Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

Authors: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner

A/N: Bit of a short chapter this time, but I have a certain flow going in my head and I wanna keep it going nicely. I hope everyone is enjoying the tournament so far. I'm looking forward to the next match, myself. :)

Chapter 162: What the hell is going on?

Outside the tournament medical building…

Goku and Raditz had been sitting there for over 30 minutes, silently reflecting on what they had just played as an audience to. Goku was upset as the sound of Videl's cries echoed in his ears. This was the most down he had been since those 10 days before the Cell Games.

Raditz was more contemplative, biting his thumbnail as he considered all the facts in front of him. Much like the rest of his cohorts, the elder brother had come to a pretty easy conclusion that something was wrong with this tournament. Something that, like always, was destined to suck all of them in like muck in a black swamp. Raditz turned his head and looked towards a fresh hole in the wall, thinking back to just a little while earlier when the hole had been made.

A few minutes earlier…

Goku, Raditz, and Mark made it outside of the medical building, the sound of Videl's sorrowful screams ringing down the hallway until the firm click of the outer door finally cut them off. If the three men weren't weighed down by the depressing revelation they had just heard, it couldn't not have been a nicer day.

The sun was out. Birds chirped in the nearby tree. The smell of the nearby beach front washed over them. Mark looked haggard, as if he were about to throw up, pass out, or even spontaneously combust. He was a man utterly haunted by regrets and circumstances so unique that no other person could possibly understand.

But still, Raditz gently placed a sympathetic hand on Mark's subtly heaving shoulder. "You have to have faith that she'll be fine. This is awful, but that girl has an iron will. No matter what... she'll bounce back. You know that, right?"

Mark couldn't bring himself to look Raditz in the face. He reached up, grabbing Raditz's hand and giving it a firm, but not disdainful, squeeze. He gently pulled the Saiyan's hand from his shoulder and allowed it to drop back down to his side. The champ nodded. "Thank you for steppin' in to save my daughter. Takes a good man to do that. Your daughter is a lucky girl..."

Raditz flinched as if he had been stung. Mark turned to Goku. "Hey, uh, I was talkin' to the tournament staff while the doctor was workin' on Videl. Instead of a 30-minute break... w-we're takin' a full hour. Crowd needs time to calm down after... what they saw..."

Goku nodded. "R-Right..."

And then, without another word, Mark went stumbling away. The champ made it about 10 feet, and then Raditz called after him. "Hey! Don't be reckless! In the worst-case scenario, you can confront Spopovich after the tournament! It would be a shame for you to lose that belt for attacking that scumbag outside of an official match!"

Mark stopped, slowly turning to look at Raditz. His eyes were hollow. He nodded to the Saiyan, taking five more stumbling steps before screaming in righteous fury and smashing his fist into the nearest wall. The bricks of the wall cracked and crumbled against the steely power of Mr. Satan's fist and the entire structure came crumbling down with one mighty blow.

And then the champ ran off to find a place to be alone.

Back in the present…

Raditz sighed, standing up and brushing grass off of his rather expensive designer pants. "I'm glad Gohan's match is the last one up for the day. It will give him plenty of time to spend with that girl of his..."

Goku stood as well, nodding with a small frown on his face. He spoke in a very un-Goku-like quiet voice. "Yeah..."

Raditz turned to his brother and crossed his arms. "Something is definitely wrong with that meathead and his ghoulish partner, though. Their power is unnaturally high. Spopovich was wielding more all at once than someone as genuinely pathetic as he feels should ever be able to. It's like watching a normal man try to carry a house on his shoulders."

Goku perked up a bit. "Yeah. I felt the same way. But, like, what the hell is going on?"

Raditz bit his thumbnail again. "The strength is totally disconnected. Like he's getting it through some organic Wi-Fi or something..."

Goku cocked his head. "Wife eye?"

Raditz rolled his eyes. "J-Just forget I said that metaphor..."

Goku sighed, crossing his arms as well. "Gohan mentioned something like this the day after I woke up from being gone with King Kai. Something about oddly powered creeps with markings on their foreheads. I wasn't listenin' that closely, cuz I was still groggy. Wish I had now..."

