*Author's Note: I don't normally do responses to reviewers, but I felt I should do it just this once.

steven: I appreciate your compliments, and have no fear. I shall continue this, no matter what it takes. ^_^

AnT: Ooooh…we'll see what happens. I don't want to give anything away yet, but there's going to be some mayhem once again, very shortly. Methinks Goten and Trunks might be running into some other Nerima residents within the next few chapters. -_^

Peter Kim: I appreciate you being a consistent reader and reviewer, but I would really, REALLY appreciate it more if you'd discontinue making the same 'suggestions' over and over. This isn't a radio station where you can request for your favorite song. I have no intention of bring Frieza or Zarbon, or any of those others back. No point bringing back the same old guys again and again, especially when that's been done ad nauseum in other stories.

Ssj goku: Thanks. As I told steven, I'll be continuing this no matter what, so please check in when ya can, unless you want me to inform you when I update the story in email form. ^_^

Well, I think I left you guys hanging long enough. Back to the battles!

~§~
RBL_M1A2Tanker aka 'Tank'*

DBZR1/2

Chapter 14: Techno Battle? Ready….GO! Part 2

"Our next match is Ryoga Hibiki verses Sakura. Please step into the ring."

"My turn," Ryoga smirked, as he slipped past the other fighters and moved to the left.

He'd gone a few paces when both Ranma and Akane cried out, "Hey idiot! The ring is that way!"

"Eh?" He looked, and sure enough, the ring was behind him. "I knew that." He headed towards the ring...in the right direction this time.

Ranma shook his head. "That guy should really get a compass or something."

In the ring stood a teenaged school girl, still in her school uniform, stretching. Her fists were covered by red sparring gloves, matching the collar of the red undershirt she wore. In her short brown hair a long white headband fluttered slightly about her as she moved. She fired off a couple punches and kicks as she waited for Ryoga to finally get into the ring.

"I was hoping Ryu would be here." She muttered. "At this rate I'll never find him." Frustration ate at her. She was much stronger, she knew it. All she had to do was find the guy and prove it.

"Oh well. At least if I win this I'll have some money to go back home with. Maybe I can even get a train ticket." She was ever hopeful for that. As much as running all over the place did for her stamina and body, it got old.

Ryoga finally got into the ring, opposite of Sakura. "I'll have you know that I won't go easy on you." He said, taking up stance.

She smiled back prettily. "Cool! Maybe I won't have such an easy time beating you then!"

Ryoga's eye twitched. "Easy? Easy!?!"

The ref pointed to Sakura. "Ready?" She nodded her legs in a side horse stance with her arms raised near her chest at the ready. "Ready?"

"I'll show you easy!" Ryoga charged at Sakura, forcing the ref to cry out as he attempted to escape, "Go!"

"Bakusai…" He pulled his arm back, finger extended.

"Hadou Ken!" A weak energy blast shot out, stopping Ryoga in his tracks.

"You think such a weak attack will stop me?" He taunted.

"Heh Hah!" Was the only reply he got as she did a wide overhead kick, bringing it up and over her head as she spun…and giving him an eyeful of her red panty covered rear from under her skirt. Blood started to gush instantly from his nose, but before he could do anything about it, the kick connected, sending him into the teak floor hard. The music was playing as fast as ever, possibly faster as it took on a more cheerful tone.

She smiled pretty again. "Are you sure you're not going to be that easy?"

An aura surrounded Ryoga as he picked himself up off the deck. "I'll show you…" He growled, grasping a stripped bandanna from his head and throwing it with all his might.

"Whah!" She cried as she jumped out of the way, the two large ribbons on her uniform getting slashed. He threw another, than another, smirking the whole time. Part of her skirt took a gash from one while she managed to deflect the other with a glove, also getting slashed. She charged quickly and grasped him. She jumped up, still holding him, till her bottom was in front of his face (prompting another blood spurt), and then kicked out, sending him flying to the side of the ring.

"That little...how dare she use my weakness against me!" He cried as he picked himself up again, turning and rushing towards her angrily. Before he could get in a strike though, she was spinning and moving forward, an arm and fist upraised. It hit once, twice, five times, sending him flying up towards the ceiling with the fifth strike.

