Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

by Feraligreater328

After falling off of Snake Way and into Hell on his way to train with King Kai, Goku meets up with people whom he never thought he'd get to know. How will these relationships change Goku's life as he goes through the trials and tribulations of the Universe? Find out now on Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty!

149. Chapter 143: The Festival Rages On

Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

Authors: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner

Edited by: StevenBodner and SparkerLightning

Chapter 143: The Festival Rages On

In the Grand Kai's Mansion...

Tien leapt down into the arena and flexed his arms and his shoulders. He watched as the opponents from the other galaxies leapt into the fray as well. From the West, a massive gorilla-man with feathered wings landed with a mighty thud. From the South, a frog-man in a poncho landed with a viscous splat. And from the East, a shorter man with a bushy, black beard landed.

Above, Toadstool Tatakae shouted. "And now in the arena, we have our next four contestants! From the North Galaxy, we have Tien Shinhan! From the West Galaxy, we have Gorilla! From the South Galaxy, we have Froug! And from the East Galaxy, we have Chapuchai!"

The four men looked to one another. Tien began to rotate his wristbands as he thought to himself. 'The ones from the East can stockpile energy, the ones from the South can manipulate gravity, and the ones from the West have some form of electrical technique that tweaks their muscles...'

Gorilla chuckled. "Don't think you're gonna get a win here, North Guy! Master Kai says that we gotta beat you down quick-like! So, you gotta contend with me!"

Tien scoffed. "Well, that's almost a threat..."

Gorilla bared his fangs. "Why you-"

Froug croaked. "Pay him no mind, Mr. Tien Shinhan. He's the biggest loudmouth on this entire planet."

Chapuchai cackled. "Once he's gone, we can have us a damn fine time!"

Gorilla sneered. "I'll show the three of you..."

Toadstool cried out. "Now, a quick overview of the rules for this contest! The Goldfish Paddle Catch! Each competitor gets to hold as many goldfish paddles as they can grip in their hands! They will use these paddles to bat the massive Gilded Kai Fish back and forth! These fish are ornery now, so you best be prepared for them to leap at ya!"

The four warriors nodded. Toadstool cackled. "If you lose all your paddles, you're out! Now please, contestants, grab your paddles!"

The four warriors each grabbed their paddles. Gorilla grabbed two, as did Froug.

Tien touched one of them and immediately took notice of the feeling the instrument gave him. Closing his eyes, Tien could feel the paddle trying to pull energy from his palm. He nodded. "I see..."

Tien pulled one of the paddles from the barrel and examined it. The paper that made up the fish-lifting net was just as thin as at a typical summer festival. If something even slightly damp touched this, it would tear through with no issue.

Tien nodded and mumbled to himself. "Yeah, I think I get what's going on. The energy pull combined with the fragile nature of the instrument. The Kaioken would destroy this thing... and so would the Thunder Flash. I wonder if that Gorilla realizes that..."

He looked over to Gorilla and saw him waving his paddles around like a moron. Tien felt a bead of sweat running down his forehead. "Unlikely..."

Looking back to the paddles, Tien sighed. "At a disadvantage. Better hedge my bets..."

Tien focused his energy and let cried out. The crowd all watched in surprise at another set of arms erupted from Tien's shoulders. The three-eyed warrior flexed his new limbs and then grabbed three more paddles out from the barrel. He looked up at Toadstool. "As many as I can hold in my hands, right?"

Toadstool nodded. "Following the rules right to the letter, my friend~"

Chapuchai laughed out loud. "Smart thinkin', young man! I like that! You're gonna be fun~"

And then Chapuchai smirked. "Stockpile: Chapuchai 10!"

For a moment, Chapuchai's energy bloated, and then nine perfect clones came shooting out from behind him. Each of the dwarves grabbed two paddles from the barrel before the original grabbed two of his own. The small army of Chapuchai's stood proud with a grand total of twenty paddles!

The fighter from the East turned to Toadstool. "As many as we can hold in our hands, right?"

Once again, Toadstool nodded. "Still perfectly within the rules!"

With their paddles all gathered, the four warriors gathered around the massive lake in the middle of the arena. Formed above the water was a thick shield of what felt like the Grand Kai's energy. And underneath, were four of the biggest and most aggressive koi that Tien had ever seen. He swallowed a lump in his throat with an audible click, focusing himself.

Gorilla huffed.

Froug croaked.

The small army of Chapuchais all chuckled to themselves.

And then, Toadstool cried out. "CONTESTANTS READY?! THEN BEGIN!"

