Chapter 37: Boo's Self Destruction

A small stream of blood trailed down the length of Goku's forearm and ended between his thumb and index finger. He felt the warmth pool on the underside of his hand that was gripping the earth beneath him. His breathing had become erratic after attempting to deal damage to Majin Boo for the fifth time with Gohan attacking alongside him. He and his son had both ascended their powers to the limit in hopes of breaching Boo's energy barrier.

The pink monster had all but forgotten about his adversaries. In between verbal outbursts directed between his split personalities, Boo had emitted large amounts of energy while slicing the landscape into shards of rock and fallen trees. The grass and moss around them had been scorched into black piles of ash.

Boo descended to the ground on all fours. His hands were gripping the earth as Goku's were.

"RAAAARRRRGHHHHHH!" Boo screamed. Pink sparks of chi flickered around him as his aura built itself up again.

"Gohan, get back!" Goku called to his son. Gohan was kneeling on a nearby cliff.

The Saiyans fled upwards and away from the impending explosion beneath them. Boo had caused the surface upon which he had been standing to sink deeper every time he emitted a blast of energy in a fit of rage. The area surrounding him was now a concave bowl in the middle of jutting peaks of jagged rock.

Gohan and Goku shielded themselves with their forearms as beams of pink chi pierced the air around them. The assault was over almost immediately. Goku peered from behind his clenched fists down at Boo. The monster stood with his knees bent and fists shaking. He seemed to have taken some damage from the blast he had just produced.

"This is taking a toll on him. We have to wait this out. Any time we've tried to attack, he's countered us without any extra effort!" Goku said loudly so Gohan could hear him.

Gohan nodded once. "You're right. He doesn't seem to even remember that we're here."

"Our best bet is to let him wear himself out. Either Vegeta will come out of there, or he won't. Either way, we should save our strength to attack him when he's weakest. A few more blasts like that should do the trick," Goku stated while he stared down at Boo's quaking silhouette.

Before Gohan could offer his thoughts, he felt a sudden sharp pull in the atmosphere. Boo's energy had increased again and seemed to signal another explosion.

"Dad, look out!" he warned.

Goku gritted his teeth to brace himself. But, the flashes of light radiating through the sky never appeared. Instead, Majin Boo slammed his two gloved fists onto the rocky ground below him. A crack that mimicked the sound of thunder sounded after the collision. Goku's eyes widened. The surface had split beneath Boo's body. A trench formed before his eyes, slicing the earth with ease. The ground began to shift back and forth uneasily.

"No," Goku breathed.

Kibito removed his hands from Piccolo and Hatsuko's shoulders. The trio appeared as the blinding light surrounding them faded. Hatsuko blinked her eyes a few times to clear her vision. The outlines of tall palm trees greeted her and she recognized the Look Out immediately.

"We have arrived," Kibito announced flatly.

Almost instantly, Kaio-shin's voice sounded from a distance away to greet them.

"Glad to see you made it back!" he said. He sounded cheerful as he had before, but his voice lacked enthusiasm. Hatsuko noticed that he appeared tired as he approached their group.

"Kaio-shin-sama, are you alright?" asked Kibito worriedly. Kaio-shin lifted his palm in dismissal.

"I'm fine; not to worry. You two should not waste any more time. Goku and his son have been fighting to keep Majin Boo at bay in the mountains. I tried my hand at him, but I was outmatched almost immediately. Dende has informed me that they are in grave danger as of a few moments ago. If you hurry, the four of you may be able to defeat him before he deals permanent damage to your planet."

Piccolo tensed his upper body. He turned to Hatsuko and stared at her intently without speaking. She returned his gaze and removed her cape by lifting its collar over her head. Piccolo fought back a smile and removed his own armor as well.

The sound of light footsteps approaching caused everyone to turn their heads towards the palace. Dende and Mr. Popo were quickly sprinting towards the group with several others trailing behind them.

"Piccolo, Majin Boo is starting on a path to destroy the entire planet! You two have to hurry!" Dende called as he ran. Piccolo nodded.

"Don't worry, Dende, we're on it! Stay safe!" he called in return. "Let's go," he said to Hatsuko before turning his back on the audience behind him. Hatsuko lifted her hand in farewell to Kibito and the others before taking to the sky after Piccolo.

"I certainly hope their training prepared them adequately," Kaio-shin said under his breath. Kibito heard him and smirked.

Don't worry, Kaio-shin. Even they do not realize what they are capable of yet. They should at the very least be able to help the Saiyans deal the finishing blow to Majin Boo.

Kaio-shin glanced upwards at his companion in awe.

"Well, even so, we still need to ensure that we can resurrect all those that Majin Boo has killed," Kaio-shin continued. He turned to Dende, who was now standing a few paces behind him.

"We can't have you die, Dende. You're the kami of Earth and you need to remain alive in the event that the wish orbs are destroyed."

Dende stared at Kaio-shin as anxiety bubbled through his insides. He couldn't think of what to say, so he merely nodded.

"Kibito, let's take these people to the land of the Kais. They will be safe there," Kaio-shin decided after a moment of silence. Kibito furrowed his brow.

