Interlude

In the Beginning

Please forgive us for what we have done…

Chance. Chaos. This is the lifeblood of the universe. Things happen randomly and the randomness produces things. People, objects, destinies. Take one destiny that you all know well: that of Son Goku. He became the hero of the galaxy, defeating numerous threats, the tyrant Frieza, the bioengineered monster Cell and the creaure of pure evil Buu. But it was by chance that this happened. Had his Saiyan pod left Vegeta a few seconds later than it did, it would have been caught in the planet's explosion. Had it left a few seconds earlier, it would have crashed far away from Grandpa Gohan and the young Goku would have grown up alone in the wilderness. Had either of these happened he would have never become a hero.

There is another aspect of chance. That of the fires of the universes birth, which produced planets, stars and life. Chance dictated that two species would emerge, nearly simultaneously, superior to the multitudes of others that had lived and died in the galaxy. One was gifted in mastery of ki, a spiritual energy that could be used to improve physical strength and manipulate energy. The other was gifted in magic, a power that allowed them to bend reality to their whim.

The ones gifted in ki were known as the Kais. The ones gifted in magic were called the Majin.

As with all great societies when the two met, suspicion and conflict brewed.

The sound of the knock at the door drew Majin Maladie away from his desk.

"Enter," he called, turning around.

The door opened. A tall Majin, Electium, entered. "Maladie," Electium said, nodding his head. The room was small and bare. Only Maladie's desk, opposite the door, and a purple curtain adjacent to it decorated the room.

"So what are they saying?"

"The usual. The Dai Kaioshin wishes to meet with you again to discuss things. The rumours are that he's only barely preventing Dabara and his forces from engaging in an outright invasion."

"After all their skirmishing he may as well…"

"Would he win?"

Maladie paused a moment. "Probably. Most of us are not natural fighters. The magic helps, but its not much use if you don't have time to use it."

"So what are our contingency plans?"

"Only one at the moment -" Maladie began before a voice cut him off.

"Why so cautious? We could destroy them if we wanted."

Maladie closed his eyes and waited a moment before looking past Electium towards the door. Standing in it was a diminutive figure, with an elongated cranium, dark green skin with some strands of hair poking out and large bulbous eyes. He wore a robe that covered him down to his feet, with pencil thin arms and two whiskers falling from his chin. "Bagibi," Malaide said curtly. "What do you want?"

"Me?" Bagibi touched his hand to his chest. "I want nothing. I merely wish to point out that we have the option to wipe out the Kai's ourselves, before they attack us. As you yourself admit, Maladie, they would probably do so."

"And how do you propose we do this Bagibi? You know what their advantages are in combat over us."

"Simple. We use the Bara Uraca Uagba"

Maladie glanced at Electium and then back to Bagibi. "And how did you hear about that?"

"It is common knowledge, Maladie, that you have been working on this." Bagibi smiled. "I don't see why you are so reluctant to use it."

Maladie waved his hand. A compartment of the wall opened and from inside it a cylinder emerged. Inside the cylinder was a geleatinous pink substance, fluctuating around, surrounded by blue strands of symbols that kept it in place. Bagibi's eyes lit up as he stared at it.

"This is unfinished," Maladie said. "And it will remain unfinished."

"Huh? What do you mean!?"

"This is nothing more than a ploy, something to keep the Kais honest. I know that they have spies around. This is designed to make them wary of challenging us."

"But it could… in principle work…?"

"Were I inclined to, perhaps. But completing this would simply bring the Kais down on us even faster. Things are delicately poised in their politics. I would prefer it to remain a possible threat, rather than an actual one."

Bagibi stared up at Maladie. Then he smiled and bowed slightly. "As you wish Maladie. You've guided us through much. I trust that you will continue to do so." With that Bagibi turned around and scurried out of the room.

Maladie turned back to his desk, waving his hand again to put the cylinder back behind the wall. Electium walked over to him. "That was stupid Maladie," Electium said quietly. "You should not have shown Bagibi that."

"Bagibi is a coward and a third rate wizard. More to the point he knows that. He will not attempt anything."

"Perhaps. But even cowards can have moments of stupidity."

Electium stepped out of the room. Maladie glanced up to watch him go before turning his head back to what he was doing.

"So what has changed?"

Maladie was sat across from the Dai Kaioshin, on a large grassy plain. It was the two of them, alone on a planet uninhabited by intelligent life forms. The agreed upon manner in which the leader of the Majin and the leader of the Kaioshin would meet.

"Nothing much," the Dai Kaioshin replied. He was a tall, but thin individual, with long white hair that stretched down to his feet. He wore the traditional tunic of the Kais. "Dabara is still agitating, as are his followers. More and more are being converted to his cause. I'm not sure how long I continue to keep them at bay."

