Pan gave a start when someone shook her shoulder. "Wakey wakey Pan!"
She opened her eyes to see Goten staring down at her and offering a hand. She took it and let him haul her up.
"Round three starts in two minutes," said Goten.
Pan nodded and did a mental check of herself. Slightly below average, not feeling good, not feeling to bad. Could be worse, at least she didn't have one of those headaches at a moment. Not bad for a roughly twenty minute nap.
She pursed her lips and moved to stand next to her Grandpa, eyeing the ring. Thirteen fighters left, almost all of them were strong Super Saiyan 2 tier or greater, or had some nasty technique like the ki poisoner. The chances of her making it through this round wasn't guaranteed, depending on who she fought...
You will fight Coli...
Pan rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache start up again. Even IF she fought Coli, that wasn't a guaranteed victory. She didn't know the upper limits of that Saiyan's power. She would never give up, especially against that woman, but she knew better than to just automatically assume she'd win. She'd done that against Kojin the first time they met, and she knew perfectly well how THAT encounter ended.
But you will win, you will crush her, break her, rip out her heart just like she did to your friend...
Pan's eyes closed, an a vivid image of that exact scene filled her mind for a moment. She blinked rapidly and shook her head, banishing it and trying to shove the memory of it down as far as she could. She felt shame; Gods, if Grandpa knew what she was thinking, he'd shun her. What was WRONG with her? These constant thoughts were starting to make her feel nervous and jittery.
The Grand Priest spoke up from high above the arena. "We now begin round three! Would Son Gohan from Dimension 1 and Majin Xuu from Dimension 10 please enter the ring!"
Pan's eyes went wide and shot to her father. He had a serious expression on his face as he turned his head to study the Majin as he moved to the arena. The Majin returned the look, appraising Gohan in turn. The moved to opposite ends of the arena and waited.
"Hmph, lets see if your brat can do the deed and actually beat a Majin instead of letting it win this time around," Vegeta jabbed at Goku.
Pan rolled her eyes.
"Begin!" shouted the Grand Priest.
Gohan's translucent aura exploded in size, his power shooting up to his normal maximum power without god ki. Pan felt a little surprised, she had expected him to go straight for god ki and end it right away. Giving Majin Xuu a chance to use his magic was risky. Hadn't he said he wouldn't fool around?
The Majin gave Gohan a curt nodded. "Impressive power, you, will be a good challenge."
Xuu clenched its fists and its muscles pumped up in size. A dark pink aura of power exploded around it. The Majin's ki kept growing and growing until it came close to matching dad's power. Finally, just a bit under him, its ki leveled off. Damn... this thing was no joke.
"I've been waiting for this," said the Majin calmly, "I've been waiting to fight a formerly absorbed. I have accepted either of the brats, but I'm pleased to have you instead."
Gohan gave a start and then narrowed his eyes. "How'd you know?"
Xuu smirked. "I could feel it. I could feel the impression in your ki, the faded touch of a Majin subverting and taking your power for its own. Tell me, how was it? To be crushed and assimilated into a greater being?"
Gohan glared at him. "Crushed? Hardly, I was sneak-absorbed because the Majin we were fighting was to weak and cowardly to beat us, hardly a greater being."
Rather than rise to the bait and grow angry, Majin Xuu simply smirked. "Oh? Is that so? Well than I give my kin credit, they did well to even the odds by absorbing you. Though it would seem in the end it didn't work out. Tell me, how did it die?"
"Ever heard of a spirit bomb?" asked Gohan.
Xuu threw his head back and laughed, his head tentacle swinging wildly. "You must be joking."
Gohan assumed a fighting stance, one fist out front, one fist behind. "No, I'm not."
Xuu slowly shook his head. "What a disgrace. Perhaps it was for the best such a weak Majin had been destroyed. To have been bested by that technique, pitiful."
Xuu did not assume any kind of fighting stance. Instead he merely tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at Gohan, waiting for him to make the first move. Time seemed to stretch on for a few minutes, enough for Pan to start feeling a little jittery on her father's behalf. She wished dad would just go God and end the fight right away. He hadn't bound himself to Grandpa and Vegeta's bet after all. This Majin had magic, and while she had never directly fought that, she knew it was dangerous.
It happened so fast Pan almost missed it. She sorely wished she was in Super Saiyan 2 when the fight started, it would make keeping up with the battle so much easier. One second Gohan was there, then, his afterimage faded and he reappeared behind the Majin, swinging in a heavy kick for his head. The Majin caught the attack. Easily. He spun, swinging Gohan around and around, before throwing him off with graceful ease. Pan's jaw dropped. The Majin MUST have absorbed someone obscenely skilled, because he had bested her father's attack as if the man were an amateur.
