Dragon Ball Gine

by Exists In Theory

AU: What if Goku's mother went to Earth with him when he was a baby? How will one decision at the very beginning of the story ripple throughout the DBZ universe's timeline?

26. CHAPTER 25: OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

Back at it again with the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. How will the Quarter and Semi-finals play out? Let's see!

Based on MasakoX's What If series "What if Gine went with Goku to Earth?", but a retcon with some changes of my own on how I think the story would have went down had Goku's mother escaped planet Vegeta with him.

DISCLAIMER: The following is a fan-based work of fiction. Dragonball Minus, Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball Super, and Dragonball GT are all owned by FUNimation, Toei Animation, and Akira Toriyama.

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Also, read and review!

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CHAPTER 25: OF TEACHER'S AND STUDENTS

"You've all done superbly!" Roshi congratulated. They had all gathered in the vendor area one last time before the quarter-finals begin.

"Well if anyone deserves praise, it's Chi-chi here." Yamcha gave the warrior princess a friendly back slap. "She beat Mercenary Tao and showed what she was really made of!"

Roshi gasped in disbelief, "What?! I thought you two destroyed him!"

"Apparently he survived the explosion and turned himself into a cyborg. And the only reason he joined the tournament was to kill me and Kakarot. Then take out his anger on Tien and Chiaotzu." Chi-chi spat angrily.

Kakarot placed an arm around her. "But Chi-chi herself put a stop to him!"

"Yeah! She was incredible, even after Tao pulled out a knife and a bazooka she managed to put him in his place." Krillin added. Gine stood there silently smiling as the group regaled Chi-chi's fight to Master Roshi, Gohan, and the gang. Tien stayed silent and Ox-King was understandably horrified that his daughter would get hurt in such a gruesome way. But Chi-chi reassured him that she was fine.

"I'm so proud of you, sweetheart." He choked out in relief, nearly crushing her in a bear hug.

"As am I, dear." Gohan congratulated. "You single-handedly defeated an armed opponent who didn't play by the rules, and did so with such courage! That's the mark of a great warrior I tell you."

Bulma and Launch couldn't be more ecstatic for their friend. "You go, girl!"

"Yeah! Wish I was there to shoot that creep full of holes myself for what he tried to do you!"

Chi-chi waved her hand nonchalantly at the praise. "Oh, please. It was just a scratch."

Kakarot looked at her and shook his head, "A scratch? He tried to cut you in half and you still kicked his butt! That's somethin' to be proud of."

"Oh, stop." Chi-chi smiled meekly. She pulled herself closer to Kakarot and looked up at with dreamy eyes. "You took such good care of me after what that monster did. Treated my injuries and protecting me. You're my real hero, Kakarot."

Chi-chi's gushy appraisal made Kakarot blush a shade of red that Gine had never seen him do. The girl had definitely fallen head over heels for him.

"Still..." Roshi frowned behind his dark shades in thought. "If Mercenary Tao had come back for revenge, then it's definitely possible his brother Crane might be here somewhere to do the same."

Gine's mood darkened at that.

"We haven't seen him anywhere yet, and I pray that cretin won't show his face if he knows what's good for him." Declared Chi-chi.

"So do I." Tien said quietly.

"I doubt he will, after how Chi-chi manhandled Tao I'm sure Crane would be too scared to come within a hundred miles of us!" Krillin touted confidently.

"Even so, be on your guard. Shen may be a coward but he is not one to forget a grudge, he'll jump at any opportunity to get back at those who wronged him." Warned Roshi.

"Understood." Gine said with a resolute tone that garnered glances from everyone.

Gohan smiled at them all, lightening the atmosphere. "Looks like the tournament will be smooth sailing for all of you now, since its just the rest of you against each other. Make the most of it and put on a show out there that the crowd will never forget." He said, winking at Gine.

"Oh, we will! I can't wait to show how much stronger we all gotten." Kakarot clenched his fist in excitement.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the fight with you guys." Said Chiaotzu from beside Puar and Oolong.

Tien reassured him for them all. "It's alright, Chiaotzu. We had no idea what that guy Hero was gonna do."

"Yeah, and I gotta fight him in the forth round. So it'll be interesting to see what he's truly capable of." Said Yamcha.

Roshi looked concerned. "I don't think I've ever come across a fellow named 'Hero' before. But I suggest you be careful. Based on what Chiaotzu told me, things are not what they seem to be with that strange man."

"Right." They all agreed. A bell rang over the PA system.

"THE MATCHES ARE ABOUT TO BEGIN. AT THIS TIME, ALL PARTICIPANTS ARE REQUESTED TO GATHER AT THE MAIN STADIUM."

The sound of eager cheering came from over the wall.

"Finally, it's time!" Exclaimed Yamcha.

Roshi turned to them one more time, "Good luck to all of you. We'll be watching! I can't wait to see how much you've all improved. But don't push yourselves too hard. Know when to cut back."

"Okay!" They all agreed, Gine doubly so.

"GOOD LUCK!" Bulma and the others cheered on as they walked back to the common area.

---

The fine suited, blonde-haired referee stepped out onto the white tiled ring.

He held up his microphone, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience. The wait is over! We will now begin the Twenty-Third World Martial Arts Tournament!"

The crowd broke into a orchestra of cheering and applause. Gine peeked out from behind the common area wall, the rest of the gang did their warm up stretches around her.

She felt a familiar swelling sensation in her chest, that of building anxiety. Before, she felt she had it under control due to the crowds of people she had to deal with at the preliminaries was just seventy-two strangers. Out there, it was hundreds, maybe even a thousand people. All of them about to watch her and her every action, word, and move. Never before had she seen so many eyes on her at once, and never had the prospect of failing or doing something incredible in front of Earthlings felt so frightening. Not even in front of Frieza's men did she fell such pressure to perform certain feats under such scrutiny...

"Your cheers validate the excitement surrounding us today. Yet this is only a part of the incredible journey the fighters have endured to compete in this tournament. The preliminary round began with seventy-two skilled participants, which were reduced down to eight. Those few fighters that remained are truly the mightiest group of athletes in the world! And they are here today to entertain you, the loyal fans! Who will win the first match? Let's find out!"

More cheers erupted, the restlessness of the crowd could be felt. Like an angry mob being held back by floodgates, ready to be unleashed.

Calm down, they can't hurt you. She tells herself in order to take her mind off of the her impending turn to fight in the ring. In doing so, she focused on finding Roshi, Gohan, Bulma, and the others among the sea of faces. Soon she saw Ox-King's unmistakably giant form, along with the rest of the gang with him. They had luckily found a spot near the arena rim.

Gine looked back to the common area and the opening to the building's inside. Past everyone doing their warm ups or socializing, she could see the elderly man named Hero, who just sat there quietly...

"Our first match will be the burly beast fighter Red Mask, versus the ferocious female warrior Chi-chi, who may now enter the ring!"

The stout fellow that was Chi-chi's opponent came out of the common area and wordlessly walked past Gine onto the ring. His long and greasy hair jutted out from under his crimson mask, and he was strangely making an effort to not make eye contact with anyone.

Soon, the Ox-King's daughter also came out of the common area with Kakarot by her side, giving him one more peck on the cheek before leaving for the battleground. He waved after her, "Good luck, babe!"

Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien gave their best wishes too as Chi-chi ran past them.

Gine nodded to her, "Good luck, Chi-chi."

The young girl smiled back warmly and made her way down the steps to the ring.

Gine looked back to Kakarot for a moment, who was starring longingly after Chi-chi.

Babe? Gine repeated that term she heard him say. As in piglets like Oolong? It was a strange pet name for Earthlings to use, and it raised a lot of confusing questions for her.

She shook those thoughts away and turned her attention back to the ring.

"Red Mask has squashed his opponents into submission during the preliminaries and it seems like he would have no trouble at all against opponents much smaller than him, like the lovely lady Chi-chi here. But don't be fooled folks, this fiery miss has disarmed and disabled a kill-crazy cyborg that went rogue during the qualifying matches, all by herself no less. So this young woman is definitely not someone who should be taken lightly!"

"GO GET'EM, SWEETIE!" Ox-king's voice boomed from the bleachers.

The two fighters squared up against each other. Chi-chi gave a respective bow, then crouched into her defensive mantis form. Red Mask grunted and crouched down into his own fighting stance. A sloppy sumo stance, readying to pounce.

"Okay, ready? Let the match begin!"

The sound of a gong rang out to officially begin the tournament, and Chi-chi sprung at Red Mask with a yell and flying kick.

"HYA!"

With surprising quickness Red Mask sidestepped and grabbed Chi-chi's ankle, swung her around and threw Chi-chi aside.

She was thoroughly stunned by the fat man's speed, but Chi-chi recovered her wits and landed on her feet to launch herself back at her opponent with an angry scream. She went on the offensive with swooping kicks and a lightning fast flurry of crane strikes to get past Red Mask's defense. But the fat man didn't falter as quickly as Chi-chi hoped, for he deflected every blow with matching speed, albeit barely. He parried every punch and ducked every kick reflexively, as if he could read her movements.

"GRRR!" Chi-chi growled in frustration. She was taken aback at how this man was keeping up with her, and it made her angrier. But she didn't let up her attack. In fact her anger fueled it, allowing her to press her offensive and keep him on the backfoot, out of a hope to wear the man down.

"Oh, wow! Look at them go, folks. The ferocious lady warrior Chi-chi is definitely giving her all against the immovable Red Mask. He's barely holding his own, but he's not giving her an inch! And she doesn't look happy!" Reported the referee.

"COME ON! FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!" She shouted angrily, making some people reel at her furious words. It rattled the man though, as if he was insulted. But he couldn't do anything to retaliate under her barrage of strikes and kicks.

Gine watched the fight with curiosity, trying to make out what kind of fighter this man was. With how heavyset he was, she initially surmised that he was the wrestling type that ought to have been an easy opponent for Chi-chi to outwit, given how his sheer mass was undersold by his short height. But his surprising reaction times seemed to throw Chi-chi off a bit, and it reminded Gine of her first fight with Mr. Popo all those years ago. She thought to herself how the saying of "assuming" went again.

But Chi-chi pressed her relentless onslaught, not letting Red Mask have a chance to counterattack or escape. Her battle cries and jabbing strikes through the air like daggers seemed to be shaking him, looking terrified at how angry this woman was and how his defense was slowly breaking under her fury.

"SAY YOUR PRAYERS, BUM!" She taunted, her smile growing wicked at knowing she was winning.

"Chi-chi makes for a lovely warrior." Yamcha remarked from beside Gine and Krillin, all eyes glued to the fight.

"Not with that mouth though." Gine retorted.

One of Chi-chi's jabs broke through Red Mask's blocks to hit him in the shoulder, then another to his side. He groaned for a split second, allowing an opening for Chi-chi.

"GOTCHYA!" She shouted. Channeling her ki through her open palms, Chi-chi slammed them both into Red Mask's gut and let out a scream accompanied by a powerful shock wave of energy that blasted the fat man across the ring like a cannonball, slamming him against the arena rim and landing face first in the grass surrounding the platform.

The audience gawked at the sight of the fat man laying there, all of them processing how the young girl simply yelled and threw a man multiple times her weight several yards through the air. Even the referee was stupefied, but gathered himself up to report the results.

"Uh, folks, I'm just as confused as you are. For it seemed like Chi-chi just yelled, and sent Red Mask out of bounds. But... regardless, he is out! The victor of the first round of this tournament is Chi-chi!"

Everyone rose and cheered.

"Alright Chi-chi!" Kakarot and the others cheered from behind Gine. She simply smiled, she knew the girl could do it.

Chi-chi stepped down from the ring to help Red Mask up.

"Are you okay, mister? I'm sorry if I hurt you." She said out of genuine concern, her mean-spirited taunting long forgotten.

Red Mask waved her off indignantly. "I'm fine, thanks!"

There was something in his inflict that sounded familiar to Gine. Chi-chi recognized that voice too.

"Hey, wait a minute..." She said thoughtfully. "I know you!"

Before the man known as Red Mask could squeal in alarm at his mistake, Chi-chi grabbed the back end of the mask and ripped it off his head. She and the rest of the gang gasped slightly.

"Yajirobe?! What are you doing here?" Chi-chi asked incredulously.

The referee looked down at the unmasked opponent and to Chi-chi, perplexed. "You know him, miss?"

Yajirobe shrank back stuttering, looked around, and took off as fast as his short legs would carry him. He ran past Gine, Kakarot, and the rest of the gang even as they called out for him to stop or explain why he was there. But he didn't stop, and just ran out of the arena and disappeared into the crowd. The gang looked at where he ran off to, speechless.

"Well... that was weird." Was what the referee said. It was all anyone could say.

Remembering himself, the referee resumed his duties with the microphone.

"Well, anyway, it's now time to turn our attention to the second match which should be rather exciting, folks! Because it's the return of the very finalists from the last tournament: Defending champion Tien Shinhan versus runner up, Son Kakarot!"

From behind the curtain of the common area, Gine felt the crowd erupt into excited cheers. They remembered the spectacle of last time, and were eager to see it again.

Chi-chi made her way back up to the common area and embraced Kakarot.

"You did well, Chi-chi." He praised.

"Oh please, that was nothing. Just wait until you actually get to fight me yourself to see what I'm really capable of!" She teased.

Kakarot chuckled. "I guess so. Well, if I win this next round I'll find for sure!"

"Don't be so certain, Kakarot." Tien said slyly as he cracked his knuckles. "We still need to do our own rematch first! And I've gotten much stronger since last time, so don't get your hopes too high if you wish to face Chi-chi in the semi-finals."

Kakarot eyed him with a competitive smile. "You're right, Tien. So... what say we don't waste any more time and get right on out there?"

Tien grinned excitedly. "Way ahead of you, Kakarot. Let's go!"

"Without further ado, let's introduce our combatants!"

Tien Shinhan and Kakarot started their way down to the ring.

"Kakarot?" Chi-chi called out, he looked back.

"Have a good fight! And make sure you win, because I want that rematch with you too!" She cheered.

Kakarot laughed and gave a thumbs up.

"Good luck, son." Gine gave as they walked past her.

Krillin came up beside Gine, watching his friends square up against each other. "At least they won't try to kill each other again." He joked.

"Hn." Gine simply acknowledged.

"Tien has changed a lot, he won't fight like the brute he used to be." Yamcha reassured. "But I heard he has developed some new techniques he wants to try out specifically for a rematch with Kakarot."

"Really?" Gine perked an eyebrow. Knowing that Kakarot was leagues above Tien now than the equals they were before, what tricks did Tien have in mind in order to try and take him on?

Even if Kakarot was untouchable, some part of her motherly instinct told her to not entirely disregard what the tri-cloptic human had to pose a threat to her son.

"Well, this should be interesting."

"I know! I can't wait to see Kakarot in action!" Krillin exclaimed.

The referee stood between Tien and Kakarot.

"These two fighters here had put on the most legendary battle for the championship in this tournament's history last time. A brutal duel that nearly destroyed the grounds of this place and gave a new meaning to the word stamina! Now they are back once again for round two so to speak! Tien Shinhan was the victor by a very narrow margin, and both of these men have endured three years of training since then. So expect three times the strength, three times the danger, and three times the excitement! Get ready for some serious fireworks folks! Will Tien be able to hold on to his title as champion? Or will Son Kakarot usurp him? Either way, we are in for another clash of these two titans that you don't want to miss, because there's no telling what may happen!"

Already the audience was hyped, now they were frothing for the action. The vendor grounds were nearly empty from everyone gathering to witness the rematch between the two fighters. This meant the stadium bleachers were overflowing, and it made the people more agitated to see the fight.

"I assume this is going to be intense?" Asked Kakarot.

"Of course." Answered Tien with a smile.

They both eyed each other, nodded, then crouched into their respective fighting stances.

"Tien's looking pretty serious." Krillin noted. Yamcha turned to Gine.

"Is Kakarot really as strong as you guys said? That you both trained to live in place with ten times the gravity of Earth?"

Before Gine could answer, Chi-chi spoke up from between them. "He's tremendously strong. No one can beat him! Just you wait!" She said with pure conviction.

Gine felt relieved she didn't have to explain that tidbit about their training, and let the declaration of Chi-chi's unyielding faith in her beloved Kakarot stand. They looked back to the ring.