"Your problem, not mine," Maladie replied, taking a sip from his water.

"It could become your problem, as you well know," the Dai Kaioshin retorted. "If Dabara gets his way then a whole army of his followers will descend on Majin-Kin-Kol and there will be little that I can do to stop them."

"You'd sooner allow a genocide than lose your position at the top? I thought you were more principled than that."

"You know what I mean."

Maladie shrugged. "I fail to understand what more I can do. We agreed previously that we would balance the powers between us by you teaching my people about ki and mine teaching yours about magic. That was the deal and we both kept to it."

"Ki is much easier to learn and develop than magic though. That is what bothers Dabara and his followers, that certain Majin, you among them, are growing to be very strong in both disciplines whereas our powers remain rooted in one area."

"Magic is not some toy. It requires a great deal of responsibility to use. I taught you what I believed that you could handle. It is your task to develop it further on your own. Only by doing so will you learn of its possibilities and its limits and the responsibility that goes with it."

The Dai Kaioshin drank from his water. "I don't want you to think that I'm ungrateful," he said after a moment. "The instantaneous movement has been a great help for our trade. And learning how to generate clothes out of thin air has categorically wrecked the business of all our clothing emporiums."

"Perhaps proving my point," Maladie pointed out.

"Perhaps." The Dai Kaioshin smiled. "I just want you to know that I ask this of you out of a sincere regard for you and your people. You are smart, you have much to contribute to the galaxy."

Maladie looked away to the horizon. "I would agree with you, that we have much to contribute, even if I do not like your deterministic conception. You Kais have far too high a regard for yourselves and your self made destiny."

"Granted, if reluctantly."

"But Dabara will not stop, will he, if I allow the Kais to be taught more magic. He will simply press for more. And I will not make a potentially dangerous enemy even more so."

The Dai Kaioshin looked down. "Understood," he said after a while. "I will do what I can. But start taking necessary precautions."

"I already have."

"Is that the B.U.U. that you are referring to?"

Maladie looked up in surprise. "How did…?"

"I have my ways Maladie. I'm on your side, but I do need to keep tabs on things. Escpecially those that Dabara may find out about. And be assured, if I can find out about that project that I'm sure Dabara can as well."

"That project is harmless. It is nothing more than to make Dabara think twice."

"So you want him to know?" the Dai Kaioshin frowned. "Tread carefully, Maladie. Or else someone may end up calling your bluff."

"We must act now!"

Dabara's voice carried through the chamber, over the murmurs of the other Kais. He was tall, powerfully built, square-jawed with a shaven head. He wore a blue tunic with a flowing silver cape. Presently he stalked around the chamber, a tall cylindrical room whose seats stretched to the ceiling, arguing his case for attacking the Majin. The members were Kais of all shapes, sizes and colours, seated individually with a window looking down onto the floor.

"We have no need to act now, as you said," the under-Dai Kaioshin said. He was sat in a large chair, a little further up from Dabara, in a platform carved into the wall. He was about average height, wearing a red tunic, with green spiky hair that reached his shoulders. "As we speak our leader is meeting with Maladie and…"

"To discuss what, exactly?" Dabara cut back. "Selling us out? He has negotiated with him for so long, with so little results, it makes me wonder what they are really talking about!"

The under-Dai's eyes narrowed. "Speak carefully Dabara," he uttered. "Our laws protect your words here, but do not think that entitles you to say whatever nonsense rises to your mind. This is still a sacred hall, however much you may wish to sully it."

"But am I?" Dabara sneered. "Others in this chamber have thought the same, have spoken the same." A murmur ran around the room. "Whether they admit it or not."

The under-Dai sat back in his chair and thought for a moment. Dabara could be speaking the truth, he probably was actually. He had more supporters than the Dai would like to admit. On the other hand, his words were likely also intended to stir suspicion amongst the members. If everyone thought that everyone else was potentially on his side, it could only create more problems for them in rallying support against Dabara's hysteria. The under-Dai needed to put this in check, fast, and then wait for the Dai to return, hopefully with good news.

The under-Dai moved forward and slammed his hand on the table, putting a pulse of ki into it. The bang echoed loudly around the hall and caused all the voices to quiet.

"You may speak the truth Dabara, only the members of this hall can know where their loyalties lie," the under-Dai said, sweeping his eye across the chamber. The members shied away from his eyes. "But I would have you know that the Dai Kaioshin does his best to maintain peace between us, whereas you Dabara and your approved skirmishes against some the outlying Majin regions actively promote war. And I, nor anyone with sense, will the drawn into your protests of imminent danger, whilst you actively poke the snake with a stick."

