THE VEGETA CHRONICLES
Chapter 5 - Tabula Rasa
As the large construct known as Battle Island floated away from the docks, leaving the audience cheering and excited to see via digital screen what was to come up next, the announcer's voice tuned up and began to explain what was to follow in the coming events.
"AS YOU ALL HAVE NOTICED, BATTLE ISLAND IS MOVING TOWARDS THE SCENIC COUNTERPART ISLAND, BATTLE ISLAND II! THIS IS BECAUSE WE HAVE AN INVENTIVE WAY FOR OUR SEMI-FINALISTS TO PARTICIPATE! MISTER CASH HAS SET UP A SPECIAL TRACK FOR ALL CONTESTANTS! MORE WILL BE EXPLAINED UPON ARRIVAL TO BATTLE ISLAND II, AND UNTIL THEN, ENJOY A BRIEF INTERMISSION FOR THE NEXT HOUR!"
"Finally! We're going to see the finals up close!" 17 spoke ecstatically, clapping his hands and rubbing them together with a believable excitement coursing through him.
"Great, I thought they were leaving us to die of boredom," 18 spoke sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest, sighing in emphasis, "while the last fights were fun to watch, a vid screen isn't the same as watching it from a stadium. Our heightened vision and senses will make it more enjoyable than any of the fools in our seating."
"Exactly!" 17 chuckled, tapping his foot as a thought came over him. With a distinct clap, 17 floated up into the air and winked at 18 before taking off, saying quickly, "going to go snacks for this! Be back in a few!"
Before 18 could respond, her brother sped off, faster than the eye could see for the audience most proximate to them and left. Rolling her eyes, she knew if anyone would catch on they were just like the contenders they were sure to be questioned. As much as her brother would like the popularity, she preferred it was just the two of them.
But, much to her chagrin, the two doting mothers below acted like she wasn't here, leaving her in an uncomfortable position to listen to their latest vocal distraction.
"So...Chi-Chi," Bulma snaked a hand up to push a few of her bangs aside and behind her left ear, cradling content baby Trunks in her lap, "I've been meaning to ask...you know how Goku and Gohan were passively Super Saiyans when they came out of the HyperBolic Time Chamber?"
"Oh yeah, how could I forget," Chi-Chi sighed with reluctance at remembering the phenomenon of her husband and son changing so drastically. Gone were the beautiful black hair and innocent eyes of her boys' to be replaced by ridiculously upraised blonde locks and fiery green eyes. She almost felt disheartened, as if her boy's charming features would be permanently marred by the experience, "what about that?"
"Well...I distinctly remembering you spending some quality time with Goku alone, and I could only wonder," Bulma felt the heat rush up her neck and coloring her face red, as she smiled bashfully, "could you express to me how it was when Goku expressed his love towards you?"
"W-Why are you asking me that?!" Chi-Chi felt the heat immediately build up on her own cheeks, as she felt as if this conversation came out of the complete deep blue.
"Oh c'mon, I've had my share of practice with Vegeta, and trust me, when he does it, he goes all-out," Bulma giggled mischiviously, before winking to Chi-Chi, "c'mon, you tell me how it felt to have a Super Saiyan do the deed, and I'll tell you how it was for me, deal?"
18 could only sweat bullets as she felt herself exposed for the first time what would be intimate relationship talk, unfolding right before her. While she wanted to escape or tune it out, she couldn't help but find it intriguing. Looking to the side, acting like she wasn't paying attention, she listened intently of what the two experienced women expressed about their past experiences.
"Alright fine," Chi-Chi huffed, leaning back in her seat as she looked up, tapping her chin in thought. When she found a good way to vocally emphasize her experience, smiled softly and began to speak, "well...being with Goku while he was, well, normal was like being snuggled up with a teddy bear that laughed along with you, making you feel safe and secure. When I was with Goku when he was a Super Saiyan, touching his skin made mine feel like butter. The way I felt connected to him, it was as if was bathed in a warm light and held it against my skin without fear of being burned. His love was intensified when we were intertwined, and I could almost feel that light fill me up and embrace me in a way I can't describe."
"D-Do they have to talk about this right now?" 18 began to feel her face blush as she continued to listen, as inconspicuously as possible.
"Wow," Bulma smiled, enamored by how Chi-Chi almost relieved the experience in front of her, "that sounds amazing. I didn't know Goku could be such an amazing lover. I guess all I see whenever I'm around him is the goofy child I met when I was younger!"
"Indeed," Chi-Chi giggled, raising a hand to suppress her knowing laughter. As soon as she calmed, she then winked at Bulma, pointing at her in emphasis, "now your turn to spill the beans. How was it like with Vegeta as a Super Saiyan?"
"Oh Hell no, please, anything but that!" 18 squinted her eyes, but couldn't help but satiate her female curiosity, and listen despite her inward cringing.
