Author's note: Holy Crap baskets this chapter took awhile! Sorry this one took so long, I really tried to take my time with it. The Finals will consist of 3 parts and we're finally getting into some of the creepier plot points. I'm not sure when the next one will be done but it'll probably be more than a week or possibly even two. In the meanwhile, enjoy this newest chapter!

Chapter 11: The Finals, Part 1: Phantom

Meeting Hall

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we will take a brief intermission. In a few minutes time we will have a brief concert take place, and afterwards the Final Match will begin!" As the MC announced this, Goku and Nam returned to the meeting hall where Yamcha and Krillin were waiting for Goku.

"Wow Goku! I can't believe how much stronger you've become!" Yamcha said in amazement. "Not even a year ago you were this strange wild child, now you're going to the final bout in the tournament!"

"I owe it all to Master Roshi and Miss Ranko! I would have been knocked out a long time ago if not for their training!" Goku replied smiling.

"Miss Akane is going to be a tough customer though!" Krillin said darkly. "I couldn't do anything!"

"I'll just have to do my best!" Goku said smiling. He didn't even seem to be afraid, if anything he looked more excited than ever.

The three of them then looked over across the room to where "Akane" was. She was watching Nam pack his things as Aloe was trying to convince him he should come home with her.

"It is Amazon tradition!" Aloe said matter of factly.

"I am not an amazon" said Nam calmly yet sternly. "I have my own responsibilities to my own village as well. I have no time to spare a thought to marriage right now, go and find another candidate for a partner. A young and lovely woman like you should easily find a partner so long as you do not obsess with strength."

Aloe had an angry pout on her face during most of the discussion but blushed fiercely at being called "young and lovely". "Y-you don't understand!" she spluttered out clearly embarrassed but very much pleased. "I am heiress to the matriarchy of my people. Tradition means everything to them, especially when looking to their leadership. You are a fine man and you defeated me in combat! I must bring you back!"

"I sympathize with your responsibility better then you know" Nam said as he placed his bag over his shoulder and turned to face her. "It is why I must return home, and why I am confident you will find someone else. Namaste." He bowed on that final word and left the room. Aloe just stood there looking at the floor, shaking.

"She is both like Shampoo and unlike her." Roshi thought. "Much like Shampoo she falls in love easily when she meets someone suitable, however she is unlike her in regards of persistence. Shampoo was far more aggressive and didn't listen to me at all when I told her it wasn't possible. She resorted to a multitude of tricks including brain washing, blackmail, seduction, threatening me with cats, and one time all of the above at once! Not that she needed those tricks, she was plenty cute on her own. Perhaps if she competed honestly I might have chosen her."

"I hate to spoil this trip down memory lane" Ranko said pointedly, "But Nam is leaving! We still need to do something about his village!"

"You could've walked and listened to me at the same time!" Roshi said with a bite of annoyance.

"Ugh!" Ranko quickly followed Nam outside and found him in the courtyard on his way out and called to him, catching him just in time.

"Miss Akane, was it? What do you need?" Nam said with some trepidation.

"Here, catch" Ranko tossed a small object to Nam, who deftly caught it.

"This is a Dyno Cap" he said puzzled. "And if I'm not mistaken, this is the kind that's just used for storage."

"Yup, you could move vast quantities of anything with that capsule." Ranko said conversationally. "In fact…if one wanted too, one could move an entire reservoir of water if they so desired."

Nam nearly dropped the capsule in his surprise. "H-how do you know I have great need of water!?" he asked thunderstruck.

Ranko chuckled. "Minds are like books, reading them is easy! If you know how."

Nam stared and stammered which amused Ranko. After a moment Nam came back to himself and offered the capsule back to her.

"You are most generous but I'm afraid I won't have the opportunity to use it. You see the whole reason I came here was for the prize money. With no money to buy water with I won't even be able to use this capsule."

Ranko tilted her head and smiled. "Follow me." she said simply and led Nam to the back of the building where a lone well stood in the corner of the yard.

"Tell me Nam, do you see anything strange about that well?" Ranko asked.

"There are no money changers!" Nam observed. "But why? Is it dried out?"

"Oh no, far from it!" Ranko laughed. "You see, water isn't rare in this part of the world, it's abundant! You can take as much as you want and it's completely free!"

"It's free!?" Nam gasped, hardly daring to believe it.

"Indeed it is" Ranko assured him. "I think I'll leave you too it then, I should be getting back."

Nam bowed in gratitude. "Thank you so much! I will never forget this kindness you have done for me!"

Ranko waved as she walked away from him and then froze and turned around. Walking back up to him she beckoned him to come closer. He looked a little startled as he thought their conversation was over, but he came closer so she could speak quietly to him.