The Grand Kai snapped his fingers and the energy shield vanished. The four massive koi lunged from the water at the gathered warriors. Gorilla hooted. "THUNDER FLASH SHOCKWAVE!"

He beat his fists against his chest and summoned up a massive cloud of electrical energy on each. And then, with a mighty swing of his arms... the paddles exploded into charred splinters! The koi tackled into Gorilla and sent him crashing into a wall, and then it flopped back into the water to regroup.

Tien, Froug, and the army of Chapuchai's, meanwhile, focused their energy into the paddles, spreading it all throughout the wood and strengthening the paper nets in the center. Each of them was able to deflect the oncoming koi with ease, sending them back into the water to regroup. Tien sighed and spun his paddles in his hands.

Froug croaked to himself once more. "Nice botch, Gorilla!"

The Chapuchais all laughed, the main once tugging his beard and observing a small crack on the handle of his left-hand paddle. "That boy is all talk, all the time~"

Gorilla stood and let loose a combination of a screech and a roar. "SHUT YOUR MOUTHS! GIMME ANOTHER PADDLE AND I'LL SHOW YOU!"

Toadstool called down. "Sorry, Gorilla! No replacement paddles! You're out. Return to your stands!"

Gorilla's jaw dropped. "You gotta be kidding me!"

Toadstool sounded annoyed. "Were you not listening when I was talking a few minutes ago?!"

Gorilla gripped his fists, looking genuinely enraged. Then he sighed. "Dammit..."

Flapping his wings, he flew up to his galaxy's stands where West Kai was waiting with a tsukkomi fan. Bringing it down on Gorilla's head, West Kai screamed. "YOU IDIOT!"

Back down in the arena, Tien shook his head. "Fool."

Froug sighed. "He really is a blowhard, at the end of the day. But students often match the teacher. I can only assume you've got a taste for jokes, Mr. Tien."

Tien blushed bright red and shook his head. "Let's just focus on the match."

The Chapuchai hoard laughed in stereo. The main one spoke. "Couldn't agree more! Besides, with that lump gone we can start focusin' on the actual game. Y'all bout to get whooped!"

Froug narrowed his eyes. "We'll see."

Tien gripped each of his paddles tight. "Bring it on!"

With a massive splash, all four koi came shooting up from the water again, one each aiming for Froug and Tien and two of them aiming for Chapuchai. Once more, the three warriors focused their energy and used their power to deflect the fish. Tien smirked and thought to himself. 'My energy control is top notch; I should be able to-'

His eyes went wide, and it was then that Tien realized he had made a grave error in judgement. While his fish went flopping back into the water, one of Chapuchai's fish came flying right toward him. Caught unawares, Tien didn't have time to compensate, and the massive fish crashed through one of his paddles, snapping it in half. The fish flopped to the ground, and then back into the water to regroup.

As Tien tried to mentally regroup himself, he heard a tri-stereo cry of anguish and a series of snaps. Three of the Chapuchai clones hit the wall, fading from existence as their broken paddles clattered to the ground. The remaining Chapuchai clones gathered around the original as he tossed one of his own broken paddles to the ground in disgust. "Damn gravity technique..."

On his end of the pond, Froug croaked and made what could reasonably be called a cocky smile. "Looks like you're three and seven down, Chapuchai! Three men and six paddles!"

Tien gritted his teeth. "I see. So, Chapuchai launched one of his fish at me and one at Froug. I wasn't expecting that..."

Froug croaked and snorted. "You came into this thinking we were just competing against the fish?!"

Then he laughed. "Well damn, I guess you do have the North Kai's sense of humor after all~"

Tien grunted and tossed one of his paddles up to his now free extra arm. Then, he gripped the remaining one in his primary set with both hands. "I was naïve. Don't expect that again, Froug!"

Froug smirked as best as his amphibian face would allow. "Now, that's what an ol' timer like me likes to hear! You're gonna be fun, son~"

Chapuchai took one of the paddles from one of his clones. "I ain't out yet either!"

Froug croaked. "Yeah, but you're an ol' fogey. Who cares about you~?"

Chapuchai smirked. "Lookin' like frog legs tonight~"

And then, Tien came to a realization that made him genuinely smile. "You... You two have been here a while, huh?"

Both warriors smirked at him, speaking in unison. "Over 10,000 years~"

Tien straightened up just a bit, and then almost unconsciously he bowed his head. "I sincerely hope that one day, I'm able to join the two of you up here. I would be honored to be able to call you both my peers."