"Fair enough," Bulma winked back at her friend, baby Trunks cooing softly as he tried to pay attention to what the two women were saying, despite his inability to do so, "well, most of the time when Vegeta and I do-the-deed, its usually the result from an argument's aftermath. I remember this one time when we were arguing, I can't remember the life of me what it was about, he actually powered up into a Super Saiyan as a form of intimidation. However, I turned that little move of his around and pulled him into the bedroom," sighing, she leaned back against her seat as she spoke with fondness of the experience, "when Vegeta and I went at it, normally it was like a swift deed, with no real foreplay involved. But when I was with him as a Super Saiyan, we intwined with undeniable passion. Being with him was like being skin-to-skin with a burning star, making my body feel incredibly hot without burning up. I swear I passed out from the eruption of warmth that spread from within me when we we climaxed."
"Wow," Chi-Chi smiled, enamored by her own friend's experience, "that sounds incredible."
"I'll say," a bland, dry tone emitted from behind the two of them, as 17 held a large bagel in one hand and a bag of XL-sized popcorn in the other, as his eyes narrowed at the two women, "what were you two ladies talking about? Care to elaborate?"
"I-uh..." Bulma stuttered.
"We were simply, ah, gosh," Chi-Chi blushed with bashfulness as she paled at seeing that they were overheard when lost in their conversation, "we were talking about...ah...eh..."
"Sex," 18, blushing hotly from having heard every word from the two women, with her eyes closed and twitching with irritation, "they were talking about Super Saiyan sex with them respectively."
"Okaaaaay," the other twin sighed, rolling his eyes as he sat back onto his seat and held onto the snacks for the moment, "well, please keep your love lives to yourself in the future. We're here to watch people fight, not knock each other up."
"R-Right," the two women spoke at once, turning away in embarassment and quieting immediately.
"Well, it seems we're on our way to the next island, for our Semi-Finals," Trunks spoke out with acknowledgement as he saw the docks visibly shrinking over the course of time.
He could already see an excited grin on his father's face widen with each passing second, for he knew, that when it came to fighting himself and Gohan, that it would be an entirely different type of battle. Seeing how far he felt he came, he was positive he was nearly as strong as Gohan, without the additional level of Super Saiyan at his disposal.
As they approached a much larger island not too far off the coast from the other viewing window that Piccolo leaned upon, Trunks began to wonder what Mr. Cash intended to be different in terms of.
As he pondered the possible scenarios of a different level to the Tournament's Semi-Finals, Trunks saw Videl and Gohan walk over to the window space near Piccolo to see the stadium-mounted island.
The island was average ontop, especially with a dormant volcano seated directly next to the stadium built atop the remaining space of the soil, with only two docks, one for Battle Island I and the other for ferries to take the lucky audience to watch the exciting battle up close for themselves.
But as they neared the isle, they would find they would see little to no clear water beneath the waves, with a very large outline of a bulky amount of man-made rock formation and soil, as if they built a city underneath the surface of Battle Island II's proximate shores.
"Wow!" Gohan gasped in awe, with a large smile on his face, with Videl gaping in awe as well. The two of them had never seen such a large stadium on such a small piece of land. And from what little they could see on the passing tides of water Battle Island sailed across, this was very much an expensive venture, "I can't believe Mister Cash went to all of the trouble of making this Tournament so big!"
"I think I heard my dad talking to Mr. Cash about that," Videl spoke knowledgably, locking her eyes briefly with Gohan's as she explained with an upraised hand, "due to what the Cell Games did and how it shook up a lot of people, I believe Mr. Cash was intending for this event be the model for all new Tournaments. Not only would this be a yearly thing for the whole world to watch, it would get people back into Martial Arts."
"Ohhhh," Gohan nodded as he listened attentively to Videl, interested to see this new line of how the industry had intended to make Martial Arts Tournaments more dynamic and inspiring for those around the world.
"But, I'm not sure how this is going to turn out," Videl huffed, turning her gaze she leaned her forehead against the glass as she glared at her own reflection and the growing visage of Battle Island II, "this whole thing initially hinged on my dad winning, as a sign of morale boost for the majority of the public and inspired by the World Champion. Now that he admitted he lied on global television on this big of an event, I'm sure my dad's going to be hunted down by the paparazzi and eat him alive. He might even get kicked out of the nice mansion the city gave us, and cancel construction of Satan City..."
"W-Wait a minute!" Gohan stood agape, his eyes bulging to comical proportions as he asked incredulously, "your dad was going to have a CITY built after his name?!"
"Yeah, I know, a bit much, right?" Videl turned her face to dryly stare back at Gohan with affirmation.
"Just goes to show you how much of an arrogant fool that Hercule is," Piccolo thought with his eyes closed, while remaining totally aware of the conversations unfolding around him, still leaning proximately close to the two young martial artists.
"Well, I guess they're probably going to call it Vegeta City, now right?" Gohan chuckled at the idea of an entire city dedicated to Vegeta.
"Don't be absurd," Vegeta's voice suddenly spoke from across the room as he walked towards the two young teenagers, a bored expression crossing his sharp angled brow lines, "if those Earthlings try to construct a city for me, it'll just prove how stupid and whimsical they are. I'll turn it to dust if they dare try to make a sign with my name on it," with his eyes fixated on the upcoming Battle Island counterpart to the one they sailed within, Vegeta spoke with a smile on his face in finality, "after all, my honor has been restored after claiming what was rightfully mine and depriving that fool of his falsely acclaimed title. My dominance doesn't need a statue or a city to ensure its survival. My own fists will assure of that remains clear!"
