There was a definite note of tension in the air. Broly had been defeated, Vegeta wasn't back, and Super Buu was still on the loose- but as Piccolo noted, he was getting closer to the lookout by the minute. The only people among the Z-Fighter who seemed unperturbed were possibly the only two who could stop Super Buu. "In fact, that's probably why." Piccolo had said.
The tense atmosphere also helped bring them closer together. Some of them had never met, like Goten and Yamcha; some them finally met again, such as Krillin and Launch.
It had been difficult news for Krillin to take, at first. "So let me get this straight: you married Broly, and Rutaba is your daughter?"
Launch nodded, and smiled. "Broly's not as bad as you think. I'm just relieved he and Rutie have something to share together, really."
"When did he start training her?"
"As soon as she could walk. I was against that at first, but then she started reminding me of you and Goku, and Tien." Launch smiled off into the distance for a moment. "Have you seen Tien, any?"
"No, I guess we've been having the same problem you had; he moves around a lot. I haven't heard anything from him since the Cell Games."
"And... and Goku died, right?"
"Yeah... But he got his time back day before yesterday, for the tournament."
"...But he's dead?"
"There's an old fortune-teller named Baba that he knew, and she could pull some strings to get you back to life for one day."
"Okay... and how did the tournament go?"
Krillin smiled. "Rutaba won the youth division; she even let Hercule beat her in their exhibition match. By the way, the prize money's ten million zeni."
Launch's jaw dropped. "Ten... ten million zeni?" Krillin chuckled as she struggled to wrap her mind around the figure.
Dende whispered something to Piccolo, who then said, "Trunks, Goten: get ready. Buu's almost here." Piccolo had not spoken loudly, but everyone seemed to have heard him.
The two boys stretched, and Trunks loosened up his shoulders. They stood a few paces apart from each other, and concentrated a second to match their ki. Then they began the fusion dance: they shuffled sideways towards each other "Fuuuu-", then brought their arms out to the side "-sioooon", then for the final few steps swung their arms back towards each other and touched fingertips. "HA!" In a flash of light and power, Gotenks appeared.
"Go get 'em, Trunten!" Cheered Chi Chi.
"It's Gotenks," The fused warrior said. "The Grim Reaper of Justice!" He grinned and gave a peace sign.
"Here it comes!" Announced Yamcha. From the horizon, Super Buu streaked in at amazing speed, soon closing in on Dende's Lookout. Posing quickly, he flew off to intercept his foe. A short distance from the Lookout, they stopped to size each other up. A slight wind ruffled Gotenks' Metamorian outfit, and when it ceased the fight began. Gotenks was incredibly fast, but his blows were having little effect on Buu.
"Dynamite Kick!" He called, spinning into a side kick. Buu dodged.
"What are you doing, Gotenks? Go Super Saiyan now!" Screamed Piccolo. Gotenks still did not heed the advice, and was quickly getting beat worse and worse. His strikes had the look of desperation behind them now- but that was just a plan on Gotenks' part. With a tremendous smash, Buu knocked Gotenks back onto Dende's Lookout.
"I won't bother turning you to candy," Said Buu. "Where is the girl?" It asked, meaning Rutaba.
"You think you've won, but I haven't revealed my true power! If you seek to face Rutaba, you must first overcome the epic power of Super Saiyan Gotenks!" Finally, Gotenks powered up, the release of his ki forcing back the watching Z-Fighters. He exploded towards Buu, and peppered the Majin with kicks and punches. The fight seemed nearly even now, and Gotenks' attacks were having success: here Buu was forced back, there it was knocked sideways, and here it was smashed away.
"Hyper Plasma Parfait!" Gotenks showered Buu with a barrage of ki blasts, which did some damage but overall were ignored. Buu flew towards Gotenks as he fired the ki bullets, deflecting and dodging before stretching his arm out for a punch. It connected, sending Gotenks back towards the Lookout. It chases him, knocking Gotenks back and forth and down once again onto the Lookout. The fused warriors still kept their head up, and even posed, holding one finger in the air. It drew the finger around in a circle, leaving a trail of ki. As the circle was completed Gotenks said, "Galactic Donut!" The circle zoomed towards Buu, who meant to swat it away but got its arm caught in it. It tightened, and dragged Buu around in a figure-eight before pinching the arm off.
Buu looked angry, but didn't move to attack Gotenks. Instead, its arm bubbled out and reformed. "Oh no!" Lamented Gotenks. "I don't know if I can win now!" This was part of an act, to make his victory even more dramatic. But Piccolo took it seriously.
