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Chapter Twenty-Eight
The Demon King
xxxx
"Pfft, he looks like a flea."
"Do not let his appearance fool you Gohan, Babidi is a very dark and powerful wizard."
"Whatever."
They had followed Yamu and Spopovich to a barren wasteland, not too far away from the Northern mountains. The area was devoid of any life, the remaining trees scorched and the rocky ground upheaved as though it had been recently disturbed. It was apparent from the entranceway of marble and steel protruding from the dirt, that the wizard's space ship lay underneath, hidden away from the outside world. The young saiyan couldn't help but think that Babidi already knew of The Supreme Kai's and Kibito's presence here on Earth.
The wizard's appearance had shocked Gohan at first, he certainly wasn't what he had been expecting from the horrific tales The Supreme Kai had been telling him. Babidi had emerged out of the entrance as soon as Yamu and Spopovich had landed in front of the doorway. He had sickly green skin and a bald head. He was perhaps even shorter than Chaiozu, and wore long robes with an orange cape, long scrawny fingers clasped behind his back.
Gohan and the other's had landed on a nearby cliff face, overlooking the scene as they suppressed their power levels. He had powered down out of his transformation, though the teenager was struggling to keep his energy from rising.
"DADDY! DADDY! HELP ME!" Gokuto cried, his face blotchy and red as Yamu gripped him forcibly by the tail.
"Gohan, please stay calm," the Kai soothed, as the teenager gritted his teeth in anger. His heart ached as the boy's wails echoed over the desolate land.
"I swear Kai," he growled, tearing his eyes away, "One wrong move from that wizard and I'll -"
"Hm what's this? What do I want with a toddler?" Gohan heard Babidi call, as the little saiyan was dangled upside down in front of him.
"His energy is very great master," said Yamu, bowing his head in respect, "We thought he may prove useful to you."
"You don't say…" the wizard quirked, eyeing the boy, when he gasped, pointing at his tail, "Ah! A saiyan! My my how rare! Maybe he will be of use to my plans after all…"
Gohan struggled to keep his anger at bay, as Gokuto cried out once more.
"No! I don't wanna come with you!" he howled, thrashing about in midair, "My daddy will get you! He will punch you in the face!"
"Oh my," Babidi chuckled, "Spoken like a true saiyan, how marvellous! Who is his father?"
"The kid we got the energy from," informed Spopovich, laying down the canister at his master's feet, "Troublesome little bleeder he was."
"So she was correct, there are saiyan's on this planet," the wizard mused to himself before turning his head towards the doorway, "Oh Dabura? Checha? Will you please come out here for a moment?"
"No, it can't be!" The Supreme Kai whispered beside him, as at once, two figures stepped out into the sunlight.
One was taller than the other, with red skin and short black hair, pointed horns upon his head. His ears were large and pointed, and he wore blue robes with a white cape and belt. He had a sadistic grin upon his bearded face, sharp fangs protruding from his lip.
The other was a blue skinned man of humanoid stature. He was around a head shorter than his comrade, with lean muscles and long white hair that reached to his waist. He too, had pointed ears, but looked more elf-like. He stared stoically at the wizard with blood red eyes, his face expressionless. He wore what looked like some sort of battle armour, that clung tightly to his frame. It was mostly brown in colour, with gold plated shoulder pads and a piece that hung around his middle like a belt. Gohan thought it was odd, as this one did not have the calligraphed 'M' upon his forehead like the rest.
"Who are they?" asked Tien, "the one with the horns is making me feel uneasy."
"And you would be right to fear them," said the Kai, "The tallest of them is Dabura, the Demon King."
"D-demon King?" squeaked Krillin, "That doesn't sound good!"
"Yes," The Supreme deity continued, "He is the King of the demon realm, a shadow world that resides within the deepest parts of HFIL. It is worse than I had feared. It looks like I'll be needing all your help to bring them down."
"Well you can count on us!" Goku winked, before glancing to the wasteland below, "But who's the other guy? He doesn't look that strong to me."
"You would be wrong Goku," said Shin, "That is Checha, a great conqueror of the Southern Galaxy. I thought he had been destroyed centuries ago. But it looks as though I was wrong."