Froug smiled. "Young man, when you die one day, many years down the road, I'm sure you'll have earned your place on these grounds. And I'm sure you'll make one hell of a sparring partner."

Chapuchai chuckled. "But you make sure once you're done with these games, we don't see ya for a while! Don't need to more impulsive young'uns like Gorilla stinkin' up the place with their lack of wisdom and their tragic, early deaths~"

There was an audible huff from Gorilla, up in the stands. Tien smiled and gripped his remaining paddles tight. There was a fresh fire in his eyes. Froug croaked. "Nice. Nice fire. That's what we like to see~"

Chapuchai comes. "I wanna beat you, Froug, but let's give this greenhorn a real challenge!"

The fish erupted from the water again. Just like last time, one each went to Tien and Froug and two attacked the larger target in Chapuchai. Three of the Chapuchai clones leaped to the fish on the left, batting it harshly at Tien. Meanwhile, the clone with only a single paddle leapt up and took the brunt of the fish's tackle. The paddle ripped and the clone faded, but the aggressive koi lost a ton of momentum. Taking advantage, the remaining three Chapuchai's slid underneath the fish and gave a massive, underhanded slice that sent the fish flying straight at Froug.

With a mighty Kiai, Tien deflected his fish. He could feel it weighing against the paddles in his upper hands, pushing them to the breaking point. So, instead of returning fire, he sent his splashing back into the water. Luckily, he was prepared this time for Chapuchai's fish. Holding his lower handed paddle tightly in both fists, Tien swung hard and sent it shooting right at Froug.

And then Tien gasped in shock. "What the hell?!"

With almost no effort at all, Froug flicked his wrist and his fish went shooting like a missile, crashing into the fish that Chapuchai shot toward him and making them smash into each other. Both fish flopped dazedly into the water and Froug turned to Tien. "What's the matter, Mr. Tien? See something surprising?"

With delicate grace, Froug scooped the fish Tien sent shooting toward him, drawing it around in a full circle and then shooting it like a cruise missile at Chapuchai. The small legion of dwarves cried out and raised their paddles in defense, only for the fish to take out four of them, crushing their paddles and making them disperse. Froug chuckled. "Thanks for the ammo, young man~"

Only the original Chapuchai and a single clone remained. He scoffed. "Damn you, Froug! Don't you let this start goin' to your head! We ain't fightin', we're fishin'! And you're a damned amphibian!"

Froug croaked arrogantly. "Making up excuses in front of the younger generation? Shameful!"

Tien gripped his paddles tight. He knew for sure now that victory here wasn't guaranteed. In terms of paddles, Froug was still at the biggest disadvantage. But of course, he was from the South Galaxy. In some way, he was manipulating gravity. Meanwhile, Tien was practically standing still in the face of all the experience on display before him and Chapuchai was severely on the backfoot. Tien had no doubt that the bearded warrior could make more clones, but what good would that do now?

One thing was clear, Tien needed to find a way to eliminate Froug. A one-on-one with that guy would mean a dire loss in this specific scenario. Tien glanced over at Chapuchai. "Mr. Chapuchai, sir!"

Chapuchai glanced over at him. "Yeah?"

Tien smirked. "I think Mr. Froug is getting a bit too big for his britches. Perhaps we should bring him down to size?"

Chapuchai grinned wide. "More of that fire! I like it! Let's you and I team up, greenhorn!"

Froug croaked and gave a low chuckle. "Bring me down to size, eh?"

The surface of the water began to bubble. The fish were coming back up for another go. Tien and Chapuchai braced themselves. This was going to be their best chance to get one over on Froug. The surface of the water began to break, but then Froug took a deep breath. All at once, his slippery amphibian body began to swell up like a balloon. Tien gasped in shock. Chapuchai flinched. "Aw... shit!"

The fish exploded from the water, three of them clearing aiming for Tien and Chapuchai, but to the confusion of the fish they were all instead pulled toward the ever-expanding Froug. Froug chuckled and croaked. "MEGATON ORBIT!"

And then, at near sonic speed, the four fish came shooting toward Tien and Chapuchai. Three of them smashed into the two remaining dwarves, shattering his remaining paddles and sending him crashing into a heap. The fourth fish shot through Tien's remaining upper arm paddles, reducing it to splinters and bringing the warrior to his knees.

Up above, Toadstool cried out. "AND CHAPUCHAI IS OUT!"

Froug chuckled and bellowed in a deep voice. "So much for that plan, Mr. Tien! You got any other bright ideas hidden away?!"