As the fighters waited for the referee's signal, Tien spoke with some slight regret in his tone. "I've been looking forward to this. To be honest, I really didn't feel like I won last time."

"Oh, well, I'm flattered, Tien. But I think you won fair and square last time. You fought honorably and got back up before I did. And at least now we can fight again without anyone trying to kill us." Replied Kakarot.

"Heh. Fair enough. Then let's get ready!" Tien declared.

Drums were beating on the side of the ring, followed by the gong.

"And now, let the match begin!"

Immediately, both Kakarot and Tien sprang at each other. They clashed in the middle with Tien visibly winching form the pain, but the shock was suppressed as he went on the offensive with his Crane strikes to Kakarot's chakra points. Kakarot swiftly dodged side to side as Tien kept up his attack.

He then leapt straight up into the air with Tien following.

"It looks like this fight has taken to the air!"

Everyone watched in awe as both fighters flew hundreds of feet into the sky. Gine felt a sense of de ja vu to the last tournament seeing them fight high up, but no underlying fear accompanied it. She felt far more at ease than she did then, knowing that Tien was their friend. This was a fight of sportsmanship now.

"HYA!" Tien fired a golden ki blast at Kakarot, while her son balled up his fists to spike the blast back at Tien. The student of Crane saw this and brushed his deflected attack away.

Tien grunted to exert more flying ki and caught up with Kakarot in midair still climbing in altitude, and both fighters resumed exchanging punches.

"Oh wow! Using astounding force, Tien has caught up to Kakarot and now the two are trading blows in midair!"

They reached the apogee of their leap into the air, several hundred feet high still trading blows, then letting gravity take them back down. They twisted and fell and punched, neither gaining the upper hand. At the last moment they split off their clash before hitting the ground. Both landed on their feet and sprang back at each other, only to stun the audience again by phasing out.

"In a strange twist, both opponents have gone invisible. But we can still hear their eerie sounds of combat!

Gine followed their moves easily, both Tien and Kakarot trading blows at superspeed. But she knew Kakarot was holding back for Tien's sake. He could probably kill him with one blow, but he wanted to have fun.

"What? where?... They're moving so fast my ears can't keep up!" Krillin stuttered.

Suddenly Kakarot and Tien appeared in the ring center, clutching each others hands in a reverse tug of war. Both men strained, but Kakarot was calm and not exerting himself while Tien was struggling with all his might.

"Whoa! Tien Shinhan and Kakarot are at each other's throats!"

Gunshots rang out from the sidelines that nearly made Gine's heartrate jump. But she saw it was just blonde Launch, shooting in the air and terrifying the surrounding spectators. "Come one! Tien Shinhan! Take him down! Hurry!"

Kakarot smiled the way he did when he had an idea. Easing off of the pushing he let Tien fall forward. Using the momentum, Kakarot rolled onto his back still clutching Tien's hands and kicked him in the gut to send Tien flying into the air. Kakarot then sprang back up to his feet.

Tien recovered his wits, realizing what's happening and phased out. He appeared by the side of the ring with a flying charge to Kakarot, her son turned to see him coming and jumped over Tien's attack. But Tien anticipated this and leapt back behind Kakarot before he could land. He had him now, behind his back and vulnerable, Tien swung his arm through his head... only for Kakarot's form to vanish. Tien was stunned, his opponent had already seen his surprise attack? He looked around...

"About time you found me. Did you get lost?" Kakarot's voice sounded from behind Tien.

Tien turned and struggled to catch his breath, but he smiled at the joke. A far cry from the bitter opponent he used to be. Kakarot smiled his happy-go-lucky grin.

"It doesn't get any more exciting that this, folks! Kakarot and Tien Shinhan standing toe-to-toe in intense combat. The way it looks now, this match could go either way. Let's hope they don't disappear again!"

"Wow." Said Krillin. "Despite all that running around, Kakarot doesn't look winded at all and Tien looks like he just ran a marathon."

"He must've learned to control his energy, conserving just enough to stay one step ahead of Tien." Added Yamcha.

Or a thousand steps ahead if he really wanted to, Gine thought. Her son was holding back just enough to make it appear as a challenge. They haven't told them that Kakarot's power has multiplied by seventy-five times since last time they saw him. Still, her Earthling friends were quite perceptive.

Kakarot this time charged at Tien, trading blows matching Tien's speed and strength as a test and as a means to not accidentally kill him. But Kakarot slowly let out more power, hitting Tien in his weak points and even breaking through his defense with a head butt to send Tien into the wall separating the ring and the common area.

Tien struggled to get up, "I never knew your hard head could be so painful." He grunted from the headache. Everyone chuckled at the little pun.

"The best weapons are those your opponent least expects. Get ready!" Said Kakarot as he leapt towards Tien, but the three-eyed martial artist was already expecting an attack and phased out before Kakarot could land his punch.

Tien appeared behind Kakarot, but the saiyan ducked to grab both Tien's ankles to lift him up, only for Tien to twist his body around to fling Kakarot away, and Kakarot bounced back for Tien's counterattack, but he jumped up to land on Tien's bald head with a hand stand and peace fingers. Tien, feeling undignified, flung him off again. Then the two traded places in behind-the-back full-nelsons and choking. The sight was hilarious, but Gine wondered how long Kakarot was going to play this game before he actually used his strength to win?

But Tien was tenacious, always trying to trade places with the chokeholds and fight back. Kakarot was enjoying this, but was holding back. It felt like a predator playing with his food.

"It appears this fight will be decided by who has the strongest will to win!"

They both held each other in chokeholds, their ki leaking out as they each tried to overpower the other. Until finally, Tien let out a powerful scream that broke him free and sent him jumping back in a bright and colorful release of energy. Kakarot stood where was, unfazed by the blast.

Tien seemed flustered that Kakarot didn't look like he had broken a sweat while he himself was struggling to breathe, but Tien smiled. "Well done. I'm amazed at your level of skill. You were already near perfection three years ago. Now... even that word seems inadequate to describe your talents."

Kakarot smiled back. "Thanks! But you should really save that praise for yourself. You're powerful for a human!"

Tien accepted that. "Thank you, Kakarot. But seriously, there's one skill I've improved upon that even you can't keep up with."

"Hm? What's that?" Kakarot asked.

"It so happens to be the most important tool in any successful attack. The skill of SPEED!"

Tien leapt into the air again. Kakarot, unsure of what Tien had in mind, decided to follow after him.

"There they go again." Chi-chi piped.

"Once again, Kakarot and Tien Shinhan take their battle to the skies!"

Kakarot stopped his ascent and floated above the clouds, several thousand feet in the air. No one in the crowd could see them more than as dots zipping around. But Gine could see.

Kakarot looked around the billowing white clouds, feeling the air for Tien's movements.

He inhaled sharply, wheeling around just in time to kick Tien as he appeared behind him. But his figure phased out...

After image? Kakarot thought. How is this supposed to be new?

"Your eyes and ability to fly are still working, Kakarot!" Said one of Tien's apparitions from the clouds. "I'm impressed. I've been moving at terrific speeds and yet you're still tracking me!"

Kakarot fired small ki blasts at the phasing forms of Tien, appearing and disappearing. His voice seemed to come from within the clouds.

"But just because you can see me, doesn't necessarily mean you know where I am or what I'm doing!"

Tien appeared behind Kakarot to elbow him in the back of the head, but Kakarot had fallen for this trick too many times from Popo to become victim to it again. He phased out himself, to reappear behind Tien with his own elbow to the back of his head to send him plummeting to the earth below.

"Look out below! One of the contestants is fall fast! From this announcer's vantage point, the plunging player looks like Tien Shinhan, with Kakarot chasing close behind!"

Tien landed on his feet, but saw Kakarot plunging after him. He sidestepped for his impact and launched himself at Kakarot with a kick that miraculously got him in the chin. Kakarot flew backwards in flips. But Tien took this opportunity to go back on the offensive and attack Kakarot while he was putting distance between them.

Realizing the situation, Kakarot phased out but Tien didn't follow. Instead he punched and Kicked with Kakarot in superspeed motion, making it look like Tien was fighting an invisible opponent. But Kakarot exited it and was left parrying Tien's barrages.

"Tien Shinhan continues his relentless attack, which seems to have Kakarot on the backfoot. But this fight is far from over!"

Tien tried to low kick Kakarot to trip him, but Kakarot jumped over Tien to get out of his way and finally have space between them.

"You caught me by surprise for a moment!" He said, stunning Tien as he realized Kakarot was behind him and a hundred feet away.

Tien was amazed thoroughly. Despite his relentless attack, he managed to escape and STILL not get out of breath.

"Incredible! The speed these two warriors hurl themselves around the ring at is nothing short of outrageous! One can hardly hope to catch but a glimpse of the action, short of slowing down time itself! At this point, it's anyone's guess as to which one will go the distance."

"Wow, Tien. You've trained really hard these last three years." Kakarot said with a friendly smile.

Tien smirked weakly. "Glad you noticed. I came here to win."

"I can tell you're not going to make this easy on me." The young saiyan joked.

"Would you really want me to? I doubt it. I don't envy your position. Anyone who hopes to defeat me had better first ask for a miracle."

"Yeah, you would be a challenge alright." Kakarot said casually.

That was surprising to Tien, and a little hurtful. "Would?"

"I hate to state the obvious, but we both know that I'll win. I'm not bragging, just a fact. Your body is a lot slower and weaker than mine, that would be your undoing. But I think that if you undertook the training I did to get this strong, I'm sure your superior fighting experience and discipline would beat me."

From the sidelines, Krillin had a hard time believing Kakarot's words. "What? Tien moves like the speed of light, yet Kakarot thinks he's slow?!"

Yamcha shook his head. "That's Kakarot for you. He's never been normal. But if he's as honest as he usually is..." He said, not finishing out of incredulousness at what Kakarot could truly be capable of.

"That's my Kakarot! Isn't he wonderful?" Said Chi-chi in a star-struck voice, clasping her hands together. Gine said nothing, still wondering how long Kakarot was going to drag this out.

Tien was taken aback by his bold claim, but he knew Kakarot was an honest man. Still, he wasn't going to let this jab at his pride stop him. "I appreciate your concern, Kakarot. Even if I'm nowhere near as strong or as fast as you are, I am not a quitter!"

"I understand, and I have a lot of respect for that." Kakarot ceded. "So, ready for me to end this quickly?"

Tien chuckled. "Heh. I've never known you to boast before. But you never know if you're strong enough to beat me until you actually do it! So let's go!"

"I guess you're right." He got back into his fighting stance. "Well then, lets!"

"Here we go, ladies and gentlemen! The fight is back on!"

The deafening cheers erupted from around them. They were blown away by the action so far, and craved more.

"The crowd's expecting greatness from you. Don't hold back, because I won't! YAAAAA!"" Yelled Tien as he charged with a hand chop. Kakarot had phased out of sight, but Tien followed Kakarot's movements and charged after him still. He threw barrage after barrage of punches that Kakarot effortlessly dodged. Still Tien went after him with everything he had, switching up to lightning fast chakra strikes but Kakarot still moved so fast that his hands were a blur of motion.

Another few strikes parried, and Kakarot jumped back to separate himself from Tien. But the three-eyed human anticipated this and leapt after him to keep up the barrage.

"See Kakarot? I'm still one step ahead of you, so I'm not sure what all your gloating is about!" Tien taunted between strikes.

Kakarot smiled deviously as his hands kept flying. "Are you sure about that?" He suddenly flung one hand in front of Tien's face, the unexpected move made Tien stop in his tracks out of reflex to block an incoming punch. The blow never came, but more unsettling than the speed of which Kakarot could have punched him with faster than he could deflect was the long red cloth that Kakarot's hand was clutching.

"This does belong to you, right?" He asked.

Tien looked down and saw that his green trousers had fallen down around his legs, exposing his boxer briefs beneath. The crowd started bursting out laughing and Tien's face flushed red with utter humiliation.

"What the... you stole my belt from under me?!"

Kakarot giggled, "Yep!"

"You have to feel pity for Tien Shinhan, as Kakarot further demonstrates his speed by removing the blushing baldy's belt!"

"Unbelievable!" Yelled Krillin, Yamcha, and Chi-chi at once. Gine just shook her head.

Tien struggled to understand. It doesn't make any sense! No matter how fast he moved, I should've been able to see it!

Kakarot waved the belt around like a trophy. "I snatched this off while I was blocking your attacks and you didn't notice it. That's how fast I can move!"

The look of shock spread across Tien's face. So, Kakarot did move faster than he could see. At least now he knew he wasn't lying when he said he was faster. But still, it was faster than he thought possible for a mortal being to achieve. Not only did it mean that beating Kakarot will be that much harder, but that the limits of power were further than he realized. He thought he had achieved it during the previous three years, but he still has a long way to go. And if Kakarot was this strong, he feared to imagine how much more powerful Gine was...

He laughed to himself, finding it funny in a way, and it gave him some more training to look forward to. But he wasn't done fighting yet.

"I was wrong. I allowed my arrogance to blind me. I have never known a man or beast the can move as swift as you, and I must commend you for it, Kakarot. You definitely are faster and I have a ways to go to get stronger. But if you think that gift alone will aid you, you are mistaken. Tien Shinhan will fall before no man!"

He tried to walk forward, only to trip and fall with his pants still around his ankles. Everyone in the audience, including the announcer, couldn't stop laughing.

Kakarot laughed too. "Here. You might have better luck if you get dressed first."

Tien furiously took the belt. "I don't need your help! You've done enough already! I'll show you! I still have yet to play my best card!" He said while tying his pants back up.

"Oh? Your best card? You going to use your volleyball technique on me again, or Tri-beam?" Kakarot asked teasingly.

Tien turned to him fully clothed again. "No. I want to defeat you, not blast you into a million pieces. Besides with that incredible speed of yours, you'd dodge those attacks easily. What I have in mind isn't quite as destructive as the Tri-beam. But it should be enough."

That peaked Kakarot's interest only a little. "I'm not worried. Try it."

Tien looked offended at Kakarot's disinterest. "You will not fend of THIS attack!"

"Whoa. Tien sounds serious." said Yamcha.

Chi-chi looked worried. "He wouldn't do anything to hurt Kakarot, would he?"

"That depends. I want to know what technique Tien has up his sleeve." Gine answered.

Tien crouched, holding up his hands and summoning all ki he could muster. He growled, his voice amplified across the grounds by his summoned ki, a sparkling white glow emanated from his body.

"My biggest mistake was assuming that my exceptional sight would be enough to catch your movements. These eyes have failed. So if three eyes will not win me this battle, then I shall use twelve!" Tien's voice thundered.

"Huh? Twelve eyes?" Kakarot asked in confusion.

Tien's body started to shimmer, as if vibrating at an ultrahigh frequency, but he wasn't. His form faded and elongated until there were two apparitions of Tien. But it wasn't just an apparition or trick of the light, it WAS another Tien. Two Tien Shinhans!

Gine and Kakarot looked on in genuine surprise.

"If you think that's something, wait till you see what happens next!" One of the Tien's said.

Both of their bodies shimmered again, their glowing forms fading in and out of the air. Then they both radiated another Tien form of their own.

Krillin and Yamcha starred slack jawed at their tri-cloptic friend. Three years they trained with him, but they had no idea he could do that. Now there were four Tien Shinhans!

"Wow, that's impressive." Kakarot said. Then a thought came to him. "Oh I get it... Twelve eyes!"

"Wait, four against one? That's not fair!" Said Chi-chi.

Gine smiled to herself. "Huh. Maybe Kakarot might have a challenge afterall."

"Tien Shinhan has multiplied himself into four! Presumably, by using the After Image Technique!"

"Ready? YAH!" One of the Tiens charged at Kakarot, followed by the others.

The saiyan tried to dodge them, but struggled to stay ahead with having to look out for all four of them. Having jumped out of the way, only for another Tien to try and kick him. Kakarot parried that, but another Tien came up and tried to kick behind him when Kakarot blocked with his other arm. Now exposed, the forth Tien came up and caught the distracted Kakarot right in the cheek. He fell to the ground and got back up, rubbing the side of his face.

"Whoa, those punches felt real!" Said Kakarot.

Gine realized it too. "No, this wasn't after image... Images can't hurt people." She said aloud, the others listening intently.

The Tiens stopped and spoke as one. "That's right. This is my ultimate technique. Quadruplication!"

"Oh... that's new." Said Krillin.

