Chapter Text
Gohan didn't get any sleep that night. After eluding capture by the Royal Military soldiers, Gohan flew back to Papaya Island at his own pace, mulling over the evening's events and their potential impacts on both him and his future. By 7:30 in the morning, a grumpy, somewhat disheveled Gohan could be seen trudging through the open grounds of the World Martial Arts Tournament Coliseum, lost in thought and looking generally haggard but still managing to retain some slight cheer.
"Hey! Hey, Icarus!" a voice from behind Gohan shouted.
Gohan turned and saw Yamcha trotting up to him.
"Hey, you made it," he observed.
"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Gohan said, smiling.
"So, where were you last night?" At Gohan's blank look, Yamcha clarified, "I couldn't sleep, I was so jammed for the tournament I could barely keep my eyes shut. So I figured a nice jog would help me loosen up, but when I looked in your bed, you were gone."
Gohan blinked. "Oh, uh... I-I was training. For the tournament," Gohan invented wildly. "Uh, you know, doing some last-minute stretches, running, that sort of thing."
This seemed to satisfy Yamcha's curiosity for now. He laughed softly. "Yeah, I thought so," Yamcha said, noticeably more relaxed. "You're one dedicated fighter, though, Icarus. I got back at like 2:50, but from the looks of it, you spent the entire night training. From what I can tell, you won't need luck out there. You've got too much of a fiery spirit to back down."
Gohan nodded, feeling wearier than ever. Though oddly enough, he felt a lot better from Yamcha's praise.
"Yamcha!" Gohan heard a familiar voice call.
His younger father ran up alongside Yamcha, followed closely by Krillin. Now that Gohan saw them all together, he noticed for the first time that all three of them were decked out in the bright red gi that were a trademark of Master Roshi and the symbol of his fighting house.
"Huh? Oh hey, Icarus!" Goku said, noticing Gohan. "How are you today?"
"I'm fine, thank you," Gohan said politely.
"How did you get here?" Krillin wondered. "You weren't in bed when we got up. In fact, it didn't look like you were even there when Yamcha and I went out jogging. Where were you all last night?"
Gohan chuckled. "I spent the night training. You know, in preparation for the tournament. I've never fought in it before. It's going to be, uh, exciting," Gohan said, hoping to inject enthusiasm into his voice, but to him it sounded half-hearted at best, although it seemed to do the trick for the others.
"You said it!" Goku exclaimed. "Boy, look at all the tough fighters! I can't wait to get started in the Elimination Round!"
Gohan smiled.
"Come on, we're headed just that way," Yamcha said, motioning for Gohan to follow them. "We'd better hurry if we want to make in time for the preliminaries."
Gohan fell in stride with the three of them as they made their way to the tournament hall, wondering how crazy this tournament was going to get with his father and his friends competing.
One thing's for sure, Gohan thought musingly. It's certainly going to be very interesting.
"Good morning, and welcome to the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament," a tournament worker announced. Gohan, Goku, Krillin, and Yamcha, who had met up with Jackie Chun (and who Gohan now knew was a disguised Master Roshi), were all gathered in the enormous competition hall, listening in rapt attention to the announcer's words. All eyes in the hall were on him, and the silence was permeating, but so thick you could have cut it with a knife. You could practically taste the currents swirling in the room.
"It is my privilege and honor to preside over this special event, which has become so popular it will now be held once every three years," the announcer was saying. "This one promises to be the biggest yet, with a record-high attendance of 182 fighters. All of you are talented Martial Artists in your own right. However, only one will be crowned the World's Champion. So, without further ado, let the Elimination Round of the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament officially begin!"
The crowd packed into the hall roared its approval.
"Ahem. May I have everyone's attention?" the announcer said, trying to direct everyone's attention back to the matter at hand. "Our first order of business is to select the fighters for each match. To aid in this process, each of you will draw lots from the boxes located on either side of the service tables."
Gohan filed into line behind Goku, Krillin, Yamcha, and Master Roshi (Jackie Chun), bounding on the tips of his toes occasionally to get a glimpse over his friends and see how much closer they were to the table. After a couple of minutes, it was their turn. Yamcha drew first, then Krillin, Goku, Jackie Chun, and finally, Gohan.
Gohan unfurled his ticket and observed a large black number 45 on it.
"I'm 62. It looks like they put me in... the latter half of Block 2," Krillin was saying.
"I'm in the second half of Block 1," Goku observed.
