Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ New Students at Orange Star High ❯ Chapter Five - The Semi-Finals ( Chapter 5 )

Shin stares at Jesse in shock, along with the others.

"H-how did you know he was the Supreme Kai?" Piccolo demands, started.

"I recognized him," Jesse replies, "I met him during the Demon Wars."

"But the Demon Wars were six thousand years ago, before Majin Buu was even created!" Shin exclaims, stunned by what Jesse said, "how could you have fought in them?"

"What are the Demon Wars?" Videl asks.

"The Demon Wars took place around six thousand years ago," Jesse says, looking at Shin intently, "the battle was between the ogres of Otherworld, who guard it and keep people in the HFIL, Home For Infinite Losers, and the denizens of the Demon World. The Demon World is another reality, sorta like Otherworld. Just as Otherworld is above our world, the Demon World is beneath our world. The Demon War was when the Demons, led by their king, Demos, tried to conquer our dimension and make it their own. The Kai's themselves led the battle against the Demons. But even the Supreme Kai was powerless against some of their more powerful warriors."

"Yes, and then some strange warriors arrived," Shin adds, "they fought valiantly and drove off many of the Demons and were even able to destroy Demos. But his son, Dabura, took over. Dabura was even stronger than Demos. Finally, the last of those warriors and Dabura fought in single combat. Dabura was driven back, but that warrior paid with his life to block off the Demon World."

"I didn't pay with my life," Jesse says, "I tried a spell that would trap Dabura in Limbo forever. Unfortunately, he was able to reverse the spell and that's where I've been the last six thousand years. Since it was reversed by its intended target, and since it was reversed by a Demon, it was weakened and had a time release. That time release ran out a week before I started school at Orange Star High."

"You mean to say you're over six thousand years old?" Videl asks in surprise.

"Kinda," Jesse answers, "physically, I'm almost nineteen. Chronologically, I am a little over six thousand."

"You were trapped in Limbo for six thousand years?" Shin asks.

"Yes, Supreme Kai, I was," Jesse answers, "and before you say anything else, I have to warn you about something"

"What?" Shin asks, perplexed.

"Babidi has drawn some of the strongest fighters in the universe to him to guard him," Jesse says, "though none of them can beat Goku, Gohan, or Vegeta and they wouldn't even have to go Super Saiyan to do it. Piccolo could defeat them as well. Eighteen probably could too."

"And you?" Krillin asks.

"Way too easy," Jesse says, "Babidi's magic makes them evil, and my powers are centered around fighting evil. I was able to do well against Eighteen because she is motivated by greed to win this tournament. I'll probably get mutilated by Goku. His heart is the purest I have ever seen."

"Is that all you have to warn me about?" Shin asks.

"No, Supreme Kai, I know you already knew that Babidi had drawn many fighters to him," Jesse replies, "Yamu and Spopovitch are among them. That's how they changed so much since the last tournament. No, its Babidi's head warrior. Its Dabura."

"Dabura!" Shin and Kabito gasp in horror.

"Yes, the King of Demons has sided with Babidi," Jesse says, "and even from Limbo I could feel Majin Buu's power. It surpasses Dabura's and he knows it. He is possibly planning on using the Demon Fusion technique to merge with Majin Buu the moment Babidi releases him, making him much more powerful."

"Dabura alone is enough to worry about," Shin says, his voice barely audible, "but Dabura with Majin Buu's power as well as his own is unfathomable!"

"Well, Shin, I do have some good news," Jesse says, "Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta all possibly surpass you in physical power when they are at their max. Gohan is still the strongest of the three, but only just barely."

"Dad, you've achieved level two?" Gohan asks, surprised.

"Yeah Gohan, I have," Goku smirks.

"Whats more is that at his maximum, Gohan equals Dabura, "Jesse says, "but I'll wager that he hasn't done much training since he defeated Cell and his fighting instinct has dwindled."

"How do you know I defeated Cell?" Gohan asks.

"Earth is my home planet," Jesse replies, "when you're in Limbo, you're in a position very similar to that of a planets Guardian but only for your home planet. If your home planet is literally no more, then you are able to roam all of the fabrics of reality. I could only feel the powers levels though, but I still recognize you ki signature from when you fought Cell."

"You're good," Gohan says.

"However, Zarvon being a Saiyan was something I didn't see," Jesse says, "especially since he arrived on Earth a bit before I got out of Limbo. And at that time, I was more focused on stopping Babidi and Dabura. I know where their ship is. And Majin Buu has almost been put back to full power. I checked on that before I got out of Limbo."

"This is not good," Shin says, "why did I not foresee this?"

Jesse smirks. "Because, even though you are the Supreme Kai, you are not a true prophet of any sort. By the way, pretty soon you will have to face Gohan. I'd take care not to underestimate him if I were you or you'll be in for a nasty surprise."

"Is he stronger than the Supreme Kai?" Kabito asks.

"Maybe, but I won't be sure until I see them both at full power," Jesse replies, "its been so long that I've forgotten exactly how strong the Supreme Kai is. Now, how about we rest until time for the next round?"