Gohan righted himself and floated midair, a frown on his face. Pan could see the wariness in his eyes and knee the question he must be asking himself: 'Should I go Super Saiyan God?' It was obvious just from that moment that if they fought at this level, victory would not be guaranteed for her father. Yet, why even bother risking it? And what was with that super determined look crossing his face right now? Surely he couldn't be seriously...
"He can't afford to mess around, he needs to go god, now," murmured Pan with disbelief.
"Hmph, so you lack any faith in your father's skills?" chided Vegeta, "Just like in the timeplanes."
"Yeah, well I was right back then, Cell was way to much for him," retorted Pan.
"Do you truly not believe in your father, grandbrat?" asked Vegeta.
Pan glared at him. "That's not it! I just..."
"It's fine Pan," interrupted Goku, his eyes not leaving the arena, "He's not going god because this is personal for Gohan."
Pan frowned. "Personal?"
"Super Buu almost took everything from him, from all of us, and this guy is a mirror image of him," murmured Goku, "He killed Chi-Chi, Videl; absorbed, ate, or murdered everyone on earth, this is a what if for him, what if he hadn't fooled around with Buu..."
There was no more time for words as Gohan took the offensive. He rushed forward and began exchanging blows with Xuu. They collided with fists and arms and legs, breaking off momentarily only to resume, rising into the air as they did so. Gohan drove a fist into and through the Majin's stomach, only for it to seal over his arm, trapping him. Xuu gave a heart rush and flew downwards, dragging Gohan with him and then spinning and releasing him, launching Gohan into the ring floor, hard. Gohan hit and rolled, charging and releasing a kamehameha wave that blew Xuu's head off.
The Majin healed and smirked at him, wagging a finger. "Tsk tsk, if I hadn't been a Majin that would have killed me."
Gohan narrowed his eyes. "I know just what you're capable of taking. So long as I don't obliterate your entire body, this doesn't end until I beat the fight out of you."
Xuu grinned wickedly. "I can't say the same for you. Your body is so easy to BREAK!"
Xuu blurred and moved faster than Pan could follow, appearing infront of Gohan and driving a knee into his chest. Gohan's eyes bulged and he wheezed. Xuu wrapped his head tentacle around Gohan's neck, lifting up and partially strangling him as he began to punch his stomach over and over again. Gohan finally put up a defense, raising a knee to block a hit. He raised a hand, coating it with ki, and severed the head tentacle from Xuu's head, breaking free and tossing it off him. Xuu regenerated and rushed forward, uppercutting Gohan's chin and sending him reeling back. But Gohan spun as he was hit, taking his leg and tripping Xuu. He recovered and rushed at the unbalanced Majin, driving an elbow into his face and sending him staggering back. Gohan rushed forward, placing two hands together over his head, stopped point blank, and thrust them forward.
"Masenko-HA!" roared Gohan.
The ki burst hit the Majin dead on, blowing through and disintegrating through his chest, causing the Majin to cry out in alarm. Gohan didn't relent. He started punching and kicking the temporarily devastated Majin, trying to deal as much damage as he could. Gohan spun and thrust a foot up, hitting the Majin's chin so hard his neck stretch and his head shot back like a baseball, the rest of his body following suit. The Majin's legs turned to jello and wrapped around Gohan's before the rest of his body could leave. Gohan gave a cry of surprise as he was dragged along through the air. The Majin recollected his body as his lower half arrived with Gohan, cocked his fist, and SLAMMED it into Gohan's face so hard there was an audible crack as Gohan was thrown like a rag doll.
Pan winced at the impact. Oh man, he had to have broken her dad's cheekbone with that one. Jeez...
Gohan hit the ground and sprung off it, hand clutching the side of his face. "Tssssss!"
Xuu roared with laughter. "I admit, that hurt a bit, but considering I can regenerate I think in the end I got the far better end of that exchange. Hows that face feel?"
Gohan glared up at him, fuming, he cupped his hands to his side, "Kamehameha!"
Strangely, instead of firing the beam off, he brought his hands out infront of him, pouring the energy wave into a large sphere of energy. Pan's eyebrows furrowed, what was he doing? Gohan put his hands into the sphere and pulled it apart, holding one split sphere in each hand. He rushed up and charged at the Majin, spin kicking and forcing a block. He spun again and backhanded the Majin's face with one of the Kamehameha spheres, causing it to explode and disintegrate Xuu's head. He then thrust the other sphere into Xuu's chest and it exploded as well, sending the Majin flying
Pan raised an eyebrow. "When did he learn to do THAT?"