Yamcha huddled over his scrap of ticket, mumbling something about "not Goku." With a gasp of relief, he said aloud, "Yeah, I got lucky. I'm in Block 1, but in the first half." He turned to stare at Gohan. "Icarus?"
Gohan was already glancing at the board. "It looks like they put me in the first half of Block 2."
Goku accepted this news with a nod, and turned to face Jackie Chun. "What about you, mister?" he said.
"I drew Number 178, which if I'm not mistaken, puts me in Block 4," the disguised Master Roshi replied.
"What luck! We won't fight each other!" Krillin exclaimed.
Yeah, what an unlucky match-up that would have been, Gohan thought with private amusement.
"Ahem," the tournament worker cleared his throat once all the fighters had successfully drawn their lots. "Good. We will now begin with the Elimination Round, which will decide the 8 fighters who will advance to the championship. Each match will be one-on-one and confined to the boundaries of the ring. There is no time limit, and each match will continue until one opponent is either defeated, leaves the ring, or gives up.
"No weapons are allowed. In the event that an official ruling is needed to clarify a winner, all decisions by the tournament judges are final," the worker continued. "The tournament does not take responsibility for loss of property or life. As a reminder to those outside the ring, flash photography is strictly prohibited. Thank you."
"Well, this is it," Goku said. "Good luck, Krillin."
"Thanks," Krillin replied.
Goku turned his head to Gohan. "Good luck to you too, Icarus. I hope to see you in the championship, so don't lose, okay?"
Gohan jumped a little, startled at Goku's words, but after a minute he smiled and inclined his head to Goku. "Thank you, F... Goku. I'll do my best," he muttered, catching himself in time. Only years of discipline prevented Gohan from wincing, as he stood there hoping his friends or future father hadn't noticed his little slip.
Thankfully, it appeared that they hadn't, and Gohan sighed internally. Feeling someone else's eyes on them, Gohan turned and saw Tien and Chiaotzu standing a good distance away. Tien was too far away for his Saiyan hearing to pick up on what they were saying, but they looked awfully smug.
"Attention. The first match in the Elimination Round will be held in Block Number 1," the tournament worker from before said. "At this time, fighters Number 1 and 2 may enter the ring."
Yamcha stepped into the ring. "Here we go," he said. "Save my spot, I'll be right back," he added confidently.
"Get him, Yamcha!" Goku cheered.
"You can beat him! Don't worry about this guy!" Gohan added, knowing full well that he was speaking the truth; the difference in ki between the two opponents was negligible. Gohan could tell Yamcha was definitely stronger.
"Say bye-bye," his opponent said mockingly, a man with an average-but-muscular build and a Mohawk-style haircut.
"Begin!" the worker shouted.
Yamcha assumed a fighting stance, his posture radiating calm with no visible flaws in his technique.
Perhaps sensing this, the Mohawk man looked a little disconcerted, but then he suddenly sneered and pulled out a few tiles of wood. Tossing them carelessly into the air, he jumped up and with a few well-placed punches, smashed them, and they fell in broken pieces to the floor.
"Hmpf, nice, but wood can't fight back," Yamcha said in complete unconcern.
"If it could, it would have a much better chance of winning this match than you do," the Mohawk man taunted.
"Gentlemen, please, it's time to begin, let's focus on the match," the tournament worker prodded.
"So long!" the man yelled, jumping high again and aiming with a punch at Yamcha's face...
Which sailed harmlessly through his after-image as Yamcha himself phased from existence. He reappeared behind the Mohawk man, his ki emitting no more than a faint blip to Gohan's ki-sensing capabilities with this action, and with a simple backhanded slap the Mohawk man was knocked down and unconscious.
"Fighter 1 wins by knockout!" the tournament worker declared.
Yamcha left his opponent in a heap and headed back towards his friends.
"Great job, Yamcha," Gohan said, flashing a brief thumbs-up.
"Yeah, he's right!" Goku exclaimed enthusiastically. "You were incredible out there!"
Yamcha's serious face held for a second more or two, then it was replaced with a bashful-yet-proud look and he said with a wave of his hand in mock embarrassment, "It was nothing!" This look remained for a few seconds, Yamcha appearing immensely pleased with himself for his quick victory, and then sobered as he heard, "Fighters Number 45 and 46 please report to the ring, your match is about to begin."
"45's my number," Gohan stated.
"All right, go show 'em what you're made of, Icarus!" Goku said encouragingly.
"Yeah, you can do it," Yamcha added with a smile.
