FF dot net has its moments doesn't it? When I posted this chapter on Friday morning, for some reason the formatting deleted all of my quotation marks and apostrophes making the chapter really confusing to read. Also all the email notifications seemed to be down for some reason…
I suppose it should have been a sign to hold off on posting the chapter because in all honesty I was kind of stressed out while writing it. The jobs I've been having to take with the economy the way it is right now have been dull with little pay… Hopefully that will clear up soon though. So this chapter has been reworked a little to hopefully make it a bit more exciting than the first time it was posted. Not to mention we should have all our punctuation back… Thanks for the continued support everyone!
Chapter 25: Shattered Windows
From the top of Kami's lookout, Dende and Yamcha continued to sense the battle down on the surface intently. "Why aren't they fighting? It's like Goku and the others are holding back… They should be kicking Buu's butt right now!" Yamcha growled in frustration as he sensed everyone's energy hardly moving.
Dende eyed the man carefully, "It's because of the technique Buu is using. Many eons ago, Majin Buu absorbed the Grand Supreme Kai of this dimension and with him gained his ability to turn any power focused onto him against his enemies. So you see if Goku were to strike, Majin Buu would only return the force of the blow in kind."
Yamcha blinked a few times and crossed his arms, "Man that is one bad ability for a monster like that to have."
Nodding Dende continued, "Right, but that's why Gohan and the Supreme Kai disappeared. They're trying to find a way to separate Buu from the powers he absorbed from the inside. If they're successful then all of them will be able to unleash their full power to destroy Majin Buu once and for all."
"They can do it! I know they can!" Yamcha squinted at the clouds below as he felt a power approaching, "Hey look, Krillin's back! And he found Tien and Chiaotzu!"
Krillin flew over the top of the lookout landing with Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu right behind him, "Hey guys, how's the fight going?"
Yamcha shook his head, "They're at a standoff right now, but hopefully that will change once Gohan and the Supreme Kai accomplish whatever they set out to do."
Tien walked over to the side of the lookout to sense the battle below with Dende, "I saw this Majin Buu destroying cities across the world for the last day. He's so powerful though, I was hoping for a more opportune moment to join the battle with Goku and the others, but Krillin found us first and said we needed to come here."
"Yes, Goku wanted everyone here… just in case…" Dende relayed never taking his eyes off the happenings below.
Chiaotzu floated over by Dende and Tien, "Just in case of what?"
Sweat built up on Dende's brow, "Just in case something unexpected happens…"
The Dark Buu stared down Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo defiantly. So far the battle had been relatively downplayed. None of them had done much attacking which in turn yielded Majin Buu less power to launch a greater offensive. The three of them together were powerful enough that his current energy reserves weren't causing significant damage.
Buu grunted in frustration. His opponents all noticed however that Buu's grunt was cut off by a dry cough and his eyes widened as he appeared to be trying to clear out his throat. The three tried to approach Buu but he lashed out immediately with a strong energy slash to keep them at bay.
Inside of Majin Buu, Gohan and the Supreme Kai were tunneling upward through the putty of Buu's internal tissue. Gohan's hand burst through the mush first into a large chamber, followed by his head as he took a look around, "Well this is interesting…" Gohan finished pulling himself out and hoisted the Kai up behind him.
"What is it Gohan?" Shin brushed himself off as the two were able to stand without being smothered once again.
"Well… isn't this where Buu's brain is supposed to be?" Gohan scratched his head as he looked around the empty room.
The Supreme Kai laughed at Gohan's insinuation, "I'm afraid Majin Buu doesn't work that way. He's a creature of evil fueled by rage. His memories and life force are governed by other means than standard definitions of intelligence. His influences should be nearby here though."
On the outside, no one was making any further moves. The standoff was becoming nerve wracking. Goku was keeping his fingers crossed that Gohan would find what he needed to negate Buu's ability to absorb their attacks and put an end to this battle.
