by Jamie L. Word
"Intermission Time"
It was between rounds, and Koji had gone to his space ship to rest from the previous tournament action. Yuko had dragged Yoshio once again to the space ship landing zone to have words with Koji. Yuko looked very angry as she dragged her frightened brother along with her. As they walked towards the Nameccian space ship that Koji called his own, a couple of shady-looking characters stepped out from behind another space ship in front of them.
One of the two sinister-looking figures was an Arcosian, and he was rather slender and small compared to his companion. The Arcosian's friend was a tall, well-muscled male humanoid with deep red skin, jet black eyes, and two short horns sticking out of his head. This powerful looking warrior was bald with fangs, and he wore a long-sleeved dark blue tunic, long dark blue pants tucked into Saiyan armor boots, and the chest protector, shoulderpads, and waist padding flaps of Saiyan armor. Both newcomers wore scouters.
Yoshio looked concerned at the sight of these two newcomers, but Yuko just looked angry like she did before they intercepted them. The Arcosian and his powerful-looking ally stood confidently in the path of the two humans, and the demonic-looking one smiled sinisterly.
"Okay!" Yuko yelled at the two newcomers in a fit. "Just who are you jerks, and what do you want?"
"My name is Zheng," the Arcosian answered, his features masked by his 'sandman' style of attire. "I am an Arcosian. I am the right hand man to Xarlok, and he has plans for you, my pretty."
"My name is Kun," the scarey-looking guy growled in a gutteral voice. "I am also a servant to the great Xarlok."
"Your master has plans for me?" Yuko muttered in fear as she backed up a step away from the newcomers.
"I knew we should've stayed in the stands!" Yoshio muttered in fear as he swallowed hard and stepped in between his sister and the newcomers. "You guys aren't laying a hand on my sister, not as long as I have any say in the matter! Got it?"
"Just what I had hoped for!" the gutteral-voiced Kun exclaimed gleefully as he stepped forward, causing much intimidation.
"Leave the girl for me to capture," the Arcosian interjected as he stepped forward as well, causing the humans to become angry.
"I don't think we're gonna like this!" Yoshio muttered as he assumed a fighting stance in preparation for a fight.
"Come on, foolish human!" Kun snarled with a sinister smile on his lips. "I'll let you power up to your maximum strength and attack me! Let's go!"
Yoshio tensed up every muscle in his body and began a long, drawn-out yell! Seconds later, a glowing aura surrounded him, and Kun's scouter began registering Yoshio's rising power level! Yoshio's power-up lasted a bit more than thirty seconds, and then he was done! Kun still smiled sinisterly as Yoshio prepared to attack!
"Alright, you creep!" Yoshio said with steeled determination on his face. "You asked for it! Now you're gonna get it!"
Yoshio flew at Kun and tried to hit him with a flurry of punches and kicks, but the sinister Kun managed to block and evade every one of Yoshio's attacks! No matter how hard Yoshio tried, Kun easily defended against him!
Meanwhile, Zheng approached Yuko, prompting her to assume a fighting stance! Zheng stopped, put his hands on his hips, and laughed, causing Yuko to grimace in seething anger!
"I don't know what you think you're laughing at, moron!" Yuko shouted at the Arcosian. "I was trained to defend myself from scum like you!"
"Well, well!" Zheng replied tauntingly as he assumed a fighting stance at that declaration. "That I'll have to see!"
Yuko grimaced angrilly as she raised her energy for the fight, and a glowing aura surrounded her body, taking only six seconds to finish her power-up to maximum strength! Zheng's scouter registered her power level!
"Well!" Zheng replied enthusiastically as he prepared to power up for the fight. "I'm impressed! You're almost as strong as I am!"
Zheng powered up to his maximum, becoming enshrouded by a glowing aura as well! His power-up took only six seconds to complete as well!
"You're not that much stronger than I am!" Yuko fumed as she held her ground undauntedly before him.
Their fight began! It wasn't as intense as the fight between Yoshio and Kun, but it was a more evenly contested battle! Zheng found himself pushed hard to fight effectively against Yuko!
Yoshio broke away a distance from Kun and powered up a kamehameha attack! Kun laughed as he watched in amusement! Yoshio looked angry!