"Your attention please!" the announcer says, "it is time for the Semi-finals! First we have Shin versus the Great Saiyaman and then we have Goku versus Jesse. Jesse is technically the World Champion since he defeated Pegaro, who in turn defeated Hercule. Now, will Shin and the Great Saiyaman please come to the ring? It is time for your match."

"Gohan, don't go easy on me," Shin says, "if you can defeat me without transforming, then Earth may indeed have a chance if for some reason Majin Buu is released."

"Sure thing Shin," Gohan says as he fastens the bandanna on, "lets go." He puts on the sunglasses and follows Shin out to the ring.

"Shin, as you know, is a rookie to the tournament, as is all of our semi-finalists except for Goku," the announcer says as they walk to the ring, "Majunior forfeited their match in the first round and he defeated Yamu in the Quarter Finals. The Great Saiyaman defeated Mighty Mask a la ring out in the first round and he defeated that villain Spopovitch in the Quarter Finals. Now they face each other in the Semi Finals."

Shin and Gohan square off in the middle of the ring. The gong sounds and they dash at each other, their fists colliding in the center of the ring.

They enter into a flurry of punches, kicks, and blocks, neither fight giving in to the other or letting up. Where one of them would punch, that punch either missed its mark, was met by another fist, or met a forearm.

Finally the two take to the air, neither one letting up. Gohan unleashes a small ki blast at Shin, who knocks it away and fires a ki blast of his own. Gohan takes the blast full in the chest, but springs back and punches Shin down to the ring floor.

`How can that be?' Shin thinks to himself, `he shrugged off one of my stronger attacks like it was nothing. Maybe he is stronger than I am.'

Gohan flies down at Shin and fires a Masenko at him. Shin back flips out of the attacks way but it blown into the air by the small explosion. Gohan moves quickly and punches Shin in the gut, followed by grabbing Shin's ankles and spinning around.

Up in the stands, Erasa and Sharpner watch the match in awe.

"How can Saiyaman beat Spopovitch when Videl could barely handle him?" Sharpner demands, "there's no way he can be stronger than Videl? And how can he fly?"

"I don't know, but this is cool!" Erasa says, "Saiyaman is a much better fight than I thought."

"He is at that," Sharpner says, "but he's still not gonna win."

But it did indeed look like Gohan was gonna win. He seemed to be everywhere at once. Shin would head one way, but Gohan was there to meet him, punches flying.

Shin aims his hands at Gohan, fists opened with the palms out.

"Hyah!" he cries out, and a wave of pure invisible force collides with Gohan and sends him flying out of control.

"Now that was a good attack," Jesse muses, "pure unblockable force. Practically impossible to block since its not really a ki attack. Its not really much of anything except force."

"How hard is it to come up with an attack like that?" Videl asks.

"I wouldn't really know," Jesse says, "I can create a focused gust of wind, but that's not exactly pure force. Ask Shin when the match is over."

"Has Gohan lost?" Pegaro asks.

"Doubtful," Jesse says, "he's very strong, even without going Super Saiyan. It'll take more than an attack of pure force to stop him. Plus, such an attack is a diversionary tactic. Ah, there it is."

Videl and Pegaro turn their attention back to the match in time to see Shin perform a double axe handle into Gohan's back, sending him careening towards the ground. But Gohan stops himself just in time and fires a quick Kamehameha at Shin. The blast hits him dead on and knocks him back.

Gohan uses his speed to cover the distance between him and Shin and kicks him in the chin with a flying kick. Kabito looks on in shock. How could people of the mortal world possess such strength? Even the Saiyans shouldn't be this strong. And yet this half-Saiyan, half-human was going toe-to-toe with the Supreme Kai. It was inconceivable!

Shin counters Gohan's kick by focusing his vast psychic power into a translucent sphere. The sphere connects with Gohan, but it keeps growing. When it reaches to the point where it is as tall as Gohan, is explodes, sending Gohan flying.

"Incredible," Jesse breathes, "Shin's psychic powers are well above what I expected. I've spent the last six thousand years focusing what little psychic power I have into a formidable ability, and my power pales in comparison to his. Not unexpected though. He is the Supreme Kai, after all."

"Are you watching this match closely, Jesse?" Goku asks, "you might be fighting one of them in the Finals."

"Are you kidding?!" Jesse exclaims, "unless you forfeit or I get very lucky, you'll clobber me with ease. I was strong against Eighteen because she was motivated by greed and that is an evil emotion. Thus my abilities were more effective on her than they normally would be. Sheer experience brought me through my match with Pegaro. You're the most pure hearted person I have ever seen, so my attacks will only have their normal strength against you. I seriously doubt you'd forfeit. You're Saiyan pride would keep you from doing that."

"I forfeited against Cell," Goku says simply.

