Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. Nor do I own all the scenes from this chapter as some of them are just modified versions from what you've seen on television so that it'll fit the story.

Chapter Thirty-Six: Dark Horizons

Madoshi Babidi was in a very gleeful mood right now, in spite of the fact that he had just been on the brink of death only a short while ago. And who wouldn't be in a good mood when they had the most powerful being ever created under their control? Presently, he was perched proudly aboard his servant's back, as the Majin hurtled across the sky, a deceptively silly grin splitting his face. Where were they heading to? Wherever on this planet his enemies were hiding at.

The warlock's expression contorted in fury, as his mind turned to the ones who had dared to oppose him. Both Juuhachi-gou and Amara for using him to serve their own designs instead of it being the other way around; there was also the green fighter who had critically injured him, and as well as those two pipsqueaks for meddling in Majin Buu's fight against Vegeta. They would pay! He would make them all pay for challenging him, Babidi-sama, and the invincible Majin Buu!

Babidi's rage was momentarily mollified at the thought of the deceased Saiyajin Prince. What a fool Vegeta had been! He had actually thought he could use the very strength the warlock had given him through his magic to defeat Majin Buu. Sure, he could make someone extremely powerful if they already had the potential, but he wasn't THAT much of a miracle worker to make anyone nearly as strong as the monster underneath him. And what had Vegeta got in the end for disobeying him? A one-way trip to the Afterlife! Though he had been busy exerting all the rest of the strength in his severed body to keep his Barrier up, Babidi had still witnessed Vegeta making the ultimate sacrifice by blowing himself up.

He sneered maliciously at the memory. *Vegeta really was an idiot! I bet he thought he was going to die like a hero or something, but the fool ended up killing himself in vain!*

But as amusing as he found that, there were more important things he had to worry about.

"Dammit! This planet is so huge, even finding those five won't be easy," he complained. Then he grinned maliciously. "If that's how it is, then Majin Buu, until they show themselves, we'll kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! And kill some more!"

"OK!" Majin Buu cheered in agreement.

As the two continued on their way, they were oblivious to the vengeful, raging eyes watching them from another dimension.

Down in Hell, Vegeta watched the pair with an expression of burning ire through a 'magical window'. Although he had already been informed by Enma Daiou that Majin Buu had survived his attack beforehand, he still had to see it with his own eyes. And now that he was viewing Majin Buu flying about with Babidi on his back, Vegeta dealt with it the same way he did when Enma had told him that Majin Buu was still alive...not well.

Howling in incoherent fury, his Super Saiyajin aura exploded from his powerfully compacted frame. Gold fire and peals of white electricity swallowed him whole, bleaching his dark hair to a burnt gold and changing his eyes to a pupiless, bright blue-green. If any of the other beings in Hell had been afraid to go anywhere near the renowned fierce Saiyajin Prince before, they were definitely afraid to go anywhere near him now.

*This...this is inconceivable! * an ordered thought had finally pushed its way into his fury-filled mind. *That creature still lives, and I died for nothing!*

Vegeta's anger went to a new height. Not only because he had killed himself in vain, but also because Majin Buu was still left alive back on Earth where his family was. And he was stuck down there in Hell, unable to protect his mate or son. Even his little sister...Why was it when Kakarott did this kind of thing, everything would come out all right in the end? Something else the lowborn warrior was better than him at!

When Vegeta looked back into the 'magical window' before him, he was very faintly surprised when he saw that the scene had shifted to one of a very recognizable figure lying prone and lifeless on the ground. Just where he'd left him.

After taking a deep, calming breath, Vegeta powered down at length, both his hair and eyes fading back to black. He characteristically crossed his arms over his chest, as he regarded the inert form of Goku, his eyes gleaming in a mix of sharp bitterness...and a very vague flicker of hope.

"All right, Kakarott," he murmured, his voice was soft, yet still held its fierceness. "Once again, it's all up to you. I'm counting on you do that annoying habit of yours of always making things right whenever something goes wrong." During a brief pause in his words, that perpetual, stony scowl of his hardened. "And if you lose...and if you let my family die...I will kill you! I will make sure you never exist in any other dimension ever again!"