Dabara gritted his teeth. "I act only with the interests of Kaioshinkai in mind," he growled.

The under-Dai waved his hand. "In any case, you have spoken. You are dismissed."

Dabara smiled and flourished into an exaggerated bow before departing the chamber. The under-Dai turned his eyes to the rest of the chamber. "That is all for today," he announced. "You may leave at your own pace."

A murmur again ran around the chamber as the Kais began to stand up and move. The under-Dai got to his feet and swept out of the door behind his seat. The chamber behind was small, but layered with grass with a small tree growing in the corner. The under-Dai sat down on the grass, cross-legged and sighed. He shut his eyes and began to meditate.

"So how was it?"

He opened his eyes and looked up. The Dai Kaioshin was stood next to the tree. He scrambled to his feet and bowed.

"You don't need to bow to me," he said. "We've been over this."

"Sorry…" the under-Dai grinned, rubbing his hand behind his head. "You just caught me by surprise."

The Dai smiled. "You might want to work on not being caught by surprise."

"Ha, ha, yes…"

"So… how was it?"

The under-Dai frowned. "Not so good. Dabara's got everyone very agitated. I certainly think more of the Kais than we'd like are… sympathetic towards him."

"Hmmm… not so good."

"Any good news on your side?"

The Dai shook his head. "Maladie still refuses to budge, not that I blame him. Unfortunately he's also doing something else."

"The B.U.U.?"

"Yes. He claims it's unfinished and that he has no intention of completing it, and I have no reason to doubt him, but Dabara is a different case. He thinks that by having it he can make Dabara think twice, but…"

"But if Dabara gets word of it, and knows it to be incomplete, he could use the threat of it to rally support and attack in the knowledge that nothing can be done to stop him."

"That's my worry…"

"I guess all we can do is hope that he knows what he's doing."

Dabara slumped back in his chair and clenched his fist. No matter how long he argued he just couldn't seem to get his way. Oh he had convinced many of the Kais of the necessity of his attack, that much was true and was confirmed in many a private word from the members of the council. But try as he might he couldn't get any of the spineless cowards to actually act.

"Master Dabara?"

The voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He turned his head and saw his second, Belial, standing at the doorframe.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I'm here to report on our latest excursions against Majin territory," Belial said. "I'm afraid it's not good news." Dabara let out a low growl. Belial winced. "The… I'm afraid Majin Excidium and his troops rebelled our scouts, with difficulty I should say."

"What does it matter if it was with difficulty or with ease?" Dabara spat. "We can't win support if we can't prove that we can win a decisive victory against them. The more our skirmishers are defeated and the more widely this is known the harder it will be to convince other Kais to donate forces for the expeditions and the final assault. They're already whimpering over the prospect of going against the Dai Kaioshin with promises of success. I dread to think what they'd be like without it." He grit his teeth. "And then there's the B.U.U. problem."

"It is incomplete though."

"So Maladie claims. Even if that is true, and I have my doubts, can you imagine the effect it would have?"

"A good effect… for you…"

Dabara and Belial whirled. In the corner of the room, hidden in shadow, was a small hunched figure, with bulbous eyes.

"Who are you?" Dabara shouted, standing to his feet.

"I'm here to help you," Majin Bagibi smiled.

Majin Maladie closed the curtain. The magic gel over his eyes fell away, breaking apart into small symbols and disappearing in the air. All this time studying and he was still no closer to understanding what they were. They were indestructible, he knew that, immune to magic, and could seemingly withstand pressures of magnitude comparable to being in the centre of a planet with no trouble and almost certainly more.

He settled back into his chair and clasped his hands together.

He waved a hand and the B.U.U. appeared from its compartment. He plucked the canister into the air and settled it in front of him. A small piece of the substance he removed and placed it on his arm. It writhed and shivered, moving across his skin, before beginning to leak around it like a thick drop of water. He hadn't lied when he said it was incomplete, but that was only because what it needed to be complete wasn't some adjustment that had to be made to the substance. It was something that had to be added to the substance. But he had no desire to complete it. He was curious to see what the results would be, whether it would work as he predicted it would, but he had to consider his people. He was no warmonger and he had no desire to test the Kai's limits.

A snap hissing sound came from the wall of the room and Maladie looked up to see a portal open and Majin Excidium stepped through.

"Maladie," he said, inclining his head. "We were successful. Just."

Maladie nodded, placing the pink substance back in its container. "What's your assessment of Dabara's forces?"

"Powerful, as always. We were able to limit their damage this time, but…" Excidium looked away. "If he were to strike with a full retinue of forces its unlikely that we could minimise the damage sufficiently."

There was a small silence as Maladie considered the information. "At least we've protected most of the outposts," he said eventually. "We should have sufficient warning if he does attack."