"Gotenks, keep fighting! You can't let Buu defeat you, you're the last hope we have!"
Ha! I was waiting for that! "Owch! But, I can't let you go any further!" Gotenks charged up to his full power, his ki rising up past even Super Saiyan Two, going to a place not even Piccolo knew was possible. Gotenks' hair grew down to his waist, and electric sparks streamed around him.
"Unbelievable!" Exclaimed Krillin.
The Super Saiyan Three walked over to Piccolo. "I promise you I'll beat Buu-" That would be one promise Gotenks would never follow up on, as at that moment the severed arm of Buu flew over and spread over Piccolo and Gotenks. They struggled against it, but were soon overcome. The blob of pink goo flies back towards Buu, who absorbs it. The goo covers up Buu, pulsing in and out and moving around. The morphing slowed, and then settled into Buu's new form: it wore the same short vest as Gotenks, and its head tentacle was longer.
Buu laughed. "If that's the best you lot had to offer, this is disappointing."
Android Eighteen stared at Buu. "They may have been the best, but they're not the last..."
MEANWHILE
The Elder Kai flips a page in his book. "Oh, Kari gives herself in. Hmm..." He snaps his head up. "The ritual is done now." A little sore from sitting in place for twenty hours, Gohan stands. "Go ahead, power up and do your 'Super Saiyan' transformation."
Gohan charges up his ki, but doesn't transform to Super Saiyan. His appearance doesn't change, but his energy is many multiple greater than that of his second Super Saiyan transformation. "Th- this is incredible!"
Heh, I was right back then... and now. You make me proud, Gohan. "Your ki's amazing, Gohan."
The Supreme Kai looks up from his crystal ball. "The situation is getting very dire on Earth," He said to Gohan. "I'll take you there."
Gohan looks to his father, who puts a hand on his son's shoulder. "You can do it, Gohan. I know you can." The Supreme Kai walks over, and briefly touches Gohan- and they vanish.
Back on Dende's Lookout, Buu is toying with Eighteen. She is bruised and beaten, fighting back but not able to hit Buu. The Majin is about to land a finishing blow on her when the Supreme Kai and Gohan appear. "More fools come to play?"
"Wrong. I'm here to destroy you," Gohan says. Before Buu can react, he rushes and punches it in the gut, and roundhouse kicks it off the Lookout. He flies down after it, hitting Buu with a crushing kick that speeds its descent. Speeding around under Buu, he stops its fall with a jarring knee strike to the back. After a quick combination of kicks and punches, he knocks Buu away with a banana kick.
He is about to follow, when a large ki sphere shoots from behind him, blasting off Buu's right arm and leg. "I couldn't let you have all the fun, now could I?" Gohan turns around, to see Super Saiyan Two Vegeta floating behind him. "Took a wrong turn at Hell, would've been here sooner." He nods to Gohan, and they fly down to the ground to meet with Buu.
It's waiting for them, the lost arm and leg already regenerated. Buu quickly gets in a kick on Vegeta, but Gohan punches Buu up, and kicks him back down to Vegeta. The Saiyan kicks Buu sideways, then flies around and punts Buu upwards to Gohan...
ROOM OF SPIRIT AND TIME
Rutaba wakes up, her hair blue again. She checks the calendar. May Fourth, Seven Seventy-six Age... It's only a few more days. Rutaba sits up in bed, and yawns. Almost two years... I can remember almost everything else about the dream I had before the tournament, except that one move- the Giga Drill Launcher... Rutaba gets up from bed and does her morning stretches, the heavy gravity of the room now no different from Earth's normal gravity to her. When she completed them, she felt her ki warming her in every part of her body, almost lifting her up. Rutaba made a fist, and nodded. It's time. She quickly eats breakfast, puts on her leg warmers, and opens the door.
On the outside, she is surprised to find her leather vest hanging on the handle. She smiles, and flicks the little angel wings on the back before putting it on. She heads down the hall, and finds the Z-Fighters are watching something over the edge of the Lookout. She now senses it too, a battle between three huge powers. Wait, is that Gohan out there? Rutaba runs out of the building, and joins the group. "How long have they been fighting?"
"Oh hey, Rutaba." Answers Krillin. "It's been only a couple minutes- wait, Rutaba!" Broly and Launch turn to look, and Launch runs over and hugs Rutaba.
