Disclaimer, in case it wasn't obvious. I don't own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or really any other property. Thank you.
The Long Road
Chapter 22: The Draw
Videl:
It was him.
Suddenly everything else seemed pointless, even winning the tournament, so long as she could beat him. A terrible fear almost overwhelmed her when she saw him again. Seeing him had almost been too much for her. Everything that had happened over the last five years had almost overwhelmed her. The nightmares, her fears, her anger and resentment, but most of all her determination. Slowly, it'd changed focus over the years to be the strongest in the world, rather then strong enough to stop the monster who had attacked her. Sometimes it felt like those two things were one and the same, but they weren't. Today, she'd wanted to prove she was the strongest in the world when she first got there.
Now all Videl wanted was to prove she was stronger then that Saiyan.
But it took her several seconds to realize there was a choking noise behind her. Turning her head, Videl saw Pan standing there, tears forming in her eyes as she tried to not cry. She must have been afraid of what just happened. Suddenly Videl was thrown around once again, her emotions shifting to her daughter.
"Pan, everything's going to be fine, alright hon? There's no need to cry."
Kneeling down in front of the child, Videl wrapped her arms around her a second later, just breathing in. She forgot about Pan all the time. Then she'd lost her, today of all days. The panic she felt when she couldn't find Pan was almost overwhelming. But the worst part was, she barely even noticed Pan's existence as soon as she saw her attacker. Even when she got her behind her, she didn't matter anymore to her. All that had mattered was confronting the beast which had used her. Guilt slowly started to edge into her mind as she frowned, holding onto the little girl.
"Why did you have to scare him away?" Pan asked sadly. "He-"
"He's a very bad man, Pan. He hurt me a long time ago, and he'll keep hurting people until someone stops him," Videl told her. "So I'm going to try and stop him today. I don't want you to be scared, or worried, okay? Everything is going to be fine."
Today was going to be the day she faced her fears, the day she faced her past. Inside the tournament wasn't just some title, or prize for her to win. Inside of there was a vindication for all the time she spent training, for refocusing her life, and for perhaps some of the mistakes she made along the way. The mistakes along the way, like the problems she'd created with her friends by asking too much from them, the dissolution of her relationship with her father, and maybe even the time she'd had to spend away from Pan. All of the pain would be worth something. The only way to do this though, was to conquer her fear, and prove all the strength she'd gathered was worth it.
Finally letting go of her daughter, Videl looked at her seriously, bringing up the most sincere thing she'd ever told her daughter.
"Just remember that I love you. No matter what happens when you see me out there today, remember that. After this is all over, after I win, I promise I'll make up all the time I've missed for you Pan."
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Gohan:
"I'm sorry about Trunks, he's really great once you get to know him," Goku said sincerely, walking over to Gohan.
The younger male looked towards Goku, trying to keep all the confusion internalized. Not one flinch of emotion could give away the disaster he just stumbled across. This was not a happy time by any means. It was just him, Goku, and Piccolo now, standing in the waiting area for their registrations to finish going through. After that, they would have the preliminary rounds of the tournament to see who would be among the chosen 16 to enter the tournament.
He was too wrapped up in everything to even try and follow who the competition would be. Right now it was all about options. What were his options? The one he liked the most was ignoring he ever met that child, or the woman who bore it. It would be simple enough after the tournament as well, given the fact that the mother clearly despised him. It wasn't something he wholly understood, he certainly had a good time when they first met. Was the child the issue, or was it something else? Either way, the look she gave him was one he'd seen a million times. That was the look of someone determined to get themselves killed trying to harm him.
It was almost three minutes before he realized Goku was still staring at him, looking increasingly concerned. It was almost impossible to even realize he was being talked to.
"What?" Gohan asked, not looking at Goku directly.
"I was just trying to say that you shouldn't be so hard on yourself over the whole Trunks thing," his biological father said, looking at him sincerely. "Are you alright?"
No.
"I'm fine," Gohan answered after several moments.
"Well... okay, if you say so," Goku responded to him, a smile appearing across his lips. "Boy, I'm excited, it's been so long since I was last in a tournament of all places. This is going to be great! I hope my first round is against someone tough, like you Piccolo, or maybe Vegeta!"
Already some of this had seemed like a chore for him. The truth was that he was beginning to find something ugly behind fighting. The thrill was gone from it, it was hollow. When Gohan fought, it brought back memories of where he was not too long ago. Still, he was already registered now, so there was no turning his back on the competition.