Suddenly, as the two stood there, a voice called out of the loudspeakers around the tournament grounds. "Attention all contestants! 15 minutes until the tournament resumes for the next match! All fighters please return to the fighters' waiting area!"

Goku groaned. "Time flies, huh?"

Raditz nodded. "Yup. It's a shame, too. I was actually looking forward to watching Tien and 17 go at it."

Goku looked confused. "Huh?"

Raditz pointed his thumb to the northwest. "Heading to Korin Tower. I'm gonna go grab some Senzus. It seems like, the way this day has gone so far, we're almost definitely going to need them. Things rarely de-escalate around us."

Goku frowned. "You think Spopovich and Yamu are that much of a threat?"

Raditz shrugged. "No. I'd hardly say they even count as the Dodoria and Zarbon of this situation. But we need to keep in mind that 7 years ago, we didn't start May 12th thinking that the Cell Games were going to happen either. We'd be pretty stupid not to prepare properly..."

He turned with a sigh. "... Also, it sounds like poor Videl could really use one too."

Goku flinched, but then he cracked the first smile he'd managed since hearing Videl's news. "You know... you've become such a nice person since we first really met. I'm proud to call a caring guy like you my big brother~"

The younger brother stroked his chin. "But it'll be faster for me to grab 'em with my Instant Transmission, so..."

Raditz shook his head. "No. You have a match planned and you tend to get easily sidetracked at Korin Tower. Best not rock the boat and have you get disqualified on a technicality. Besides, I've needed to talk to Whiskers the Wonder Cat about something for a while anyway. And..."

He blushed. "... I like feeling useful. Distracts from the failures of the past..."

Goku frowned again. "Raditz... what Cell did wasn't your fault. We've talked about this, haven't we?"

Raditz shot Goku a hollow little smile, and then he silently waved and began to rise into the air. He was about to perform his Instant Warp when, suddenly, Raditz turned and glanced down. "Kakarot!"

Goku, who had begun to walk away, turned. "Sup?"

Raditz sighed. "I know you're strong and I'm probably just wasting my breath. But... I wouldn't be doing my job as your big brother if I didn't tell you to be careful. I don't like those two bald bastards and I'm wary of the one you're going to fight. Watch your ass."

Goku smiled and gave a thumbs-up. Raditz smiled back, this time much more genuinely. And then-

*POP*

-he had disappeared from Goku's sight.

Meanwhile, over on the far side of the tournament arena…

Spopovich and Yamu were both huddled into a corner, behind a few palm trees, out of sight of any prying eyes. In his hands, Yamu held a small receiver that looked to be made of some kind of stone. Emblazoned on the back was the same emblem that marked his and Spopovich's foreheads. Yamu's hand trembled as he held the device, a growling deep voice thoroughly dressing him and his ignorant partner down from the other end.

Spopovich, brain-dead oaf that he was, simply looked angry to be screamed at. This bravado was only present because the demon currently scolding them was not physically present. Yamu swallowed a lump in his throat. "S-Sir..."

The voice cut him off and Yamu's mouth snapped shut.

As this pathetic display played out, Tien Shinhan and Android 17 both stood just out of sight behind a nearby wall. Both of them were listening intently, trying to make out just what the other party might be saying and wishing that they could get closer. In his head, 17 was silently annoyed that Piccolo hadn't come to do this. He'd be able to make all of this out without trying.

With a break from the admonishments having presented itself, Yamu spoke up. "A thousand pardons, sir! Please forgive my cowardice and Spopovich's foolishness! We acknowledge our folly, sir! And we shall not allow a chance to pass us by again!"

Tien nodded, mumbling to himself. "Chance, eh? Wonder what that could be..."

Having managed to get in what he thought was some quality bootlicking, Yamu meekly attempted to make an appeal. "Sir... p-perhaps a divination might be in order? If we were to know what was to come, then-"

Suddenly, with two stereo cries of pain, Spopovich and Yamu held their heads. The marks scored into the skin of their foreheads sizzled a hellish red. Spopovich fell over into a lump of quivering muscle, his body serving to muffle his undignified cries of anguish. Yamu smashed his head to the ground. "P-Please forgive my impertinence, sir! I was unaware that my request would send the Master into such a fury!"