"Can you get anything right for once Kai?" Vegeta spat, though the deity ignored him.
"But what is he?" asked Goku, eyeing Checha, "he looks so strange… those eyes… ugh."
"He comes from a very powerful warrior race that has since become extinct," explained Shin, "a Ghonaterra."
"Oi!" Gohan said hotly, "I'll have you know that's cleared up nicely, thank you very much."
The Z-Fighter's stared at him, as the Kai coughed awkwardly.
"Those two are not to be taken lightly," he continued, "I just hope that our combined strength is enough."
Vegeta snorted, "Don't concern yourself with such matter's Kai, I say we go ahead and destroy them now, I'd like to get back to the tournament."
"Calm it Vegeta," warned Piccolo, "What I'd like to know is how someone like Babidi has managed to control someone as powerful as those two."
"Majin magic is very complex," said Shin, "It's foundation is based on trickery and deception, whereby a wizard is able to harness the evil and corruption that resides in a persons heart, bringing it forth in order to control them. All the wizard needs is to infiltrate a persons heart and find but a trace of impurity in order to do so. The magic is so powerful that it is able to create rifts between world's, which is how I'm sure Babidi may have gotten to Dabura's world."
"Get off me!" a desperate cry sounded from below, and to Gohan's horror, Gokuto had now been grasped by the back of his overalls by the warrior Checha, scarlet eyes boring into his emerald ones.
"My daddy will come, you'll see!" the two year old roared, lashing out and kicking his legs towards Checha, though the warrior did not flinch. "He's gonna beat you up and then you'll be sowwy! Let go of me! Daddy! DADDY-!"
"SLEEP," Babidi called, raising a palm in Gokuto's direction.
Immediately, the boy fell limp in Checha's grasp, his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling in a gentle motion.
"Checha, if you would, take the brat away before I find use for him," stated Babidi, conjuring up a bubble-like shield around the boy. Checha nodded wordlessly, spinning on his heal and disappearing back through the entrance with Gokuto.
"Good grief," sighed Babidi, a wrinkled hand rubbing his temple, "That kid was starting to give me a headache."
Gohan started forwards immediately, but a firm hand on his shoulder pulled him back. Again, it was his father, who stared him down with a hard obsidian gaze. The teenager sighed in defeat, looking longingly at the entrance as Babidi spoke again.
"Ah, good, so this has the energy stored inside," he mused, inspecting the canister that was filled with Gohan's energy.
"Yes master, of course," bowed Spopovich.
"Excellent," said Babidi with a sadistic grin, "It's such a shame that your business with me is over."
Spopovich shared a glance with Yamu, "Master?"
"Yes, it really is unfortunate," the wizard sighed, snapping his fingers so that the canister hovered off the ground and floated towards him, "Testing out how the humans reacted to my magic certainly was entertaining. I was even starting to get a little fond of you both, but no matter."
"You're letting us go?!" Yamu spat viciously, "What about our reward?!"
"Oh dear me!" said Babidi almost gleefully, "You seemed to have misunderstood."
"We have?"
"Oh yes," the wizard chuckled darkly, "I'm not letting you go anywhere."
An eerie silence encompassed the Northern planes, when suddenly a loud roar escaped Spopovich's throat. Gohan's eyes widened, as Spopovich's eyes bulged out of his skull. He held his head in agony, as his muscles began to swell, crushing his internal organs and forcing blood out of his mouth.
There was a similar cry from beside him, as the teenager found Yamu to be in the same state, gasping for air as his body crumpled inwards, twisting oddly before there was a loud popping sound accompanied by a sicking squish.
Yamu and Spopovich's bodies exploded from the inside out, sending the remains of their organs flying across the wasteland. Bits of unrecognisable tissue smoked and bubbled from where they lay on the ground, and Gohan had to gulp down the bile that had risen in his throat, his stomach churning uncomfortably as he struggled to keep the remnants of his breakfast at bay.
"H-he killed his own men," Yamcha gasped in horror as the smoke cleared away.
"That is the root of Babidi's evil," growled Kibito, "Once he has finished with his minions he disposes of them as if they were nothing. If his plan is realised, he will dispose of Earth in the same manner, not to mention countless other planets that lie in his wake."