As he focused deeper on Buu's eyes he noticed the creature's concentration shift. It was like he was staring blankly at them all of a sudden; keeping up a defensive front, but concentrating elsewhere, "What does that mean? What is he doing?"
Piccolo noticed the look also, "I'm not sure… he seems to be focusing his energies inside himself… This could mean trouble…"
The walk across Buu's mindscape was unnatural. Deeper into his head cavern were pillars of the mushy substance that made up Buu's body which all seemed to be pulsating. "It's the same dark energy flowing from his heart all the way up here. Pure spite flows through his every vain…" The Supreme Kai shook his head and continued walking.
The whole place gave off an eerie dark purple glow. Gohan noticed the ground beneath their feet beginning to pulsate also as they walked over it. It was hard to tell at first, but Gohan began to realize the pulsing sensation was Buu's energy gathering around them.
Gohan dashed up closer to the Kai, "I think he knows we're here…"
"What? How?" As Shin finished asking, the chamber around them constricted and more ooze slopped into the center in front of them. The blob took shape forming the Dark Buu they had seen outside.
Immediately Gohan took a defensive stance in front of the Kai to protect him. A deep rumbling laugh exuded from all around them rather than just the Buu facing them, "You no can protect the Kai here! Here I am everywhere! You both die for coming here!"
The entire cavern lit up brightly as Gohan transformed into his first level Super Saiyan. "Gohan…" The Supreme Kai urged, "You can't fight him yet, it will only make him stronger!"
"I know…" Gohan spoke through tensed teeth.
The figure of Dark Buu lunged forward toward the two. Gohan grabbed the Supreme Kai by the wrist and jumped to dodge out of the way. "You only think you are so fast here…" Gohan could hear the grin in Buu's voice without having to see him turn around.
"WATCH OUT!" The Supreme Kai called as hundreds of tentacle like whips extruded from the pulsating nerves and wrapped around their limbs. They each looked at the strange tentacles in shock for a moment before being violently pulled back and slammed against the wall.
Shin reeled forward as the wind was knocked out of him. Their stationary time was short lived as from the walls the tentacles quickly shoved both of them to the floor and continued to toss them about. Dark Buu's laugh echoed throughout the chamber as the tentacles tossed the two intruders to and fro.
Gohan grunted as focused his energy on bringing himself to a stop, but the strength from his binds intensified and started pulling each limb in opposite direction, stretching him out. Buu floated slowly over to the taut demi-saiyan, "Poor little boy, too stupid to know so small so no strength! Buu big! Buu crush little weak boy!" Buu pulled his fist back, the texture hardened into solid rock before ramming it into Gohan's face.
The sting started to set in after the attack as Gohan chewed on the sore inside of his cheek. "You think you're strong huh?" Gohan chuckled slightly, "I'm afraid you really have no idea what I'm capable of!" Gohan's hair spiked up wilder as his aura burst into great flames which repelled the tentacles away from his body. With his hands free, Gohan gathered energy to his hands creating a great energy ball which he threw at the Dark Buu.
The energy ball lit the entire chamber. The light reflected off of Buu's dark eyes and he only grinned as he allowed the energy to hit him.
Goku and Vegeta were each holding onto one of Buu's arms as he struggled against their grasps. His attention had been focused elsewhere for a while that he hadn't even tried to melt out of their grip. The two saiyans were startled when the side of Buu's head exploded and dark gunk flew in every direction.
The hole immediately closed up and Buu's eyes began to glow a sinister red. He pulled his arms free of the saiyans grasps and channeled new energy into his hands.
"That's just not fair…" Goku moaned before the energy exploded and washed over the area in an intense light throwing the three of them back
Gohan scooped up the Supreme Kai and continued racing through the cavern of Buu's head.
"Why did you use an attack like that Gohan? You could have done a lot more harm than good!" The Kai scolded.
"I know I know… I just needed to buy us a bit of time…" A look of worry crossed Gohan's face as he felt Buu use a great amount of energy externally. "We should almost be there…"
"GOHAN STOP!" Screeching to a stop on command, Gohan had almost missed a particular pillar that was significantly larger than the others. It was thick, pulsating more slowly, and there appeared to be opening on the side of it.