"Some of these other fighters look pretty tough too. Hey Piccolo, what do you think of those two? They look almost kinda weird don't they?"
Finally paying attention, if only to keep his mind off what a disaster he'd allowed himself to be steered into, Gohan saw two strangely coloured men there, one with red skin and the other with purple. Those were not human no matter how you sliced it. They must have been aliens, but he couldn't determine of what kind, as he'd never seen ones like this before. They gave him an uncomfortable feeling just looking at them.
"I'm not sure about those two at all. They seem to be hiding a great deal of power somewhere. It makes me uncomfortable," Piccolo admitted. "There is something different about them."
"Different or not, they'll go down in the first round," Gohan said bluntly, sounding disinterested. "They should just be pleased these fights don't go to the death. I've got some stress to burn off."
It didn't matter to him right now if the comment made Goku uncomfortable, because his thoughts could only stay on the new competition for so long. Quickly his thoughts trailed back to the tailed little girl he'd met earlier, and anxiety quickly followed the thoughts. There was no way he could be a father to a child, at all. Something tugged on something in his chest though when he thought of how alone the little girl seemed, or how she was immediately drawn to his tail. Unconsciously his own unfurled from his waist and began to nervously move about. For that girl's entire life he'd not even known her, and he lived oblivious to her existence. Now, only a short while from meeting her, knowing he would be a terrible parent, and knowing he really had no claim to the girl, he felt several emotions he couldn't understand.
But one of them was certainly the most logical one. Which was to say he did not want to be a father. It was angering that he was placed in an awkward position like this. Even if he never assumed the role, there would always be the reality of the child he met today. Sadly, Gohan lived with much worse things on his conscience then a little girl living on a relatively peaceful world. At the very least she had more then he did by her age as well.
Looking up and ahead, Gohan felt himself slowly stepping back from everything, it was like admitting that all of this was just... a dream. No matter how it felt, everything had to be kept from Goku and Chi-Chi. After all the disrespect and dishonour he'd foist on them, they didn't need yet more of it.
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Future Trunks:
The horrors from his own time had seemingly followed him here. Trunks could still remember how brutally his mentor and friend had been slaughtered in front of him by the beast which now sat near Piccolo and Goku. There had never even been a moment where he considered that Goku's lost son had been the monster who killed millions of people in the blink of an eye.
It was impossible to reconcile for him. Goku was the most honourable man he'd ever known, and everything his mother and Tien had described him to be. A stalwart defender of the Earth, and a truly good man with an incredible resolve. What he saw in the battle scarred Saiyan was someone who still visited his nightmares. The Androids were cruel and evil as well, but not in the way he'd found him to be. What he had done was truly merciless and horrific. There had been stories of Android 18 at least sparring people from time to time if they placated or amused her. Gohan, as it were, was just some beast who killed, and wouldn't stop killing until everything was dead. Worse, he tortured and mutilated anyone who put up any kind of resistance. When he saw him seer off Tien's hands and feet, for no other reason then 'teaching him his place', it was... it was too much for Trunks. Before seeing him, Trunks thought he knew what true evil looked like, it looked like the Androids. But that perception wasn't entire true. It was the mysterious Saiyan that showed him the full evil people could commit, and the perverse motivations behind it.
"I hope you've improved a great deal boy, because if you hope to defeat Gohan in battle at the tournament, you'll need every bit of power you can marshal," his father remarked, noting the look he was giving to the warriors' across the way.
There were still the preliminary rounds to go through, but they all already knew who would largely make it to the actual event, that much was painfully obvious. Even still, his father, someone who'd been training for years since the defeat of Cell, was concerned that he wouldn't be able to overtake Gohan? In his own time, in five years when he first became a Super Saiyan, he did manage to defeat Gohan. Right now his own power had to eclipse that by many fold. Being the only real warrior on the planet left, Trunks had trained, and trained hard.
"How strong is Gohan?" Trunks asked. "In my own time he wasn't as strong as me as a Super Saiyan, and I've ascended past that point."
Looking over at him, his father smiled. It wasn't hard to see the idea of a true challenge in his face.