Goku smirked at her. "You know, you're not the only one who trains and comes up with new techniques or new uses of old ones."
Gohan rushed forward while the Majin was incapacitated and laid a beat down that made Pan proud, pounding fist indents into almost every part of Xuu's body. Gohan give a final roar and slammed the Majin into the ground before releasing another Kamehameha wave at his body, causing it to explode and send Majin goop everywhere. Xuu wasn't quick to regenerate, it took him a good twenty seconds to do so, and his body was still bruised. He looked PISSED when he finally pulled himself together.
Xuu glared at Gohan. "You damn misbegotten wretch! How dare you!"
"Whats the matter Xuu? Not so confident now are you?" said Gohan, a smug smirk on his face.
Veins bulged on Xuu's forehead, rage coating his voice. "Confident? BOY, I'll show you confidence!"
Xuu blured and closed the distance, driving a fist into Gohan's gut and throwing him all the way back to collide with the ring barrier. Gohan winced painfully, looking a bit dazed. Xuu rushed forward, throwing another fist, only for it to collide with the barrier as Gohan recovered and dropped down out of the way, putting two fingers to either side of his head as he did.
"Solar flare!" shouted Gohan.
Blinding light shined out, stunning the Majin. "What the hell?!"
Gohan flew up and slammed a fist into the Majin's gut once, twice, a third time, and one heavy fourth time, sending him screaming through the air. Gohan closed the distance, not letting up, and drove an elbow into his face and then beat him down through the air and to the ground.
Pan whistled. "Way to go dad! Keep it up!"
The Majin didn't even have time to regenerate as Gohan kept laying into him, hitting any area of Xuu's body that he could. So long as he could deal damage, it didn't matter where he dealt it. Pan could feel the Majin's power steadily tanking with each hit.
"ENOUGH!" roared the Majin, a barrier of energy exploding out of him to knock Gohan back.
Xuu slowly and shakily rose to his feet, breathing heavily, his body slowly, very slowly, healing away its bruises. But healing damage sure didn't heal ki, only drained it even more. Pan smirked, they had been close before, but the power difference was much higher now. Dad had a clear advantage now. She felt relieved, there was no way the Majin could win now!
"Dad's got this in the bag," said Pan with glee.
"Hmph, someone's sure singing a different tune now," said Vegeta with amusement.
"Ah man, this brings back memories, right Trunks?" said Goten.
Trunks nodded. "Yeah, I just wish we could have brought Gotenks into the tournament for a rematch instead."
"Bad Buu losing! Yaaaay!" sang Buu.
Goku however made no sound, watching the battle, and the Majin critically. Pan eyed him with confusion before turning back to the fight, doing the same. The Majin was weakened, bruised, and battered, but he did not look afraid or defeated, not yet, in fact, there was a deadly serious look in his eyes. Pan pursed her lips and grew silent, taking the hint from Grandpa. The Majin looked like it had something up its sleeve. Gohan rushed forward again, and Xuu rose to meet him. Gohan threw a fist forward, only for Xuu to catch it, and did the same with the other, with similar results. There was a sudden look of victory and glee on Xuu's face as the Majin whipped his head tentacle around and pointed it right at Gohan's face.
"CANDY BEAM!" roared Xuu.
Pan was mortified as her father gave a startled scream and was transformed into a Tootsie Roll. "No way!"
Xuu caught the Gohan-Tootsie-Roll and laughed maniacally. "What was that about confidence, BOY?! There's more to fighting than brute strength and skill! Sometimes, a well placed spell wins the day more than the most powerful ki blast or hardest punch."
Xuu brought the Gohan-Tootsie-Roll into his mouth and bit down, starting to chew, a wicked gleam in his eye. Pan gave a horrid squeal of fright as Xuu spit the Gohan-Tootsie-Roll out of his mouth and to the ring floor a few moments later. It looked crumpled, chewed, and ruined. Xuu aimed his head tentacle and released a beam of magic, turning Gohan back to normal. He laid there, looking completely and utterly broken, blood, bruises, and limbs bending the wrong way. Pan couldn't bear to look at the sight of her father and turned away tearfully. Oh gods, oh gods, it was awful. She trembled, unable get the image of Xuu chewing on Gohan-Tootsie-Roll nor her broken father's body out of her mind. Dammit dad, WHY? Why didn't he just go God? Why put himself, why put her through that?!
You see? This is what happens when evil is not thoroughly punished... make sure to not make that mistake with Coli...