Tien gritted his teeth, retracting his extra arms back into his shoulders and refocusing his energy. "Well, this just became a much greater challenge..."

The four koi fish flopped back into the water. Tien swallowed that all too familiar lump in his throat. As he rapidly assessed the situation, the three-eyed warrior didn't want to admit to the feeling he was getting in his chest. But the feeling became further soldered in place as he examined Froug form, in combination with his technique. Tien chuckled and closed his eyes. "Well, damn. I don't have a single technical counter for you. Isn't that just something?"

Froug croaked, watching as Toadstool helped Chapuchai out of the arena. "Just giving up then? Kinda anticlimactic, wouldn't ya say?"

Tien shook his head, examining his two paddles. "No, I'm not giving up. I'm just admitting that I lack the technical skill to get around your technique at the moment. Acknowledging the gap in our skill, that's all. I have one last strategy that I'm willing to try..."

The four fish burst from the water and, once again, they were sucked in by the gravitational pull of Froug's Megaton Orbit. Froug croaked. "And just what kinda strategy is that, Mr. Tien?"

Tien smirked. "You have a lot of power behind your gravity technique. To deflect those fish back to you would be to deflect a moon back at the planet it orbits. Am I strong enough to do that? Who's to say, really? But I would never be able to live this down unless I at least tried!"

Tien clapped his hands in front and sighed. "Enlightenment Pathways: Vairocana. State of Sunyatta."

All at once, Tien's muscles deflated. All of his energy from within expelled out into the space immediately surrounding him. He gripped his paddles tight and allowed his unshackled ki to lift his arms. "This is all of my energy, unrestrained by the confines of flesh, or the soul in this case. If I can't deflect your attack back at you with this, then I have no hope of winning this match."

Froug smirked. "So, you've achieved enlightenment at such a young age? Fascinating! Well then let's see if that third eye of yours is awakened enough to face the power of my gravity!"

Suddenly, the koi began to orbit around Froug at top speed, harshly enough to create a massive whirlwind that caused the cloth of Tien's pants to billow. Tien remained fully focused, using his unshackled energy to lift his arms, to coat and support the paddles. He turned his attention to each of Froug's paddles, and then he tightened his grip to its full strength.

All of the spectators fell silent. North Kai and South Kai were both on the edge of their seats. Gorilla and Chapuchai both stared on with vested interest. And the Froug bellowed. "EAT THIS! MEGATON ORBIT SLINGSHOT!"

The four fish went flying towards Tien with a high-pitched whistle, slicing through the air as shimmering blurs. Tien gently lifted his arms and positioned his paddles with his free-floating energy. And then, he compressed the energy around his arms and jerked them forward with all of his might. His paddles met the four fish, two to each paddle, and sent them shooting back with a monstrous, explosive BOOM!

Froug gasped as two of the fish came shooting right back at him, jerking his right arm inward just a fraction of a second before contact.

The two fish Tien failed to deflect crashed through the wall behind him, falling down into the massive galaxy within the Grand Kai's mansion and swimming away in a furious, fearful huff. The two that he managed to deflect back at Froug crashed through the opposite wall and did the same. Tien released his State of Sunyatta, sucking all of his energy back into his corporeal form. Then he groaned. "Damn it. Not good enough."

Tien looked down at both of his shattered paddles and then up at Froug's remaining paddle, pulled out of the line of fire with just a second to spare. Toadstool Tatakae cried into his mic. "AND THERE YOU HAVE IT, FOLKS! THE WINNER OF THE GOLDFISH PADDLE CATCH, OR SHOULD I SAY GOLDFISH PADDLE SMASH, IS FROUG!"

The crowd erupted in cheers as the new points rankings displayed on the scoreboard.

NORTH GALAXY: 175 POINTS

WEST GALAXY: 75 POINTS

EAST GALAXY: 75 POINTS

SOUTH GALAXY: 175 POINTS

Tien tossed his paddles aside with a shrug. "Well, I suppose that 2nd place at least keeps us with a firm lead on two galaxies. So, I contributed as best I could..."

"But that doesn't erase the sour taste, does it?"

Tien turned and looked as Froug marched up to him. The amphibian pressed his fists to his hips and croaked. "Mere luck that things shook out the way they did. I just so happened to have the instinct to flick my wrist at the last second. I know they never have instant replays at these things, so that would've tied us!"

Before Tien could say a word, Chapuchai chimed in. "Now don't go teasing the boy with all that lucky talk! He lost because he didn't have the strength to hit the fish harder! Plain and simple! How's he supposed to find the nerve to train up even more if ya go and have him thinkin' every defeat is down to luck!"