As the two minions writhed on the ground, the voice on the other end of the speaker calmed from his hellish ranting. His voice was as rough fresh gravel, but had a sharpened edge to it like a knife. "Do well to never forget your place. You do not get the pleasure of making such requests of our master or his advisors. If you ever try to do so again, I shall reduce you both into shrieking statuary. Am I understood, Yamu?"

Yamu nodded. "Yes Sir, Lord Da-"

The voice roared. "SPEAK NOT MY NAME, WORM!"

The pain in Spopovich and Yamu's skulls became so intense that they both thought they were about to die. Or maybe that they had and their furious superior had dragged them down to Hell. The two quivered on the ground. Yamu yelped. "F-Forgiveness... please..."

The rough, booming voice responded. "Do not fail again. And be more cautious of prying ears in the future, fool."

Tien and 17's eyes went wide at that remark, both warriors going very still as the line on the communicator clicked off.

On the ground, Yamu shakily pushed himself up and glanced at another device, his power reading meter. The arrow was ticking upward, pointing toward the nearby wall and showing two sets of Kili readings. He snarled. "Who goes there?!"

Clearly found out, Tien and 17 both sighed, and then stepped out into sight as the two ghoulish thugs both rose to their feet. Spopovich and Yamu both glared with spiteful hatred. Tien and 17 didn't flinch. Yamu snarled. "Spying insects! How would you like to have your sneaking heads removed?!"

Spopovich grimaced. "I'll crush ya!"

17 sneered. "Yeah. No offense to Raditz, but I'm just shaking in my boots facing two nobodies that ran away from the likes of him."

Yamu scowled. "Mouthy little..."

Spopovich cackled and held up his hand. "I fight one of you next round anyway! Might as well kill ya both!"

The brute fired a positively sloppy Ki blast that shot toward Tien and 17 at a plodding speed. With no effort, Tien raised his hand and chopped through the blast. The energy dispersed all at once and faded into the wind. Tien gripped his fist tightly and glared at Spopovich with pure antipathy. This guy was just like Tao and Shen. Tien spoke evenly, his voice having an edge so similar to their commander that it made Spopovich and Yamu shudder. The three-eyed warrior's message was blunt. "I am not a helpless teenager."

All three of the warrior's eyes narrowed and Yamu felt his throat go dry. Spopovich, the moron, made a move to charge. 17 removed his hands from his pockets. Yamu held up his hand and shoved his partner back. "We retreat until the time to strike presents itself."

Spopovich growled down at his partner, and then glared at Tien and 17. He was a stupid man, but even stupid men occasionally find themselves able to read the writing on the wall. "Fine."

And then, without another word, Spopovich and Yamu leapt away. Watching the ghouls retreat, 17 turned to Tien. "Time to report to Piccolo?"

Tien nodded, the cold fury still shining in his eyes. "I would say so."

Elsewhere on the tournament grounds…

Shin limped along, showing for the first time a weakness that had not been a part of his facade since stepping foot on tournament grounds. Whatever had happened to him back in the fighters' waiting area, it had thrown him for a couple dozen loops. His gait was both uneasy and unsteady as Kibito, ever the faithful attendant, held onto him and kept him steady. Shin rubbed his hand across his throbbing temple. "I never expected a mere Earthling to contain such a virulent power..."

"Yes, they do tend to surprise you."

Shin and Kibito both turned with a start and found Piccolo and Vegeta standing no further than arm's length behind them. Shin lowered his hand to his side, affixing both warriors with his cool stare. Kibito, always one to be on the defensive, quickly sneered at the two warriors. "Rid us of your presence, Piccolo Jr. and Prince Vegeta IV! We have no need for you!"

Vegeta turned up his nose, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh-ho! You must fancy yourself quite highly to use our official titles like that."

Piccolo nodded in agreement. "A wonder too. Especially considering that we both entered the tournament with our casual names. Even if you knew mine from footage of prior tournaments, I don't think there's a document on this planet that has my egotistical companion's full legal name on it."

