"Come on, baby! Move faster!" Krillin shouted as his pod carried him through one of the weirdest acid trips of all time. "Go! Go! Go!"
The instant the four rocket shuttles entered the tunnels and began snaking their way through them at high speed, the four contenders from the preliminaries were immediately thrown into a massive hallway of simulators and monitors. The projectors all around them bombarded the unsuspecting fighters with animations and CGI of all shapes and sizes. At first the competitors found themselves in a world reminiscent of the movie Tron, where a giant whale came out of an ocean of code and seemingly knocked Krillin's pod for a loop. But all of that changed seconds later when all four shuttles split up and blasted off towards different areas of the island.
Gohan's pod took a trip through a recreation of the solar system, moments before it went crashing through a series of digital barriers one after the other before ejecting him into a world of purple clouds and giant toys. The half-Saiyan laughed in delight as his car spiraled through the air, before crashing headlong into an enormous plush teddy bear with a missing eye. The impact slowed him right down, eventually spitting him back out and depositing the youngster on top of a collection of enormous balloons.
Doskoi's pod took him through a collection of nauseating twists and turns like a drill bit, his surroundings bursting all around him like fireworks. After passing through the computer simulation, his pod then leapt out of the cave and went skipping across a row of sand dunes like a stone. Moments later, his pod came to a screeching halt on a steep incline, dropping him off at the base of an enormous hill. Hearing the distinct sound of sand particles pelting against his window, the man shook his head of the insane rollercoaster ride before deciding to get himself out of his cramped seating arrangement.
Trunks's trip down the rabbit hole was a little bit tamer than the others. Flying through a kaleidoscope of brilliant patterns and colors, the lavender haired hybrid was able to enjoy the splendor of his animated universe, minutes before his pod shot out an enormous lake and over an immaculate field of forests and flowers. The young man was given an awesome ten second view of the sparkling scenery before his pod skidded across the water's surface and came to a gentle stop in the shallows.
Krillin's landing however was not so gentle. After his pod was flung out of the tunnel, it went bouncing from wall to wall like a ball in a pinball machine. When it struck a ledge, it crashed into a river of lava and started to sink. Once the craft was almost completely submerged, Krillin busted out of it with a cry of terror and his head on fire. Leaping onto the sweltering soil of the volcanic field he'd ended up in, the man hurriedly patted out his head and breathed a sigh of relief once his scalp had been extinguished.
"Woo… that was a close one…" the short fighter said.
XXX
Upon exiting his car, Trunks quickly leapt onto dry land and casually wandered over to a nearby stream. His legs pushing their way through the long grass, the man peered over the side to see a couple of fish swim through the gently flowing creek, followed closely by a dragonfly that landed on an overhanging reed.
Narrowing his eyes, the man looked up and took in his surroundings.
"Okay… battle zone, huh? Are we supposed to fight or have a picnic?" Trunks panned across the majestic landscape, taking note of the fields of flowers stretching out before him and the enormous spire he could see in the distance. It was there the adult demi-Saiyan figured he had to go next, but first had to traverse this place, locate his opponent for that stage of the competition and battle him in order to proceed. "Geez. What an odd tournament."
The flora was a nice touch, even though it was completely and utterly pointless.
XXX
Bounding through the hellish environment that was his battle zone, Krillin leapt around the many pillars and cliffs laid out in his path. Eventually finding a clearing with pools of lava bubbling away around him, the man then came to a sudden halt when he saw the silhouette of a figure appear behind a cloud of smoke. The sight and the emergence of the figure's presence had the short fighter brace himself and instinctively widen his stance.
"You must be my opponent!" Receiving no response at first, the monk smiled and, setting a casual pace, began to stroll forward. "My name is Krillin. Perhaps you've heard of me. I'm a great fighter-slash-hero from earth." Ah yes. Introductions. It'd been a while since he'd done one of these. As he ambled closer, the wall of fumes began to clear, and his would-be adversary started to emerge from the thick haze. "You'd do well to stay on your guard as I've already conquered the mighty Piccolo today. You might even say that I'm… on a… winning… strea-" The man then suddenly tapered off.
The moment he drew close enough to see his opponent, Krillin felt all the blood rush up to his face as well as to another part of his body. There, standing on top of a ledge, he saw a beautiful, blue-skinned young woman with a curvaceous figure, long, curly orange hair that fanned out around her and grew down her back, blue eyes, and pointy ears. She was also wearing a strange uniform consisting of a white vest, baggy pants with gold buckles, a gold pointy necklace, earrings, a blue, halter-style undershirt, black pull-on sleeves, a purple sash, and yellow and black boots.
While her outlandish and almost mercenary like appearance came as a big surprise to Krillin, there was another aspect about her that instantly had the Z-fighter's attention.
"You're a girl?! Space chicks are hot!" Okay, not the most eloquent thing to come out of his mouth, but certainly the most logical.
Had she been somebody else, a guy for example, the short fighter wouldn't have paid her that much mind. However, the fact that she was breathtakingly gorgeous and was throwing him a disarmingly beautiful smile, there was no way the poor man could ignore her.
Gulping when he saw her brush some hair out of her face, Krillin continued. "Now… don't tempt me with your beauty. I have a tournament to win!"
Giving a cute giggle, the girl closed her eyes, brought her hands out widely and crossed them over her face. The moment she did so, the Z-fighter suddenly sensed her ki skyrocket and her hair stand on end, like it was being propelled by a wind that just wasn't there. Then, without warning…
Krillin was seemingly struck down by an assault from all sides. A kick to the side of his head knocked the martial artist askew, followed immediately by a left cross that cocked his head around and a knee to the abdomen that lifted him several feet off the ground. Then, flicking her hair back playfully, the blue-skinned woman elbowed the fighter into the ground and kicked him across the clearing into a nearby mountain of rock.
The resulting impact nearly buried Krillin under a pile of stone and as soon as his body hit the floor, his attacker landed as well. Smiling victoriously, the woman powered down and her hair dropped to its previous position draped behind her back.
Attempting to pick himself up, the thoroughly beaten and bruised Krillin forced a smile, "I… think she likes me." Moments later, he fainted, his face planting the ash covered floor with a dull thud.