The music played, "We're flying high….we're flying right up to the stars… we fly so high…we're flying right up to the sky!" in a happy hardcore tune.

How ironic…

"Shiiiinnnnnkuuuu….." Sakura started to chant, hands cupped beside her as Ryoga started to come back down. Small lighting bolts shimmered in her hands as a ball of energy formed. "Haadoooo Ken!" She shot her thin arms upwards, sending several large blasts of energy towards her target. Each one hit, sending him higher and higher, until finally her attack ended, sending him earthward once again.

He landed hard outside the ring, his eyes glazed over in a daze, his legs tucked in, arms splayed out, fingers in the shape of horns, with the thumbs pointing to his head.

"And the winner is…Sakura!" The ref announced.

"Heh, ha, Ha!" She kicked three times, with a single solitary shoe flying off, before taking up a low ready stance. The shoe landed on her head once before falling beside her.

From the sidelines, Ranma muttered, "Man…Ryoga really got it that time."

"I'll say." Akane agreed. She had changed to her gi a few minutes prior, ready to fight.

"I wonder who's up next." Goku thought aloud, scratching his chin. In the ring, Sakura bowed briefly towards the prone Ryoga, gathered up her shoe, and quickly slipped out of the ring. The announcer glanced at his clipboard, and then picked up his mike.

"Our next match is Ken Masters verses Kenneth Feng."

"Who's Kenneth Feng?" Ranma asked, looking at Tank and Barsoum, who were busy having a conversation to the side. Tank heard and glanced over, shrugging.

***************************************

*Author's Note: The following fight scene (with a few tweaks by me) was submitted by Noctorro by request. I thank him greatly for adding a great piece to my story. Kenneth Feng is his original character, check out his adventures at Noctorros' FFN account.)

"Woohoo, go Kenny!!" Sakura chanted from the sidelines with her hands cupped around her mouth. She raised a fist in the air and swung it round and round, as if she were punching an invisible speed punch bag.

A spotlight (who knew where the hell that came from…) kicked on, revealing a lone figure standing in the bright beam. The figure walked forward calmly, small in stature but beaming with an unseen aura, as he waved excitedly to the crowd as they hollered and cheered. The music had for the moment stopped while the DJ worked on putting on a different CD.

From a different corner of the holding area an identical spotlight ignited, revealing a blond figure smiling cockily, positioned in an intimidating stance with his muscular arms folded across a broad chest. He had a red karate uniform on, complete with belt and thick fingerless fighting gloves. He looked toward the arena, hesitating to take his first step onto the fighting platform before he could properly size up the opponent.

And what an opponent he had to face. Standing at least half a head shorter than him was a small stature teen, barely considered to have passed puberty. Ken squinted a little, his eyes failing him as age caught up to him for a brief moment. He recognized the figure instantly …

"Kenny!" Ken cried. His young namesake had already reached the battle platform, looking at him to hurry up and approach so that the fight could begin.

"Uncle Ken!" the boy cried out waving excitedly. "Hurry up and get out here!"

Ken scratched his head. They were about to fight, and he was about to kick the kid's ass. He didn't expect Kenny to be waving so happily to see him. "I'm on my way, kid," Ken said running towards the platform. "Don't think I'm gonna go all easy on ya just cause you're inexperienced. I know about that Shadow stuff you got in ya!"

*Author's Note: If ya wish to know more about Kenny and this "Shadow stuff" please pay a visit to Noctorro's FFN account (I'm really doing great advertising for him here hehehe).*

"Bring it on," Kenny said, grinning excitedly.

Before the ref could even attempt to get back into the ring to start the fight, the two warriors were already going at it against each other, just as a high paced beat filled the slightly smoky air. Ken was the first to start his assault, beginning his chain of attacks with a fiery uppercut that smashed against Kenny's blocking forearms. The first uppercut he executed had a short peak at the jump before landing and performing a second, identical uppercut for a total of six blocked hits. Kenny was starting to feel the pressure already, the sweat of the effort breaking all over his forehead. Ken pressed on however, performing a third uppercut that Kenny hadn't expected, connecting firmly with the younger warrior's ribcage, tossing him helplessly into the air.

