(A/N: As I have said in my profile, Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, has passed away. You will never be forgotten in our memory. Thank you for everything that you have done for us. Rest In Peace, Akira Toriyama. With that said, I hope you guys still enjoy this chapter.)
Chapter 9: The Matches Are Heating Up To An Exciting Climax! Who Will Be Our Next World Tournament Champion?
World Tournament Announcer: "With the Quarter-Finals completed, it has whittled our contestants down the final 4! So, you know what that means! We're heading right into the Semi-Finals! Who, among our final 4 contestants, will make it to the end of the 24th World Tournament? Will it be Goku, Gohan, Videl, or Pan? We'll just have to wait and see for ourselves, folks!
In our first Semi-Final match, we have our previous Champion, Son Goku going against his own son, Son Gohan! Will our two contestants please enter the ring?!" With that said, the Announcer runs to the sideline, off the ring, once more. Just before the two Son family members enter the ring, Goku asks his son: "Are you ready to go against your old man, Gohan?" To which Gohan replies: "Honestly, Dad? As ready as I'll ever be." And they both walk out to the ring.
Meanwhile, in the fighter's lounge/spectating area, Videl and Pan are there, hoping for Gohan to win, so one of them would have the opportunity to fight him in the Final. Once Goku and Gohan enter the ring, they get into their fighting stances. With that being seen, the Announcer signals the match to begin, and the Father-Son duo launch themselves at one another. Gohan is not taking any chances at holding back, so he goes full power from the get-go. Goku is surprised by Gohan's strength, and tries to power up to match it.
Gohan does have an advantage, in size. Since he hasn't gone through his growth spurt, he can use his small size to his advantage, and get a few good hits in, if not a lot of hits. After quite some time of making use of his advantage, Gohan knocks his father across the ring, and uses the one technique he hasn't used in front of his father before: the Kamehameha Wave. Goku is surprised to see Gohan using the Kamehameha, so he transforms into a Super Saiyan, and does likewise with his own Kamehameha. As they both say in unison: "KAAAAAA… MEEEEEE… HAAAAAAA… MEEEEEEE… HAAAAAAAAA!"
They go through a beam struggle for almost 3 minutes; their Kamehameha Waves are constantly going back and forth, with Videl and Pan watching and praying for Gohan's victory. With one last push, Gohan manages to overpower his father's Kamehameha, sending him out of the ring, making Gohan the winner of the first Semi-Final match. Like he has been in all of the World Tournaments that Goku and his friends have competed in, the Announcer is amazed at the spectacle between father and son. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen! We will have a 20-minute break until the second Semi-Final match! Give the World Tournament staff time to repair the ring a little bit!"
As Goku and Gohan make it back to the waiting area, Videl and Pan congratulate Gohan on his victory, and the future family embrace in a group hug. Once they break apart from their family hug, Piccolo approaches Gohan, with a proud smirk on his face. "That was a good match, Gohan. In one particular way, you have surpassed your father." Gohan puts a hand behind his head in typical Son fashion, saying that maybe Piccolo is right about that.
After the 20-minute break is over, and the World Tournament staff repaired the ring as much as they could, the World Tournament Announcer informs the spectators that the second Semi-Final match is about to begin, and requests for Videl and Pan to make their way to the ring. Before they step into the ring, Pan asks her young mother: "Are you ready for this, Mom?" To which Videl replies to her future daughter: "You know I am. I want to see how strong you are, my daughter." And they enter the ring.
The Announcer asks them if they're ready to begin, and they nod at him. With the confirmation, the Announcer signals the start of the match. Videl and Pan both start off at a slow pace by Z-Fighter standards. This slow pace doesn't last long, only ONE minute of doing so. After that single minute, they start using their energy waves. Just like with Goku and Gohan in the first Semi-Final match, Videl and Pan do the same: Going back and forth in clashes.
Even going as far as ending their match with a beam struggle. The only difference is the energy wave they both use simultaneously: Masenko. After an even longer beam struggle than the earlier one between Goku and Gohan in the first Semi-Final match, Videl manages to overpower her future daughter by ring-out. Pan is satisfied with one thing alone: Getting the chance to spar with her mother after such a long time. Even if it is in a different era that it happens.
With that, Videl and Pan head back to their friends. Gohan, in particular, is proud of both of them. He's proud of how far his future wife/current pupil has come in her training, and he's also amazed at how strong Pan has gotten during her time in her era. And, just like from earlier, the three of them embrace. As the last break before the Final match is going on, Gohan and Videl are sitting on the ground in a criss-cross position; letting their hearts and minds calm down before the match.
After the last break, Gohan and Videl are called to the ring to begin the final match of the 24th World Tournament. "Who will claim victory in this match and this Tournament?!" asks the Announcer. Gohan and Videl get into their fighting stances, and the final match of the 24th World Tournament begins. They both skip the warm-up and fight seriously from the start. And, let's just say this: This match is a truly explosive one, and a long one at that.
After ONE HOUR, Gohan and Videl haven't been gaining an advantage over each other, AT ALL! THEY'RE DEAD EVEN IN EVERY REGARD! So, they decide to end it as they did in the Semi-Final matches: a beam struggle. Gohan's Kamehameha Wave against Videl's Masenko. Due to neither Gohan nor Videl feeling fatigued throughout the whole match, their beam struggle lasts for quite a while. 10 MINUTES to be precise.
With this being the fatiguing factor in the match, Videl starts to feel it first. Of course, Gohan takes notice of this, and goes for the opportunity to win the match. Videl is caught off-guard by the sudden end to the beam struggle, and tries to regain her balance, but it's too late, as Gohan knocks her out of the ring. Videl is glad to have finally seen what Gohan can really do in a fight. So, she isn't upset by her loss in the final match.
With the match declared over, and Gohan declared the 24th World Tournament Champion, the Z-Fighters return to Capsule Corporation to celebrate. A few hours later, everyone is feeling like they're prepared to fight the Androids that'll arrive in a few days. So, for those last few days, the Z-Fighters all rest up, hoping that they have prepared enough for what could be their last big threat to fight for some time.
(A/N: Now that the 24th World Tournament is over, the next chapter will be the start of the Android threat... So, a lot of events will start to unfold. Until then, peace.)