"I...uh...sure...whatever you say," Videl stared nervously at the confidently grinning man, realizing just how scary a man this Vegeta was. Though one thing boggled her mind: Why did she refer to humans as Earthlings so derogatorily? What did that make him, and these other extraordinary unreal warriors?
Videl's thoughts would be shook out of reverie as they felt Battle Island I docking with Battle Island II.
The moment of truth is at hand, to see what Vegeta's true power is capable of for her own eyes, that had slain Cell.
Upon the final docking procedures being completed of Battle Island linking up with Battle Island II, the crowd began cheering with incredible enthusiasm and volume. It shook the air, as the Semi-Finalists walked a dynamic extension plank to go through a tunnel that delved into the base of the stadium, in order to be the center of it all.
Those participants that lost including the Cash Family, stayed behind their designated Obvservatory Boxes, especially since how thunderous and vibrant the battles had been recently. The Cash families found comfort, while the Z Fighters and Videl found irritation.
Gohan and Videl exchanged fist-bumps, showing her trust in the mysteriously powerful boy, and Gohan in becoming fast friends with the excitable and experienced human martial artist his own age.
As he traversed through the dark tunnel, he felt himself thinking of her, blushing at the idea of him being friends with such a likable and mutual minded martial artist, his own age no less. But as he exited the tunnel, the thunderous roar of the entire stadium's crowd shook him out of his reverie and induced awe from the sheer size of the stadium.
"A fitting stage for my victory," Vegeta smiled with satisfaction, crossing his arms as he soaked in every iota of the culminated voices filling the theater's airspace, "let the whole planet know that I, Vegeta, am the strongest warrior in the Universe!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, dad," Trunks spoke with a challenging tone, cockily smirking at his father's direction, as he balled up a fist for emphasis, "you haven't won this thing yet, and you've yet to see what Gohan and I are capable of!"
"Ha! I'm pretty sure you've got your own tricks, Trunks, but I'm pretty sure since I've trained alongside you two, I can handle anything you throw my way," Vegeta turned his gaze to his son and lastly to Gohan, clearly believing he could beat either of them with ease.
"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Vegeta," Gohan thought with confidence, placing his own hands on his hips with pride as he looked up at the immense stadium, "I'm going to show you the true results of my training!"
"Why do I feel so out of place here?" Krillin grumbled as he, besides Gohan, was the smallest and was feeling considerably outclassed. It was only by sheer luck he hadn't been paired up with one of the other Saiyans, let alone with Tien, whom he felt was far stronger than himself, "oh well, no turning back now!"
"GREETINGS CONTESTANTS! PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE TOP OF THE PYRAMID IN FRONT OF YOU NOW!"
"That's our cue," Gohan spoke with eagerness, causing all four of the fighters to instinctively fly up to the top of the structure and stand on either corner of the tall man-made structure.
"THESE ARE THE RULES! YOU WILL BE GIVEN A DESIGNATED NUMBER TO ENTER ONE OF THE FOUR SPACE JETS TO TAKE YOU TO A DESGINATED ARENA! THERE, YOU WILL FACE ONE OF FOUR DANGEROUS SPACE ALIENS!"
The screens surrounding the four contestants suddenly lit up, showing a series of ridiculously clothed, painted, and obviously human contestants rolling down a escalator.
"Obviously they must be part of Hercule's band of misfit disciples," Krillin surmised as he narrowed his eyes at the aliens figures disappear from the screen, before showing a digital animation of themselves on the screen.
"ONCE YOU WIN YOUR BATTLE, YOU MUST MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE CENTRAL LIFT, WHICH WILL TAKE YOU DIRECTLY BACK UP HERE! THE FIRST TWO TO MAKE IT HERE WILL FIGHT FOR THE TITLE, AND WILL BE KNOWN AS THE INTERGALACTIC CHAMPION OF THE FIRST INTERGALACTIC TOURNAMENT!"
As their numbers came in, each of them saw their particular names come up with designated "space-jets" that were selected for them.
Krillin, as hopeful as ever, raised his hands with glee, "Perfect! Its a race! Which means I'll have the advantage!"
"How so?" Trunks asked, clearly curious how the monk had an advantage over the other three Saiyans.
Pointing at himself with a chuckle, Krillin proclaims, "I have the least wind resistance, so I'll naturally go faster than the rest of you."
"But Krillin, we're practically the same height," Gohan noted with a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his head in emphasis, "that kind of logic won't work here."
"Uh..." Krillin groaned.
"That, and the fact we have much higher power levels means that we'll leave you in the dust," Vegeta spoke aloud with confidence, grinning darkly at Krillin, "which means you're most likely going to be dead last out of all of us."
"Oh man..." Krillin sighed in defeat.
"I guess it would've worked against Tien and Yamcha, but we're a lot faster than they are. Plus, don't you think it will be a good thing if you let Vegeta go ahead of you? If you somehow make it through your fight, you might have to fight him by yourself," Trunks pointed out.
