "I've let me ego get in the way of improvement..."

Piccolo lunged at him. "Oh, really?!"

The Namekian threw a punch, but Tien caught it. He hammered Piccolo across the face and elbowed him in the back of the head for good measure. But Piccolo didn't let up. He chopped Tien in the throat and sent him flying higher, only to race above him and axe-kick him back towards the water below. Piccolo raced down to hit Tien again, but the warrior activated his Four Witches Technique to block the Namekian's assault. Piccolo rolled his eyes as two hands grabbed his wrists, the other two pointing and charging Dodon Rays to shoot. Piccolo simply twisted and, with all of the force he could muster, slammed his knee into Tien's stomach. Tien was winded and Piccolo followed up with a half-flip that allowed him to kick Tien on top of the head.

Tien's eyes went blank and his grip loosened. He began to fall from the sky and Piccolo sighed. "Worry not. The moment you fall into the water, I'll come and fish you out."

As Piccolo began to crack his neck, Tien's body twitched. Piccolo flinched, and then was surprised by Tien suddenly roared back to life. "KAIOKEN TIMES 60!"

Tien fired back into the air like a rocket and caught the unguarded Piccolo by surprise. The human's fist plowed into Piccolo's face and sent him soaring. Tien activated the Four Witches technique again and summoned an additional set of arms, each of them forming a diamond with their hands. "You were absolutely right, Piccolo! This level of enlightenment is nothing compared to a warrior like you! And I'm sorry to have disregarded you so callously..."

Tien roared. "But, if I am to face the one that slayed Cell, I need to hold on to this secret technique of mine until the moment I lock eyes with him! Please, approach me later and I will fight you at my fullest from the off!"

Piccolo snarled. "Are you trying to say you were toying with me?!"

The Namekian got his bearings and rushed back towards Tien with vicious intent in his eyes. Tien shouted. "Take this! Double Tri-Beam!"

Two Tri-Beams went firing out and the ki attacks both crashed into Piccolo. Tien sighed. "Hopefully that-"

Piccolo came lunging out of the smoke and dug his claws into Tien's extra set of arms. In one, swift motion, the Namekian ripped the extra limbs off of his ally. "How dare you presume you may hold back with the mighty Piccolo?!"

Tien cringed, the pain from his severed limbs too intense to even describe. But he still had his regular set of arms and that's all he needed. Tien smirked and pressed his hands to Piccolo's chest. "Like I said, forgive me. But please, try to understand that I only did so out of a genuine desire to face the boy that you trained to be so strong. I hope that pride in Gohan carries you through this defeat, Piccolo..."

Piccolo flinched. "Defeat?"

Tien chuckled. "And I hope it allows you to forgive a dirty tactic..."

Piccolo gasped. "Wha-"

Tien shouted. "MAGIC MATERIALIZATION!"

And then, in a flash so quick that Piccolo couldn't react, a new cape and turban appeared on his body. And finally, Piccolo dropped from the sky like a stone. The Namekian landed in the water with such an impact that a massive water-spout shot up higher than even Cash Tower. Tien sighed, a bit out of relief and a bit out of shame, and then he landed on a nearby chunk of ring. High above, the loudspeaker cried out. "AND WITH THAT, MA JUNIOR HAS FALLEN INTO THE WATER! THE WINNER OF THE THIRD BRACKET: TIEN SHINHAN!"

Moments later, Piccolo emerged from the water with a furious look in his eyes. The new cape and turban had been shredded away and Piccolo climbed onto the rubble to face Tien. He growled. "You...you used my own technique to..."

Tien nodded. "I magically materialized a cape and a turban for you. It just so happens that I used most of my remaining energy to make them both weigh...oh...five-hundred tons..."

The three-eyed warrior chuckled. "Like I said, I'm sorry. I just...I really want to test something knew I've discovered in the past few months on the strongest opponent I can find. I'm not sure how to describe what I've found...I just know it only lasts about thirty seconds and using it tends to exhaust me rather quickly..."

Piccolo narrowed his eyes. Tien nervously chuckled. "Come on, man. Don't look at me like that..."

Piccolo stood and summoned a new cape and turban, using Magic Materialization to fix his entire damaged oufit. "I will be watching, Tien Shinhan. You had better not disappoint me..."

As Piccolo flew off, Tien nodded. "Trust me, my friend. I'm trying just as hard not to disappoint myself..."

Back in Tournament Ring #4...