"Kakarot and Gohan are among the strongest beings alive at this point. Of the two of them, I am unsure which will be the greater challenge. I hope to conquer both of them in this tournament. However, if you've trained enough boy, perhaps it'll be you who is the greatest challenge in the battles to come," Vegeta said, his voice rife with anticipation. "I hope to fight Kakarot first. He's evaded a rematch with him for far, far too long. Constantly hiding behind his quests, or threats to the Earth. No, Kakarot will finally be all mine in that ring, and I will prove to be the superior. Then after that, I will crush the eldest brat of his as well."
Well, his father certainly sounded inspired. Just listening to him made Trunks feel anticipation for the tournament.
Moments later, they began reading off numbers for the preliminaries.
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Goku:
"Krillin! 18! Over here!" Goku shouted, a grin appearing across his face.
It wasn't a surprise to see them at all of course, because Goku had detected Krillin not far out from the tournament. Still, it was good to see him here at the registered fighters area. A brief moment of pride swelled in his chest as he realized that Krillin was going to meet his son. To his left, Gohan was still sitting while they awaited the announcement of who would face who.
But walking into closer view was the very short, and black haired Krillin, along with his beautiful tall blond haired wife, and android, 18. Right now Goku of course was guessing their daughter Maron was with someone either at home, or in the soon to be crowd. Still, it'd been months since he'd last seen them, so this was going to be great!
"Goku! Oh man, it's great to see you! Uhm... Vegeta and Piccolo aren't around are they?" Krillin asked, looking worried as always.
It was still amusing how nervous Krillin always was around the much more... severe... friends that they kept in their little circle of warriors.
"Of course, Vegeta and Piccolo are taking part even!"
"Great," Krillin deadpanned in response. "I also could have sworn I felt Trunks's power level bouncing around here."
"Got it in one," Goku grinned. "Trunks came back to visit for a while. Though I wish he and Gohan got along a bit better. Apparently Gohan was that Saiyan he told us about... the one that killed Tien in his time."
The words left Goku awkwardly and with a hollow edge to them. Any news he'd ever had to report to Krillin about his estranged son always seemed to be bad. It was... embarrassing for him to come here and tell his best friend that a monster Trunks told them was coming in the future turned out to be his son. When he first met Gohan, he hadn't even thought about him being this Saiyan that Trunks ran into because it was almost ten years too early for that to happen. Now all the pieces seemed to fit together.
Still, that was this Gohan.
"Oh... I'm really sorry to hear that Goku," Krillin admitted sadly. "I mean... of course it didn't happen in this world, Gohan can't be held responsible for that, but I definitely feel for you. But look on the bright side, Trunks said 18 was going to be a killing machine in our world and it didn't happen, right?"
"If we don't find something more interesting to talk about, I may have to prove you wrong," 18 said, delivering the empty threat in such a way as to make her husband's back straighten up immediately.
Still, Krillin's words had their desired effect as always. It was very obvious he was trying to keep spirits up, and looking on the bright side. It was something they both used to do a lot more, and Goku needed a refresher. On the bright side, he wasn't fighting with Gohan finally.
"Hey! That's right, you've never met Gohan in person! I've gotta warn you though, he takes a bit of getting used to," Goku said, his full grin returning.
"Uhm, I'm not so sure that's a great-" before Krillin could finish his sentence, alone with 18, Goku in his excitement grabbed them by the arm, instantly teleporting across the open area to where Gohan and Piccolo were.
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Gohan:
Hopefully the preliminaries could get started. He was number 57, and was set to fight someone named "Mighty Mask", given it was a human, this would be excessively short.
"Alright, number 31, and number 32, please approach the ring."
It was easy enough to ignore the irrelevant fights that were happening in the rings around him. Most of them were either between grossly more powerful fighters fighting weaker fighters, or between two pathetically weak combatants. It was hardly distracting him from his real problems.
"What happened?" Piccolo finally asked, looking over at him. "And I don't mean Trunks, because I know you'd be annoyed, but not like this."
Damned observant Namek.
"Don't worry about it," Gohan responded quickly. "It'll sort itself out... probably."
In a blur next to him, Goku and two adults... well an adult and a half, appeared. The midget looked vastly more annoying then anyone he'd ever seen before. The black haired man hadn't even said anything and Gohan could already tell. Of course, the blond was more then acceptable to look at, but right now he really wasn't interested in human women. In fact, he was incredibly repulsed given the land mind he'd just tripped over.
"-idea," the midget said, before blinking, realizing where he was.