"Then can we stop wasting time sitting here and stop them?" said Gohan in annoyance, causing Piccolo to give him a stern look.
"Gohan, it wouldn't be wise to rush into anything," he said, "There's no telling who else Babidi has under his control."
"And there's no telling what they're doing to Gokuto down there either!" he replied hotly.
"I assure you young halfling, Babidi will not harm Gokuto once he realises his potential," said the Kai.
"What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?!" the teenager roared.
"Gohan, keep your voice down," pleaded Yamcha, "or else they're going to find us!"
"Let 'em find me," Gohan growled, "I'm not scared, I'll take on that little flea and his greasy git of a body guard just you watch!"
"Strong words coming from someone about to die."
The Z-Fighter's, Kai and Kibito froze, as the young saiyan turned, coming face to face with the one and only Dabura. The Demon King smirked, baring his fangs at the startled group, his beetle black eyes staring at them hungrily.
"Shit."
"DAMN IT BRAT!" Vegeta roared, before dodging out of the way of a crimson Ki blast that was sent hurtling towards them by Dabura.
The cliff face they were standing on began crumbling to the ground from the force of the impact, dirt and dust raining down upon them. Eighteen coughed, her blue eyes sharpening as she dusted herself off, her shirt torn from the blast.
Gohan had never seen her look so feral, her blonde hair whipping through the air as she hurtled towards the King of Demons, "You ruined my outfit you bastard!"
Then, raising her knee she delivered a striking blow to the side of his head. A sonic boom ricocheted off the distant mountain range as her foot connected, though Dabura was undeterred, grabbing her by the ankle and spinning her around in the air. Eighteen hurtled through the air as he let her go, crashing into Yamcha who plummeted to the earth below.
"Eighteen!" Krillin yelled, careening towards the demon and aiming a furious punch to his gut. Yet, Dabura blocked the oncoming hit with ease, knocking Krillin backwards with a sickening head butt.
But then, to Gohan's surprise and utter disgust, did Dabura fly towards the man and promptly spit in his face.
"Eww!" The teenager grimaced, as his friend struggled to wipe the saliva from his brow.
"NO!" The Supreme Kai shouted suddenly, as Krillin's skin began to harden from where the spit had hit, crying out in pain as his skin turned a greyish white.
"Krillin no!" Eighteen cried out in desperation.
He was turned to stone.
"What the fuck?!" Gohan exclaimed, as Krillin's body began to fall rapidly to the ground.
"Quick catch him!" Kibito roared, "Don't let him break!"
His father swooped quickly downwards, catching the now solid stone Krillin just before he reached the dirt.
"What did you do to Krillin?!" Goku snarled angrily, glowering at the laughing Demon King.
"It's one of Dabura's powers!" The Supreme Kai called from the skies, "His saliva turns people into stone!"
"Yuck, wouldn't want to snog him," said Gohan.
"This is no time for jokes brat - MOVE!" Vegeta yelled, pushing the teenager out of the way of the line of Dabura's saliva that came hurtling towards him.
"Tien no!" Goku gasped in horror, as the three-eyed man flew at the demon with an oncoming fist, only to be turned to stone too.
Dabura moved fast, and before Gohan knew it he had gotten Kibito, Yamcha and Eighteen too leaving only him, Vegeta, Goku, Piccolo and Supreme Kai standing. The four Z-Fighter's glared at the Demon King, slipping into fighting stance alongside their frozen comrades.
But to the teenager's surprise, did Dabura smirk before taking off and flying back towards the spaceship's entrance.
"I'll give you one chance to run!" He called manically, "But be warned, follow me and you may end up like your friends!"
"Damn it!" Goku cried, watching as Dabura disappeared beyond the entrance way, "What are we going to do?!"
"I don't know Goku," said Piccolo, inspecting Krillin's statue, "this doesn't look like any power I've ever seen before."
"Supreme Kai, is there a way to get my friends back to normal?" his father asked the Kai desperately.
"Yes, there is a way," he replied, though solemnly, "Though I'm afraid the only way to get your friends back is to kill Dabura. Once he his dead, only then will your friends be restored."
Gohan stared at the statues of his friends, Krillin and Eighteen especially, who had a little girl waiting for them back at the tournament grounds.