Kibito flinched back, quickly recognizing his error. But he quickly reaffirmed his stance, squaring his shoulders at the two Z-Fighters. Shin, meanwhile, resumed his standoffish posture. He hummed and smiled. "First, allow me to compliment the two of you on such a ferocious match. I was impressed. Truly and greatly impressed."

Neither Piccolo nor Vegeta was moved by such obviously honeyed words.

Shin continued. "You must forgive the impertinence of my attendant. I told him that there was no need to be so rigidly formal. You see, we were able to use my vast fortunes to do some digging. I wanted to be able to know about all my potential opponents so that I might prepare myself for any matches I might end up in. Of course, as you said, Mr. Junior, your true name is hidden away in old tournament footage. And as for you, Mr. Vegeta, I was able to dig up some marriage documents between you and Mrs. Bulma Briefs. She must have entered your full name on the ones that you were not immediately required to sign."

Vegeta cocked his head. "Your research into my fighting capabilities included a peek at my marriage license?"

Shin's smile widened. "One can never be too thorough."

He bowed. "I simply wanted to be prepared to engage in polite conversation. It had unfortunately slipped my mind that you had both chosen to use a foreshortened name and a pseudonym respectfully."

The two warriors looked unconvinced. Shin continued, artfully changing the subject. "Though, seeing as we're talking, I do have a single criticism for you both. You might want to consider toning down the theatrics. While a bit of showmanship can make a good match great, our venerable champion Mr. Satan of course preaches the gospel of honest martial arts. Do your tricks and light shows not embarrass you?"

Kibito sniffed. "They should."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. Piccolo sneered. "Our mistake. Please forgive us for sullying your viewing experience."

Shin smiled. "Of course you are forgiven. As I said, I respect your in-ring displays of power. Both of you are clearly masters of your craft~"

He turned with a friendly, but dismissive wave. "I look forward to the semi-finals, Mr. Junior!"

Kibito sneered. "I hope you are satisfied. Now cease your inane intrusions into my master's private moments. Begone!"

Very quickly, noticeably a bit too quickly, the two mysterious competitors began to rush off. Piccolo looked down at Vegeta. Vegeta looked up and nodded. He mouthed the words at Piccolo. "Full of shit."

Piccolo nodded, mouthing back. "Overflowing."

Vegeta looked away from Piccolo and back to the ever-retreating Shin. Silently, he raised his hand and formed a finger gun. He aimed it squarely at the back of Shin's head, in the notch between two sections of the smug elf's mohawk. And then he mouthed the name of his attack and fired. "Bang!"

The Ki blast that shot from Vegeta's fingertip was small, almost harmless, and so miniscule that even Piccolo had trouble making it out. It shot through the air, as quick as a bolt, toward the back of Shin's head. It was within spitting distance of making contact when, quite quickly indeed, Kibito's hand shot up and took the stinging blow. The beam clashed with his pink skin, searing a dark pink welt onto the back of Kibito's hand. He turned with a look of righteous fury on his face. "How dare-"

Piccolo was right there, nose-to-nose with Kibito. There were less than 6 inches between their faces. More calmly, Shin turned and locked eyes with the expectant Vegeta. Vegeta was snide. "Tricks and light shows, eh?"

Immediately, Piccolo and Vegeta were much less casual with these two strangers. Piccolo, as a matter of fact, was furious. "A human girl was just devastatingly crippled and you have something to do with it. Explain that barrier and explain what you did to Krillin. Now."

Vegeta crossed his arms. "What the hell is your game, here?"

Shin was silent, his gaze sharpening. He looked from Vegeta to Piccolo and back. And then he spoke in an overly even tone. "Perhaps it would behoove us to go our separate ways. Both of you seem rather upset and you seem to be misappropriating the blame for this tragedy. What Spopovich did was monstrous, yes. But that is no reason for us to potentially face a disqualification for fighting outside of the established parameters."

Kibito was blunt. "Mind your own business."