"You knew you couldn't win, but you knew someone who could," Jesse counters, "it was a simple matter of survival. Gohan did admirably and actually was stronger than you without ascending, but he didn't want to fight. If you hadn't given Cell that senzu bean, Gohan actually could have won without ascending, though things would have turned out very differently. His fighting experience wouldn't have gotten him far since he was, and is, fairly inexperienced. But, if he had in turn forfeited, then Vegeta or Trunks could have defeated Cell. Probably Trunks since Cell had no clue to his fighting style."

"Man, you really do know all that has happened," Krillin remarks.

"Well, I had to keep track of the important events of the times," Jesse replies, "I knew all of you would still be alive when I got out of Limbo and I had to keep track of possible allies. Can't believe that I considered Master Roshi for 50 years, especially after he drank from the Fountain of Youth and mastered the Kamehameha Wave."

Krillin nearly chokes. "You considered master Roshi as an ally?!"

Jesse grins grimly. "Well, for the longest time he was the strongest person on Earth. He was about the only person who had a righteous heart, kinda, who could manipulate ki."

"What about Jackie Chun?" Goku asks, "he was able to blow up the moon."

Jesse stares at Goku. "Man, you are dense. Jackie Chun was Master Roshi in disguise."

"What?!" Krillin and Goku yell.

"You'll have to ask him his reasons," Jesse says, "because I could simply tell what was going on vaguely. I couldn't read thoughts. But their ki signatures were the same, so it is quite likely they were the same person."

"Why would Master Roshi disguise himself just to fight in the tournament?" Goku asks Krillin.

"I'd rather not try to think like Master Roshi," Krillin says with a hurt expression on his face, "would you?"

Videl looks at Goku and Krillin curiously, then turns to Piccolo. "Why wouldn't they want to think like the man who taught them? He's one of the greatest martial artists of all time!"

"He's a pervert of the worst kind," Krillin says, "trust me, I know. I've lived with him for the past ten years and off and on before that since he trained me."

"It's sad to think he was once considered the strongest person on this planet," Vegeta snorts.

"He's still one of the strongest," Krillin says, "he's not as strong as the rest of us, but he is still quite strong. Especially considering his age."

"He is quite old," Jesse agrees, "around three centuries, I believe."

"You know, he'd be mad if he knew we were talking about his age like this," Krillin chuckles.

"He's a dirty old man," Eighteen says, "he's always trying to catch a glimpse of me in the shower."

"WHAT?!" Krillin yells, "I'll kill him if I didn't think he could find a way to take advantage of that."

"Well, because of all he has done he would get into Heaven like I did," Goku says, "I asked the Grand Kai himself. He said Master Roshi would get to train on his planet like I did, and like probably everyone here probably will. I'll bet the same could be said for you Jesse."

"Actually, I'm doomed to being a guard in the HFIL," Jesse replies, "I could eventually work my way into Heaven and maybe even the Grand Kai's planet, but it'd take me thousands of years."

"I'm sure if you help us here, Shin will put in a good word for you," Krillin says. Kabito looks appalled at the suggestion.

"He wouldn't do that," Jesse replies, "he can't interfere. He might be able to lessen the number of years I'd have to work as a guard, but not get me to the planet itself. Am I right Kabito?" Kabito nods his head in the affirmative.

"How do you know all this Jesse?" Goku asks, "not many know what fate Otherworld has in store for them."

"I'm good at evaluating my life," Jesse replies, "I know I haven't done enough good or lived a good enough life to get me the good afterlife, but I might get in on a secondary judgment."

"What kind of techniques did you learn from those trapped in Limbo?" Kabito asks, "its very important if Dabura is allied with Babidi."

"I learned techniques from a few people who knew some of the Kaioh-Ken techniques," Jesse says, "even though Goku is the only master of them. By studying your fighting style, Goku, I was able to partially learn some of the techniques you learned from North Kai. Though I can only do them imperfectly at best and I nearly killed myself trying to learn the Kaioh-Ken attack. I tried to perform it. Apparently my body can only barely handle the basic attack, and afterwards it is in the condition that your was after going times four."

"That's pretty bad," Goku says.

"Looks like Gohan is back on the offensive," Vegeta says.

Indeed, Gohan was back on the offensive. One of Shin's attack had cracked the sunglasses so Gohan had removed them and thrown them away. The two fighters were in a ki blast struggle. Gohan was using his Masenko against a powerful ki blast of Shin's. Shin's purplish energy was struggling against Gohan's golden-yellow energy.

"Wow, these fighters are incredible!" the announcer declares, "I haven't seen a match like this, well, not since the Junior Division Finals! But before that, I hadn't seen a match like this since Goku fought Majunior in the Finals of a previous Tenkaichi Budoukai."

The crowd watched in awe as the two fighters continued to pour energy into their blasts.

"They can't keep this up forever," Jesse muses, "Shin is giving it his all in that attack and so is Gohan. They're equal."

"Gohan isn't using his strongest attack," Krillin says, "the Kamehameha is stronger than his Masenko."

"Still, I doubt he could get much of a better assault than this," Jesse says.

