A week had passed and now it was the day of the tournament. Videl had been training as hard as she could over the past week and believed she had more than surpassed her father; not only was she more agile but her attacks were almost as vicious. The fact that his 'training' had been sitting in front of the television watching his old fights might have had something to do with it as well. She knew she had a good chance of stealing the title off of her father and becoming the world champion but there was the situation of the one armed bandit who could prove a bit of a problem. Also the tattoo that she had seen on his back; was that a symbol of something or just a random tattoo he had picked out? He had said something about getting the gang together for the tournament but the godson of Bulma Briefs was unlikely to be part of a gang, her rational mind had thought.
On several occasions she had wondered about the boy next door but had seen neither hide nor hair of him. None of the maids had seen anybody leave the premises and as such she had become worried. She had researched all that he had said about the master Korin he had talked about but was unable to find any information whatsoever. Part of her believed that he had died that day and had been speaking gibberish but when she walked out the front door that morning she knew that she was mistaken.
She had been dressed for well over an hour and had stepped outside ready to take her jet copter to the tournament. Her short hair had blown in the wind; she had had it cut so that it wouldn't distract her during her fights. She had pulled out her capsule when she had noticed something on the pavement in front of her house. Upon further inspection she wanted to kick herself; it was the same metal ring that she had been unable to pick up a week ago. If there had been a psychological battle going on Gohan had just won it. Frustrated, Videl had decapsualized her jet copter and hopped in but she couldn't take her eyes off the ring on the ground. Part of her wanted to go pick it up and get it over and done with but another part of her didn't want to feel the same feeling of loss if she was unable to do so. Without wasting another second, Videl blasted off towards the tournament.
...
Videl had heard the instructions along with the rest of the competitors. Since so many combatants had signed up there would be fifteen battle royals and the winner of those battles would move on to the one on one stage. Her father, being the previous champion, had already had a spot cemented in the follow up stage and as such would be excluded from the battle royals. That didn't faze Videl, which meant she would get a chance to pound his ass in one on one combat in the final for the entire world to see. This was the one time she was happy that this competition was going to be shown live across the world since it was going to have the greatest combatants in the world competing.
All those who had entered had had their name put down on a list and then they were shuffled resulting in the match line ups. Videl didn't mind that her fight was located in the twelfth battle; it just gave her a little extra time to warm up. Of course she would watch some of the battles beforehand so she had some idea of the people she would be fighting against. Some people would likely judge her as being over confident going into her fight but she was the daughter of the champ, her place was almost sealed. Then out of the corner of her eye, she spotted him. Situated in the back corner of the campus was Gohan.
She barged her way through the crowd as the first lot of competitors went forth but was shocked when she saw who Gohan was sitting with. All around him were great competitors of previous tournaments, including the past champion Tien Shinhan himself. More or less it was slightly intimidating as she eyed off this group. A few people she didn't recognise including the child holding tightly to Gohan's leg. Those she did recognise were famous beyond belief. There was Krillen, one of the youngest competitors ever in the competition. Then there was the famous martial artist turned baseball super star Yamcha. There were several other competitors which she had never seen before and then there was the woman she aspired to, one of the greatest women to ever step into the ring, Chichi. Videl thought of Chichi as an idol, many years ago she had proven that a woman could fight when she made it all the way to the quarter finals of the tournament back in the days when it was incredibly dangerous.
That's right; the rules of the tournament had changed so much over the years making it friendlier for the competitors. Back in the old days it wasn't uncommon for the ring to be in pieces by the time the champion had been decided. Now there were so many rules in play restricting people from maiming their victims too badly.
"Winner of the first battle royal is Trunks!" announced the high spirited announcer; his voice being transmitted to the holding pen. Videl was curious; she had known several of her father's greatest trainers had been in that fight and none of them had come out victorious. She also knew that they would likely have worked together in order for one of them to make it through to the next round so the fact that they had lost meant that either someone was really crafty or really strong. The crowd began to part as the victor walked back into the holding pen and the rest of the competitors followed behind him. Shocked would be an understatement to the feeling Videl had at the current moment.
Trunks was a kid and from what Videl gathered he was no more than eight years old. She was speechless as she walked past; surely there had been some sort of mistake after all how could an eight year old kid beat men four times his age. She grabbed at one of her father's apprentices and began interrogating him. "What the hell happened?" she asked as the people in the second battle proceeded towards the ring.