Both Dende and Mr. Popo came rushing out of the palace in equal amounts of urgency. Moments ago, they had felt familiar ki signatures approaching, and so they wanted to go out and greet them. Just as soon as they had gotten halfway down the courtyard, four figures rose up from the world below and over the tower.

"We've been expecting you," Dende heralded as the four alighted in front of them; Amara and Hoshi slipped back into their normal states almost right away. His expression quickly creased in worry when he saw the passed out Juuhachi-gou in Kuririn's arms and Koji and Goten, unconscious as well, tucked under either of Piccolo's arms. "Are those three okay?"

Piccolo nodded. "Vegeta only knocked them out, so it shouldn't be anything serious," he said. "Let them sleep inside a bit."

"That's easy enough," Dende replied. "Popo?"

"Got it," Popo answered in compliance. The djinn walked over to Kuririn and took Juuhachi-gou into his arms.

"I'll give you a hand!" Hoshi volunteered.

Mr. Popo smiled at the young girl. "Thank you!"

After taking her cousin and Goten from Piccolo, Hoshi followed Piccolo inside the palace, leaving the others outside.

"Majin Buu..." Dende said after a moment of grim silence, cold sweat on his face. "A fearsome devil has returned to life indeed."

"Dende, while Hoshi is gone, could you tell us how things looks for us?" Kuririn asked earnestly.

A serious question merited a serious answer. "Very grim, my friend," Dende said forthrightly. "With that horrible creature Majin Buu and Babidi running loose over the place, Earth and its people are in serious peril of the likes I've never seen before."

Kuririn groaned resignedly. "Yeah, that's what I figured you'd say."

"So are you saying there's absolutely nothing we can do!?" Amara demanded indignantly. "We just sit up here and watch those bastards kill everyone below before they eventually find us!?" Glaring down at the floor, her expression took on a different kind of anger as her fists shook. "He took the full brunt of Vegeta's final attack, and still was able to regenerate back good as new, while Vegeta died!"

"Yes, I know all about Vegeta," Dende said ruefully. "And Majin Buu being able to survive such an attack only asserts his extraordinary strength."

"Dende! What about Goku?" Kuririn asked abruptly. "What happened to him?"

Smiling in amusement, Dende answered, "You don't have to worry about the late Goku-san dying again."

"Oh, right. I guess I forgot about that," Kuririn admitted. Seeing the humor of it all, he laughed, however, he immediately stopped when both his mate and Piccolo glared at him scathingly.

"But Goku-san's taken a whole lot of damage," Dende informed him.

"Do you think it was Majin Buu and Babidi?" Kuririn asked.

"No, it was Vegeta." Kuririn and Piccolo whirled towards Amara with looks of surprise.

"That stubborn Vegeta- doing things on his own as usual!" Kuririn said, looking a bit annoyed. "He might still be alive right now if Goku had been there to help him out."

"But Vegeta didn't want anyone's help," Amara explained. "He said defeating Majin Buu was his responsibility because of some mistakes he made seven years ago."

"Mistakes from seven years ago?" Kuririn echoed, looking puzzled.

"Hm," Piccolo said, his face thoughtful. "I wonder if Vegeta had been talking about the incident with Cell."

"Oh, yeah, that's right," Kuririn agreed, frowning. He remembered the ordeal with Cell only-too well.

"Cell...again his name is brought up," Amara remarked, frowning. She looked up at her husband and the others. "I still know so little about that event. What exactly happened?"

"Like Juuhachi-gou, Cell was another artificial human created by Dr. Gero," Piccolo elucidated. "Cell's purpose in life was to reach his Perfect state- his strongest form. To do that, however, he needed to absorb two important components: Juuhachi-gou and her brother, Juunana-gou. And thanks to your brother's over-inflated ego, Cell succeeded."

Amara's fists clenched. "Just what exactly did Vegeta do?"

Piccolo grimaced. "Despite growing too strong for even Cell, Vegeta wasn't satisfied with that. So he deliberately let Cell entice him with the prospect of facing him at his strongest... and practically handed Juuhachi-gou over to Cell himself."

When he was finished, Amara looked momentarily shocked, then her accustomed scowl returned.

"I see," she simply said.

Although she seemed composed on the outside, inside the revelation had really stunned her. No wonder Juuhachi-gou wanted to kill her brother so badly earlier. Not only did he do the same thing to her as he did years ago, but this time she saw it as a cruel act of betrayal. But then why would her rival accept Vegeta as her mate and stay with him for all these years after he did something like that to her?

