--- Disturbance, Book 1: Convergence ---
Chapter C04 - Shout 2000
Disclaimer: The fun about this sentence is that by the time you realise it doesn't say anything, it's too late to stop reading it. Also: See first chapter.
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-Shout, shout / Let it all out-
Standing between the two young warriors, the announcer raised his hand to the crowd, crying out, "We've seen each of these fighters valiantly advance to the finals, but now, only one of them can be World Champion. Which of them will it be? Trunks, or Goten?"
High up in the stands, the Z-Fighters cheered for who they wanted to win; well, Chichi, Bulma, and the kids did, while the rest chose to either stay silent, or impartial.
Further up in the stands, Krillin commented, "Finally, we get to see a good match. This is gonna be awesome!"
-These are the things I can do without, come on-
"Definitely!" Goku added excitedly. Vegeta just stood back, not wanting to appear eager to watch the fight, but not going to miss it for the world.
Back down in the ring, Trunks and Goten took a few steps forward, before turning to face each other, as the announcer continued, "Outside of the ring of competition, these little guys are friends. They usually fight in the woods together, but now they've moved to a different place: the World Tournament stage! Wow! That's amazing!"
-I'm talking to you so come on-
"We miss anything?" A voice called out, getting closer to he group. Turning around, Videl and Gohan noticed Kaen and Pi approaching.
Smiling, Gohan replied, "Nah, not really. Just Goten and Trunks working their way up. You're just in time for the final match."
-Shout, shout / Let it all out-
Smiling back, Pi leaned back against her mate, who, in turn, reached around her to grab the railing. "This should prove interesting," the Saiyan woman mused to herself.
Grinning, Krillin called out, "You two have fun 'catching up'?" He waggled what passed for eyebrows, just to make sure the innuendo got across.
-These are the things I can do without, come on / (Come get it on, come get it on)-
Kaen just rolled his eyes, replying, "We ate and we talked. Any further 'catching up' can wait until after the tournament. We'll need the energy if we're gonna make it to the finals."
"And what makes you so sure you will make the finals?" Vegeta asked derisively. Kaen and Pi just smirked to themselves, and remained silent, turning their attention to the ring below.
-I'm talking to you so come on / (Come get it on, come get it on)-
"Sir, excuse me?" one of the Tournament monks said, verbally prodding the snoring fighter before him. "Mr. Satan? Excuse me please, Mr. Satan? Sir?" Finally, the afro'd fighter stirred from his slumber, so the monk continued, "Sorry, I didn't know that you were sleeping."
-In violent times...-
Wiping the drool that had accumulated on the side of his mouth, Hercule replied, "Oh, I wasn't sleeping. Fooled ya huh? I was, uh, actually in a deep meditation. Even though I showed the outward signs of sleeping I could still sense you coming down the hall and entering my room, whaddya think of that?" Not giving the man a chance to reply, he began laughing, his annoying horselaugh echoing around the room.
-You shouldn't have to sell your soul-
Blinking a bit, a sweat drop running down the back of his head, the monk thought to himself, 'Does he really expect me to believe that?' With an inward shrug, he decided to pander to the man's ego, commenting sarcastically, "Sure, that works for me. With your keen perception you probably already know why I'm here, but just to let you know, the junior finals are just about to start. A seven and an eight-year-old boy made it into the final. Sir, they're fighting rather impressively, I thought you might want to take a look."
Closing his eyes, Hercule mused to himself, "Hm, watch a couple o' kids pound the heck outta each other..." Standing up, he continued, "Sure, that sounds fun. Besides, I'm 'sposed to have an exhibition match against the winner of this thing."
-In black and white...-
Wanting to be nowhere near either of the boys once the action started, the announcer leapt off the tiled ring, landing on the grass outside, before saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, it is our great pleasure to present, the final match in the Junior World Martial Arts Championship!"
-They really really ought to know / (just don't know)-
Goten and Trunks bowed politely to each other, before, for the first time in the competition, they each fell into their respective fighting stance. Grinning, Trunks commented, "Just to let you know, I am going to win. Understood?"
Goten just grinned back, "Yeah. I'm going for the win too."
-Those one-trick minds...-
From the entrance to the fighters' waiting room, Hercule commented to himself, "Those two little tykes made it to the championship? These tournaments just aren't as competitive as they used to be." Screwing up his face in concentration, he focused on Goten, musing, "I think I recognize that little guy. Yes, I'm not exactly sure where but I've seen that kid before, and I never forget a face." Like a lightning bolt, inspiration struck him quickly, setting him into near-panic mode, but it was gone just as fast, as he added, "Uh, no, um, I'm thinking of someone else."