"Y-Yeah, I'm just going to get in my space jet," Krillin turned around and walked towards his designated coaster that will take him to his own arena.
As all four fighters walked to their cockpits, they were graced with respectively high volumed shouts from the currently anticipating crowd.
"C'MON TRUNKS! SHOW YOUR DAD WHO'S BOSS!" Bulma shouted with encouragement, standing up with his younger counterpart in arms, waving his own arms in earnest.
"Go Unkie Twunks!" Baby Trunks said in his best shout his young voice could muster.
"Thanks for the support, woman," Vegeta rolled his eyes at his wife's cheers for his son, rather than for himself. Not like he needed it, but a little verbal support would have spurred him on.
With a shrug, Vegeta entered his colorfully designed rocket as Trunks smiled at his mother before doing the same.
"GO GOHAN! SHOW THEM YOUR STUFF!" Chi-Chi stood up, shouting as loud as Bulma.
This action caused her son to smile with appreciation, if not blushing slightly with clear embarassment, even as he made his way into the retro designed so-called space jet, "Way to be subtle, mom..."
"Krillin!"
A female voice spoke spoke out that seemed to have a level montone that only Krillin would recognize above all the others. As he turned around, he saw 18, standing up and giving him a thumb's up, using her enhanced vocal chords to convey her message verbally louder than the others.
"Knock those Saiyans dead for me, okay?!" She said with a smirk and a wink.
"Y-Yes maam!" Krillin felt like a thousand bucks, as he saluted goofily at the woman of his heart's desire, before hopping into his own cockpit, as he latched onto his shoulders and closed over his head.
"NOW ALL CONTESTANTS ARE BUCKLED IN, WE WILL NOW BEGIN THE COUNT DOWN!"
"Did you really just do that?" 17 asked 18 incredulously, already earning a blush of bashfulness and a scowl of irritation as she sat down.
"TEN..."
"It seemed the guy needed a little support, considering how outmatched as he was," 18 explained, turning her face away to hide the crimson flush enveloping her visage, "it'd be a shame if he didn't fight his hardest if he didn't know someone was standing up for him, even if he's going to lose."
"NINE..."
"Ahhhh, so you admit you like him, eh?" 17 smiled wryly, enjoying seeing his twin squirm so visibly in front of him.
"EIGHT..."
"Do you want me to hurt you?!" 18 glared daggers at 17, causing her brother to raise his hands in resignation.
"SEVEN..."
"Fine, I was just wanting to know the main reason for going here, so I thought that confirmed it for me, really," 17 shrugged as he leaned back while rolling his eyes.
"SIX..."
This gave 18 enough satisfaction that she turned her head to stare impatiently at the flickering screen, and the brightly smiling face of Krillin as he practically bounced in his seat.
"FIVE..."
Smiling, 18 couldn't help but feel genuine admittance enter her mind that she did feel something for the bald, short man of insignificant power.
"FOUR..."
It wasn't his attraction for her, which was obvious, or his own good looks, for which he was outclassed by many surrounding him.
"THREE..."
It was that pure spirit of goodness, that believed beyond what was said to be a killing machine, wearing the skin of a woman, was a true human being.
"TWO..."
He wished away the thing that robbed them of their potential suicide, and attempt to bridge them that much closer to humanity, moreso than Dr. Gero or Cell ever could with their own selfish desired plans.
"ONE..."
In the end, he loved her for who she was, and not what she was created to be. In that aspect, she knew that in the time she spent seperated, she too became fond of him. And maybe, just maybe, she was also in love.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
And just like that, 18's eyes drew to the watchful eyes of the bald-headed dwarf, exchanging a mutual twinkling that shared from the bottom of her soul in return from his, as his rocket jettisoned off into the designated tunnel and off to his fight.
She knew, once this was over, she and Krillin, were going to talk about each other...and what the future, may bring for them both.
As the four rockets burst through a digitally alight world of wonder and visual appeal, Gohan felt his blood pump, and his eyes gaze with awe at the incredibly spectacular light show. His rocket, while it was cruising through an intricate tunnel of ordinary carved rock, was being projected with billions of light particles to imitate a number of digitally aligned projections.
One moment, he felt like he was flowing through an ocean, as whales, fish, and sharks flew by him and dissolved harmlessly across his craft as he zoomed along the designated path of his rocket.
Another, he saw a prehistoric jungle unfold before him, and many bizarre creatures of reptilian and mamallian species walked, leaped, roared, and moved around him as he kept travelling forth.
The scenery kept changing to things of both familiarity, and then things of abstract wonder and excitement. Every new change in the environment was as exciting to look at as the last one that scrolled on and transformed before him. He felt like he was within an amusement park ride!
Then, his rocket lurched and bent, suddenly moving up towards a oval of light up ahead, an unnerving field passed through the rocket and over his body. His vision briefly blacking out, he shook his head, before opening his eyes, seeing that the rocket was careening out of control and into a giant teddy bear...
