As everyone moved into position, Tien landed back onto his side of the field after his spectacular thirty feet jump and quickly turned towards second base. "Hey, Piccolo. That one should have been yours, man. It was right on top of you."
The Namekian, staring across at the bald fighter, grunted indignantly, "Yeah. I'll get it next time." He then turned to stare at home base.
When everyone looked to see who was next, they saw Chiaotzu slink into view. As if holding a comically large bat, the little mime-fighter nervously worked his way over to the right-handed position and took up a comfortable stance beside the plate.
Upon seeing the nervousness etched across his innocent face, the members of the Z-gang quickly began passing the little fighter their encouragement.
"Don't be scared, Chiaotzu!" Tien called to his friend from his spot. "Whatever it takes, just hit the ball!"
"You can do it!" the kind voice of Launch echoed in from the stadium seats.
Swallowing nervously under their words and praise, the little martial artist nodded, "O-Okay."
Giving his comrade of many years an intense smile, Yamcha quickly readied himself for a throw. Everyone held their breaths as they watched the man load up and, just as Trunks was slowly inching away from first base, the mercenary cocked back his arm and threw. The ball left his hand at an even greater speed than when he threw it at Trunks, obviously indicating how much trust he was putting behind each pitch.
Just like before, his execution and aim was superb. However, just as the ball was shooting towards Chiaotzu with the intent of blowing right past him and landing in Krillin's glove, the mime then did something completely unexpected.
His eyes suddenly glowing blue, the short human fighter gave a quick, psychic burst and stopped the ball dead in its tracks. When it froze in the air just a couple feet from him Chiaotzu quickly took aim, swung his bat, and smacked it straight into the sky. The white sphere went soaring, giving Trunks the cue to run and for the hitter to do the same. Chiaotzu levitated off the floor and shot towards first base as fast as he could.
The superhuman maneuver caught Yamcha completely by surprise as he turned and watched the ball shoot over left field like a missile. "Damn!"
All at once, Tien leapt into the air and intercepted the projectile before it could leave the field. As soon as he caught it, the man took aim and chucked it straight down to second towards Piccolo.
The Namekian was ready.
Running into the middle of the line the tall fighter caught it and spun around to catch Trunks, only for the quick little hybrid to shoot past him and dive for second base. The green warrior cursed and spun on the spot, chucking the ball towards Goten.
With his foot on the plate, the spiky haired boy caught the fast-moving object and turned, quickly tagging Chiaotzu before he could reach his goal. "Got yah," the boy chirped.
"Out," Android 16's voice called from beside the dugout.
Blinking a few times at the lightning fast game, Chi-Chi turned towards Android 18 and the others, "Hey. Chiaotzu stopped the ball in midflight. Is he allowed to do that?"
Bulma grinned, "Well… it's called 'Super Human Baseball' for a reason."
When Chiaotzu slowly made his way back to the dugout under a congratulatory applause from the audience, he met with Gohan making his way out, who quickly gave the shorter fighter an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "That was a really good move, Chiaotzu. I'm sure you'll nail it next time."
The mime smiled in appreciation at the young Saiyan's comment, "Thanks, Gohan."
Words exchanged, the teenager readjusted his cap and jogged his way over to home plate.
As soon as everyone saw the half-Saiyan stroll towards the batter's position under the cheer and whistles of the audience, most notably Chi-Chi, Hercule and Videl, smiles of enthusiasm quickly pulled across the faces of the most competitive members of the group. While Goten beamed excitedly when he saw his brother take a few practice swings with his metal bat, the orange haired Hera over in right field gave an evil chuckle and spoke up so that her target could hear her.
"O-ho. I am so going to tackle you," Zangya exclaimed loudly, before quickly turning towards an equally grinning Yamcha. "Oi! Scar-face! Make him hit one my way!"
"You got it," the mercenary replied, watching carefully as the teen dusted his hands off at the plate and got into position. Bending low, the man held the ball in his glove and fixed his most focused glare on the spiky haired half-Saiyan standing in his sights. "Okay, Gohan. This one's coming at you hard and fast. So get ready."
"Whatever you say, Yamcha," the demi-warrior replied while kicking his bat into the air and taking it into a firm, two-handed grip. Upon securing a good spot, he focused his gaze on the wolfish warrior and put on his most serious air. "Alright. Bring it."
