"Hey Ranfan, isn't your show going to be on soon?" Nurse Samus asked.
Ranfan looked at the clock on her cable box, which read 10:49am. Launch's and Venom's fight should be starting in eleven minutes.
"Thank you Nurse Samus!" Ranfan said as she turned on the television, immediately finding the 21st World's Martial Arts Tournament.
"Anytime." Samus called back as she exited Ranfan's room.
"Come on Launch, you can do it. You can beat your future boyfriend." Ranfan muttered as she grabbed her breakfast tray and started eating in anticipation.
Meanwhile, at the Tournament...
"Ugh? What happened? Who won?" Yamcha asked as he finally got his head out of the dirt. He was stuck like that ever since Venom had pushed him off the roof the second time.
"I won." Jackie Chun simply said as he carried Krillin over to Yamcha. "Here, take him and wake him up. He may want to see Venom's and Launch's match."
"Sure. How come you were able to do the Kamehameha? I thought only Goku and Master Roshi knew that technique." Yamcha asked as he took Krillin's body.
"A magician never reveals his secrets, and neither should a martial artist." Jackie Chun said as he walked away. "Alright, I have to run. You boys enjoy the fight."
"Okay, we will." Yamcha said as he shook Krillin's body gently. "Hey Krillin, wake up."
"I won't let you win! HHHAAAA!!!" Krillin shouted as he woke up, delivering a punch to Yamcha's nose. "Oh, sorry Yamcha. I didn't realize you were there. What happened?"
"You lost to Jackie Chun remember?" Yamcha explained as he made sure he wasn't bleeding from his nose. "I guess that is why you punched me. You were dreaming that you were still in the fight."
"Not really, I was just dreaming of fighting Venom, or to be more precise a nightmare." Krillin said standing up. "Speaking of Venom, did his match with Launch start yet?"
"No, it should be starting in a few minutes." Yamcha said.
"Hey, why aren't you the roof?" Krillin said, gazing at the empty spot the two symbiotes once sat. "It's where we usually hang out."
"Venom pushed me off...twice." Yamcha admitted.
"Figures." Krillin said, shrugging his shoulder. "We are just as well on the ground anyway."
Meanwhile, in the audience...
"Hey Bulma, Oolong, and Puar. Nice to finally see you." Master Roshi said as he wormed his way through the crowd to his friends.
"There you are! You completely missed Krillin's fight!" Bulma yelled slapping Roshi around. "If you were here to give some moral support, Krillin would have won!"
"At least something good came out of the match." Oolong said, sniffing the panties. Master Roshi immediately grabbed the undergarments and began to play tug-a-war with the humanoid pig. This provided enough of a distraction for Nam to slip away unnoticed.
"WOULD YOU TWO SIT DOWN AND BE QUIET!!" Bulma said, taking out a wooden mallet from seemingly nowhere and delivering a blow each to the two hairless heads. "GOKU'S, VENOM'S, AND LAUNCH'S MATCH IS ABOUT TO START AND I DON'T WANT ANY INTERRUPTIONS!!!"
"Yes ma'am." Oolong and Roshi said, quickly obeying Bulma's instructions. Puar gave the Capsule Corp prodigy a high five for this.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Are you ready for the second match of the semifinals!" The Tournament Announcer asked. There was cheering, but not as much. Bulma figured it was due to having Launch in this fight. Her match with Ranfan did turn a lot of heads away.
"First up is the notorious dame of the Turtle Hermit school." The Announcer said, shaking with fear. "After her brutal match against Ranfan, she returns to kick some more butt, hopefully in a less violent and one-sided way. Give it up for Launch!"
Launch walked onto the ring, her face a mix of bliss and regret. The crowd booed and even through food and beverages at her. Launch just instinctively avoided all the throwable items, calmly walking over and taking her spot in the ring. Only she and Pistole could hear the low growl of Venom offstage, clearly displeased with the crowd's treatment of her. Knowing that Venom wouldn't do anything spiteful (during the tournament at least), she briefly turned her gaze to the camera, hoping that Ranfan was watching from her hospital bed.