Once again, the pair turned to leave. This time, however, they found their way blocked by two new arrivals. Tien and 17 both stood directly in the path, both at the ready to block Shin and Kibito's escape if either were to try and flee.

Tien clasped his hands behind his back. "Very quick to pass the buck, very quick indeed. Spopovich was chiefly the monster here, but that moron has no clue how to cast a barrier. And his partner is nowhere near strong enough to contain us in such a way."

17 gritted his teeth. "Krillin is my brother-in-law. You will not be leaving until I'm satisfied with whatever you did to him."

Kibito's eyes shifted from person to person to person in the span of 2 seconds. He gripped his fists tightly.

Vegeta chuckled. "Ooh~ I sense a fight!"

His power began to swell. "Why don't the three of you just stand back so that you're not disqualified?! I'll make short work of-"

Shin shouted. "ENOUGH!"

Kibito and Vegeta both quickly stood down. The attendant looked grave. Vegeta looked confused. Shin sighed. "Enough of this madness."

Now it was Shin's turn to look at everybody. He levitated into the air and slowly turned in a lazy circle. "I ask you this question only once, and your answer will determine mine. What do you four make of Spopovich and Yamu?"

Tien responded. "Evil."

Vegeta sneered. "Weak."

17 grunted. "Mooks."

Piccolo nodded. "I'm willing to bet they're not the true threat here."

Shin nodded. "All accurate answers. Quite intuitive indeed."

He landed and crossed his arms. "I am making what you would term an impulse call of judgment. I will share with you the true nature of what is going on, but only with a sworn vow of silence from each of the four of you. Do you find those terms acceptable?"

The four Z-Fighters looked at one another, holding a silent but vigorous conversation. At once, they all nodded. And then 17 sighed. "... If you say something that I don't like, I'm going to beat your annoying pink butler's ass. Then, I'm going to focus whatever anger is left right on you, little man."

Shin closed his eyes and nodded. "Acceptable terms."

And then, lifting his head, Shin opened his eyes and began to speak. "I am..."

Back in the fighter's waiting area…

Gyuhime groaned in disgust, adjusting her headband with the fake horns to make clearance for her cell phone. She sneered into the device, speaking in curt tones with the person on the other end of the call. "I'm telling you right now, Rodney, this place is a freakshow! If it wasn't for the pay advance and all the stupid marketing, I would have skipped town on this hours ago!"

As the diva continued her very one-sided conversation, "Mighty Mask" was sitting on a bench in a far off corner, their feet raised up to the mid-section where a pair of unseen hands were giving them a gentle massage. Ranch groaned. "It's bad enough to have to stand around in general, but you constantly being on my shoulders makes it worse..."

Trunks grumbled. "Quit being so whiny. Do you think you're any more comfortable to sit on?"

The two kids went quiet again. Trunks smiled, blushing. "I-It's nice to hear you say something though, even if it is to complain. You've been so quiet since we watched the end of Videl's match..."

Ranch flinched, recalling the sight of her father so effortlessly jumping in to save that girl. That girl that wasn't her. She adopted a small smile thinking about it, that father of hers rushing in like the caring person she knew he was deep down to save someone who was about to die. The thought of that made Ranch beam like the sun.

But, as she floated on that positive cloud, Ranch felt a snare in her heart. It was a squeezing feeling that she absolutely hated. Picturing her father doing that selfless thing, saving someone. It made her so happy... but there was also just a hint of jealousy. As thin as a thread, it snaked around her heart, constricting tighter and tighter and tighter as it did.

Ranch could almost feel a panic attack coming on, but quickly began a calming breath. She wasn't going to freak out over something like that. She had to focus. She couldn't afford to think of the man that she was proud to call her father. She had to think of the person she wanted to force the attention of. The shadow that replaced her dad during those moments where she didn't feel the same loving admiration that kids her age felt.

There were many reasons she had to keep up that mindset. The foremost being a question that floated in her mind that she didn't dare address. Would he do the same for her?

Ranch spoke. "Trunks... your mother and my father work together a lot. Do you get to see much of him...?"

Trunks was slightly taken aback by the sudden vulnerability in Ranch's voice. He looked up at the ceiling and shrugged. "I mean... yeah."