-Who took you for a working whore-
As the two young fighters stared each other down, the crowd continued cheering for who they wanted to win, several voices louder than others. From high up in the stands, Goku called out, "Relax and have fun guys, you're both looking great down there!"
"So, who do you reckon'll win?" Kaen asked his mate quietly.
"Dunno," she replied, "Could go either way. Trunks has Vegeta's tenacity, and Goten has Goku's stamina." Grinning, she finished, "Should be fun to watch though."
-Kiss them goodbye...-
With the sound of a bell only they could hear, Goten and Trunks sped forward, locking forearms with a thunderous crash. Gritting their teeth, they each tried to force the other back, but in the end, it was Goten who was forced to yield, being driven further and further back as Trunks pushed forward, throwing blow after blow. With a sudden impact they both cannonballed backwards, touching ground for but a second before leaping high into the air, trading blows at speeds most human fighters could only dream of.
-You shouldn't have to jump for joy / (jump jump jump jump jump)-
The crowd watched in stunned silence as the two fighters battled it out in the sky, spitting in the face of the basic laws of physics. Some, however, were a lot less surprised. "Yeah, great!" Krillin exclaimed excitedly, a massive smile on his face.
"Wow, they're really going at it," Gohan commented casually. Watching first Trunks, then Goten, land a heavy blow against the other's face, Videl's blue eyes widened in shock.
"Man, look at 'em go!" Goku cried out.
-You shouldn't have to (shout) for joy (shout) / Let it all out-
Goten lashed out at Trunks, only to have his fist go through an after image. The older boy appeared behind him with an elbow drop, only for the same thing to happen. Phasing in to his right, Goten threw a kick at Trunks' head, but the lavender-haired child ducked, throwing a retaliatory uppercut, which Goten phased out of the way of, before reappearing far enough away to charge forward again, and the trading of blows resumed.
-These are the things I can do without, come on / (Come get it on, come get it on)-
"Fantastic you guys!" Gohan cried out encouragingly, "Keep it up!"
-I'm talking to you so come on / (Come get it on, come get it on)-
With a white shockwave, the two landed on the tiled ring again, dashing towards each other. At the last second, Trunks dashed to the side, leaving an after image for Goten to fly through. Stunned, and off balance after punching through thin air, Goten skipped along the ground for a few metres, before quickly jumping backwards as Trunks came down from above with a punch. The younger boy was unprepared, however, when Trunks reappeared behind him and kicked him squarely in the back, sending him flying uncontrollably towards the edge of the ring.
-They gave you life...-
Standing up in her seat, Chichi shouted, "Goten, stop!"
-And in return you gave them hell-
Spinning in mid-air, Goten flung his arms and legs out, stopping on a dime over the grass. Calmly floating back to the tile, he touched down for a second before leaping at Trunks again, who still stood with his leg raised from the kick, and attacking with the strongest weapon known to man: the Son Headbutt. Staggering back from the impact to the forehead, Trunks quickly raised his arm to block, as Goten went on the offensive.
Leaping up into the air, and away from Goten, Trunks was surprised when the young boy flew behind him with a burst of speed, grabbing him around the arms from underneath. Tensing his shoulders, Trunks forced his arms down, before spinning around and elbowing his dark-haired opponent in the face, then phasing in above his flight and drop-kicking his back. As Goten plummeted towards the ring, Trunks gracefully dived after him, spinning to gain momentum.
-As cold as ice / (now that you're ice, ice baby)-
Rolling quickly to recover, Goten touched ground for a split second before dashing away, moments before Trunks landed where he'd been. Landing on the other side of the ring, Goten quickly reversed his momentum, leaping at Trunks, and the pair simultaneously connected with a blow to each other's cheek, the force of which sent a minor shockwave through the arena.
-I hope we live to tell the tale-
Both reeling from the blow a moment, they quickly recovered, lashing out with punches and kicks again, neither child having the advantage. Kicking up a growing cloud of dust, they started rising in the air, each subconsciously seeking the advantage of higher ground, and the aerial dance resumed, to the stunned silence of the crowd. Eventually, the two got so high that the crowd couldn't see them clearly, the pair being blocked out by the bright light of the sun, but a close look revealed the two boys glowing before, with a twin shout and simultaneous punch, a yellow explosion filled the sky, sending the two apart, falling back down to terra firma.