Gohan nodded wordlessly, heading to Block 2. He lifted himself onto the ring and saw his first opponent: A man in a black tunic similar in style to Master Roshi's, dark blue sunglasses, and blonde hair and mustache. He carried himself confidently, and Gohan could sense he had a high power level, probably somewhere around the level 80s if you were to look at it on a Scouter, but nowhere near comparison to his own power.
"Fighters, ready, and begin!" the worker announced.
Gohan sank into a stance that was a perfect mirror of his mentor's, Piccolo's, with some elements of Goku's and the fighting style long since entrusted to him by Guru incorporated into the posture. It was flawless, both in form and execution, and Gohan's every movement projected total, confident calm.
"Hey, you guys, take a look at Icarus's technique," Yamcha commented. "It's flawless! He's left no opening unguarded!"
"I guess he really does know what he's doing," Krillin allowed grudgingly.
"Hm-hmm," Goku agreed. "You bet! He's good. That other guy out there doesn't stand a chance!"
Gohan's opponent only stared at Gohan for a while, seemingly evaluating him from under that bushy mop of his, his every feature tightened in concentration, and Gohan felt a smirk coming on. Since Yamcha and the others are showing off a little, I guess there's no harm in me doing the same, he thought. But remember, Gohan, restraint; you don't want to arouse suspicion. Besides, any more and it might hurt this guy.
"I'll let you have the first move, kid," the man said, his tone betraying nothing of what he might be thinking or feeling within.
Gohan knew what he was attempting to do; draw him into attack while he remained on the defensive, carefully studying his techniques and affording him ample time for countermeasures. Gohan almost felt sorry for the man; he had had no chance from the moment he had stepped in the ring. I won't humiliate him, but I will end this quickly, Gohan decided.
"Well, are you just gonna stand there or what?"
Grinning ever so slightly, Gohan flash-sped — restraining himself greatly so he didn't appear too skillful — behind the man. Before he could even take notice of the boy's movement, Gohan ducked down and swiped his foot under the man's legs, knocking him off balance. Grabbing onto his legs while he was trying to get his bearings back, Gohan turned and bodily tossed the man from the arena. The man landed outside the ring with a satisfying thud.
The fight had lasted maybe a total of 2 seconds.
"Number 45 is winner by a ring-out!" the worker shouted.
Gohan put an arm behind his back and couldn't resist showing a little peace sign to the cheering spectators.
"Did you guys see that? He moved so fast, I almost couldn't see!" Yamcha said, stunned.
"Yeah, I could barely keep up with it!" Goku said in awe.
Krillin was simply too stunned to speak.
Meanwhile, Jackie Chun, who had been watching the fight intently nearby, was frowning. Hmm... Icarus's fighting technique seems familiar, he thought. I don't know what it is about that style, but I know I've seen it somewhere before!
Gohan hopped off the stage and nodded at Krillin. "It's your turn, Krillin."
"Ah... ah... oh, um, right," Krillin stammered, just in time for the tournament worker to announce, "The next match is about to begin. Will fighters Number 62 and 63 please enter the ring?"
"Ohh, that's me," Krillin said, finally snapping out of his reverie, and he leaped into the ring.
Gohan waited for a few minutes, as did all the other Martial Artists watching this fight, but when 2 whole minutes had passed, people were beginning to wonder what was causing the delay. "Uhh," the tournament worker managed, but then he seemed to come to himself and repeated, "Attention, fighter Number 63, please report to the ring for your preliminary bout or you will forfeit the match."
The ground gave a tremendous thud, and all those standing in the immediate vicinity nearly lost their balance. Only Gohan, Goku, Yamcha, Krillin, and Jackie didn't seem the least bit affected. Before Gohan could ponder the strange occurrence, another thud sounded, reverberating around the hall, followed by another, and then another, and it was then that Gohan realized that the source of the quakes belonged to an approaching ki...
"What's that? An earthquake?" Krillin wondered.
"No!" Gohan exclaimed, pointing to a giant-sized man walking closer, so immensely large that he made his grandfather the Ox King look positively miniscule by comparison. "He's causing it!"
He had to be at least over 15 feet tall, with flaming red hair, big, bulky muscles, and a mean face. Overall, he did not look like someone you wanted to cross or meet in a darkened back alley.
But Gohan wasn't concerned; oh, he had a high enough power level, all right, perhaps somewhere around 100 or 110, but he could also sense Krillin's unique power level, and he could tell that Krillin would win this match without effort. His ki was stronger.
But it appeared that many of the other fighters including Goku and his friends weren't so confident. Of course, they can't sense ki during this time, Gohan remembered with a mental slap.