"Goku," Gohan sighed. "I think they are going to call your number up shortly. What's with the midget and the female?"
The look on his father's face told him these people were somehow important. How they were important Gohan couldn't begin to fathom of course, given the woman had 0 power level, and the midget seemed to be vastly beneath him.
"Thanks for the heads up Gohan. Oh! By the way, this is my friend Krillin and his wife 18. Krillin and I have been friends... geeze, since I was a little boy," Goku said, a smile still plastered on his face.
"Well, you've gotten a lot bigger since the last time we met. I mean wow, you're huge!" Krillin said with a grin. "It's good to meet you again though."
Great, another person from the blank spot of memories in his mind.
"Hm," Gohan responded dispassionately. "Pray you aren't my first opponent then, midget. I wouldn't want to spoil your apparently good memories of me."
The words had their immediately desired impact. The little man went pale, looking up at Gohan and stepped back. To Gohan this was a more then acceptable response of course, given he didn't want to talk to Goku's weird friends right now.
"Number 37 and 38! That would be Son Goku and Charno Grass!"
"Neat! It's my turn!" Goku announced, running towards his respective ring.
Sitting quietly to himself, Gohan just let his head fall back again, resting against the wall. Quietly he descended back into his own thoughts, dwelling on his own troubles. Despairing over what to do, Gohan couldn't even keep track of the matches, until his number was called.
"Number 57, Son Gohan, and number 58, Borgo Malice!"
Hearing his number called up, Gohan climbed to his feet, immediately and methodically walking to the preliminaries ring. These matches were pointless unless he fought against someone who understood ki, and not in a pathetic way either. Short of fighting Vegeta or Goku, he wasn't really concerned at all to be honest.
When he entered the ring, Gohan looked across at a bearded man, his features were repulsive to say the least. When this giant of a man grinned at him, crooked teeth did so as well. Swinging his two huge arms about, the barrel chested male prepared for the fight.
"Hah! Another one of you little men, coming to fight the great Borgo? I will crush you, and everyone, until I get to the Champion Mister Satan," the bald, tanned male chuckled.
Immediately Gohan realized that irrelevance of such a battle, and that he'd be faced with two more. The rules of this wretched tournament stated he couldn't kill this idiot. But apparently by human standards he was very strong. Anyone whose tickets came up next, he wanted to be afraid of him, so much so that they'd just forfeit. It meant making an example out of this hulking idiot. Gohan's brain was already in the process of calculating how best to achieve this aim. The primary objective was to make it difficult for him to immediately surrender, this meant aiming his first attack towards the jaw. Following that, breaking both of the giant's legs should be enough to scare off his next few human adversaries.
The unimpressed look on Gohan's face certainly seemed to inspire his foe.
"What's wrong, huh? Never fought a real man before?!"
Images of thousands of would be saviours he'd killed with much less effort came to the fore of his mind. How many people had arrogantly strode across his path like this, and paid a much worse price then he was about to charge this buffoon? Now wasn't the time to think about this.
"This is going to hurt," Gohan offered as a response, his voice uncaring and disinterested.
When the fool grinned again, flexing his muscles.
"You are right! I am going to-"
Without allowing him to continue the sentence, Gohan moved in, easily passing through all of the man's defences and reach. Slamming his elbow into the huge man's jaw, there was a horrible crack that could be heard, as two broken teeth came free from his mouth. A pained noise escaped Borgo's gaping mouth before he dropped to the ground. Before he could gesture the need to surrender, Gohan had already grabbed his left leg, pulling it up and twisting it. The sound of bones breaking followed as all the onlooking fighters began to pale. The agonized screams of his opponent, gargled by blood and a broken jaw, lead Gohan to believe his opponent had surrendered. With one arm, he grabbed the primitive human fighter, and tossed him from the ring.
"The next one of you had better be able to deal with that. I don't like to waste time with gloating idiots," Gohan informed the crowd, walking towards the edge of the ring. Officials who watched ticked Gohan's name for his preliminary round, but looked shocked at what had just occurred.
They would be shocked by what the other fighters would unleash as well.
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Piccolo:
The preliminary rounds had been as laughable as they were over twenty years ago. Defeating weaker human opponents wasn't an issue at all. Fortunately, Vegeta, Goku, Gohan, and the others had managed to avoid one another in these pointless rounds. Which meant of course now it was time to see who was going to be squaring off against who. Right now he stood next to Goku, the two intent on appraising everyone who made it to the actual tournament itself.
