Author`s Note: Took me a while but damnit, Hybrid Theory continues! Hope you like this one folks, it`ll be updated once a week since if I post it all at once, it`ll be buried by the endless flow of V/B and T/P romances... Blegh on all of them :\
Disclaimer: I don`t own DBZ, nor do I own Hybrid Theory(the CD), so... Yeah, you go from there.
Hybrid Theory Redux
It`s goin` down
"This should be one to remember, huh?" Trunks asked, looking over at Gohan. Gohan gave a mute smile and then turned his gaze out of the nearest window, staring out over the oceans. It was time for another Budoukai, the Tenkaichi Budoukai to be specific. Hercule`s ego had compelled him to make sure of it, that and the recent lack of anything truly interesting since the Gyoosan Budoukai barely three months earlier had caused most of the world, somehow a large portion of which was addicted to televised fighting in some form, to swing into a lull of boredom. People needed to be excited, the current way things were didn`t help them much. "Why so quiet?" Trunks asked, hushing his voice a bit so as to not bring the attentions of his mother. ChiChi had agreed to stay home, she needed rest and watching her son - soon to be her oldest son - go out and compete in the same gruelling tournament that her husband had almost died in three times in a row wasn`t going to be very helpful. ChiChi was six months pregnant now, though even with the added mass of pregnancy she wasn`t showing it very much.
Gohan smiled a bit out of no where, looking back to Trunks and giving a shrug. "Thinking," he answered finally, replying in that same hushed tone Trunks himself had used. "About?" Trunks asked skeptically. Vegeta looked back at the two with something halfway between a frown of contempt and a smirk of respect - as respectful as a person like Vegeta could be, anyway. He found it something of a bitter irony that while he and Goku - Kakarot - had been near mortal enemies, actual mortal enemies in Vegeta`s mind, their children got along fine with one another. A bitter, funny irony, one that was only added to by the fact that both of them had surpassed he and Kakarot in power. That part annoyed him slightly, he could deal with Trunks being a bit stronger than he himself was, he had been fine with that the moment he learned Trunks was his son from the future, but Gohan was a bit more annoying for him.
Not only was the boy quite literally the mirror image of his father, he was also turning out to be a smarter version of him, right down to wearing a similar gi and similar haircut. Vegeta was bitterly reminded of Kakarot there, he was also reminded that the boy was something to be proud of. A saiyan. Even if he did need some pride beaten into him.
The baby version of Trunks slept soundlessly, leaned against Vegeta`s leg and drooling somewhat. Anyone else, Bulma knew, herself included, the Prince would probably disembowel barehanded and enjoy it. He had indeed learned a bit of respect for his son, both forms of him. Baby Trunks was the only child that could ever get away with pulling his hair, that much was for sure.
"Something interesting, Vegeta?" Bulma asked, turning her gaze from straight ahead to her non-husband, who gave a huff and looked back off out of the window next to him. Bulma didn`t bother asking again, she just gave a slight smile and then went back to driving the airbus onward. "This should be a good tournament," Bulma thought aloud. "Why aren`t you entering, dad?" Mirai Trunks asked, earning a snarl in reply. "... Okay, that answers that," Bulma cut off any replies from anyone else.
Watch them flee
Hip-Hop hits
And you do it like this
It's goin' down
Gohan thought in silence, Trunks was soon joining him and Bulma hummed to herself while Vegeta reached down, out of view of anyone else of course, and brushed his hand over the baby Trunks` head as he slept, an unintentional thing actually, but one that happened anyway. "Wonder if Piccolo will show up," Gohan thought in an attempt to ward off boredom, remembering the showing Piccolo had made at the Gyoosan Budoukai three or so months earlier with a bit of amusement at how the big green alien had made an idiot out of Gohan`s one-time temporary mentor, Krillin. He could already tell Krillin would be there, he could sense his power a few miles ahead of the airbus.
Trunks slowly began to nod off like his younger self had already done, and Vegeta eventually caught the urge to sleep as well, though he fought it off with a round of quiet complaints, often ending when Bulma smacked his shoulder. Gohan found it amusing, in a good-natured sort of way. The two of them never seemed to get along outwardly, but inwardly, Bulma and Vegeta were almost always in agreement. Gohan mused that was why they`d been so attracted to one another.
Baby Trunks gave a swift kick to nothing in particular and gradually stirred awake, gumming on his father`s thumb. Vegeta noticed, but he didn`t seem too annoyed by it. For a moment, Gohan could almost swear to have seen a smile creep onto the Prince`s face, however short-lived that it was.
The rhythm projects 'round the next sound
Reflects the complex hybrid dialect now
Detect the mesh of many elements compressed down
The melting pot of a super-futureesque style
Zangya gave a smirk as 18 lowered the aircar down. Piccolo sat in silence, complaining in thought to himself at having spent the past week, under the coaxing of Dende, watching after the two to make sure they didn`t get themselves, or others, into trouble. Piccolo was beginning to take a vast disliking to the fine arts of shopping, brushing one`s hair and most profanely of them all: Fashion. "Are we there yet?" The Namek grumbled, recieving a well earned glare from 18 and a roll of the eyes from Zangya.
"Yes, Big-green-and-bitchy, we`re there," Zangya stated simply, climbing out of the aircar and hopping to the ground. Piccolo quietly removed himself from the car by climbing up out of the skylight, he couldn`t get in or out any other way. After that, he reached into the car and took out his cloak and mantle, placing them on while walking towards the area he guessed he would most likely meet Gohan, Trunks, Vegeta, Bulma and the baby version of Trunks when they all finished arriving.
Zangya looked on at him with a mix of disgust and amusement, looking back as 18 got herself from the car, capsulizing it and then tucking it into her pants pocket without a second thought. "Ready?" She asked, looking over to Zangya. "Yes, where are we headed?" She asked in reply, stepping alongside 18 as the pair began to walk towards a map-post. "Registration," 18 answered. "So I was right," Zangya mused, catching that slight glint in 18`s eyes as they began the walk towards the registration booth, intent on getting the show on the road. "She`s not here for a championship at all," Zangya thought, withholding a chuckle at the way the other woman walked.
Videl grimaced, waiting quietly for her father to finish wading through the masses of reporters and fans while she herself, unassuming as she was, darted away and got a drink. Satan Dew, they called it. How the heck did he pull that one off anyway? Videl knew her father was stuck up and egotistical - as if naming a city after himself didn`t prove that enough - but naming a soft drink after himself? Come on...
"Hurry up already," she grumbled, watching him pose for pictures with a few random passers-by while the gullible reporters ate every last bit of it up. Her thoughts were pretty jumbled, but among them only a single thought really stood out. "Wonder if I`ll get the chance to face Gohan," she thought, remembering how this year`s tournament was going to be divided up and fought out with a Junior Division, and an Adult Division. She found the whole idea rather absurd, why waste time with a kid`s tournament? If she remembered right, it had been two children, barely even a year or two older than her, who had both come close to winning the tournament in their own right during the 21st Budoukai. She amusedly considered the possibility that it was the reason they were so reluctant to let children fight in the adult`s tournament.
It just wasn`t proper to have a child bashing the snot out of a world champion, after all.
She snickered a bit, remembering the sight of Gohan, who was only barely over five feet tall, knocking over an entire pile of some twenty fighters with only a few seconds worth of effort, not even trying from the looks of things. It was indeed going to be an interesting fight if she went up against him. Heck, it`d be an interesting fight if he was even involved.