Falling into stance, the two glared each other down, before a smile slowly spread across both their faces; they both were enjoying this fight immensely.
-I hope we live to (shout) the tale (shout) / Let it all out-
Standing in the entry way of the fighter's waiting room, his eyes bulging out of his head, Hercule cried disbelievingly, "This... isn't happening. Who are they!"
-These are the things I can do without, come on / (Come get it on, come get it on)-
Gripping the railing tightly, Videl commented, "My gosh, Goten and Trunks are more powerful than most of the adult fighters here."
Smiling good-naturedly, Goku declared, "Those two are really tearing it up! They'll be stronger than us soon if we don't watch it!"
"I know," Gohan agreed.
-I'm talking to you so come on-
"Hey, speak for yourself," Kaen added, a grin on his face, "I have no plans for being outclassed by a couple of kids any time soon thank you very much."
"Alright, looking good Trunks!" Krillin shouted, "You too Goten!"
Suddenly, the people in the crowd recovered their voices again, shouting and yelling and carrying on, about how awesome the fight was.
-Will you never shout/ HUH!-
"Yes. Yes! Ladies and gentlemen, have you ever seen anything like it?" the announcer shouted into his microphone, "The World Martial Arts Championship continues! Who will be the next Junior Champion? Will it be eight-year-old Trunks? Or will it be seven-year-old Goten? It seems like it could go either way at this point! What a match!" 'I can't believe it,' the announcer thought to himself excitedly, 'this is the match I've been waiting for all of these years. Just when I was starting to give up hope, it came. This is too good to be true, and this is only the Junior Division!'
-I feel as though I know you're never gonna let it all out-
"Check those two out!" Krillin exclaimed, "Staring each other down in classic stance. I love it!"
"They're really doing well, that's for sure," Goku commented.
"Awesome. Way better than I expected," Krillin added. "This match could get really interesting."
-Will you never shout/ HUH!-
"Pretty impressive," Trunks commented, "Somehow you've managed to get a lot stronger than the last time we fought."
Goten grinned, "I owe it all to Gohan. He's the one that's been training me."
"Well he did good," Trunks added, "But not good enough. Try this!" Reaching his arms back, he gathered ki in either hand, before throwing them forward and firing. Gritting his teeth, Goten knew he had two options: block, or dodge. He chose the former, raising his hands up and catching the blast, before throwing it skyward.
-I feel as though I know you're never gonna let it all out-
Hiding behind the screen, Hercule commented fearfully, "I've seen this before. A-At the Cell Games..."
-Will you never shout/ HUH!-
"Nice huh?" Trunks asked, clearly proud of himself, "What did ya think?"
"That was really cool," Goten replied, "Gohan taught me a little bit of that stuff too. Watch, check this out." Reaching his hands back, he chanted, "Ka Me Ka Me..." A small blue ball of light appeared between his hands, before he shouted, "Ha!" A thin blue beam raced towards Trunks, but rather than blocking it, he casually tilted his head to one side, and the blast raced past, narrowly missing the roof of the building behind.
Turning to watch the beam go, Trunks commented, "Hey, not bad."
-I feel as though I know you're never gonna let it all out-
The crowd watched in shock at this display, and, within seconds, the speculation began. Eyes bugging out of his head, Hercule stuttered, "It... It... can't be... They've got the same powers as those guys who fought Cell."
-Will you never shout/ HUH!-
Rubbing the back of his head, Goten commented sheepishly, "Whoops, that was close."
"It sure was," Trunks replied, "We better cool it. No more energy beams. We don't wanna blow the whole place up." When Goten just grinned wider, he added good-naturedly, "Look at you. You're loving it aren't you?" Goten just grinned and nodded. Jumping back into his stance, he finished, "Let's do it."
"Yeah," Goten replied, dropping into his own stance, and the stare down resumed.
-I feel as though I know you're never gonna let it-
"Mom, I wanna go watch the final," Ikosa pleaded.
"Me too mom," Idassa added, "Can we?"
"What?" She exclaimed, watching her boys doing squats, "Absolutely not! Keep working! You two should be ashamed of yourself, losing to those little runts." Crying, she added, "Boy, my boys, how could you? I've never been so embarrassed in my life. This can never happen again"
-And when you've taken down your guard...-
"But dear, please, those boys, they were special. They beat all the other kids as well," her husband pleaded.
"Oh phooey, I'm not buying that rubbish. Fool," she replied. "I'm raising champions. I'll make champions out of you two yet. Stop giving them the excuses they need to be weaklings!"