Gorilla stomped up. "The only luck here is that I was out so soon! Things would be a lot different if-"

Chapuchai glared sharply. "Shut ya damn mouth, Gorilla! You don't need to act all hoity-toity just to impress that overstuffed West Kai of yours!"

Froug croaked. "You live on this planet with us! Not that blowhard! Don't forget who drills ya when he ain't here runnin' his yapper!"

Gorilla shrank back and began to press his index fingers together. "Sorry, sirs..."

Both old-timers sighed, and Tien gave a nervous chuckle.

Froug looked over to the young warrior from the North. "Well, either way, it was a fun ol' time it was! You better show up for the next one!"

Chapuchai chuckled. "And ya better put ol' Froug in his place next time~!"

Gorilla crossed his arms over his bulging pectorals. "Hmph."

Tien gripped his fist with a confident grin. "You bet! Next time these games come along, I'll show you both up properly!"

And so, with the end of the Goldfish Paddle Catch, the second round of the Grand Kai Festival ended. And a 30-minute break was declared while the next arena was prepared.

Back in the Northern yard...

King Kai sat back against the stone steps of Olibu's temple and sighed. "Good job Tien and great job Yamcha! I couldn't have asked better from the two of you~!"

Yamcha beamed with pride. Tien sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I could have won it outright. That would have put us in the lead instead of tying us with the South..."

King Kai waved his off. "Oh, give that a rest! You went down there and you put your back into it! As long as you gave it your all, I wouldn't be all that upset if you came in last place. I'm not like the West Kai. He's probably tearing Tapkar and Gorilla a new-"

Goku interrupted. "I wish I knew why those two guys from the West keep glaring at me! What did I do?! Huh?!"

Everyone fell silent. This wasn't just Goku complaining. He seemed genuinely concerned that two warriors good enough to reach this level in the afterlife seemed to hate him on sight. King Kai groaned. "Heck, who knows? Maybe ol' Virup figured out that I taught you that technique and he's taught all his pupils that you're the enemy..."

Goku shook his head. "That can't be it. Gorilla, Tapkar, and that big dinosaur guy don't seem like they hate me. Just Pikkon and Blue Rose..."

Olibu crossed his arms. "Tis a tricky situation indeed. I can't say that I know much about Blue Rose, but I have heard a bit about Pikkon. He died somewhat recently in defense of his planet, apparently fending off a meteor shower that was caused by some kind of invader..."

Yamcha nodded. "And you're a Saiyan, Goku. So, maybe he's not so much angry at you as he's angry that you're a Saiyan..."

Goku groaned and scratched his head. "If he died recently...then it would've had to have been Vegeta, Raditz, or that bald guy. I mean, my mom and dad were dead, and I certainly didn't cause a meteor shower..."

Tien gave his friend an encouraging pat on the back. "Don't sweat it, Goku. I'm sure once all this is over, you'll get a chance to talk to Pikkon and clear things up..."

Goku nodded. "I guess. But that still leaves Blue Rose. Pikkon's hatred for me feels tempered, but his is raging. I... definitely think I know that guy, but I can't place where from. He feels familiar..."

The four warriors sighed. And Piccolo was left with a question mark practically floating over his turban-wrapped head. "Let's back up a few discussion topics. You... taught Goku this disputed technique?!"

King Kai nodded. "Yeah. I did."

Everyone else looked at King Kai. A little flicker of excitement sparked up in Goku's eyes. "You taught me a forbidden technique, eh?! I get to know a forbidden technique?!"

King Kai sighed. "Uh-huh. I guess I might as well not keep you guys in the dark. I'm sure the other Kais aren't withholding from their pupils..."

Piccolo crossed his arms. "So, what is this much vaunted technique? The one that you four are squabbling and fighting over."

King Kai cleared his throat. "The Spirit Bomb."

Goku flinched back. "WH-WHAT?! THE SPIRIT BOMB IS A FORBIDDEN TECHNIQUE?! THAT'S CRAZY!"

The loudspeaker voice of Toadstool called out over the entire Grand Kai planet. "Competitors! Return to the Grand Kai's mansion right away! Round 3 of the Grand Kai Festival is about to begin!"

King Kai stood. "We'll talk more about this later. Let's shake a leg and bring home a big win for the next one, boys!"

The five students of King Kai gave a combined shout of "YEAH!" and then they made their way back into the Grand Kai's mansion.

Piccolo cracked his neck. "No matter the contest, I think I'll be competing next."