Just as Kenny was being thrust overhead, Ken landed from his final uppercut and crouched to the ground, the experienced martial artist powering up his chi, positioning himself directly under the boy, falling head first towards the ground.

A pillar of light formed upwards as Ken leapt into the air, hoping to catch Kenny in a flurry of fiery punches in a single performed "Shinryuuken" - the true Dragon Punch. However just as he was about to connect the first hits to Kenny's head, the boy flipped so that he was in the upright position, kicking Ken square in the face as the two bodies met in a powerful vertical collision.

Kenny had gotten more air time, successfully bouncing of Ken, pushing himself further into the air. He spread his arms, and a burst of energy exploded from his body, encasing him in a protective shell of fire. The fire gradually shaped itself to that of a giant bird that lunged down towards Ken, who had already hit the teak floor hard.

The firebird that encased Kenny's body swooped down on massive wings, its giant claws outstretched, ready to grasp its prey in a death vice. The bird collided with Ken, injuring the both of them. Ken was nearly thrown over the edge of the platform, while the firebird's energy merely disappeared, throwing Kenny like a rag doll onto the teak flooring. The two of them recovered without much fuss and resumed the fight.

* * *


Sitting on the sidelines, watching the fight intently, a surge of confusion filled Goku. He sat focusing his attention on the boy known as Kenneth Feng. The moves he performed reminded Goku of … he thought about it again for a moment, reaching his conclusion. Kenny was performing the moves that Goku himself had taught his son Gohan when Gohan was just a young child. How was it possible that Kenny knew the martial arts exclusive to Goku's family?

Though there was a part of him that felt skeptical, Goku was sure that Kenny studied the same martial art, or one that was very similar to Goku's own. But how was the boy able to attain such knowledge? Here he was, in a tournament that transgressed dimensions, and in front of him stood this child from a different world that shared the same fighting style. How strange indeed …

"Huh, that's weird," He muttered. And then it hit him, the realization dawning on him so quickly that it had sent a violent chill up his spine. It wasn't only the moves that Kenny performed that made Goku realize how he could actually come to be - the firebird move was unmistakable. There was only one explanation for this. Obviously, for one who knew the martial arts present only in Goku's family, one must've had at least existed in the Dragon Ball universe. Since this person was now present in a trans-dimensional tournament, the only person who co-existed with Goku and the others in the Dragon Ball universe that had moved on to another life was none other than …

"Goken," Goku whispered gravely under his breath. He looked again at Kenny, eyeing his every move, even the physical appearance of the boy. "He fights like Goken, he looks just like him too, down to the last detail". Even the straight hair that barely touched the boy's brows matched what Goku remembered of his second son down to a T.

No, it was too good to believe. Goku knew that Goken was dead, and he would forever be dead. The chances of Kenny being Goken were too low, the odds impossibly high. What were the chances that they would reunite in a tournament? Goku had no idea what kind of life his son was leading right now. Even if Kenny was the reincarnated version of Goken, they were now two different people meant to lead two different lives. He nodded his head, deciding against approaching Kenny after the fight was over. He knew that the fates wouldn't allow Goken's past to return to haunt him, and Goku decided that it would be for the best in the long run.

* * *


Kenny hit the deck hard from exhaustion. He refused to believe that he had been defeated by Ken. Then again, it probably wasn't as bad as it would've been if it had been the other way around. Ken was older, bulkier and more experienced. Stubborn as he was, Kenny forced himself off the ground - at least, he tried to. He could see the hand of the ref flashing over him as he counted. The man was slowly counting down to zero and once it had reached that dreaded number of nothingness, he knew that the match would be over. Kenny tried raising his upper body off the ground, but his muscles burned with pain, refusing to obey him.

Just as the countdown reached one, Kenny felt something grasp his arm, pulling the boy quickly to his feet.

"Get up, Kenny," Ken ordered, "you're not finished this fight yet, are you?"

