Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Beast and the Beauty ❯ The Preliminaries ( Chapter 7 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The Beast and the Beauty
Part Seven
By Maria Cline

Krillin gasped as he stared at all of the fighters around him. "Look at all these fighters!" He gulped when he noticed that one had an ax bigger than he was. "Oh man... and Lord Seru will... eat them... too."

"We just have to find a way to destroy Lord Seru's armor." Goku said as he looked around. "I wish Piccolo would give us more info about that armor."

"I don't trust that sorcerer." Vegeta scoffed, "After all he did to me... all those years of sleep..." He looked down. **All that time in that coffin, I can't forgive him for that...**

"I believe that Piccolo is telling the truth." Goku said as he stared up, "After all, why else would Piccolo be here? He would've continued his vengence the Saiyans but he didn't; that has to tell us something. Right now, we just have to get in that Tournament and fight that Seru head on! Lord Seru has to have some weakness..."

"I hope so, Goku... for all our sakes." Eighteen sighed as she felt the armor under her skin. The mystical armor she and her brother had been bonded with so many years ago had been a blessing and a curse. It made her and her brother invulnerable and super strong. Unfortunately, it also made them live longer than most people should. By theory, they could be immortal. And now, someone want to take her because of her armor.

"Come on, let's go and get to the preliminaries." Chi Chi said as she put her hand on Eighteen's shoulder. "Okay?"

"Okay..." Eighteen nodded.

"What are you talking about?" Tien asked as he, Choutsu, and Launch came forward.

"Where were you?" Chi Chi asked stunned. The three haven't been seen since last night and they were a little worried.

"We were hunting for Piccolo." Launch said as she held up her bow and arrow. "Lord Seru came to us in our dreams and offered me the power to control my transformations."

"We know, he did the same to us." Goku said, "Lord Seru is evil, he will take us."

"Are you sure?" Tien asked suspicously, "I mean, who told you that."

"Piccolo himself. Lord Seru can absorb others with his armor." Chi Chi explained, "He'll absorb Eighteen and who knows what else."

"And you trust Piccolo's word?!" Tien screamed, "I don't believe it!"

"It's true." Goku said, "You have to join us and help us destroy Lord Seru before it's too late."

"Look, believe it or not, but we worked for Lord Seru before and he had kept his word." Tien said as he rose his hand. "We heard some ugly rumors about him as well, but we trust him. He's not evil."

"He scares me." Eighteen said, "He looks at me like I'm a piece of meat. He wants to absorb me and then my brother."

"It won't happen." Tien insisted as he and his group left quickly.

"Oh boy..." Krillian muttered.

"He'll realize the truth. I just hope that he won't be absorbed by that armor." Goku said, "Now, let's go and get in the Tournament!"

*****

Bulma looked frantically around the grounds for any way into the fighting grounds without having to fight. Goku or Kakarot is there and she wanted answers. How did Kakarot become a beast? Why didn't he say anything before? And what did he see in Chi Chi that made him want to marry her?

Bulma saw an unguarded door leading to the fighters' arenas. "Perfect!" Bulma gushed as she looked around and crept in. "If anyone catches me, I'll just say I got lost." She went through the door and ran off to find her friends.

Unknown to her, a dark figure smirked. The woman wasn't strong but she radiated pure intelligence, something he liked in a candidate.

*****

The group looked at their numbers that they drew. They were drawing numbers to fight in the preliminary fights. It was Lord Seru's way of picking the figters to fight in the tournament.

"Well, looks like we won't have to fight each other...I hope." Krillian said as he looked at his paper.

"For now." Goku said as he looked at his paper. "Okay. So, we can go ahead and try to get in the Tournament and beat these fighters."

"Well..." Chi Chi blushed as she looked at Goku, "if we fight, we would have to make sure it's not a stalemate like when we train. Okay?"

"Sure." Goku agreed. He knew that both he and Chi Chi were warriors and neither would want to hold back in a Tournament because they were getting married. It would be an insult to Chi Chi's honor if he held anything back in this battle.

"When we make it to the tournament, I will fight Goku first." Vegeta said as he looked at his paper. "You seem like a worthy opponent to warm up with for Lord Seru." Vegeta smirked at Goku. He also could sense something deep within Goku that he couldn't explain. Maybe, when he faced Goku in battle, he could find out what it was.

"Now... we have to make sure that we all are in constant communication. We need someone to relay messages..." Goku muttered as he looked at the group. They were all going to be busy fighting in the preliminaries and vulnerable to Lord Seru if he attacks.

"Hey, guys!!!" Bulma gushed as she ran up.

At once, everyone gawked as the princess came up. How did Bulma get here? She wasn't a fighter like the rest of the warriors. "What are you doing here?" Vegeta demanded as he stomped up to his future wife. "You can barely defend yourself against these warriors!!!"

"I just want to watch." Bulma insisted as she glanced at Goku and smirked, "I'm may not be a Kame knight, but I can handle myself just fine."

"Like that Ginyu frog?" Vegeta asked as he smirked.

"That was just one time!" Bulma screamed.

"And when you flirted with Zarbon?"