Videl felt worried when the bulky man began shaking in her arms. "That kid," he said stuttering slightly, "He's a monster."
"You mean he actually won?" Videl couldn't believe it.
"It was insane," he said remembering what had happened. "Pablo, Greg and I had teamed up and eliminated everyone except for him. No one had targeted him since he was just a kid but when there only four of us left in the ring. Pablo went to go pick him up and gently toss him out of the ring but before we knew it Pablo was embedded in the brick wall on the outside of the ring. Things only went downhill from there," he finished trailing off.
Videl understood that it was painful for him to recite the fact that he had been beaten by a kid and let it slide. She looked over at Trunks but wasn't all to surprised to see that he had joined the group of elites who sat in the corner. "The winner is Goten," said the booming voice as the second battle came to an end. Videl's head quickly snapped to the arena, surely the battle hadn't been that short. When a boy who looked even younger than Trunks came skipping through singing "I won, I won," she wanted to punch something badly. How could a little kid have beaten so many people let alone how had he qualified to be in this competition? Clearly since he had won he was strong and the fact he had done it in less than a minute was the most impressive thing Videl had ever heard of but why would anyone let a little kid fight? Demanding answers, she stormed over to where Goten was standing but only realised when she had got close to him that she was the only person within a ten metre radius who clearly did not belong to this group. As one they looked at her and Videl had never felt so out of place in her life.
"Can we help you?" asked Chichi.
It took Videl a good ten seconds to find her voice. "Yes, I was wondering why you people would let such young boys fight in this competition," she said trying to make her voice sound threatening but failing miserably.
"If you haven't realised we're better than everyone here," said the lavender haired kid called Trunks.
"Someone sounds cocky," commented a blonde haired woman who was sitting around bored as a small child sat in her lap.
"It doesn't matter that you're better than most people but the fact that you are so young worries me," said Videl sounding concerned for the child's wellbeing. "Do your parents even approve of this?"
"Mum said it was alright didn't you mum," said Goten looking up at Chichi.
"Of course sweetie, no one here can stop you from winning us lots of money," said Chichi, her eyes lighting up with Zeni symbols.
Videl was stunned to say the least but she now understood why Goten was in the tournament, he was the son of one of the greatest female fighters around. But then there was still the question of the young lavender haired boy. Knowing what she was going to say Trunks spoke first. "I had a few strings pulled," he said monochromatically.
Videl didn't like that answer but knew better than to pursue it, if this kid could make it through the battle royal it meant that he could clearly take care of himself. Videl took one final look at the group before walking away, feeling their stares boring into the back of her skull. Not only was it unnerving but it terrifying as well knowing full well of the capabilities of some of those fighters.
...
The rest of the battles had gone on without a hitch, Videl cruising through her fight. At the moment the final battle was going on and Videl looked at the group in the corner, each of them had easily qualified. She had tried to watch Gohan's match but whenever anyone from that corner walked forwards towards a match it automatically caused all of the other competitors to watch the battle with awe and thus viewing space was limited. The competitors who believed that they had been beaten unfairly blamed the use of performance enhancing drugs but even steroids wouldn't help a seven year old kid lift a three hundred pound man off the ground. They were in another league and Videl knew it.
"Isn't she adorable folks and such an impressive fighter as well, give it up for the winner of the final battle royal Marron!" shouted the announcer. Most of the audience couldn't believe their eyes as they watched this little four year old girl walk out of the ring with a big smile plastered across her face. The crowd at the arena entrance parted to allow the four year old girl with beach blonde hair walk past, her expression priceless. All of the competitors who had watched on in shock parted ways in order to allow the young girl to pass on her way to her mother. Videl wanted to wake up, as if this was all just a bad dream. The son of Chichi making it through seemed barely believable at best but a girl who wasn't even up to her knees was beyond embarrassing. However this had been the only battle she had actually witnessed and as such she had seen with her own eyes this small girl toss opponents around as if they were rag dolls. The word 'sane' had been abandoned from the tournament since the first battle had begun.
"Can the remaining competitors please come to the ring," shouted the announcer. The massive crowd at the entrance parted to allow the chosen fifteen warriors to walk through. Videl walked up the stone steps, leading the remaining people. She had heard whispers spreading around, apparently she had been one of the favourites to win this tournament but now she had gone outside by a long shot, her battle having taken the tenth longest to finish. Was she embarrassed by that result? Damn right she was, the little girl Marron had even finished in a faster time than her.