"OH CRAP!" Gohan shouted in surprise, as he instinctively burst out of the rocket with a blast of white-blue energy. Plainly ignoring the fact he wrenched the seat belts out with him and smashed through the glass, he covered his eyes at the explosion the rocket made when it crashed into the plaster-made stuffed animal.
As he hovered in the middle of space, he stroked his brow with his right forearm, sighing in relief, "That would've been unpleasant. Now," Gohan looked around with an incredulous look of fascination and confusion, "where am I?"
Gohan's arena, looks more childish than inviting.
The now smoldering house-sized teddy bear, was just one of many stuffed-looking animals surrounding the vast arena, along with number blocks, dolls, and other enlarged kid play things. It was sure to be a quarter of a mile long in each direction, and it stretched out towards a dark tunnel beyond, with a golden brick road paving the path to the exit.
"This could make a good ambush for my opponent to catch me off guard. This might be interesting after all," Gohan mused as he lowered himself down gently onto the yellow brick path, marveling at the various bigger-than-life toys surrounding his path, "I can't believe Mr. Cash would build this with a battle in mind. I wonder what he originally intended this to-"
Before Gohan could take more than a dozen steps, he found himself leaping to the side, avoiding a lime-white orb of energy launched at his direction, creating a deafening explosion that blew up several house-sized stuffed animals to his left.
"A Ki blast?!" Gohan thought, as he distinctly felt the energy come towards him, and the weird presence he felt as he was passing through. There was no mistaking it: whoever was his opponent, was not human!
Skidding across the ground on his heels to distance himself from the marred toys, Gohan directed his eyes to see the attacker.
The man was covered in bright red jacket, a pair of white-blue slacks, adorned with a pair of yellow boots. What made the man's appearance that much stranger, was that his height couldn't be much different from Krillin's, a blue head-wrap turban covering all of his skull except for his face, which showed blue-tinted skin.
Gohan glared at the man, already sensing great dark energy coming from his body. It was the same sensation he got from beings like Nappa and Recoome. This man was evil, and he intended to have killed Gohan with that blast.
None-the-less, Gohan gave the man a cocky grin as he placed himself into a fighting stance, "You know, its impolite to attack your opponent without introducing yourself, don't you think?"
"If this was the schedule bout you were promised, perhaps," the small being spoke in a poisonously high pitched tone, all the while as he crossed his arms over his colorfully adorned attire covering his chest, "but this is a battle of life and death. But if it makes you more comfortable about passing onto the next life, I will tell you."
"Alright then, let's hear it," Gohan goaded the short man, ready for anything he had to throw his way.
Unfortunately, he didn't expect to find a fist driving into his unprotected back, with a resounding blast of air pressure released from the point of contact. The force caused Gohan to widen his eyes in pain, as the force was much more than he expected from a man that size, and without him sensing hsi movement, as he plainly was right where he was-
As Gohan tumbled forward, he saw that the man wasn't there anymore, and he was clearly standing right where Gohan had skidded over to, as he crashed into a series of blocks that fell over his body, visibly pinning him onto the ground.
"My name is Bujin, and your executioner, Son Gohan," Bujin cackled.
"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAH!" Gohan roared out, unleashing a golden stream of energy to disintegrate the blocks and send the others flying away. When he lowered his eyes back upon Bujin, he glared with anger in his eyes as he growled out, "how do you know who I am?!"
"Oh poor Saiyan," Bujin began as he sighed, waving his arms nonchalantly, "that's for me to know, and for you to not. After all, before this is all over..."
With another resounding crack against Gohan's jaw, he found that his eyes didn't match up with the movement of Bujin at all. His body careened across the air, but not before being struck repeatedly at all sides, making him dizzy with how incapable he was of tracking his movement as he continued to be pummeled from all sides.
"...you're going to die!"
As Trunks walked across a hillside his own rocket had crash landed upon, he couldn't help but squint uncomfortably at the artificial sunshine cascading across the landscape.
"Okaaaaaay," Trunks looked around awkwardly, as stood amidst a hill upon a tree-filled meadow, just beyond a small river bordering a small city block's worth of skyscrapers and uninhabited stores and such. Just beyond was a visible street that veered into a hole in the distance, obviously the direction to get to the lift after the fight, "why did I get the peaceful looking arena? Am I supposed to take a nap or fight?"
Before Trunks could answer that question, a thin layered wave of lime-green energy flew towards his neck, intending on decapitating him within an instant.
Trunks' eyes widened, as he didn't sense the energy source and the beam until he saw come towards him.
Bending his back, he felt the heat of the energy slash that passed above him, narrowly avoiding the attack with instinct and trained reaction timing.
What he wasn't prepared for, was the knee that slammed into the side of his skull.
"AH!" Trunks felt his vision spin as his temple throbbed, feeling his body spin out of control as he tried to right himself, clawing at the ground before slamming through a tree behind his back, causing him to grunt with the impact.
Looking up, he would see an unusual looking opponent, from what he had expected seeing the viewing screen minutes before.