"A new spin on an old classic." Added Yamcha.

Gine took it in. She wasn't sure if the others could sense it, but she could tell that while Tien had indeed copied himself, each duplicate only held a quarter of his power. Even if it meant that each Tien moved on their own and acted as separate individuals rather than mimicking him, they were much weaker than before. Still, she could see the tactical advantage of having four different beings attacking at once as a distraction, thus quadrupling one's striking ability. THAT, Gine thought, was ingenious.

"You've actually split into four separate people...how on earth did you do it?" Kakarot asked the duplicate Tiens.

"Right now you must be thinking, "How am I going to handle four Tiens?" And the answer is: you're not!"

The Tiens surrounded Kakarot and charged him. Kakarot leapt and dodged every kick, but the combined Tiens were one step ahead.

"Right behind you, Kakarot!" Said one of them, delivering a gut punch into Kakarot and a kick from behind to send Kakarot to the ground in pain.

"Come on, Kakarot! Get up!" Chi-chi cheered from beside Gine.

"Judging from the beating Kakarot just took, I'd say four Tien Shinhans are tremendously more powerful than one! Kakarot certainly has his hands full."

The audience looked drawn in an hooked to the drama developing, remembering the last tournament.

Kakarot got back up, looking surprised that the copies of Tien together had actually hurt him.

"CHARGE!" They all screamed.

Kakarot phased out of sight, leaving the four copies together and wondering where he went.

"HERE!" Kakarot came in with a flying kick that sent one of the Tien's crashing into all of them. Leaving them in a pile of limbs and profanities.

Kakarot chuckled at getting around them.

"Good one, Kakarot." Said of of the Tiens.

"He moved quickly and caught us off guard." One said to another. Could that be considered talking to one's self?

"But he can't hide from all of us at once!" The Tiens then split up and ran to each corner of the arena.

"In a peculiar move, all Tien Shinhans have dispersed across the four corners of the ring. What are they planning?"

Each of the Tiens held out their hands, charging up energy.

"Tien, what are you doing?" Kakarot sounded worried when he realized he was surrounded.

Gine raised an eyebrow, how would her son get out of this?

"NOW!" They all fired powerful blasts of golden energy at Kakarot's spot in the center of the ring.

"KAKAROT!" Chi-chi cried out in horror.

He looked around, and did nothing as the blasts converged on him in a powerful explosion. The resulting shockwave blew everyone in the grandstands off their feet, and a small mushroom cloud billowed above the ring.

Each of the Tiens smiled to themselves in satisfaction. For all of Kakarot's boasting, they finally managed to land a crippling blow to-

"Heh, nice one Tien!" Came Kakarot's voice.

"WHAT?!" Came the cry of utter disbelief from the Tiens, as well as the audience.

The smoke cleared to show the blackened crater where Kakarot still stood, intact and unfazed.

"Ugh... NO WAY!" All four of the Tien copies looked flabbergasted and terrified. That was his strongest attack and it did nothing to him!

The orange-clad saiyan nonchalantly brushed the ash and debris off of his clothes. "That one actually burned a little."

"Wha... A little?!" Tien uttered.

"Tien Shinhan is as stupefied as well all are that Kakarot had just brushed off an attack of atomic proportions as if it were nothing!"

The audience was relieved that no one died in that destructive display of power, and that it was very dazzling so they broke out into cheers.

Tien was at a loss. "Remarkable... I get the feeling we could drop all the nuclear weapons in the world on top of him and all he'd get is a headache!"

"You're not far off." Kakarot answered back, which spooked Tien. Did he really mean that?

Tien tried to bluff it off. "I have tremendous respect for you, Kakarot. But I will still win, at any cost if I have to!"

"Hehe. Okay then." Kakarot laughed.

Tien looked offended. ""Okay"? What does that mean?! I'm trying to tell you, you're in danger! If you stay in this fight, I will hurt you, or worse."

"Knowing you, it's most likely that you won't be using the same trick on me again, Tien. Afterall, you DID say it was your strongest card. But I've found two weak spots in your strategy, Tien. I'll be fine."

The Tiens looked at each other uncertainly, "My technique is perfect. You don't know what you're talking about!"

"If you're so certain, why don't you try it again. You'll see." Kakarot requested.

The duplicates were baffled that Tien's opponent would just offer them another free shot... and worried. But Tien took the bait.

"Oh, I'll do it again, all right. And this time I'll use my full power! I tried to be polite and give you a way out, but you wouldn't take it. Now the consequences are on your head!"

Kakarot just laughed. "Well what are you guys waiting for? I'm ready when you are. Let's get this over with!"

"Fine!" They took their respective spots at the corners of the ring again, and prepared for another energy strike.

"It's not clear why, but it appears that the four Tien Shinhans are preparing to repeat their last performance! Will Kakarot's urvival be more than a fluke? Or will this put Tien back in the winner's circle?"

"What? Is Kakarot crazy or something?!" Yelled Yamcha.

Chi-chi looked like she was about to faint. It was terrifying for her to see her beloved Kakarot avoid death from the last attack, even if she believed he was invincible. But her big heart couldn't stand to take the heart-stopping suspense and fright again.

"NOW!"

The Tiens fired, this time they had focused all of their energy into the attack.

Kakarot stood still as the blasts converged on him to create a bright explosion of light and wind that blew everything away. Again, a mushroom cloud formed overhead, a little taller this time. From the common area, Chi-chi had indeed fainted momentarily while Yamcha and Krillin tried to help her back up.

Tien and everyone else stood there, waiting to see if Kakarot was still standing or if he had been vaporized for good.

A shimmering shadow emerged from the smoke, then came Kakarot's voice. "Sorry to disappoint you Tien, but my future looks bright enough as it is!"

"Huh?!" Exclaimed Tien, not just from the shock of Kakarot surviving but from his ominous statement.

Before Tien could react, Kakarot jumped out of the smoke and high into the air. He held his hands open before his face, and Gine instinctively put her shades on.

"SOLAR FLARE!" His voiced echoed, then the sky seemed to explode in burning white light. All four Tiens and everyone else in the area screamed in blinding pain.

"Kakarot has created a light so intense, it's as if he threw the sun itself in Tien Shinhan's face! Ironically, this is the same technique Tien has used in the previous tournament. Only this time, it's being used against him!" Said the referee, immune from the flash by his own shades.

Kakarot lowered himself from the sky with arms crossed, landing in front of one Tien.

"Kakarot's plan is working as the dazzling lights take their toll on Tien, and anyone else not fortunate enough to be wearing sunglasses."

"This is weak spot number one: Your eyesight is a little too good." Kakarot lectured.

Through the pain Tien yelled, "I thought I was the only master of the Solar Flare Technique!"

"Mom and I learned it pretty quickly from just watching you." He said plainly.

Tien didn't have time to feel insulted by how someone who could learn something that took him years to master in such short time. So he charged blindly at Kakarot, the younger saiyan easily dodged and sidestepped his every move. He then phased behind him.

"I'm over here!"

With the pain and light subsiding, Tien forced open one eye to look. "I see you... This is a bad idea, Kakarot. You have to rely on your eyesight, same as me, which means you're also at a disadvantage." Tien noted the two other duplicates trying to sneak up behind Kakarot.

The saiyan shook his head. "I have to disagree. There are two of you behind me, right? One is planning a knife hand attack and the other a right round house kick."

They were caught, "You guessed! How could you be sure anyway?" Tien demanded.

"Training." Answered Kakarot. "I won't bore you with the details. But let's just say it involves "eyes in the back of my head.""

The solar flare faded away. "Okay, lesson finished! I assume you can see clearly again?"

Tien nodded begrudgingly.

"Good. There is no need for me to hold back any longer."

Just when Tien thought he couldn't be more surprised by Kakarot, he stuttered. "WHAT? HOLDING BACK?!"

Kakarot's expression turned serious. "Yep. And, you're second weak spot hurt you the most. It's what cost you this match."

"Oh?! Do tell!" Tien angrily got into stance.

Then, Kakarot fell into his attack stance and yelled, "You made the first one worse by breaking up into four!"

Before anyone knew it, Kakarot attacked all four of them with lightning fast kicks to the gut that sent all of them flying out of bounds and crashing on top of each other next to the announcer. The last one was met with a blood-curdling cry of pain from the real Tien as he was punched squarely in the solar plexus and flung out of the ring. The four copies of Tien faded as the real Tien lay on the grass unconscious. Everyone starred at him with eyes as wide as dinner plates.

Stunned silence, then the crowd erupted into cheers. Kakarot stood over Tien triumphantly.

"I win! Don't get up on my account."

Tien painfully pressed himself up, all of the air had been punched out of him from the last attack. He clutched the edge of the ring, looking worse for wear.

Kakarot placed his hands on his hips and said, "That was an impressive trick. I wish I'd known of it earlier. There've been a lot of enemies I would've loved to use it on. But I don't think it works in a fight like this. Not only were you split into fourths, but so were your strengths."

Tien looked up at Kakarot in amazement. He hadn't considered that consequence of the technique when he was developing it. And Kakarot was able to figure it out while he himself was struggling just to keep up and not refine his strategy during the battle.

Huh. I guess Kakarot may have some brains afterall. Tien remarked thoughtfully to himself.

Tien smiled up at him and stood on his feet. "I won't pretend I'm not wounded, but it's only my pride. You did a good job, Kakarot. Congratulations."

Kakarot smiled back as he held out a hand and helped Tien back onto the ring. "Thanks, Tien." He said with a friendly handshake.

Gine couldn't help but feel touched at the display of friendship. She remembered as clear as the day the level of contempt and drama the two had between them from the last tournament. To see them now showing great respect and comradery for each other was truly something.

"That's it? Congratulations? Thanks for piling me up like a stack of pancakes!" Yamcha protested. "Come on, Tien! Don't you want to know how he did it? I sure do!"

Krillin shared that sentiment. "Me too! Nice speech, but how did he figure it all out? It's unbelievable! I guess that's why he's the big hero and I'm... not."

The referee was stunned into silence for longer than expected, but he came back to his senses to acknowledge the victory.

"Uh, oh! Okay, it's official! Tien Shinhan is out of bounds, ending an unprecedented battle! And since Tien was the defending champion, the title of World's strongest now goes to Kakarot! He will go on into the semi-finals and face Chi-chi. Let's give these two fighters a round of applause folks!

The ruckus cheers turned into a roaring ovation. Both fighters waved back at the crowd, drinking in their adulation. Then they headed back to the common area.

Chi-chi threw herself at Kakarot and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You won! Oh Kakarot, I'm so proud of you! My hero!"

He enjoyed the show of affection, "Aw...thanks-"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Chi-chi practically screamed in his face. "What were you doing just standing out there letting yourself get blown up like that?! Were you trying to get yourself killed?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! J-just calm down, Chi-chi!" Kakarot held out his hands in surrender, a bead of nervous sweat dripped down the side of his face. The sight of Chi-chi so angry at him could really scare him sometimes.

"It's okay, I'm fine. Really! I knew his attack wasn't going to hurt me that much." He tried to explain, but it made Chi-chi angrier.

"You knew?! How can you know if he was going to blast you like a atom bomb?! Do you have a death wish or something?! I couldn't live with myself if you died or something!" The idea of those last words that left her mouth nearly brought the enraged Chi-chi to tears. She was on the brink of crying at the idea of her beloved Kakarot dying so horribly.

A sense of alarm washed over Kakarot that he had to do something before her mood spiraled into sorrow. "Sh, shh, it's okay. Chi-chi, it's okay!" He shushed her. "I'm fine, really. I'm sorry I scared you so badly like that, and I promise I won't do something like that again, okay?"

Chi-chi sniffled, "You promise?"

Kakarot nodded happily that he calmed her down. "I promise."

A wide and dreamy smile spread across Chi-chi's face. She embraced Kakarot with all her might and dared not let go. "Oh, thank you Kakarot. I'm sorry I got so worried about you."

He chuckled. "That's alright. There's nothing to worry about, and best of all: you'll get to face me in the semi-finals for a real fight!

That perked up Chi-chi's spirits even more. "That's right!" She then turned mischievous on him. "Are you ready for that?"

"Are you?" He joked.

Chi-chi laughed and gave him a pretend punch in the shoulder. "You just wait, buster!"

She then hooked her arm around his and they walked side by side back into the common area, Chi-chi swooning every step of the way.

Gine just stood there seeing the emotionally volatile woman walking away with her son, "Sheesh."

"Yeah. Chi-chi can be scary like that sometimes." Said Yamcha seriously.

"Yep." Krillin agreed. "Even after spending time around her it still makes me shiver with how she can get REALLY mad, and that's on her good days. I don't want to be anywhere near her to see how mad she could get on a bad day."

Gine chuckled. "Me neither."

The scene forgotten, they turned to see Tien had also entered from the ring. He walked sullenly.

"Hey. Good fight, man." Yamcha tried to cheer him up.

"Yeah. Kakarot's definitely grown into league of his own." He said defeatedly, but still kept up a sincere smile. "Our first fight lasted forever, and I barely won. This time around, I couldn't even keep up with him."

He looked at where Kakarot and Chi-chi had disappeared. "Kakarot can adapt to any fighting style. His technique is flawless. But most of all he is the strongest opponent I've ever faced, and he was holding back! He didn't use the Kamehameha or anything, just his own raw strength. He is now a force of nature to be reckoned with..."

The thought, and now reality, of his once mortal enemy now so stupendously powerful in such a short time made Tien happy somehow. "I can't wait for the rematch, for if I train hard enough I'll be stronger than him one day. At that kind of level of power, who knows what I could be capable of."

Gine liked Tien's spirit, and gave him a thumbs up. "I believe you will get there, Tien. You have the same iron will my son has. Keep training, and I'll be there at that rematch to see you beat Kakarot. And I'll face you too then."

Tien nodded to her, "Thanks, Gine. I'll consider that challenge." Then walked off.

"Wow. Tien's either very brave or very nuts." Said Krillin. He turned to Gine.

"And you're just as strong as Kakarot?!"

Gine just shrugged. "More or less."

Krillin's face paled.

"And, heh, I-I have to go up against you next." He stuttered out with a chuckle that mixed with awe and terror. If Tien, the most disciplined and skilled human fighter of the group, couldn't beat Kakarot then what chance did HE have against his mother?

As if on que, the referee announced: "With that exciting change of title concluded, it is now time to move on to the third match! Next up is Krillin and Son Gine!"

Both the aforementioned fighters turned their attention to the ring. Now it was their turn.

Gine again felt the tightening in her chest, and also felt as if her feet had turned into lead weights. The looming task of having to go out there and be seen and acknowledged by so many strangers now a reality made her feel anchored to where she stood. With some effort of will, she broke from her frozen spot and started walking towards the stairway down to the arena.

"Good luck, Krillin." Yamcha and Tien gave their friend some encouragement before turning to her, "You too, Gine."

She gave an appreciative smile. "Thank you."

"Have fun, Mom!" Kakarot called from behind, having re-emerged from the common area.

Gine just sighed at that and followed Krillin out onto the ring...

She took in the sight of the sea of faces surrounding the white-tiled square arena. The preliminaries was just seventy-two strangers. Out here, it was hundreds, if not a thousand people. All of them looking at her.

So many eyes on her. So many people starring at her, watching her, thinking of her. Her existence now known to a whole population that was larger than all the people she knew personally.

The tightening in her chest almost felt suffocating, her heart thundered in her ears and beneath her dress gi a slight tremor when through her legs. She guessed this is what stage-fright was like.

"Krillin here is among one of the other talented students of the Turtle Hermit school, he may be short in stature but more than makes up for his courage and ingenuity. He has fought two tournaments before and has made it as close to the semis! Today, his opponent is newcomer, Son Gine. This woman here has effortlessly breezed through the preliminaries and demonstrated incredible feats of strength. Even more amazing is that this formidable lady here is the current title holder's own mother! If that is true, then it would certainly explain where Kakarot get's his great strength, and would definitely mean that Krillin is in for a challenge!"

She reached the center of the ring and squared up against Krillin. Knowing she had to collect herself, Gine closed her eyes temporarily to focus her energy and slow her heart rate down. With a deep breathing exercise that Gohan had taught her long ago, she was able to quickly reign in her anxiety from all the eyes and attention on her. Soon, the sound of her pounding heart was drowned out with the cheers of everyone around them.