"No," he replied weakly. "I'm not done …" But Kenny's knees buckled from underneath him, his legs too tired to support his weight anymore. Bruises adorned his body and he was bleeding from a cut lower lip. As minor as his injuries were, they added up, taking a tremendous toll on his inexperienced body, and he just hit the floor like a sack. "I'm sorry, Uncle Ken. I guess I'm not quite the fight you were looking for."

"The winner of the match is…Ken Masters!" The crowd cheered, more impressed with the young man's performance than by anything else. Ken hefted the bruised lad up, placing one of his arms on his thick shoulders before facing the crowd with a grin. "Give Kenny a hand everyone! He was terrific!"

The crowd agreed, and Kenny managed a wan smile as he gazed at the mass. Even some of the fighters where applauding, including the man with the strange hair and orange outfit who seemed strangely…familiar.

Kenny shook his head. "I'd never met him before. Must have just taken a few too many hits," he mumbled under his breath as Ken helped him to the side of the area, where others helped him through the ropes and back into the holding area, and where he was promptly taken to a chair. His body pooled into it in relief.

"Did I really do that good Uncle Ken?" He asked, one of his eyelids slightly swelling.

"You did great kiddo. I'll be feeling a few of those hits for sure." Kenny smiled wider as Sakura rushed over, interrupting their private moment with her banter.

"That was soo cool! I've never seen you fight like that before! And the way you did that whole bird thing, that was awesome! I didn't know you could do that!"

"Neither did I." Ken thought to himself, puzzled as he thought over the whole fight. He dismissed it though as the announcer prepared to call out the next match.

***************************

"Our next match is Mr. Barsoum vs. Tank."

Tank took in a deep breath before releasing it slowly, trying to calm the butterflies that had suddenly taken flight in his gut. As he took the first step towards the raised deck though, an explosion erupted. Several club goers were sent flying, dead or badly wounded before they knew what hit them. Shrapnel filled the air, slicing into anything and everything in their path. As it turned out, Gotenks was the closest to the blast than any of the other fighters, and he cried out in pain as several pieces of debris nicked him, blood trickling from the small wounds.

More cries of pain could be heard as smoke flowed from a small crater at what used to be one of the bars in the club. Tank and Barsoum both rushed over to the area, placing fingers on necks, or checking for wounds and talking to people gently yet quickly.

"You'll be ok miss. Just stay awake, the medics will be here and take care of you." Tank said to a young woman as she started to turn white with shock. She had no visible injuries, but that didn't mean that she didn't have anything internally wrong.

"You're alright man. You just got scratched a bit. Lay here for a moment while I put this on you." Barsoum took a piece of his victim's shirt and wrapped it around a nasty gash in the man's arm.

They worked their way forward towards the source of the explosion, finding fewer and fewer living among the debris, while Goku (after helping Gotenks), Ranma, Akane and other fighters, club goers and a few of the police that weren't busy locking the place down followed, helping the people out of the smoking club.

***************************

Up in the balcony…

"Send our medics in there immediately." Bison ordered as he gazed down at the devastation below him though a now cracked window. The aide rushed off, not asking why the usually uncaring Shadowlaw leader wanted their paramedics to help innocent civilians.

Bison's reason's though, where far from altruistic. "If we can get so much as a small sample of that boy's DNA, the world will be mine." Bison grinned at the thought. He had sensed the explosive heading towards his and Geese's booth before it went off, and had deflected it with his mind almost without a thought.

Beside him Geese held a hand to his head, the concussion having given him quite the headache. He turned towards Bison, asking, "This wouldn't happen to have been your doing would it?"

"No, it was not. Nor do I really care who did do it." Bison half lied.

"Then why are you sending your medics down there?" Geese waved to his aide, who came forward instantly.

"That is none of your concern Geese. What I do with Shadowlaw assets is mine, and mine alone." Bison turned his powerful body till it faced the Akido master, almost in challenge.

Geese shrugged, although inside he seethed. He knew that Bison was up to something, and he was determined to get in on the action. He barely turned to his aide, saying, "Lock this place down. Get the police outside, and let no one but the medics in here. Find out who set off the bomb."