"Sufficient warning to do what?"

Maladie looked over at Excidium. "Call Electium," he said. "I need to show you both."

At the crest of a hill was a door.

The door was large, brown and square. Made of wood. Surrounding it was white of marble of some kind. It stood alone on the hill, with nothing behind it and nothing in front of it. An unnatural, ethereal feeling was wreathed around the door.

"What is this place?" Electium asked.

"This is a door to another space. To another time," Maladie said, staring up at the door.

"Where?"

"I don't know. I've only been in there once. The gravity is different. All there is is a wide expanse of nothing. The temperature varies on a whim. It's safe enough though and that's the important thing."

"Safe enough for what?" Excidium asked.

"For hiding our people."

"What?"

"Should Dabara attack, we will get warning from the outposts. This will give us time to evacuate everyone beyond this door. There they will be safe from the outside world."

"But the door could be destroyed!" Electium shouted.

Maladie nodded. "It could. However this door can be moved, with magic, and with ease. That will be your task Electium."

"My… task…?"

"You will remain outside when our people are in here. You will be tasked with taking the door to another location, a safe location, and then opening it so that we may leave. Our people will survive and the task of punishing Dabara will fall to the Dai Kaioshin. We preserve our people and our good relations."

"This is…" Electium touched his fingers to his forehead. "It's a lot to ask Maladie."

Maladie placed his hand on Electium's shoulder. "I know it is," he said softly. "I don't have the right to ask such a thing of you. But, for the sake of all of us, I need you to do this."

"I… I will do the best that I can."

"What of the B.U.U.?" Excidium asked. "That would come with us?"

"Yes as would the stones," Maladie said. "I can't allow either of those to fall into the wrong hands."

Excidium nodded. "So what should we do now?"

"Begin informing our people of the evacuation plan," Maladie explained. "They need to know in advance so that we can make an orderly escape. Hopefully we will never need to make use of this. I hope that the Kai's can sort our there own internal affairs."

They nodded. Excidium looked up at the door. "This feeling that I'm getting… I've never encountered anything like this before… Apart from those stone you found."

"I get that sense too," Maladie said quietly. "They may be connected. I don't know how."

"As you say, hopefully we will never have to find out."

Bagibi swept his hand from his forehead and smiled at Dabara.

They were seated at a long table, sat at either end. A large feast was before them, though Bagibi had declined to eat everything.

"You're assurance that the B.U.U. is incomplete is gratifying," Dabara said, "but it is not enough. In order to convince others to act they need guarantees of safety."

"Maladie's intent is to flee from you, not fight you," Bagibi replied. "I fail to see what more guarantees of safety that you need."

"It is not the guarantees that I need, it is the guarantees that the other Kai's need."

Bagibi sat back. He smiled, showing his teeth. "Well, greed is only one way to drive people to action. That requires a guarantee of safety; they want to know that their greed will be rewarded. But there is another way. Fear. You rally them around the fear of Maladie, fear of what he could do and they'll come racing to your side."

"Fear?" Dabara snorted. "It would take only a moment for the Dai Kaioshin to reassure them that the B.U.U. will not be used and then the standard of fear is gone. As for their rising strength, that is perhaps of use, but they have shown a great lack of will to attack us, so it is also implausible."

"Perhaps, but what if I told you a little something else."

"What?"

Bagibi leaned forwards, his eyes glinting. "That Maladie has something else in his possession. Something whose power even he fears."

Dabara stared at Bagibi. He swallowed, but tried to disguise it. "Something even he fears. What?"

"That I do not know. And it is unimportant. It exists. That is something that no one outside of you among the Kais will know. The Dai Kaioshin won't be able to calm people over that because he himself will know nothing about it."

"I see…" Dabara sat back in his chair. This new information was interesting. But it still posed something of a problem, the least of which was how trustworthy Bagibi could be. "What is Maladie's plan in the event of an attack?"

"He plans on hiding his people in another realm. As soon as he gets word of an attack from the outposts. You would simply need to destroy the door to that realm and then he would never be able to return. The B.U.U. and the other items in his possession would be locked away with him."

"Maladie is smarter than that, even I know that. He must have some means of moving the door, or else he would just be leaving him defenceless."

Bagibi grinned. "He won't have time to move it, because he won't get word from the outposts."

"How do you mean?"

"You assemble your forces. I'll take care of the rest."

There was a silence.

"You still haven't said… why are you doing this?" Dabara asked.

Bagibi shrugged. "No particular reason. I just don't much like Maladie. And I'd much prefer to be on the winning side." Bagibi smiled. "My condition for helping you is, of course, my immunity once you take control."

Dabara nodded. "Granted."