"Even I am feeling bad for Launch." Bulma thought. "She doesn't deserve this kind of treatment."
"Next up we have the Lethal Protector himself. Last time, this werespider scored an amazing and yet somewhat slimy victory over the Monster Beast Giran! Give a round of applause for Venom!"
An overwhelming amount of cheering erupted from the crowd, even from the ones who Venom got saliva on yesterday. However, the happy faces morphed into complexed and confused expressions as little Goku ran onto the ring, waving and greeting everyone.
"Hello everyone! How are you all doing?!" Goku greeted. "Our name is Goku. It is nice to meet you all."
Launch smirked at seeing this. Both hosts knew the plan concerning their introduction. She had figured out quite recently thanks to Pistole that sometimes Goku just likes to play dumb.
"Hey what gives?" Oolong said. "Does Goku know he is making himself look like an idiot?"
"Yeah, I know Goku is socially disadvantaged, but even this is a bit much for him." Master Roshi agreed.
Krillin facepalmed his forehead, while Yamcha scratched his hair in confusion.
"Dang it Goku, why do you always make yourself look like an idiot?" Krillin asked.
"Beats me." Yamcha said.
Bulma's eyes went wide. While everyone else saw Goku as socially challenged, she suddenly knew what was going on. Bulma Briefs, Goku's and Venom's first and longest friend, had finally cracked the final code of Goku's personality.
"Oh Goku, this is all just for show. Isn't it." Bulma smiled remembering all her adventures with him in search of the dragon balls six months back. "Thanks to Venom, you are becoming a genius in the art of drama and social nuisances. You have certainly come a long way from the lost child living in Grandpa Gohan's hut."
"I assure you ladies and gentlemen that this is the same fighter you saw fighting Giran yesterday." The Announcer reassured nervously. "Please settle back in your seats."
The Tournament Announcer waited until all of the audience members were settled back in their positions. None of them wanted to see a child get victimised by an angry psycho blonde chick.
"Are you ready?" The Tournament Announcer asked both Goku and Launch. They both starred at each other smiling, but not responding.
"Okay then. Three, two, one, go!?" The Tournament Announcer shouted.
What everyone expected was the two charging at each other, or Launch just brutalizing poor Goku. What they got was the sight of two young people doing stretches.
"Okay...you two know your supposed to fight? Right?" The Tournament Announcer asked. There was no reply from either combatant, each continuing to stretch.
"What on Earth are you two up to?" Bulma asked.
"I was about to say the same thing." Master Roshi said as a few people were getting frustrated enough to walk out.
Before anyone could leave however Venom and Pistole erupted from their hosts, each with a thunderous roar. The crowd responded with screams and gasps. Even a woman in the front row fainted. However, all of their shock and fear was quickly replaced by joy and excitement. This was going to be better than they thought.
"HOLY SH@#!!!" The Tournament Announcer screamed, scurrying away. "Th-this is amazing folks. Both Goku and Launch are of the same species...I guess. I have no idea what's going on, but we are in for a show today boy!"
"Let's do this!!" Venom said, pounding his fist into his palm.
"Yes, let's darling!!" Pistole smirked, extending her sharp fingers.
"Darling?" Bulma growled as both father and daughter clashed, eat grappling with the other. Both looked like they were really giving it their all. Pistole seemed to be pushing Venom back a little, so Venom grabbed Pistole's wrists. He then flipped her over his back and slammed her into the stone floor behind him. Cracks were already forming in the ring.
Upon making contact with the ground Pistole did a dragon sweep, knocking Venom off feet. Pistole jumped upon her father and began to claw at his face and shoulders. Venom responded by forming a fist from his chest, which shot out and punched Pistole into the air. As she descended, Pistole transformed into a giant tac, looking to impale Venom. Luckily, the black and white symbiotic rolled out of the way just in time.