Gohan and the Supreme Kai entered the brightly lit nerve and gazed up at the sight before them.
"No… No it… I should have known… we're far too late…" The Supreme Kai whimpered as he fell to his knees
"I don't understand…" Gohan continued to look at the suspended form of the fat Majin Buu hanging inside a fleshy pod above them.
Shin shook his head, "The life force of Daikaioshin… it's been completely absorbed into that… There is no separating them now. They are completely one in the same being."
Gohan floated up to the pudgy captive. He looked deep into the face of Buu for a moment, "It might work…" Gohan smiled sensing a kind of innocence from this Majin Buu, "Supreme Kai sir, we can still do it!"
Perking up, the Supreme Kai floated up by Gohan, "You can sense Daikaioshin's life force?"
Shaking his head Gohan replied, "No, but like you said he and this Buu are one now. Everything Daikaioshin was is right here, and he is still separate from the rest of Buu. So if you can split Majin Buu back into two separate entities…"
Shaking off his desire for the perfect outcome, Shin nodded, "You're right, we can do this. I'll need just a moment then to separate this entity from the rest of Buu's evil influence."
"Do you need me to help you with anything?" Gohan offered.
The Supreme Kai shook his head, "I just need to summon up the right energies without being disturbed…" His hands began to glow as he placed them on the cocoon like pod encasing the larger Buu.
"NOOO! YOU LEAVE BUU ALONE!" An angry roar came from outside the nerve.
The furious demand made Gohan cringe, "Well, I guess I know what I have to do then…" Gohan's ki flared around him as he powered up and flew out from the nerve to stall Buu's approach.
"I must hurry… I can only pray that once separated that this Buu doesn't decide to consider us his targets as well…" His hands began to glow brighter as he continued working.
Gohan landed at the entrance of the nerve pillar in time to see the ground in front of him folding over itself. The entire room seemed to become liquid and a wave from under the surface of the goop began its rapid approach toward him. The wave was only feet away when Gohan reacted and placed a barrier shield in front of him which extended into the ground and above the ceiling of the room. The wave crashed into it with a sickening splat sending blobs of goop in every direction.
Dark Buu immediately formed from the ooze and started bashing on Gohan's shield, "You stop! You stop now! Taking Buu away from Buu make Buu not Buu anymore! Stop!" Buu kept yelling as he pounded on Gohan's shield again and again. The ferocity of his blows started pushing Gohan back.
"He's really giving it everything he's got…" Gohan grunted under the pressure but kept the shield in place.
"RAH!" Buu stretched his arm reaching down into the ground below his feet. His arm travelled all the way under Gohan's shield, turned upward again and broke through the surface at Gohan's feet. Grabbing Gohan by the ankle, Buu dragged Gohan under the surface of the gummy flesh, down and up the same path. Buu ripped Gohan back out from the ground and held him upside down in front of his face. He let out a loud screeching scream with Gohan only inches in front of his mouth which formed an energy wave in Gohan's face.
Majin Buu tossed Gohan aside, expecting to have won himself a few moments reprieve from the boy and was concentrating on the nerve when Gohan flipped in the air. Gohan's foot dug into the ground beneath him as he pushed himself off and struck Buu in the face. Buu's entire body elongated from the force of the blow and a look of pure rage crossed his features as he molded back to his proper shape, "ANNOYING BOY DIE!" Using the same trick as before, Buu hardened his fists and smashed them into Gohan's stomach. Without reprieving, Buu used the energy to strike Gohan as hard as he could. Punches landed to Gohan's stomach, face, chest, repeatedly over and over. Gohan flopped with each blow taking each hit without fighting back. Buu reached forward and grasped Gohan by the hair picking him up off the ground. "Now stop moving forever!"