Mister Satan, as the previous champion, would be there, but he was hardly a worthy foe.
"Five fighters, barring the ones we know of, are going to be interesting challenges," Piccolo remarked, looking over the assembly of warriors.
The two of them stood in the middle of the arena, the crowds already filling the stands.
Two pairs, and one girl made up the three groups of 'unknowns' Piccolo was curious and even concerned about. The two bald headed 'human' warriors with a strange M on their heads were definitely a cause for concern. As of right now the Namek couldn't detect much power from them, but for human warriors they clearly carried enough energy to give away that they could harness it. Next was the two strange coloured strangers. The big one certainly appeared to be the weaker of the two, at least at initial appraisal, while he seemed to take orders from the smaller of the two fighters.
But the other fighter of any note, a ki user, was a girl. Firstly, as of right now he was sure Krillin would easily dominate her in any fight, but she was oddly familiar. Narrowing his eyes, Piccolo then remembered all too well of the 'events' which he snooped in on when Gohan had first arrived on the planet. That was what was making the younger Saiyan so uncomfortable. Given that the entire time she'd been there, she was glaring blood covered daggers towards his Saiyan protege, Piccolo had little doubt that was at least playing a role.
Sensitive ears began trying to pick up anything else he may have missed, until he noticed two familiar voices.
"Yea I know," Goku responded, his tone eager. "I'm so pumped for this! Shoot, it's been so long since we've had a tournament, especially one with newcomers! I'm willing to bet the toughest one is the little guy with the mohawk!"
Goku wasn't wrong of course. But that wasn't Piccolo's chief concern.
Mercenary Tao, and the Crane Master were in the crowd. That was hardly the biggest concern, given they were utterly unimportant in any fighting capacity. But the words which they were saying captured Piccolo's attention much more then anything Goku could say right now.
"Goku will be easily defeated by our new student. She greatly exceeds the abilities he displayed at the World Martial Arts Tournament," Tao remarked. "With any luck, she will face down Tien first, and show him the true power of the school he betrayed."
"Yes, this will be a delight to watch," the Crane Master responded.
But then a new voice cut in.
"My mom's going to win," the voice of a little girl rang out, right next to them.
"Your insight is not required, child, new be silent. If we have to hear you prattle on this entire match you'll live to regret it."
Piccolo's eyes immediately shifted to the crowd to see Shen, and Tao, sitting on either side of a young girl, who now looked depressed as she sat back in her chair. It was hard to make out, but he could see far enough to make out her features. Clearly the little girl playing with her tail was this woman's daughter-
Shocked eyes immediately noticed, of course, that she was playing with her tail. That was Gohan's. This was highly, highly awkward to stumble across. Did Gohan know? Should Gohan know? A disaster was already unfolding behind his eyes at the potential of how bad this situation could quickly come, especially given the glare of the mother towards Gohan.
"What's wrong, Piccolo?" Goku asked.
Now of course, there was the problem of Goku. There was absolutely no way this could be shared with Goku either, as that would drag this entire situation even closer to Hell. It was an even greater tragedy, as his friend had no idea that he had a grand daughter sitting in the stands watching him and not even knowing it.
"Alright then! Let's begin the draw for the contestants in the 26th World Martial Arts Tournament!"
Piccolo turned to look at Goku, trying to even determine what lie he could come up with that would appease him. Behind him stood Gohan, staring back towards the woman who was the mother of his children.
"It's nothing, we should pay attention to the draw," Piccolo offered.
"Oh, okay. This is going to be great! Hey Gohan? I hope we get to have the first round, shoot that'd be great."
"I want Vegeta's brat," Gohan responded quickly and bluntly, his eyes turning towards the time traveller, who stood at Vegeta's side.
Trunks was another constant who held a deadly glare towards Gohan. Well, it looked like scores were going to be settled today if this drew the wrong numbers.
"Gohan, the female fighter here, have you spoken with her?" Piccolo sent telepathically.
"Don't pry, it's none of your business," Gohan responded sharply.
So he had spoken with her, that much was clear.
"There is a little girl in the crowd being left with two killers, she has a tail and is-"
"I know about the girl too," Gohan informed him, his mental voice tight. "I'll take care of it. It is not your business."
Well, that certainly put things into perspective.
