PART FIFTEEN: THE END OF THE FIRST DAY

Chapter 73

Translated by npberryhill

Ever since she had been very young, Pan had possessed a passion for fighting; a gene inherited from her Saiyan origins. At the tender age of four, she competed in her very first tournament. Subsequently, she wanted to participate in the next one as well, but her elders prevented her as, supposedly, she was much too strong. Nobody else in her family was even involved with it anymore. In fact, when they had participated in the tournament, just before the appearance of Babidi, it was only because her mother had insisted on seeing Gohan participate. Additionally, Son Goku had the opportunity to have a day on Earth, which had gotten everyone else interested. Ten years later, Goku competed again when he felt the presence of Uub. Goku’s participation in the tournament was followed by Vegeta and their sons Trunks and Goten. But since then, nothing. Pan knew that if no one who competed had a link with the Z fighters and the Saiyans themselves decided not to participate in tournaments during their senior years, she would win every time. She wanted a victory, to be a champion like both her grandfathers. But she also knew that it would mean nothing if all she had to compete against was the "human" normal.

Pan was limited to training and friendly matches against Uub; she didn’t bother to fight Goten or Trunks though, as both were quickly overwhelmed by the young disciple of Goku. When she was four and he was ten, Uub had greater physical strength than she did, perhaps even more than Goten or Trunks, but he did not have her skill or technique. In a match back then, who knows who would have won? But since then, Goku had taught Uub many things, and he had really progressed. Today, Uub had become stronger than even Piccolo, that was certain.

Initially, the multiverse tournament seemed like a great idea to advance, but she was quickly disillusioned. Though her first opponent was easy, the second already seemed impossible to beat. Her next fight would be against Kakarotto of U13, her grandfather from an alternative universe, a demonic version of the same person, a ruthless warrior who had a huge advantage over her: Super Saiyan. She wanted more than anything to get it soon, but in spite of her efforts she just hadn’t been able to attain it.

Pan left her parents, who continued discussing things with those of universe 9, and headed in a gleeful run towards the sixteenth. Bra was there, and the young girl really wanted to talk to her. But on the way, she accidentally came face to face with her next opponent. She jerked to a halt and slowly looked up at the towering figure. He stood straight; with his black armor with gold epaulettes, he looked like an unshakeable giant. However, the most striking features about him were his eyes: gems of icy contempt. His smile, nearly as bad, was that of a crazy, sadistic psychopath.

Impressed, but even more scared, Pan tried to remain friendly (perhaps to avoid being killed without understanding):

“Uh…hh…hi!”

Kakarotto froze in his statue-like pose, for what seemed like a very long time, before replying:

“I'm not your grandfather. Now get out of my sight, girl.”

Pan did not move for several seconds, too frightened to even move. One wrong word and he might kill her on the spot, and she was convinced he could too! She thought about her U16 counterpart, killed by Bojack, and those thoughts gave her the strength to react ... perhaps even survive.

Slowly, she took one step to the side, then a second, and continued until she was sure she was around Kakarotto. She almost felt like she was going crazy as she quickly ran behind him. But Kakarotto didn’t give her a second glance and simply went his way. As he continued, his gaze crossed with that of Son Gohan, who paused and stared right back.

Pan finally arrived at the space of U16, where she felt safe immediately: the presence of Bra, not to mention Vegetto, an invincible warrior, and of course her father from an alternate world, reassured her. She sighed in relief, smiling, then went to the daughter of Vegetto who noticed her coming right away.

In her own world, she and Bra were not great friends, but the universe 16 Bra had a different look that made her even more uncomfortable. She did not really know what it was but she tried not to think about it when she approached and started talking:

“I was wondering ... if you could tell me how I became a Super Saiyan in your universe?” Bra said nothing for two seconds, then replied:

“I should have known, you are much weaker.”

This sentence left a space of silence between the two girls. But, when in retrospect, Bra thought about her niece, now dead, she reconsidered:

“Very well, let’s sit down, I'll tell you.”

Pan smiled. If she could learn how her counterpart ascended, she was convinced she could do it too. Beating Kakarotto would no longer be impossible.

Buu was bored, walking around waiting for his meal to arrive. He had currently stopped and was congratulating Cell, sarcastically, on making his strongest junior yet. Obviously, he was laughing: all that effort for nothing, and in addition, a portion of Cell’s true power had been brought to light, at least those who noticed the deception.

Cell, seemingly unphased, was not talkative but rather suspicious. He knew that the Djinn was dangerous, and he seemed to have a power regeneration completely superior to his own.

The discussion wasn’t going anywhere, so Buu quickly left; next passing the area for U18 and receiving the salvation of the young Uub, then arriving at the space of universe 19. Buu stopped and looked at all the warriors in armor, each one glaring back intensely. Xeniloum was there too. He had regained consciousness and put on some light clothes, with his old armor over them; the set he had when they first arrived. He must have felt naked without protection. In his eyes, there was both resentment and fear. Without his "Ultra" armor, he clearly felt very weak.

Happy to be the object of their full attention, Buu decided to amuse himself for a moment, taunting his opponents:

“What’s wrong? Too afraid to leave your corner? Everyone else is out and about, meeting the other contestants and getting to know one another!”

“Leave us alone!” Naurb cried immediately.

“Oh, calm down! I'm here as a friend, unless you are plotting against me to recover your beautiful armor?”

Nobody said anything, as if they had all just been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Buu, “I don’t even blame you one bit. I'm very glad you all are so worried what I’ll do with your little suit.”

“Soon you won’t be laughing! It's still safe!” Xeniloum grunted, his fist raised forwards.