"Well I say we go in there and beat the bastard," he said, turning his gaze away from the stone figures, "and get Gokuto back while were at it."
"For once I like the Gohan's idea," smirked Vegeta, earning himself a grin from the teenager.
"We have to be careful," Piccolo cut across, "Dabura could have turned us into stone also, but chose not to. He has an ulterior motive."
"I have to agree with Piccolo," said the Kai, tearing his eyes away from Kibito, "and I believe that motive is to get more energy from us to feed Majin Buu."
"Well it looks like we'll just have to be on our guard then doesn't it?" said Goku with a cheeky smile, "Don't worry, we'll have Gokuto and everyone back with us in no time."
"You can't be serious!" Supreme Kai exclaimed as they floated into the air, "Who knows what horrors lie in Babidi's ship!"
But the four Z-Warrior's ignored him, blasting off from the ground and heading towards the entrance, leaving the Kai scurrying along in their wake.
It was a long way down to Babidi's ship, and Gohan was left wondering just how long they had spent drifting down the darkened abyss when he caught a flash of light at the end of the tunnel. The teenager quickly prepared himself to fight as they landed upon hard wooden floors.
He frowned, it didn't look much like a spaceship, with a mixture of stone and metal walls and a rounded interior. It sort of reminded the young saiyan of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
"That's odd," his father spoke first, relaxing his own stance as his eyes darted around the ship, "I would have thought they would have been waiting for us."
"Are we even at the bottom?" asked Piccolo.
There was not a soul around except them, and the teenager was becoming frustrated, he couldn't sense Gokuto anywhere.
Lifting his head in anger, he caused the group to jump as he bellowed, "Oi Babidi! Why don't you come out of hiding you coward and tell me where the hell you've taken my son?!"
But there was no answer, instead the roof where they had floated in from closed tightly shut with a loud clang, leaving the group trapped.
"Nice going brat," said Vegeta.
"Shut up," the halfling growled, kicking the side of one of the metallic walls, causing it to groan inwards and dent.
Supreme Kai sighed, "The only way out now is to destroy Babidi, that is our only hope."
"Well, that is what we came here to do isn't it?" Goku chuckled nervously.
"I say we blast the whole ship to oblivion, see how he survives that," Vegeta growled.
"Don't be preposterous!" The Kai spoke harshly, "The sudden shock of such an attack would be enough to wake up Majin Buu! Even at a fraction of his power would he be able to annihilate this entire planet and all of it's inhabitants in an instant! He cannot be stopped! We have got to be careful!"
"I don't care what you do, I just want to get Gokuto back," Gohan said glumly, looking down at his feet.
"Ooh how sentimental…"
The teenager jumped, as the cold lecherous tone of Babidi echoed through his mind. It seemed as though the other's had heard it too as they gritted their teeth in anger, their eyes darting wildly around them.
"I must say young saiyan your determination is quite impressive," the wizard chimed, "Though you need not concern yourself with the whereabouts of your son, I assure you he is being well looked after by my warriors. Oh yes, I can see he has quite the temper, much like you. Oh ho! Don't act so shocked my dear boy, I can see into your mind after all… yes… how delightful!
Don't worry half-breed you will soon meet your mongrel of a son in the afterlife, now if I were you I would focus more on trying not to DIE! Ta ta!"
"BASTARD!" Gohan roared, his father grasping onto his shoulders in an attempt to calm him, "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM! I'LL FIND YOU BABIDI, I'LL-"
"Gohan calm down!" Piccolo bellowed, as hot tears sprang into the teenager's eyes, "He's bluffing, Gokuto may be too useful to him right now."
"B-but, I need to get to him Piccolo," Gohan breathed, swallowing the lump in his throat, "What if they hurt him?"
The Namekian said nothing, as his father gave him a comforting squeeze on the shoulder.
"We've got company," Vegeta said suddenly, his head perking up as a slat in the wall slid up to reveal a doorway, an ugly looking alien stepping out into the room.
Gohan blinked, the alien looked like a cheap rendition of Frieza's third form, with a long bulbous head and a white armoured body. He had bright green eyes that bore no pupils and a sickening smile upon his purple lips. The signature calligraphed 'M' upon his forehead.