Bagibi stood. "I'll take my leave now. Contact me when you're ready."

"How am I to do that?"

"Simply imagine me. Your thoughts will reach me."

Bagibi inclined his head. Then, with a wave of both hands, he disappeared.

Dabara sat back and locked his fingers together. Belial stepped into the room.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"Well enough," Dabara said after a moment. "I want you to start contacting some of our supporters, we have new information for them. Information that will help them make the right decision."

Belial nodded. "Can you trust him?"

"No. But I will use him. And then dispense with him." Dabara grinned.

"Dabara has queietened down the last few days," the Dai Kaioshin said, sipping from his drink. Across from him Maladie was seated on the plains. Their regular meeting. "It would seem your tactic worked."

Maladie nodded. "And how are things on the council?"

"Similarly quiet. It would seem that the call to action has died down. Whether that's due to Dabara's lessening, the fear of your B.U.U. or simply that previous skirmishes were all failures I don't know."

"Maybe a combination of all of them." He paused as he drank. "Still it seems odd that…" Maladie suddenly stopped and turned his head towards the sky. His eyes grew wide and his mouth trembled.

"Maladie? What is it?" the Dai Kaioshin asked.

Maladie whirled his head to him, a ferocious glare in his eyes. Then he disappeared.

"Maladie wait!" the Dai Kaioshin stood to his feet.

"Dai Kaioshin!" the under-Dai appeared.

"What is it!?"

"It's Dabara… He's attacked the Majin homeworld!"

The Dai Kaioshin's eyes widened in shock.

Maladie appeared on the hill outside the door. Excidium was there. He stepped forward. Before him was the city.

Fire. Smoke. Screams. Ruin.

Maladie clenched his fist, his face contorting.

"Maladie!" Excidium shouted.

He turned.

"We need to get the people out!" he said, hoping to restore Maladie to his senses. "There's too much chaos at the moment for them to move orderly."

Maladie turned to him, clarity resuming in his mind. "Yes. We have to save who we can. You start moving the people out, I need to grab the things from my lab. And find Electium!"

Excidium nodded. Then the two of them took to the sky and flew into the city.

Dabara watched from high above. The sounds of chaos were music too him. Next to him floated Bagibi.

"Did I not promise you that I could get you here?" Bagibi asked.

"Yes you did," Dabara nodded, smiling. "This is much more than I dreamed possible. Soon the Majin will be gone."

"Indeed they will. Congratulations."

"And with this my taking of the position of Dai Kaioshin is assured." Dabara clenched his fist. "Of course, there are still some loose ends to tie up…" He turned his head. Bagibi was no longer there. Dabara whirled around in the sky. Where did he go!?

"Dabara!"

Belial appeared beside him. "Excidium and Maladie have entered the fray. They've begun to evacuate the people."

"Fine, let them. We'll just destroy the door. Concentrate our attacks on the southern regions."

"Yes Master. Extinction levels have reached approximately sixty percent."

"Good." Dabara charged a purple ball of energy in his hand and threw it at the city beneath. A huge explosion erupted, devastating the area. "That should add another ten percent." Dabara grinned.

Maladie raced into his lab. It was still untouched. It had taken him longer to reach it than he would have liked, he had stopped to help and direct some of his people as well as eliminate some attacking Kais.

Acting quickly he opened the compartment that held the B.U.U. and held it in the air. Then he placed a magical protection over his eyes and pulled back the curtain. From within he placed the stones into a container, dark made of katchin, that lay next to them and shut it. He removed the magic gel from his eyes.

They can't find this. They can't find any of it.

He lifted both with magic and left the lab. How did they even attack here without any warning?

Excidium directed the long line of people behind the door. He had only glimpsed inside to the dark that lay beyond the door, but he couldn't see anything of the realm that Maladie had spoken of. He could only trust what his friend had said. The people didn't stop to question it as they fled and streamed through the door. Excidium was doing all he could to keep it relatively orderly. He hadn't been able to find Electium though. And he could feel the deaths of the people within the city. Could hear their deaths. He wanted to do something, anything, but he was constrained to doing this job. This duty.

Suddenly Maladie appeared, with the B.U.U. and a container in tow.

"Did you find Electium?" Excidium asked.

"No, I couldn't see him anywhere. I hope nothing has happened to him." From the sky the two watched as the last of the Majin streamed through. "We need to close the door," Maladie said.

"But there are still more people out there -"

"We can't save them!" Maaldie shouted, wishing he could bite back his own words. "Now we can only save those who are already through. That will have to be enough." It wasn't enough, not to his mind. But it had to be this way. "I can't find Electium, so you'll have to take his place. I'm sorry Excidium but…"

"I'm here!" Electium appeared in the sky beside them. "Sorry I'm late, I got caught in the battles in the city, trying to lead some of the people out. How many made it?"