Gine grabbed Bardock by the shoulder strap of his armor and slammed him hard against the ground. She leapt atop him and grabbed him by the sides of the head, slamming Bardock's skull against the floor harder and harder, leaving a massive crater in the shape of the back of his head. Bardock snarled and grabbed Gine by the hair, slamming her into the ground and then unleashing a miniature kiai for good measure. Bardock stood and Gine did as well, groaning and rubbing the back of her head. "Ow! You pulled my hair! Do I look like Bulma to you?!"

Bardock sneered. "Says the woman who was choking me out! Do I look like Bulma to you?!

Gine sneered and charged hard into Bardock, slamming her shoulder into his gut and taking him briefly off of his feet. Bardock responded to that by grabbing Gine's qipao and clotheslining her to the ground. Bardock laughed out loud in triumph, but Gine quickly responded by wrapping her tail around his ankle and yanking his foot out from under him. The two of them leapt to their feet again and charged once more, clashing and getting into a massive brawl with one another.

Bardock was able to smoothly dodge past several of Gine's strikes. But Gine, knowing her husband, was able to just as easily dodge Bardock's attacks. They continued their brawl until, using his superior size, Bardock was able to overtake his wife and trap her into a headlock. Bardock rolled his eyes. "I don't get it, Gine! You never cared about pointless crap like this back on Planet Vegeta! Why start now?!"

Gine wheezed, trapped tight in Bardock's grip. "Y-You know...I think...I might be Bulma...cuz...I'm starting to like this~"

Bardock flinched back, his eyes going wide, his voice going quite high-pitched, and his grip loosening. "WHAT?!"

Gine smirked and reached up, grabbing Bardock by the knot on his headband and slamming him face-first into the ground. She leapt back and chuckled. "Hah! Gotcha~!"

Gine charged forward as Bardock was getting up and delivered a harsh knee to the chest, sending him sliding backward. She shouted. "Why shouldn't I care about stuff like that, Bardock?! Think about it! We're free! We beat Frieza! We all made it to Earth! And we even beat the new tribulation that life threw our way! We're finally...FINALLY free to just live our lives without fear! Why shouldn't I care about painting our chicken coop?!"

Gine rushed at her husband again and they clashed in the center of the ring. Finally, she looked up at her husband. "And, I know it's a hassle and all...I just thought maybe you'd want to experience such leisurely stuff with me, ya know?"

Bardock flinched back, his face blushing bright red. After a moment, the older Saiyan shoved his wife back and sighed. "F-Fine. Look...I'm hardheaded. We both know that. I'm not trying to say that your feelings and your wants don't matter. It's just..."

Gine planted her fists into her hips. "Just...?"

Bardock shouted. "I'm stupid! Okay?! I'm stupid and I don't think about this crap! I just wanna wake up, eat, shit, and sleep! That's my takeaway from us finding this peaceful life! But...I guess I do need to think about you and your wants more often..."

The older Saiyan bowed his head and kicked at the ground. "Look...I'm sorry and..."

He looked up at his expectant wife and sighed. Bardock let his Super Saiyan power disperse and walked up to her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. "...I'm sorry and I love you. And I wish you had a better, smarter husband..."

Gine pressed her cheek against Bardock's chest. Bardock looked down and saw a content, loving smile on her face. She looked up at him and giggled. "I couldn't ask for a better husband. I just want you to know that..."

As Gine's Super Saiyan form dispersed, Bardock smiled as well. "You know...getting to fight you is pretty nice every so often. I know that you ain't fond of it...but you're really good at it when you're motivated~"

Gine smiled wide. And then, she sprang up and gave her husband a fleeting, but passionate, kiss on the lips. She landed back on the arena floor and nodded. "Well, that's all I really wanted out of this. Have fun in the next fight, my love~"

Bardock flinched, cocking his head. "You're just giving up?"

Gine nodded. "Yeah! I don't give a single S-H-I-T about any of this~ I just wanted you to apologize. I look forward to painting the chicken coop together tomorrow~"

Bardock was taken aback. "R-Right..."

And then, without a bit of hesitation, Gine did a running leap into the ocean and did the backstroke to head back to the main shore. Bardock groaned, scratching the back of his head. "Why do I feel like I just lost this entire tournament...?"

The speaker cried out. "AND FINALLY, THE WINNER OF THE FOURTH BRACKET: BARDOCK!"

Bardock walked to the edge of the ring, where a boat was waiting to pick him and the other former contestants up and sail them back to shore. As Bardock walked up the ramp, one of the crewmen on the boat was peering into the distance through his binoculars. "Man...that's one crazy bitch..."

Bardock adopted an angry expression. "Hey! That's my wife you're talking about, ya know!"

The crewman turned and saw how tall, muscular, and angry-looking Bardock was. Freaked out, he quickly corrected himself. "C-Crazy sexy, I meant!"