"Level with me" she whispered. "Was your village's plight the only reason you shot down Aloe? Or are you spoken for already?"

"Oh for heaven's sake. I don't see why he's obligated to like her at all, let alone answer that question." Roshi snapped.

Nam looked taken aback by this question but then looked thoughtful and then serious. "To tell the truth my village's plight and my responsibility is only part of the reason" he began. "I am not spoken for, but I fear it would not work out for many reasons. For one, our cultures are far too different, the gender roles alone are polar opposite. Secondly, she wishes to marry me for all the wrong reasons, strength should not be the sole basis for love, especially when you rely on a contest to find the best partner. If strength was all that mattered then she may have ended up with a man twice her age, or worse, half her age like young Goku." He paused and then looked Ranko in the eye. "And lastly I sense her heart is not in it. I believe she is only seeking a husband because her tradition demands it, and the pressure of her inheritance is forcing her to move to marriage before she is ready."

Ranko looked quite impressed with his answer, but deep down she felt that he had missed the mark just slightly. His duties to his people and his worries over culture clash were understandable, and yes, it was tradition that forced her to seek a husband, but Aloe clearly liked him. To Ranko's eyes she seemed to be relieved and overjoyed to find someone she could not only satisfy her traditional responsibility, but also someone she liked. She inwardly debated telling him this herself, but the intercom came on before she could make a decision and the voice of the MC came on.

"Attention ladies and gentlemen! We will now be having an intermission, during which will be a short concert by a talented young artist! It's shaping up to be a lot of fun! And right after the show is over, the final match of the World Martial Arts Tournament will commence!"

"A concert? What's that?" said Goku's voice from behind them.

Ranko spun around and saw that Yamcha, and the boys had left the main building and were only feet away from them.

"How thick are you?" Krillin asked annoyed. "A concert is a show with live music and singing."

"Like what Miss Ranko did just before your fight?" Goku asked.

"Yeah, kind of like that but far more professional!" Yamcha laughed.

"Everybody's a critic!" Ranko and Roshi both thought as she watched them walk on.

"Let's meet up with Bulma and the others" Yamcha continued. "We'll watch the show together as a group."

"I wonder if Master Roshi likes these kind of shows…" Krillin mused aloud.

They then turned a corner and disappeared. Ranko jumped realizing that she needed to turn back immediately as they would be looking for Roshi. She turned back to Nam.

"I'm sorry to suddenly dash!" she said panicking. "But something came up and I really need to get going! Good luck with your village!" And with that she sped off and out of sight.

Nam watched her run off perplexed for a moment but then simply smiled. "And good luck to you miss Akane. I am indebted to you, good luck in all of your future endeavors." He bowed to the place where she had vanished from sight and then looked at the storage capsule in his hand and his dread of facing the villagers disappointment was replaced with great hope.

Behind the Main Building

Ranko had retreated to a secluded area and once again took out the incense. She lit it and inhaled deeply and began to focus. At first nothing seemed to happen, which was disconcerting to Roshi. They redoubled their focus and slowly but surely, their body began to change from middle-aged female to old man. After about 5 minutes, the transformation was complete, and Master Roshi put on his black suit and fedora and left to find the kids.

"Strange" Roshi voiced aloud, "I don't recall the transformation ever taking that long before."

"I'm sure it's all in your head, my love." Ranko said casually. "You're just not concentrating properly, I'm sure."

"Hmm"

Roshi considered this but felt extremely uneasy. The transformation from male to female were becoming faster and easier, while transforming back was becoming slower and more difficult. It had never been like that before. And something was nagging him in the back of his mind, a feeling of danger that felt intimately familiar…a threat from his youth.

"What are you standing around for? The kids!" Ranko shouted into his brain.

Roshi had stopped walking to think without realizing it. He hastily ran towards the arena to find the gang. As he ran he thought awkwardly to himself that Ranko seemed oddly nonchalant about the issue of the transformation. Was it simply because the swift change to female benefited her and allowed her more freedom? He didn't have time to ponder these things, he could see the crowds congregated around the arena.

The Arena

As Roshi worked his way into the crowd he looked high and low for the kids. After about 20 minutes of shuffling past people, mingled apologies about stepping on toes and brushing up against women accidently on purpose, he found a familiar bottom and brushed his hand against it.

"Ugh! Die you old man!" Bulma screamed as she delivered a mighty blow to his nose, breaking his sunglasses.

"Hey! Master Roshi, there you are!" Goku said excitedly.

"Yes, here I am" Roshi answered dizzily.