"Yes sir." The man replied, before running off to get the task done.

**********************

In no time the police had been hustled outside with the walking wounded, while the fighters continued help out, having more experience with wounds than the average person did. Medics in white coats with a strange skull over wings on their lapels got to work giving more advanced assistance.

Sakura coughed slightly from the smoke, before turning her gaze back to Kenny, who had hit the deck almost super fast. "Are you ok?" She asked.

"Yea, I'm ok. I can't seem to get myself back up though." He chuckled weakly. Somehow he had gained incredible speed for a brief moment, but it had drained him.

Ken Masters stood back up, brushing himself off as he quickly turned to Sakura. "Sakura, help Kenny get outside will you?"

She smiled brightly. "Sure thing!" Both she and Ken helped Kenny up and onto her shoulder.

"Where are you going to be?" Kenny asked.

"I'll be in here awhile, shouldn't take long though. Go on, head on out of here." Ken said with a slight smile, giving the impression that everything would be ok.

"Ok." Kenny said simply, and started to limp towards the exit, Sakura giving him support.

Not far away…

"Ow!" Gotenks yelled as a large splinter was removed from his butt.

"Be still son. We're almost done here." A kindly older medic said, placing a bandage on the spot quickly. "For being as close as you were, you actually didn't get much damage. You are one lucky kid."

"Why don't I feel lucky right now?" Gotenks mumbled, while the man dabbed at a gash on his back with a swab before placing a large wrap on the spot. Nobody noticed the man slip the now red swab into a small container before continuing his ministrations.

**********

In the dark corner...

Akuma's eyes narrowed as he looked throughout the club's high ceiling. He had noticed a slight movement from above only moments before the explosion, but since then he hadn't been able to see anything. He concentrated, searching for any strong chi concentrations above, but other than the two in the enclosed balcony he felt nothing out of the ordinary. "A cowardly attack…or was it a ruse?" Akuma thought to himself as he kept his eyes above, finally noticing something move in the smoky darkness. It was only a flash of something yellow and red, but it was all he needed to track it. The form slowly worked its way around till it got into a better position to observe what was going on below.

Akuma smirked slightly before disappearing into the dark around him.

************

Far above….

Rolento gazed down dispassionately at the crowd below. He was highly annoyed. His grenade attack was supposed to hit Bison's booth, but for whatever reason it bounced away far from its target, to explode at the bar.

"It seems I underestimated Bison. He's a much stronger challenge than I expected." The commando smiled slightly at that. He loved a good challenge. "I shall need more intelligence before mounting another attack. There shall not be another miss like this."

"No, there won't be." A deep voice rumbled to the right.

Rolento quickly spun in the direction of the voice, a knife and his baton at the ready as he tensed up for a surprise attack.

Akuma gazed at him; his crimson eyes seemed to laugh while he crossed his powerful arms.

"So, the Master of Fists is after Bison as well?" Rolento tossed out, sweating slightly. If the rumors were true, he would be dead before he knew it. Still, he couldn't help but try to get some information while he thought up of escape routes. "Or does he work for Shadowlaw now?"

"I have no interest in that weak man." Akuma said simply, not moving.

"I have no quarrel with you than sir. I'm only after Bison."

"By making a cowardly attack?" Akuma snorted. "You are weaker than him. You refuse to let your fists do the deed, instead relying on explosives and other weapons, and even then you don't engage your true target."

"Those people weren't my target. I did engage Bison, but it didn't connect." Rolento shot back defensively as he stood straight, sheathing his knife but leaving that arm low. "I know my limitations, and I know what I'm best at."

"That is why you're weak." A reddish aura started to simmer around Akuma, flowing much like trickling water. "And for nearly scaring my prey away, your punishment is death."

Rolento tensed himself again, as he replied, "Not today then Master of Fists." The commando shot out his free arm, and a smoke bomb exploded at his feet. Quickly he leapt further away, heading towards the open vent he'd used to get in.

