Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters from it. Just the ones I created.

Chapter Fifty-Two: Gohan's Re-Entry Into The War


Buried deep within the earth, Majin Buu hurt all over at the moment. Though, this didn't worry him too much. He knew that whatever part of him was broken or aching now would just be a vague memory like every other wound that's ever been inflicted on him. However, that would only come until he had recovered some energy to heal himself. That last attack had taken a lot more out of the Majin than he would care to admit.

*Damn them!* he seethed in quiet rage. *I'll kill them! I'll kill each and every one of them!*

They won this second round, but as soon as he recovered, all bets were off! There would be no more fooling around. Buu intended to use every technique in his arsenal to crush those insects and be rid of them once and for all. Even if it required him having to destroy the entire planet. Still, he knew he was going to have to be careful when he confronted them again. They were nothing like they were back in that weird room they fought in earlier. These two were now at a level that was actually a threat to his well-being. He knew they were probably planning his death right now.

That thought sent another surge of rage through the demon. Fearing the possibility of his life coming to an end- that was a feeling he wasn't used to at all. Even before his original split from his Good side, death was something he never had to worry about. Before now, there had never been anyone strong enough to get the job done. Not even that guy, the one who had first told him the existence of Gotenji and Juumara, could do it.

Buu laughed quietly to himself as he felt his energy starting to return. Shortly, he had regained it all and went through the process of revitalizing himself.

FLASH!

Buu growled through gritted fangs as he sensed all three of his enemies coming straight toward them. At first, his immediate thought was to hurry up regenerating himself, then go out and kill the hateful three like he did their family and friends. Latterly, Buu tossed the idea away and did something quite remarkable...

He decided to wait.

Buu had believed he could beat them with brute force alone; after all, it had always worked for him in the past. Nevertheless, he now realized that he couldn't continue to do that with the opponents he was currently fighting. He needed to be trickier to overcome them. He needed some kind of plan!

Grinning to himself, Majin Buu brought his power all the way down to non-existence, and then proceeded to wait, listen and plot.


Side-by-side, Juumara and Gotenji hurtled down towards the Earth at top speed in the direction where they saw the djinn land. At the same time, as fast as he could, Piccolo followed after them. All of a sudden, to Piccolo's surprise, Majin Buu's evil ki, which he had just been sensing clearly, dwindled away to nothing.

Majin Buu was hiding.

He found it hard to believe. That certainly wasn't a discredit to Gotenji's or Juumara's strength, but because Buu has been able to outlive two very strong opponents in Gohan and Vegeta, and survived his battle against Super Saiyajin Three Goku, Piccolo just thought he would never see the day where the all-powerful Majin Buu would actually hide from someone. Still, though, his gut instincts and experience with these close-to-the-end-of-Earth situations were reminding him not to be too confident in that fact.

*I'll have to be very vigilant, then,* Piccolo warned himself.

Soon, he caught up to the Super Saiyajin Fusions, who were hovering over a giant chasm. The two turned as he approached.

"Piccolo-san!" Gotenji greeted with a wave. He immediately frowned when the Namekseijin gave him no response as came over. "Come on, come on, you have to say "Ha-ai!"

"Knock it off!" Piccolo bellowed ferociously, making the child Fusion cringe. He took a moment to regain his cool. Then he turned to Juumara and asked, "Where is Buu?"

"Down there," she answered, pointing below them. Juumara turned her blue-green eyes back to the crater- more accurately, the piles of rocks that filled the bottom. Even if she couldn't sense his ki, she could still sense his foul presence underneath those rocks. Her sensuous lips curled in a snarl when Majin Buu still failed to appear a minute later.

"Just how long does he plan to hide down there?" she asked, her blended voice full of annoyance.

"Hey, Majin Buu! Come out already!" Gotenji yelled down, getting impatient himself. "I know you aren't going to keel over from this! Get on it with it! While you're down there wasting time, you're missing out on fighting me and my mom-err, well aunt. Umm, I mean my Kabasan. Man, that can be confusing...But anyway, she and I won't be able to stay like this for very long, and it'll take us both another hour to become this ridiculously strong again!"