Krillin grinned behind his mask. "They really have it out for you today, buddy. Watch yourself."
It was this gutsy exchange of words that prompted everyone in the area to quiet down and prepare for a good show. As Yamcha stretched and loaded his arm, Piccolo removed his cape and turban, Zangya spat out her gum, Tien began to gather energy, and Videl and the rest of the crew leaned forward in their seats, gripping their legs with excitement. It was obvious that no matter what was going to happen out there, all of the Z-fighters knew it was going to be one doozy of a play.
Discreetly pouring ki into the baseball so that it glowed a bright blue, Yamcha straightened up, took aim and, with a growl and a yell, he pitched the ball at light speed straight towards his target, causing a sonic boom to ring out.
In a split second, all hell broke loose.
Powering up so that his aura exploded around him like an inferno, surprising Krillin at its intensity, Gohan uncorked his bat and slugged the approaching ball as hard as he could, sending it rocketing into the sky and breaking the sound barrier several times. While most of the fighters out there were unprepared for the sheer magnitude of the hit, Goten and Tien included, two of them were.
Piccolo instantly leapt for the ball to try and catch it, but it shot right past him and up into the clouds, which it parted on contact a split second after being hit.
"Damn!" the Namekian shouted, spinning around and watching the sphere soar into the upper atmosphere, only to then see Zangya shoot past at full speed in hot pursuit of the ball.
On the ground, it looked like a home run. The second Gohan let the ball fly, he super-sped towards first base, blowing past an awe-struck Goten at the same time Trunks left second and sprinted for third. Once the lavender haired boy rushed past an equally astonished Yajirobi, the child began sprinting for home, knowing that if he slowed down for even a second something disastrous would probably happen to him.
He wasn't that far off either.
As soon as Gohan's feet landed on second he made a beeline straight towards third. Skidding past a confused Yajirobi, he then made a dash towards home. Under the cheers from the crowd, Videl especially, the boy looked like he was in the clear.
But just as Vegeta was rising to his feet to watch the glorious victory of the half-Saiyan, a green blur from the clouds above suddenly shot down towards the earth like a lightning bolt and, in the blink of an eye, tackled Gohan in the side and plowed him into the floor just a few feet away from home base. The sudden maneuver had everyone gawking in shock.
Digging a twenty foot long trench through the dirt after blindsiding her quarry, the half-Saiyan soon came to a grinding stop. When the dust eventually cleared, it revealed the poor youngster lying flat on his back with a panting Zangya straddling his waist, her foot on his chest and a victorious smile in play. As soon as she saw the boy pinned beneath her, she held up the slightly burnt baseball and tapped him on the forehead.
"Got yah, bitch."
The teen, giving the woman a playful grin in return, then let out a groan in disappointment, "Ah, man. I was so close."
"Better luck next time, slugger," Zangya replied, getting off of him and helping the kid to his feet. After pulling him out of the crater they'd formed, the Hera patted him on the shoulder and allowed him to return to the dugout.
Even though the audience was both astonished and disappointed at the result, they still applauded Gohan for a job well done. Vegeta on the other hand, who was still seated comfortably with the rest of the players of his team, grunted and looked up at the teen in displeasure when he finally returned to their station. "That was a terrible performance brat. And you call yourself a Saiyan elite."
"Hey, I was just being fair. If I actually went all out on that throw, I would have disintegrated the ball before it even left the stadium," Gohan said with his characteristic Son smile. "I mean… can you blame me for taking it easy?"
The prince huffed at his words, "A true warrior never takes it easy, not even on their comrades."
"Well… I guess that's where you and I differ from each other," the half-Saiyan replied, dusting his uniform off while trudging down the steps. "Besides; our only rule is to keep the ball intact. If it gets completely destroyed in mid-play, we'll have to start the exchange all over again. So make sure you hold back with your swings." On his way in, Gohan passed by Videl and gave her a spirited high-five in greeting. "Good luck."
"Thanks. I'll make sure to give them something to work for," the raven haired girl chirped while dashing over to the deck, bat in hand.
With two of them out and one of them home, there were now only three people left to step up to the plate. While Videl was a shooing to give the thrower her best shot, there was one among them that was a complete wild card in the lineup.