The competitors lined up along the stage, the crowd cheering for their favourite warrior. That was when her father made his grand entrance. He walked forward, brandishing his title high above his head for all to see. Instantly the cheers of "Mister Satan" erupted around the stadium but after what they had witnessed some would not be surprised if the title was to be passed on today.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," shouted the announcer behind his black tinted sunglasses gathering the crowd's attention. "After witnessing some positively breath taking performances the one on one contests have finally arrived. Who will win this tournament of epic proportions? Will it be the current champion or will a new fighter step up to the plate?" Hercule laughed at the possibility of someone beating him; of course he hadn't watched any of the preliminary matches and as such didn't know what lay in store for him. The announcer continued his speech, "I have just been informed that the line up has been completed." A large board with a number of names rolled out behind him. "In the first match we have the dazzling Eighteen versus the romantic Jewel. Secondly we have the baseball star Yamcha versus the titan Goliath. Third is the one armed bandit Gohan versus the great Killa. In the fourth battle we will see the current champion Hercule going against the woman known as 'the greatest female fighter,' Chichi. In the fifth match we will see the city's crime fighter Videl battling against the all too cute Marron. In the sixth round we have the battle of the chibi's as Goten takes on Trunks. In the seventh round we have the veteran Krillen battling Mighty Mask. In the final round we have Mojito challenging the past champion Tien. Stay tuned folks, the battles will begin shortly!" The crowd erupted into a thunderous applause.
Videl smiled, if all went according to her plan she would meet her father in the final in what would be one of the greatest battles of all time. In order to make it to the finals, she would need to fight the children who were half her age starting with Marron. She honestly didn't want to hurt the young kid so maybe she would be able to bargain with her. After all it would be bad for her reputation if she went around beating up children. One of the other matches she would look forward to would be the battle against either Krillen or Tien. She knew how these two warriors were veterans of the tournament and as such would be good competition. As for her father, she was confident he could beat Chichi but that would still be a fight worth watching. As for what would happen after that she couldn't tell as she hadn't been able to see any of the other competitors in action.
Videl had a quick look at all of the fighters, those who weren't within the sacred group looked nervous as all hell besides her father while those who had been in the corner were smiling amongst one another. The chibi's were whispering excitedly to one another and the blonde woman by the name of Eighteen whispered into Marron's ears. As they started filling out to the backstage arena she felt a tug on her shorts. She looked down to see Marron. She knelt down next to her so that they were at eye level. "Can I help you?" asked Videl. Since all of the other competitors had left there were only those two left in the ring and as such the announcer pushed the microphone in between them so that the audience could hear what they were saying.
"Are you the person I'm fighting?" Marron asked, her voice causing the crowd to say how cute she was.
"Are you sure you want to fight? After all you are so young," said Videl trying to appeal to the audience. After hanging around her father for so long she had managed to pick up a few traits.
"Yep, I like fighting," Marron replied with a smile. "You know you're awfully pretty."
"Why thank you Marron."
"And mummy said that I should apolomogize now for beating you." The crowd was in mixed emotions as to what the young girl had said. Although the crowd could easily agree that this was one of the cutest things that they had ever seen.
"Do you really think you can win?" asked Videl.
The girl nodded twice. "Yep, Trunks says I'm going to beat the shit out of you," she stated not knowing what she just said. The crowd had gasped at the fact that this young girl had said such an offensive word but it was obvious she didn't even know that it was offensive.
Suddenly a voice could be heard shouting in the background. "TRUNKS! What have you been teaching my daughter?" Clearly the father of this child was angry as all hell and Marron decided to skip away to see what was wrong. Videl was shocked; she couldn't tell whether that kid had been deadly serious or just plain innocent. With that Videl walked off following Marron as the announcer played his part. As she entered the backstage she wasn't surprised to see that that Gohan and his friends had retreated back to the corner. All the other fighters had spread out, doing their last minute exercises. Videl casually walked over to her father who was eyeing off the competition. These were the only moments he ever took seriously when he was sizing up the competition.
"Videl," he announced as she got close. "How is it that I don't see any of my students or teachers here?"
"They were all beaten," she said monochromatically.
"How is that possible? I had a look at the first round of that battle royal thing and saw that three experienced trainers were in the first fight. Which of these punks won that battle?"
"The kid with the purple hair," said Videl pointing at Trunks.
Hercule summarised the situation. "I guess they must feel ashamed, after all they got beaten by a child. Which person am I fighting?"