Bardock cocked his head. "What was that?!"

Properly terrified, the crewman leapt over the side of the boat and began to swim back to shore himself. Bardock sighed, scratching the back of his head as he walked deeper into the ship. "I can already tell this is going to be a long day. I just know it is..."

Up in the announcer stand...

Jimmy Firecracker shouted into the microphone. "And that's it, ladies and gentlemen! Without further ado, we now have our four qualifying finalists! Son Junior! Krillin! Tien Shinhan! And Bardock! These four...admittedly familiar looking spectators will all soon be whisked away to the sight of their most challenging fights to date!"

The presenter motioned to a massive clock that was counting down behind him. "Set your watches, ladies and gents! In just one hour, the real action will begin!"

In a lower floor of Cash Tower...

Mr. Satan stared in shock at the images of all four fighters that would be vying to have an exhibition against him. Unlike Jimmy Firecracker, Mark was well-aware of who these four were. They were all at the Cell Games! He looked from face-to-face. He went from Krillin to Tien and then locked onto Bardock. "That's the guy that Cell..."

And then, from Bardock to Gohan. "And that boy is..."

Mr. Satan began to hyperventilate. X.S. Cash chuckled. "Strong competition, eh, Marky m'boy? But you are the World Champion...so you should be able to beat them, right? Beat them and win your prize~?"

Mr. Satan nodded, his voice hollow. "O-Of course, Mr. Cash...sir..."

Cash laughed. "Very good! Then why don't we get some lunch and relax for a bit~"

Mr. Satan nodded. "O-Of course, Mr. Cash...sir..."

The hulking martial artist was the first to walk out of the room, with the billionaire following behind. X.S. Cash stared at Mr. Satan's back, a gentle smile on his face. But, in his mind, Cash's thoughts told a much different story. 'It's a shame that this lunch is going to give you food poisoning, you dolt. I guess I'll get to keep hold of Miguel and all of her profits for the foreseeable future. Such a shame~"

Back with Bulma's group...

As the various, rabid tourists rampaged from store-to-store, buying out all of the Miguel merchandise they could get their hands on, the various losers of the preliminaries joined up with Bulma's group for a peaceful, afternoon lunch. Yamcha groaned as he stretched his back and shoulders, but then he bent over in his chair and pressed his cheek to Suno's stomach. It only took a moment for the baby within to sense Yamcha's presence and respond with a kick. Yamcha chuckled. "That's my girl~"

Bulma flinched. "Aww~ It's a girl? You didn't tell us that Suno!"

Suno looked a bit annoyed. "That's because we were trying to save it as a Christmas surprise. Right, Yamcha?"

Yamcha flinched, his face turning red. "O-Oh...oops. Sorry, Suno..."

She sighed, sipping her drink. "It's fine. Maybe now that people know, we can ask for some help thinking up a name."

Chi-Chi glanced over at Suno. "Having trouble thinking of a good one, dear?"

Suno sighed and shrugged. "A bit. Just...just a bit, yeah."

As the women began to gossip, Chiaotzu sighed. "Dammit. I didn't even get to shoot off my move that I spent so long working out. I spent hours on that name too..."

He shrugged. "Oh well, it's probably better that I didn't set Krillin's soul on fire anyway..."

Yamcha flinched. "S-Set his...that was a joke, right? Ch-Chiaotzu...?"

Piccolo, meanwhile, was indifferent. The Namekian sat in his seat, drinking from a bottle of mineral water. As he sat and calmly drank, Baby Goten, Baby Chika, Baby Trunks, and Baby Ranch all crawled all over him like a jungle gym. Piccolo glared over at the chattering women. "You all had better start teaching your damned kids how to behave. I'm getting annoyed."

But, to Piccolo's chagrin, he was utterly ignored. Baby Ranch climbed on top of Piccolo's head and sat with an indifferent, almost cold look in her eye. Gine, taking a break from her gelatto, chuckled at the sight of it. "Don't worry, Piccolo, I appreciate you being such a good uncle~"

Android 16 nodded. "As do I."

The Android's wrist rang and his pulled on his hand, revealing a digital watch imbedded beneath his alloy skin. Very matter-of-factly he called out. "Bulma. It is time to take your pregnancy supplements."

Bulma sighed. "Right, right. Okay."

Piccolo rolled his eyes and grumbled. "I would give anything to be waiting for a battle right now..."

On the transport ship, waiting for the next round...