"Fellow warriors," the alien smirked, "welcome to stage one."
"Stage one?" Goku blinked, eyeing him.
"Master Babidi is on the bottom level of this ship," he explained, "We are on the top level, also known as stage one and there's no way of getting down to him unless you beat the warrior that appears at each stage…"
"You're joking right? Just how many bloody levels are there?!" Gohan cried, "I haven't got time for this!"
"Whether you've got time for it or not isn't my problem," the alien scorned, "Though I wouldn't concern yourselves with the other levels, you won't be getting past the first stage."
"Whatever, Frieza face."
"What?"
"Nothing, nothing," the halfling whistled, earning himself a glare from Piccolo.
"Your first challenge is me," the Majin minion continued, "and that means none of you will be getting out of here alive! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The teenager couldn't help but roll his eyes, as the warrior descended into manic evil laughter.
"There's no use trying to fight it! Oh ho! I can see the fear in your eyes! Do you honestly think that two saiyan's, a half-blooded brat and a Namekian are going to stop me?! Don't tell me that your quivering Kai is going to join in the fray! Haha!"
The Z-Fighter's blinked, as the alien continued.
"That's right! The energy I use to pound you into minced meat will be absorbed and carried directly to fuel Majin Buu's power! Yes, the more I hurt you, the more I will be able to steal your energy! Your efforts will be futile!" he laughed heartily, "I am Pui Pui! Strongest of my people! And let me tell you this puny warriors, I'm sure that you'd love to know that I train in much harsher conditions than your pathetic planet! My planet has TEN TIMES the amount of gravity that you have here on Earth!"
As Pui Pui finally finished, Gohan couldn't help but snort, then choke as he could not contain the laughter bubbling up in his chest. Then, Vegeta joined in, then Piccolo and finally, his father, all four of them continuing to hysterics.
Pui Pui was floored, "W-what?! What are you laughing at?! What's so funny?! S-stop it!"
Looking towards his father as the laughter continued, he wasn't surprised to see him grin.
"So, which one of us wants to fight him first?"
xxxx
After a rather frustrating battle of rock, paper, scissors, Vegeta came out as the victor and managed to defeat Pui Pui with incredible ease. Firing a blast so hard into his chest that the entire top half of his body disintegrated in an instant.
Gohan was glad to swiftly move down another level, where his father fought another Majin minion named Yakon, a disgusting green creature that fed off light energy. With his father's quick thinking, did he transform into a super saiyan, which proved too much for the beast to contain and he subsequently exploded, getting green goop on Gohan's already bloodied shirt.
After having a stern word with his father about control, the four fighter's readied themselves for Stage Three.
"Yes! Scissors beats paper bitches!" Gohan exclaimed, earning himself a glare from the others.
He wondered who he would be fighting, and hoped they were as easy as the others' to beat, they could really do with getting a move on and finding out where they were keeping Gokuto. The young saiyan's tail began to twitch, as the door began to open once more. He was actually a little pumped and couldn't wait to get some revenge on Babidi, that was, until he saw who he was fighting.
"Oh right yeah," Gohan said scathingly, glancing towards his father, "You get a crocodile, Vegeta gets less ugly Frieza and I get the King of Demons… yeah 'cause that's fair, who's Piccolo's challenge? A frigging fairy princess?"
Dabura growled as he approached, "I must say, I'm impressed. Beating Yakon and Pui Pui so easily and progressing to stage three is more than any mortal has managed to accomplish… yes, it was quite unexpected. So now you must face me, which means that you will progress no further."
"Hn, your boss must be getting nervous if he sent out his favourite minion so early on in the fight," Vegeta smirked, "Tell us, why doesn't he come out himself? Is he not as powerful as the Kai predicted? Such a pity he won't be able to achieve his goal, I would have liked a crack at this Majin Buu character myself."
"Vegeta!" Supreme Kai gasped, "Think about what you're saying!"
"Let's dispense of the idol chit chat shall we?" Dabura glowered, dipping low into his fighting stance, "You will fight me here and now! All of you!"
"Wait wait wait," Goku interrupted, "That's not fair, it's Gohan's turn to fight! You can't be greedy and go at us all at once. You'll have to wait your turn, if you beat my son that is."