"Where have you been, master?" said Krillin with a hint of indignation. "Did you even see our fights?"

Recovering from the blow and shaking his head clear a bit, he answered with equal indignation. "Of course I did! What kind of teacher do you take me for?"

"Well can you blame them?" Bulma asked angrily as Yamcha massaged her shoulders to calm her down. "We haven't seen you all day and now you suddenly pop up and rub my butt!"

"I was in the audience; I just wasn't next to you kids." he replied. "Krillin, you fought very well but were outclassed in experience. You might have saved yourself a bit of pain if you had surrendered."

"Miss Akane said something like that too" Krillin said nodding. "But after coming all this way I couldn't just give up without exhausting every idea I could think of."

Roshi had to admire Krillin for that. This was the greatest Martial Arts Tournament in the world after all. One would only feel shame and regret if they didn't exhaust all their strength. He nodded in understanding and continued.

"I understand the determination not to give up, but stubbornly relying on the Amaguriken after proven failure was foolhardy. Didn't Ranko mention to you on your first day of training ages ago that such techniques were not exclusive to the Turtle School? Naturally at a tournament such as this someone would be experienced enough to counter it."

"Yes, I suppose your right." Krillin said dejectedly looking at the ground.

"And as for you Goku" he said turning to the grinning boy, "All I can say is that you are both tough and extremely lucky."

"Luck? What do you mean luck? He totally won that fight outright!" said Oolong indignantly.

"Think back!" Roshi said scowling. "That ridiculous spur of the moment, tornado attack! If Nam had been using his brain, he would have simply pushed Goku's unconscious body from the ring instead of using that flashy aerial attack."

The gang looked stunned at this statement. Clearly none of them had considered just how vulnerable Goku had made himself in that moment and how lucky he had been that Nam had been so wary.

"Gosh" Goku said. "I guess I didn't really plan ahead."

"Well it hardly matters now" Roshi sighed, "Just remember what you boys are actually here for, to learn from the best and-"

He was suddenly cut of by the sound of an electric guitar and the crowds screaming. They looked to stage and saw a young man with a guitar singing enthusiastically into a microphone. There was another man on a keyboard and another playing drums. It was difficult to even hear what they were singing as the crowd and now Bulma and the gang as well were cheering so loudly. After a few moments the crowd calmed down enough for him to hear the band.

"Radiant and shining hidden somewhere in a field…"

"Luminous and blinding, your desire revealed…"

"AGELESS! TIMELESS!

"What you'll find is beyond belief…"

"So let's try, try, try look high and low!"

"Search the skies and the sea below!"

"Let's try, try, try and seize the day!"

"And make new friends along the waaaayyy!"

It wasn't a bad song Roshi thought, and Ranko was definitely into it and was begging him to switch so she could dance. He gagged her and shuffled away as they came to the finale.

"Set a course for action, adventure doesn't wait!"

"A fantastic journey for your dreams…a thrilling mystery!"

The song ended on a high note and the crowd cheered wildly. After taking a bow, the band started to pack up their equipment and the MC came onto the stage.

"That was a fantastic show! But don't leave yet folks, the final bout begins in 30 minutes!" The MC then turned off his mic and began to help direct the effort of removing the musical equipment.

"Wow, what a great show!" Bulma said coming down from Yamcha's shoulders, whom she had climbed up on to get a better look.

"Yeah! I don't know what they were talking about, but it seemed like everyone was having fun!" Goku said smiling.

"Caveman" Krillin said once again but he said it in an admiring way.

"Hey, where did Master Roshi go?"

"UNBELIEVABLE!" Bulma yelled so loudly that several people around her stopped and stared.

Once again Roshi had found a secluded spot and changed clothes. He was about to light the incense when he had a sudden feeling of foreboding. He couldn't quite place it but somehow he knew that using the incense now would be dangerous. He was about to put away the matches when Ranko spoke up in his mind.

"What are you doing my love? The fight starts in less than 10 minutes!"

Roshi shook his head and remembered his purpose here. He lit the match, lit the incense, and breathed deep…and he suddenly knew nothing more. The change was completely instantaneous from the first breath. The woman in his place stood up from the secluded spot, her eyes glowing as red as her hair and a strange malevolent aura was exuding from her. A strange ethereal wind whipped around her, and her hair braid came undone, letter her long crimson hair spill out over her shoulders. The wind died down as suddenly as it started and she laughed, a strange laugh that seemed to echo off of every surface.

"Well shall we go then my love?" the strange woman said aloud.