"I didn't know he was gay!"

"And how about that shrimp that wanted to take over the world?"

"Oh please, I handled him just fine!"

"Hold it!!!" Chi Chi screamed interupting the little word spar between the two of the most egotistical people in the kingdoms. The two stopped and glared at her. Chi Chi sighed and turned to Bulma, "Bulma, can you help us by relaying messages between us?"

"I guess..." Bulma muttered, "But why do I have to play messanger? I'm a genius princess, not a errand girl."

"Because the rest of us are going to be fighting for our lives!" Vegeta boomed.

"Ooohhh right..." Bulma sighed. **Looks like I'm going to be doing some running.** She grimanced.

*****

Goku was doing his customary stretches for his preliminary fights. His heart pounded in anticipation of the coming fights. The odd thing about preliminary fights are that the fighters could be extremely weak or extremely strong. Hopefully, he will get through the rounds and fight in the Tournament to face Lord Seru, the Cell.

He grinned ferally as he went on top of the ring and stared at the opponent in front of him. He was a short fat human with a long sword. Goku growled as he went into fighting position.

"Whoa...he's huge." The human muttered, "But, that won't stop me, the mighty samurai, Yajarobie!" The samurai proclaimed as he rose his sword up.

"And I am Goku the Beast." Goku introduced himself, "Future Husband to Chi Chi, the Warrior Princess. Let's fight."

*****

Goku sighed as he bandaged his cut arm. Yajarobie had given a good fight but he was far too weak and slow. After he realized he will lose, he ran off of the ring and never looked back.

"Nice fight." Bulma complimented as she sat down.

"Thanks...any messages?" Goku asked as he sat down beside her preparing for the next match.

"Not really. I wanted to ask you something..." Bulma smirked at the beast. "Have you ever met a knight named 'Kakarot'?"

"Err... not really." Goku laughed as he looked up and said, "Oh! My match is coming up... gotta go!" He rushed off and Bulma shook her head.

"Typical... he's still a bad liar, even as a beast."

"You better stop asking questions, Miss, unless you want trouble." A dark figure boomed as Bulma looked behind her.

"Piccolo." Bulma shuddered as the sorcerer grabbed her and vanished.

*****

They reappeared in a deserted corner of the grounds. Bulma's pulse quickened as Piccolo let her go. "What's the deal?" Bulma demanded as she stared up at the Piccolo's face. "I swear, if you do anything to me Vegita and Kakarot will make you pay!"

Piccolo smirked and laughed, "Those two? Ha! I made their lives miserable and I was holding back!"

"And what did you do to Kakarot?" Bulma asked, "I know that Vegeta have done some...bad things but Kakarot..." Bulma sighed, "Kakarot is the sweetest and noble man I know. He's the last person who deserves to be turned into a beast."

Piccolo shrugged, "I was mad, okay? I wanted to punish all Saiyans and that's what I did."

"And now that you have your kicks, why not have Goku be turned back into Kakarot?" Bulma asked as she tapped her foot.

"I can't even if I wanted to." Piccolo explained, "The curse I placed on Kakarot can't be removed unless he melted a stone heart."

"A... stone heart?" Bulma repeated as she frowned. "Stone? Stone can't be melted?! He'll never be back to normal!" Bulma realized as she thought of Kakarot trapped in a body of a beast. Kakarot was a sweet kind hearted knight who arrives when she needed help. He was the last person in the world who would deserve being turned into a beast. "But, why didn't he tell me this before?"

"He can't tell anyone about the curse." Piccolo said, "I didn't want anyone else to know. After all, what's more painful than being cursed and not being able to tell anyone about it?"

"Poor Kakarot." Bulma muttered, "I have to tell Chi Chi about this! We have to find a way to get him back to normal!"

"You do that and you will erase any slim hope Goku has of being Kakarot again." Piccolo warned, "I could just let you go on with your demands... but... well... Goku did save my life and I owe him at least a chance of regaining his humanity."

"So... if I keep my mouth shut... Kakarot will be back to his human self?"

"Maybe... in fact he's on his way to humanity if he lives through this Tournament." Piccolo hinted as he smirked. "I'll get you back and here's a little reminder." He pointed to Bulma's shoes and the pair turned to glass.

"My shoes!" Bulma squeaked as she stared at her shoes. "They're glass!"

"Just a little reminder..." Piccolo said as he took Bulma again and vanished.

*****

Chi Chi wiped her mouth as she got off of the ring while the healers were taking care of a muscular guy by the name of 'Hercule'.

"Hey, Chi Chi!" Bulma gushed as she ran up with a strange clinking sound.

"Bulma!" Chi Chi said as she smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh... just checking up on your guys..." Bulma explained as she shrugged and walked up to her with a strange clink clink sound.

"What's that sound?" Chi Chi asked as she looked down at Bulma's feet to see a pair of beautiful glass slippers. "You're... wearing glass shoes?"

"Ahhh... it was on sale!" Bulma said as she showed off her shoes. "Not bad eh?"

Chi Chi sighed and said, "Okay... but those glass shoes look pretty frail. And don't they hurt?"