"Way to throw me into the lions den Dad," the teenager glared.
His father gave him a cheeky smile, before the young saiyan sighed, slipping into his stance and preparing himself for battle. He would have to watch out for that flying spit.
"Wait!" came an alarmed voice, it was Babidi, "Dabura I'm going to have to move the fight elsewhere, I need the ship intact in order to revive Buu, I can't risk having yours and the brat's power blowing it up! Majin Buu's power is only halfway, I won't let him be unleashed when he's not at his full potential!"
"Buu's power is already at half?!" The Supreme Kai cried, looking towards Gohan with an aghast expression, "How could I have not foreseen this?!"
"Paparapapa!"
Suddenly, the atmosphere changed and the room disappeared. The young saiyan blinked, they were gliding along in a swirl of colour and light, causing him to feel rather dizzy. It all but latest a few seconds before it stopped, and they were standing under a blood red sky, brown cliffs surrounding them on what looked like a long dead planet. However, Gohan noticed a rushing river to the side of them, though it was devoid of any life.
The teenager frowned, "Where are we?"
"A planet not so different from your own boy," Dabura informed him, a smirk playing on his lips, "Once this planet was full of life, like yours. Until Master Babidi had it's inhabitants destroyed. You may want to be careful how this battle pans out, else your planet may end up in the same way. Why don't you join us instead? I can see how Master Babidi can use a power like yours to his advantage."
Gohan gritted his teeth, immediately bursting into his super saiyan form. His hair stood on end as his eyes turned a vibrant shade of green, a golden aura igniting around his frame.
The King of Demon's chuckled darkly, "Ah, I see you have made your choice. Unfortunately for you, it was the wrong one."
With a loud roar that shook the planet, Dabura's crimson aura burst to life as he powered up. The cliff face's surrounding them cracked, rocks tumbling to the floor from the sheer force of the demon's power.
Gohan blinked. Shit, he was strong.
Wasting no time, Dabura shot towards him, letting out a cry of rage as he aimed a punch towards his head. The young saiyan crossed his arms in front of his face, blocking the attack as a loud boom echoed over the vast planes, the impact rocking the riverbed.
The teenager ducked, as the Demon King's fist came swinging over his head. Phasing out as quickly as he could, Gohan ended up high above Dabura, glaring at him from the cloudless sky.
"Fool," Dabura smirked, before moving faster than the halfling's eye could see, delivering a strong punch to his gut.
Gohan gasped in shock, clutching his stomach in pain as the air was forcibly knocked out of him. Tumbling to the ground, he managed to catch himself with his hands before he face planted the dirt.
"Get up Gohan!" he heard Piccolo cry, before the teenager felt a sharp pain in his spine as Dabura's elbow was brought down hard upon his back.
He collapsed to the ground, hitting his head on a nearby rock, causing his eyebrow to split open.
The teenager huffed angrily, attempting to wipe the blood away from his eye when Dabura was upon him again. Gohan wasn't sure if it was a knee, foot or fist that had hit him, all he knew was that he had gone flying off into the distance, narrowly avoiding crashing into a cliff face as he went.
Pushing out his Ki, the young saiyan managed to stop himself mid air, turning around to growl at Dabura. The Demon King all but lowered himself in front of him, gloating as he folded his arms across his chest.
"Let's step it up a notch, shall we?" he grinned, before seemingly materialising something shiny out of mid air.
A fucking sword.
Of course he had a sword. It was just his luck, he didn't even want to imagine the damage it would to to -
"Eek!" Gohan yelped, as the sword narrowly missed his head, slicing a few hairs off his fringe in the process.
"Oi! Watch the do!" The teenager glowered, watching the golden wisps of hair float towards the roaring river below.
"You are no match for me half-breed," Dabura growled, before swiping the blade through the air which such precision that the young saiyan barely had time to dodge it.
"Keep dodging it Gohan!" yelled Supreme Kai from the ground, "If he lands a critical hit, then it will certainly revive Majin Buu!"
"Oh well I can see where your priorities lie!" Gohan roared back, before narrowly missing the blade again.
Thinking quickly, the young saiyan powered up, blasting higher into the sky and turning on Dabura.