"Kaioushin-sama! I-I'd forgotten all about him!" Piccolo exclaimed. "Can you tell if Kaioushin-sama still alive, Dende?"

Dende looked curiously guilty at the question. "My stars! I'd forgotten all about Kaioushin-sama, too!" he confessed. "I'll check right now."

Closing his eyes, the young god reached out into the world omnisciently, seeking. He had distantly wondered if anyone had noticed him wince when he'd stumbled upon Majin Buu's enormous, evil ki.

"I've found him!" Dende said after a lengthy time, reopening his eyes. His face was grim, however. "But his ki is pretty weak. He's still alive, but hurt pretty badly."

"Well, it's good to know that he's at least still alive out there," Piccolo said. "And what about Gohan?"

Unable to meet his mentor's eyes, Dende answered, "Unfortunately, no."

Just then, Mr. Popo returned from the palace.

"Laid three down for sleep," Mr. Popo said, as drew up in front of them. "They will be fine soon."

"Where's Hoshi?" Kuririn asked.

"Can't fight if you're hungry," Mr. Popo replied sensibly. "Meal is ready, and little girl is already there. You'd better come quickly!"

"What!? Hoshi's already eating!?" Kuririn asked in alarmed, and with good reason as his daughter's appetite was just as voracious as any other Saiyajin. "I better hurry before she eats everything! Er, if that's okay with you, Dende?"

Dende smiled. "Be my guest."

Not needing to be told twice, Kuririn immediately followed behind the djinn has he head back inside the palace. Amara looked as if she would join them, but-

"Wait, Amara-san!" Dende called. Amara stopped and looked back at the deity. "You're still tainted by Babidi's magic. If you don't mind, I'd like to break his curse on you."

Amara considered that for a brief moment, then she turned and started walking toward Dende.

"Dende," Piccolo said, "We should get the Room of Spirit and Time ready. I have a feeling we'll need to use it soon."

Dende nodded earnestly. "Yes."

Madoshi Babidi was not in a very gleeful mood right now. As a matter of fact, he was screaming for his very life at the moment as he was being carried across the world at full-tilt by Majin Buu. The Majin was flying through the air like a maniac, seeming to forget his passenger aboard his back who was clinging to his cape with a death grip. It was not too long ago that he had to endure Majin Buu flying through a building full of a people without regard.

"M-Majin Buu! Not so fast!" Babidi called down.

The Majin paid no attention to him. In fact, if Babidi were to fall off right now and make a messy landing on the earth several hundred yards below them, he wouldn't have cared very much. He was having too much fun racing across the sky at full speed to be considerate of his master's feelings.

"SLOW DOWN!" the warlock bellowed with more ferocity.

Majin Buu acknowledged him that time.

"But I like flying fast like this," he said. "It's so much fun!"

Babidi glared irritably at the back of Majin Buu's head.

"Majin Buu, remember, I am the master and you are the slave!" the mage said. "Now slow it down. After all, you don't want to be sealed up again, do you?"

Babidi barely repressed his chuckle of victory when he felt an unmistakable shudder go through the large monster at his mention of that fear-inspiring Ball. He thought he had put Majin Buu in his place again and that he would go back to obeying his orders without any more disobedience. Howbeit, had he been able to see the furious look on Buu's face just now, he might have realized that he shouldn't be pushing it too far with one of the most dangerous beings ever produced in the universe.

The djinn was starting to grow more than just a bit fed up with Babidi barking orders at him and ruining his fun by threatening to imprison him again. First Bibidi, and now his son. There was just so much that someone as powerful as the Majin to put up with, and one of these days...

*One day, I get rid of annoying Babidi, and have all the fun I want, so I won't have to worry about being sealed up ever again!* A malicious grin split Majin Buu's face at the future prospect of being free of Madoshi Babidi once and for all. But unfortunately, that time wasn't right now as he knew full well that Babidi was in perfect position to magic him back into his imprisonment if he kept giving him any inclination to do so. So, for the moment, Buu would obey him. Though once an opportunity arose for him to be free...he would take it.