Having left his post by the dugout to make his way over to the batter's box, the watered-down Android 16 could be seen standing there with a bat in hand and emotionless gaze set on the pitcher. Yamcha, having become familiar with the robot over the past several days, looked a little bit nervous about throwing a hard ball towards the guy since he was supposedly a lot more fragile than the last model. Hell, he was even standing there with a bird on his shoulder.
However, this being a competitive game and the android being more than willing to participate, the scar-faced fighter figured he could throw some fast ones his way.
Hopefully Bulma wouldn't get pissed at him because he accidentally broke the robot's arms.
Making a few audible beeping noises, the orange haired Android then spoke up in a monotone sounding voice, "Synchronizing movements with the projectile's predicted flight path. Syncing…" His eyes then flickered with a few lights, drawing odd stares from all the warriors on the field, "Calibrating elemental boost information and adjusting bat setting to homing mode."
Krillin, crouching behind the towering robot that was standing as still as a statue, blinked a couple of times in confusion, "Umm… dude? Is everything okay?"
Swallowing nervously just like all the other members of the audience, Yamcha straightened up and took aim. "Well… here goes nothing." Sucking it in, the man cocked his arm back and, with as little energy as possible, chucked it at the robot.
Like a piston, Android 16's arms moved back before swinging out at a surprising speed. With perfect aim and precision, the android smacked the ball and sent it soaring over center field. The clean hit and the sight of the ball flying towards the clouds had the entire audience stare.
"Wow. Not bad," Chi-Chi exclaimed.
"His timing was spot on," the Ox King also commented while chewing on a hotdog.
However, all praise and commentary on the display was cut short when Piccolo effortlessly intercepted the ball and chucked it down to Goten. When the half-Saiyan caught it and turned to catch the android to tag him out, he saw the robot still standing at the home plate in the same position he'd ended up in following his swing.
The entire arena went silent for several long seconds, upon which the robot finally dropped the bat and turned towards first base… and started walking towards it at an arduous pace.
"Beginning run to first base. Running."
At that moment, every single person in the stadium face planted the floor, with the exception of Android 18, who was still holding Marron in her arms. However, the woman still had the decency to look on with a deadpanned expression.
Despite being a terrific android utilizing the most cutting edge software and technology from Capsule Corp, the current Android 16 apparently still had a seriously long loading time. Not to mention he had tunnel vision. Sure, he could process and execute one task perfectly, but he couldn't compartmentalize information fast enough or perform multiple activities at once.
This just showed how much work still needed to go into him.
The sight of the robot continuing to march towards first base had Bulma pick herself off the floor and yell at him, "God damn it, Sixteen! Either run or sprint! Don't walk!"
"I am not fast," the robot answered, only to stop dead in its tracks moments later when it saw Goten holding the ball. A few beeps of its optical sensors later and the automaton spoke up once again, "Objective: failed. Ball has been effectively intercepted. Player: out." The android then turned on the spot and marched back towards the dugout.
Standing up as well, the four-year-old Goten grinned and threw his hands in the air victoriously, "Yay! I got someone out!"
The players once again turned over. Following Android 16's uninspiring defeat, Vegeta took to the deck while the raven haired girl who'd previously been standing there stepped up to home. With a metallic bat in hand, the girl kicked her feet into the ground and rolled her shoulders, facing down Yamcha with a twinkle in her eye and a grin on her face.
Slapping a baseball helmet onto her head, the girl stylishly spun her bat around and pointed it straight at her foe, "BATCHKOI! Let's do this!" She then took the steel slugger into a two-handed grip and slid into a wide stance.
Whistling at the girl's gutsy attitude, Yamcha chuckled, "Okay. You asked for it." Tossing his ball up and down a couple of times, the man then set it in his glove and took his position. Straightening upright after a couple seconds of analysis, the star player then wasted no time in pulling his hand back and pitching the ball at the girl using an unconventional, underhanded throw that curved the projectile at blinding speed.
Watching the ball contort as it spun towards her, the raven haired girl gave a wicked grin and, taking a big step forward, swung out with her bat and sent the ball straight into the ground. The white sphere struck the earth in front of her with a sharp thump and buried itself ten feet deep, allowing her to drop her bat and jog to first base without any difficulty.