Ranch followed up. "Wh-What's he like when you see him?"

Trunks cocked his head. "He... it's not like your dad is this warm, open guy. I mean, from what I've seen he's nice to workers. He waves 'hi' and stuff. He, uh, he helps do stuff when he can..."

The boy was struggling for words. "It's not really a secret that he really doesn't like my dad. I asked my mom about it once and she said that it's gotten worse lately. So, I'm not really all that close to him because of that. And Bulla kinda really hates him in return. She doesn't think he has any reason to be mean to our dad. No offense."

Ranch frowned, her head drooping. "N-None taken, I guess."

Trunks felt the shift in Ranch's posture and quickly began to search for a way to turn the conversation in a positive direction. "U-Um! But I, uh... I do think he's a good guy overall! I've heard him talk about the project he and my mom are working on! He really seems to think he can find a way to improve the quality of life for the people of the Earth! Eliminate hunger and famine! Combat sickness with widespread nutrition! Find ways to make agriculture and science work for people! So, like... yeah, he's a good guy, ya know?"

Ranch responded with only a sigh. Trunks' frown worsened. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do. So, he went to his next strategy of just trying to change the subject. "Hey! W-Wanna hear something neat?"

Ranch raised her head slightly. "What?"

Trunks chuckled. "Well... it wasn't a project with your dad, but I was spying on my mom when she was having a conversation with some people from the Royal Army and I heard something really cool!"

Ranch sounded entirely disinterested. But she could tell that Trunks was trying his best for her. She humored him. "And what would that be...?"

Trunks smirked. "It was all sci-fi and stuff! I heard Mom mention aliens. She called them the 'People of Hera'. They're from something called the 'Gyosan Mane Incident', whatever the heck that is. Apparently, the Royal Army has some sort of alien's body stored away and they want my mom to help them examine it! They have some of the alien's technology too! Pretty cool, right?!"

Ranch cocked her head. "Trunks. We're both half alien. It's not that cool."

Trunks slumped. "O-Oh..."

At that same moment, Goku came walking in. He looked around for the rest of his group and looked disappointed to not see anybody. He began to walk around, waving hi to Gyuhime and getting rudely blown off. Goku flinched, looking just a little bit sad to be dismissed like that, and then looked over and saw Spike the Devilman. A smile quickly returned to his face and he waved to Spike. Spike waved back and, soon enough, the two of them were discussing what had happened during Videl's match.

Ranch smiled, this one without even a hint of sadness. "I love my Uncle Goku. He's so cool."

Trunks shrugged. "Yeah... but, He can be kinda clueless sometimes. Certainly acts like a kid most of the time. My dad's always calling him an idiot, even though they hang out all the time."

Ranch giggled. "That's what I like about him. He's always been warm and super easy to talk to."

She sighed. "... I've never had to ask if he really loves me. Just like with your dad..."

Trunks had nothing to say to that, simply falling silent in thought as Shin and Kibito, with Piccolo and the others closely following behind, entered the waiting area. Goku turned and smiled. "Piccolo and Vegeta! Tien and 17 too! What's up, guys?"

He looked from them to Shin and Kibito. "Did you learn anything interesting?"

Vegeta, Piccolo, and Android 17 were silent. Tien sighed. "That's... a complicated question to answer. Yes. But... now is not the time to discuss that."

Hearing the tone of Tien's voice, Goku nodded. "Fine. I trust ya. Just let me know if y'all need my input."

The other four nodded curtly. Shin looked at each of them with a serious expression, giving a nod of his own and then motioning for Kibito to follow. Immediately following that, through the door stepped Krillin and Android 18. The husband-and-wife duo were each holding a waffle ice cream, Krillin's being chocolate and 18's being a mint chip. Krillin smiled and waved. "Hey guys! Sorry to pass out like that. What'd I miss?"

Hearing Krillin sound so cheery, the rest of the Z-Fighters perked up. Vegeta snorted. "You missed the Namekian cheat to win. It was quite a display."

Piccolo sneered. "Kiss my ass. You're already low enough to reach it."

Vegeta fumed at that comment.