He was tall, broad shouldered, and had an arrogant air about him. He crossed his arms over his chest, only partly revealed beneath his black billowy jacket, with a red sash wrapped over his left shoulder that matched his red headband wrapped over his forehead. Besides the satin white slacks and yellow-black boots, the only thing that stood out to Trunks was the triangular shaped guarded sword sheathed on his right hip and the man's obviously alien blue complexion and orange hair.
He wore a sinister smile as he observed Trunks whom was obviously in pain and confused, "Sorry, Saiyan. Your original competitor met an untimely end and I had to step in for his bout. Its unlucky for you that you had to be that victim I will slaughter!"
"I'm not dead yet!" Trunks growled as he flexed his arms in front of him, growling out, before roaring mightily as a powerful aura of golden flame-like energy burst forth from his being. His emerald eyes glared at the blue-black ones of the enemy in front of him, as his hair electrified and turned into a golden-blonde that coursed with electricial pulses stemming from his skin, "come on then!"
"Hahahaha, with pleasure!" The orange-haired assassin jumped forth, one hand gripped to his side in preparation, while the other palmed a emerald-black orb of energy.
When the alien leaped towards Trunks with a left hook to his face, Trunks responded in kind by leaning his head deftly to the side to avoid the punch while reaching out to strike the man in his own jaw with ease.
Unfortunately, this wasn't to be the case.
WHAM! Trunks felt his eyes widen as the fist that he clearly saw miss his face, strike him dead in to nose and lips, propelling him back across the air, stunning him long enough to recieve the energy bullet released by his enemy.
With a powerful explosion, Trunks felt himself propel across the air, striking a building far away from the meadow, and smashing into the unoccupied, barren rooms behind the glass of the tinted, artificial constructs. He felt blood drip from his nostril and his now split lips, now confirming his suspicions.
"He's as strong as a Super Saiyan, and he can somehow can move faster than my eyes can see," Trunks thought as he stood up, trying to hide his own energy to avoid direct contact from the rapidly approaching assassin, "who the Hell is this guy? How did he enter the Tournament without anyone noticing? This isn't going to end well, I can count on that much happening..."
"Where are you, Super Saiyan? Huh?!" The alien crowed out, a clear grin of superiority crossing his features as he looked at the building of which Trunks had smashed into, peering in to see if he had survived.
With a rapid series of hand gestures, Trunks grinned as a sphere of crackling, fiery energy formed in front of his outstretched palms, causing his enemy to widen his eyes in shock as Trunks grinned viciously back.
"BURNING BLAST!" Trunks yelled out, discharging a man-sized sphere of fire-emblazoned Ki at his nemesis, ripping apart the ceiling and surrounding glass as it aimed to destroy its target in one final blow.
BOOM! Trunks' eyes widened with shock, as the explosion happened directly within the building, and the force of the fire produced from the blast struck him full force, sending him streaking back through the building and smashing through several others behind him, creating visibly awesome bursts of glass and building tops to collapse upon itself from the force the Saiyan-hybrid had been flown through.
"That was a close one, Super Saiyan," the alien swordsman spoke aloud with a sadistic grin, as his left hand had been outstretched, steaming from the crimson beam he discharged at the last second to detonate the blast before it reached him, "had it not been for your current condition, you might have seen me ready to counter your blast. But it matters not," grasping the blue-threaded hilt of his sword, he unsheathed it with a grating, menacing sound as it fully left its scabbard, taking an unearthly shine to it as its wielder flourished it with pride, "for my name is Kogu. And I never leave anything to chance. I'll kill you quickly before you can get a chance to fight back!"
"Ah-Ah-Ah, hot-hot-hot-hot!" Krillin hopscotched around what appeared to be a magma-formed bed of rock, as his own waxed head was suffering from flames of the now burning rocket, that had the unfortunate circumstance of crashing into a river of very REAL lava!
"Is Mister Cash insane?!" Krillin hissed out as he finally defused the flames that sizzled comically ontop of his head. Crossing his arms over his chest, he huffed, "had it been anyone else, they probably be in some real pain right about now."
Fully taking in the atmosphere for the arena he had been randomly selected, he could only gape at what he had landed within. This must have been one of the few very real parts of the large volcano that the eccentric billionaire had salvaged, and turned it into a constant-oscilating river of magma, in hopes of creating a vibrant battlefield.
Amidst this wreckage, Krillin could see a distant tunnel along the far magma plateau beyond, detailing the next place to go after the battle was finished.
"Hmm, I wonder who my combatant is? They're probably wishing they didn't come here to wait for me. The heat is unbearable," Krillin waved a hand casually over his face, as he felt the stifling atmosphere was quite common for something that had a stream of lava coursing through it.
From behind the mist itself, a vague outline could be seen, waiting patiently in an upright fashion.
"So, you're my opponent, huh?" Krillin called out, immediately assuming a battle stance, with his body crouching down and prepared for anything.
However, unlike the other three fighters the contestants had to face, this one didn't respond immediately, nor did it acknowledge him verbally. It was eery, and yet, an assumed semblance of polite courtesy.
Standing back up to a casual upright stance, Krillin smiled, hoping he found a more respectable opponent. Taking a few steps forward, Krillin began introducing himself, "My name is Krillin, and I guess we're going to be fighting. Could you possibly tell me your na-na-na-naaaaaaaame?!"