"Messatsu…" Akuma bent down low in a wide side horse stance, clenching his fists as the aura rippled around him, totally undistracted by the smoke bomb. Sparks seemed to shoot from his hands for a brief moment as he powered up one of his stronger attacks. With a grunt and a sudden twisting of his feet, he shot his hands upwards and to the left into a wide cup, sending a large purple beam of energy at Rolento's fleeing form.

Before Rolento knew what had happened, the blast enveloped him just as he was about to enter the large vent, and the last he saw was the metal vent being wrought and shredded like paper before he connected with a now exposed I beam, sending him into darkness.

**********

Below…

"What the…" Ranma said as he and several fighters turned their eyes to the ceiling as the area around them took on a purplish cast. All he saw was a dark man with flame-red hair in even darker clothing firing an energy blast more powerful than any he'd ever seen or felt before. Not even Goku's Kamehameha attack of earlier had been that powerful.

"Who's that?" Akane asked in wonder as the blast ended, sending the high ceiling back into darkness.

Not far away Tank and Barsoum both paled. "No…it can't be…" Tank muttered, his blood going cold.

"Man, this shit really sucks!" Barsoum exclaimed, not even bothering with bravado.

"What? Who was that?" Akane had overheard, and turned her gaze towards them.

"That looked like Akuma." Tank said softly.

Akane was confused. "Akuma? Who is that? What's so special about him?" She asked for the third time as two others, Terry Bogard and Ken Masters, approached.. In the short time she'd known the soldier, he hadn't shown any fear. However, he and his friend were definitely afraid, almost visibly shaking.

Ranma worked his way over to them, as did Goku and a now patched up Gotenks, both of them with their eyes locked onto the spot where Akuma was last seen. But before Tank could respond Ken, his face and arms smudged with soot, spoke up.

"Akuma is a master in the Shotokan Karate style. What he learned though is the pure form of the same style as what I and Ryu fight with, and because it is the true form, he has been corrupted by the Dark Hadou." Ken remained wary, trying as hard as he could to sense Akuma's position, his eyes first darting one way than the other as he felt glimpses of the man's chi.

"The Dark Hadou gives him great power, but now his only purpose in life is to fight and kill just for the sake of the violence of it."

Ranma and Akane gulped, their eyes wide. "Great…so why's he here? Did he blow up the bar too?"

Tank, Barsoum, Ken and Goku shook their heads at the same time.

"I didn't sense his power until he used his energy attack. It wasn't him." Goku replied eyes shifting rapidly. Ken nodded in agreement.

"Explosions like that isn't his style." Barsoum said sagely. Tank nodded. "He's a bit more precise than that. That was more like a bomb, or grenade or something along those lines."

"As for why he's here, your guess is as good as mine." Ken shrugged.

Tank felt something…a warning?...from the back of his mind. He spun around and jumped back, taking up a ready stance. The others except for Akane had also felt the danger and had shifted about, taking up ready positions. Akane saw what the others did and also took up a position, feeling her heart race and her energy start to creep up.

"I am not interested in fighting you now." A deep voice from nowhere yet seeming to be from everywhere resonated about them as they started to shift about, trying to find him.

"Awww, he's not so tough." Gotenks snorted, relaxing from his stance.

A loud thump could be heard, followed by several more as Akuma moved, untraceable even to the Saiyans, as he continued to speak. "You are a foolish child. A true warrior enters the arena with all his powers at the ready. You are powerful, but you let that power do your fighting, and not your fists. You lack skill. Your overconfidence is your weakness."

"Yea whatever." Gotenks shot back, getting annoyed. He was about to taunt the man when Goku put his arm out.

"Enough Gotenks. Can't you sense him?" Goku said, his eyes closed.

Gotenks thought a moment, and then frowned. "Well, no."

"Exactly. He's good. His energy is completely masked when he moves. He's strong, and skilled."

A figure appeared out of the smoke in front of them, a reddish aura surrounding him. Several of the fighters jumped, having not sensed his appearance until they could see him.

"This is not the time to fight. We shall meet again, travelers from another dimension." This set everyone but Ken and Terry aback.

"How did you know…" Goku started when Akuma interrupted.

"I have traveled far in my search for worthy opponents. I have yet to find any." Akuma crossed his arms, scowling slightly.