"Maybe, maybe not," Piccolo says, "but the fact is Gohan is going toe-to-toe with the man in charge of overlooking and protecting the entire universe and he's not even using his maximum power."

"If he went Super Saiyan, he'd top Shin easily," Pegaro says, "but he doesn't want people thinking he's a freak."

Out in the crowd, Chichi is going absolutely wild.

"Yeah son, get him!" she yells, "you beat that purple-skinned freak and win me that prize money!" Everyone in the crowd around her were slowly inching away from her. Even Roshi, Yamcha, Bulma, and Marron were moving away. Ox-king was trying to get her back under control.

"Now Chichi, calm down," he pleads, "don't worry. He'll win. He made it to the Semi-finals, so he'll get third place at least. And they pay for third place as well as fourth if for some reason he gets fourth."

"My son and husband will both take home first and second place dad," Chichi says defiantly, "they're gonna win!"

"I don't know," Master Roshi says, "this guy your son is fighting is quite strong. They are dead even right now and Gohan said he wouldn't go Super Saiyan because he didn't want people to know his secret."

"Even so, he's gonna win," Chichi yells at Roshi, "make no mistake about it, he's gonna win!"

Gohan was struggling to maintain his Masenko. He hadn't really trained since his dad had died and now it was hurting him in this match. True, he had trained a bit with Goten before the tournament, but Goten wasn't quite up to his level. In fact, Goten had to become a Super Saiyan to be a challenge. And then Gohan would get overwhelmed so he would transform and then they were back to where they were before: Gohan being outrageously stronger and Goten getting pummeled. And Goten couldn't really work high-level ki blasts just yet. He could barely do the Kamehameha and even then it was imperfect.

And the Supreme Kai was no slouch. He was matching Gohan power for power and he still might not be using his full strength. Finally, it looks like Shin's blast was overtaking Gohan's Masenko. It was pushing Gohan back so much he was now in danger of a ring out.

Imagining what his mother would say if he lost to someone other than another Z Warrior, Gohan struggles to put more power into his blast. But it doesn't work. He pushes Shin's blast back a little, but is then pushed back even faster.

Finally, Gohan decides that he may as well turn up the heat. He had already revealed that Saiyaman and the Gold Fighter were one and the same, so why not transform? Only three people at school knew he was the Great Saiyaman and they knew about him being a Saiyan. In fact, one of them was a Saiyan! He transforms into the basic Super Saiyan form. The burst of new power shoves his Masenko all the way into Shin and knocks him back. But the process of transforming blows his bandanna off once again.

Shin looks at Gohan in amazement. They were dead even when Gohan was at his normal strength and now that he had transformed, Gohan was a lot stronger. Shaking his head and knowing the futility of fighting further, Shin floats down back to the ring.

"I don't stand a chance now," he says after he catches his breath, "I forfeit the match."

The announcer was shocked, but he quickly regains his composure. "Wow, what an incredible turn of developments! Shin and the Great Saiyaman go through a grueling match but now Shin has forfeited! The Great Saiyaman goes to the Finals!"

"Yeah, that's my boy!" Chichi yells while she has Yamcha in a headlock.

"Uh, Chichi," Yamcha manages to say, "ya mind letting go? I can't breathe."

"The Supreme Kai gave up?" Jesse says, stunned, "now I think I've seen everything."

"Whats more is that they were equal before Gohan transformed," Goku says, "and Gohan still didn't go all out. He still could have ascended to the next level. This means that Vegeta and myself are about as strong as the Supreme Kai without transforming into Super Saiyans." Piccolo was shell-shocked.

Gohan flies to the arena floor and lands beside Shin. He powers down. "Why'd ya give up?"

Shin smiles, "We were completely equal before you transformed. Once you transformed into a Super Saiyan, your power far surpassed mine. I stood no chance. Why fight in a competition like this when there is no chance of winning?"

"It was still possible for you to win," Gohan says, "you could have gotten a ring out."

Out in the stands, Sharpner was looking through the binoculars at the Great Saiyaman.

"He looks familiar," he mutters, "for some reason he looks familiar."

Then Gohan turns his head to look at the announcer, making his face completely in Sharpner's view.

"I don't believe it!" Sharpner yells, "it just can't be!"

"What is it Sharpner?" Erasa asks.

"Take a look at Saiyaman's face," Sharpner says, handing the binoculars to Erasa.

"It's Gohan!" Erasa squeals when she looks through the binoculars.

"Gohan?" the nerd with them asks, "it can't be. He's the most unlikely person to fight in this tournament."

"He did say that he knew some martial arts," Erasa says, "and his dad is a former World Champion."

"Yeah, but how can he fly?" Sharpner asks, "and how can he perform that light show?"

"I dunno," Erasa says, "think we should let him know we know who he is?"

"Let's wait till the Finals," the nerd says, "otherwise he may decide to leave."

"No, lets let him know now," Sharpner says, "that way we'll know for sure if its him or just someone who happens to look like him."

"Okay," Erasa and the nerd say in unison. All three of them take deeps breaths.