"Whoa!" Goku exclaimed. "He's huge!"
"Yes, he is," Gohan said, speaking softly. "But you should know best of all people, Goku, that size doesn't matter."
Goku glanced quizzically at Gohan. Finally, he shrugged and said with a smile, "Yeah, you're right, Icarus."
Meanwhile, the giant had stepped into the ring and was now staring down at Krillin imperiously. "And who are you supposed to be?" he demanded.
Krillin looked a little unnerved, but answered calmly enough, "Uh, I'm your opponent."
"Yeah, that's funny, you look more like toejam to me," the giant sneered. "You're lucky I can see the shine off your bald head, otherwise you'd be dust right now."
"Oh! I remember who that giant is!" Yamcha suddenly exclaimed.
"Really?" Gohan said. "Who is he?"
"He's called Anton the Great," Yamcha answered. "He used to be the world professional wrestling champion."
"Is he strong?" Goku asked.
"Hm-hmm," Yamcha nodded. "That's an understatement. Anton is so tough no one would fight him. He left the professional circuit and became an underground fighter."
"He may be strong," Gohan said, trying to bolster their spirits without revealing how he knew this, "but that doesn't mean Krillin is weak, either. Who knows, he could win."
"Yeah, maybe," Yamcha said, sounding unconvinced.
"Fighters, now that both of you are in the ring, take your positions and begin," the tournament worker said.
"I'm ready to begin now. Care to make the first move?" Krillin informed Anton.
"The first move I make," Anton said haughtily, "will be your last, kid."
Krillin looked annoyed. "I doubt that," he said.
"When you squish, don't forget to scream!" Anton laughed as he brought his foot over Krillin and slammed it down, which Krillin promptly dodged. Anton then aimed a punch at Krillin, which Krillin jumped back to avoid.
"Come on, Krillin, keep moving, don't let him get ahold of you!" Yamcha shouted.
Krillin leaped into the air at Anton, aiming a kick, but Anton reached out with his gigantic hand and closed it around Krillin's body.
"He's got Krillin!" Yamcha cried.
Anton started to squeeze Krillin while in his fist, and to Gohan's great surprise, Krillin began struggling and grunting as if in agony. Why's he doing that? Gohan wondered. I can tell from their ki that Krillin is the stronger one, so what's he doing?
Whereas Gohan was confused, his friends were concerned.
"No," Yamcha moaned. "Krillin doesn't stand a chance. That beast can crush boulders with his bare hands!"
"Krillin!" Goku cried worriedly.
"Don't worry," Gohan said. "I don't what he's doing, but Krillin's okay. He's not going to lose this match."
"How can you say that?" Yamcha demanded angrily. "Look at him! Anton's going to kill him!"
"It's an act!" Gohan suddenly realized.
And sure enough, as soon as he'd said that, Krillin stopped fighting and groaning and looked immensely smug. "How's my acting?" he asked, wriggling his eyebrows.
Anton looked both surprised and furious.
"Before I became a great fighter I considered pursuing a career in acting," Krillin elaborated.
"You tricked me!" Anton yelled.
Krillin slammed his elbow into the space between Anton's thumb and index finger, causing Anton to drop him as though he was scalded.
"Hey, you were right," Yamcha said. "Man, that's incredible! How'd you know that?"
Gohan started, cursing himself for revealing too much. Even though he had been fully aware of it, he had wanted to make his friends feel better, but now that he thought of it, they would have found out on their own eventually. Now what do I do?
Gohan scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "I dunno! Hey, maybe I'm psychic!"
His friends fell over, but Gohan suddenly saw an opening to divert their attention, and he took it. "Now's not the time to focus on this," he said hurriedly.
And indeed, that was the truth, now was not the time, as the match was still going on. This seemed to successfully distract them, and Gohan sighed in relief. Anton reached for Krillin again, but this time, Krillin latched onto his finger and with a show of strength threw him out of the ring. Anton hit the floor with a resounding crash.
"Sir, what's the judgment?" Krillin asked the ref.
"Number 63 has left the ring which means 62 is the winner!"
Krillin flashed a peace sign. "I'm the man."
"You did it!" Goku told Krillin as he left the ring. "That was amazing. You're definitely stronger than you were three years ago."
"Outstanding move!" Yamcha said.
"Yeah, nicely done, Krillin," Gohan added.
"Well, thanks guys, but relax, this is just the beginning," Krillin said. "That was nothing. Just wait."