The four fighters sat on the deck of their transport ship, waiting to be taken to the locations of their next fights. Gohan was to be taken to a deserted theme park stage for his bout with Spike the Devilman. Krillin was to be taken to the flower gardens to slug it out with Pamput. Tien would be facing Doskoi in an arid, desert area. And finally, Bardock would be facing down King Chappa in a lakeside resort.

The four warriors patiently waited. Gohan, Krillin, and Bardock sat around and played cards together, enjoying a light lunch provided by the staff on the ship. Tien sat off to the side in a deep meditation. He knew that, no matter what, whomever he faced after Doskoi would be a true challenge and he wanted to be ready.

Soon enough, an hour passed and the four fighters were loaded onto separate, smaller boats. And they were all quickly ferried off to the sights of their next battles.

In the deserted theme park...

Gohan looked around as he walked into the abandoned theme park stage. He mumbled to himself. "Did they just build a theme park to never be used, or did the guy in charge of all of this just buy out an island resort..."

The boy glanced all around. "I wonder where my opponent is. His name was Spike the Devilman, so I wonder if he's trying to be sneaky...?"

Gohan called out. "Hey! Spike! It's Son Go...Son Junior, here! I'm ready to fight if you are!"

It was quiet. Too quiet. Disturbingly quiet for what was meant to be a fight with a supposed devil. And, like that, Gohan was suddenly quite uneasy. "What the heck is going on here...?"

"Ugh..."

Gohan turned and gasped in shock at what he saw. Spike the Devilman limped out from between two stalls, blood pouring from various wounds and injuries. Gohan's eyes went wide. "What happened?! Are you okay?!"

The Devilman groaned. "Boy. You must run. You cannot stop-"

A pillar of light shot from behind the stall and enveloped Spike. It quickly exploded with a massive bang and, once the smoke cleared, Spike was nowhere to be seen. The assailant, with a chuckle, leapt atop one of the nearby stalls and glared down. He was a shorter, blue-skinned being with a red jacket and purple turban wrapped around his bulbous head. "My, my...you are fast for a foundling~"

Gohan stood with a furious glare in his eye, the still living Spike the Devilman safely resting on his shoulder. Gohan scowled. "I don't know who you are, but you stink of evil. I won't let you continue this carnage!"

In the flower garden...

Krillin was frozen in sickened horror at the sight of Pamput's headless corpse lying on the cobblestones, his blood oozing into the flower beds and dying the pure white roses a grizzly red. Krillin shook his head. "This is sick. This is something Frieza would do..."

"Oh, we are so much worse than Frieza~"

Krillin turned. "Who-"

His jaw dropped. Sitting on a flowery arch, holding up Pamput's severed head like a trophy, was a beautiful young woman with bright orange hair and utterly hateful eyes. She shook around Pamput's former dome by the afro and spoke in a cool, collected voice. "Pretty people are always so arrogant. They think they have the world gripped so tightly in their pathetic little fists..."

She tossed Pamput's head aside and then calmly hovered right into Krillin's face. "But, you're ugly. So, as a result, I imagine you must realize how outclassed you are~"

In the desert area...

Tien's eyes were cold and furious as he stared at Doskoi's still twitching corpse, impaled over a massive rock. The poor sumo's death was not nearly as easy as it appeared, however. His eyes were wide and frozen with shock and horror and his thick, girthy neck was wringed so thin that his head threatened to break away from the rest of his body. Tien spoke. "You throttled this poor guy and then impaled him anyway. Either you had something to prove, or you're just another piece of scum that thrives on such needless brutality. Which is it?"

Tien turned as a bright, yellow boot stomped into the hot sand. And arid wind blew and the man's orange mohawk fluttered in the wind. His blue skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat, but he gave Tien a wicked grin. "Master Bojack demanded a spectacle. I simply provide."

He crossed his arms smugly. "I cannot believe I am stuck with you, a punk that struggled against a mere Namekian..."

Tien narrowed his eyes. "Master Bojack, eh? So... you're just a lackey in all of this..."

The blue-skinned man cackled. "I am Bido. And you are doomed to suffer a prolonged death."

In the lakeside resort...

Bardock knelt down into the fountain in the center of the courtyard. He gently placed his hand onto the face of his opponent, King Chappa. The aged martial artist was floating in the water, his body beaten, battered, and nearly shredded apart. He had a massive whole in his gut and his limbs were all twisted in various unnatural ways. Bardock spoke in a stern voice, tinged with anger. "Yo, old man. You still alive? I need you to tell me who did this..."

King Chappa coughed and his eyes cracked opened. He spoke in a weak voice. "Well, I'll be...Son Goku. I guess...those punks won't have the last laugh after all..."