"GO GOHAN!" Erasa yells.

"GO AND WIN THE TOURNAMENT GOHAN!" the nerd yells.

"YAY GOHAN!" Sharpner yells, then thinks to himself, `I can't believe I just said that.'

Gohan hears their yells. He turns to face the direction of the yells and blanches when he sees who is yelling. He realizes that his face is not covered at all and anyone could see who he was. Or at least his face. He sighs and slumps his shoulders. He waves politely in the direction of Sharpner and the others, then bolts to the back.

Sharpner slumps in his seat. "It IS him. How can that be? He's a nerd and a wimp."

"Well, Sharpner," Erasa says, "he's obviously not a wimp. He's going to the finals of the Tenkaichi Budoukai. Jesse could be going to the Finals. Too bad Zarvon lost."

"Wait, isn't Jesse's opponent named Goku?" the nerd asks.

"Hey, do you think that could be Gohan's dad?" Erasa says, getting excited.

"It is possible," the nerd says, "I have seen pictures of the legendary Son Goku and that guy looks a lot like him. So its probably him. And remember, Gohan did say that his dad was competing."

"So that's Gohan's dad?" Sharpner mutters, "hey, maybe they'll face each other in the Finals."

"It is possible," the nerd says, "it'll quite likely be the first father/son match in the history of the Tenkaichi Budoukai. People were thinking history would be made today with the first father/daughter match which would be between Videl and Hercule, but they both lost in the first round."

"I can't believe Pegaro defeated Hercule," Sharpner says, "that guy is scrawny.

"He went toe to toe with Videl the first day of class, remember?" Erasa says.

"But he lost to Jesse," Sharpner says, "but I think it's gonna be Goku versus Gohan in the final match."

"Well, lets watch and see," Erasa says, "now give me the binoculars."

"Hey Gohan, whats wrong?" Videl asks when Gohan reaches the back area.

"Erasa and Sharpner know I'm Saiyaman now," Gohan says.

"Wow," Pegaro says, "you gonna drop out of school to avoid them?"

Gohan shakes his head. "No, I think I could live with it as long as I can get people to leave my family alone. That's the only reason I ever disguised my identity. To keep the news crews away from us. We would hate the spotlight."

"Well, if they hound you for winning the tournament, you know who to thank for putting the winner of the Tenkaichi Budoukai in the spotlight," Krillin says with a look at Videl.

"Hey, just because my dad lets his ego run away with him is no reason to give me a look like that!" Videl yells in Krillin's face.

"Yikes!" Krillin says, backing up and putting his hands in front of him in a symbol of peace, "man, I'd rather be yelled at by Chichi."

This makes Gohan chuckle. Goku smiles. "You knows, she does kinda remind me of Chichi when she was that age," Goku says, "only she's stronger and knows how to use her ki. Still, if they ever fought it would be a close match."

"They're evenly matched in a verbal spar," Gohan says, "though I'm glad I've rarely had Videl mad at me."

"I can think of a few times I've been very mad at you," Videl says.

"I can definitely think of one," Gohan mutters, "when I told you you might wanna consider cutting your hair so it wouldn't get in the way of a match." He shuts his mouth immediately when he says that. He glances at Videl. She is fuming. He takes this opportunity to run.

"SON GOHAN, YOU COME BACK HERE!" Videl yells and takes off after him.

"I don't care what Gohan says," Krillin snickers as he watches Videl give chase, "I still think he likes her and probably wants her as a girlfriend."

"I'd say she feels the same way," Eighteen muses.

"The only problem with that is that Gohan is too naïve to notice if she ever started flirting with him," Zarvon chuckles.

"And Videl is too much of a tomboy to flirt," Jesse laughs, "if she ever tells him she likes him, it'll be when its past the `like' stage and into the `love' stage. Chances are he'll feel the same by then."

"That'll be a sight," Pegaro chuckles, "hey, maybe we should try and get those two together when this is all over."

"Count me out if you try," Jesse says, "I have no intention of playing matchmaker for anyone. Especially someone who could turn me inside out with one hand tied behind their back. And I'm not talking about Gohan."

"Where did Gohan go?" Shin asks as he walks up.

"He got Videl mad at him and right now he's running from her," Krillin snickers, "I just hope he either manages to lose her or calm her down before the Finals."

"What did he say to make her mad?" Shin asks.

"They were talking about various things, then Gohan reminisced about when he told her she might wanna consider cutting her hair so it wouldn't get in the way of a match," Pegaro says, "she used to have to shoulder long pigtails. One on the left and one on the right."

Shin thinks about what Pegaro says for a moment. "I hope she either doesn't catch him or, if she does, she lets him live," he finally says. Jesse, Pegaro, Zarvon, and Goku burst out laughing. Krillin snickers.

"It is now time for the second Semi-final match," the announcer declares, "Goku versus Jesse! Will our fighters please come to the ring."

"Well, sir, its out time to have a match," Jesse says to Goku.

"You're six thousand years my senior," Goku replies, "I'm supposed to call you sir."