Back at the Northern Galaxy stands...

Goku, Yamcha, Tien, and Olibu all stood on the edge of the Northern Galaxy stand platform, watching on as Piccolo marched up and joined his fellow competitors. The other three were already assembled, all on them on the cusping edge of a cliff that overlooked a massive, dark and foreboding canyon.

From the South Galaxy, stood Sarta. He was a large, muscular man with a twin-braided hairstyle and a spear made of bone gripped in one hand. From the West Galaxy there was the hulking saurian warrior, Mariakoh. He was a massive purple dinosaur man with three ivory horns sticking from his head and the tip of his snout. And then, from the East Galaxy, there was Arqua. His was a spectacularly small fish-man in a blue leotard.

Toadstool cackled and called out. "Now that Piccolo from the Northern Galaxy has joined us, we can get going with the third events! THE HELLBEAST HORROR HUNT!"

Goku turned to King Kai, cocking his head. "Hellbeast Horror Hunt?"

King Kai nodded. "Hellbeasts are the monsters that patrol the entrances to the special levels of Hell. The prevent people from entering and exiting and just kind of act as natural sinks for the evil that spills out from those levels."

Yamcha stroked his beard. "There are special levels of Hell?"

King Kai nodded. "Four of them now. Level 1 is where most evil armies go. Level 2 was where King Piccolo and his monsters were stored, but it's empty now. Level 3 is where the Frieza Force is. And they just recently built Level 4..."

Tien spoke up. "Cell?"

King Kai nodded. "Cell."

Tien shuddered. "Pardon my lack of composure, but it doesn't make me feel anywhere near secure to know that Cell still exists somewhere."

King Kai smiled. "Don't worry about it. He's locked up. And nothing short of a wish of the Dragon Balls should ever be able to pick that lock. You could say King Yemma... has it all on lock~"

King Kai began to chuckle to himself. Olibu sighed. "Those hellbeasts can be vicious. I hope Piccolo has some form of strategy."

Goku smiled. "You ain't gotta worry. Piccolo always plans ahead. I'm sure he's expecting whatever this event throws at him~"

Down in the arena...

Piccolo stood with his arms crossed, listening intently as Toadstool spoke. "Okay folks, this one is a simple challenge with a vicious edge! Going in alphabetical order, each contestant will be allowed to enter the Hellbeast Canyon! Before they enter, they must call their shot! That means that they have to declare how many hellbeasts they're going to take out! If they can follow-through, their score is multiplied by two! Otherwise, they only get the same number of points as beasts they hunt!"

Piccolo nodded. "I see. So, if I were to call out that I'll beat ten monsters, and I beat ten, then I get 20 points. Correct?"

Toadstool snapped his fingers. "Yessir! Yessir! You got it!"

He continued. "There are a total of 100 hellbeasts in this canyon! The event will continue until all hellbeasts are dealt with! Are you all ready to go?!"

Mariakoh snorted. "Hmph. Easy."

Sarta raised his hand. "Emcee! Is this ethical?! I know the hellbeasts are savage monsters, but they serve a noble purpose in guarding the deeper levels of Hell! Why do we hunt them?"

Toadstool nodded. "I see your point, but the ones in this canyon are hellbeasts gone corrupt! Putting them down in this case is a mercy, just... make it quick on the poor puppies."

Arqua frowned, both eyes blinking slowly. "Puppies...?"

Piccolo frowned. "This is no time to get weighed down by sentiment. If this is the contest I have to take part in, then I will shoot to win. No question."

He whipped off his cape and turban and smirked. "When my turn comes, I'll simply take all that are left and secure a victory for my team!"

Mariakoh sneered. "Oh, is that right? Well, I'm kinda reasonably sure that my name comes before yours in the alphabet! Kinda! So, why don't I just steal your idea and use my Thunder Flash Crash to take all of 'em out!"

Piccolo glared over at Mariakoh and spoke bluntly. "Because I think you'd tap out at 1 or 2 before needing a break..."

Mariakoh roared. "WHY YOU-"

Sarta gritted his teeth. "You'd better hope you're able too, because my Megaton Sinker would allow me to do that easily! Then it would be a third high-ranking play for the South Galaxy!"

Piccolo, Mariakoh, and Sarta all began to argue among themselves and Toadstool felt a bead of sweat run down his cap. "Uh... it appears as if the trash talk has started early among these passionate, skilled warriors... I guess..."

As those three argued, however, the fourth competitor stepped up to the ledge, peering down and feeling the savage hellbeasts waiting. Arqua shuddered but didn't break his stare. "Arqua... is first..."