Pan brought a hand up to clutch the side of her head, trembling, a headache starting again. Gods, she did not need this right now, she could barely stop herself from flipping out as it was. She did not need crazy thoughts on top of all of this at the moment. Despite how much she tried to hold it in, she couldn't help but whimper aloud in mental agony.
Goten put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, he'll be okay, don't worry Pan."
"Hmph, looks like he couldn't...," began Vegeta.
"Don't," warned Goku, an angry look in his eye.
Vegeta went silent, glaring at Goku, but choosing not to finish his sentence.
Thirty seconds later, Xuu was declared the winner and Gohan was healed. Gohan sat up, disbelief on his face, before it turned to frustration and a bit of shame. He wordlessly rose to his feet, walked to their area, and walked out of the arena. Pan started to follow him, wanting to giving him some kind of comfort, before Goku put a hand on her shoulder.
"Give him a bit to cool down Pan," said Goku softly.
Pan hesitated before glumly nodding and staying put.
"Now! Would Mato from Dimension 2 and Vegeta from Dimension 1 please enter the ring!" shouted the Grand Priest.
Mato and Vegeta flew to the ring. Mato looked bored and irritated, his usually wide eyes sullen and half closed. It took Pan a moment to recover and push the image of her father's destroyed body out of her mind to focus on the fight at hand. She recognized all of the sudden why he was looking like that. He had been ordered to throw the fight by his Emperor, and didn't look like he wanted to.
"Begin!" shouted the Grand Priest.
Unlike the last Saiyan to fight the prince, Mato did not bow, he merely glared at Vegeta, eyes half open. Vegeta didn't seem bothered by it, rather, he had a look of understanding on his face and shrugged. Mato smirked sadly at that, looking a bit more at ease after that. The two of them turned Super Saiyan 2 and started fighting it out. Pan barely paid attention to the mock fight and waited patiently for Vegeta to 'win'.
After Vegeta 'won', the Grand Priest announced the next match, "Now! Would Odianna from Dimension 2 and Phage from Dimension 5 enter the ring!"
Pan's eyes went wide with glee. YES! Immortality totally trumped ki poison. Scooooore! She watched with satisfaction as Odianna and Phage strode into the ring and walked to opposite ends.
"Begin!" shouted the Grand Priest.
The fight ended much faster than Pan thought it would. She thought Odianna might try to outskill her opponent, outwit, or maybe catch her offguard. Instead, she closed the distance instantly, took Phage's head in her hands, and snapped her neck with one fluid motion. Odianna's hands started blackening immediately with ki poison. However, Phage was the one on the ground unable to move, her body paralyzed. It reminded Pan of how Odianna had fought the Super Saiyan 2 back on Terra, she had let him drive a fist right through her chest in order to catch him offguard and end it. She was more than willing to abuse her immortality to her advantage in order to win a fight.
Odianna was declared the winner and Phage was healed. With that, Dimension 5 joined the other Dimensions that had been knocked out of the tournament.
"Now! Would Nach from Dimension 2 and Groana from Dimension 8 please enter the ring!" shouted the Grand Priest.
The two walked into the ring and moved to opposite ends, turning to appraise one another. Groana gave him a seductive wink, and Nach grinned in response.
"Begin!" shouted the Grand Priest.
Nach turned Super Saiyan 2, his grin widening. "I hope you're ready baby. The might and pride of the Saiyan race is a bit hard to take in."
Trunks coughed and gagged at that. Goten hid a snicker, while Vegeta snorted. She gave them a curious look. What in the world were they having a fit about? She played the words out in her mind before something Bra had once teased her about was suddenly brought to the forefront of her mind. Her face turned beat red. EWWWW, groooosss! He was making an innuendo like that in the middle of a tournament? Sick... bad images... very bad images in her mind...
To her chagrin, the Demoness didn't call him out on it, instead, she approved, her voice almost a purr. "Oh yes my big strong man, I'd imagine it would be. You could please me greatly."
Ewww, from bad to worse over and over again.
Groana aimed a hand at him, dark, black energy pulsing out from it. "Do you know what would please me even more? You forfeiting the match."
Nach froze all of the sudden, a weird look on his face.
Groana's voice purred again. "Come now my champion, would you not forfeit this match for my pleasure?"
There was a dazed look in his eye, as if he were not fully there. Something wasn't right, it was almost as if... oh... OH... she was hypnotizing him!
"I... I... f-f-forfeit the m-match," stammered Nach, his voice sounding off.
The Grand Priest raised an eyebrow, an amused look on his face. "Very well, Groana from Dimension 8 is the winner."