"Alright, you big lummox! I hope you like this!" Yoshio yelled at Kun before uttering the long, drawn-out cry. "Kamehameha!"
Yoshio launched the kamehameha blast at Kun, but the mighty fighter moved from the path of the attack with blinding quickness! Yoshio looked horrified as his blast flew off into the distance and exploded harmlessly in the sky! Kun smiled as he widened his stance and tensed every muscle in his body!
"Nice try, mortal!" Kun laughed tauntingly as he prepared to power up. "Now let me show you what true power is!"
Kun uttered a drawn-out yell, and he began to glow almost immediately! Seconds later, the sky began to darken slightly, the ground began to tremble slightly, and the wind began to howl! Yoshio was terrified as he sensed Kun's power increasing rapidly! Seconds later, small stones began to rise off the ground as the ground began to shake more strongly! After a few moments, Kun brought his power-up to an end, and the special effects subsided!
"I refuse to power up to full power for the likes of you, mortal!" Kun replied with a sinister smile on his face. "This will be sufficient power to defeat a weakling like you!"
Kun charged a powerful energy blast at the end of a single extended hand, causing Yoshio to tremble in fright! Kun fired the mighty power blast at Yoshio, but Yoshio managed to dodge the attack just barely!
Distracted by that event, Yuko looked back to see about her brother, and Zheng took advantage of her lapse in attention! The Arcosian hammered her in the back of the neck with a chop, knocking her unconscious! Zheng caught her limp form in his arms as she collapsed into unconsciousness, and then he flew away with her!
Yoshio screamed his sister's name out as he tried to pursue the Arcosian, but Kun's speed was too great, and the demonic-looking fiend quickly intercepted the outraged human and got between him and the fleeing Arcosian! Yoshio stopped and stared at Kun in fear, and Kun laughed!
"Not so fast, mortal!" Kun growled at Yoshio menacingly. "Our fight is not yet through! Besides, your sister is in Xarlok's hands now!"
Kun hammered Yoshio with a punch to his midsection, stunning him and doubling him over! Kun then drove him to his hands and knees with a vicious punch down into the back of Yoshio's head! Kun finished that sequence of attacks with a football-style punt to the face, knocking Yoshio across the landing zone and to the ground with a thud! Kun quickly made his way over to Yoshio, seeing him prone and on the verge of unconsciousness! Kun stood over Yoshio's prone form and began powering up another energy attack!
Suddenly, his scouter began picking up on another power signal behind him! Kun turned around to see Yuen standing a fair distance away, poised for battle! This sight startled Kun!
"You!" Kun shouted in partial disbelief and partial concern as he regarded the Kai who glared at him with grim resolve on his visage.
"Yes, demon!" Yuen replied with a stern tone of voice as he drew the fiend's full attention to himself. "I have come to put a stop to you!"
"The scouter indicates that you are sorely outclassed, Kai!" Kun mockingly retorted at Yuen.
"Your scouter is wrong, demon!" Yuen replied as he assumed a widened stance and tensed every muscle in his body. "I'm about to show you something! I'm about to show you that I'm much stronger than you are!"
"You're not serious!" Kun roared in amusement at the decree of the Kai, laughing like he'd heard the funniest joke ever told.
As Yuen began his power-up yell, he immediately began to glow! Seconds later, the sky began to darken slightly, the ground began to tremble slightly, and the wind began to howl slightly! Kun's scouter registered Yuen's building energy, causing the brutal warrior to show signs of concern! Seconds later, the ground began shaking more strongly, and small stones began rising from the ground! Moments later, Yuen completed his power-up, and the special effects thereof began to subside! Kun noted his scouter readings angrilly!
"This just isn't possible!" Kun snarled as he glared at Yuen menacingly. "There's no way you're that strong!"
"Try me!" Yuen challenged the demonic fighter with unwavering confidence, readying himself for battle.
"Flames of fury!" Kun yelled before exhaling a burst of flames from his mouth at the Kai, resembling a living flamethrower.
Yuen teleported behind Kun and released a potent blast of invisible mental force into the fiend from behind, knocking him forward to the ground! Kun leaped back to his feet and began unloading on Yuen with a flurry of punches to the face, badly bruising the Kai's features and splitting both his lip and nose! Kun then knocked Yuen to the ground with a thud, using a powerful kick to do it! Kun then stopped to laugh!