"But, Sir…are you certain that's appropriate-"

"Yes, Kibito, I am," Kaio-shin interrupted tersely. He shot Kibito a look that was both calm and intimidating.

"Very well," Kibito agreed.

Kaio-shin turned to Dende.

"Tell everyone resting in the palace to join us. We will be going somewhere to take shelter in the event that Boo prevails in the battle. Hurry."

Majin Boo knelt rooted to the sharp ground with his upper body bowing forwards. His forehead pressed against his arm as he concentrated on his grip. His left hand was wrapped around his opposite wrist in an attempt to stop it from clawing at his face. His limbs had begun to betray him. After he stopped emitting destructive blasts of chi in every direction, Boo's body had taken on a mind of its own. Every few moments, a hand or foot would attempt to maim his face. He had drained a significant amount of energy in attempts to keep his body still.

His left hand lost all feeling.

"If killing you…is the only way out…then…so be it, he grumbled to himself. He winced in pain as his right arm broke free of his grasp and dug into his face. He felt blood trickle down his chin from the gashes that formed. His right hand then clenched around his throat and squeezed with incredible force. His eyes opened wide as his breathing stunted.

"Dad! Piccolo's back!" Gohan exclaimed. He felt the familiar energy of his mentor closing in from some distance above them.

Goku emptied his mind until he could feel the Namekian's presence. He gasped.

"There he is!" Goku confirmed. "And it feels like the girl's with him too," he said while lowering his voice.

"Their chi feels stronger for sure. Let's attack all together when they get here!" Gohan said forcefully. His brows cinched together. He felt a renewed sense of confidence knowing that Piccolo would be there to support their efforts.

"No, son, we still have to wait. Boo hasn't finished with himself just yet. We need all the leeway we can get to make sure we defeat him. Also, Vegeta-"

"What did we miss?" sounded a familiar deep drone.

Gohan and Goku ended their conversation abruptly and turned around. Piccolo and Hatsuko had landed without detection far sooner than expected.

Gohan exhaled. "Piccolo! How did you two get here so quickly?"

"Our speed has greatly increased. I'm glad to see you both still alive," Piccolo answered with a small smile of relief.

Goku stood up to his full height. "Piccolo, I was just telling Gohan that we can't attack just yet. Vegeta has been attacking Boo from within his own body. Boo has been fighting himself for a while now and seems totally oblivious to us. Gohan and I have both tried to defeat him while he's distracted, but we can't seem to deal any significant damage. Instead of wasting our energy, we need to wait for a clear opening when either Vegeta is released from Boo's body or he weakens Boo enough for us to kill him with a combined attack." Goku ended his explanation with a piercing stare to impart his sincerity to Piccolo.

If anyone understands strategy it's Piccolo…Gohan might think this plan is foolish, but I know it's the best shot we have.

Piccolo examined Goku's facial expression. He's wrong.

"No. We attack now," Piccolo said sternly.

Hatsuko raised her eyebrows in surprise and looked up at him.

"What? Why?!" Goku stammered as his voice cracked.

"Listen, Goku, we've never encountered a creature like this before. Kaio-shin is the only one who has. He told us just now that he is even unmatched. Kibito said the only way to defeat Boo is to kill him. We can't take a chance waiting for Vegeta to make it out of this alive. We can always wish him back with the Dragonballs. If we let Boo stay his course of destruction, then we only risk seeing the demise of the planet we are trying to defend!" Piccolo's voice became steadily louder in volume and a vein in his temple began to rise from his flesh.

Goku stood still and speechless with his mouth slightly parted.

"I think he's right," Gohan said finally. He glanced at his father.

"Dad, we have to act now before Boo destroys everything," he added.

Goku's brow quivered. Majin Boo's screams bounced off the rocks surrounding them. After a moment of pause, Goku closed his eyes in submission and frowned.

"Alright, you all go ahead while I charge my chi up again. I can hit him with a genki dama and that should do the trick," he said in a lower register.

Hatsuko glanced at Goku while a stream of perspiration ran down her cheek. Did he say "genki"? Is that the same technique that Sugiko told us about?

It's similar, yes, but pay it no mind. If we survive this assault, we can discuss Goku's genki dama at length. For now, let's move in, Piccolo's thought answered. Hatsuko caught Piccolo's gaze and nodded.

"Gohan?" Piccolo addressed his former pupil while lifting his brow.

Gohan nodded. "I'm coming with you. Let's do this."

The three fighters lifted their feet off the edge of the cliff, leaving Goku behind.

Goku watched his allies form a single file line in the sky above the cavern where Boo continued to screech. Their silhouettes were black against the brilliant pink and white glow filling the space around them. As Hatsuko, Piccolo and Gohan summoned their auras forth, the temperature began to rise. An unseen force pulled at Goku's skin, causing it to prickle.

Goku's eyelids lowered and then shut. He inhaled deeply and slowly extended his arms to the sky with his palms facing upwards. His body suddenly became dense and sank into the rock with a dull cracking sound. The air around him began to swirl, moving his hair to and fro.

Hang in there, Vegeta.