Get a hold of yourself, she said mentally. You beat Piccolo. Crowds should do nothing to frighten you.

With her attention back on the fight itself, she looked Krillin in the eye and gave a respectful bow.

"Fighter's ready? Annnnnnnd... begin!"

The gong rang out, and the crowd fell silent in anticipation. But neither Gine or Krillin moved. She stood tall and calm while he was crouched and apprehensively waiting for an attack.

Gine could tell from Krillin's sweating, tense posture, and his flickering aura that was nervous. She wasn't surprised. Why wouldn't he be? If she was up against someone who was a god amongst insects, why fight? She felt bad for Krillin. It didn't seem fair that he should go up against someone far too out of his league.

"There's no shame in quitting, Krillin. I understand if you don't want to fight me." She said bluntly.

Krillin seemed taken aback at how she called out what he was feeling. For a brief moment, he was tempted to take up her offer right then and there.

But he smiled determinedly instead. "Thanks for the offer, Gine, but I feel like I should at least try. I was taught to never give up."

Gine hoped he would just call it quits, but had to admit that the little bald man had courage. "I can respect that."

Deciding she would humor him, she loosened her stance a bit. "Very well then. Attack at your leisure."

Krillin decided that for someone as powerful as Gine, he was going to have to pull out his new tricks first. Crouching, he held out his palms at his side and began charging up his energy.

"Huh? Krillin has a new technique!" Said Kakarot from the sideline.

After a few moments of summoning, "HYAH!" Krillin thrusted his arms forward and fired two ki blasts.

Gine jumped to avoid them. She hovered a hundred feet above the ring, and looked back to see that the blasts were arcing up and back toward her.

They could trace her movements. She thought it was a nice tactic for an energy strike.

Holding out her own hands, she unleashed ki blasts of her own that destroys the shots that were homing in on her. Before the smoke cleared, Krillin had suddenly appeared behind her. She had sensed his movement before he even did it, but let him land a punch on her cheek. To go along with the fight she instinctively reacted by swatting him downwards with a light kick.

Gine rightened herself in the air from his blow, while Krillin tumbled and barely managed to land on his feet before plummeting into the tiled floor. That one light kick had hit him so hard it almost broke a rib. He looked up at Gine floating in the air, amazed at how his initial attack barely fazed her.

"Incredible! Gine has regained her composure and is now hovering above the stadium while Krillin has been repelled!"

She looked down at Krillin on the ring. She was holding back considerably, but was impressed that he managed to use his attack to sneak up behind her. Krillin was outclassed for sure, but she may have an educational and fun fight yet.

Gine floated down and touched back to the ground gracefully. Krillin grumbled to himself that he didn't damage her in away significant way. His wrist also hurt, like he had just punched a concrete wall.

"After an exciting aerial assault, both Krillin and Gine have brought the battle back to the ring."

Krillin attacked again. Gine brushed him off to the side with the swipe of an arm, but he rebounded after her with a barrage of punches. She parried them easily, but kept up the defense. They flew side by side across the ring, then Gine jumped into the air with Krillin hot on her heels.

He came up to just beneath her, and Gine seized the moment to lightly "kick" Krillin in the cheek. More like a tap than a kick, but the force was hard enough to send him plummeting towards the outside of the ring.

Gine watched him fall with a look of disappointment on her face, This is too easy...

But then to her and everyone's surprise, Krillin slowed to stop just inches above the grass. The crowd below gasped at the sight of Krillin hovering in mid-air, floating up higher and touching back down to the ring.

"Huh." Gine said, feeling bemused that Krillin had learned how to manipulate his ki in order to levitate. She was also relieved that he would not meet such a quick defeat.

"I believe I speak for the entire audience when I say how unbelievable that was! Krillin had managed to spare himself from a ring-out by hovering, and no you weren't imagining that folks!"

Gine had lowered herself back down to the ring in front of Krillin.

He looked worse for wear. Even though Gine held back, Krillin was lucky she didn't kick his head off. She kicked him hard enough to have bruised the whole side of his head, and trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

"Hehe, that was one helluva hit, Gine. I feel like I got hoofed in the face by a horse." Krillin chuckled.

"Well I'm more impressed that you learned how to fly too. Good work, Krillin." She complimented.

"Thanks, Gine. After seeing your son do that last time, I wanted to do that too!"

Gine gave him a good-spirited smile. She may have been just fighting out of curiosity to measure Krillin's strength, but he had surprised her.

"You along with Tien certainly have the capacity and willpower to grow like he can. I believe even humans like yourself could do what we Saiyans could if you set your sights on it." She said. It was only partially true, but wanted to encourage Krillin on his great performance.

"Well with that in mind, want to take things up a notch? I know you and Kakarot have gotten much stronger, but I wanna see for myself what you can do so I see what I'm capable of."

Gine nodded happily, "Very well then, don't hold back."

"Then I won't!"

Krillin charged at Gine again, more ferociously this time. His attacks appeared as a blur to the audience watching while Gine saw and deflected every blow effortlessly. Seeing his amped up attacks not hitting any more than before, Krillin got angrier and more aggressive. But to her it was a barely noticeable change from slower motion to slow motion. She admired his persistence though.

"Quite feisty you are!" Gine lightly taunted.

"Where's that power you're hiding, eh?! I can handle anything you can dish out! So come on!" He shouted back.

Gine sighed. If he wanted her to turn things up too...

"This is going to hurt a little." She warned.

Before Krillin knew it, she kneed him in the gut, sending him flying high into the air. He clutched himself painfully, and Gine gave chase.

Gine clasped her hands together to get ready to spike him to the ground. Reaching his height, she raised her clutched hands above her head to bring them down on his. Then Krillin suddenly wheeled around her with his fists cupped...

"KAMEHAMEHA!" He yelled quickly, and Gine was engulfed in blue light.

"MOM!" From below, Kakarot shouted in alarm at seeing his mother swallowed in an energy blast.

The light and smoke cleared, and Gine emerged unscathed with her arms crossed in front of her face.

Krillin's jaw dropped.

"Sorry, Krillin. That was a nice surprise counterattack, but..." She said plainly, before raising her hands again and lightly "spiking" him on top of his head.

He fell limply into the stadium below like a meteor, smashing some tiles on impact.

Gine floated down to Krillin's side. A few seconds went by and Krillin didn't stir.

"Krillin? KRILLIN?!" She shrieked, kneeling by his side and trying to shake him awake. Gine began to feel dread that she didn't hold back enough again and concussed him, or worse... She pressed her fingers to his neck to check his pulse...

A painful groan escaped Krillin's lips and he moved to pushed himself up. Relief washed over her, and Krillin sat up.

"Krillin is okay! Brace yourselves folks because this fight isn't over yet!"

He stumbled back onto his feet, very wobbly. The top of his bald head seemed to be swelling from a giant bruise.

"Ow." Was all he said.

"I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?" Gine asked worriedly.

Krillin looked at her for a moment, then fell back onto his bottom. He chuckled wearily.

"I'm done. You win." He said before falling back and fainting.

"Incredible! After showcasing stamina rarely seen by any fighter, Krillin is standing down from the match. In accordance with tournament guidelines, the winner is Gine!"

The crowds around them all erupted into applause. But Gine didn't feel too happy about her "victory".

"Although he lost, Krillin's skill and bravery has given us one of the most breathtaking performances ever seen in this ring!"

Orange-uniformed tournament paramedics came up beside Krillin with a stretcher.

"No, I'll take him." Gine said. When they began to protest, she gave them a frightful glare that sent them cowering away and letting her be. She then gingerly picked Krillin up in her arms and walked back to the common area.

He smiled weakly up at her, lapsing in and out of consciousness as she carried him. "Thanks for the lift." He wheezed.

Gine chuckled back, "It's the least I can do. Come on, let's get you fixed up with a senzu."

"It's a heartwarming display of comradery and sportsmanship here today, with Gine helping Krillin back to the fighter's area. This just goes to show how much respect these fighters have for each other."

Back in the common area and after downing a senzu bean, Krillin was walking upright and well again.

Yamcha clenched his fist, "What a struggle! You handled it like a champion!"

"Yeah, thanks." Krillin said as he massaged where the giant bruise used to be. "Lasted a whole two minutes."

"Aw, don't get so down on yourself, Krillin. You lasted a lot longer than I thought you would against Mom." Kakarot tried to cheer him up honestly, but Gine frowned at her son's choice of words. Krillin's face turned forlorn.

"You and you're mom are way too strong for me. Far stronger than I could ever catch up to in an entire lifetime. How could I possibly achieve that? Like every step I take forward, you two take flying leaps farther... Some fighter I am." He muttered defeatedly.

"I feel you, Krillin. But that's not true. You are a great fighter." Said Tien.

Krillin smiled weakly. "Thanks Tien, but I don't have the same potential as you do."

Gine's tail slackened in sadness. She didn't like that attitude, for it compounded her guilt for hurting his body as much as his spirit and pride. Plus, how he could depreciate himself after surviving a toe-to-toe fight against a Saiyan?

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Krillin, you fought very bravely. You took quite a beating and still fought. You had new techniques to display too. I say that you had improved quite amazingly for a human, and you put on quite a match against a saiyan like me. You were the star and great fighter of our match, not me."

Krillin took in her words thoughtfully, "Heh... I guess so. The only thing missing was a win... But that's okay."

Gine smiled, she was fine with that too. "And if you keep training like Tien said he would earlier, I'll be there for a rematch too."

Outside, the referee called out again. "Repairs of the ring are now complete. The stage is set for our forth and final match before the semi-finals begin! If the last fight is any indication, this one should be a doozy!"

Yamcha looked out towards the ring, "Oh hey! That's my cue."

"Oh yeah, against that Hero guy." Said Kakarot, looking back into the building to see the old man waking up from a doze.

While Yamcha did his stretches, Krillin joked, "Hey, I may have struggled to stay alive, but you'll have to struggle to stay awake."

"You're just jealous. Luck of the draw! This won't take more a minute."

Gine turned serious for a moment. "Don't forget that he beat Chiaotzu, so at least be on your guard."

Yamcha felt irked like a child being lectured by a strict parent, but nodded in agreement at remembering that important detail. "Right. I will."

He concentrated on thinking about the fight and stepped out onto the ring.

"Let's turn our attention to the fighters! What make's this match so unique is the diversity of its players... Experienced warrior, Yamcha, takes on novice, Hero!"

Hero bumbled past the group shyly and stepped onto the ring.

"Hehe, wow. So many people." He said, looking at the crowd of spectators gawking at how an ordinary-looking old man like him is supposed to fight.

Bulma and Puar were cheering from the grandstand. "Good luck, Yamcha! You're the best!"

While the rest of the gang and the crowds vied for Yamcha's assured victory, Gohan and Roshi were eying Hero suspiciously...

Hero bowed to Yamcha. "I'm very honored that you would take the time to fight me."

Yamcha was surprised by the old man's kindness and smiled. "Uh, yeah... no problem. It's kind of what I do."

"Ready contestants... and begin!"

Yamcha got into stance, while Hero held his hands out in a lazy prying mantis fighting style.

"He's so silly..." Yamcha muttered. "That's... an interesting technique you got there. Feel free to attack whenever you're ready."

"Oh, okay. I appreciate the kindness." Said the old man.

"No problem."

Gine eyed Hero from her place in the common area, feeling something strangely unsettling about him.

Hero flailed his arms to stretch, then got back into his limp mantis stance again. "That about does my warmup. I'm limber and ready for action."

Yamcha looked perplexed as to what the old man could possibly do with a technique (or lack thereof) like that, but decided to humor him. "All right, go ahead. Let's see what you got!"

The man then commenced to just just danced around Yamcha, making weird cringe-inducing vocal sounds and waving his arms. The audience had no idea what to make of it, but some broke out laughing.

"Seriously? This guy's a clown!" Someone shouted.

"Yamcha! Go easy on him!" Joked Bulma.

Ox-King narrowed his eyes on the fellow. "Hmm, something's not right..."

Hero then charged at Yamcha with his ridiculous battle cry. The desert bandit side-stepped him without any effort, causing Hero to fall over on his face. But as he fell, he jutted out his foot and kicked Yamcha directly into is kidney.

Yamcha howled in pain. The audience fell dead quiet for several seconds, then erupted into laughter. Hero looked up and saw what he had done.

"In a moment of pure slapstick, Hero lost his balance and kicked Yamcha in the side in the process! Who knew being clumsy could be such an effective weapon!"

Recovering his senses, Yamcha wincingly smiled at Hero.

"Heh, for someone who can't fight, you're doin' pretty good. Who knows what's next from you!"

Hero laughed at himself and scratched the back of his head. "O-o-Oh yes, thank you! I-I mean, I'm sorry! No, I'm embarrassed..."

Everyone laughed again, more at Yamcha than at Hero. Gine didn't, however. She suspected the slip had to have been a deliberate move to get around Yamcha's guard. Whether it was an accident or not, Hero was hiding something. But still, if it weren't for her apprehension she would've chuckled at the absurdity of the fight.

Not wanting to be outdone, Yamcha tried to look serious again. "Listen, Hero, you seem like a nice guy. But this is a match, so why don't we get back to it and save the laughter after the fight. It'll be all over soon, I promise."

"Oh, right!" Hero said, then got back in his ridiculous stance of just holding his hands limply in the air.

"HYAH!" Yamcha launched at Hero with a flying kick to send him out of the ring. Hero ducked, then what happened next Gine had no idea. For the old man ducked just low enough to headbutt Yamcha in his groin.

All male-members of the gang collectively flinched at the sight. Yamcha fell to the ground, his face frozen and his eyes wide. Then he wailed and cried in unimaginable pain, caressing his most vulnerable body part. The audience was shocked into silence, and all erupted into fits of laughter that shook the walls. Hero seemed unaware that he had headbutted his opponent, like his head must have been more skull than brain.

"Oh, that looked painful! Who would've thought Yamcha would fall victim to circumstance a second time?! So much for experience, at this rate, accident-prone Hero might snatch himself a win in no time!"

"Wow. Poor Yamcha." Krillin mused. "To think I told him this was gonna be too easy after a fight with you, Gine."

Gine didn't respond, not taking her eyes off the old man. She also mentally scolded Yamcha for having let his guard down after she warned him about Hero.

Even the referee couldn't stop laughing. "Since this was a self-inflicted injury, we'll forgo the countdown and allow poor Yamcha a moment to recover."

Hero stood over Yamcha, scratching the back of his head in worry while the entire stadium was a fit of people gasping for air through uncontrollable laughing, "Hey, are you alright mister?"

Yamcha got up and tried to stand, but the pain still shot through him and made him jump up and down in an undignified manner. Gine cringed, but pitied him for the ridicule being directed to him.

"Hehe! How nice of Yamcha to give us a preview of his victory dance. Let's show him our support with a big round of applause!"

The audience humorously cheered along. Hero walked up to Yamcha, scratching his head.

"Say, that was a toughie, maybe you shoulda warmed up first, eh? I could show you a few pointers if you want. I have some."

Yamcha whipped around indignantly to Hero. "HA HA HA, I appreciate your concern, but as you can see, I'M IN FANTASTIC SHAPE!"

"Oh, I understand... Yeah, don't worry... Accidents happen to me all the time."

Yamcha stopped his fake laughing, his fragile ego feeling the joke aimed at him.

"It must be difficult struggling in one's chosen profession." Hero shrugged.

Yamcha was losing his patience. "You seem awfully confident, especially for someone who has very little experience in the ring. You don't really expect to beat me, do you?"

"I'm an optimist."

Yamcha laughed it off. "Optimism is great... But to defeat me, you'd need nothing short of a miracle."

"Miracles happen every day." Hero said with a smile.

"Oh, come on! You're not a fighter!"

Hero waved a finger. "Don't be so sure. What you see isn't always what you get. And besides, I've done a good job so far."

"Yeah... when it comes to luck, you're powerful." Yamcha shot back as he got into stance again.

Hero's expression turned serious, with a hint of mischief behind it. "Thanks. Are you ready for a surprise?"

Yamcha looked nervous by the man's question. After what Gine said about to look out for this harmless-looking guy, what else did he have up his sleeve?

Reluctantly, he nodded. Then Hero got into a normal fighting stance for once.

"Watch."

Hero suddenly vanished as he throttled Yamcha at superspeed, punching him in the cheek hard enough to send Yamcha flying across the ring and skidding to a painful stop.