Gohan almost looked unconscious being held up by his scalp in Buu's grasp until his eyes snapped open and his hands immediately clasped at his side, "KAMEHAMEHA!" Gohan launched the blast which tore through Buu's body, disintegrating the internal personification Buu completely.
With a flip Gohan landed on his feet in front of the entrance. "Supreme Kai… please hurry… he's going to come back from that any minute and…"
The ground in front of Gohan molded upward into the shape of Dark Buu's head from the neck up. Gohan looked up at the behemoth with his hands clenched, unsure of what the monster was about to unleash on him.
While the enormous head had Gohan's attention, the ground beneath his feet molded into a giant hand which closed tight the moment it formed, "Hey!" Gohan struggled against the firm grip which only tightened.
"No more games! Now Buu crush stupid little boy!" Buu squeezed harder around Gohan's body. Gohan started yelling as the fist clenched him tightly. "Little bones break with little snaps! Little guts go splat and little mess you make!" Gohan yelled louder as Buu focused his energy into squeezing him tighter.
The Supreme Kai heard the screams coming in through the opening, "I'm sorry Gohan… I'm almost there… just a little more…" Shin's hand left a glowing trail down the front of the cocoon as he continued to pinpoint and isolate the energies within it.
Majin Buu sensed the happenings inside the nerve and began to panic, "No! Must stop purple man!"
Gohan stopped yelling and grinned as his power spiked. He stretched his arms out, his hands dug into the fingers constricting him as he stared Buu down confidently, "Afraid you can't go after him yet."
Buu looked shocked at Gohan as the boy held back his grip, "But little boy was crushed, how are you fighting back?"
"I just needed you to focus on beating me up long enough for the Supreme Kai to work his magic, and now…" As Gohan pushed the fingers further back they heard a snap come from inside the nerve.
"Eureka!" The Supreme Kai shouted as the pod opened up and released the fat Buu from within it who landed on the floor of the nerve with a plop.
"NOOO!" The personification Buu began to glow and exploded out from sight.
The whole interior of Buu began to quake as Gohan ran inside toward the Kai, "Now we've done it."
"Indeed," Shin floated into the air to keep his balance. He saw Gohan lifting the fat Buu from the ground, "What are you doing Gohan, we have to hurry and escape!"
"Yeah, but we can't just leave him here!" Gohan pulled one of Buu's arms over his shoulder and floated them up toward the Kai. Sparks of energy began to escape from all the walls as the entire cavernous space looked as if it were contracting. Gohan put his free hand on Shin's shoulder as he tried to concentrate on Phips location, "There's so much energy flowing through here now, I'm having a hard time sensing what's happening outside."
"Use my clairvoyance Gohan," The Supreme Kai channeled his senses through the contact he had with Gohan allowing him to sense the outside world more clearly.
"That's better thanks! Yup I Found him!" In an instant the three of them vanished from inside Buu's body.
Dark Buu was screaming loudly. Steam was blowing from every pour on his body. He held onto his head looking as if he were in great pain.
"This is it, Gohan's done it!" Goku cheered as he waited for the right moment to strike.
Phips watched intently while hiding near Kibito. Kibito looked down at the imp after hearing a loud slap noise, "Is everything alright Phips?"
"Yeah just an annoying mosquito, I think I got it though…" Phips flicked the spec off his cheek and turned back to watching the transformation intently.
"I'm not sensing the life force of Gohan or the Kai coming from inside Majin Buu anymore…" Kibito frowned trying to pinpoint his master.
"You're right, they might have abandoned ship already… but that means they could be anywhere…" Phips got quiet as he tried to sense their location also, "We need to be careful they're so small right now it'd be really easy to hurt them. Try not to move either; it'd be bad if one of us were to accidently squash them… like… a… bug…" Phips blinked a few times as he thought about the mosquito he just swatted, "Oh bother…"
"What is it?" Kibito sounded concerned but was doing his best to follow Phips instructions and hold his pose like a statue.
Phips followed the trajectory of the flick from his cheek, got down on his hands and knees and looked very closely at the ground, "Oh dear…" Phips cleared his throat before standing back up, "Are you good at keeping secrets?"