18 glared over at Shin. If looks could kill, the mysterious aristocrat would have dropped dead on the spot. She bit a huge chunk out of her waffle and turned to the others. "Any developments? I texted Erasa and I haven't heard a word back yet."

Goku's shoulders slumped. "She probably ain't gonna text you back for a while... and Gohan probably ain't gonna be back for a while either..."

18 flinched. "That bad?"

Goku almost whispered. "Paralyzed from the waist down..."

Everyone gasped. Even Vegeta looked totally unnerved at how dire the injuries turned out to be. Goku scratched the back of his head, a small smile brightening his face. "At least Raditz had the good idea to go get some Senzus, though. So, once he gets back, Videl should be just fine. It's just..."

Tien's eyes hardened with cold fury. "No child should have to go through that. Spopovich will be made to pay in the next round. I guarantee that."

Everyone nodded in firm agreement. Everyone, that is, except for 17. He glared up at Tien, his hands on his hips. "You guarantee that, huh? Well, aren't we just so friggin' confident?"

Tien's mouth hung slightly agape. He looked down at 17, as if a memory had suddenly just presented itself in his mind. He turned to his peer, his fists gripping. "Oh, yeah, that's right."

The two warriors glared at each other, and Krillin flinched. "A-Am I missing something here?"

And then, from out in the ring, Vale called out. "Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for your patience! The World Martial Arts Tournament will now continue! It's time for Match #4! Would Tien Shinhan and Lapis please step out into the ring?!"

Krillin's eyes went wide. "O-Oh! Right!"

Tien and 17 continued their stare down, glaring into each other's eyes and refusing to back down. Finally, a competitive smile cracked across Tien's face. "Forgive me. In getting caught up in everything else, I seem to have disregarded you. That is my mistake."

17 smirked right back. "Better not make that one again, bud. It might cost ya~"

The two warriors gave each other a fist bump, their knuckles colliding with an audible crack that was almost too sharp. Tien chuckled. "I've been waiting for this. I get to pit my training against the zenith of human potential. I'm looking forward to seeing how I stack up..."

The two of them turned and began to walk toward the ring. 17 chuckled. "You might be tricky, but I think you're getting to be just a bit too cocky, friend."

In the tournament ring…

Although the ring had been cleaned and scrubbed clear from the previous mauling, the crowd still seemed quite deflated. The cheers were there, but very obviously muted. No information had been shared regarding Videl, at the request of Mr. Satan himself. In the crowd, the rest of the Z-Supporters watched on. Sharpner and Erasa's seat sat empty, kept that way only by fear of Blonde Launch's temper from the crowd surrounding her.

In the ring, Vale was pretty forlorn himself. Unlike the people watching from the stands, he was up close and personal for that beating. He saw the way Videl's legs flopped uselessly behind her. That girl's fighting career was over and he had called the action to it. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the stick to his mic.

"Are you okay, my friend?"

Vale looked up and Tien Shinhan was standing in the ring, the wind rustling the blue tunic that he was wearing. Vale sighed and pulled the mic away from his mouth. He turned fully to Tien and spoke from the heart. "Make it a good fight. Please."

Tien bowed his head in understanding.

Vale turned to 17. "Are you ready, Mr. Lapis?"

17 raised his hand, adjusting his glove. He smiled and shouted at the top of his lungs. "I'M READY TO KICK SPOPOVICH'S HEAD IN NEXT ROUND, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE ASKING!"

Hearing that, the triumphant declaration of war on a hated enemy, the crowd suddenly came to life. They cheered at the top of their lungs. They cheered like their lives depended on it. They cheered like that was the only way they'd really get to see 17's declaration come true!

Vale flinched, but then the smile returned to his face.

Tien smirked. "I believe your own sister would call you an 'attention whore' after that stunt. Correct?"

17 chuckled and shrugged. "Always have been, always will be bud. It's part of what makes Lapis Lazarus!"

Both warriors took on their fighting stances. Vale raised his hand into the air and shouted with fresh energy. "LET THE FOURTH MATCH OF THE 25TH WORLD MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT COMMENCE!"