"Are there others like you?" Goku asked in wonderment.

"Where I walk, I walk alone. Where I fight, I fight alone. There are none like me." Akuma said simply as he turned around and began to walk away, a red emblem on his back wreathing and moving as if aflame.

"When shall we fight then?" Goku called.

"When the time comes, and it shall come soon." Akuma replied, disappearing into the smoke.

A few moments passed, until Goku stood back up. "He's gone."

Tank and Barsoum both visibly relaxed. "That was close." They muttered simultaneously.

Ken chuckled slightly. "Yea, that was a bit close for me too. I've never had to fight him before, but Ryu has."

"Ryu?" Terry asked, puzzled for a moment. "Oh yea, the guy who beat Sagat, the Muy Tai champ. What happened?"

Ken shrugged. "Dunno. He doesn't talk about it, other than to say that Akuma thought he was too weak to be much of a challenge. Ryu did say he lost to him though."

"So why didn't Akuma kill him?" Tank inquired.

Again Ken shrugged. "Maybe Ryu put up a better challenge than he expected. Only Ryu knows the answer to that."

Goku crossed his arms, eyebrows knitted. Beside him Gotenks suddenly glowed for a brief moment, then separated back into Trunks and Goten, both of them carrying half of the injuries and bandages that Gotenks had.

Ranma wiped his brow, thankful he didn't have to fight the demon. Granted, he wasn't afraid to fight anyone, and had complete confidence in himself, but he'd seen too many strange things since Trunks and Goten had arrived, and that was only yesterday. Luckily for him, Akuma seemed more interested in the three Saiyans instead.

"So I take it the competition is over?" Barsoum asked somewhat dejectedly.

"Afraid so. The place is a wreck!" Ken swung his arms about the place to underscore his point.

"So what happens with the prize money?"

"Well I think we'll just have to have a follow-up competition. Probably won't be for a few weeks though." Ken rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It'll take that long just to set up the location."

Goku smiled. "We'll be there!"

Tank turned to Ranma. "Barsoum and I will be heading out now. Guess I'll see you in a couple days then for more training."

Ranma shook his head. "I won't be here. I'm going on a training trip with Goku." He jerked his thumb at the Saiyan.

"Oh." Tank replied. "Alright. I'll check in every so often then until you get back."

"Sounds good." Ranma nodded. He didn't have a clue when he'd be back, but it was a fair bet it wouldn't be for a good long while. At that moment though…

"Nihao!" A high pitched cry was heard as Shampoo attached herself to Ranma, prompting an evil glare from Akane. "Shampoo hear explosion. Came as quickly as possible."

"Get offa me would ya?" Ranma struggled to get the voluptuous young woman off, but as usual wasn't having much success.

"Yea Shampoo. Get off of him. Can't you see he's fine?" Akane glared, her fists clenched.

"Are you sure? Shampoo see lots of people hurt." She asked, although she did let go of Ranma, much to his relief.

While that was going on, Tank turned to Goku. "Could you come over here for a sec?"

"Sure."

They only moved a few feet away, but it was enough to allow them to talk while Shampoo, Akane and Ranma kept talking, or nearly shouting as the case may be.

"What's up?" Goku asked, still not totally sure what to make of Tank. He was friendly enough though.

"Just wanted to let you know to be careful when you go against Akuma."

"Why? Is he much stronger than that?" Goku asked, almost eager.

"He can be. It's not his strength though you need to watch out for. It's his techniques."

Goku scratched his head, curious. "What kinda techniques does he have?"

"There's just one I think you have to watch out for. It's called the Raging Demon." Tank shuddered slightly.

"What's that?"

"He teleports to you, grabs you, and with at least 15 precise hits kills you. I've heard that your own sins are what does the deed, adding to the damage he causes, but I don't know if that part is true."

"Oh, sounds pretty impressive." Goku held his chin a moment, then blinked. "Hey, how do you know about it?"

Tank smiled slightly. "I know things. I like to keep my ear to the ground."

"What's that do? Do you really learn a lot with your ear on the ground?"

Tank sighed. "That was an analogy. I make sure to find out things is all I mean."