“Sure,” Buu chuckled. “In the meantime, you should join in all the fun. Don’t just stay in your cave.” With those words, the Djinn took the road to the unknown. Perhaps he might return to his assigned space, but who knows, maybe he would find someone to talk with about the good old days?

As he walked through the area of universe 1, Buu crossed paths with Trunks of universe 12. They looked at each other a few seconds without stopping. Neither knew the other. Perhaps the half-Saiyan would decide to talk with this warrior later, but for now, he wanted to go into space 2.

He noticed very quickly that his two counterparts of 16 and 18 were sweet-talking Mary Sue, accompanied of course by Son Goten. It was clear from their poor attempts to hit on her that each wanted to be the first to go out with this sublime creature from another world. Unfortunately, it was impossible: how could they expect Mary Sue choose between identical twin copies? Nowhere else but here would that problem ever even arise: but, a woman as pure and innocent as she was, sweet Mary Sue saw it all in through the lens of budding friendship.

Trunks looked away, much less interested than his two counterparts, to seek out the warriors with a sword. They were many, and it was interesting to talk about his style of fighting with people from different places.

They began by introducing themselves and talking about the first time they had fought someone with a sword. Quickly, the warrior of universe 3 named Tapion joined them. He introduced himself to the others and then began to tell his story. All the others followed the pace: Crono spoke of his own experiences, particularly regarding time travel, which led Trunks to do the same. As they listened, everyone realized that they were all great heroes in their respective worlds.

Their discussion continued on for a long while, but as they were all so engrossed, it seemed to them that it lasted only a few moments. All the stands were already empty, and a kind of platform space had grown inside of the space for universe 1. A Varga went up the steps and to the microphone, and then asked all participants and spectators to approach. Fifty participants and thirty spectators regrouped in front of the stage and waited for the announcements:

“For dinner, we will put the tables where you want; you can mingle between universes if you wish.” Everyone cheered at the announcement. Soon, at the center of the arena, both round tables and square, big and small, were pushed rapidly together. It was time for everyone to choose his place.

Overall, they didn’t mingle all that much. Several preferred to eat alone, such as Gast, Buu, the mother of I'k'l, Cell, and Baddack. Others, specifically groups 8, 9, 11, 13 and 19, preferred to stay in the bubble of their own universe. Bojack and Bujin took a table together, and the three girls of u6 chose the same; surprisingly, only for the discerning eye, they selected a table right next to the two pirates. Similarly, but for more obvious reasons, Yamcha insisted on taking the table closest to universe 14.

By mutual agreement, universe 16 and 18 joined to mingle together at one long table. Both Videls sat down next to each other, along with their husbands, both Son Gohans. Pan approached the two families and brought comfort to the ones who were in tears, particularly the Videl from universe 16.

At the end of the table were Goku and Vegeta, facing each other, each prepared to compete over a bit of food if necessary. Trunks and Android 16 of universe 12 also joined. 16 sat at the opposite end of the table from Goku, with Trunks taking a seat next to Goku and across from both of the Gohans. He was finally able to solve his dilemma from the lunch break, whether he should join universe 16 or universe 18 to talk about the past.

Beside Trunks sat Vegetto, and, further down, the last seat was filled by Uub. He would have preferred to be closer to his Bra, but whatever. Trunks and Goten of universes 16 and 18 clung to Mary Sue, trying to sit at the same table as she... but in vain. Bra forcefully intervened, exasperated by their embarrassing behavior. In a true Bulma moment, she jerked them down at another table, which neighbored the large table of universe 12, 16 and 18. Both Piccolos remained in their respective areas, standing idly by as they observed everyone.

When Goku noticed that Cell was doing the same, he cried:

“Hey, Cell! Don’t be a loner, come and eat with us!” Immediately, all his friends frowned at him, saying:

“That’s cruel!”

“What did I say?” he asked innocently. Cell didn’t even budge an inch.

Very quickly, the Vargas took the orders for each person. This time, to the relief of everyone in the kitchen, they had planned to prepare the right amount and distribution went without a hitch.

The meal lasted nearly two hours; everyone was talking and laughing, with the exception of a few sticklers watching silently on the sidelines. During the meal, one could observe the incessant failed attempts of Yamcha, trying to attract the attention of the cyborgs, who continued shooting their eyes elsewhere. One might also have noticed the three prudent girls from universe 6, listening carefully to Bojack and Bujin. There were many interesting sights to see. Once, Nappa wanted to eat a big piece of meat, but Kakarotto had apparently claimed it already. Being busy cutting another dish with cutlery, Kakarotto caught the bone in his teeth. Nappa pulled with all his strength, but in vain; he was never able to recover the choice piece. A similar problem had occurred at the table of Bra, Trunks and Goten. The two boys from u16 wanted a certain plate garnished with a delicious sauce, but Bra wouldn’t let them have it. Unable to get what they wanted separately, they had gone into hiding in their space, merged, and come back stronger. But it was in vain without turning Super Saiyan; Gotenks still couldn’t wrestle the sauce away from Bra, much to the amusement of the Trunks and Goten from universe 18. They didn’t know she was that strong! But this struggle for food was to be found in the very genetic makeup of all Saiyans. In typical fashion, Vegeta and Son Goku almost began a duel for one last piece of sushi. Finally, they cut the piece in half by accident.

At the end of the meal, the same Varga went to make another announcement at the top of the same platform:

“We'll dim the lights and go back to ‘night mode’. We wish a good rest to you all!”

At the announcement, dozens of people got up from their tables to go rest. A few others remained behind continuing to talk, or to plot, such as the universe 8:

“It seems they have several sets of Dragon Balls,” Freeza said. He sat on a stool, his arms crossed. Subtly, both Coola and his father turned their eyes to look at him.

“Tonight, they will all be in our possession,” the youngest frost demon said with a smile.