"NO WAY!" Screamed Tien.

Krillin couldn't believe what he saw either. "How could that old guy do it?!"

Everyone's eyes bulged from their sockets. No one anticipated the shocking show of hidden strength from such an unassuming and silly old man. Bulma's jaw dropped; Ox-King, Gohan and Roshi were at a loss as to how such a strong human fighter was unknown to them

Gine felt vindicated. Hero was NOT who he seemed to be.

Yamcha struggled to prop himself off the ground, the side of his face swelling from Hero's punch. He looked back at Hero with a mix of shock and fright.

"W-who ARE you?!" He asked in shock.

For the first time, Hero's unassuming face turned threatening. "You were paying so much attention to my theatrics, you never realized the subtle moves I was making. Didn't your master teach you that you should never judge power by appearance?"

Yamcha looked amazed. So did Kakarot. That WAS one of Master Roshi's teachings. Did he know Roshi?

"If you take nothing else from this fight, remember the golden rule: Perception is a great defense." Hero lectured.

Yamcha smiled seriously. "I see what you mean. Your act was very convincing... It fooled me and my friends."

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Oh yes, when it comes to lying, you're a master."

"Huh?" Hero raised an eyebrow.

Yamcha glared at him deathly serious before getting into battle stance. "I don't believe in using deception as a tool. I fight my battles the old fashioned way!"

Hero looked disappointed. "Poor boy. And I thought I was an optimist. You must really enjoy humiliation."

Face turning red, Yamcha was furious. Being humiliated like this in front of his colleagues and his girlfriend?! He would not stand for this!

But then he calmed himself down, eying down the old man. "I see your game. Trying make a fool out of me. It's a nice tactic, but now prepare for a real fight!"

Hero looked serious. "Alright. We'll do it your way. It's certainly more entertaining."

Yamcha charged at Hero, "Let's see if you think this is funny! WOLF-FANG FIST!" Yamcha screamed, throwing his strongest punch. Taking the shape of the wolf... which Hero caught effortlessly.

So bewildered Yamcha was that his best attack had been stopped, he lost all composure and threw himself at Hero like a wild animal. Hero met his barrage of punches with deflections and parries that kept up with Yamcha's blind anger-driven attack. Everyone was stunned by Hero's defense. How could he do that? He didn't seem winded or tired, going with Yamcha's offensive and not retreating from his spot, not being forced back at all.

Gine saw how by pressing his attack, Yamcha left his lower body open. Hero saw it too.

"Forgot something." Said Hero before kicking Yamcha right in the shin of his left leg. The same leg broken three years prior. Yamcha yelped in pain, and fell to the ground nursing his leg.

Although he had Yamcha defenseless, Hero didn't attack him.

"Never leave your feet unprotected." He admonished.

The gang was surprised that it looked like Hero was teaching Yamcha instead of fighting. It threw Gine for a loop too, what was she supposed to make of it?

"Mom, do you see what I'm seeing?" Ask Kakarot.

Gine nodded. During the fight, she tried to sense his aura but couldn't discern what it definitely was. He was definitely human, but there was something else beneath that, as if he was more than human. Along with the presence of... magic? Like Chiaotzu?

"Who is this guy?! Where did he come from?!" Asked Roshi from the grandstand. But they were all at a loss.

Back to the fight, Hero folded his arms behind his back while Yamcha still lay hurting on the floor.

"Don't stop now. Is that all you've got? What good are your fists without your feet? The wolf is left licking his wounds."

That got to Yamcha and he looked up at him. How could this old geezer look down at him so smugly yet carefree? Not even Roshi or Shen looked so condescending at him!

The referee too was stumped by Hero's change, but remembered to do his job as well. "In a shocking turn of events, the match has shifted in Hero's favor as Yamcha struggles to recuperate from a crushing blow to the leg he injured in the last tournament!

Yamcha jumped up and then attacked Hero more angrily with swooping kicks, this time to keep his upper body out of the way. But he ducked and dodged every move with speed and grace no one thought the old man was capable of. He saw another opening, and socked Yamcha square in the cheek.

The audience was deathly silent. How could this old man who had no experience in combat what-so-ever take on an experienced fighter like Yamcha and school him as if he were a green apprentice?

"COME ON! QUIT PLAYING AROUND YAMCHA!"

Bulma wasn't so shocked into silence like everyone else, and was vocally angry at her boyfriend.

"YEAH! TAKE THAT OLD MAN DOWN, WHY DON'T AY!" Said Launch.

Krillin and Tien were wide-eyed. "He...H-He fights like a master! Who IS this guy?!"

"I don't think it's up to Yamcha at this point. He got more than he bargained for."

Yamcha finally stood back up on his feet, but he looked winded while Hero seemed like he was as calm and relaxed as ever. No extra exertion of ki or anything.

"Aww, you look spent. Why don't you take a moment? I don't mind." Hero taunted.

Glaring at him angrily, Yamcha yelled and put all his strength into his jumping kick attack.

Hero phased out as Yamcha plowed his foot into the tiled floor, crumbling the white blocks. He looked alarmed at losing sight of his opponent.

"I'm right here, little man." Said Hero's voice just as he appeared behind him with a kick into Yamcha's side. The strike sent Yamcha skidding across the floor and left him writhing on the ground.

"Yamcha can't be defeated like this! Get up, man!" Shouted Krillin.

Yamcha clutched his side while on his knees. then managed to get up. "Save your words of pity for someone else, old man. Because, I don't need them."

Hero smirked. "You're absolutely right. What you need is some good coaching. It isn't easy to excel when you are so far out of your league, I'm much stronger than you."

"Wha...?" Yamcha was in disbelief at the old man's gull.

Then an idea came to him.

"I see what you're really doing, old man. You're trying to scare me into quitting because you landed some lucky shots and think you raddled my nerves even if I have the strength to beat you. I see how misdirection is your weapon of choice. I admit that you use it quite well... They say the most brutal weapons are the ones we can't see. Those forged from within..."

Hero shook his head at how Yamcha got it backwards when he was actually telling the truth of his true strength, but seemed pleased that he was accepting his lesson on deception.

Yamcha held out an open palm, clutching hard as if pulling energy. "Fortunately, I have quite an arsenal to pull from. So please, allow me to show you a demonstration. I'm not sure if there are words to describe the damage one can do with raw spirit energy!"

Hero waited patiently. The lack of concern shown by him fueled Yamcha's anger, but it would help him nonetheless. After all the mockery and tricks, it was time to end this by trying out his newest energy attack.

"Oh, that looks dangerous." Hero said unconvincingly.

"For you, only the best!"

After some straining and summoning, a golden ball of energy emitted from Yamcha's hand.

Hero looked mildly curious. "Oh, well, don't go to too much trouble."

"Yamcha's assurance seems to signal his victory, but Hero is holding fast for whatever his opponent is about to unleash!"

Yamcha held the energy sphere in his palm, it didn't look much different than any other ki blast. But the look in Yamcha's eyes told that he knew something special about it.

"Whoa! What's that?!" Hero asked.

"Ready for this?" Yamcha declared.

At that moment Hero actually looked nervous. Yamcha smirked, he felt like he got him and now was his chance to end this humiliating nonsense!

"SPIRIT BALL ATTACK!"

He flung the ki blast at Hero, and the old man dodged it. But then, Yamcha held out two fingers and motioned them back, and in turn the energy ball arched around straight back at Hero. The old man shuddered in alarm and jumped to dodge it again, but then Yamcha moved his fingers again. He traced the path of the attack as it moved high up and came crashing straight down at Hero.

He jumped aside just in time as it exploded into the ground, leaving a gaping hole.

Yamcha growled in frustration, "Nice reflexes, Hero!"

Hero actually looked impressed. "That depends on your point of view... That's some technique you have there."

Then Yamcha chuckled. "Keep your chin up, old man. You sound quite distressed."

"Yeah, well... you still missed." Hero sighed.

Yamcha smiled knowingly. "I didn't say my attack was over yet!"

"Huh?"

"HYAH!" He yelled to jerk his hand up, and the energy sphere came back out of the ground and struck Hero in the face before he could react. Hero flew backwards, his glasses falling away.

Everyone shouted in horror, except Bulma cheering him on.

"YEAH! Got ya, space nerd!"

The gang had to admit that move was quite genius, as they had never seen anything like it in all her years of combat. It gave Krillin a subconscious idea to devise a technique like it some day. A variation of the one he tried to use on Gine earlier... maybe lots of those energy balls at once... a swarm, maybe? Or a something resembling a circular saw disk...

"Yeah, finally!" Yamcha was quite jubilant at finally landing a winning blow.

Hero's body flew backwards to land on the ground... then he suddenly twirled, springing on his feet directly at Yamcha. He Struck him with his elbow into the solar plexus.

Yamcha skidded back, and could do nothing as he fell back and out of bounds. He landed on the grass unconscious.

"Mind your step. Young one." Was all Hero said.

"NO!" The whole gang shouted.

The referee stuttered to register what happened. "Y-Yamcha has fallen out of bounds. Therefore, Hero wins the match!"

The audience was stunned into silence too, but slowly began to clap and cheer for Hero as they came to their senses.

Gine had her eyes transfixed on Hero. Who...or what was he? She thought to herself.

Yamcha came to and struggled to get back into the ring. At least Puar was happy that her dear friend and master was still alive. Bulma looked livid while the rest of the gang starred at Hero in wonder.

The old man cleaned his glasses as Yamcha got back into the ring. "That was a delightful surprise you had in store for me. Too bad you let your guard down. Still, you left your mark on this body. Seriously, you're good."

"Huh?" Yamcha said, confused at the congratulations and odd remark.

Hero went on, "You're a skilled young man. I think you could show me a thing or two."

Yamcha seemed incredulous. "Are you kidding? You won it!"

"Perhaps."

"Now that our match is over, I gotta ask. Who are you, really? And where'd you come from? I've meet lots of interesting fighters around the world and they are all here today, but I never met anyone like you." Asked Yamcha sincerely.

Hero smiled. "You are full of curiosity, aren't you?"

From the sidelines, the gang watched them converse.

"They're chatting away like their old friends or something." Said Tien.

Krillin shook his head. "I've heard of losing graciously, but this is ridiculous!"

"That Hero seems rather sweet, I would be so depressed right now if Yamcha hurt him." Chi-chi observed.

"Why should he be upset? He fought well, there's no shame in that." Kakarot weighed in, looking back at his mother who looked lost in thought.

Tien nodded. "Yes, Yamcha fought incredibly. His form and technique were astounding. He's turned into a fine warrior these last three years."

"In a way it's nice to see someone other than us make it into the finals. Still, Yamcha deserved a shot at the title." Said Chi-chi.

"I know what you mean, Yamcha always ends up getting the toughest opponents at the start." Krillin added, remembering the times his friend fought in the last two tournaments and never got past the quarterfinals. First Jackie Chun, then Tien Shinhan, now Hero. He felt bad that the guy couldn't catch a break.

Yamcha and Hero walked back to the common area together, still talking.

"I don't mean to be pushy. But I'd appreciate knowing the identity of the greatest opponent I've ever faced." Yamcha asked again.

Hero just answered cryptically, "All will be revealed in time."

When the pair of fighters walked past, Hero made eye contact with Kakarot and held it for a good long moment...

Kakarot's eyes widened as a look of realization spread across his face. Hero winked in return, then gave Gine a side-glance before walking off.

Yamcha joined Tien, Chi-chi, and Krillin to congratulate his heroic efforts while Gine watched Kakarot with suspicious eyes as he stared off to where Hero went.

"What is it, son?" She asked.

"Uh..." Kakarot didn't know what to say. Given how pathologically honest he was, he couldn't lie to his mother to save his own life. But... he had to. 'He' told him to...

"Err, nothing. Yeah, yeah! It-it's nothing!" He chuckled nervously.

Gine eye's narrowed at him. She knew Kakarot better than he knew himself sometimes, and she knew that he was hiding something.

"Are you sure?" She demanded, more than asked.

Kakarot sweated, knowing that she didn't believe him. But he couldn't say anything.

"Y-yes. It's nothing, I swear!"

A heavy silence fell between them, as Gine bored her eyes into Kakarot's shifty ones.

She then shook her head. "Fine. If you say so."

Kakarot was caught off guard by how she let him go like that, and sagged in relief. He was about to turn and join the others when she called again. She wasn't going to let him off that easy.

"Just know that if it really is serious, you will be in big trouble, young man." Gine's voice was the threatening tone she used whenever she wanted to get Kakarot's full attention. And she meant every word of it.

He gulped, barely nodding in response and hoping to get out of her sight quickly. Which he did once he turned around and went to congratulate Yamcha.

Gine turned and looked to see where Hero went off. She had caught the little 'exchange' between that old man and Kakarot. Something was up for sure, and her son was refusing to let her know. She had no idea what it was or why her son was somehow in league with this mysterious human, but had a feeling that she was going to get to the bottom of it when she will face him in the next match.

Whoever he was, at least she was going to have some serious competition in this tournament afterall.

---

Preparations for the semi-finals got underway. The gang grabbed lunch while tournament staff performed repairs to the damaged tiles of the ring yet again. The crews were begrudging under their breath of how they had to fix the ring repeatedly already and how the fighters were going to ruin it. Over in the gambling area, the many favorable bets that were placed on Yamcha to win in his match against Hero were predictably upset and a lot of money was lost. Arguments broke out, and word from Oolong was that the odds between Hero and Gine in their upcoming fight were split 50-50. They saw how powerful she was too, so there was no telling what the outcome would be. That did nothing to sooth her uneasiness.

Back in the common area, Chi-chi was busy babying Kakarot and wiping a damp cloth on his head, "You're so sweaty! Can't have you going out there against me all stinky!" She lightly scolded, but Kakarot paid no mind. He was eyeing how his mother and Hero were starring at each other from opposite walls.

"Honey, is something wrong?" Chi-chi asked.

"Huh?" He turned to her. "Oh, nothing. Just... thinking about how Mom was gonna fight Hero, that's all." He told her, at least that part was true. He couldn't tell her why though... yet.

"Oh, okay." Chi-chi smiled and dropped the matter. For there was a far more pressing thing to prepare for.

"Well I hope you're ready for our little rematch! Because now you are about to see how much stronger I've gotten for you!" She said somewhat flirtatiously.

"You betchya! I'm excited!" That got his attention back and his apprehensions forgotten.

Out on the ring, the repair crew picked up their tools and cleared the area. The referee brought up his microphone, "The ring surely has seen it's share of abuse during this tournament. But it's a small price to pay for the excitement and extraordinary drama as only the World Martial Arts Society can deliver! With repairs nearly complete, it's time to welcome our top four athletes to the semi-finals. They are Chi-chi, Kakarot, Gine, and Hero!"

The audience erupted into applause as each contestant waved to the crowd. Yamcha, Krillin, and Tien had joined the rest of the gang out in the grandstand.

"It is now time to kick the semi-finals off with our next match: Chi-chi versus Kakarot! At this time, will both fighters please make their way to the ring?"

The daughter of the Ox-king and Gine's son both took their respective places opposite each other. They bowed, then crouched into their fighting stances.

"Good luck, Chi-chi. You're gonna need it." Kakarot said coyly.

Chi-chi playfully scoffed. "Me? Needing luck? I should say the same to you! You're the one going down this time, babe." Chi-chi teased with a determined look in her eye.

"Heh. We'll see about that!" Kakarot retorted.

From her position in the common area, Gine smiled at the scene of sparks flying between those two in a very "saiyan" way.

The sounds of drums quieted down the audience as the anticipation built, then came the gong.

"Let the match begin!"

Chi-chi made the first move by launching a flying jump kick at Kakarot. He dodged it but Chi-chi was quick to follow it up with a back kick to his shoulder that sent him forward. He landed on his hands and propelled himself back to his feet, to be met with Chi-chi charging at him with a flurry of punches. She was really aggressive, keeping her opponent occupied with defending himself and not giving him an opening to counterattack.

She pressed her offensive with her hands in stabbing attacks to his head, but Kakarot evaded them. Hoping to put some distance between them, Kakarot jumped backwards but Chi-chi anticipated this and closed it just as quickly. Thinking fast, Kakarot repeated the backwards leap for her to follow. In that moment before they connected blows, he took the chance to hit past her defense with a low punch to her side.