-Yeah, if I could change your mind...-
"But mom," Ikosa, the smarter of the two, tried, "Every champion always watches the previous champion fight, so he can see how to beat him next time."
"Yeah," his older brother continued, "If we watch the final, we'll see how to fight better."
-I'd really love to break your heart / (break break break break break)-
She mulled this over for a few seconds, before relenting, "Alright, you can go. But you're gonna work twice as hard tomorrow!"
They raced off quickly before she changed her mind, yelling a "Thanks mom" over their shoulders; as they heard the announcer declare, this was the most exciting Junior Championship of all time, and they weren't going to miss it.
-I'd really love to (shout) your heart (shout) / Let it all out-
"Here we go," Trunks said, "It's been fun but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to finish it." Jumping slightly into the air, he took off running the second his feet touched the ground, adding, "I'm gonna win this thing Goten!"
Sprinting towards his friend-slash-rival, Goten retorted, "Oh yeah? We'll see about that!"
With a thunderous crash, the two locked arms again, trying to force the other back. Realising that he was going to lose this struggle, Goten suddenly stopped pushing, spinning around to kick Trunks in the head while the lavender-haired child was still off balance. However, the older boy expected this manoeuvre, ducking under the leg and drawing his hand back, charging ki, before flinging a blast at the younger boy at point blank range.
-These are the things I can do without, come on / (Come get it on, come get it on)-
With a cry of "No fair!" Goten faded out, racing into the air above the ring. Glaring down at his friend, Goten barked, "Trunks you cheater! You said no more energy beams! That's not fair!"
Looking up at his friend mock-apologetically, Trunks replied, "Sorry Goten!" Lowering his voice, he muttered, "Sorry it didn't hit you that is..." Charging up another beam, he shouted, "Dodge this!"
Goten phased out again, but when he reappeared, he couldn't see Trunks anywhere. Looking around, he muttered to himself, "Where'd he go?" Trunks' location quickly became apparent when he phased in behind him, grabbing him under the arms and yanking his arms back.
-I'm talking to you so come on / (Come get it on, come get it on)-
"Ready to give up yet Goten?" Trunks asked, pulling his friend's arms back further, "I don't want to have to hurt you." When Goten shook his head stubbornly, Trunks commented, "Fine then, you leave me no choice." With a burst of ki, Trunks sent the pair of them hurtling towards the ground, with Goten on the bottom, clearly intending on dive-bombing Goten into the arena.
Determined not to give up, Goten focused inwards, bringing his trump card to the surface. With a burst of light, he jumped into Super Saiyan, easily breaking Trunks' hold, and spiralled away, touching ground safely on the arena out of the way of Trunks' flight plan.
-I'd really love to-
"What! Goten's already a Super Saiyan?" Goku exclaimed.
"Unbelievable..." Krillin breathed.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Gohan commented pridefully.
His fist shaking with barely repressed anger, Vegeta shouted, "Kakarott, that's not fair."
In a rare moment of sarcasm, Goku replied, "Don't look at me; he did it."
-Shout, shout / Let it all out-
Trunks glared over at Goten, the younger boy's golden hair still waving in the breeze. Clenching his fists, he growled out, "What's the big idea Goten? We agreed not to turn into Super Saiyans!"
"We also agreed not to use energy beams, but you've broken that twice," Goten replied, glaring back. "If you're gonna cheat, I'm not gonna hold back anymore."
"Two can play at that game," Trunks commented, his hair extending up into a crown-like form, the usual lavender colour switching to the gold of the Super Saiyan. "Let's finish this," he added, before charging towards the younger boy, and the two began trading blows at a much faster, and stronger, pace.
-These are the things I can do without, come on-
"Trunks too?" Goku muttered, "What's up with this generation?"
"No kidding," Krillin added, his tone indicating he'd reached his limit for surprise. For now, at least.
"I just can't believe how strong Goten and Trunks are for their age. They must be eating all their vegetables," Goku commented, half-jokingly.
Grinning slightly, Krillin replied, "Yeah, that's for sure."
-I'm talking to you so come on / (Shout, shout, shout, shout)-
Looking across at Kaen, Vegeta noticed the younger Saiyan calmly watching the events below as if he's expected it all along. "You don't look too surprised," he commented dryly, walking over to the younger man.
Kaen just shrugged, "Why should I be? I've known Trunks was a Super Saiyan for about a month and a half."
"That a fact?" The prince remarked, in that same dry tone, "And you didn't inform us, why?"
Kaen shrugged again, "Because I'm an asshole, mostly."