"Oh. Well, I hope to see you again when I bring Ranma and his friends back." Goku stuck out his hand.

"I hope so too." Tank took it, saying, "Take care...Super Saiyan."

Goku let go in shock, and simply watched Tank and Barsoum walk out the door through the line of security guards and disappear into the night.

"Now how'd he know that?" He wondered aloud. He was beginning to think that maybe there might be a benefit to having ones ear to the ground after all.

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In the DBZ World...

"Ok…the radar says the Dragonball is here…this time." Gohan looked about him, finding that part hard to believe. He floated high over a triple canopy jungle, having found all but the last of the mystical balls over the course of a day. Those hadn't been difficult to find. One had been on a mountain. Another had been in a small cave, while another had been near a village. All he'd been able to get without any issue, and all of those were clinking around in a small satchel at his waist.

This one though, he'd been following it for a good while now. It didn't seem to stay in one place, kind of bouncing from place to place. All of it in the jungle, but never in any one spot.

"Well, I better just get in there and see what it's doing." He lifted his arms as he fell to the ground, crashing through each canopy and getting slapped silly by branches, vines, and whatnot.

"That hurts!" He held his face after it had been hit by a particularly large branch as he continued his descent to the ground. He'd been controlling his fall the entire time, but it didn't seem to make much difference. "I hope I get through soon."

Finally he broke through the bottom canopy, and into near total darkness. He could feel the eyes of thousands of creatures upon him, his ears filled with their sounds. He smelled the rot of the jungle as his skin started to sweat from the oppressive humidity. His feet threatened to slide out from under him, but he managed to keep from falling. Wiping some of the sweat from his face, he gazed at the glowing display of the radar, and it continued to blink the location of the Dragonball, still somewhere below him in the darkness.

"This is crazy!" He muttered. "I can't see a thing down here." He gazed back upwards, the hole he'd punched having closed back up the moment he had passed through.

"I'm sorry to do this, but I need to see what I'm doing. Forgive me." He charged an energy wave in his hand, and shot it directly above him, blowing a good sized hole into each canopy, letting in a large beam of sunlight. He blinked from the sudden influx of light, and took a moment to adjust, his feet again seeming to slide together.

When he opened his eyes, he gazed directly at a large anaconda, which was in the process of wrapping around him and had gotten up to his waist. "Wah!!!" He shrieked, panicking slightly, although most of it was from surprise. The snake, for its part, simply hissed and continued to do its work.

"Get off of me!" He yelled, pushing down on the snake, trying to get his legs freed. But the snake wouldn't have any of that, and wrapped around his arms and his chest quickly, and didn't do anything more. Every time Gohan exhaled slightly, the snake would tighten up, making it more and more difficult for Gohan to get a breath of air. The end result was that he would become unconscious and then die from lack of air.

Gohan knew this, and was determined that it wouldn't happen. "I don't have time for this! Aaaaaah…." He yelled, increasing his strength and slowly pushing the coil of the snake open bit by bit. The snake tightened up more though, and seemed to have the upper hand. With a flash of brilliant light shooting out from between the snakes' coil Gohan transformed into a Super Saiyan and blasted his aura out in all directions.

The snake didn't get to see this, having been blown to smithereens in the process. Gohan panted slightly, the glow about him especially bright in the darkness of the jungle. Catching his breath, he bowed his head slightly. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't become a meal for you." He gazed at the radar, and noticed it had moved slightly in relation to him. He looked about, and in the blasted pieces of the snake he noticed a familiar orange object.

"Ah, there you are." He smiled as he picked it up. It glowed slightly as if in response, and he put it in the satchel with the rest of them. He looked upwards into the hole he had created earlier and shot out into the bright and much fresher sky, heading for the Lookout.

To be continued...

Finally Goku and Company are done with the competition, and Gohan has the Dragonballs. Things are moving up...but what of Akuma? And Bison? What new things will Ranma and friends learn? Are Videl and Gohan Gunna Get Jiggy Wit It? These and more questions will be attempted to be answered at some undetermined point in time, hopefully soon. Until then...

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