"You cannot run from me forever!" The Demon King scorned.
"No but I can blast you back to the far corners of HFIL!" He growled, snapping his hands over his head and gathering his Ki, "MASENKO-HAAAAAAA!"
But to Gohan's horror, did Dabura careen towards the blast, slicing through the yellow beam with the swords jagged edge and aiming straight for the young saiyan.
CLANG
Gohan caught the blade in between his palms before it hit, struggling against the brute strength of the Demon King. Dabura grinned menacingly, but it was evident from the beads of sweat on his brow that he was finding it difficult to push past the young saiyan's grip.
With a mighty roar, Gohan pushed his power further, snapping the blade it two.
"Yeah alright Gohan!" his father cried, though there was no time to celebrate.
As Gohan tossed the broken end aside, Dabura took the opportunity to spit a ball of saliva in his direction.
"No!" Supreme Kai yelled in horror.
It hit the hem of his shirt, that the teenager quickly disposed off, ripping it from his chest as it had already begun to turn to stone. His favourite shirt landed upon the hard ground with a loud crash, the stone shattering to pieces.
"Oh," the young saiyan spouted, gritting his teeth in anger, "Looks like you just sealed your fate."
A mighty blow sounded over the vast desolate planes, as Gohan and Dabura's fists connected. Though the young saiyan was unable to make any sorts of real damage to the demon, as each of his punches was met with an oncoming fist, each kick with a boot and so on.
"Gohan hit him!" his father yelled.
The teenager rolled his eyes towards the ground below.
"I'm trying!" he spat, before a sickening thud ricocheted over the cliffs, and Gohan was once again sent careening to the ground.
All his father and his friends could do was look on as Dabura's knee embedded itself into his spine.
The teen coughed up blood, letting out a howl of pain as the demon's onslaught continued. And, grabbing a hold of his scarred and tattoo laden arm, did Dabura twist viciously, popping it out of it's socket. He yelped, nausea pooling in the pit of his stomach and agony erupting in his shoulder as the Demon King stood, staring down at the pitiful heap of a boy.
The young saiyan growled, holding onto his injured arm and clambering to his feet.
"What's this?" Dabura smirked, "Still getting up for more?! My, you saiyan's are resilient."
"Fuck off!" Gohan spat, wincing in pain.
Dabura chuckled, "Oh and are you going to make me? Look at you! HA! You've only got one arm!"
"I only need one arm to punch you in the dick!" The teenager retorted angrily, though this only made the demon laugh harder.
"I didn't know that you were in such a hurry to die," Dabura glowered, "But don't worry little half-blood, that can be arranged!"
Gohan closed his eyes as a sphere of crimson energy glowed in the demon's palms. Swallowing thickly, the halfling prepared himself. This one was going to hurt.
But to his surprise, the blast didn't hit. Instead, the teen was knocked flying onto his backside as a yellow and purple corkscrew of energy hurtled in front of him, careening Dabura off into the distance with a startled cry.
The teenager blinked rapidly, as Piccolo appeared before him.
"What do you think you were doing?!" The Namekian growled angrily, baring his teeth at the halfling.
Gohan frowned, "Er, I was fighting!"
"No, you were loosing!"
"Oh cheers for that one Piccolo," he retorted, "Always the vote of confidence."
"It's not funny Gohan -!"
"I never said it was!"
"-your reckless attitude could have gotten you killed!" Piccolo finished, positively fuming with him.
"The Namek is right," came Vegeta's voice from behind him.
The teenager rolled his eyes, "Oh here we go, it's 'gang up on Gohan' time again, will someone just hurry up and pass me a senzu bean before old horny gets back?"
"No!" Piccolo and Vegeta chorused.
"No?"
"There's no way I'm letting you go back out there again Gohan," said Piccolo.
"Why not?"
Vegeta scowled, "Because brat, you made a total mockery of yourself, not to mention your saiyan bloodline! Have you learned nothing from the years of training the three of us have strived to give you?!"
Gohan looked towards them, all three of them, and could only depict one emotion emanating from the men.
Disappointment.
The teenager bowed his head, unable to look them in the eye, especially his father. The Supreme Kai stood quietly, his eyes glancing between them, though his gaze would occasionally drift to where Dabura had been blasted off into the distance.