Maladie sighed in relief. "It's good that you are here. We've saved over a thousand."

"So few…"

Maladie nodded. "There's no time, hurry!"

Excidium shot to the ground and dashed through the door.

Maladie approached the door and set the B.U.U. down beside him and the container. "I'll have to put these through first," he said. "Then I will follow them. After that you close the door and transport it like I showed you."

"Maladie, perhaps you should go through first."

"What?" Maladie turned his head -

WHAM!

A wave of ki energy struck him sending him hurtling through the door. As he disappeared behind the closing gates he saw the raised hand of Electium, from where the blast came. Then the doors shut.

Electium stepped back from the doors and raised both of his hands. Purple tendrils lashed out and surrounded the door. He drew his fingers into claws and then ripped his hands through the air. The tendrils tore through the door, tearing it apart. The pieces crumbled to the ground, in rubble and dust.

Maladie stared as the door came apart before his eyes, becoming piles of brick on the ground. The white expanse of nothingness lay behind it. All around there was nothing. The heat was intense, the gravity stronger, pulling on them. Around him his people stared in fear. Murmurs broke through the crowd, hurried, hysterical.

Excidium stepped forward. "Maladie… what…"

Maladie screamed, his power warping around him and blasting across the area.

But no matter how much of his fury he unleashed, the rubble stayed where it was.

Electium looked upon his work. It was done.

"Very good…" Bagibi stepped up onto the hill.

Electium turned to him. "It went just as you said it would," he said.

"Of course. Maladie is far too trusting of his own people. He would never really believe that someone who behaved loyally would be disloyal. You did well."

"Thank you. Now the BU.U.?"

"Ah yes, of course." Bagibi waved to where it was.

Electium smiled and made his way towards the canister containing the pink gelatinous substance. "Now we can move ahead. When I have this we will become unstoppable. We can remake the universe make it better. Maladie could never see the real potential of…" He stopped and shuddered. He looked down. A hole was in his chest, a sword of sickly green symbols. It withdrew and Electium collapsed to his knees.

"Yes. Unfortunately neither could you."

Bagibi walked past Electium.

"Bagibi… You… You promised me…"

"Did I?" He looked over at him and grinned. "Oh dear, it seems I must have accidentally misspoke. I seem to do that a lot."

"But… But you…"

"Really Electium, did you honestly think that I wanted the B.U.U. just to make the galaxy a better place with an iron fist? And then release Maladie and the other Majin later? I couldn't care about them. But I will make the galaxy a better place. My place."

Tears stung Electium's eyes. "Bagibi… You…"

"You can die now Electium." Bagibi closed his hand and then opened it. Electium's head exploded. "Let your last thoughts be of your own foolishness and greed."

Bagibi walked towards the canister. Finally it was in his possession! At last he would be able to become the most powerful being in the universe - in any universe! "Even the Dai Kaioshin will tremble before me!" He laughed and opened up the canister. The B.U.U. fell out onto his hand. The substance slimed around on his hand and arm. But it didn't do anything. "What the… What's wrong with you!?" Bagibi angrily jabbed it with a magic strike. "Why don't you -!" Bagibi cut himself off with a scream as the pink substance suddenly latched onto his arm and began to creep up his body, sticking itself into his arm and twisting it. "What!? What are you - stop it!"

CRACK!

Bagibi's arm snapped. He screamed. "Ah you…! Maladie you…!" The substance made it towards Bagibi's face, pulling itself over his right bulbous eye and squeezing. "Ba para pa pa!" Bagibi yelled.

He disappeared.

The hill became silent, but for the wind and the screams from the city below.

Dabara stepped onto the hill, followed by Belial and ten other Kai's.

"So this is it…" He looked upon the ruins of the door. "Seems someone beat us to it."

"Sir! The B.U.U. is gone!" Belial pointed at the empty canister.

"Hmm… Maladie may have taken it with him. Or else whoever did this did. We'll have to find it." His eyes were suddenly caught by the container. "This… this must be what Bagibi was warning us about."

"Why would that be left here?"

"Maybe he didn't have time to bring it with him…" Dabara stepped forward. An ominous feeling seemed to wrap around him as he approached the container. But his curiosity got the better of him as he approached. The others closed towards him as well. Dabara reached out, his heart pounding. His shaking hand opened the top of the container.

He screamed as blinding white light, as powerful as the sun, struck his eyes and blinded him. The others fell back, yelling as well, clutching their eyes. Dabara stumbled blindingly, holding his hands over his face. His mind was just the intense white light. The intense white light broken by small black stars.

He collapsed to the ground and vomited.