Videl gave a few more seconds thought to something that had been getting to her as of late. Back at the Gyoosan Budoukai, the power he`d displayed later on, out of sight of herself, had been phenominal.Watching all of those explosions, watching the sky itself seem to shatter several times, seeing golden comets here and there.
And that`s what brought the visual comparison of Gohan to the boy who`d been seen fighting Cell. The hair was the only thing that didn`t fit right if she thought of him as blonde with greenish eyes. It was too short, even if it was blonde. "I`ll figure you out someday," Videl promised to herself aloud, unhearing as the large greenish skinned figure walked up behind her.
"Are you Gohan`s friend?" A gruff voice asked from behind, startling Videl and causing her to almost spill her drink. She was eye level with someone`s stomach at first, but soon craned her head back and looked up to observe the exceptionally strange looking man in a turban, a cloak, a black - or was it purple? - gi, strange shoes and a red belt...
With green skin.
"Yeah," Videl mumbled out in response, noting the hardened expression on the green man`s face as he looked from her to her father several times. "Looking at something?" Videl asked hotly, annoyed at his silence, but recognizing him almost instantly as one of the fighters from the Cell Games. "How is an idiot like that your father?" The fellow asked finally, not a bit of humor in his voice as he did so. "I have no idea," Videl mumbled out, looking over her shoulder to her father, who was still doing poses and, for the most part, unnoticing of Videl.
"You wanted something?" Videl asked, looking back up at the green man only to see him walking away towards the northern part of the island. "If you want to see Gohan when arrives, follow me," the gruff voice rang out. Videl raised up an eyebrow and tossed another piece into the evidence box, jogging to keep up with the green skinned giant of man - or was he even human?
The combination of a vocal caress
With lungs that gasp for breath
From emotional stress
With special effects
The fighter`s lounge. Krillin was cynical in his view on it. It seemed as though they were almost scared of having the old qualifying rounds, he knew for a fact that Hercule would`ve never made it into any of the tournaments past if they not just on strength, seeing as he knew of at least a few prior champions who had won on nothing but technique.
He was cynical, but he wasn`t stupid. As much as he`d hoped, at least a few of the fighters at the tournament would most assuredly not be push-overs. He could tell, easily, that Piccolo had arrived when gossip of a tall, green skinned man had ended up circulating around the room, and he could almost tell that was indicator of Gohan being part of the tournament as well, which meant Mirai Trunks would probably be a part of it. Then there was the guy standing across from him in silence, arms crossed over his chest.
He was tall, probably as tall as Piccolo, with pink skin and short, black hair. Bat ears and horns, he looked demonic, and the goatee didn`t much help the matter. The fellow wore light blue clothes, aside from a gigantic cape-like garb with a collar that ran up to midway the height of his head, and he had on white boots as well, yellow, cat-like eyes and a black 'M' tattooed on his forehead. Krillin could tel several things about him, for one the figure wasn`t human, for another he wasn`t native to the earth, for another, he wasn`t weak and for another still he was able to outpower Krillin even though the monk knew he was hiding a great deal more.
He figured this one would be a severe problem. Fighters were also speaking about him, but the midget was the only one who paid no attention at all to them, focused solely on the large figure in the weird clothes.
"Why do I get the feeling that guy`s gonna be the worst problem we`ve dealt with since... Since... Ah hell, every problem`s the worst since the last," Krillin thought sarcastically, a frown appearing on his face. The pink fellow barely noticed him, eyes sliding shut. He seemed to be going into a meditative state now. Good, Krillin`s instincts told him. "Maybe he`ll fall asleep now," he mused.
And a distorted collage
Carefully lodged between beats of rhythmic barrage
"I hope," he thought, catching the slight way his power, however concealed it was, began to raise up.
It's goin' down
The logical progression on the timeline
The separation narrowed down to a fine line
To blur the edges so they blend together properly
"That`s my boy," Goku thought, watching everything with a smile. The Grand Kaio sat behind him on his couch, and King Kaio was standing off to the side a bit, trying to keep his composure around his superior. "Look at him, he looks just like me," Goku announced proudly. The Grand Kaio gave a throaty chuckle and rubbed his bearded chin. "That he does, looks like they cloned you to make `im," the elder god announced amusedly. He could see the resemblence plain as day. "You haven`t seen him go Beyond, have you?" Goku asked, looking over his shoulder at the Grand Kaio. "Nope," the old god replied with a shrug, scooting forward a bit on the couch.
"I can tell he`s strong though, gonna be one heck of a fighter if he makes it to my planet," he announced ahead of time. "I hope he doesn`t get here for a long time then," Goku mumbled in concern. The Grand Kaio gave a nod and then let quiet take effect.
Take you on an audible odyssey
Now it's goin' down
Gohan waved a hello to Videl as he disembarked from the airbus, a half-sleepy Trunks, then a grumpy Vegeta and finally Bulma carrying baby Trunks emerging one after another a few seconds later in a show that made even Piccolo smirk a little. "You made it!" Gohan cheerily exclaimed when he looked over Videl`s shoulder and spotted Piccolo, running up and greeting his sensei with a bearhug that almost caved in the Namek`s lower ribcage. "You can stop now, kid," Piccolo wheezed out, stumbling back a bit as Gohan laughed sheepishly. "Hope I didn`t break anything..."
"No, just don`t do that again or just might," Piccolo replied. Videl waited briefly and then spoke up, a bit annoyed that he hadn`t paid her as much attention as he had the green skinned fellow. "Hi Gohan," she said while clearing her throat. Gohan immediately turned and stopped himself short of hugging Videl, at least in front of Bulma, Vegeta, and everyone else. He knew them all too well...
"Hi Videl, what`re you doin` here?" Gohan asked.
"Entering the tournament, you?" Videl replied, a weary smirk on her face as Gohan replied. "Same here, hopefully I`ll get to fight your dad," Gohan stated enthusiastically. "You`re only eleven, remember? You won`t be allowed into the adult division," she replied sardonically, causing him to face fault. "Adult division?" He asked annoyedly, falling into step alongside Videl as Piccolo walked along just behind them and between they and the Briefs, or more importantly, they and Bulma. He knew the endless teaisng she`d subject him to.
A few minutes passed, culminating in Bulma and Vegeta, as well as the baby Trunks, breaking off from Mirai Trunks, Gohan, Videl and Piccolo, who walked to the center of the island and started registering. "Satan, Videl," Videl stated to the sign-up desk, watching her name get drawn into the count for the junior division. Trunks went next, then Gohan.
"Son, Gohan Jr," Gohan said. The man at the desk blinked once or twice and then spoke. "Was your father, by any chance, Son Goku?" He asked. Gohan looked perplexed for a moment and answered. "Yes, he was. Why?" He asked. The deskman paled briefly and then shook his head. "Would you mind terribly fighting in the adult division? Or both?" He asked. "I`ll stick with the adult division," Gohan sheepishly laughed out, managing to shut out the shocked glare Videl was giving him in envy.