"Hey, there is no killing in this tournament!" The Tournament Announcer yelled.
"Don't worry Johnny Cage, we are following the rules." Pistole confirmed.
"Okay, it's not like I know what is going on anyway." The Announcer said, taking his handkerchief and rubbing the sweat off his head.
As Venom got up, Pistole threw several Kame Grenades at Venom. While the black symbiote was able to dodge all of them, the blasts created a smokescreen that covered the arena. Pistols took this opportunity to get behind Venom and perform a Full Nelson, her nails digging deep into Venom's shoulders.
"Nice try daughter, but you still have a lot to learn." Venom growled as jagged spikes shot out of his back, impaling the blue and yellow symbiote all across her chest. While it did not kill her, it clearly knocked the wind out of her. She staggered back as Venom retracted the spikes back into him. Before Pistole could regain her composure, Venom swung his left arm, now in the form of a wrecking ball and hit her square in the chest. She was knocked back several feet and nearly fell off the arena. If Venom had applied a little more strength, he would have won.
"Harder." Pistole replied with a thick layer of horniness to it. All of the crowd took notice, while Goku and Venom were the only ones to have the comment go over their heads.
"Oh dear Kami, did we just say that?!" Launch asked herself.
"Excuse us?" Venom asked.
"Nothing! We said nothing!" Pistole said, waving her hands anxiously in a defensive manner.
"Okay then..." Venom said, twitching his head in confusion.
"Look, let's go back to fighting okay!" Pistole said, looking to change the topic.
"Fine." Venom said as both symbiotes got into a familiar stance.
"Kame-" Venom and Pistole chanted.
"It can't be." Master Roshi said, his widened eyes unseen by his sunglasses. "Launch has mastered the Kamehameha."
"But I thought Launch was only capable of the Kame Grenade." Puar said. "How was Launch able to master the technique now?"
"Yeah, we never saw her train since we got to the Tournament two days ago." Oolong said.
"Pistole." Bulma answered for them. "A symbiote is able to learn faster than humans. After searching through Launch's memories of her training under Goku and Master Roshi, they were finally able to master it."
"It's amazing what these symbiotes can do." Roshi said. "It takes me fifty years to master the Kamehameha technique, and they are able to learn it in record time."
"-hameHAAAA!!!" Both symbiotes shouted as the two energy beams collided. The beam struggle created a huge shockwave, sending items and bits of stone flying everywhere. Smaller individuals like Oolong and Puar were thrown back against the wall behind them while Bulma, Roshi, Krillin, Yamcha, Bacterian, Giran, and the Tournament Announcer had to hold on for dear life.
"Puar! Are you okay buddy!?" Yamcha shouted as soon as he saw his friend hit the wall.
"Don't worry Yamcha, we're fine!" Puar called back.
"Ow! My back!" Oolong cried, being a bit overdramatic.
"It's over Father! We are stronger than you!" Pistole said as she dug her tentacles into the stone ground. "We don't want hurt you any more than we have to!"
"You know we can't give up." Venom replied. "It's not in our nature."
"Fine, have it your way then." Pistole said as her two tentacles sprouted behind Venom, stabbing him in the shins. He roared in pain, knowing he was anchored to the ground.
"Not today!" Venom shouted as he increased the amount of power he put into his Kamehameha. The beam began to push more towards Pistole.
"We won't let you win." Pistole shouted. "Our whole career from a no good master thief to a battle hardened and caring fighter began with one single purpose. Defeating you Venom! Our feelings for you may have changed drastically since then, and we will always stick by your side no matter what! But we must never forget our roots! We must beat you! HHHAAAAA!!!"
Giving everything she had her Kamehameha, Pistole won the beam struggle as the blast engulfed Venom. In order for the audience not to get hurt by the blast, Pistole curved it upwards towards the sky just in time. The beam was able to pierce the ozone layer before completely dissipating.