"I was so worried, Rutie."
"I missed you too, mom. I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye before I left to fight Buu."
"That's okay now- and look at you! You've grown!" Almost as tall as I am, now.
Rutaba smiles. "It was almost two years inside the Room of Spirit and Time. I'm... fourteen now?" She takes a look at the Z-Fighters, and notices a few are absent. "Where are Piccolo and the others?"
Videl answered, "Buu absorbed them... Eighteen fought it, and then Gohan and Vegeta got here. Dende's healing her now."
Rutaba thought for a moment. "We don't have the Dragon Balls, right?"
"No," Bulma replied. "It'll be four months before we can use them again."
"There's the Namekian Dragon Balls," Said Krillin. "But we can't get there right now."
"We may, actually. I could teleport you there." Offered Supreme Kai.
"What did you need them for, Rutaba?" Asked Krillin.
"I can't think of anything right now, but I just have a feeling we might need them..." There's this feeling coming from the fight... I can't quite describe it but it's definitely not good... "I'm going to head down there now. Hopefully it will just be a few minutes." She exhaled, then walked to the edge and dove off. Broly followed her after a moment. As Rutaba shot downwards, she powered up to Super Saiyan Two- but not full strength. Here I come, Gohan...
Barely a few seconds after the jump, Rutaba touched down on the scene. Super Buu was reeling away from Gohan's assault, stumbling over the rocks. "Gohan! Finish it off already!"
Gohan looked over his shoulder. "I haven't even begun to punish Buu yet."
"Fine, but I'm not going to wait." Rutaba sped in front of Gohan and nailed Buu with a punch to the face, knocking it backwards briefly. Rutaba took a deep breath, and screamed out a large ki beam. It hit Buu dead center and punched through, the explosion blowing Buu back towards them. Buu was already regenerating, but it was slower in doing so. Rutaba frowned, and picked up Buu by the throat. She stared into its beady red eyes for a second, then punched it. She then threw Buu high into the air, and began drawing in a deep breath for another Thousand-fold Falcon Cry. Her power rose higher and higher, until-
"What- NO! Rrrgh!" Gohan was struggling against a glob of pink goo, which had been blasted off Buu earlier in the fight. But even Gohan's ultimate form could not break out of it. He was overwhelmed and flew towards Buu. The two collided, and the new flesh spread itself over Buu, squirming and wriggling, an odd spark of pink electricity shooting out. When the motion calmed, Buu wore Gohan's tops and its head tentacle was even longer.
NO! Not again... Gohan...! Rutaba's ki exploded out, and she subconsciously began to float upwards. "Thousand Snapdragon Blossom Wind!" With a wave of her hand a cloud of tiny ki bullets appeared, and shot through Buu. It appeared shocked for some reason, but Rutaba flew upwards and hammered Buu with a double punch to the chest.
Buu hacked and coughed out four wads of pink flesh- Thousand Snapdragon Blossom Wind had severed the tiny pods that contained Gohan, Piccolo, Trunks, and Goten. One last pod was dangerously close to coming loose... "Wait, Rutaba! If you-" But Buu was cut short by another brutal hit from Rutaba, and he coughed violently.
"I am going to destroy you," Rutaba said. "Nothing will remain- not your memory, your name- and it will be as though you never existed at all." As Rutaba declared her intentions, Buu had coughed up one last pink pod: the one containing the good Buu. Like the others, Buu's flesh melted away as the good Buu returned to normal size. Super Buu, however, was howling and growing larger by the second.
"If it keeps that up it'll be twice the size and power it was before," Commented Vegeta.
"How is it getting stronger?" Wondered Gohan.
"It doesn't matter! We have to stop it now!" Rutaba attempted to strike the hulking Buu, but it had no effect- and even worse, it flung her away! She filled her lungs to the top and roared out her very strongest Thousand-fold Falcon Cry, only for Buu to open up and reform around the beam. Broly charged in, and struck Buu with the same results as Rutaba's try. Buu now had stopped howling, and began to shrink down. Past the size it had been, all the way down to the size of a child. Its eyes had a cold and ruthless evil in them.
Kid Buu raised its arm, gathering an intense ball of bright pink ki over its head. "That'll blow up the planet if it hits!" Warned Vegeta. But before any of them could make a move, Buu threw the Vanishing Ball. It made contact with the Earth, and the Z-Fighters winked out of existence.
SUPREME KAI'S PLANET
Rutaba blinked. "Where are we?"