Wincing but taking advantage of the momentum from the attack, Chi-chi recovered and twirled around Kakarot to change directions of his retreat. She pressed again as if his retaliation did nothing.

"Chi-chi is hot on Kakarot's heels right out of the gate, and is not cutting him any slack! Will he find a way of this fiery lady's warpath?"

Wow, Chi-chi's really good. Kakarot thought to himself. Compared to how she fought last time, he could already tell that Chi-chi had improved dramatically as a fighter. She must've trained harder than the others to prepare for this day, and it seemed to pay off. He marveled at how she moved so gracefully around him and fought so fiercely. Her Praying Mantis fighting style similar to Tien's, utilizing great speed and reflexes. But Kakarot could see how she was more agile with her smaller stature, and rather than emphasizing on technique she used raw ferocity. If he wasn't as strong as we he was, she might have worn him down by now.

"ARE YOU GONNA FIGHT ME, OR ARE YOU JUST GONNA KEEP RUNNING?! COME ON, I KNOW YOU ARE STRONG BUT I CAN TAKE WHATEVER YOU COULD DISH OUT AT ME!" Chi-chi yelled angrily.

Kakarot smiled wickedly and his tail twitched. Her fury was getting his saiyan blood more excited...

"As you wish! HYAH!" He replied before parrying a punch, and threw a volley of his own. Chi-chi blocked and dodged each of Kakarot's attacks, and slowly retreated backwards. Even with the tables turned and Kakarot putting out more energy, Chi-chi didn't falter or show any fear. She was as ferocious in her defense as in her attacks. He was glad this wasn't going to be that easy.

Chi-chi then leapt backwards. Kakarot sprinted after her. Seeing this strategy in reverse, Chi-chi kept running backwards and in turn Kakarot followed suit. They both accelerated until they were phasing around each other in the ring, their forms reduced to blurs of orange.

"Wow! Those two are moving at incredible speed, I can't tell which one is who!"

Soon both fighters were circling so fast that the wind kicked up, blowing dust and debris towards the audience. Gine was impressed that, from how she could watch the superspeed chase, that Chi-chi could keep up. The girl had gotten stronger indeed.

But more noticeably, Gine could see the passionate looks they exchanged and the chemistry flying as much as the blows. It was more of a dance more than a fight. Gine knew what this was, a type of battle that saiyan men and women did on planet Vegeta since the dawn of time. The bonding experience between mates that was almost as powerful and intimate as copulation itself. She thought of how the ignorance of saiyan culture to humans didn't make the audience go mushy at the very intimate moment taking place before them. Either way, Gine was happy for both of them.

Kakarot stopped in his tracks and shot straight up into the air. He hovered above the ring, grinning from ear to ear.

"You've gotten much better than before, Chi-chi! I'm amazed!" He called down at the girl, who looked back up with a glare.

"And I'm just getting started!" She answered back.

Before everyone's very eyes, Chi-chi floated off the ground.

"Something I picked up from Krillin and Tien." She said before launching herself at Kakarot with a battle cry.

"Whoa! It appears that the young lady Chi-chi has also graduated from flying school!"

They clashed with sounds of thundering punches as the fight resumed hundreds of feet in the air. The audience strained to see how fast they were moving, while Bulma and Launch starred at Chi-chi slack jawed. They didn't know their friend could also fly!

"Oh wow..." Ox-King said in awe. "In all my years, I never thought I'd see my daughter master something I never could... I'm so proud of her!"

Roshi shared his former student's sentiment, looking satisfied with himself and amazed simultaneously. "I always knew Chi-chi was strong, but I never thought she'd be able to go toe-to-toe with someone like Kakarot. There's nothing more this master could teach her."

Gine nodded approvingly as she watched with her arms crossed. That girl is full of surprises.

After trading a punch that sent them both away from each other, Kakarot and Chi-chi landed back on the ring facing each other.

"After displaying such amazing aerial feats, the fight has returned to earth! And it looks like things are just getting started, folks!"

Chi-chi only seemed slightly out of breath while Kakarot looked as if he just finished his warm-up. Both were grinning devilishly at each other.

"You're incredible, Chi-chi! You put up a good fight and just figured out flying in less than three years while I spend my whole childhood trying!" Kakarot said appraisingly.

She gave a pretend bow, "Well, thank you! I give only my best as a princess warrior!"

Kakarot's tone turned more playfully taunting. "This is a fun little game, Chi-chi. But I suggest you take it up a notch if you want to beat me!"

Despite her boosting, Chi-chi knew that she was approaching her limit first and that he could sense it. But she laughed it off. "Aw, do I have to? I was really having fun! I don't to win that quickly."

Kakarot saw through her bluff. "Hmph! Are you so sure you're going to win? Because I'm not. At the pace you're fighting, you'd be lucky to land a hit on me once without any energy left."

"I don't have to." She said cryptically.

"Huh?" Kakarot looked confused.

Chi-chi smirked. "I've got one more technique that I would like to use, and hope you're ready for it."

Instinctively Kakarot curled his tail around his waist, Chi-chi saw it and chuckled.

"Oh, don't worry sweetie. I wouldn't that to you again." She said sincerely before returning to seriousness. "I've got something else in mind."

Chi-chi held out her hands. Kakarot perked up and asked, "A Kamehameha?"

"Nope, something new." She said. Chi-chi then pressed her middle and index fingers from both hands against her temple. She then closed her eyes and strained.

Kakarot didn't know what to make of it. "Uh, do you have a headache?"

The audience didn't know what she had in mind either. But it was big. The tiles trembled, Chi-chi's voice became amplified, and Gine could see in Chi-chi's aura that she was summoning a great deal of ki. And Kakarot's confusion had lowered his guard. Just as Chi-chi hoped he would...

"What's this? It looks like Chi-chi has a new trick up her sleeve!"

"Do you remember the pink helmet I used to wear as a kid?" Chi-chi asked while she still had her eyes closed.

The question was unexpected and out of place, but Kakarot nodded. "Yeah, I do. What about it?"

"Well, let's just say that... I don't need it anymore to do this." Chi-chi said as a greenish pinprick of ki emanated from her forehead. Kakarot looked alarmed, then her eyes shot open and her teeth barred.

"I'LL BURN YOU TO A CRISP!"

A green laser shot out from the pinprick of light, and Kakarot could only cross his arms to defend himself as the beam struck him with a powerful explosion.

Gine and everyone else shielded their eyes. The heat that radiated from the blast was intense. The white tiles around where Kakarot stood scorched black, loose papers flying in the wind caught fire, and several audience members cried out as their skin flared up with painful flash-induced sunburns.

All was quiet again as the wind and noise died down. A smoke plume enveloped where Kakarot was. Chi-chi nearly collapsed from the exertion of using every drop of ki for her attack. But she smirked to herself that she got him...

As it cleared, her smile dampened when Kakarot emerged still standing. But her attack had been effective. His body smoked, along with his gi that was tattered and charred. His forearms that took the brunt of the attack were blistered and bleeding from burn marks.

The heat had also drained some of his own energy to withstand the extreme temperature of the blast. His saiyan skin could withstand a lot of things, but this attack had tested it. Chi-chi had put the fiery heat of her temper into her ki and scorched him with it, like he had just been doused with hot lava.

"Whew... that actually hurt, Chi-chi." Kakarot gritted out, one eye squinted shut. "You could've incinerated me if I hadn't been strong enough to take that."

Chi-chi displayed both worry and disappointment. Her attack didn't work but was glad she didn't accidentally killed the man she loved. So she smiled.

"Just be glad I wasn't angry enough to vaporize you on the spot."

"Hehe. Kami-forbid I get you that angry at me." Kakarot joked.

Gine was glad her son was okay, and even found the idea of Chi-chi's temper-fueled attack funny in a way. A girl with anger like hers would be terrifying to think about.

The referee got back up from his hiding spot under the rim of the arena, he wiped away the sweat off his head. "Phew! I guess I wasn't kidding when I said things were about to get hot up in here! For it looks like Chi-chi had just blasted Kakarot with some kind of heat ray! Kakarot seemed to have taken it full on like a champ!"

Everyone cheered. From their spot in the seats, the gang were starring at Chi-chi with awe and terror.

"W-wow... I'm glad you don't know how to do that, Bulma." Yamcha remarked before getting elbowed in the gut by her.

"Don't give me ideas, buster!" She yelled red-faced at him.

Launch whistled, "Man. Why didn't I become a martial artist like her?"

"You learning to do that would certainly be the scariest thing next to Chi-chi up there." Oolong quipped.

Kakarot dusted himself off and got back into stance.

"That was a great attack, Chi-chi. But now it's time for me to end this."

"Hmph." Chi-chi snorted. "Good luck, after what I just did you're probably too "burned out" by now."

Kakarot laughed at the joke, but looked her in the eye. "I don't know about that. Although my energy had been reduced by your attack, you made the mistake of putting all of your energy into it. You're the one that's sapped."

The young woman was surprised that he called her out on it. She also felt offended after how all the tremendous efforts she put into perfecting and using that attack could be brushed aside like that. But she wasn't going to just give up so easily.

She crouched. "Maybe so, but I'm still in the fight!"

Kakarot sighed. "Alright, then I'll take you out of it."

He then threw his fist out at incredible speed in Chi-chi's, the force of which created a shockwave of ki. Chi-chi leapt into the air and dodged it. But Kakarot anticipated this, and jumped into the air with her. With Chi-chi exhausted and no energy left to spare, she couldn't parry the kick to her gut.

He hit her lightly, but the wind was knocked out of her and Chi-chi came crashing to the grassy ground outside the ring.

"Chi-chi!" Ox-king cried out.

The audience gasped, thinking Kakarot had just killed her. The announcer ran to her fallen form to confirm this, but sighed in relief when she winced sitting back up.

"Chi-chi's okay! But she has fallen out of the ring! Kakarot is the winner, and will go on to the finals!"

The stadium went crazy with applause and cheers. Gine clapped too for both her son and Chi-chi. It really was a fun fight to watch, and the vital bonding experience seemed successful.

She then stopped clapping. A bad feeling suddenly crept up her spine and made her look towards somewhere in the crowd. It was as if she could sense something familiar and ill among them...

Kakarot was by Chi-chi's side, "I didn't hurt you too much, did I?"

Chi-chi coughed and laughed weakly. "Nope, I'm fine." She took his hand to steady herself and stood up.

She looked at him with stars in her eyes. "You're so amazing, Kakarot! I always believed you were strong but you're far stronger than I imagined you would be! I trained harder than I ever had and you still beat me! You're invincible!"

Kakarot smiled. "Thanks! Same with you, Chi-chi. You fought so very well and surprised me in many ways. There's no other girl out there that fights like you... well, except for my mom that is."

Chi-chi rolled her eyes at the unintentionally insensitive remark, but brushed it off as part of Kakarot's naiveté.

She leaned close for a kiss, her voice low. "Oh, Kakarot..."

"AHA!" A voice shouted from nearby.

They turned to look at the row of spectators along the wall beside the ring. Both Kakarot and Chi-chi gasped in horror. From where she stood, Gine's tail bristled with fury.

It was none other than Master Shen, the Crane Hermit, who had jumped onto the wall.

"Did you think I've forgotten about the little unfinished business between you brats and I?!" Crane yelled.

"Shen?!" Cried out Roshi. He, Gohan, Ox-King, Bulma, Tien and the rest of the gang were in the bleachers on the opposite side of the ring from Crane. They could see with astonishment and dismay that he was here, but too far away to do anything.

"Uhhh..." The referee looked at the intruder with confusion and annoyance that someone would heckle the match. But then he recognized him.

"Wait, the Crane Hermit? What are you doing here?"

Kakarot and Chi-chi stood there in shock, and their eyes fell upon what Crane held in his hands. A long metallic object that looked like... a rocket launcher? Or a bazooka?

"You may have incapacitated my brother, but that won't stop me! And now I've got you right where I want you!"

He aimed the device right at Kakarot and Chi-chi with the referee beside them. They noticed that no, it wasn't just a bazooka. It was Tao's detached arm cannon that the assassin didn't get to use.

"It's time to die! SUPER DODON RAY!"

He fired the device. The entire audience screamed in horror and panic as yellow and white light enveloped Kakarot and Chi-chi.

"NOOO!" Gine shouted. In a split-second she used all of her ki to phase in front of the incoming blast and try to swipe it away before it could hit them.

But in the moment she got there, Kakarot had already moved into it's path and took the brunt of the attack while Chi-chi tackled the referee to the ground and shielded him with her body.

The explosion pushed everyone in the audience back. Blasted bricks, dirt, dust, and other debris flew in all directions to rain down on the bleachers. People ducked for cover.

A moment later the noise was over and smoke billowed up. There there shouts and cries as spectators ran from the attacker. The gang waited helplessly for the smoke to clear.

Master Shen broke out laughing manically. "I did it! I avenged us, Tao!"

The dust settled to reveal the crater in the burnt grass of the arena. His laughter turned to enraged shock when he saw that they were still alive.

"WHAT?! IMPOSSIBLE!"

Kakarot's arms were further scorched, but not more severely. Chi-chi lay unmoving atop of the announcer unmoving. The back of her orange ki was charred, and the referee hiding beneath her was shivering but unscathed.

Gine was unharmed at all, in the middle of the crater behind her son. She took some of the heat of the explosion, but all it did was dirty up her gi. But it was nothing compared to how angry she was at that moment.

She eyed Shen furiously, and it was then that he saw her too. He then whimpered in terror at recognizing her, and the murderous glare she gave him.

"You..." Gine said with a voice that was as deathly cold as ice.

Before Shen knew it, Gine had phased in front of him and picked him up by the collar of his outfit. She jumped high into the air while she had him by his throat.

This man tried to kill her son, and the young woman he cared about...

Her aversion to killing, especially a helpless foe far weaker than her, had been further cemented from the training spent with Kami out of the lessons of forgiveness and compassion he taught her to embrace so much. It was something that she took to heart. But for a moment, Gine wanted nothing more than to vaporize this vermin and his ridiculous crane hat he still wore.

But... she didn't.

"Next time, I won't be so forgiving." Gine said calmly to a frightened Shen before she yanked her arm back and threw him with all her might into a random direction. A sonic boom echoed across the land as Crane disappeared over the horizon, the sound of his screams never reaching her.

"Chi-chi!" Kakarot cried out below. He rolled her onto her back as Gine touched back down and went to Kakarot's side.

The referee stopped shaking in fear. He looked around to see that Master Shen was gone.

"Huh? Where's..." He had no idea where or why, but that Gine was standing there instead and saw the person that saved him sprawled on the ground.

"Oh, no! Ms. Chi-chi!" He got to his knees to examine her too.

But Chi-chi coughed, and there was a collective sigh from the three of them that she was alive.

"It's okay, Chi-chi! I'm here!" Kakarot said as he cradled her head in his arms.

"H-hey..." Chi-chi crooked out.

"We're alright! Shen is gone! Mom throw him over the horizon!" He comforted her.

Chi-chi laughed hoarsely. "That's great! Wish I gave him a piece of my mind though."

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I took care of that." Gine smirked as she kneeled beside her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. It's better than being sliced open, that's for sure."

They laughed, and Kakarot produced a senzu bean from his pocket.

"That's the second time you nearly got killed today!" Said Kakarot half-jokingly and half-shrill.

Chi-chi took the bean and swallowed it. "Ain't I lucky."

Her injuries were healed, but Kakarot didn't feel relaxed. Something within him had changed, for he held Chi-chi for dear life.

"I almost lost you..." He said quietly.

Chi-chi looked up him with love in her eyes. "You saved me..."

At the joint-realization of how they saved or lost each other, Kakarot and Chi-chi embraced with a kiss.

The crowd broke out into applause at the threat dealt with and the happy union of the competitors. As the kiss grew more passionate, some cheers from the rowdier members of the crowd turned into cat-calls. The gang rolled their eyes at the display of barely-restrained hormones. Ox-King was nearly hysterical from his daughter nearly killed yet again, and seeing her in a romantic moment with Kakarot. Gine was just glad they were okay.

The referee even got his mojo back and was on the microphone again. "Well that is what you call drama, folks! Out of nowhere, Master Shen of the Crane School had come out of nowhere to assassinate the fighters Kakarot and Chi-chi! But it appears that fellow competitor Gine had swooped in to save the day and rid of the menacing martial arts master! And now the two fallen fighters had escaped a brush with death, and are currently lost in the moment! Either this is the adrenaline of survival, or these two might leave this ring as a couple! This just goes to show the kind of crazy excitement you can find right here at the World Martial Arts Tournament! What a show!"