His head hurt, a whole lot, from one of the worst headaches he's ever had. It had been such a long time since he had experienced things such as headaches. Even when he was alive he didn't suffer headaches all that much- well, not the normal way that most people got them. Most people weren't usually getting hit on the head with their wife's frying pan all the time. But none of the headaches he got then could compare to the one he was having right now.

*Damn that Vegeta...* he thought distantly.

Then, just as abruptly as the thought came to him, he sharply remembered just how come his head was hurting so much right now. He'd finally gotten the Saiyajin Prince to call a truce with him so they could go fight the bigger threat at hand: Majin Buu. But Vegeta had gotten other ideas. While his back had been turned and he'd been searching inside the sack containing the senzou beans, the Prince had struck him down from behind...and that was far as he could remember.

He soon started to become a lot more aware of things as he slowly began to drift back into consciousness. He could feel a passing brittle wind blowing over him, brushing across his face and tousling his hair and clothes. He could also feel the roughness of the terrain beneath him, rocks poking his body here and there. But the thing he was most aware of was the all-pervasive silence looming all around him. He didn't like the sound of the deathly muteness one bit.

Gradually, Son Goku's eyes finally slid open, with the accompaniment of a groan as he was now even more aware of the acute pain shooting sparks in the back of his head. Gritting his teeth, he rolled himself and started to rise, bit by bit, fighting through the pain of his headache to find the necessary strength to stand. After a long agonizing minute, he was eventually able to clamber up to his feet.

Goku's face contorted into an annoyed scowl as he rubbed the back of his sore head, where he was now aware of a large lump. "Vegeta. Why that-huh?"

Goku stopped whatever remark he planned to say when he noticed an all-too familiar brown sack lying on the ground. Reaching down, he picked it up, however, he grimaced upon taking a look inside and discovering that all of the senzou beans were gone.

"Damn, why does he always have to be like this?" he grumbled under his breath.

After placing the sack back beneath his sash, Goku looked up and gasped softly in shock as he finally became aware of his surroundings. They had changed since before he'd been knocked unconscious. His battle with Demon Prince Vegeta had caused heavy damage to the land, as well as Amara and Juuhachi-gou's battle, but now the entire region looked barren and desolate, empty of any large rock formations or any signs of life. Goku scowled grimly at it all.

*Hm, there was a big fight here after I was knocked out,* he realized, staring out into the distance. *Even though I can sense that the fight has long since ended, I still feel traces of energy being throwing around earlier hovering over the area...but more importantly, I can feel traces of Vegeta's ki.*

But that was about the only thing he could feel of Vegeta now. He couldn't feel anything of the Prince's ki as he combed the area with his sharp ki-senses, nor could he feel Gohan's. Cold shock briefly surged through him as he was hit with a dreadful conclusion as to why he couldn't sense his son nor his rival.

"They're dead. They're both really dead," he thought, feeling numb all over.

A moment later, the dead Saiyajin shook himself. There would be time for him to mourn the deaths of Gohan and Vegeta, but he knew now wasn't the time. Even now, he could sense Majin Buu, along with Babidi's weaker ki, somewhere out in the world, both causing mayhem no doubt.

"Dammit! If the strength of a Super Saiyajin Two isn't enough to beat Majin Buu, then the only way to probably beat him would be..." Goku shook himself again, before he could finish the rest of that thought. "No, Kaiou-sama specifically warned me from doing that here, so its out of the question. Then again, there was another way Majin Buu could've been defeated. But I'm not so sure if I can do that now that both Vegeta and Gohan are dead..."

Goku sighed, opting to just find another way to deal with the predicament he and the rest of the world were now in altogether. There just had to be. He's always been able to find one in the past while in the face of overwhelming odds. But first he had to find the rest of his friends and his family, and he couldn't see heads or tails of them anywhere in the area, nor could he feel their ki anywhere close around. For a brief, disturbing moment, he thought that the rest of his comrades might've been killed like Vegeta and Gohan had been. But then, as he started to expand his range to outside the area, he finally discovered Amara's ki, along with Kuririn's, Hoshi's, and Piccolo's, but they were all emanating from high above him.

He didn't need to wonder where they were now.

Aware of their location, the Saiyajin drew two fingers to his forehead, locked back onto those four kis, then vanished from the area in a blur of colorless light.

To Be Continued