Spirit - Another Dragon Ball Fanfiction

Chapter 3: The First Correction Commences!

The preliminaries were over. Now it was time for the quarterfinals to begin. Yamcha hopped onto the fighting stage and determinedly stared down Jackie Chun (a.k.a Master Roshi in disguise). Jackie Chun stood, his arms folded behind his back. Yamcha narrowed his eyes, shifting his stance as he remembered how he had lost to Jackie Chun last time. I wasn't nearly strong enough last time. But today's gonna be different! 

Jackie studied Yamcha's movements. He took his own fighting stance as well. The sound of their feet stepping on the tile floor echoed through the silence. Yamcha moved his hand a little to the right. "You ready, old man?" Jackie Chun nodded. "Ready and waiting." Yamcha's eyes narrowed. "It's Wolf Fang Fist time." He positioned his hands to perform the move, then began to run. His feet thundered across the tiles, and then he leaped into the air, straight at Jackie, who raised his arms to block his face. 

Yamcha grinned, and once he got within a foot of his opponent, he positioned his hands as if firing a Kamehameha, reeled them back, then struck, throwing them forward. There was a blinding flash of light, and when it cleared, Yamcha was crouching on one knee behind Jackie, who was still blocking his face. Yamcha stood up straight, then glanced back at Jackie, who slowly lowered his arms and turned around. "That wasn't a bad attack." Yamcha smirked. "And... now!" Jackie's eyes widened, and suddenly he crumpled to his knees, breathing hard. But after a few moments, he stood back up. "Impressive. A delayed effect? That isn't a common strategy." Yamcha took his fighting stance again. "Maybe you've noticed, but I'm no average fighter." 

Jackie cupped his hands at his side. "Ka... me... ha... me..." Yamcha tensed, getting ready to move. Jackie threw his hands forward, and the Kamehameha launched towards Yamcha. "HAAA!" Yamcha leaped out of the way, and Jackie lowered his arms, eyes alert and watching. Yamcha began to literally run circles around an immobile Jackie, who simply followed Yamcha with his eyes. Eventually Yamcha appeared to vanish, and Jackie closed his eyes. Suddenly, he whirled around and raised his arm, grabbing Yamcha by the foot and attempting to hurl him out of the ring. "Yikes!" Yamcha shouted. He quickly landed on his hands, balanced, and then did a few backflips to get away from the edge of the fighting stage. Then, Yamcha turned to face Jackie, who was now going on the offensive. 

Jackie threw a punch, which Yamcha moved away from. Then he attacked with a fast kick, which Yamcha managed to parry. Eventually Yamcha got tired of playing defense and decided to start fighting back, and he began a fierce bout with Jackie. Eventually, Yamcha and Jackie both leaped backwards, with both of them panting hard. Jackie (Roshi) was beginning to get a little nervous. If I am to have Yamcha, Goku, and Krillin continue fighting, then I must defeat them in this tournament. But Yamcha has improved immensely... He sighed. "Very well, then." Yamcha stood up, confused. "Huh?" Jackie faced Yamcha and stood normally, his arms once again held behind his back. 

"You have proven to be a very skilled opponent. I suppose I must reveal my greatest attack, as nothing else will work on you. I must warn you, however, that this technique is very dangerous, and I have only had to use it once before: against young Goku's grandpa, Gohan." Yamcha raised an eyebrow in anticipation as he took a fighting stance. He's talking about the Thunder Shock Surprise. Then, his eyes widened. Wait... the Thunder Shock Surprise?! My body isn't as tough as it will be in the future! I don't know if I can handle that much electricity! Jackie Chun raised his hands, and lightning crackled between and around them. Yamcha took a deep breath and tried to ignore his fear. There's no turning back now. 

Jackie shouted, and the electricity shot towards Yamcha, who gulped and planted his feet. I can take it! I can do this! I can win! Yamcha stared at the electricity as it thundered up to him, eyeing it as if ready for anything. But he was not ready for the sheer scale of the pain. 

I want you to imagine something for a moment. Imagine that a crackling beam of lightning is coming towards you. You look at it as you would an unavoidable dodgeball- as if you know that you can't get away from it, so you'll take it and prove to yourself that you really are strong. 

Imagine the beam then hitting you, and your body feeling like it's on fire. Have you ever been given a little shock by an outlet? If you have been shocked that way, you know that for a little bit afterwards, the part of you that was shocked feels like it's been stabbed, then goes numb. Except the numbness never comes. All there is is that stabbing feeling. Now imagine that feeling not just affecting the shocked place, but your entire body. Over. And over. And over.

This is how I felt when the Thunder Shock Surprise hit me. It got me in the chest, and in an instant, I was on my knees, crying out as the stabbing pain began to spread through my whole body. My face, my arms, my torso, my legs- everywhere. And then, I went down further, almost kneeling, my fists slamming against the ground as I screamed. I started to surrender: "I... I..." when I clenched my teeth. No! Get up. Get up! Don't give in, no matter what! 

Now, I don't remember whether I decided if I was either crazy or really determined, because I began to get up. I stood on my knees, looking towards the bright blue sky, and I must've subconsciously used what tiny bits of energy I had left in me to dispel the pain. And with the pain gone, I stood up all the way and stared at Jackie, who really looked like he had just seen a ghost. I gave another yell, this time in a mix of effort and anger, and then I charged forward, punching Jackie and sending him flying out of the ring. He wasn't hurt badly in the least, just very surprised and sitting against a brick wall. I heard the announcer state "Yamcha wins!" before my body said I quit. I fell flat on my face, and then the world went black.