The audience cheered, and Gine waved feebly at the praise for her heroic efforts.

What a day this has been so far...

"I hate to break up this happy moment everybody, but we still have a tournament going! So let's turn our attention to the next match, which will be an important one!"

The audience quieted down, the scene with Crane's attack all but forgotten. Gine realized that she was already in the area and hopped onto the ring. She looked down to see Kakarot and Chi-chi still kissing. The craving for each other in both of them was getting unbearable, with their hands seeking to explore.

Gine coughed, getting Kakarot and Chi-chi's attention.

"Why don't you two head back to the common area. It's my turn to fight."

Kakarot laughed with embarrassment while scratching the back of his head. "Oh, hehe, sorry Mom."

They turned and walked off, Chi-chi hooking her arm around his.

"This match will determine who will fight Kakarot in the final bout for the title! The outcome is unpredictable, but one thing is certain: This battle will be a spectacle you won't want to miss! So find a good view and get ready to welcome the warrior woman Gine and her unpredictable opponent, Hero!"

Gine mentally prepared herself by shoving aside everything that happened and focusing on the upcoming fight. It was enough to get her in the game as she had a feeling that all the questions she had about who or what Hero was were about to be answered soon.

A minute passed, and Hero hadn't showed up yet. Gine glanced over to the common area entrance to where Kakarot and Chi-chi were watching from. They looked into the building and didn't see Hero in there either.

"Uh, hey is this microphone on? There seems to be some miscommunication, but don't worry. The match will start soon. Uh, Mr. Hero, we're waiting on you!" Called out the referee. Gine wondered how long it would be before they declared the match forfeited by absence...

Then, out of the corner of the wall came the short statured old man in his white button up shirt.

"Ah, ladies and gentlemen, Hero has arrived!"

Hero made his way down the steps and into the center of the ring in front of Gine. Cheers of excitement erupted from around the arena. The gang watched with anticipation from their place in the sidelines, while Kakarot eyed Hero intently.

He smiled meekly at Gine. "Sorry it took me awhile. It's a big arena, I got lost on my way here."

The audience laughed at his aloofness, some joking about him needing a map or thicker glasses or both. Hero laughed with them at himself.

Gine dismissively waved her hand, but still eyed him suspiciously. "No worries."

"Get ready! This is sure to be an amazing battle!"

Gine squared her shoulders to Hero. She gave a respectable bow, then eyed her opponent up and down. She knew better than to judge this old man's ability based on his physique. If Gine learned anything over the years, people who looked like weaklings were full of surprises, especially Earthlings.

She frowned. There was something about his aura that she couldn't understand. His was that of an ordinary human, but was superimposed with that of something else. Two auras mixed together. It was something she had never sensed before, but a part of the energy signature felt oddly familiar. Where had she felt it before?...

With moments to go before the fight commenced, Gine looked over to where Kakarot was watching from.

"Son! What were you two talking about?" She demanded telepathically.

Kakarot was startled from his mother's voice intruding into his mind and looked back at her.

"Uhhh... nothing, Mom. I swear!" He answered back.

"Don't lie to me, Kakarot. I know that you know something about this Hero. There has to be something going on, and now is the time to let me know what it is!" She shot back. Kakarot turned uncomfortably, not sure of what to say next.

"Um, excuse me, miss? Are you ready?" Hero asked, breaking Gine out of her telepathic conversation. He had already crouched into his fighting stance, his face looking serious.

Gine sighed and sent a last glare at Kakarot that meant she would deal with his lie later.

Turning her attention back to Hero, Gine cracked her head to one side then the other. Then she got into her defensive fighting stance.

"I'm ready." She declared.

A moment later, the gong went off.

"Geeeeeeeeeeeet ready! The second round of the semi-finals begins now!"

The crowd went silent, and the two combatants eyed each other.

A gleam flashed in Hero's eye. He moved his arms around in a graceful circle, then cupped one arm with two outstretched fingers that he yanked upward.

Gine watched the move like a hawk. Just then the hairs stood up on the back of her neck, and she side stepped into time before a wall of invisible energy would've slammed into her face.

Looking back at Hero, he was suddenly on her. The missed energy attack used as a diversion to close the distance.

He's quick. Gine thought. She was about to deliver a light neck chop to behind and knock him out, but Hero had already moved his hands in the same motion as before to unleash another wall of energy on her.

The force hit her in the gut like a sledgehammer, causing her to let out the air in her lungs and sending her flying up into the sky. Gine was at a lose that this could inflict this kind of energy on her.

Hero then leapt into the air after her with all his might. The gang below were stunned at not only how Hero could sneak up and land a blow on Gine! And he could also fly!

Gine recovered in time to meet his punches aimed at her and parry them in time. They traded blows in mid-air, floating hundreds of feet above the ring. Gine was amazed at how this old man attacked with with not just incredible speed, but with a viciousness she hadn't seen outside of fights with mortal enemies.

She could win if she wanted to. Just one blow with a little extra fraction of her strength would damn-near obliterate the fellow, but she knew better than to chance accidentally killing him. Besides, she was eager to know who, or what, this Hero really was.

"Who are you?!" She demanded while they fought.

Hero didn't answer, but Gine was able to put some distance between them and fired a low-energy ki blast at him.

He dodged it barely, but he was distracted enough for Gine to take the initiative and spike him in the head. Hero howled in pain and plummeted to the earth below.

Before he hit the tiles, Hero twirled in the air and landed on his feet.

Gine phased behind him to go for the neck chop but he also phased out to reappear above her for a downward plow with a knee to the head. But she rockets upwards to get out of the way of the kick, which plowed into the tiles making a deep hole. But Hero pulled his leg and and gave chase for Gine. Both fighters phasing in and out of view above and on the ring.

The action sped up, until both Hero and Gine were blurs. Kakarot, the gang, and the audience were all equally amazed that the enigmatic old man had managed to hold his own against her.

"If you're having trouble seeing, ladies and gentlemen, don't be alarmed. It's not your eyes. These two seem to be moving with superhuman speed!"

"What? How? He kept up with... I mean, wow!" Krillin sputtered from the sidelines.

"Yeah, you could say that again." Yamcha whistled from Beside Bulma.

Tien watched Hero intently. "This fight is peculiar. Hero is attacking Gine like they're at war. For him, it seems personal."

Back in the ring, both fighters phased back into view and bounced away from each other from a clash. Hero then held out both his arms, crossed them in a slow and graceful pattern similar to his first attack. Then he charged straight at Gine. She tried to put up a defensive block, but Hero's arms phased through her arms and punched her in the jaw.

Gine staggered back. How did he do that?! She wondered. It HAD to have been magic.

Hero followed that up with charging after her, Gine then decided to counterattack before he did anything and launched a barrage of punches, but Hero parried them. She saw an opening to elbow him in the head, but he phased out to kick her in the back of the head from behind.

But before he could land his kick, Gine wheeled around and grabbed his ankle. She used this to throw him over her shoulder and flung him straight to the edge of the ring. He screamed helplessly towards it, Gine's heart leapt in her chest that she may have just won!

Hero then extended an arm and fired a ki blast to propel him back from the edge of the arena. He landed back in the center, facing Gine in a defensive stance as if nothing happened. Gine felt disappointed at not getting a quick victory, but she was truly impressed by how he saved himself.

From the bleachers, Roshi couldn't help but voice his observations. "Hero's strength is astounding!"

"How is it possible for any human to stand up against someone as strong as Gine?!" Remarked Bulma.

"Well... he's not human, that's for sure." Chiaotzu joked.

"Unbelievable! After some superspeed fighting, Hero managed to save himself from a ring-out with some quick thinking! This fight is not over yet!"

Gine wondered what to do next. She didn't want to resort to using more energy out of worry she might accidentally kill him, but given his strength that seemed more like a viable option.

As she pondered her next move, Gine felt Hero's eyes bore into hers. His stare was as serious as hers too. He wasn't frightened of her at all. She didn't know if he could sense ki, but knowing the level of surprises so far, assumed he did. So instead of using more ki for her attacks, she would just exude ki itself to try and scare him.

With a grunt, a flash of white flared up and an aura of energy radiated around Gine's body. The tiles shook, and people in the sidelines backed away out of fear.

The rise in energy didn't seem to faze Hero at all. It further frustrated Gine, was he hiding his fear or was he oblivious to energy sensing? This guy had to show some fear somehow.

Either way, she was going to end it quick. With more energy drawn out it should make it easier to...

"You seem pretty strong and confident. Are you sure you'll beat me?" He asked with a smile.

Gine was surprised by this little old man's question and bravado. As if he doubted her, and a flicker of the self-doubt blipped into the back of Gine's mind.

She shook that thought away. "I don't see why not. I'm pretty capable of handling myself."

Hero gave her a sardonic look of doubt. "I'm not so sure about that. You seem like someone who needs the help of others to overcome your weaknesses."

That gave Gine pause. More than how he could have the gull to insult her like that, but that he was goading her with taunts of her deepest buried fears of inferiority. Either he was really lucky in trying to get under her skin, or...

Gine pushed those thoughts aside too and kept starring at him steadfastly. "Your attempts to taunt me won't work here, old man."

Hero scoffed. "Really? I think I hit the nail on the head already. You are the weakest saiyan who ever lived, right?"

Gine's eyes shot open wide in shock, her feet felt cemented to the ground and unable to move.

How did he know that I was a Saiyan?!

Hero's smile suddenly turned sinister.

"I know all about you... Son Gine." His voice echoed within Gine's head.

A few seconds of looking dumbstruck went past, then she glared daggers at him and her tail whipped around angrily.

"Reading minds is dirty business. Who are you, really!" Gine yelled telepathically. Even if he could read her mind, it meant nothing. And this insulant little man who dared to invade her private thoughts was going to pay. She could play this game too.

Hero smirked, mentally answering back. "Who am I? Well...let's just say I'm not from around here either."

"That isn't much of a secret, no one's from around here. Least of all, you." She spat.

Hero shook his head. "No, you don't understand. I'm not talking about this tournament. I mean the planet. I'm a visitor."

"Huh?" Gine didn't know whether to take that as an insult or a joke. "Oh... I see. I wasn't aware aliens looked so human."

"I could say the same for you, minus your tail." Hero shot back, then patted his chest, "But this human body I have here is just a vessel. What you might call rented space. I inhabit this body for the time being."

Gine was frozen in place. There was no lie in Hero's voice.

An alien? In a human body?

If that was true, then... what could that mean?

Of all the possibilities that entered her mind, one such was a fear that had haunted her for the last eighteen years. A lurking shadow that seemed to always hang over her like a mark of death. That of if Frieza or his minions had found her and Kakarot here on Earth.

Parts of her mind tried to link the dots of her memory to explain how it could be possible if someone unassuming like Hero could be linked to anything from her old life. But she did remember that there were certain species of warriors that inhabited the living bodies of others as a means of transport or spying. In fact, if she recalled correctly, she remembered rumors that Frieza's most elite warrior...what was his name... Captain Ginyu, had such abilities. Was this Hero one of his kind? Did he work for Frieza? Had they come for her and Kakarot?

Picking up on her train of thought, Hero interrupted. "Something like that."

Hero kept staring, not breaking eye contact with Gine. She also failed to notice Hero's eyes glowing. "And I'm not here to fight in this tournament, I came here to fight you."

In a flash, Hero suddenly phased in front of her and drove his fist into her stomach. Gine doubled over, her eyes bulged from their sockets as she was sent skidding across the floor.

Gine clutched her stomach in agony. It hurt so bad, like she had nearly been impaled. She coughed hoarsely, spitting up blood.

Through the haze of pain, she looked up at Hero standing over her.

"H-h-how?!" She screamed out with incredulity and terror. That should've been impossible! What was happening?!

Hero chuckled, the sound was sickening to her ears and it sounding.. maniacal.

"Pathetic. Eighteen years you hid on this backwater and you still couldn't protect it when you need to. You couldn't even beat an old decrepit Namekian. Truly, you are the weakest Saiyan that ever lived! How fitting for you to be the last of your kind to snuff out."

The anxiety-induced creeping dread had now completely been overtaken as an immediate reality. Now that it seemed like her worst fear had been realized. She found it hard to breathe, not just from the blow to her diaphragm that knocked the wind out of her...

At long last, Frieza had found her... and her son...

Hero, this agent of Frieza, was going to destroy them, and this planet... and she was powerless to stop it.

Gine lay there trembling, her blood running cold.

"No... it can't be!"

The smile on Hero's face contorted into something wicked, then his entire face seemed to be melting into a hideous shape, it's color turning white and purple.

"Oh yes... It is! Believe it, Gine!" Hero's voice distorted, but it wasn't Hero anymore. The entity that was the old man was something else now. It sounded more shriller and reptilian. Then came a sickening laugh, one that lived only in her memory and in her nightmares. And soon the shape-shifting face matched the voice. The sight nearly made Gine's heart explode out of her chest in terror.

The face of Frieza himself. His black horns, spiked tail and effeminate features unmistakable to the galactic tyrant.

"I have scoured the galaxy for Bardock's long lost woman and his youngest brat. And at long last I have found you, the last surviving monkeys. And now, I will finally complete your kind's extermination... and conquer this pathetic mudball while I'm at it."

Seemingly out of nowhere and all around Gine, the tournament grounds suddenly burst into flames. The wooden common area building exploding in showers of sparks and raining debris. The heat felt real and intense, making sweat falling down the side of her face. But then came the sounds of screams. Of all the people in the bleachers, their faces indistinguishable in the dancing flames, all of them screaming in unimaginable pain. All of them dying, burning to death. The sounds of them all screaming drowned out the crackle of the inferno, and blotted out Gine's thoughts except for Frieza's voice.

Frieza's form seemed to grow far larger than she remembered him to be, his voice becoming a thundering boom in the sky.

"First, I will kill your son. Then your precious human pet, Gohan, then the rest of this backwards planet will fall to my feet..."

Gine just lay there, her mind unable to process all of the unimaginable horror that was happening.

From the corner of her eye, she saw something that beckoned her. Looking at the common area, she saw...

Kakarot and Gohan. Both of them laying motionlessly on the ground. Smoke rose from the gaping holes in their bodies, their lifeless eyes stared out and their mouths frozen in the scream of despair at their last moments in life.

Up above in a blackened sky, she could see the shapes of Frieza's command ship the way she remembered it on that fateful last day on planet Vegeta. Flanking it was thousands of Frieza Force warriors and space pods raining down upon the Earth. Laser fire and energy blasts in all directions. The mountain-side and cityscape around the grounds were vaporized. Troops swarming everywhere, slaughtering all that stood in their way...

"This can't be real...THIS CAN'T BE REAL!"

Frieza laughed in the same sickening way as he did in her nightmare, of the day he destroyed planet Vegeta.

"This IS real! You've lost! AN THE SAIYANS SHALL BE GONE FOREVER!"

This had to be a trick, but Gine's mind was far too clouded to think clearly now. Her long buried fear had returned in full force to leave her paralyzed. And with it a self-loathing that she thought she had buried too...

They were all dead... Her entire world was crashing down.

Kakarot. Gohan. Her friends. Her family. The people in this arena. Everyone. Mt. Paozu. All life on planet Earth. Everything and everyone she had grown to love and cherish on this world. They were all dead. And there was nothing she could do to stop it...

She had doomed this planet!

"NOOOOOOOOOO!..."

---

"Er... is it me or are they just starring at each other?" Said Chi-chi.

Kakarot looked between his mother and Hero. They were both just standing there as motionless as statues, as they had been for over five minutes since Hero saved himself from the ring-out. They haven't spoken a word either.

The referee as well as the audience was just as confused as he was.

"Uh...Well folks, it looks like we are witnessing a stalemate. Neither combatant has moved an inch!"

Bulma held a finger to her lip, trying to make sense of the scene. "So is this a starring contest now?"

Tien looked between Gine and Hero. "Whatever's happening, I can definitely sense some tension between them."

"Hmmm." Roshi mused. "They must be engaged in a psychic battle of sorts."

"What?! Kakarot's Mom and this Hero guy are psychic too?!" Yamcha exclaimed.

"You're not alone. I'm confused too." Krillin added.