"I'd rather you not," Jesse says bluntly, "I don't like feeling old. And being called sir would definitely make me feel old."

"Will our fighters please come to the ring please," the announcer repeats, "it is time for your match."

Goku walks out to the ring followed by Jesse.

"I'm glad you didn't take a nap like the first tournament you competed in Goku," the announcer says with a chuckle.

"No, we were just talking," Goku replies sheepishly. Jesse and Goku square off in the middle of the ring.

"Shall we go all out or give the fans a good show that they can actually see?" Jesse asks.

"Lets give them a show," Goku replies, "besides, I want to have fun. I only get one day back and most of the other fighters in Otherworld are way too serious. That or they are very strange."

The gong sounds, signaling the start of the match.

Goku launches himself at Jesse. "Ja ken rock!" he yells, punching at Jesse. Jesse is taken off guard by this attack and is knocked back some distance. He slowly picks himself up and wipes away a bit of blood from a split lip.

"Nice move," Jesse replies, "the Ja Ken technique? I'm afraid I'm only slightly familiar with it."

"It was developed by my grandfather, the man who raised me," Goku replies, crouching into his fighting stance.

"My complements to him for developing such an interesting technique," Jesse says, "though it'll take more than that to defeat me."

"We shall see," Goku says, then launches himself at Jesse again. He chops at Jesse's head. "Ja Ken paper!" He follows it with a double-fingered jab to the chest. "Ja Ken scissors!"

Jesse blocks the chop and the jab. "Paper rock scissors?" he chuckles smugly, "when I was a boy, that was nothing more than a simple game. It won't work on me now."

"We'll see," Goku says, "Ja Ken rock!" But instead of a punch, he chops and catches Jesse unawares. He had obviously been expecting a punch of some kind.

Jesse hits the ground hard, but he quickly flips to his feet and performs a few backflips away from Goku. He rubs his shoulder where the chop had hit.

"Saying rock but attacking with paper?" Jesse chuckles, "very interesting. I'll have to be completely on guard from now on. It seems I can no longer trust you as far as this match goes." He launches himself at Goku, sending out a flurry of punches and a kick to the midsection. Goku blocks the punches but the air is taken out of his lungs by the kick.

Seizing the opportunity, Jesse backflips, his feet connecting with Goku's jaw and sending him flying into the air.

Goku goes upwards for a few moments, then gathers his wits together and stops midair. He fires a low level ki blast at Jesse, who grabs the blast, spins around and lobs it back up at Goku. Goku narrowly misses being hit by his own ki blast. But after looking down at Jesse, who is wringing the hand that had grabbed the blast, it is apparent that it still hurt.

`He probably won't be using that hand for a little bit,' Goku thinks to himself, `nows my chance.' He powers up and dives for Jesse. When he reaches his opponent, they enter into a flurry of punches and kicks. And sure enough, Jesse was fighting one handed. He wasn't using the hand that had grabbed the ki blast. And because of this, every other punch was connecting.

"You've got some good moves," Goku says as he continues the onslaught, "your fighting style is somehow familiar."

"I was trained by a warrior named Olibu," Jesse manages to reply.

Goku breaks off the attack and jumps back in surprise.

"Olibu?" he asks, "is he about half again as tall as I am, thickly muscled, blonde hair, and has a just plain heroic look and voice?"

"Ah, so I see you've met him," Jesse says as he wrings his hurting hand, "tell me, is he doing okay?"

"He is doing fine," Goku says, "he's the second strongest person from all the northern quadrant."

"I take it you're the strongest," Jesse says, amused.

"I still have to go Super Saiyan to beat him," Goku says.

"Well, you won't have to do that to beat me," Jesse says, crouching, "believe me, I'm nowhere near as strong as he is." With that, he launches himself up into the air.

"Blaze Ball!" he yells, focusing yellow-gold flaming ki, not at all unlike the ki that accompanied Goku's first transformation into a Super Saiyan Jesse makes a motion with his hand and sends the attack flying at Goku.

Goku dodges the energy ball, but it stops in midair behind him and reverses direction, hitting him in the back. The eruption of pure ki energy rips through Goku's body, encircles him, and flashes blindingly.

"Absolutely incredible," Krillin mutters, "I've never seen an attack like that."

"Neither have I Krillin," Shin says, "it is quite formidable. Jesse has the advantage of experience and techniques over Goku, but Goku has superior speed, strength, and a natural fighting ability like all Saiyans. This will be an interesting match."

"Kakarott will win," Vegeta mutters, "he won't even have to go Super Saiyan. The kid is good, I'll admit that, but he doesn't stand a chance."

Meanwhile, Gohan was still on the run from Videl.

"GOHAN, YOU GET BACK HERE!" Videl screeches.

"I'm sorry Videl!" Gohan yells behind him, "I didn't mean anything insulting about it!"

Gohan hears the roar of the crowd as they cheer Goku and Jesse on in their fight.