Groana snapped her fingers and Nach recovered. "Wait... what... WHAT?!"
There was a roar of laughter and mocking jeers from his fellow Saiyans back in the Dimension 2 area. Nach's face turned red with shame and then rage. He glared at Groana, who merely offered him another wink and a coy smile. Nach ground his teeth, powered down, and returned reluctantly, and shamefully to his area. Pan rolled her eyes at that, utterly shameful, on BOTH of their parts.
"Now! Would Son Goku from Dimension 1 and Mesh from Dimension 4 please enter the ring!" shouted the Grand Priest.
Goku rubbed his hands together. "Sweet! I get the ki swordsman!"
Pan rolled her eyes and watched him basically skip to the arena. So, there would be one more match this round after this. There were three fighters left, two would fight one would get the bye. Her, Kale, and... Coli... were the only ones left...
Coli will be yours to destroy...
Pan's eyes dropped and she felt sluggish, another headache starting. Coli... hers...
Make her suffer...
Suffer...
Make her scream...
Scream...
Show them all just how powerful you really are...
Power...
"Begin!" shouted the Grand Priest.
Pan shook off her thoughts. Gods... what the hell was going on in her head? Distress filled her mind, sweat rolling down her forehead, jitters trying to shake her limbs. She forced herself to try and focus on Grandpa's fight and drown out the dark thoughts. She turned her head briefly, turning to see her father re-enter their area, his face masked, showing no hints of being upset over his earlier loss. She turned back around to see that neither fighter had moved yet. Mesh slowly drew his sword and held it out infront of him, engulfing it with ki. Goku smirked, turned Super Saiyan, and held out a single finger. He funneled his entire aura and power to cover the finger.
Gohan snorted. "I remember this."
Vegeta smirked. "Ha! Reliving his first 'spar' against my future son? That clown."
Trunks gave him a curious look, but Vegeta didn't bother explaining. Goku and Mesh surged at eachother, sword and finger clashing again and again. Pan stared at the bizarre spectacle. What the hell was Grandpa doing? This was absurd... then again, Grandpa had a huge grin on his face. If he was enjoying the fight, might as well let him. God though, it was embarrassing to watch. Grandpa might have the speed, but there was absolutely no grace in his 'swordplay'. Mesh parried a 'finger' stab and riposted, stabbing right for Goku's head; Goku ducked, but not fast enough to save his a lot of his hair, "Gah! Not again!"
"Pfffff," cackled Pan, sighting what looked to be a buzz cut straight down the top of Grandpa's head.
Vegeta, Trunks, and Goten roared with laughter. Gohan merely shook his head, a bemused smile on his face. Goku shot Mesh a dirty look and went Super Saiyan 2, starting to outspeed Mesh and leave little finger cuts all over his body. Now that Grandpa was fighting 'seriously' with his finger-sword, it wouldn't last to much longer. She had to give Mesh credit though, despite the fact that Grandpa was pretty much mocking him by fighting like this, Mesh showed not an ounce of irritation or frustration. Finally, Goku swung a might blow and knocked the sword out of Mesh's hand. He rushed forward and put the finger up against Meshs's neck.
Mesh stared at him wordlessly for a moment before he grumbled. "I forfeit."
The fighter's were healed, and Goku's hair restored much to his relief, before they returned to their areas.
"Now! For the last fight of the round! Would Pan from Dimension 1 and Coli from Dimension 2 please step into the ring! Kale, having no other opponent to fight, shall receive the bye," shouted the Grand Priest.
Pan's eyes went wide, and her body went completely numb. They... they were going to fight, they were actually going to fight...
She's all yours Pan, enjoy...
All hers...
Towa smiled maniacally, sighting the shocked expression on Pan's face. Now was the time. Pan's mental strength had been weakened after her father's brutal defeat, and through Towa's constant strikes. On top of that, her guard was completely and fully down at the shock of the match-up. She wouldn't understand nor detect what Towa was about to do. Towa felt along her anchors, deep into Pan's mind, and attacked. She battered Pan's mental fortitude, struck at her ability to restrain herself, broke her control, propped up her anger, fueled her hate, and ignited her bloodlust. Immediately she saw the change in the girl, as if a light-switch had been both flickered and ripped off the wall at the same time.
Pan's eyes narrowed; rage, and hate appeared on her face. Her body stiffened. She clenched her fists so hard that little beads of blood ran down her fist. Her ki, that steady hurricane, warped into a viscous storm for the first time since Pan had awoken from her coma a month ago. Towa smiled victoriously at the change, this was going to be glorious...