Gohan stepped aside, immediately being shaken half-senseless by a nearly irate Videl while Piccolo registered. "How did you get in on your name only?!" She demanded, shaking him again and again before Trunks stepped in and calmly tapped her on the shoulder. "Could you please not break his neck," Trunks asked. Videl stopped. "Well?!" She asked Gohan, who wobbled on his feet for a moment and then finally replied. "My dad was in three of these thi-" Videl shook him again. "I know that! He`s a legend in these tournaments," she stated annoyedly. "Then why the question?" Gohan asked, watching Videl blush in a mix of annoyance and actual anger.
"How did you get into the adults on that alone?! My dad won the last Budoukai and I don`t get that kind of treatment at all!" She growled. "Maybe it`s because they figured I`m probably as strong as he was and it`d be unfair to stick me with the juniors," Gohan thought aloud, shrugging. "If you want, I`ll enter the juniors too," he offered. Videl twitched and shook her head. "No, that`s alright. At least cheer for me though," she suggested.
Put it out for the world to see
LP and X-men to the 10th degree
Nobody in the world is safe
When we melt down the wax in your record crate
It's goin' down
Gohan smiled. "Of course I will," he replied, unseeing of Android 18 and Zangya, who arrived and signed their names, much to Piccolo`s chargrin.
The next few minutes went by in relative quiet as the group entered the fighter`s lounge after qualifying, and Gohan wished Videl luck as she waved a fond good-bye and darted outside to join the other 31 fighters in the tournament, intent on getting started as quickly as possible. Gohan stood there for a few minutes, then noticed a hand laid out on his shoulder.
He turned his head and raised both eyebrows at the person that hand was attached to. He hadn`t even noticed her during the sign-up. "Zangya?" He asked in surprise. The relatively short woman smiled to him and then nodded towards Videl, who was beginning her match even as Gohan turned towards the ring. "Like her, don`t you?" Zangya asked, removing her hand and stepping forward. Gohan gave a nod to the dark blue-green skinned woman with the orange hair, dressed in a fighting gi resembling a female version of what Krillin wore, who had just three months earlier, tried to kill him.
"Haven`t said anything because of my mom and Bulma," he said. Zangya chuckled to herself. "Well, you`re only eleven, no offense, so why don`t you just wait a while, eh?" She asked, stepping up beside him. Gohan frowned a bit. "I`m not a little kid anymore, I slapped down your old boss twice and defeated Cell two times in the same fight," he announced annoyedly. "Wasn`t saying you were," Zangya replied, hiding a wince and thanking any deities above that he didn`t mention Puujin, Bido, or even Gokuha. They may not have been the best friends, but unlike with Bojack, she did miss them.
Put it up
And it goes like this
And you do it like this
It's goin' down
Once again it is
"Oh," Gohan replied, watching Videl`s opponent fly out of the ring a few feet and land with a hard thud. "Wow, for a human girl her age, she isn`t that bad," Zangya noted with a smirk. "Not bad at all," Gohan replied, watching Videl hop down from the arena and walk to the bench where the junior fighters waited.
"Say, do you know the line-up of the tournament?" Gohan asked, looking over to Zangya. "Yeah, actually. It should be," she looked around, taking everyone and matching them up to the names she had memorized. "I`m going up against Piccolo," she smirked. "You`re in the second match, you`ll be against a guy named Spopovitch, then Krillin`s facing a guy named Jewel, Juu-chan..." Gohan interrupted her. "Juu-chan?"
"My nickname for Android 18, as you call her," she answered. Gohan gave a nod. "Juu-chan will take on a guy named Puntar, then a guy named Dabura is going to fight Hercule," she finished. "That`s all I can remember," she added a few seconds later. "And I think the Dabura-Hercule fight is going to be last, since Satan`s the champ," she stated.
Gohan frowned. "He`s only the champ because my dad wasn`t here last time around," he mumbled watching the second, then the third matches of the junior division end in rapid succession. "Funny," Zangya mumbled. "You`re bitter about that, but not bitter that he stole what should`ve been your glory over Cell," she stated, having clearly read up on her recent history lately. "I`m not bitter over either, just a bit annoyed that he thinks he`s so great. Reminds me of a weak Vegeta," he mused. "Vegeta has better hair than that," Zangya reminded him. "Good point," he conceded. "Still, he does seem just a bit too... Braggy. I only thought I`d let him keep the glory since it couldn`t hurt anyone, but then I met Videl," he motioned toward her. "No good deed goes unpunished," Zangya mused.
"Don`t talk like that," Gohan snapped in his usual tone. "Yes, that`s a bit too depressing, isn`t it?" Gohan gave a sharp nod and turned back as the sixth match ended. These things didn`t last long, did they?
"It`s about as stimulating as watching paint dry," Krillin mumbled, stepping up beside Gohan and leaning against the door frame. "At least there aren`t any fumes to get wasted on," Krillin mused, recieving a hard slap on the back of the head from Zangya. "Silly midget," she thought with a barely concealed snicker. "What was that for?" Krillin demanded. Zangya smiled enigmatically and shook her head, walking back into the lounge under the intense watch of Piccolo.
Swinging right from the chin
The elevate of mental states
Long gone with the wind
To defend men for shoddy imitation pretends
Another few matches. Piccolo turned from Zangya and observed Dabura, quiet and intense as ever, beginning to glow a faint shade of red as Piccolo watched him, keen eyesight that was above average even for Namek standards spotting the glow that was too faint for human eyes to pick up. "I don`t like this," he thought. "I don`t like this at all," he added quickly, noting the faint, short lived bursts of energy from Dabura. The Demon King kept his power hidden - from those like Gohan, Krillin, even Zangya, but Piccolo saw right through it.
Trunks was uneased by the presence of Dabura as well, watching the pink skinned fellow like a hawk, though he wasn`t quite as subtle and knowing about it as Piccolo was. Dabura smirked, opening his eyes and glancing over to Trunks, then Piccolo, both of them recieving similar glares of contempt.
"Better look elsewhere," Trunks thought, hearing the bell ring for round two of the junior division.
Hercule stepped into the lounge, loud and annoying as ever, recieving not even a glare from any of those who`d fought him previously, or anything else for that matter, though if he noticed Piccolo or Trunks, or even Krillin, he didn`t say anything. Probably thought he was just imagining things as he walked up and roughly sought to push Gohan aside to view the first match of round two, Videl against some red haired kid twice her size.
Gohan didn`t budge, he didn`t even notice Hercule`s presence. Krillin did, but he just watched the two from the corner of his eye as Hercule shot a glare down at Gohan. "Get outta my way, shorty," Hercule demanded. Gohan calmly looked over his shoulder, right up at Hercule, who cringed deeply at the sight of him. Gohan smiled and then took a moment or two of thinking, stepping aside very slowly and speaking. "Your daughter`s doing good out there," he said simply. Hercule shuddered. "Ain`t you a little young to be in the adult division?" He asked. "They thought it`d be unfair if I went into the juniors," Gohan shrugged.
"Oh," Hercule winced, slowly backing up but then seeing every looking at him and assuming the most confident could manage, all the while creeping back. Gohan waved a good-bye to him and then watched with growing curiosity as Hercule fled down a hallway.
It's going down
Stalence emulation readily
Trekking through the weaponry
Of the pure pedigree
"What a wimp," Gohan thought with surprise on his face. Krillin, unable to hold his silence any longer, burst out into laughter and fell over, holding his side. Even Piccolo let out a snicker, though most of the normal people, and Dabura, in the lounge didn`t understand why. "Gohan, you are the man," Krillin cackled, rolling around on the floor. "I don`t get it..."