"This is the Sacred World of Kai's." Gohan answered, though he was as confused as Rutaba.
"I teleported you here," The Supreme Kai clarified. "If you were destroyed along with the Earth, Buu's rampage might have gone unchecked, and decimated the entire universe."
"Which he's getting started on doing," Said the Elder Kai, looking in his crystal ball. "You can say goodbye to Jupiter. And who blew up Venus, by the way?"
Rutaba thought of all the stars in the sky, exploding and leaving nothing but darkness. Then one last dream of an idea came into her mind. "Supreme Kai, the Namekian Dragon Balls! I know what I'll use them for now, could you go there for us?"
"Yes; how soon?"
"The Dragon Balls?" The Elder Kai cut in. "You shouldn't go around using those too much. If they collect too much negative energy..."
"I think preventing a universal threat is reason enough to use them, Ancestor." The Elder Kai shrugged, and the Supreme Kai turned to Rutaba. "Should I leave to collect them right away?"
"Yes, please." The Supreme Kai nodded, and teleported away to New Namek. This next part, they will not like. "Now- excuse me-" Rutaba sneezed. "Now, everyone, I want you to raise your ki level as high as you can. My plan might work, but I can't hit Buu from across the universe. He needs to find us." Rutaba looks to the other fighters, who one by one reluctantly agreed. "Go!" Rutaba, Vegeta, Broly, the good Buu and Gohan let out the full power of their ki, and the ground trembled. As when she'd faced Buu earlier, Rutaba began to float upwards.
Then mentally, they heard the Supreme Kai ask, "Rutaba, we have summoned Porunga! What is your wish?"
"I wish I could remember how to do the Giga Drill Launcher!" There was a silence of a few moments, before the answer came. Rutaba smiled, as she was now remembered how to perform the technique from her dream.
"Do you have any other wishes-" And then suddenly Kid Buu arrived on the planet, using the same technique the Supreme Kai had used to teleport to New Namek. Kid Buu roared and pounded its chest. Its power was gargantuan, and its glare could almost literally split a boulder. A nervous fraction of a second passed, before someone stepped forwards.
"I'll need a little bit to charge the attack," Rutaba said. You better not die on me...
"You'll have plenty of time," Broly returned. And then, he dashed in towards Buu. For a short moment, the Legendary Super Saiyan matched Buu blow for blow. They zig-zagged away from Rutaba, and Kid Buu gained the advantage over Broly as it drove him up a mountain.
Focus, focus...! Rutaba stood with her hands above her head, gathering energy from the planet into a globe above her, trying to focus it into a spin. She put her own power into it as well, and the large orb of bluish-white ki slowly began to revolve. As more and more energy flowed in, Vegeta looked at Gohan. He nodded, having noticed the similarites as well.
Broly was now being beaten back towards Rutaba. There, that's it! "Dad! Move out of the way!" Broly heard her, but Buu kept Broly in front of itself, mercilessly attacking. Suddenly the good Buu sped over, and tackled Broly away. NOW! She threw the Giga Drill Launcher at Kid Buu, the ki drill stripping the ground beneath it of grass as it rocketed towards its target.
Kid Buu would not just stand there, though: it quickly charged up a Vanishing Ball and hurled it at the incoming attack. There was a bright flash as they clashed, and Rutaba struggled to keep forcing the ki drill forwards. Ten long seconds passed where neither attack moved, then slowly the Vanishing Ball lurched back to Rutaba. It picked up speed the closer it got, until it was racing towards her. Ah! At the last possible moment, a figure surrounded by a green energy sphere stepped in front of Rutaba.
The explosion of ki was blindingly bright, and loud; after it faded the world seemed like a dim memory heard from far off. Rutaba's eyes drifted down, and fell on her father.
"A true Saiyan dies in battle," He croaked.
"Not you! You can't die you can't!" Tears welled up in Rutaba's eyes.
The mental image of Launch holding baby Rutaba briefly gave warmth to Broly. "No, you're the one who can't die... the only one... You can defeat Buu, Rutie. Your power is the strongest under the heavens..." With the last of his strength, Broly raised his arm and flipped off Kid Buu. Rutaba closed her eyes to try to hold back the tears, but they fell anyways. She blinked and wiped the drops away, and stood to face Kid Buu- then she sneezed. Her ki blazed up around her, and sparks of blue lightning crackled around Rutaba.