Krillin stuttered like an idiot, as what hid behind the stream was revealed as the wispy hot moisture billowed away, revealing a beautiful woman behind it. While the red-hue colored atmosphere had turned the alien's skin from a radiant blue into a lime-yellow hue, her figure and curly, thigh-long orange hair made up for that.
She wore a pair of dark forearm sleeves separate from a white open-buttoned sleevless jacket, revealing a dark blue cloth bra wrapped firmly around her upper chest, while her navel was completely exposed. A violet sash hung diagonally around her waistline, over a pair of satin white slacks and a pair of yellow-black combat boots.
"Ho-ho-ho-ho!" Krillin croaked out, as he nearly forgot himself and his fight, as a goddess of beauty had been selected as his opponent. As a hot blush worked his way up his neck and his face, he could see the smirk work up the woman's face, as she observed her own enemy's reaction with visible delight, "well...I can certainly say that there is something in here hotter than the lava...space chicks are HOT-HOT-HOT!"
"You flatter me, little man, with your words," the woman spoke with a sarcastic edge, but was clearly humored by the man's verbal advances. Taking a hand, she pushed a few bangs behind her sharp angled ears, as she stared at him with visible inspection, "hmmm, your power is far below that of the others. A shame this will end so suddenly...I wanted to play with you a little..."
"P-P-Play?!" Krillin almost felt himself pass out, as his internal heat rivaled the room's atmopshere, and the heart beating within his chest was making him deaf to anything but her words.
Then, he remembered someone. A beautiful blonde named 18. Someone who made his heart flutter, gave him a thumbs up and told him to win this. It was the first time she had acknowledged him, despite the small words she shared with him on the Lookout, before disappearing for half a year. But now, she was willing to accept his feelings, and even came to watch him compete, and cheer him on.
If he didn't do this for himself, then he had to do this for her, and his love for her!
"D-D-Don't think you can tempt me with your womanly ways, hot alien chick!" Krillin balled his fists, as he yelled out in proclamation, uncaring if she or anyone else heard him, "I have to win!"
"No," the woman spoke dryly.
WHAM-WHAM-WHAM! Before Krillin could answer, he found small fists with immense power striking his face repeatedly, unable to even lock his eyes upon them, before a knee drove into his gut, causing him to double over.
A wicked smile played over the woman's face as she observed the small man's agony with cruel satisfaction, "Zangya doesn't let anyone beat her. Let alone a weak, pathetic man such as yourself..."
"Every ship is the same I get into," Vegeta grumbled as his boots patted across the dune which his impractical space rocket crashed into, "no matter what I drive, it always crashes!"
Vegeta trekked across a seemingly endless sea of sand, as he saw a distant cave-like entrance beyond the horizon, with very little scenery beyond the occasional cacti or rolling dune every fifteen meters or so.
It didn't take long for Vegeta to be greeted by his opponent either.
A large gloved, muscular arm shot up, intending and gripping its prey by the throat, strangling it to a lifeless shell. Surprisingly enough, the arm didn't get very far.
"Aha!" Vegeta crowed out, his body deftly to the side to grab the offending wrist, pulling it forward and the rest of the man hiding within the sand before launching a well aimed kick to the man's face, discharging a powerful stream of energy from the point of his boot's sole.
The result sent the attacker and a good twenty meter stretch of sand to billow out within a ear-splitting shockwave, that shook the entirety of the sand-covered landscape, and sent the man sprawling head-over-heels before righting himself up.
"You did well concealing your presence," Vegeta spoke aloud, fully recognizing the entity on his backside to be not a human, but one of another race, "I suppose I can thank you for so easily diverting my poor excuse of a vessel off course and crash land?"
"You could say that," the dark, low-toned sounding man spoke back, as he stood up to his intimidating six & half foot frame. The alien smiled a toothy grin of maliciousness, as it appeared there was little to no damage done to his face from the attack.
As Vegeta observed him, there was a distinct familiarity about his physique and appearance. Wearing a sleevless violet jacket over his exposed chest, with a pair of yellow colored finger-less gloves on the end of each muscular blue-skinned arm. With a black sash running over the middle of satin white slacks, with a pair of yellow-black military boots, the only thing that stood out as unique for the alien was showing off a orange trimmed beard around his chin and lips, and a orange haired mohawk.
"So, you going to give me a name before I pummel you into the ground, hm?" Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest, frowning at the man as he planned a number of ways to deal with the unexpected enemy.
"Bido," the despicably grinning man spoke, before he charged with a dash, as he swung out his right hand to preform a haymaker on Vegeta's skull.
Just like the others, Vegeta saw the initial punch come towards his face and he responded in kind, swiftly swinging his left arm up to send the punch off course. But, just like the others, he found a opposing fist invisibly struck his jaw from the other side.
The force sent him spiraling across the desert-covered arena, blasting him through a dune and hurtling into a artificial plateau, crashing it with an incredible boom that resonated the hot battlefield.