But there was no answer from within, there was no other will but her own. She could sense him in her mind, but he was deep asleep. "Interesting" she said but didn't really seem surprised. She took out a compact mirror from her bag and looked at herself. "Oh that won't do at all!" she said noticing her eyes, she adopted a look of concentration and the glow vanished, replaced with her usual blue eyes and the aura disappeared.

"Just sit back and rest my love. I'll finish this up, and then maybe I'll have a little fun!"

She then turned and floated an inch above the air and her form flickered and vanished, leaving behind an echoing laughter that seemed to come from everywhere at once.

The Arena

"Alright Ladies and Gentlemen the hour has finally arrived!" the MC shouted into his mic; his voice reverberated amid the roaring crowd. "The final match of the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament is about to begin! Let's greet our first contestant, Goku!"

The crowd roared and cheered as Goku bounded on stage grinning and waving, having the time of his life. He then started doing some warm up exercises as the MC approached him and placed the mic towards him.

"Goku, it's amazing that a boy your age made it this far, can you tell us your strategy going forward?"

Goku was doing back stretches and his head was bent so far backwards it was touching the ground behind him. He looked at the MC from upside down with a puzzled look.

"My strate-what?" he asked.

"You know, you're plan for the fight" the MC urged.

Standing back upright he looked at the MC and said, "I don't know, I guess my stadegedidy, is to try my best!"

"I see…" said the MC awkwardly but he recovered quickly. "A man of few words, but I guess you don't need to say much when you've made it to the finals!"

The crowd cheered. Bulma and company were in the front row again, they were cheering as loud as they could for Goku.

"Go get'em kiddo!" Bulma shouted.

"We're rooting for ya!" Oolong shouted.

"We know you can do it!" Puar cheered.

"And now let's call on our other contestant, Miss Akane!" the MC yelled pumping his fist in the air.

Suddenly Goku's hair and the fur on his tail stood on end and he turned quickly facing the arena entrance with an extremely tense look. The redhaired woman emerged from behind the canvas screen and walked to the center of the ring. Goku stared at her unblinkingly, his body rigid. A sudden uneasiness he couldn't place had suddenly came over him. It wasn't fear, his grandfather had taught him how to be fearless after all. But he still couldn't shake off the ill will that seemed to radiate from her. His tenseness did not go unnoticed by Ranko.

"Interesting" she thought. "He does have senses like a beast after all. I suppose he can tell somewhat that I'm different. I may be able to get some good sport after all."

"And here she is! And she's changed her hair style!" the MC said. He then cantered up to her and placed the mic towards her. "And can you tell us your strategy for the fight, Miss Akane?"

She just looked at him and smiled, he immediately backed off, as though he could sense something hostile coming from her.

"W-well I guess we should get started!" he said hastily. "Fighters take your positions!"

The crowd went silent as the drums began to beat rapidly again. Akane and Goku stared each other down, Goku had taken his fighting position. Ranko was in her usual position with her hands tied behind her back. She didn't have her usual bored look; however, she had an unsettling smile on her face and was suppressing excited laughter. The drums suddenly stopped, and a gong rang out.

"Begin!"

Neither fighter moved at first, they just continued to look at each other. Finally Goku broke the silence.

"Who are you? Or what are you? You seem to be Miss Akane but something's wrong."

Ranko merely laughed. Her laughter was light and musical but somehow disquieting and everyone nearby felt uneasy.

"Oh I'm still me" she said with a chuckle. "I'm simply…uninhibited." Goku flinched at her voice, it sounded like the woman he was familiar with, but it also sounded far away and close all at once and the hair on his tail still stood on edge.

Her form then flickered, and she vanished. Goku started and then closed his eyes quickly and tried to focus. Opening his eyes he kicked hard to the left where she seemed to be, but his foot went right through her, it was an after image. Realizing he had been baited by a false presence he turned around and found Ranko's knee in his face. The blow lifted him off his feet and he sped towards the left wall behind him and crashed with such force that half of the brick wall collapsed on top of him. She gently placed her foot down and laughed her musical laugh.

"Oh no, Goku!" Krillin said who was standing atop the wall on the right wall to see better.

"That was bad!" Yamcha said looking scared. "Something's wrong, she doesn't seem to be herself!"

"Is she trying to kill him?!" Krillin shouted.

Before anyone could answer this quandary, the pile of bricks seemed to explode, and a blur dashed out. Before Ranko could react, the blur collided with her face, sending her flying backwards. The blur was revealed to be Goku who had exploded from the bricks enraged and performed a flying head butt into her. She was less affected than Goku though, as she quickly recovered mid air and landed unnaturally softly on the arena floor, almost as if she could fly.

"I-incredible!" the MC said shakily. "Both contestants wasted no time in coming to vicious blows! Although I would say that Goku looks a little worse for wear!"