"This isn't going to be easy!" Yuen thought to himself as he got back to his feet and prepared to fight on. "My power far exceeds his, but his skills as a warrior far exceed my own! I am no match for a denizen from the Demon World in a straight-up fight! I have to catch him offguard!"
"You're no match for me, Kai!" Kun roared with gleeful arrogance. "You may have a high power level, but you're no warrior! Fight me if you wish! I will destroy you utterly, and then I will finish off the pathetic human!"
"He's right!" Yuen thought to himself as he looked over at Yoshio with concern. "I'm no warrior! I don't stand a chance in a fight! I need to get to the young human fighter and use my instant transmission technique to escape!"
Yuen used the technique to teleport to the fallen Yoshio's side, but Kun still did not seem concerned! Yuen lifted Yoshio's head up, getting the injured human's attention! Yoshio struggled to speak!
"Senzu beans ... in our ship! ... In a brown pouch!" Yoshio managed to mutter weakly. "Must get ... senzu beans!"
"I understand," Yuen replied softly to Yoshio. "I'll read your mind and take you there instantly. One moment, please."
"Hey!" Kun snarled in bewilderment and aggitation at the Kai's peculiar antics. "What are you up to?"
Kun charged up a powerful energy attack and fired it at Yuen and Yoshio! With his hand on Yoshio's head and two fingers of his other hand to his own forehead, the Kai Yuen caused both himself and Yoshio to disappear from the path of the energy attack, which exploded with great force in the spot where the two had been a split second before!
On Yoshio's space ship, Yuen and Yoshio reappear, with Yoshio lying prone on the floor badly hurt. Yuen quickly issued a warning to Yoshio.
"Suppress your power level!" Yuen quickly warned as he began his search for the senzu beans. "Kun mustn't find out where we are!"
Moments later, Yuen found the senzu beans, and he quickly took one out of the pouch and placed it in Yoshio's mouth. Yoshio chewed it up and swallowed it. In moments, he looked healed, and he rose up as if totally healed from the damage Kun had inflicted upon him.
"Hey, who are you?" Yoshio inquired as he rubbed his neck and looked upon the Kai who had rescued him.
"My name is Yuen," the Kai replied with a smile upon his face. "I am a Kai from the Other World."
"Well, first of all, I'd like to thank you for saving my bacon out there!" Yoshio declared as he extended his hand to Yuen.
"It was my pleasure, my friend," Yuen replied as he shook Yoshio's hand happily, accepting the token of appreciation.
"Next thing on the list is to ask you a question," Yoshio then said, getting serious. "Who were those guys, and just what in the world do they want with my sister Yuko?"
"The powerful fighter we battled is a denizen from the Demon World," Yuen answered his smile being replaced with a grim visage. "He is a demon named Kun. The other one, the one I saw in your mind as I read it, is an Arcosian by the name of Zheng. They work for a powerful Changeling named Xarlok, the very warrior who is fighting in this tournament. Kun is his most powerful henchman, and Zheng is his most trusted assistant. They are Xarlok's two most capable assistants overall.
As for what they want with your sister, that one might be a cinch to explain. Your sister is romantically linked with a certain Saiyan named Koji, and Xarlok is well aware of that romantic link. He is most certainly planning to use her against Koji when they fight in the final round."
"Wait a minute!" Yoshio muttered in disappointment. "You already know who's gonna fight in the finals? Don't tell me any more! You've just completely ruined the semi-finals for me!"
"Sorry," Yuen apologized as he tried to soothe the disappointed spirit of the human fighter. "Xarlok won't kill your sister until she has served her purpose. That means that she will be safe for a while. Now, we're going to have to make a plan to rescue her somehow from the clutches of one of the most powerful and diabolical warriors in all the universe!"
"Oh, man!" Yoshio replied as he swallowed hard in his nervousness. "That doesn't sound good! I guess I should root for Koji then!"
"If Koji cannot defeat Xarlok, then I don't know who can!" the concerned Kai stated, prompting Yoshio to become very concerned.