"And all that talk about 'not being outclassed by a couple of kids'?" He prodded; he'd always had suspicions Kaen had been holding back, and, while he'd never fought Pi, he suspected she did too. Rather than replying, however, the Saiyan couple merely grinned, and turned their attention back to the fight.
-Shout!-
"This is absolutely crazy..." Videl muttered dazedly, her eyes almost hanging out of her head in shock. Composing herself, she turned to glare at Gohan, barking, "Now I get it you lousy bum! You've been giving Goten special training sessions and leaving me out!"
Gohan shook his head quickly, replying, "Huh? No, it wasn't special. Just the normal routine." That much was true; the training sessions had been how he normally trained Goten, even if they were a bit out of Videl's league.
"Yeah right," she muttered sceptically, turning away from him, "Ha, no way. This is anything but normal."
-Shout!-
"Don't worry Videl," Kaen's voice broke in, "I'm sure Gohan can't wait to show you some of his best stuff."
"Oh yeah," Krillin's voice added, "Some 'special' training wouldn't go amiss at all."
"Yeah," a third voice joined in, one she didn't recognize, "A little one-on-one time will be good for that extra mile. If you know what I mean."
-Come on let me shout shout let me-
Turning to face the newcomer, she heard Pi ask, "Uncle Truniz, why are you here?"
The older man grinned, replying in a semi-booming voice, "Wherever there is teasing to be done, Truniz is there!"
One of Kaen's eyebrows rose. "You're serious?"
His grin widened, "Nah, I just felt left out, and the rest of them are being boring." Without a word, the group turned back to watch the conclusion of the fight.
-Come on let me shout shout / (Shout!)-
With a loud crash and a flare of light, the two combatants broke apart, landing on opposite sides of the arena. Shaking his head, Trunks commented aloud, "This is stupid. We're gonna be here all day at this rate."
"Well, what do you suggest?" Goten replied.
Trunks grinned. "One final blow. We each try to knock the other out with one final punch. You game?"
-Come on let me shout shout let me-
Goten grinned back, falling into his stance and drawing his right hand back, replying, "Anything you can do-"
"-I can do better," Trunks finished with a smirk, falling into his own stance. The pair took a moment to prepare themselves, before, with some silent signal, they leapt as one, speeding towards each other, two comets of gold. The crowd was on the edge of their seats watching; somehow, they knew it all came down to this. With a combined shout from the boys, the comets collided, and a flare of golden light went up, temporarily blinding all present, before there was a fairly loud crash.
The fight was over.
-Come on let me shout shout / (Shout!)-
To be continued...
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Author's notes:
Fact: Goten does not say 'Kamehameha'. He says 'Kamekameha'. Or, at least, he does in the original version.
Now, for fun, I want to try something. I know that polls are frowned upon here at so I'm not going to do that, but I would like to hear people's opinions on who they think would/should win, from the following list:
a) Trunks wins
b) Goten wins
c) Neither wins; they tie.
Now, no matter how many people give an opinion, it will almost definately not change the story, despite the outcome of the fight being largely inconsequential regardless of who wins. I am considering writing up two alternate fight conclusions to add as omakes to the next chapter, to cover the two options that didn't happen, but that's still up in the air.
In short, I'd like people's thoughts on what they think should happen, before they find out what actually does happen.
And now I'd like to take a quick word to reply to Mecrolos' review. First, thanks for the feedback. Second, I agree with you that the story's easier to read without the song lyrics, which is why I generally write the chapters without them, and always keep a version song-free. However, my third, and most important point, is: Removing the songs would defeat the purpose of writing the story; well, one of two, anyway.
I wanted this story not just to be my own version of the Tournament Saga, but also to be a challenge to myself to see if I could write an entire story of songfics. I've had an attempt at songfics before with Mix Tape, but that was a collection of one-shots, and, as such, the only continuity I had to keep was to the handful of events from The Phoenix Chronicles contained within them. With Disturbance, however, I have, as of now, 53-56 chapters planned, with only 5-7 of them lacking chosen songs (there are three chapters I'm still not entirely sure I'll do) and this, quite simply, is a challenge.
What I am thinking of doing, however, is, once I complete the story, or at least reach a milestone such as the end of a 'Book', releasing a 'Complete Version', containing every chapter - or every chapter thus far, depending on when I do this - without the song lyrics. If you can't wait that long, then you have three choices, really. Copy the text into an offline document and edit them out, put up with/ignore the lyrics, or don't read the story anymore. -shrug-