Nobody bothered replying, so Gohan turned back in time to watch Videl`s opponent roll gracefully to a stop in front of him, unconcious. "Wow, she can kick," he thought aloud, looking up at Videl`s raised hand of victory. The announcer himself seemed pretty amazed by it as well.
Vegeta scowled, Yamcha snickered, Bulma grinned and Roshi cocked up an eyebrow at the sight of Videl in the ring. "Weakling," Vegeta grumbled, rocking Trunks secretively. "I`ve seen better," Yamcha admitted. "Krillin was twice as strong as she is at that age," he said with a fond remembrance of those days. Bulma didn`t really comment but Roshi did. "Gohan`s gonna have quite the looker in that girl when she`s older," he stated, a barely concealed grin on his face. Yamcha, and Bulma as well could almost sense his next words coming. "Wonder if he`ll be willin` to share..."
CRACK, Bulma`s hand found it`s mark on the back of Old Man Roshi`s head, sending him forward by about three rows, landing upside down with an agonizing crack and leaving his shell to turn him over on his back in an awkward manner.
"Ten-point-O," Oolong observed. "Seven-point-eight," Umi Gama added. Bulma took a well deserved bow for her skills, and Puar just giggled at the looks people gave the group of them. "Now I remember why I don`t come to fists with her," Vegeta thought, remembering how he`d had to use a senzu to replace his front teeth on more than one occasion.
Cleverly seeing through whatever is ahead of me
Whatever the weather be
We invent the steadily
It's going down to sub-terrestrial high
"Ouch," Gohan mumbled, watching Roshi fly forward and land as he did. "Bet that hurt," he added with concern for the old master, who lay there in plain view for a few seconds and then got to his feet, only to fall back down again. Krillin looked mortified at the sight of his old sensei getting knocked senseless, but at the back of his mind, he knew the old man had probably asked for it in some way or another. "He`s got to learn to keep his mouth shut," Krillin said flatly. Spopovitch arrived in view now, a large looking man, orange hair and a bad beard to add to it, quietly walked up, shoving Gohan, or trying to, to be more accurate.
Spopovitch wheeled back and kicked Gohan in the small of the back, hopping back on what foot and complaining about the pain he recieved as a result. Gohan looked over his shoulder and, as cheerfully as he could possibly manage, spoke up. "Good luck in our match," he said aloud with a smile, looking back to the ring and mumbling out, "big, ugly, orange haired jack-ass," he added quietly, earning a snicker from Krillin and a hairless, raised eyebrow from Piccolo, who heard it plainly.
Trunks shot a glare at Spopovitch, but he didn`t say anything at all.
The hour wore on, and Videl calmly plowed right through her opponents, cutting each and every one of them down with precision and speed that was flat out spectacular - compared to the average human. Finally though, as she finished off her last opponent with something of an uppercut-jumping Karate kick combination, throwing the fourteen year old boy out of the ring and spinning into the announcer, who fell over and twitched briefly before scraping himself back up and speaking, interweaving a few complex, action prone poses into his words.
"The winner, of the Junior Tenkaichi Budoukai, for the second time in a row, is Videl Satan!" He called out, drawing thousands of cheers from the crowds up in the stands, most of whom were absolutely elated. Even Vegeta gave a passing wave of his right hand, subtle as the gesture was, his way of saying someone had done a job well.
"And now, I bet you all didn`t see this coming, but we have a special, surprise treat for you all..." He paused.
"A special exhibition match between champions! Videl Satan will face off against her father, the great Mister Satan!" He cried out. Gohan raised both brows in surprise, Krillin raised one and everybody in the fighter`s lounge but Piccolo and Dabura exclaimed surprise in some way or another, even Trunks, Zangya and Eighteen. Piccolo and Dabura however, seemed to be playing a game. Piccolo stared at Dabura as if studying him, Dabura returned the stare with disgust in his eyes, a smirk on his face as if taunting Piccolo to make a move.
Hercule walked by, between the two as if trying to gather their attention. Neither even blinked in his general direction. Hercule walked on, passing through the group of fighters then then inching by Gohan and Krillin before going into full Mister Satan Mode, throwing a hand up and laughing victoriously, two fingers extended in a 'V' to the crowd as he made his way to the ring and jumped in.
Videl looked nervous.
"You can do it Videl! Take him out!" Gohan cheered loudly. Krillin took note of the way the girl seemed to get a bit of confidence from Gohan`s cheers, and Trunks soon stepped up behind the both of them. "This should be interesting," he mused aloud, watching Videl take classic fighter`s stance while Hercule posed for the crowd.
I rhyme regiment that's calling the shots
Execution of collaborative plots
Ready to bring the separation of style to a stop
Hercule then looked at Videl and smirked. "Now Videl, just `cause you`re my daughter and a champ yourself, don`t expect me to go very easy on ya," he warned with little concern. Videl didn`t acknowledge him as her father, he was just another opponent.
"But I will try to control my incredible strength and give you a chance, it`s the least I can do for my fans," he stated, as if not even remembering that she was his daughter. Videl cut off any further comment from him by jumping a few feet up into the air and crashing both feet into her father`s forehead, causing him to stagger back briefly only to gracelessly regain his balance and sweep at her legs.
Contrary to what he`d said, Hercule Satan was not holding back. Videl flew up from the impact, landing with a skid and catching herself before running back towards him and jumping up onto his shoulder. Hercule turned around and attempted to back hand her as she jumped off, but Videl twisted out of the way and - still in mid-air - brought her palm up in an uppercut, throwing Hercule back a few steps before he caught him and swiftly drove his elbow down into his daughter`s stomach. Videl cried out and landed with a thud, sweeping up to her feet and knocking Hercule`s legs out from under him, causing the champ to fall to his side on one hand and bring both legs forward, only to have Videl roll underneath him and out of the way, jumping up to her feet and kneeing him in the back.
Gohan was surprised, Trunks actually let his eyes widen and Krillin was smug. "Videl`s either really good for her age or Hercule just sucks," he muttered, already of the belief that it was a combination of both. Gohan shook his head at his adopted uncle, watching the fight carry on with a good bit of interest.
Videl handsprung back, avoiding her father`s leg while he tried to kick her. Her balance was flawed, Hercule spotted it and rammed his shoulder full force into her, throwing Videl back even closer to the edge of the ring. She landed, Hercule tried to knee her in the face and in a flurry of movement it all happened.
Hercule felt his leg grabbed at the back of the knee, Videl threw her weight into trying to throw him over and out of the ring, Hercule jumped up and spun in mid-air, feeling his knee slightly jarring and his other foot came crashing into Videl`s collarbone, throwing her out of the ring with a thud on the grass.
The champion landed with a brief stumble and then raised both hands. "Not even the future can beat me!" He announced brightly as Videl got to her feet, spitting out a bit of blood and walking away without staying around for the victory celebration. Gohan caught her by the arm and spoke up as she tried to enter the fighter`s lounge. "Good show out there Videl, even if he did win he probably had to hurt himself to do it," Gohan said, and Videl`s spirits rose a bit at his vote of unchanged confidence.
Videl exited the lounge. It was time for the real tournament to get underway...