Goku's shirt was slightly torn, and his nose was bleeding. Ranko on the other hand looked completely undamaged, as if she hadn't been struck at all.

"I was right!" Goku said angrily. "Something is wrong with you! That kick earlier wasn't the kind of attack you use in a contest! If not for my training, I would have died! Not even Krillin could've taken that blow!"

"You recovered fast enough though" she said. She seemed to be enjoying his indignation which made Goku angrier.

Goku took his fighting stance again and charged her with blinding speed. At the same moment, she also sped at him. They clashed in a frenzied blur of punches and kicks, every blow Goku threw at her contained his full strength. He somehow felt an instinct of survival arising in her presence, and since flight wasn't an option, fighting with nothing held back seemed natural. Goku began to feel frustrated though, even though he connected with several hits, she didn't seem to take any damage. And her blows were swift and heavy, he felt every blow alright.

They leapt apart, both landing in fighting stances. Goku looked even worse, but it didn't seem to bother him. Despite receiving a one-sided beat down he had adapted to the weight of her attacks and seemed to be having fun and felt exhilarated. Ranko looked completely unharmed, and her malevolence seemed even more apparent. After a brief pause she flickered and vanished again, she didn't stay gone for long when suddenly several copies of her were suddenly bouncing around, it was the Splitting Cat Hairs technique again. Goku didn't even get a chance to focus before the copies attacked him.

A blow came from the right, knocking him backwards. Before he could recover the copies had vanished and he was in a chokehold. She had snuck up behind him while he was off balance and grabbed by the neck with her arms. She wore a disturbing smile on her face, as if she was delighting in the feeling of Goku's breaths getting shorter. Goku was slowly turning blue, and he was struggling less by the second.

The MC's voice rang out. "Oh my! After an intense exchange of blows and a sudden demonstration of Aloe's Splitting Cat Hairs technique, Miss Akane has the young Goku in a choke hold! And it doesn't seem long now before he passes out!"

"You let go of him!" Bulma shouted angrily from the stands.

"Hang on kid!" Oolong shouted sounding scared.

Goku struggled less and less, and his eyes began to droop. Suddenly he opened his mouth wide and craning his neck, he bit her hand as hard as he could. Ranko screamed and let him go, he flopped onto the ground coughing and gasping. Ranko's eyes were watering, and her thumb was bleeding slightly.

"You nasty little beast!" she shouted, "That's going to leave a scar!"

She froze and her face turned to a look of horror as she realized what she had just said. She couldn't be injured by force while in her spectral form, only exorcisms or warding magic could harm her in this state. She closed her eyes and focused inwards.

"Ouch! That little brat! Biting is just dirty!" Roshi's voice came thundering into her head. "Hm? Come to think of it, when did we get into the arena?"

"Come now my love, having gaps in your memory already?" said Ranko thinking quickly. "This is the final match of the tournament and Goku is fighting quite hard."

"The final fight? Really? Jeez, I must be getting old." Roshi answered embarrassed.

She could already feel Roshi's good chi flowing into her and tempering her more wicked nature. Both the thought and desire to pick Goku apart was quickly leaving her and being replaced with her usual motherly feelings towards him. But it was fine, only one or two more uses of the incense and she would be strong enough to make a bid for freedom.

Ranko turned and faced Goku who had recovered his breath and took his fighting stance again, looking angrier than ever. She just smiled at him.

"Sorry about that" she said, and her voice was normal.

Goku blinked and the hair on his head and his tail were no longer sticking up. He no longer looked angry, but inquisitive. He could no longer feel that wickedness coming from her, and she seemed more solid. She had even readopted her bored look as she sucked on her bleeding finger.

"I don't know what had gotten into you before, but you seem normal now." Goku said hesitantly.

"Hm? What's he talking about?" Roshi asked.

"Don't you remember my love?" she thought back. "We started off the bout a little bit intensely, looking for a quick finish. From an outside perspective it must have been a little scary."

"Oh, I see. Yes, we can be dangerous when we don't hold back." he said trying to sound confident but seemed doubtful.

She then said aloud to Goku, "Yes sorry about that, little one. If you would forget what happened in the first few minutes I'd appreciate it. I intend to do this properly from this point on."

Goku smiled and took a fighting stance. "Alright, I'll just assume you were in a bad mood. Bulma and Launch get that way sometimes."

Ranko chuckled. "They do, do they?" she said re-braiding her into the long pigtail at uncanny speed. When she finished she flicked it over her shoulders and took her fighting position.

"Alright, fighters please continue!" the MC shouted. And the crowd cheered in agreement.

End of Chapter 11