Suddenly there was an extremely rude laugh. For a moment, it reminded Gohan of Vegeta.
"Your expectations must be very low if you consider that an accomplishment," a voice said nearby.
They all turned.
Tien was standing there, along with Chiaotzu. What are they doing here? Gohan wondered.
"Excuse me," Yamcha said.
"Wait," Goku said. "You are...?"
Gohan held back the "They're Tien and Chiaotzu" that was forming on his lips.
"They're pupils of Hermit Crane, which explains their rudeness," Krillin told Goku, and then, as an aside, whispered, "He's a rival of Master Roshi's."
"I remember them now!" Goku exclaimed, staring at Tien for a minute, both of them looking at one another as though they were sharing a memory only they knew about, but after a moment, Goku's countenance grew dark. "Both of you are bad! You tried to hurt InoShikaCho and me!"
InoShikaCho? Gohan repeated mentally. I wonder who that is? I'll have to ask Father about it later, he vowed, storing the information away in his brain.
"You mean you've met those two creeps before?!" Krillin said incredulously.
"Amazing how events can change according to one's perspective," Tien said musingly. "Actually, I did him a favor by not finishing what he started."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Yamcha demanded roughly.
"I'm sorry, I forgot my audience. I'll use less syllables," Tien said snidely. "I. Can't. Be. Defeated. You're lucky we don't have a match in the preliminaries."
"Why'd you say that?" Gohan asked, confused by the change in Tien's behavior. "That wasn't very nice."
Tien laughed again. "Oh, forgive me if I fail to conform to the standards that you set, but as you can see, I'm far superior to all of you, so I guess I'm entitled to a little boasting."
Gohan felt irritation at Tien's comment, but more than that was an ever-deepening sense of confusion. Why is Tien so mean? This is a complete change from the Tien of my time. Then Gohan remembered what Krillin had said...
"They're pupils of Hermit Crane..."
Hermit Crane... that Shen guy must be Hermit Crane! And... Tien and Chiaotzu must be his pupils! No wonder Tien was so cruel. Gohan had sensed it in Shen's ki; his very life essence practically screamed the word "darkness." How did Tien and Chiaotzu ever turn out so nice if they were being influenced by Master Shen's corruptive training? Gohan thought sadly.
He returned to the conversation just in time to hear Tien saying, "... Chiaotzu, stop. You know it's not polite to make fun of your inferiors, especially when they're as grossly inadequate as these four. None of them have the slightest chance of surviving the preliminaries, let alone the tournament."
Yamcha stepped forward. "Get lost or get hit, it's your choice," he said firmly.
"Ha. Judging by your last fight, I'm in no hurry," Tien snorted. "You had the chance to deal your opponent a critical blow, and you passed it up. Big mistake."
"Whenever I fight, my objective is to defeat my opponent, not murder him," Yamcha said, then looked thoughtful. "However, if you and I should have a match in this tournament, I'll be sure to reconsider my policy."
"Really? Why wait? Fight now," Tien said, his eyes glinting.
"Oh, anytime you're ready, I welcome the chance to shut you up," Yamcha said with a cocky grin.
Gohan grabbed Yamcha's arm. Yamcha turned to regard Icarus with annoyance. "Please, Yamcha, don't do this. He's just a bully who wants to provoke you into fighting. Don't let him. Take the high road. Show that you're better than him."
"Oh, really, are you that pathetic that you're going to take orders from a little boy?" Tien sneered.
"What?!" Yamcha exclaimed. "Oh, that's it, come on!"
"Settle down, boys," another voice interrupted.
They all turned to see Jackie Chun standing there not a few feet away, regarding them with a critical eye. "Whatever problem you two are having, you should ask yourselves if this fight is worth it, because both of you will be kicked out of the tournament," he said simply.
"Mind your business, old man," Tien snapped.
Now Yamcha looked superior. He laughed. "That 'old man' is Jackie Chun, he won the last tournament," he said casually.
"And you fought at that tournament, no doubt. This just keeps getting better," Tien observed, appraising Jackie Chun. "If a decrepit old man proved too great a challenge for you, then you have no business fighting me."
"That does it!" Yamcha growled, preparing to pounce on Tien, but Gohan threw his arms around Yamcha's midsection and restrained him, ignoring his threats and demands for Icarus to release him.
Tien laughed. "Look at him, the fool's no match for even a child. He's obviously too weak to face a real man. Enough. Let's go."
And Tien walked off, still laughing amid the shouts of Yamcha and the concerned glance of Gohan.