End Part One
Author`s Note: Hope you enjoyed the first part of Hybrid Theory Redux folks. You`re in for some spectacular battles, a bit of drama and some romance dashed onto the side before this one`s over, including the mother of all Tenkaichi Budoukai cliffhangers!
The Sh33p
Disclaimer: I don`t own DBZ, nor do I own Hybrid Theory(the CD), so... Yeah, you go from there.
"This should be one to remember, huh?" Trunks asked, looking over at Gohan. Gohan gave a mute smile and then turned his gaze out of the nearest window, staring out over the oceans. It was time for another Budoukai, the Tenkaichi Budoukai to be specific. Hercule`s ego had compelled him to make sure of it, that and the recent lack of anything truly interesting since the Gyoosan Budoukai barely three months earlier had caused most of the world, somehow a large portion of which was addicted to televised fighting in some form, to swing into a lull of boredom. People needed to be excited, the current way things were didn`t help them much. "Why so quiet?" Trunks asked, hushing his voice a bit so as to not bring the attentions of his mother. ChiChi had agreed to stay home, she needed rest and watching her son - soon to be her oldest son - go out and compete in the same gruelling tournament that her husband had almost died in three times in a row wasn`t going to be very helpful. ChiChi was six months pregnant now, though even with the added mass of pregnancy she wasn`t showing it very much.
Gohan smiled a bit out of no where, looking back to Trunks and giving a shrug. "Thinking," he answered finally, replying in that same hushed tone Trunks himself had used. "About?" Trunks asked skeptically. Vegeta looked back at the two with something halfway between a frown of contempt and a smirk of respect - as respectful as a person like Vegeta could be, anyway. He found it something of a bitter irony that while he and Goku - Kakarot - had been near mortal enemies, actual mortal enemies in Vegeta`s mind, their children got along fine with one another. A bitter, funny irony, one that was only added to by the fact that both of them had surpassed he and Kakarot in power. That part annoyed him slightly, he could deal with Trunks being a bit stronger than he himself was, he had been fine with that the moment he learned Trunks was his son from the future, but Gohan was a bit more annoying for him.
Not only was the boy quite literally the mirror image of his father, he was also turning out to be a smarter version of him, right down to wearing a similar gi and similar haircut. Vegeta was bitterly reminded of Kakarot there, he was also reminded that the boy was something to be proud of. A saiyan. Even if he did need some pride beaten into him.
The baby version of Trunks slept soundlessly, leaned against Vegeta`s leg and drooling somewhat. Anyone else, Bulma knew, herself included, the Prince would probably disembowel barehanded and enjoy it. He had indeed learned a bit of respect for his son, both forms of him. Baby Trunks was the only child that could ever get away with pulling his hair, that much was for sure.
"Something interesting, Vegeta?" Bulma asked, turning her gaze from straight ahead to her non-husband, who gave a huff and looked back off out of the window next to him. Bulma didn`t bother asking again, she just gave a slight smile and then went back to driving the airbus onward. "This should be a good tournament," Bulma thought aloud. "Why aren`t you entering, dad?" Mirai Trunks asked, earning a snarl in reply. "... Okay, that answers that," Bulma cut off any replies from anyone else.
Watch them flee
Hip-Hop hits
And you do it like this
It's goin' down
Gohan thought in silence, Trunks was soon joining him and Bulma hummed to herself while Vegeta reached down, out of view of anyone else of course, and brushed his hand over the baby Trunks` head as he slept, an unintentional thing actually, but one that happened anyway. "Wonder if Piccolo will show up," Gohan thought in an attempt to ward off boredom, remembering the showing Piccolo had made at the Gyoosan Budoukai three or so months earlier with a bit of amusement at how the big green alien had made an idiot out of Gohan`s one-time temporary mentor, Krillin. He could already tell Krillin would be there, he could sense his power a few miles ahead of the airbus.
Trunks slowly began to nod off like his younger self had already done, and Vegeta eventually caught the urge to sleep as well, though he fought it off with a round of quiet complaints, often ending when Bulma smacked his shoulder. Gohan found it amusing, in a good-natured sort of way. The two of them never seemed to get along outwardly, but inwardly, Bulma and Vegeta were almost always in agreement. Gohan mused that was why they`d been so attracted to one another.
Baby Trunks gave a swift kick to nothing in particular and gradually stirred awake, gumming on his father`s thumb. Vegeta noticed, but he didn`t seem too annoyed by it. For a moment, Gohan could almost swear to have seen a smile creep onto the Prince`s face, however short-lived that it was.
The rhythm projects 'round the next sound
Reflects the complex hybrid dialect now
Detect the mesh of many elements compressed down
The melting pot of a super-futureesque style
Zangya gave a smirk as 18 lowered the aircar down. Piccolo sat in silence, complaining in thought to himself at having spent the past week, under the coaxing of Dende, watching after the two to make sure they didn`t get themselves, or others, into trouble. Piccolo was beginning to take a vast disliking to the fine arts of shopping, brushing one`s hair and most profanely of them all: Fashion. "Are we there yet?" The Namek grumbled, recieving a well earned glare from 18 and a roll of the eyes from Zangya.
"Yes, Big-green-and-bitchy, we`re there," Zangya stated simply, climbing out of the aircar and hopping to the ground. Piccolo quietly removed himself from the car by climbing up out of the skylight, he couldn`t get in or out any other way. After that, he reached into the car and took out his cloak and mantle, placing them on while walking towards the area he guessed he would most likely meet Gohan, Trunks, Vegeta, Bulma and the baby version of Trunks when they all finished arriving.
Zangya looked on at him with a mix of disgust and amusement, looking back as 18 got herself from the car, capsulizing it and then tucking it into her pants pocket without a second thought. "Ready?" She asked, looking over to Zangya. "Yes, where are we headed?" She asked in reply, stepping alongside 18 as the pair began to walk towards a map-post. "Registration," 18 answered. "So I was right," Zangya mused, catching that slight glint in 18`s eyes as they began the walk towards the registration booth, intent on getting the show on the road. "She`s not here for a championship at all," Zangya thought, withholding a chuckle at the way the other woman walked.
Videl grimaced, waiting quietly for her father to finish wading through the masses of reporters and fans while she herself, unassuming as she was, darted away and got a drink. Satan Dew, they called it. How the heck did he pull that one off anyway? Videl knew her father was stuck up and egotistical - as if naming a city after himself didn`t prove that enough - but naming a soft drink after himself? Come on...
"Hurry up already," she grumbled, watching him pose for pictures with a few random passers-by while the gullible reporters ate every last bit of it up. Her thoughts were pretty jumbled, but among them only a single thought really stood out. "Wonder if I`ll get the chance to face Gohan," she thought, remembering how this year`s tournament was going to be divided up and fought out with a Junior Division, and an Adult Division. She found the whole idea rather absurd, why waste time with a kid`s tournament? If she remembered right, it had been two children, barely even a year or two older than her, who had both come close to winning the tournament in their own right during the 21st Budoukai. She amusedly considered the possibility that it was the reason they were so reluctant to let children fight in the adult`s tournament.
It just wasn`t proper to have a child bashing the snot out of a world champion, after all.
She snickered a bit, remembering the sight of Gohan, who was only barely over five feet tall, knocking over an entire pile of some twenty fighters with only a few seconds worth of effort, not even trying from the looks of things. It was indeed going to be an interesting fight if she went up against him. Heck, it`d be an interesting fight if he was even involved.