"I'm missing dad fight," he mutters angrily, "wait a minute! Videl can't sense ki yet. And she's not very fast when it comes to flying, so." Gohan powers up to Super Saiyan and takes off. He is out of sight before Videl can react.

"Why that no good," Videl begins and then launches into a series of words a young lady shouldn't know.

Gohan, on the other hand, was congratulating himself on how cleverly he escaped Videl. He powers down and goes up among the stands. He locates his mom, Bulma, his grandfather, Roshi, Marron, and Yamcha by zeroing in on Yamcha's ki.

"Hey guys," he says as he sits down.

"Gohan, what are you doing here?" Chichi demands, "you should be in the back, readying for your next match. You've got to win the prize money for us."

"I know mom, but right now I'm hiding from Videl," Gohan says.

"You mean your girlfriend?" Yamcha asks.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Gohan yells at Yamcha, "she's just a friend and I just insulted her by reminding her when I asked her to cut her hair because she would find flying easier if she didn't have long hair getting in the way."

"She's mad at you?" Chichi demands, "you had better go and find her before she decides she's not gonna marry you."

"Mom, we're not even dating!" Gohan protests, "she's just a friend and when she's angry she's scarier than you are with a frying pan, and she doesn't even need the frying pan."

"Yikes," Yamcha chuckles, "you Saiyans sure know how to pick strong-willed women."

"What was that?" Bulma demands.

"It's a complement Bulma," Yamcha says, "you and Chichi are very strong-willed. You don't take anything from Vegeta's bad attitude and Chichi knows how to handle strong guys like Goku and Gohan."

"So Gohan, what do you think of your father's match?" Master Roshi asks.

Gohan glances at the match. "I knew Jesse was strong, but I'm surprised he's able to go toe-to-toe with dad."

"I noticed you went Super Saiyan," Bulma says, "I thought you weren't gonna do that."

"I wasn't, but how else was I supposed to defeat the Supreme Kai?" Gohan asks.

"Th-the Supreme Kai!" Yamcha and Master Roshi gasp.

"Who's that?" Bulma and Chichi ask.

"Well, when Goku first died, he went to King Kai to train for the arrival of Vegeta and Raditz," Yamcha begins, "he watches over our entire area of space. There are three other Kai's that look over another fourth of space. There is another Kai, the Grand Kai, who watches over the major stuff over the entire galaxy. I didn't even know there was a Supreme Kai."

"He watches over rare circumstances," Gohan explains, "a wizard named Babidi has come to Earth to release a monster named Majin Buu. Jesse says a Demon called Dabura is helping him and that he is as strong as, if not stronger, than I am."

"Stronger than you?" Yamcha yelps, "that's incredible."

"I'm not even a comparison to Majin Buu," Gohan says sullenly, "no one is. And Dabura plans to merge with him the moment he is released, thus multiplying his power to practically limitless bounds."

"So you've got to stop him from releasing Buu?" Roshi asks.

"Yep," Gohan says, "Yamu and Spopovitch were supposed to gather energy here at the tournament, but you saw what happened to them. Jesse says he knows where Babidi's ship is and will take us there as soon as the tournament is over."

"Why not go ahead and go and get him now?" Yamcha asks.

"Because the tournament will strengthen our two strongest fighters, dad and myself," Gohan replies, "Kabito has the ability to heal people a lot like Dende. After we fight, Kabito will heal us and we'll be stronger than ever before. We would stand a much better chance after that."

"This Jesse looks like he is quite skilled," Roshi says.

"He goes to school with me," Gohan replies, "so did the guy dad fought in the Quarter Finals, Zarvon. It turns out that Zarvon is somehow a Saiyan."

"What?!" Bulma yelps. Yamcha and Roshi soon echo him.

"How is that possible?" Bulma demands.

"Bulma, you know how time is slowed in the event horizon of a black hole?" Gohan asks. Bulma nods. "Well, on his way to Earth decades ago before the Saiyans were enslaved by Frieza, Zarvon got caught in the gravity well of a black hole and got caught in the event horizon. Eventually the momentum he had carried him out, but nearly fifty years had passed. It turns out he was actually Nappa's father."

"Nappa?" Yamcha asks, "you mean that big dumb guy that was with Vegeta when he arrived?"

"The one and the same," Gohan replies.

"Wow, look at mister Goku and that guy who beat mommy go!" Marron says in excitement.

And indeed, Goku and Jesse had taken the battle to a new level. They were clasping hands, struggling in a battle of brute strength. And it was obvious that Jesse was being completely overwhelmed by Goku.

"He definitely doesn't seem to be as strong as Goku," Chichi remarks.

"He's not, and he knows it," Gohan replies, "but he plans on giving it his all so when dad is healed by Kabito he'll be stronger for it. As for himself, the experience of fighting one of the strongest warriors to ever live is an honor in his opinion. He wants to see how he measures up to dad. Strange though. He never said he was a real martial artist. He simply called himself a warrior."

"A warrior and a martial artist are not the same thing," Master Roshi says, "a martial artist fights with weapons only when he absolutely must. A warrior uses whatever is handy to defend himself and others when it is needed. Generally, it is better to have a warrior fighting at your side than a martial artist."