"And I'm going to crush you, Prince of all Saiyans, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Bido laughed boisterously as he prepped a crimson orb of Ki in his hands. Leaping straight into the air, he discharged sphere of energy at Vegeta intent on destroying him in one blow.
"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A piercing yell shook the entire air, as a shockwave of golden energy poured up from Vegeta's impact site, rippling all across the battlefield.
The following shockwave sent the orb off course and crashed into a nearby wall, exploding violently, ripping a large gouge in the wall, revealing a dark cityscape beyond the horizon of the sand covered landscape.
The force of such exertion had also done a visibly unexpected result.
The sand itself began to turn into glass as it cycloned around Vegeta's stalwart form, walking forth with a confident grin on his face, and a piercing pair of gleaming emerald eyes. Eyes that glared at Bido for having tricked him and landing a hit he should have been able to dodge.
"So, you think you hurt me now with that level of pathetic power?" Vegeta raised a hand in a beckoning gesture, even as electricity surged from his skin, and the entirety of the sands began to crystallize and billow around his aura's exertion.
"Don't get cocky, Saiyan!" Bido growled out, rushing forth as he reared his fists back, aiming to beat the prideful Saiyan to a pulp.
When Bido reached him, he threw out a series of one-two fist strikes, aiming to throw off Vegeta's reaction timing even further and strike him senseless.
Strangely, Vegeta wore a grin, and didn't move a muscle.
BA-BA-BA-BA-BA-BA-BA-BA-BA-BAM! Even as Bido struck him repeatedly, causing his head and body to thrash every which direction, his stance never wavered, and his body never cringed in pain. If anything, Bido's fists hurt to strike the Super Saiyan's body. It was like punching solid lead!
After a solid minute of punches, Bido let up, chuckling, feeling as if he got through to Vegeta's weak spots, "You so cocky now?"
"Hehehe...hahaha...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Vegeta laughed darkly, rearing his head back up, only showing a small drip of blood emerge his lip, for which he wiped away with one glove, "that was for free, you fool."
"What?!" Bido's eyes widened as he took a step back, realizing his attacks had little to no affect on the Super Saiyan. Beads of sweat crawled visibly down his brow, despite the advantage he held, he felt very real fear building up within his insides, "y-you're bluffing!"
"Oh really?" Vegeta rolled his neck to the side, causing it to pop a few times, as he grinned tauntingly at him, "then come on! I'm not even at full power, and your punches are like tickles. Hit me with your best shot, Bido!"
"RAH!" Bido reared back his fists and charged at the Saiyan again, intending to break through the prideful warrior's defenses.
He would not lose here!
"What the Hell is wrong with everybody?!" Yamcha yelled out aghast, seeing various screens of the strange haired and skinned real aliens fighting. It appeared as if all the accomplished comrades of his were doing sloppily, and didn't have any form or comprehension of their enemies attacks, "why are they not fighting back?!"
"I don't know," Piccolo glared at the screens from beyond, his eyes analyzing all of the movements of the strange creatures, intent on killing their friends, "but whoever they are, they must have killed the original fake aliens in order to get close to the next participants. From the way I'm hearing things, they were planning for them to be there, and set up some kind of trap. At the rate things are going..."
"Vegeta doesn't seem to mind, strangely," Tien noted, as he saw Vegeta being hammered by a number of punches while tauntingly smiling back at his enemy, "it appears this his opponent is below his league. I'm more worried about Krillin, Gohan, and Trunks at this point."
"We should go help them!" Yamcha insisted, raising a fist up with a gritted expression on his face as he glared at the enemies hiding behind the guise of a much more violent Tournament, "our friends are in trouble, and they can't beat them on their own, for whatever reason they can't!"
"No, let things play out," Piccolo spoke with confidence, a smile adorning his features, "it seems despite how desperate things are, they still have yet to hit their limit. It almost seems they're allowing them to have the upper hand."
"H-How can you tell?" Tien looked at Piccolo with an upraised brow.
"Just watch how the rest of the battle plays out," Piccolo encouraged as he pointed out to the battlefield, as he witnessed the next events unfold before them all, "if I know one thing, its that these guys don't know when to quit, even if they should. They'll get themselves out of it..."
The other two Z Warriors could only hope this was true. For if their strongest fighters couldn't overcome this new crisis, who could?
A/N: Hey, did you ever get the feeling that this chapter was a little shorter, or a little less full of action? Well, that's probably because my brain couldn't handle the overload of information that filled it this weekend. While I got a good idea how this next part is going to occur, the rhetoric I had above took a little of my enthusiasm out of it. That, and at the rate I'm being interrupted, there's no way I can meet the deadline tomorrow night for submission
So, I stopped here, and I hope I'm not loathed for it DX
Please feel free to leave comments and reviews after you're through reading. Try not to make too much criticism out of this one. Its not my best action sequence chapter, but it will get better, lol
So yeah, the Bojack Gang has arrived! How much stronger are they from their Canon counterparts, if at all? What sinister new twists and turns are expected for our empowered protagonists?! Will Krillin pull through this one intact?!
Tune in next time on the Vegeta Chronicles! :D