Videl gave a few more seconds thought to something that had been getting to her as of late. Back at the Gyoosan Budoukai, the power he`d displayed later on, out of sight of herself, had been phenominal.Watching all of those explosions, watching the sky itself seem to shatter several times, seeing golden comets here and there.
And that`s what brought the visual comparison of Gohan to the boy who`d been seen fighting Cell. The hair was the only thing that didn`t fit right if she thought of him as blonde with greenish eyes. It was too short, even if it was blonde. "I`ll figure you out someday," Videl promised to herself aloud, unhearing as the large greenish skinned figure walked up behind her.
"Are you Gohan`s friend?" A gruff voice asked from behind, startling Videl and causing her to almost spill her drink. She was eye level with someone`s stomach at first, but soon craned her head back and looked up to observe the exceptionally strange looking man in a turban, a cloak, a black - or was it purple? - gi, strange shoes and a red belt...
With green skin.
"Yeah," Videl mumbled out in response, noting the hardened expression on the green man`s face as he looked from her to her father several times. "Looking at something?" Videl asked hotly, annoyed at his silence, but recognizing him almost instantly as one of the fighters from the Cell Games. "How is an idiot like that your father?" The fellow asked finally, not a bit of humor in his voice as he did so. "I have no idea," Videl mumbled out, looking over her shoulder to her father, who was still doing poses and, for the most part, unnoticing of Videl.
"You wanted something?" Videl asked, looking back up at the green man only to see him walking away towards the northern part of the island. "If you want to see Gohan when arrives, follow me," the gruff voice rang out. Videl raised up an eyebrow and tossed another piece into the evidence box, jogging to keep up with the green skinned giant of man - or was he even human?
The combination of a vocal caress
With lungs that gasp for breath
From emotional stress
With special effects
The fighter`s lounge. Krillin was cynical in his view on it. It seemed as though they were almost scared of having the old qualifying rounds, he knew for a fact that Hercule would`ve never made it into any of the tournaments past if they not just on strength, seeing as he knew of at least a few prior champions who had won on nothing but technique.
He was cynical, but he wasn`t stupid. As much as he`d hoped, at least a few of the fighters at the tournament would most assuredly not be push-overs. He could tell, easily, that Piccolo had arrived when gossip of a tall, green skinned man had ended up circulating around the room, and he could almost tell that was indicator of Gohan being part of the tournament as well, which meant Mirai Trunks would probably be a part of it. Then there was the guy standing across from him in silence, arms crossed over his chest.
He was tall, probably as tall as Piccolo, with pink skin and short, black hair. Bat ears and horns, he looked demonic, and the goatee didn`t much help the matter. The fellow wore light blue clothes, aside from a gigantic cape-like garb with a collar that ran up to midway the height of his head, and he had on white boots as well, yellow, cat-like eyes and a black 'M' tattooed on his forehead. Krillin could tel several things about him, for one the figure wasn`t human, for another he wasn`t native to the earth, for another, he wasn`t weak and for another still he was able to outpower Krillin even though the monk knew he was hiding a great deal more.
He figured this one would be a severe problem. Fighters were also speaking about him, but the midget was the only one who paid no attention at all to them, focused solely on the large figure in the weird clothes.
"Why do I get the feeling that guy`s gonna be the worst problem we`ve dealt with since... Since... Ah hell, every problem`s the worst since the last," Krillin thought sarcastically, a frown appearing on his face. The pink fellow barely noticed him, eyes sliding shut. He seemed to be going into a meditative state now. Good, Krillin`s instincts told him. "Maybe he`ll fall asleep now," he mused.
And a distorted collage
Carefully lodged between beats of rhythmic barrage
"I hope," he thought, catching the slight way his power, however concealed it was, began to raise up.
It's goin' down
The logical progression on the timeline
The separation narrowed down to a fine line
To blur the edges so they blend together properly
"That`s my boy," Goku thought, watching everything with a smile. The Grand Kaio sat behind him on his couch, and King Kaio was standing off to the side a bit, trying to keep his composure around his superior. "Look at him, he looks just like me," Goku announced proudly. The Grand Kaio gave a throaty chuckle and rubbed his bearded chin. "That he does, looks like they cloned you to make `im," the elder god announced amusedly. He could see the resemblence plain as day. "You haven`t seen him go Beyond, have you?" Goku asked, looking over his shoulder at the Grand Kaio. "Nope," the old god replied with a shrug, scooting forward a bit on the couch.
"I can tell he`s strong though, gonna be one heck of a fighter if he makes it to my planet," he announced ahead of time. "I hope he doesn`t get here for a long time then," Goku mumbled in concern. The Grand Kaio gave a nod and then let quiet take effect.
Take you on an audible odyssey
Now it's goin' down
Gohan waved a hello to Videl as he disembarked from the airbus, a half-sleepy Trunks, then a grumpy Vegeta and finally Bulma carrying baby Trunks emerging one after another a few seconds later in a show that made even Piccolo smirk a little. "You made it!" Gohan cheerily exclaimed when he looked over Videl`s shoulder and spotted Piccolo, running up and greeting his sensei with a bearhug that almost caved in the Namek`s lower ribcage. "You can stop now, kid," Piccolo wheezed out, stumbling back a bit as Gohan laughed sheepishly. "Hope I didn`t break anything..."
"No, just don`t do that again or just might," Piccolo replied. Videl waited briefly and then spoke up, a bit annoyed that he hadn`t paid her as much attention as he had the green skinned fellow. "Hi Gohan," she said while clearing her throat. Gohan immediately turned and stopped himself short of hugging Videl, at least in front of Bulma, Vegeta, and everyone else. He knew them all too well...
"Hi Videl, what`re you doin` here?" Gohan asked.
"Entering the tournament, you?" Videl replied, a weary smirk on her face as Gohan replied. "Same here, hopefully I`ll get to fight your dad," Gohan stated enthusiastically. "You`re only eleven, remember? You won`t be allowed into the adult division," she replied sardonically, causing him to face fault. "Adult division?" He asked annoyedly, falling into step alongside Videl as Piccolo walked along just behind them and between they and the Briefs, or more importantly, they and Bulma. He knew the endless teaisng she`d subject him to.
A few minutes passed, culminating in Bulma and Vegeta, as well as the baby Trunks, breaking off from Mirai Trunks, Gohan, Videl and Piccolo, who walked to the center of the island and started registering. "Satan, Videl," Videl stated to the sign-up desk, watching her name get drawn into the count for the junior division. Trunks went next, then Gohan.
"Son, Gohan Jr," Gohan said. The man at the desk blinked once or twice and then spoke. "Was your father, by any chance, Son Goku?" He asked. Gohan looked perplexed for a moment and answered. "Yes, he was. Why?" He asked. The deskman paled briefly and then shook his head. "Would you mind terribly fighting in the adult division? Or both?" He asked. "I`ll stick with the adult division," Gohan sheepishly laughed out, managing to shut out the shocked glare Videl was giving him in envy.
Gohan stepped aside, immediately being shaken half-senseless by a nearly irate Videl while Piccolo registered. "How did you get in on your name only?!" She demanded, shaking him again and again before Trunks stepped in and calmly tapped her on the shoulder. "Could you please not break his neck," Trunks asked. Videl stopped. "Well?!" She asked Gohan, who wobbled on his feet for a moment and then finally replied. "My dad was in three of these thi-" Videl shook him again. "I know that! He`s a legend in these tournaments," she stated annoyedly. "Then why the question?" Gohan asked, watching Videl blush in a mix of annoyance and actual anger.