"No way! They're hot!" Bulma said as she sat down, "So... can I ask you a personal question?"

"Might as well... but why?" Chi Chi asked suspiciously.

"Well... I was thinking about Goku..." Bulma trailed off as she tried to think of the right thing to say. She didn't want to ruin Kakarot's chances of being human again but yet she was dying to know what would happen after Goku becomes Kakarot again.

"No, we didn't do it yet!" Chi Chi shouted as she turned red.

"No! Not _that_." Bulma giggled at Chi Chi's expression. "I mean...I was thinking... if Goku was a handsome guy, would you still like him?"

"If Goku was a handsome guy?" Chi Chi repeated as she looked away. The reason she asked him to marry her was because of his beastal appearence. She didn't want someone goodlooking enough to attract any other woman or herself. If Goku was a human, would she still be attracted to him? "Well... I don't know... I never dreampt of Goku being anything else but Goku... he did catch my attention as a beast but... he is very nice. I don't know... maybe. Why? Did you hear about the dream?"

"What dream?" Bulma asked confused.

"Lord Seru offered Goku to be human if he killed Piccolo and he refused." Chi Chi explained as she looked up.

**Typical Kakarot, always thinks of others before himself. Even if his humanity was at stake.** Bulma thought as she held her dress. "Thanks Chi Chi, good luck in the fight." Bulma ran off as her heart pounded. **Girl, you gotta tell Goku about what you think soon! I want to be at that wedding... Kakarot and Chi Chi... who woulda thought?**

*****

The Preliminaries passed by quickly as the warriors fought. Krillin gained more confidence as he won fight after fight. Everyone else had little difficulty winning their matches. The only one who was suffering any pain was Bulma.

"Stupid shoes!" Bulma sneered as she limped to the bench and rubbed her aching feet. If there was anything she learned today, other than the fact that Chi Chi's 'beast' was really the noble knight Kakarot, is that glass shoes are a pain to wear. She looked down to see that one of her slippers had slipped off. Now, she was wearing only one glass slipper. "I hate Piccolo." She growled and then realized something. "Wait a sec..." She got out her pouch of infinity and took out a pair of extra shoes. "Yes!" She giggled as she took off her remaining slipper and put on her shoes. "Ahhh..."

"Tired of the shoes?" Goku asked as he came up. "I'm all done with my matches. Boy, that was tiresome."

"Uh huh." Bulma sighed as she rubbed her feet. "It's worst for me than for you. Ouch..."

Goku glanced at the glass slipper and asked, "Where's the other slipper?"

"I lost it... somewhere." Bulma replied as she packed away the other shoe. "I don't care. I'm just glad to be wearing something else. How did it go?"

"I got in." Goku proudly replied, "Did you hear from the others yet?"

"Not yet." Bulma said as she stood up and winced. "Stupid shoes... how did Cindy handle wearing them at that ball?" She muttered. "So... Goku... have you seen Chi Chi yet?"

"Not really but I heard that she was doing great!" Goku exclaimed, "I can't wait to see how she do in the Tournament."

"Yeah... Chi Chi's one good fighter." Bulma sighed, "Goku... may I ask you something... it's about Chi Chi."

Goku blushed under his fur and said, "Awww... Bulma... we didn't do it yet!"

"Not that!" Bulma insisted as she giggled, "I mean... just that... do you really like Chi Chi?"

Goku nodded. "Of course I do... she's a wonderful fighter, beautiful, and she stands up for herself. Of course, she is a little defensive. But what's a rose without thorns?"

Bulma nodded. "I see... well... do you _love_ her?"

"Well..." Goku rubbed the back of his head.

"Hey, guys!" Krillin interupted as he came up. "I actually made it!!!"

Bulma scowled at the monk and muttered, "Way to go, chrome dome."

"Huh?" Krillin asked.

"Never mind. Okay, so Goku and Krillin got in..." Bulma caculated.

"And I did, naturally." Vegeta boasted as he, Chi Chi, and Bodyguard Eighteen walked up. He glanced at Bulma and reached into his pouch. "I believe you lost this." He said as he took out a glass slipper.

"My slipper." Bulma whispered as she accepted it. She took off one of her shoes and slipped it on. "It fits. Oh thank you, my warrior prince."

Vegita remained silent as he turned red slightly.

"We all made it." Eighteen said as the group gathered. "And so did Piccolo and Tien."

"Good... now there are supposed to be... um..." Goku counted on his paws and said, "Ten spots. There are five of us, not counting Bulma, Piccolo, and Tien. Okay, so that leaves only three spots not counting Lord Seru."

"I wonder who are the other two fighters?" Krillin wondered. "And how will we fight?"

"According to this, we'll find out once the Tournament starts." Goku said as he glanced at his brochure. "Bulma, you better stay to the side. There's no telling what could happen."

"Sure..." Bulma nodded confident in the beast formerly known as Kakarot.

The warriors nodded in unison as they went to the entrance to the main fighting grounds. "Do you think we can survive this one, Goku?" Krillin asked nervously.

"We have to... we have to win." Goku vowed as he clenched his fist.

To Be Continued