Yamcha, seeing the ball bury itself halfway between him and the home plate, blinked in shock, "Oh. Didn't expect that." He then rushed over to the hole and looked in, where he was shortly accompanied by Yajirobi.
"Smooth move bro," the rotund fighter with the katana spoke.
"Hey! Don't pin this one on me! I never expected her to hit it into the ground."
"Well… it happened. So what are you gonna do about it?"
"Ah, shit." Yamcha then got to his knees and started digging, a sight that had the Z-fighters standing around the field take a time out for the momentary intermission.
By the time the two men finally managed to dig the ball out, which had been shredded after being sent into the ground, Videl had already run a full lap of the field and jogged comfortably back to the dugout. The women in the audience gave a mighty cheer for her effort, at the same time Zangya pulled away from her part of the field to high-five the girl for a well-executed move. Eventually, when the guys managed to get a replacement ball for the ruined one, the game could once again move on to the final hitter of the team.
Yamcha and everybody else frowned seriously when they saw Vegeta stroll over to the batter's box. With an air of confidence and smugness only the prince himself could possess, the flame-haired man dressed in the blue singlet, sweat pants and shoes took a couple practice swings before digging his feet into position. Assured he was comfortable, the full-blooded Saiyan then focused his attention on the neophyte glaring at him from across the way and the chumps standing in the background.
"Ready to get struck out, your majesty?" Yamcha asked with a grin of his own.
"Bring it on, meat shield," the Saiyan Prince shot back, "I'll send whatever you throw at me back at you tenfold."
"We'll see," the scar-faced pitcher thought, glancing behind him at Piccolo and then across at Tien. Giving his fellow human fighter a respectful nod, the former mercenary then held the ball behind his back and began pouring energy into it. The ball radiating a hot yellow from the amount of ki being poured into it, as soon as it'd achieved critical mass, Yamcha knew he was ready. "Okay, Vegeta. Eat this!"
Warning given, the Saiyan's expression became dead serious and his grip tightened around the bat's handle like a vice. As soon as his arms tensed, his opponent took action.
With a mighty yell that could be heard all across the city, Yamcha cocked his arm back and threw the ball in a wide arc.
Vegeta expected the attack to come straight at him. Reading its path like a ki blast, the man moved to the side and turned in with a low swing.
At first it seemed like it was going to travel right into his bat's path, with Krillin bracing himself for a catch that was sure to be painful.
However, unlike all of Yamcha's previous throws, the baseball unexpectedly curved along its expected path like it was possessed and, with speed no one could have anticipated, smacked Vegeta square in the thigh like a miniature Spirit Ball.
Every single Z-fighter cringed when they saw the charged ball drill into the man's leg and heard its solid 'crack' on impact, eliciting a shocked cry of agony from the Saiyan warrior. A split second later, Vegeta fell to his knees and gripped his thigh, a sight that not only had Piccolo grin, but it had Zangya burst out with laughter.
"AAAAAH! YOU DICK!"
"Oh. Whoops. Sorry about that, dude," Yamcha spoke with an amused grin in play. He whistled while nonchalantly adjusting his cap. "I was aiming for Krillin."
"NO! YOU WEREN'T!" the prince screamed back, a response that caused everybody else in the stadium to start laughing. The sound of their uproarious cheers and exclamations had Vegeta's eye twitch and a tick mark form across his left and right temple. "SHUT THE HELL UP! IT'S NOT FUNNY!" This only made the group laugh even harder.
"Not funny? It's friggin hilarious," Zangya replied.
While Vegeta slowly recovered from his injury, and Piccolo, Tien and their Hera teammate dashed forward to stop the infuriated prince from killing Yamcha outright, over by the dugout Gohan and Videl were leaning against each other for support while their laughter carried on. When both eventually recovered and wiped the tears out of their eyes, the raven haired girl turned towards her partner and grinned at him.
"This is great," she said, partially breathless. "We should get together to do this more often."
"Yeah. Definitely," Gohan chuckled back, straightening up so that they could watch as the others held the irate Saiyan Prince back.
Despite a couple of hiccups here and there, this day proved to be the most fun the Z-fighters remembered ever having together.
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