Slowly he opened his eyes, squinting them, his vision blurry from the light and tears streaming down his face. He could make out some shoes.

"Well, this is an interesting sight…"

Dabara recognised the voice and froze. He looked up and squinted at the under-Dai. The under-Dai looked down upon him.

"You…" Dabara sneered. "Come to reprimand me have you? The Dai Kaioshin too cowardly to do it himself?"

"No. You can address him in person. He's above you." The under-Dai pointed up.

Dabara looked up. He could just see the shadow of a figure handing in the sky. He could sense his power though. And his fury.

The Dai Kaioshin, staff in hand, dropped to the ground. "What have you done, Dabara?"

"Done!?" Dabara laughed. "I have eliminated the Majin!" Shakily he pulled himself to his feet. "I have ended their threat! We all have!"

The other Kais' began to pull themselves up. They were frightened by the Dai Kaioshin, but Dabara's presence gave them confidence. Surely they would now take power, as Dabara had promised.

The Dai's face contorted. "You monsters! All of you!" The Dai's power exploded. Dabara's eyes widened before the wave of power knocked him and his compatriots to the ground. He was far more powerful than any of them would have imagined.

The under-Dai stepped back. He was as surprised as they were by the power.

The Dai stepped forward. He looked down at Dabara, who could only look up in fear.

"The sight of you makes me sick. Consider yourself and your band arrested. I will deal with you after I end this slaughter." The Dai turned around and began to levitate in the air.

"End this slaughter!?" Dabara shouted. "You can move anywhere instantly and you have this power! You could have ended this at any time, but you didn't!"

The Dai halted.

"If I'm a monster for performing this slaughter then what are you? You let it go on, until Maladie disappeared. You wanted this just as much as I did! Their blood is on your hands too - you were just too much of a coward to do it yourself!"

The Dai's head spun around and he unleashed a kiai that snapped Dabara's head back. He collapsed back onto the ground unconscious. The Dai stared at his body, hatred consuming his vision. Then he turned and flew towards the city.

Nobody moved an inch.

The Kai's were consumed with shame.

To repent for their sins, the Dai Kaioshin used the forgotten powers to alter the galaxy, crafting three separate realms. The Galaxy realm, that of the inhabitants of the galaxy. The Godly realm, where the Kai's would reside. And the Demon realm, where Dabara and his followers were sent to remain for eternity.

From their realm the Kai's would rule, watching over the planets and people in the Galaxy realm. They would protect the spirits of those who lived a good life, allowing them to live in the Godly realm under their protection. They raised themselves as gods in the hopes that by protecting the people of the Galaxy and allowing them an afterlife, protecting their spirits, they could atone for what they had done to the Majin.

The Majin themselves were destroyed. Behind the door Maladie watched as his people slowly died, unable to handle the intense conditions behind the door, which try as they might they could not repair, no matter what they did. For each year that passed, a thousand went by on the outside. Most of the Majin went insane and died from their own insanity. But Maladie and some others clung onto their hatred, their monstrous rage, and it fuelled them and kept them sane. The hope that one-day they would be free and in their freedom they would take their revenge.

And, as the chaos of the universe would have it, they would unwittingly be helped by Bagibi, through his sons Burbidi, Bibidi and Babidi.

The door to the Room of Spirit and Time lay in ruins.

Piccolo lowered his hand and turned to the stunned Buu and Gotenks.

"Piccolo… wasn't that the…" Gotenks began to utter.

"It's over Buu, I've destroyed the door," Piccolo said, calmly. "That was the only passage between these two worlds. You're incredibly strong, but no matter how incredibly strong you are, you won't be able to leave. Kill us and spend the rest of eternity by yourself…"

"What!?" Gotenks yelled, his eyes widening to saucer plate size.

"…In this completely empty world," Piccolo finished.

Buu looked horrified. "My… my beloved candies…"

"There's none here."

Buu gasped in terror.

"Why'd you do that!?" Gotenks screamed. "I still had a special attack left!"

"What!?" Piccolo shouted. "You said you had reached your limit!"

"That was a joke!"

"How can you joke at a time like this!? You moron!"

"You're the moron! Fix the house!"

"Idiot! It can never be fixed!"

Buu suddenly let out an enormous howl!

The scream carried across the white expanse, but it was soon lost, into the depths of the white. Across the area where lightening made of magma flashed, where regions were at once thousands of miles long and only centimetres across, where the world spun into different shapes, where thunder sounded like a lions roar, where time passed in instants and took eternities, where the temperature varied on a whim, where gravity became massive and non-existent and where a door lay in ruins.

The ruins stirred.

Then they began to piece themselves together. For when one door closes, another must open.

And Majin Maladie awoke.