"Why didn't you ascend?" his father asked him cutting through the silence.
Vegeta snorted, as Piccolo cast his eyes downwards, "Isn't it obvious Kakarot? The boy has been too busy chasing skirts for the past seven years to do any real training! What you saw back at the tournament was a mere rouse! He can't even hold the state for long! Though I didn't realise it had gotten this bad…There is no excuse for you fighting the way you did!"
"I thought you were holding back…" his father said weakly, his eyes searching him.
"Oh for Kami's sake will you all stop looking at me like some lost cause?" Gohan growled, still clutching his injured arm. "Seriously though, stop just looking at me and give me a senzu because I'm starting to feel a little dizzy…"
"Stop treating it all like its some sort of joke kid," said Piccolo, "Because it stopped being funny a long time ago."
"Oh yeah, because I'm positively LOLing about the fact that my son is being held captive by a mentally deranged wizard and his best mate the King of Demons!" he yelled back.
Vegeta snarled at his tone, "I don't know how you expect to get Gokuto back, judging by your display, the runt's lucky he's got us to go and retrieve him from these pests. You certainly aren't any help."
Gohan stared, well that stung.
"Vegeta, that's not fair," his father reasoned, finally pushing a senzu bean into the teenager's hand, "I'm sure Gohan tried his best!"
"And what about the others?!" Vegeta cried, "Dabura should be dead, and now all they'll be good for is decorating the garden as bird baths!"
"Oh because I saw you rushing headlong into there trying to kill him yourself!" The halfling roared, shoving the bean roughly into his mouth.
"He's right Gohan, you should know better," said Piccolo.
"Paparapapa!"
The planet spun once more in an array of colour. The four Z-Fighter's, along with Supreme Kai stared in bewilderment as the spinning came to a halt, and they were once again back in the chamber of stage three.
"D-did we win?" asked Goku, as Gohan realised that indeed Dabura was not with them.
"Do not fret my little competitors, Dabura is alive and well," Babidi's voice rang around them, "He seems to have come across some what of a revelation, something that I'm sure will help me in my plans to release Majin Buu! Oh yes, it is rather exciting as I'm sure you can imagine, so for now we will be taking a short interlude. So sit tight Earthlings, and try to hold onto your heads!"
As the wizard's voice faded, Gohan was left as confused as the others.
Revelation? What kind of a revelation? He gulped, panic setting in, he hoped he didn't mean Gokuto.
His tail swished behind him as the room grew silent, save for his father and Supreme Kai who were wondering aloud of the wizard's supposed plans. The teenager scratched his head, as a niggling feeling tingled in the base of his skull. He frowned, as it continued to grow, until a sharp pain suddenly rippled through his temple.
"GAH!" Gohan gasped, his knees buckling from underneath him as he crashed to the floor.
"Gohan?!" His father, Vegeta and Piccolo sounded, when suddenly Vegeta's and Piccolo's screams intermingled with his own. His father became forlorn, running between the three who grasped their heads in agony.
Black spots appeared before Gohan's eyes, as what felt like a white hot blade dragged across his skull, pain exploding in his head, causing him to dig his fingernails into his scalp.
Gohan….
Gohan…
The voice was unmistakable, Babidi had entered his mind.
"Get out of my head!" the teenager gasped, burying his face in between his arms as the pain refused to let up.
I can see anger in your heart Gohan…rage…fury. A once shy, quiet boy that grew up too quickly…You have seen too much bloodshed to retain your innocence…Lust…yes, I see it clearly. It is your weakness Son Gohan. You were too late to save the girl from the fire, just like you were too late to save your father from Cell. Oh yes, I know all about that, and all about how your father abandoned you and your mother shortly afterwards…yes… it is a shame that you had to take on your father's responsibilities. It was too much for the shoulders of a young boy.
I see how they look at you Gohan, I know what they think of you. Disappointment in a young boy that could have risen to better things. Jealous of the power you could wield. But I can help you achieve it Gohan, oh yes, I can help you achieve the power you were destined for. Join me Gohan! Yes that's it! I can feel you slipping!
I can feel you slipping…
I can feel you slipping.