Toadstool nodded. "Quite right! Arqua is the first one alphabetically, so while those three are squawking at each other, let's get him going!"

Arqua looked up at the emcee who came floating over to him. Toadstool Tatakae queried. "Okay, Arqua! Call ya shot! How many do you think you can take?!"

The fish-man stared blankly, sniffling a small drip of snot back into his snout. Then he spoke. "Arqua can take...all of them..."

A hush fell over the crowd, the Kais, and Toadstool himself. "A-All of them? You, uh, sure about that... lil' buddy?"

Arqua nodded. "Arqua... beat... 100..."

Another silence. Piccolo, Sarta, and Mariakoh had all taken notice. Toadstool looked up to the Grand Kai and shrugged and the Grand Kai shrugged back. Then, the mushroom announcer gave a nervous laugh. "W-Well okay Arqua. Just, don't get hurt. 'Kay, bud?"

Arqua nodded. Then he turned to his fellow competitors and gave a weak thumbs-up. "Arqua show friends... his strength~"

And then, the fish-man flopped forward into the canyon. Piccolo, Mariakoh, and Sarta all watched on in shock. As he fell deeper into the darkness of the canyon, and as he sensed the bloodlust and the savagery of the terrible beasts hidden within it, Arqua took a deep breath. Then he whispered. "Stockpile. 1 Trillion Gallons."

Piccolo's ears twitched. "WHAT?!"

And then the entire canyon exploded into a massive, raging sea of water. The other three competitors and Toadstool Tatakae all flinched as a salty spray splashed against them. But they didn't have much time to observe this sudden ocean as the scoreboard began to bleep. They all locked up and gasped.

On the left side of the screen was Arqua's bet: 100 monsters. On the right was the number of monsters left: 99...

98...

72...

45...

44...

12...

5...

1...

And then the buzzer went off and the water, a quick all it appeared, all shrank into one singularity and evaporated out of existence. Arqua leapt out of the canyon and flopped onto his feet, only slightly stumbling before adopting a proud little smile and shooting a victory sign.

A genuine hush fell over the crowd. The three other competitors were totally gob smacked. Arqua smiled a bit wider. "Arqua... do good?"

The crowd erupted into cheers and furious chanting of Arqua's name. Toadstool laughed out loud into the mic. "THAT'S RIGHT, FOLKS! THAT'S ONE OF THE BEST DISPLAYS OF TECHNIQUE I'VE EVER SEEN! LET'S KEEP IT GOING FOR ARQUA!"

The cheers got even louder. Piccolo bared his fangs and turned away in anger, summoning his cape and turban back onto his shoulders. "DAMN IT!"

Sarta groaned. "Shameful for the South..."

Mariakoh was much blunter. "Crap."

Watching as his friend competitors all marched away in anger, Arqua's shoulders sagged. He thought about the camaraderie from the last two event and quietly mewled. "...friends?"

Mariakoh stopped stomping away, turning to see Arqua looking genuinely dejected as he stood there. The hulking dinosaur growled and rolled his eyes. "Oh, goddammit..."

He stomped back over to Arqua and picked up the limp, little fish-man by the scruff of his neck. "Come on, little guy. You can ride on my shoulder so you can see everyone cheering ya better."

Arqua smiled. "Friend?"

Mariakoh sighed and nodded. "Sure."

As they stomped forward, Sarta looked up to Arqua. He gave a genial smile. "Very nice, Arqua. You must be quite strong to have taken all those beasts at once~"

Arqua chuckled. "Arqua... strong."

Lost in his own thoughts, Piccolo didn't notice the other three having their little celebration behind him. He was too busy silently snarling and trying to think about what his team's next move should be.

And then, the Grand Kai called out. "HEYA PLAYA'S! I'M GONNA STEAL TOADSTOOL TATAKAE'S GIG FOR A MINUTE AND PERSONALLY ANNOUNCE THE RANKINGS FROM THE EVENT! Y'ALL READY?!"

The crowd erupted into cheers for the Grand Kai. Mariakoh, Sarta, and Arqua all looked up to the higher God. Piccolo stopped in his tracks and turned to the Grand Kai and the scoreboard above him. The Grand Kai cackled and motioned to the LCD. "AND HERE THEY ARE!"

Four rankings blipped onto the screen all at once:

1st Place – Arqua

2nd Place – Mariakoh

3rd Place – Sarta

Last Place – Piccolo

Arqua smiled. "Arqu ... win~"

Mariakoh snorted. "Second is better than Tapkar and Gorilla, I guess."