"Let's watch this match, shall we?" Yamcha says, "this is good and its hard enough to concentrate without you guys talking." And so they watch the match.

Jesse was matching Goku blow for blow, but for every blow he landed on Goku, Goku's was three times worse at least.

`He's very strong,' Jesse thinks to himself, `he is a true martial artist. And he has the heart of a warrior. Pure and noble, yet dedicated to protecting those unable to protect themselves. Yes, his destiny has been great and it would be greater still if he allowed his family to wish him back. I truly believe he has no limits when his heart is set to achieve them.'

He leaps back and makes a motion like a chop, but stops his hand when it is even with Goku. A beam of pure ki energy shoots from his fingers.

Goku knocks the ki blast away. He gets an idea. But he would have to wait until the right opportunity to try it.

And that opportunity presents itself right away. Jesse charges at Goku, with a ki blast in his left hand ready to be thrown with a punch. Goku uses the after-image technique and his speed to move right behind Jesse. But somehow Jesse senses this and spins around and ki blasts Goku right in the face at point blank range. The punch that immediately followed knocked Goku back a hundred feet.

Jesse takes this opening to make a few strange motions with his hands. He jabs downwards with both hands, then spreads his fingers wide. He then folds the ring and pinkie fingers inwards and pushes the index and middle fingers together and motions towards himself with the fingers. He then motions them outwards and closes them into fists. He then spreads his fingers up his hand so that the tips of his fingers were touching the joints on the palm of his hand. He then opens his hands flat and presses them flat together to his right side like the Kamehameha. He then floats up into the air He opens the palms slightly so that there was space between the palms of his hands. A sparkling ball of lightning shimmers in between his hands.

"Target Track!" he calls out, opening his middle fingers. A beam of intense white light emits from his hand the size of the space between his ring and index fingers and hits Goku in the chest.

"What the?!" Goku yelps when he realizes that the beam isn't an ordinary ki blast and isn't hurting him.

"Drain Cannon!" Jesse yells, opening his ring and index fingers so that his hand is like a cup, with the bowl of the cup being his pinkie and index fingers. The shimmering sphere erupts from his hands and travels along the beam of energy that had been released and was now larger, encompassing the size of the space between his pinkie and index fingers.

Goku realizes too late what the beam of light had been. The next thing he knows is the shimmering sphere hitting him in the chest. A brilliant explosion of pure light erupts the moment the sphere touches Goku. Goku yells in surprise, but he is trapped.

Jesse smiles. This would take Goku down closer to his level. It was his trump card: the Drain Cannon. Jesse still wasn't sure how it worked, but it did considerable damage to a person, draining most of their energy. Of course, for someone like Goku it would only take him down to Jesse's level. But only for his normal form. If Goku went Super Saiyan Jesse knew he wouldn't be able to hold up for long, no matter what tricks he used.

The light finally fades away to reveal Goku gasping for breath.

Up in the stands, Chichi was going crazy (A/N: I would make a comment here, but right now it feels as if someone with a frying pan is lurking nearby.).

"What did he do to Goku?" she screeches.

"I don't know, but suddenly dad's strength has dropped by half," Gohan says.

"Yeah, the drop was so fast its hard to believe," Yamcha says, "even when you first ascended you didn't do damage like that to Cell."

"I did worse, but if you take into account the strength of dad and Jesse, then you're right," Gohan says, "if I do end up facing Jesse in the Finals, at least I'll be warned about it."

"Did you see how long it took for him to prepare that attack?" Roshi asks, "he waited till he had Goku out of the way, or at least disposed of. It was surprise that ruled in that young man's favor for the rest of the attack."

"Yeah," Gohan says, "but forewarned is forearmed, right?"

"I'd like to know how he did that," Yamcha says, "if Jesse has been fighting at his full strength this entire time then how could he have been able to do that much damage to Goku?"

"I don't know," Gohan says, "but Jesse has years of fighting experience. It'll take a while to explain it all, but he has more fighting experience than all of us combined."

"Did you include me in that equation?" Roshi asks haughtily.

"I did," Gohan says, "between you, dad, Vegeta, and Piccolo you have quite a bit of fighting experience. But Jesse has more experience than all of us."

"I'd really like to here the story about that," Roshi comments.

"So would I," Yamcha says, "yikes, that had to hurt!"

Indeed, the punch that had just connected with Jesse's appeared to have done a lot of damage. That much was evident since Jesse had just formed a crater in the arena wall.

"And Jesse has landed outside of the ring!" the announcer declares, "Goku is going to the finals!"

"Well, I'd better be getting down there to see if Jesse is okay and to congratulate dad," Gohan says, "plus I have a bit of talking to do with the ref."

Well, what did you think of this chapter? I know I suck at writing fights, but at least I only have one more tournament fight to deal with. Next up, the Finals. Gohan versus Goku. Father versus son. The boy who saved the universe once against the man who has saved it several times.