And then, with a cough, the last of the life left King Chappa's body and he became still. Bardock's ear twitched at the sound of approaching footsteps. A deep, feminine voice spoke. "Finally. I was worried that loser old-timer would be our only source of fun..."

A raspy male voice spoke. "Nah. That bitch wasn't one of the high powers we read on the ship."

A high-pitched female voice spoke. "Good. I wanna kill someone challenging before we slaughter this planet."

And finally, an authoritative male voice spoke above the rest. "Will the three of you shut up? I did not bring you along so that you could prattle. Besides, you're making our new playmate uncomfortable. Look at how tight his shoulders are~"

Bardock closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "So, do you four jackasses feel proud. You all worked together and somehow, by the grace of whatever god you believe in, you managed to beat an old man to death. You gonna sleep well tonight?"

The raspy voice chuckled. "Listen to this guy! Having the nerve to talk about gods to us!"

The high-pitched feminine voice cackled. "If only you knew how ineffective the gods really were~"

As Bardock stood up straight, the authoritative voice spoke again. "Let us not get distracted from the point. You feel strong and I am so bored. So, get ready punk. You are about to die at the hands of the great Gokua!"

Bardock was silent for a moment. "...I...am not calling you that. You can be called...Kogu...that'll work..."

The older Saiyan turned to face the group of thugs. The four of them were all blue-skinned with orange hair. The tallest one, a female, was quite muscular. Her ears were pierced in multiple places and her ample chest was covered only by a tightly bound shawl. She had full lips, twisted into a sinister smirk, with a face full of freckles. The second tallest one, though only by a couple of inches, had his hair styled into a high mohawk. He also had a massive set of mutton chop sideburns on his cheeks. The shortest, a young girl wore an overshirt with a cleavage window and a faux-sidehawk.

And finally, the one in the center wore a purple bandana across his forehead and an ornate sword on his hip. He had a scowl. "You will not call me Kogu! My name is Gokua and you will...will..."

The taller female spoke. "Master Gokua, is something the matter?"

Gokua blew her off, his eyes going wide and his face contorting into a scowl of pure rage as he glared at Bardock. "You! You son of a bitch! You piece of shit! You followed us all the way to this little blue mudball?! How dare you?! YOU BASTARD!"

Bardock cocked his head. "Do I... know you?"

On the invaders' ship, floating out at sea...

The massive space cruiser of these invading demons bobbed in the waters of the ocean a few meters off the coast of Gyosan Mane Island. The hatch to the ship opened and out stepped a single individual. This blue-skinned man was dressed in the garb of a shaman, a massive lizard-like skull sat atop his head like a hat. Two long ponytails of faded, orange hair came twisting from the eyeholes of the skull and weaved into the man's moustache. He grumbled to himself. "Those damned kids running off and causing a ruckus before we've officially begun. Damn their youthful vigor..."

Another voice, deep and booming, quickly spoke up. "Don't give yourself chest pains over such a minor slight, Iryokago, let them stretch their legs after such a long recovery..."

The shaman flinched and turned, staring in shock at what he saw. "M-Master Bojack! What are you doing out of bed, sir?! You're still in recovery! You must rest!"

The deep, booming voice chuckled. Its source stood on the bow of the ship. It was a mountain of a man. He looked as if his perfect body were sculpted from the finest marble in all of existence. His mane of bright orange hair cascaded down his back, against his dark green jacket. The man chuckled. "Oh please, Iryokago, only my face is left in a state of needing to recover..."

He pressed his hand to the bandages wrapping his face, cackling like a madman as the pristine, white wrapping quickly began to stain crimson. The short shaman snarled. "That was the worst wound of all, you fool! You must be more careful, or you shall never attain your revenge against that man!"

The mountain of a man chuckled. "Perhaps you are right. But, then again..."

Suddenly, the sinister, hulking brute shouted at the top of his lungs. "HEAR ME, MEN! YOU MUST MAKE HASTE! YOUR COMMANDERS ALL ALREADY BEGUN TO WREAK HAVOC ON THIS PLANET AND YOU MUST NOW JOIN THEM! KILL AND MAIM AND SLAUGHTER IN MY NAME! IN THE NAME OF YOUR MASTER: BOJACK!"

Dozens of compartments on the hull of the ship popped open and, like a swarm of locusts, hundreds of blue-skinned, orange haired thugs began to pour out. They all swirled through the air and then went rocketing directly towards Gyosan Mane Island. Watching as his men flew out, Bojack let loose a demented chuckle. "It all begins here, Iryokago! Soon, I will be fully recovered and then I will get my vengeance! The universe shall yet belong to Bojack! And no Saiyan filth will stand in my way!"