Sarta cocked his head. "But... why?"

Piccolo sneered. "WHAT?!"

Grand Kai smiled. "Let's see if y'all can dig this jive~ Arqua is in first place cuz the boy done did it! He won the game! As for the other three, I based it not on skills but on attitude! Mariakoh gets second place cuz he turned around to make sure Arqua got held up high! Sarta got third because he stopped to offer praise of his fellow warrior!"

Then, the magnifying glass was focused squarely on Piccolo. "And Piccolo got last cuz he's a sour old pickle that didn't even give a good job wave."

Piccolo's shoulders sagged and his arms hung limp, his jaw practically dropping to the floor. "Ah..."

The new scores for each galaxy blipped onto screen.

NORTH GALAXY: 200 POINTS

WEST GALAXY: 150 POINTS

EAST GALAXY: 175 POINTS

SOUTH GALAXY: 225 POINTS

Back in the Northern Galaxy stands...

Piccolo landed back on the Northern Galaxy stands to a stoney, awkward silence. The sound of the next arena being constructed was the only audible noise as he walked past the stone-faced Goku, the marble column that was Olibu, the sheer façade of Tien and the pine tree-esque visage of Yamcha. He walked past the ghostly white, Edvard Munch inspired silently screaming face of King Kai, into the shady relief of the canvas overhang, and he crossed his arms.

And then Yamcha turned to him. "Way to shit the bed, Piccolo!"

Tien corroborated. "Good job, Piccolo. Yamcha and my hard work just went down the drain!"

Piccolo snarled. "TO HELL WITH BOTH OF YOU!"

Yamcha planted his fists onto his hips. "Can't even say 'good job', huh?"

Tien snapped. "Huh?"

Yamcha repeated. "Huh?"

Tien repeated. "Huh?"

They both got right in his face. "HUH?!"

Piccolo held up his hands. "I DIDN'T CONSIDER THAT I WOULD BE JUDGED ON ETIQUETTE! I WAS TRYING TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE COULD RECOUP OUR LEAD! GET OUT OF MY DAMNED FACE!"

King Kai flopped like a dead fish onto his face. "My planet. My planet! Damn you, Piccolo!"

Piccolo slapped his hands over his face, blushing bright red. Olibu sighed. "Looks like we must work extra hard to get our win back, my friend. Are you prepared?"

Goku chuckled. "Heck yeah! Which one of us should go next?"

Olibu rubbed his chin. "Let us see what the next game is first. The arena appears to be ready."

And, true to Olibu's word, the arena was ready. Rather than a more natural landscape as the past few had been, this one was modelled after a quaint, seaside-style village. Many buildings rose up, making a unique skyline within the arena. In the center stood a giant clock tower.

Toadstool shouted into the mic. "OKAY, FOLKS! WHO'S READY FOR ROUND 4: THE GREAT GRAND KAI TAG TOURNAMENT!"

Goku and Olibu turned to each other. Goku smirked. "Tag, huh? I have a teleporting technique and I'm a lot smaller than you. Think I should take this one?"

Olibu smiled and nodded. "Have at it, my friend!"

Over in the Western Galaxy stands...

Upon seeing Goku leap from his stand to the arena below, Pikkon took a step forward. Hatred burned in the warrior's eyes as he saw Goku land and begin to stretch his arms. He seethed. "Now is the time for revenge..."

But before Pikkon could make it to the edge of the platform, Blue Rose stepped in his way. Pikkon was annoyed. "And just what do you think you're doing, weakling?"

Blue Rose spoke in a low, refined voice. "I'm taking my revenge, dunce. This is my reason to be here, to take out that bastard, Son Goku!"

Pikkon clenched his fists. "And just what makes your petty revenge take priority over mine?!"

Blue Rose winked behind his face-obscuring mask. "Simple, sweetheart. You merely hold a grudge against the face. I hold a grudge against the man~"

Down in the arena...

The four competitors stood in a circle. From the Northern Galaxy was Son Goku, looking confused and a bit taken aback. Standing across from him, from the Western Galaxy, was the mysterious Blue Rose with sparks of burning hatred glowing in his eyes. From the Eastern Galaxy, was a lime-green lemur man by the name of Sugoro. And from the Southern Galaxy was a hulking, multi-armed caterpillar man by the name of Caterpy.

Toadstool Tatakae chuckled. "OKAY, Y'ALL! LET'S GET IT GOING! THE GREAT GRAND KAI TAG TOURNAMENT BEGINS NOW!"