"How did you get into the adults on that alone?! My dad won the last Budoukai and I don`t get that kind of treatment at all!" She growled. "Maybe it`s because they figured I`m probably as strong as he was and it`d be unfair to stick me with the juniors," Gohan thought aloud, shrugging. "If you want, I`ll enter the juniors too," he offered. Videl twitched and shook her head. "No, that`s alright. At least cheer for me though," she suggested.
Put it out for the world to see
LP and X-men to the 10th degree
Nobody in the world is safe
When we melt down the wax in your record crate
It's goin' down
Gohan smiled. "Of course I will," he replied, unseeing of Android 18 and Zangya, who arrived and signed their names, much to Piccolo`s chargrin.
The next few minutes went by in relative quiet as the group entered the fighter`s lounge after qualifying, and Gohan wished Videl luck as she waved a fond good-bye and darted outside to join the other 31 fighters in the tournament, intent on getting started as quickly as possible. Gohan stood there for a few minutes, then noticed a hand laid out on his shoulder.
He turned his head and raised both eyebrows at the person that hand was attached to. He hadn`t even noticed her during the sign-up. "Zangya?" He asked in surprise. The relatively short woman smiled to him and then nodded towards Videl, who was beginning her match even as Gohan turned towards the ring. "Like her, don`t you?" Zangya asked, removing her hand and stepping forward. Gohan gave a nod to the dark blue-green skinned woman with the orange hair, dressed in a fighting gi resembling a female version of what Krillin wore, who had just three months earlier, tried to kill him.
"Haven`t said anything because of my mom and Bulma," he said. Zangya chuckled to herself. "Well, you`re only eleven, no offense, so why don`t you just wait a while, eh?" She asked, stepping up beside him. Gohan frowned a bit. "I`m not a little kid anymore, I slapped down your old boss twice and defeated Cell two times in the same fight," he announced annoyedly. "Wasn`t saying you were," Zangya replied, hiding a wince and thanking any deities above that he didn`t mention Puujin, Bido, or even Gokuha. They may not have been the best friends, but unlike with Bojack, she did miss them.
Put it up
And it goes like this
And you do it like this
It's goin' down
Once again it is
"Oh," Gohan replied, watching Videl`s opponent fly out of the ring a few feet and land with a hard thud. "Wow, for a human girl her age, she isn`t that bad," Zangya noted with a smirk. "Not bad at all," Gohan replied, watching Videl hop down from the arena and walk to the bench where the junior fighters waited.
"Say, do you know the line-up of the tournament?" Gohan asked, looking over to Zangya. "Yeah, actually. It should be," she looked around, taking everyone and matching them up to the names she had memorized. "I`m going up against Piccolo," she smirked. "You`re in the second match, you`ll be against a guy named Spopovitch, then Krillin`s facing a guy named Jewel, Juu-chan..." Gohan interrupted her. "Juu-chan?"
"My nickname for Android 18, as you call her," she answered. Gohan gave a nod. "Juu-chan will take on a guy named Puntar, then a guy named Dabura is going to fight Hercule," she finished. "That`s all I can remember," she added a few seconds later. "And I think the Dabura-Hercule fight is going to be last, since Satan`s the champ," she stated.
Gohan frowned. "He`s only the champ because my dad wasn`t here last time around," he mumbled watching the second, then the third matches of the junior division end in rapid succession. "Funny," Zangya mumbled. "You`re bitter about that, but not bitter that he stole what should`ve been your glory over Cell," she stated, having clearly read up on her recent history lately. "I`m not bitter over either, just a bit annoyed that he thinks he`s so great. Reminds me of a weak Vegeta," he mused. "Vegeta has better hair than that," Zangya reminded him. "Good point," he conceded. "Still, he does seem just a bit too... Braggy. I only thought I`d let him keep the glory since it couldn`t hurt anyone, but then I met Videl," he motioned toward her. "No good deed goes unpunished," Zangya mused.
"Don`t talk like that," Gohan snapped in his usual tone. "Yes, that`s a bit too depressing, isn`t it?" Gohan gave a sharp nod and turned back as the sixth match ended. These things didn`t last long, did they?
"It`s about as stimulating as watching paint dry," Krillin mumbled, stepping up beside Gohan and leaning against the door frame. "At least there aren`t any fumes to get wasted on," Krillin mused, recieving a hard slap on the back of the head from Zangya. "Silly midget," she thought with a barely concealed snicker. "What was that for?" Krillin demanded. Zangya smiled enigmatically and shook her head, walking back into the lounge under the intense watch of Piccolo.
Swinging right from the chin
The elevate of mental states
Long gone with the wind
To defend men for shoddy imitation pretends
Another few matches. Piccolo turned from Zangya and observed Dabura, quiet and intense as ever, beginning to glow a faint shade of red as Piccolo watched him, keen eyesight that was above average even for Namek standards spotting the glow that was too faint for human eyes to pick up. "I don`t like this," he thought. "I don`t like this at all," he added quickly, noting the faint, short lived bursts of energy from Dabura. The Demon King kept his power hidden - from those like Gohan, Krillin, even Zangya, but Piccolo saw right through it.
Trunks was uneased by the presence of Dabura as well, watching the pink skinned fellow like a hawk, though he wasn`t quite as subtle and knowing about it as Piccolo was. Dabura smirked, opening his eyes and glancing over to Trunks, then Piccolo, both of them recieving similar glares of contempt.
"Better look elsewhere," Trunks thought, hearing the bell ring for round two of the junior division.
Hercule stepped into the lounge, loud and annoying as ever, recieving not even a glare from any of those who`d fought him previously, or anything else for that matter, though if he noticed Piccolo or Trunks, or even Krillin, he didn`t say anything. Probably thought he was just imagining things as he walked up and roughly sought to push Gohan aside to view the first match of round two, Videl against some red haired kid twice her size.
Gohan didn`t budge, he didn`t even notice Hercule`s presence. Krillin did, but he just watched the two from the corner of his eye as Hercule shot a glare down at Gohan. "Get outta my way, shorty," Hercule demanded. Gohan calmly looked over his shoulder, right up at Hercule, who cringed deeply at the sight of him. Gohan smiled and then took a moment or two of thinking, stepping aside very slowly and speaking. "Your daughter`s doing good out there," he said simply. Hercule shuddered. "Ain`t you a little young to be in the adult division?" He asked. "They thought it`d be unfair if I went into the juniors," Gohan shrugged.
"Oh," Hercule winced, slowly backing up but then seeing every looking at him and assuming the most confident could manage, all the while creeping back. Gohan waved a good-bye to him and then watched with growing curiosity as Hercule fled down a hallway.
It's going down
Stalence emulation readily
Trekking through the weaponry
Of the pure pedigree
"What a wimp," Gohan thought with surprise on his face. Krillin, unable to hold his silence any longer, burst out into laughter and fell over, holding his side. Even Piccolo let out a snicker, though most of the normal people, and Dabura, in the lounge didn`t understand why. "Gohan, you are the man," Krillin cackled, rolling around on the floor. "I don`t get it..."