"It's possible." Said Roshi. "We know next to nothing about who this Hero is, so who's to say he doesn't have those kinds of telepathic capabilities?"

Gohan nodded solemnly. "No doubt, and I think Gine is being put to the test here."

The whole gang looked at Hero with a newfound sense of awe and fear. This enigmatic man kept getting scarier and more unpredictable as the tournament went on. They could only imagine what was happening between him and Gine.

But Gohan could feel what was happening. He could tell by just looking at Gine, the look of silent panic on her face and the light of a hypnotic trance in her eyes. She was under a spell by Hero, probably being attacked with illusions or mind tricks. It was a dirty tactic to use in a fight, and part of him wanted to jump into the ring to break her out of it. But he couldn't do anything to help his adoptive daughter. She was at Hero's mercy and would have to wait to see what his endgame was.

He prayed that whatever test she was going through, she would come out stronger...

---

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Gine cried out in despair.

The apparition of Frieza just laughed in her face, drowning out her sorrow with his mocking presence and the roiling flames of the burning Earth.

She clutched her balled fists to her eyes to vainly stop the tears. It wasn't fair. Why did this happen? Why did it have to be this way? Why did she have to suffer?! Damn Frieza! DAMN HIM!

She then stopped crying.

Something stirred within Gine. Like a burning light shining bright in her mind.

She wasn't entirely powerless. Was she? Would she go down like this? Just ball up and cry at all that had happened?

No... she wouldn't have. Not like how she would a long time ago. Not let her fear dictate her fate.

She wasn't going to just curl up and die like this with everyone she cared about. She wasn't going to die like a coward! She won't! SHE WON'T!

The familiar cold anger built up inside her at an unstoppable pace. Remembering what it was for, Gine closed her eyes to channel that building rage into something. Soon, the energy had grown so vast she wasn't able to contain it.

Little by little, the energy she gave off caused the tiles around her to rumble in their slots, then shatter from the raw power emanating from her.

The laughing form of Frieza soon stopped laughing, and gazed down at her with consternation. But then his look turned to that of fear at seeing Gine having risen, her aura flaring up.

He could feel it's power, and unbeknownst to Gine it seemed to make the tyrant shrink back in size to his normal form...

The burning world around her seemed to vibrate uncontrollably, as if reality was caving in and out. But Gine paid it no mind. For as her anger and power grew, her mental focus upon Frieza sharpened. And through this was how she came to the realization...

"This is all an illusion." She said before letting out the most powerful scream she ever unleashed in her life.

Everything around her turned white...

---

The blonde announcer, hopped up onto the ring with his microphone in hand. Neither Hero nor Gine seemed to notice him.

He was slowly approaching the duo when...

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" Gine suddenly screamed, it's power boomed across the auditorium and into the sky. A release of ki unleashed from it blew the hapless announcer off of his feet and over the edge of the ring.

With such a long silence broken so terrifyingly, everyone jumped back at the startling shout and from the blast of wind. Even Kakarot nearly felt his heart leap out of him from the fright.

The dust settled, and Hero was flat on his behind with Gine standing over him. The trance had been broken. Her heart was now pounding in her chest.

Hero looked up and shivered at the way Gine looked at him now. Her sense of reality was restored, but she was absolutely livid. This little man had intruded deep into her mind, violated her private thoughts, taunted her with unimaginable pain and suffering, and shown her an unspeakable image of all that she held dear destroyed and dead.

"I should kill you for what you did in my mind." Gine said with a dangerously low voice.

Hero shrieked in horror, the first time he had ever shown pure fright in this tournament. The gang watched on in amazement. They wondered what could have happened in their mental battle to have Gine threaten this man's life, and were worried she might act on it.

"Wait, would she really kill him?!" Bulma shrieked. Gine had spared Crane when he had no reason to deserve living, what about now with Hero if he violated her so badly?

A deafening silence lasted for a few seconds that felt like an eternity. Then...

"But..." Gine said with some restraint. "I won't."

"Huh?" Said Hero before Gine unceremoniously kicked him in the gut. His eyes bulged like dinner plates, and he was sent flying out of the ring and crashing into the brick wall surrounding the arena.

A collective gasp of shock broke through the crowds. Hero's form fell from the indent in the wall and fell on the grass.

The referee was not too far from him. He could only shudder in horror at seeing such violence happen.

Hero rolled over, groaning in pain and stars in his eyes.

"Uh...um..." With that anticlimactic end, the announcer regained his senses then continued. "Hero is out of bounds! Gine wins the match!"

Everyone erupted into cheers, the most triumphant sounding from the whole gang. They knew she had overcome the psychic battle.

"WAY TO GO, MOM!" Kakarot shouted from behind the wall with Chi-chi cheering by his side.

"That was an intense, if not also strange outcome, folks! The unassuming Hero had defied all expectations and put on an incredible display of skill and strength that showcases how anything is possible here at the World Martial Arts Tournament. But alas the mighty lady warrior Gine has triumphed. And with that, ladies and gentlemen, she will now advance to the championship round to face off against Kakarot!"

The cheers went up an octave from the excitement. But Gine paid it no mind. She walked to the edge of the ring, looking down at Hero as he staggered back onto his feet.

Hero smiled up at her. "You did well. Despite all my attempts to get to you, you beat me physically and mentally. I'm proud of you, Gine."

Gine felt aghast. How could he say that?!

"Wha... proud?! YOU INVADED MY MIND, SIR!" She yelled.

"Easy." Hero held out his hands in a calming gesture. "Please forgive me. I know it may seem going too far, but don't take any offense to it. I rest assure you that I am NOT with Frieza. It was only a test. A fight against an evil foe would do such a thing, but you overcame it..."

Gine wasn't sure what to make of this. The old man praising her as a superior after he had done a heinous act to her by showing such tormenting images? But, she can tell that he was being sincere.

Hero continued, "You didn't let the illusion get to you, instead you focused your energy through your anger and broke the lock on your mind. For that, I congratulate your abilities."

He was right, she beat him. No harm was done in the end despite the horrific images he showed her. But that's all they were: images. Kami had taught her that psychic warfare was something to be ever vigilant about, to protect the mind as much as the body. And enemies could use her own precious memories and thoughts against. Seemed that Hero knew a thing or two about it as well.

With that, she calmed herself down. Breathing deeply, getting her heart to stop pounding. Then she was normal again.

"I guess you are right. I apologize for threatening you."

Hero waved a hand, "No need, Gine. As your master, I should know what to expect when you are pushed to your limits. If anything, I should be apologizing to you."

Gine perked her head up at what he said.

"Huh? What do you mean by "Master?""

Hero gave her a sly smile.

Then it hit her, just as his aura had changed into something recognizably benevolent...

"Kami?!" She exclaimed.

The Guardian of the Earth in Hero's body chuckled. "I was wondering how long it be before you figured me out."

She stood there quite stunned. To think that all this time that she had irking suspicion that he might have been malicious...

"Well you certainly fooled me." Gine laughed, feeling relaxed for the first time that day.

"I thought it was a clever disguise myself. I told Kakarot to act serious and keep my identity a secret until I said so. He did his job well." Kami said while glancing in Kakarot's direction.

"Yeah. No kidding." Gine also casted a reassuring but humorous look to her son. "I was just about to beat it out of him, thinking there was something terrible going on."

They both laughed. Kakarot and everyone else looked at them in confusion, wondering what they were talking about.

"I thought you couldn't visit Earth if you wanted to." Said Gine, remembering what the Guardian said before.

"Oh I can. But only temporarily, and through possessing a living body if I am to interact with the Earthlings. Otherwise that would be too much divine intervention." He explained.

"I see." Replied Gine, wondering about how many theological questions that raised for her.

Kami went on, "I wanted to see you and Kakarot off in the lower realm now that your training is complete. And to, shall I say, cover one last lesson with you before cutting you loose."

"Well, it was a rather interesting way to do so, but I'm glad you got to come down here for a bit." Gine said with a smile before asking, "That vessel seems rather fragile. Why the body of an old man?"

Kami patted the chest of his possessed body. "Part of the subversion and disarming. Never underestimate your opponent!"

"Ah." Gine said simply.

"And that illusion I showed you was part of the final test. For if your enemies are not strong enough to defeat you in body, they could always get inside your head and defeat you there instead just as easily. Just as King Piccolo almost did with taunts of killing your son. But you overcame it this time."

Kami nodded approvingly. "Always know that your only true weakness is what shackles that hold you back in the mind. "

It made sense. Kami knew her better than anyone, using his telepathic powers to read her mind and bring her darkest fears to light as if they were real. The test was to see if she could overcome them.

Gine smiled to herself, feeling a sense of liberating realization like that of when she finished that fateful spirit journey three years ago. It made her think that if she could overcome her darkest fears, who knew what else she could accomplish.

"Well thank you for that. I'll definitely keep everything you taught me close to heart!"

Kami felt joyous. "I'm very happy to hear that, Gine. And know that you and Kakarot are the greatest students I ever had, and if you ever need me, you know where to find me."

"Uh, excuse me?" They turned to the blonde referee who came up beside them.

"I hate to interrupt, Mr. Hero, but you will need to clear the area so we can get the arena prepared for the final match."

Kami in Hero's body sighed. "Very well. I'm afraid my time here is done. I must return to my place above the heavens."

"Aren't you gonna stay and see the finals?" Gine asked, somewhat disappointed by his need to depart.

Kami shook his head. "I can see everything on Earth from the Lookout. I'll watch from above. Besides, I don't want to keep this poor soul Hero under my spell for too long."

"Oh yeah. Okay then." Gine agreed, and they shook hands.

"Thanks for everything." She offered sincerely.

"Likewise." Kami returned.

He stood back and closed his eyes. "Thank you for letting me borrow this body. Go now, I release you."

A shimmering apparition of the old namekian appeared behind the body of Hero.

"Good luck, Gine. I'll keep in touch." The ghostly form of Kami said with a smile before fading away into nothingness...

The unpossessed Hero blinked his blurry eyes, his mind in a daze as if he just woke up from a dream.

He saw Gine standing before him, and the audience applauding him.

"Aaah! What's- What's going on? Did I miss something? Is this where the Martial Arts Tournament is supposed to be?"

Gine chuckled to the freed old man. She figured that without Kami guiding him, he was just a harmless and untrained old man like any other human. He probably didn't even remember fighting her.

"Yes it is. I... guess you must've banged your head pretty hard." She said gently.

Hero looked around and didn't like the attention focused on him, his face red with embarrassment.

"I think I better go find a seat!"

He ran into the crowd, people cheering him as he passed by and tried to excuse his way through.

"Hey dad!" A young boy called out to Hero and ran up to him. "What a great fight!"

The old man looked at the child in utter disbelief. "What?!"

The boy couldn't contain his excitement. "Yeah! Wow! I didn't know you could fight! I have the strongest dad in the world!"

The crowd around him cheered, bombarding him with questions and requests for autographs. Hero was now distraughtly confused. He didn't remember being in the tournament, he didn't remember how he ended up in the ring with that tailed woman when the last thing he remembered was being in line for a soda. What the hell was going on?!

Gine laughed at the scene and wished Hero good luck in trying to explain it all.

The sound of gongs rang out.

"Next up, the final round, as Kakarot and Gine will battle for the championship! The fight will begin following a ten minute intermission, so don't go anywhere yet folks. The most spectacular, unprecedented match is expected to take place here today and you do NOT want to miss it. So get ready! "

Gine breathed in relief at that. She was glad that this would be over today, and not have it turn into a multiday tournament like before. She was looking forward to going back home after this, now that the prize was securely in their reach. But was still eager to one last good fight with her son.

Her nose wrinkled. She sniffed. The moisture in the air was building, and the temperature was dropping.

"Smells like rain." She said to herself.

Sure enough, a dark overcast rolled in and drops started to fall before a turning into a steady downpour.

Gine returned to common area.

"Congratulations, Gine!" Chi-chi praised.

"Thanks, Chi-chi." Gine smiled. She then looked at Kakarot, who was waiting for her to say something about what he knew must have happened.

"Kami made you promise not to tell who he was, eh?"

Her son nodded sheepishly. Gine laughed.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. You're not in trouble."

Kakarot let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Phew, good. I thought I was for a moment. Like, choosing between lying to you and disobeying Kami is an impossible situation!"

Gine rolled her eyes. Her son's pure heart could make him so simple minded sometimes.

"Well, either way, it's just us to fight next. So looks like the title and prize money should be easy now." Said Kakarot.

"Don't think I'm gonna go easy on you. I WILL make you earn that championship." Gine teased sternly, pointing a finger at him to emphasize her point.

Kakarot slammed a fist into his open hand with anticipation. "Hehe, wouldn't dream of it, Mom. I was hoping for a real fight anyway!"

Chi-chi, who was standing by them, looked confused and shocked. "Wait, that was the Kami she just fought?!"

"Uh. Oh, yeah that was..." Kakarot was about to say more before from around the corner, Bulma came running up into the common area, followed by the rest of the gang. Ox-King lumbered around the corner and nearly stampeded over them.

"Chi-chi! Are you okay, sweetie?!" He shrieked.

"Yes, yes! I'm okay, daddy!" Chi-chi tried to sooth her father.

"What happened, Gine?!" Bulma asked with barely restrained curiosity.

"For once, I'm at a loss. Who was that Hero guy?" Roshi asked too.

"Yeah, from the looks of things it seemed like you and Kakarot knew him. What is it you aren't telling us?" Said Yamcha, followed by Tien.

"Judging from how he fought it seemed like he knew you the most, Gine. Like you two were old friends or something."

"Come on, Gine. Tell us!" Krillin begged.

"Yeah! Who was that geezer?!" Launch also prodded.

Mother and son looked at each other, then shrugged. They may as well tell them.

"That was actually Kami. The Guardian of the Earth." Said Gine.

A collective exclamation of shock punctuated with a thunderclap went through them.

"WHAT?! That old guy I fought was him?!" Yamcha sputtered in disbelief.

"Well... not physically." Gine tried to explain. "He said he possessed the body of that old man named Hero in order to visit Earth. I guess as a way to say hello and to partake in the tournament."

The gang had a hard time trying to absorb that. Gods possessing the living in such an unassuming way. But, they believed Gine in the end. Chiaotzu believed it already.

"Guess it makes sense for him to use magic."

"It looked like Earth's Guardian was quite a fighter." Gohan suggested, also wondering at Gine's well-being during the last stretch of it in her head.

She smiled at him reassuringly. "He was. But he is also a great teacher."

Gohan placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad he was." Whatever trials she went through, he could tell that she had indeed come out stronger. He couldn't be more proud of her...

"Heh. Sounds like something Jackie Chun would do." Roshi quipped.

The rain stopped then, and the sound of the referee's voice boomed over the wall.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Your patience is about to be rewarded. The final match of the Twenty-third World Martial Arts Tournament begins now! Welcome the contestants, Kakarot and Gine! Who will win the title and that sweet five hundred-thousand zeni? Let's find out!"

Cheers louder than ever before erupted from the stadium. It was time.

Kakarot pumped his fist into the air. "Alright! Let's go, Mom."

"Right behind you, son."

They both headed towards the ring entrance, while the gang cheered on with the crowd...

"GOOD LUCK, BOTH OF YOU!" Bulma yelled.

---

High above the tournament, above the clouds, Kami watched from the Lookout. He had only returned, and was missing walking among the people of Earth already. But he had his heavenly duties to attend too, and he could watch the tournament from up here.

While he did so, he pondered how he ought to be feeling a sense of accomplishment in everything he had done in teaching Gine and Kakarot. That on this day, all of those three years of effort coming to a head with that nice little showdown to prove how far Gine had come as a send off for his greatest student.

Instead, he was fighting off a sense of dread. Gine had indeed come really far, and had grown so powerful. And sure, she overcame the last trial, but only barely. But that was what scared him.

Certain events were going to transpire soon in the near future, something that could stake the fate of this planet. Maybe even the fate of the cosmos itself. And with it, a truth will be revealed. One that only he and Fortuneteller Baba knew ever since he took the saiyans in under his wing three years ago. And when that happens... he prayed against hope that Gine will not use everything he taught her against him.

---

A/N: Sorry it took awhile. Life in this screwed up year of 2020 happens to keep me busy at times, and this chapter was longer than I thought it was going to be. But I'm glad I got the 23rd WMAT covered!

See you in the next chapter!