"Chichi, the woman with the black hair."
"So that's the 'legendary' Chichi," he said with a chuckle. "It should be a good warm up fight but I'll go easy on her, after all I don't like beating up women."
"Well look at me, I'm fighting the little blonde haired girl. How she even got to this stage I don't want to know."
"Clearly her opponents took pity on her since she is so small but I know you will show no mercy, will you Videl?"
"I'll just pick her up and throw her out the ring," said Videl. It was the most basic plan for fighting the children and that way she wouldn't have to actually beat any of them up.
"Good thinking," said Hercule as the announcer called for the first round of competitors. Videl watched as both Eighteen and Jewel walked to centre stage. Before the match it looked like there were some opening comments before Jewel became incredibly frustrated. Videl watched from where she was standing, she had a good view of the fight to come. The bell rang and Jewel charged at Eighteen who looked unprepared for the battle. Videl wanted to warn her but as Jewel went to strike he was sent flying into the outside wall by a vicious kick to the chest. Easy to say the crowd and Videl were speechless. It was pretty much the same situation as Yamcha demolished Goliath and Gohan defeated Killa, both matches ending with a single blow. After only three minutes it was already time for the fourth fight between the champion and Chichi.
Videl knew her father would win, after all he was the one to beat Cell but Videl also knew Chichi would not likely go down without a fight. She watched as Hercule boasted in front of the audience stating that a woman could never beat the man who beat Cell but then Chichi retorted with something which shocked the audience. She called Hercule a fraud.
Videl didn't know what Chichi was thinking but it got Hercule fired up. Videl edged closer to the ring, standing near the announcer. From where she was standing it was clear that her father had lost his cool, Chichi's message clearly having struck a nerve. After all everybody believed that Hercule beat Cell and for somebody to announce otherwise on worldwide television was just asking for trouble. Videl knew however, if Chichi was to somehow win this fight people would begin to question Hercule and what he was capable of, the fact that he was fired up meant that he wasn't thinking straight and as such there was a possibility he would make a mistake. Somehow Videl got the feeling that Chichi had the edge in this fight.
The bell rang and the Hercule charged forward while Chichi remained motionless and Videl quickly analysed their styles. Her father's technique was the one he always used and taught his students, the famous Hercule style. Chichi's stance however was one that Videl had never seen; it had a very serpent like feel about it, her pointed fingers poised to strike at a moment's notice. She saw her dad try for the patented 'Satan Punch,' hoping to end this fight in an instance. Videl watched in awe as Chichi ducked under the blow when it was only inches away from her face and strike her father's exposed arm three times with remarkable speed and precision. Chichi rolled away creating some distance and smiled at her handiwork.
Videl wondered curiously what the attacks had even done, it looked like the attacks had bounced right off but that was when she noticed that her father could barely lift his arm. She hit his pressure points realised Videl. With those pointed fingers she is able to direct an attack at an exact location and even though there was not much force behind the blows it is their accuracy which has made all the difference. Videl now understood why Chichi was seen as such a formidable foe as her father charged again.
Her father tried a simple swinging kick as he neared Chichi. With expert timing, Chichi flipped over his leg which left his back wide open. Faster than Videl could comprehend a flurry of blows were landed on her father's back. Hercule showed no signs of pain but that was when Chichi clapped her hands twice. As if with perfect timing, Hercule collapsed to the floor finding that none of his muscles responded to what he wanted them to do. Try as he might he was unable to get up as the announcer began to count to ten. The audience held their breath, knowing if Hercule didn't get up before the 'ten count' he would be eliminated. Videl saw that Hercule managed to regain some movement but by that time it was too late as the announcer shouted "TEN! Hercule has been defeated, the winner is Chichi and that means a new champion will be crowned today!" The crowd and Videl were in shock. Hercule, the champion of the world, had been defeated.
...
What an exhausting chapter! I hope nobody minds the length; I'm making up for my lack of updates. Don't blame me, I've been busy with assignments. To answer a few things, the reason he didn't wish for his arm back is because he wanted the lack of an arm to be a painful reminder to never be foolish in battle. As for the bullet back at the beginning, yes he was suppressing his energy so that he didn't show off any overly superhuman strength even though he did flip a car after he got shot. Finally, I chose Gohan to mention Tien to Videl because it would be a fighter she would instantly recognise who it was. Until next time, please review; reviews make me happy.