She blasted off towards Kid Buu, who was waiting. She yelled and hit Buu with a barrage of lightning fast punches, rising up a few inches off the ground. A last punch was meant to smash Buu into the dust, but the Majin dodged it and hit Rutaba with a punch of its own. Rutaba struck at Buu in a blur of motion and threw the fastest kick she had at it. Buu didn't dodge the kick, but got up soon after and punched the ground, and its fist came up under Rutaba and sent her flying up. Kid Buu rolled up into a ball and followed her, bouncing off around her. Rutaba dodged and axe kicked Buu down, and then sneezed- her personality switched, the hidden rage and power rising up to the surface. Her already golden hair grew even longer, down several inches past her waist; the electric blue sparks arced more frequently.
The Super Saiyan Three flew down and greeted Kid Buu with a punch that sent a shockwave rippling through its body, making a crater under Buu's feet. The punch was followed by a thunderous kick that bent Kid Buu in half, and another axe kick that flattened Buu against the ground. "You're no Kakkarot, but I'll annihilate you just the same." Rutaba held her hand over the prone Kid Buu, charging a blast that would atomize a fair portion of the Majin. Buu's head tentacle suddenly snaked out and wrapped around Rutaba's leg. It flipped up and used the rotation to slam Rutaba into the ground. Kid Buu withdrew its head tentacle to attack, but the moment it did so Rutaba slammed it with a knee strike and two quick punches. Kid Buu kept its head down and headbutted Rutaba, and going into a handstand flipped its legs over and kicked her. Rutaba countered by simply stomping Buu's face into the dirt, and punting it high into the air. "Not bad, for a piece of bubblegum." Taking a full breath, Rutaba screamed her most powerful Thousand-fold Falcon Cry yet- but even as she did so the Super Saiyan Three form's strain became too much and Rutaba reverted to her base form as Kid Buu was blown into pieces. "What? No!" The blond personality cursed under its breath, and wiped a trickle of blood from its mouth- and sneezed. It sneezed two more times, and the second one switched her personality back to normal.
Vegeta mouthed The usual one to Gohan, and said, "Rutaba! You didn't finish Buu off! You need to try that drill technique one more time." For as Vegeta spoke, Buu was already reforming.
"I don't know if I can, I'm so worn out..." Rutaba looks over to Gohan, who appears to having a conversation with someone she can't see.
"Don't give me that! What- what would your father tell you if he heard you say that?"
Rutaba thought about that, and then remembered his last words to her. "...I'll try, but I'm not sure if I can do it."
"Vegeta, Rutaba! Earth's been brought back, and everyone who died since the World Martial Arts Tournament- except the pure evil ones." Said Gohan. "We still have one more wish."
"We'll get to that in a minute," Vegeta looked back to Rutaba. "Begin the technique, now!" He nodded to Gohan, who communicated the implied request to the Supreme Kai.
Wearily, Rutaba lifted her arms up and gathered the energy for another Giga Drill Launcher. It was more difficult than the last time, and she could barely get enough energy together for a beach ball sized orb. To make things worse, Buu was reformed now, and heading her way. The struggle to gather the energy and rotate the ki orb was getting harder, and Rutaba felt she was beginning to lose control of the energy- when suddenly, energy donated from the Namekians poured in, and Vegeta cut off Buu and kept it occupied. Where is all this energy coming from? Still more energy came in from the Namekians, and some from the Z-Fighters and others on Earth. Focus... feel it spinning, concentrate! The orb of ki began to lengthen into a drill, and the good Buu and Gohan donated their remaining energy to the attack. Yes! But Vegeta...
The prince of all Saiyans was taking a beating from Kid Buu, but would not allow himself to retreat just yet. He was swung high into the air by Kid Buu's head tentacle, and smashed back down before being thrown up into the air. The Majin popped up above Vegeta, and swatted him out of the air.
Rutaba was now utterly focused on Kid Buu, the attack ready. "Giga... Drill... LAUNCHER!" The ki drill blasted off, flying through the air like a sunrise after a stormy night. Just barely, it missed Vegeta. Kid Buu shot a ki beam at the blast in an attempt to slow it down, but the Giga Drill Launcher overpowered it and connected, the explosion completely disentegrating Kid Buu once and for all.
Rutaba collapsed in a heap, too tired to move now. "Father..."
"You did it, Rutaba." Said Gohan.
Rutaba thought of how her father had saved her, and how Vegeta and Gohan had helped with the Giga Drill Launcher. "No... we did it." And then she closed her eyes.