"What are you talking about?" Kibito asked with his voice stern once again.
"Oh never mind, and here I was thinking we were making some real progress over the last few minutes…" Phips waved his hand opened a rift which Gohan and the Kai dropped out of returned to their normal size once again.
The two immediately collapsed to the ground, "Ow…" They both moaned in unison.
"Sorry about that guys…" Phips chuckled apologetically before helping them back to their feet.
"Sure you are…" Gohan groaned as he looked over his surroundings, "Hey where's Majin Buu?"
"He is standing over there undergoing some other transformation," Kibito pointed out.
"No, I mean that Big Buu that we pulled out from inside of that Buu," Gohan noticed only he and the Kai had been rifted back to their normal size.
Phips tried sensing around some more, but couldn't feel anything new, "Oh… Sorry Gohan I didn't notice anyone else with you two… I'm not sure where he might have gotten brushed off too… And he's so small right now he could have bounced off anywhere."
The scream emanating from the Dark Buu became higher pitched and his body began to shrink. His complexion became pink once again as his energy solidified.
"That's him…" The Supreme Kai stuttered, "That is the original form of Majin Buu…"
"That?" Gohan looked confused at the small body, "He looks like a little kid…"
"Don't let his appearance fool you… he is the most fiendish and vile creature in the universe…" Shin lowered his stance looking ready to fight if need be.
"And his powers have been restored to his original level; can you believe the monstrosity behind this creature?" Kibito gasped as he watched the transformation complete.
"I'll go help out my dad and the others. You guys try and stay safe. Phips, try and find the other Buu." Gohan started walking toward the battlefield again, "The last thing we need is two of them running wild right now."
Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo all stared with similar looks of confusion on their faces. The new form assumed by Majin Buu took them by surprise, "Is that it? Can we destroy it now?" Vegeta asked.
"That's it," Gohan landed between them all, "That's Buu's original form without the powers of the Grand Supreme Kai, we can definitely beat him now."
Majin Buu made an unintelligible howl and started beating on his chest.
"I'll be glad once this is over…" Vegeta grinned as he began powering up. The others quickly followed his lead kicking up a great torrent of wind through the valley. Buu jumped and made a mid air flip before landing in a pose looking ready to strike. Gohan and the others charged forward toward the small creature with all of their power still nearly at full.
The sound of cracking caught Gohan's attention as they approached Buu. Looking up to the sky, Gohan noticed a crack forming across the wide blue expanse coming down toward them.
All four warriors halted their approach as the very air in front of them cracked open from the sky and shards of wind fell like glass. A strong repulsing wind flowed from within the break pushing everyone away from the core of the opening.
"It can't be… not now…" Gohan lowered his stance in preparation as the air completely shattered revealing the nexus to the Dead Zone.
"Oh, don't be so surprised!" Ru stepped from the portal and simply hopped down as the gateway as it phased out of existence, "Did you actually think a silly trick like that could contain me?"
Growling slightly, Gohan spat out, "It was worth a try."
Ru shook his head, "You Sovereigns are so full of yourselves it truly his hilarious! Did you truly not realize that I have free dominion over interdimensional travel?" Ru chuckled darkly as he stepped closer to the Z Fighters, "Your world's little "Dead Zone" offers a nice window to the normal realm. From which I was able to time everything out just so perfectly. You see I'm actually indebted to you now, you've earned my thanks!"
Everyone's eyes widened, "What are you talking about Ru?" Gohan demanded.
"Well you see, by giving you lot a little bit of time, you've taken care of all the hard work for me," Ru held out a hand toward the kid like Majin Buu, encasing the creature in a ball of energy, "You've actually managed to purify Majin Buu… which is all I needed to become a Harmony at last!"
End Chapter
He's back… OK that didn't go too bad. Thanks a lot for reading and I'd love to hear your comments on the story!
A lot more action lies ahead so tune in next week for more!