"Alright, it would appear Mister Satan has drawn number 15, drawn on his behalf by we the staff. So, next we'll have... Krillin make the first draw!"
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Gohan:
The midget walked away from the podium looking offset with his number 1. Pointless human warriors went next, taking up the next few draws. Then Vegeta's son went, Trunks Briefs. The entire time he plunged his hand in the draw holder, he didn't break eye contact with him. Drawing number 9, Gohan watched the other Saiyan walk towards him, holding it in his hand, just staring at him.
"If I draw number 10, I'll get a chance to beat some respect into you," Gohan informed him, crossing his arms.
All the violence he'd been suppressing for all this time slowly drained back into him. Fighting wasn't fun, it wasn't enjoyable, but it was necessary. Right now however, the animal he kept caged in his mind rattled its cage. The idea of making Trunks suffer was extremely desirable, especially given he could see the same animal intent behind his counterpart's eyes.
"When I draw number 10," Gohan said, unfolding his arms. "I'll enjoy beating you to death in front of that wretch of a father of yours."
Without even thinking further, Gohan acquired a large amount of spit and snot and the back of his throat, before spitting it at Trunks feet, before looking back at up.
"Gohan! Trunks!" Goku immediately cut in. "This needs to stop! Both of you, calm down."
Once again, Goku was cutting into a situation that he didn't belong in. This wasn't between the older Saiyan and Trunks, this was between him and Trunks. Gohan immediately turned his head to Goku, his eyes saying enough.
"Mind your own business, old man," Gohan shot back.
"If you draw number 10," Trunks then said, looking at Gohan intensely. "I'll beat you just like I did in my time. You're every bit of the beast I remember."
Before Gohan could get another word in, the announcer shouted again.
"And it looks like the next fighter to draw is Son Gohan!"
Walking towards the staff, but first shoving past Trunks as he did, Gohan stopped in front of them. Plunging his hand in the box, he pulled up the green ball. A smile graced his lips as he caught a glimpse of the number. Maybe there was something finally going his way today. In his hand was the number both he and the purple haired fool desired. It was the number 10, a number which now held a much greater meaning to him. Fighting was not his passion. This fight however, would be an exception. It was his chance to punish someone who actually deserved it. Vegeta's brat wanted to see the monster he saw all those years ago.
Gohan intended to prove him wrong. He was much worse then the monster he faced.
Flipping the ball around and pointing it towards Trunks and the others, Gohan let his smile darken. Without another word, he crushed the ball in his hand, before tossing it aside.
Now he just had to wait through four fights to get his chance.
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Videl:
The animosity between her own target, and the purple haired warrior seemed utterly inescapable. Every warrior here was drawn to it. That didn't change a thing however, whether this 'Son Gohan' won, or Trunks Briefs, she was going to come out on top. She'd given up far too much to be outdone by anyone here.
Walking towards the box next, Videl shoved her hand inside, looking up at the crowd. Unlike previous contestants, she got more of a cheer. After all, she was the daughter of the 'great' Mister Satan. It saddened her so many people had been duped. There was nothing great about her father or his lies, and today, here, she would prove that. Quietly she prayed she would draw number 16 and put her father's legend to rest. After that, she wanted to advance to the semi-finals and face down the nightmare which haunted her.
She knew she could beat him, but it'd be the toughest fight of his life. If she couldn't beat him, then all of her training, all of her preparation, had been for nothing. Pulling her hand back from the box tightly, holding the ball in hand, she awaited her fate as she turned her hand to look at it.
Number 8.
Fate had denied her one of the two outcomes she'd wanted. Her father, or the strange alien would be her adversary. It didn't matter, because she knew it'd be this Son Gohan. Turning her head, she looked towards the hulking, muscle bound monster who was placed as number 7. Big muscles didn't mean powerful, or smart, or even capable. The only thing was, he appeared almost unnatural.
For some reason, his name seemed to unsettle her.
Spopovich.
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The Tournament:
Round 1:
Krillin vs. Jewel
Round 2:
Piccolo vs. "Shin"
Round 3:
Tien Shinhan vs. Pintar
Round 4:
Videl Satan vs. Spopovich
Round 5:
Son Gohan vs. Trunks Briefs
Round 6:
Goku vs. Kibito
Round 7:
Vegeta vs. Killa
Round 8:
18 vs. Mister Satan
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Author's Notes:
I've got Chapter 23 written, but I won't be posting it until I have Chapter 24 done. I've been busy with other stuff lately, I've not got much written at all.