"We won." Pistole smiled weakly. "We actually won."
As the smoke cleared, her first glimpse was Goku with pieces of Venom still on him. He was still standing, with the blue and yellow blades in his shins. He looked badly damaged from her kamehameha, with a proud smile on his face. While it pained see her future lover in this condition, what happened next horrified Pistole. Goku began to regenerate morphing back into Venom.
"No." Said as an exhausted Launch as Pistole absorbed back into her. Launch collapsed to the ground still conscious, but barely able to get up from the stone floor.
"As a newborn and our offspring, you are much stronger and faster than us Pistole." Venom explained as he walked over, breaking through the once metal thick tentacles as if it was a thin and fragile sheet of ice. "However, what you failed to realize is that your host has limits. As a symbiote, you must draw from Launch's life essence and ki in order to survive and thrive. If you over tax the host, you over tax the symbiote. That is why we choice to endure the blast instead of using all of our energy on our Kamehameha. Otherwise, the roles would have been reversed."
"Heh. Pistole maybe down, but I'm not you big lug." Launch said, somehow able to get up as she wiped blood from her lip. "And I am not going down without a fight."
Launch weakly threw several punches at Venom, all of with the black symbiote took, standing unfazed. It continued like this for a full minute and a half before Launch spoke up.
"You know, this was kind of like our first fight." Launch said, heavily breathing. "Remember at Kame House when I tried to shoot you, blow you up, and throw punch after kick after punch. Even back then, you chose not to fight me because I was a normal human woman. And to think, all this started over some stupid ruby."
"And look at what you have become since then." Venom said. "From a thief with nowhere to call home to the most powerful female the world has ever seen. You now have friends, family, and a symbiote. And your stronger for it. You were a petty girl who cried and caused havoc whenever she didn't get her way. Now your a strong woman, with the patience, resolve, and fighting prowess that martial artists could ever dream. You have come a long way and we are so proud of you for it. We are happy to be your friend. Could anyone ask for more?"
"Promise me that you ask that same question in five years time okay?" Launch said. "Then I will give you my answer."
"When we are eighteen?" Venom asked inquisitively. Launch responded with a nod.
"Very well, we promise to do so." Venom said. "Now we will fight back this time. We at least owe you that."
"Go ahead. We wouldn't asked for any other way." Launch said.
Venom then punched Launch. Not too much, but enough where she fell out of the ring. Before she landed on the grassy ring, Venom shot a web that was able to catch Launch before she completely hit the ground. Only her ring finger landed out of bounds.
"And that's a ring out! Venom wins!" The Tournament Announcer said. The whole crowd erupted in a thrill like never before. The men were cheering and the women were crying. Everyone loved the match.
"Wow! Venom won! He did it!" Krillin cheered.
"Alright! Venom, your the man!" Yamcha said.
"The perfect display of martial arts I have ever seen out of two alien rage monsters." Master Roshi said, holding back tears. "I am so proud of my students."
"Damn it. Why did it have to be so beautiful?" Oolong cried, blowing into a napkin.
"Oolong? Are you crying?" Puar asked.
"No! I am sweating from my eyes!" Oolong argued. "Pigs do that you know!"
"Well done Launch." Ranfan said, finally finishing her food. "You finally got what you wanted all along. I guess sometimes you can't just a book by its cover. In the end, even monsters deserve to be happy too.
"I guess they do deserve each other." Bulma thought. "I never thought I see the day that little Goku and big old nasty Venom would mature so quickly. Launch may not be my favorite person, but if she continues to make the both of them happy, I will be okay with it. Why did I even have a grudge with her in the first place?"
After being declared the winner, Venom immediately pulled Launch too him with his web string and began to carry her bridal style. Launch used whatever strength she had to wrap her arms around his neck as he walked off the ring. Venom and Goku was always prone various different emotions, but the one they were experiencing now was unlike any other. They liked it.