Nobody bothered replying, so Gohan turned back in time to watch Videl`s opponent roll gracefully to a stop in front of him, unconcious. "Wow, she can kick," he thought aloud, looking up at Videl`s raised hand of victory. The announcer himself seemed pretty amazed by it as well.
Vegeta scowled, Yamcha snickered, Bulma grinned and Roshi cocked up an eyebrow at the sight of Videl in the ring. "Weakling," Vegeta grumbled, rocking Trunks secretively. "I`ve seen better," Yamcha admitted. "Krillin was twice as strong as she is at that age," he said with a fond remembrance of those days. Bulma didn`t really comment but Roshi did. "Gohan`s gonna have quite the looker in that girl when she`s older," he stated, a barely concealed grin on his face. Yamcha, and Bulma as well could almost sense his next words coming. "Wonder if he`ll be willin` to share..."
CRACK, Bulma`s hand found it`s mark on the back of Old Man Roshi`s head, sending him forward by about three rows, landing upside down with an agonizing crack and leaving his shell to turn him over on his back in an awkward manner.
"Ten-point-O," Oolong observed. "Seven-point-eight," Umi Gama added. Bulma took a well deserved bow for her skills, and Puar just giggled at the looks people gave the group of them. "Now I remember why I don`t come to fists with her," Vegeta thought, remembering how he`d had to use a senzu to replace his front teeth on more than one occasion.
Cleverly seeing through whatever is ahead of me
Whatever the weather be
We invent the steadily
It's going down to sub-terrestrial high
"Ouch," Gohan mumbled, watching Roshi fly forward and land as he did. "Bet that hurt," he added with concern for the old master, who lay there in plain view for a few seconds and then got to his feet, only to fall back down again. Krillin looked mortified at the sight of his old sensei getting knocked senseless, but at the back of his mind, he knew the old man had probably asked for it in some way or another. "He`s got to learn to keep his mouth shut," Krillin said flatly. Spopovitch arrived in view now, a large looking man, orange hair and a bad beard to add to it, quietly walked up, shoving Gohan, or trying to, to be more accurate.
Spopovitch wheeled back and kicked Gohan in the small of the back, hopping back on what foot and complaining about the pain he recieved as a result. Gohan looked over his shoulder and, as cheerfully as he could possibly manage, spoke up. "Good luck in our match," he said aloud with a smile, looking back to the ring and mumbling out, "big, ugly, orange haired jack-ass," he added quietly, earning a snicker from Krillin and a hairless, raised eyebrow from Piccolo, who heard it plainly.
Trunks shot a glare at Spopovitch, but he didn`t say anything at all.
The hour wore on, and Videl calmly plowed right through her opponents, cutting each and every one of them down with precision and speed that was flat out spectacular - compared to the average human. Finally though, as she finished off her last opponent with something of an uppercut-jumping Karate kick combination, throwing the fourteen year old boy out of the ring and spinning into the announcer, who fell over and twitched briefly before scraping himself back up and speaking, interweaving a few complex, action prone poses into his words.
"The winner, of the Junior Tenkaichi Budoukai, for the second time in a row, is Videl Satan!" He called out, drawing thousands of cheers from the crowds up in the stands, most of whom were absolutely elated. Even Vegeta gave a passing wave of his right hand, subtle as the gesture was, his way of saying someone had done a job well.
"And now, I bet you all didn`t see this coming, but we have a special, surprise treat for you all..." He paused.
"A special exhibition match between champions! Videl Satan will face off against her father, the great Mister Satan!" He cried out. Gohan raised both brows in surprise, Krillin raised one and everybody in the fighter`s lounge but Piccolo and Dabura exclaimed surprise in some way or another, even Trunks, Zangya and Eighteen. Piccolo and Dabura however, seemed to be playing a game. Piccolo stared at Dabura as if studying him, Dabura returned the stare with disgust in his eyes, a smirk on his face as if taunting Piccolo to make a move.
Hercule walked by, between the two as if trying to gather their attention. Neither even blinked in his general direction. Hercule walked on, passing through the group of fighters then then inching by Gohan and Krillin before going into full Mister Satan Mode, throwing a hand up and laughing victoriously, two fingers extended in a 'V' to the crowd as he made his way to the ring and jumped in.
Videl looked nervous.
"You can do it Videl! Take him out!" Gohan cheered loudly. Krillin took note of the way the girl seemed to get a bit of confidence from Gohan`s cheers, and Trunks soon stepped up behind the both of them. "This should be interesting," he mused aloud, watching Videl take classic fighter`s stance while Hercule posed for the crowd.
I rhyme regiment that's calling the shots
Execution of collaborative plots
Ready to bring the separation of style to a stop
Hercule then looked at Videl and smirked. "Now Videl, just `cause you`re my daughter and a champ yourself, don`t expect me to go very easy on ya," he warned with little concern. Videl didn`t acknowledge him as her father, he was just another opponent.
"But I will try to control my incredible strength and give you a chance, it`s the least I can do for my fans," he stated, as if not even remembering that she was his daughter. Videl cut off any further comment from him by jumping a few feet up into the air and crashing both feet into her father`s forehead, causing him to stagger back briefly only to gracelessly regain his balance and sweep at her legs.
Contrary to what he`d said, Hercule Satan was not holding back. Videl flew up from the impact, landing with a skid and catching herself before running back towards him and jumping up onto his shoulder. Hercule turned around and attempted to back hand her as she jumped off, but Videl twisted out of the way and - still in mid-air - brought her palm up in an uppercut, throwing Hercule back a few steps before he caught him and swiftly drove his elbow down into his daughter`s stomach. Videl cried out and landed with a thud, sweeping up to her feet and knocking Hercule`s legs out from under him, causing the champ to fall to his side on one hand and bring both legs forward, only to have Videl roll underneath him and out of the way, jumping up to her feet and kneeing him in the back.
Gohan was surprised, Trunks actually let his eyes widen and Krillin was smug. "Videl`s either really good for her age or Hercule just sucks," he muttered, already of the belief that it was a combination of both. Gohan shook his head at his adopted uncle, watching the fight carry on with a good bit of interest.
Videl handsprung back, avoiding her father`s leg while he tried to kick her. Her balance was flawed, Hercule spotted it and rammed his shoulder full force into her, throwing Videl back even closer to the edge of the ring. She landed, Hercule tried to knee her in the face and in a flurry of movement it all happened.
Hercule felt his leg grabbed at the back of the knee, Videl threw her weight into trying to throw him over and out of the ring, Hercule jumped up and spun in mid-air, feeling his knee slightly jarring and his other foot came crashing into Videl`s collarbone, throwing her out of the ring with a thud on the grass.
The champion landed with a brief stumble and then raised both hands. "Not even the future can beat me!" He announced brightly as Videl got to her feet, spitting out a bit of blood and walking away without staying around for the victory celebration. Gohan caught her by the arm and spoke up as she tried to enter the fighter`s lounge. "Good show out there Videl, even if he did win he probably had to hurt himself to do it," Gohan said, and Videl`s spirits rose a bit at his vote of unchanged confidence.
Videl exited the lounge. It was time for the real tournament to get underway...
Author`s Note: Hope you enjoyed the first part of Hybrid Theory Redux folks. You`re in for some spectacular battles, a bit of drama and some romance dashed onto the side before this one`s over, including the mother of all Tenkaichi Budoukai cliffhangers!
The Sh33p