I still love my stories, but updates may be a bit slower. I do apologize of course. But life is hectic, everyone knows that. :)
Next Chapter was really fun to write. So I hope you all enjoyed this one, and the following!
Reviewers:
Wild-Dog84: I can't promise that Hercule will be humiliated by anyone. But I can't promise anything as to what will come. I want peoples to be surprised :P
Heseltine: I hope that these characters don't all lose their minds. Lol
AlphaShennron: Tien was killed before Trunks went back in time. Brutally murdered by Gohan who blew up several cities before he ran into Tien and Trunks. The Androids didn't notice as they didn't detect the power levels. All they know is there were less playgrounds for no good reason. And Trunks has some of Tien's techniques :)
dbzfan the first: I'd be surprised if that happened. O.o
Dr. Blue 22: Wait no longer! :D
Mangahero18: Yea, that was exciting to write :)
YoungIV: I loved writing that exchange.
UlimtiateBlackAce: That's sadly the case because of how much of a mess Videl's life is. Pan has hardly had a stable upbringing. Videl's FAR from a good parent, and neither is Gohan. I feel bad for Pan to be honest. :(
Reven228: I'm trying to stay golden. Thanks :P
Deflow: Of course she doesn't, but how could she?
Guest1: No one said Bulma always said the right things.
Eveline: Thanks for the well wishes Eveline. I hope that Gohan can grow enough as a character to develop something meaningful with his daughter, but we'll see.
: They'd be pretty understandable upset once the circumstances of her birth were discovered.
Redhunter87: Gohan couldn't detect energy signals when he first met Videl, so no, he didn't recognize her energy.
Trunks barely defeated Future Gohan. He was about a stronger as Frieza at the time, and Trunks was slightly weaker then Namekian Super Saiyan Goku. We'll be getting flashbacks from Trunks hopefully in Chapter 24 that reveal a lot of how this all went down. :)
Tien lived fighting the Androids. Trunks still went into the HBTC. He warned everyone about Gohan, stating that Gohan would arrive around the time Trunks was 15. But he didn't know the Saiyan's name was Gohan, they never exchange names in the future.
Daughter of Vegeta: I got that feeling too while writing it XD
maesde: Pairings are up! :)
The Void Fox: We'll be getting some flashbacks for Trunks for his confrontation with Gohan. I expect Chapter 24, or Chapter 25, to be rather immense.
Perfect Carnage: I'm glad you hold derision for Gohan's wife and daughter XD
xDevil-Childx: I know :(
xxxpossessedforlifexxx: Just for that, Videl is gonna totally beat up Gohan ;)
C'mon man, you gotta trust me.
Gohan: I'm glad you think so :)
san: Nah, that'd be teh suck. Don't worry, this Saga is going to be epic, I promise. :)
Guest2: Oh you know, Gohan getting his arm blown into meaty chunks, Gohan as a child being impaled by a metal spike. Having Raditz rip side of his head open. Having him get his burns popped by Turles. The themes of the story aren't mature either. I should definitely have rated this thing for everyone. That would totally make sense. Only the story is dark and at time morbid, and when it is grim, it's pretty bloody grim.
Assweetlilpixie: Sorry to keep you waiting :(
MasenkoX: I do feel special! Thank you very much! I enjoyed your praise good sir!
Darknessrising11: Thanks so much! :)
ShadowLDrago: Right now she would be about as strong as King Piccolo or Goku were during the WMAT years ago to be honest.
Treeger: When you see things from Trunks perspective, you'll understand why he was such a dick to Gohan :(
Dbzhorsegirl: The number of reviewers I have to tell this to, disturbs me. I, as the author, firstly have stated Gohan raped Videl in multiple A/N, and in the story.
Intimidating someone into having sex with you, is non-consensual by definition. Videl was under extreme duress when she gave consent. I'm glad you are enjoying the story, but just because someone doesn't grab a woman, force her down, and have sex with her, doesn't mean they can't rape someone. Was what Gohan did as bad as the previous example? Probably not. But did he rape Videl, and really deny her consent by intimidating her? You damn right he did.
But thank you for the review :D
po: That was random. And we'll have to see where the story takes things.
Euroteres: I'm glad you think so! :)