Hey there all! I'm back, so is the story, and my apologies for the long wait. I really hope it was worth it!

So there's the backstory for Maladie, the Majin and the Kai's done with. I'm curious as to whether it was what people were excepting or not. A couple of things to clarify - Firstly Bagibi couldn't control the B.U.U. because he lacked the ability to use ki (something which he never trained with, thinking it inferior to magic). Consequently he had to devote his efforts to finding a way around it, which Bibidi would eventually crack by turning it into Buu. And those stones were the Black Star Dragon Balls (though quite what they are is a mystery ;))

Now, to address some of the questions and comments:

Q: Wow, Uub's regeneration was kinda creepy since Buu works by regenerating everything and while it isn't gory since he looks like sentient (Though considering how feral Kid Buu was and how naive Fat Buu was I use the term loosly) bubblegum so Uub regenerating in the same way, the bones growing back as well as the muscles tendons and stuff was very creepy

A: That was the effect I was going for, so I'm really happy to hear that it worked!

Q: but awesome, now if he could harness more of the power of Kid Buu such as the Chocolate Beam and regeneration though seeing as he is flesh and bone not enchanted

A: A point that I'll clarify now is that Uub no longer has any of his Kid Buu powers or strength: that was all taken when Kid Buu was ripped from his body. So in term of power Uub has now taken something of a nose-dive, to being around Tien's level of strength.

Q: thank you for explaining the hierarchy of the PTO, and as for the Super Saiyan thing, that makes sense, I discussed it with a few other people and we agreed on Super Saiyan being a gene that is dormant but under the right conditions and with the right training can be activated.

A: Thanks! I'm glad it made sense, and it helped with you and your friends discussion! :)

Q: I think out of all the scenes in this chapter, the Gohan and Sharpener one was my favorite. You wrote both Gohan and (Pencil) Sharpner really well. The point you make about not seeing them after the tournament is a good one. Why..why did we not see any more of the high school days in canon? I actually enjoyed the whole Other World Saga/Great Saiyaman Saga!

A: It was my favourite as well and I really never understood why they all disappeared after the saga was over. I wasn't too big a fan of the Other World Saga but the Great Saiyaman Saga was one of my favourites - in large part because it was so great to see Gohan interacting with normal people for a change!

Q: Personally, I would have left in the scene with Sharpner; it didn't seem contrived at all to me, & everyone was in-character

A: It seems that on balance I should have kept this one in xD But that's why I like doing the deleted scenes!

Q: I also appreciate your explanation of the PTO. It's a bit similar to my model of it, but with more specific divisions. Cool!

A: Thanks! And please feel free to use model, or parts of it, if you wish :)

Q: I just wanna check for my own sake if you consider Tarble canon since BoG was a canon movie and mentioned him...

A: I'm not considering Tarble canon, primarily because I didn't see the movie to which he was part. Also, I have no idea how I'd work him in!

Q: But the fact that she has her look from gt is kinda gross -but i guess thats due to her party life... still though... lol

A: It may shame me to admit it, but I actually kind of liked Pan's GT design (hence why its here) lol

Q: Also a note on 18... Why does bulma not find a way to charge her? What of 17?

A: Bulma has but it doesn't work. Its essentially diminishing returns: she can give her a charge to get her mobile, but the amount of power needed and the amount of time it lasts gets shorter and shorter, so eventually it had to be given up because there was no way of doing it. As for 17... well, I can't say because it'll be spoilers, but he is out there...

Q: Namek most definitely doesn't orbit the sun XD. If such a planet was as small as our sun, though, it wouldn't be able to supernova- the sun is much too small for that. Just a minor plot contrivance, though

A: I may have made a bit of a grammatical error with regard to the Sun - I think I meant to put Namek' s sun, rather than the Sun. And yes I know that the star would be too small for a supernova but, hey, I'm willing to fudge things for the sake of drama xD

Q: I thought the syntax was also intriguing. I think a little bit more insight into the characters' thoughts would have been awesome, but your sentences were still varied in length and structure. I especially enjoyed the short sentences meant to be impactful (like when you said Cargo didn't move at all).

A: The syntax/sentence structure you can blame on Hemmingway, I'm a big fan of his, but I'm glad to hear that it's having the effect it was intended to have.

Q: The thin one, as he was described, reminds me of The Pale Man in "Pan's Labyrinth". Was that intentional?

A: I hadn't thought of the Pale Man, but now that you've mentioned it I definitely see it and may well have had that in my subconscious. Pan's Labyrinth is one of my favourite films as well - in my opinion the best of del Toro' films.

Act III should be out before the end of next week. Thanks again to everyone for reading and reviewing - it really does make me very happy!

Best wishes to all!