Beneath the rocks, Buu's eyes widened as his mind promptly homed in on what Gotenji just said. Slowly, a wicked smile slid across his face.

Up on the surface, Gotenji's expression turned pensive when a few more minutes passed and they received no response.

"Could he really be dead after all?" he wondered. The idea made his chest puff with pride. "Wow! I guess even I don't know my own strength then. Even I didn't think that attack would finish him off! Though the ending is pretty disappointing."

*No, he's not dead!* Juumara thought with great certainty. *I don't know why he hasn't moved by now, and I don't like it!*

Gotenji and Piccolo looked up at Juumara curiously when she suddenly stretched her right arm out towards the crevasse, hand flat.

"Since that dirtbag refuses to show himself, then I'll force him out!" she declared.

However, before she could charge up energy for an attack, she, Gotenji, and Piccolo saw a sudden flash of pink light from the bottom of the chasm. The light explosively grew within seconds, coming straight towards them.

"Look out!" Piccolo bellowed.

Despite the warning, the energy beam still sent the three warriors buffeting backwards a few yards. The beam ascended higher and higher into the atmosphere until it eventually flew out into space.

"Phew!" Gotenji said in relief while watching the last of the beam vanish through the clouds. "That was a close one!"

"I-if that blast had hit the Earth head on just now…" Piccolo trailed off.

"…Then the entire planet would have been destroyed," Juumara completed grimly. She grimaced. "Just how strong can that freak really be!?"

Nearby, Majin Buu materialized across from them, beaming viciously at them.

"M-Majin Buu!" Piccolo exclaimed, quickly getting on guard.

Without preamble, both Fusions attacked. Sneering, Buu had jumped rearward to avoid Gotenji's initial punch when Juumara caught him unprepared from behind with a bearhug, pinning his arms to his sides. Looking alarmed, the demon struggled to get free, but the grip he was ensnared in refused to budge. Juumara started to rotate while still holding Buu captive, golden flames silhouetting her body. Picking up speed until they resembled a fiery tornado, the said tornado arced downward, smashing explosively into the cracked terrain Buu was just in before. Shortly, Juumara reappeared beside Gotenji, looking proud of herself. In the interim, when the smoke cleared, Buu was left sprawled on the ground, thoroughly assaulted.

"Here I go!" Gotenji shouted, his aura charging around him as he gathered power. Thrusting his hands forward, he howled, "RENZOKU SHINE SHINE MISSILE!"

Halfway back up to his knees, the battered Buu stared up and his eyes broadened when he saw a multitude of energy blasts descending down towards him. The blasts hit, pulverizing both the djinn and the terrain.

"Hey, stop that now!" Piccolo shouted as he drew down beside the Fusion warriors.

"Gotenji, you idiot!" Juumara scolded. "If you keep that up, you'll destroy the Earth as we know it!"

"Huh?" Gotenji replied, still firing. "Does it really matter? There's no one left alive on the planet, right?"

"That may be, but don't forget that the Dragonballs are still scattered over the Earth!" Piccolo told him. "If even one of the Dragonballs is destroyed, we won't be able to revive all the people Buu killed and restore all the damage!"

"Oh…Right." Understanding the truth behind that, Gotenji stopped in his attack.

Juumara snorted. "This is why children shouldn't be allowed to handle such power."

"Well, anyway, I got Buu quite a bit!" Gotenji boasted. "He must be pretty weakened by now!"

Almost quickly after he said that, Buu exploded out of the ground several meters away from them, looking well-pummeled and furious. Everyone immediately whirled around to face him.

"It looks like you spoke too soon again!" Juumara said soberly, analyzing Buu's ki. "Majin Buu's not weakened at all!"

"This is really starting to piss me off!" Gotenji grumbled.

"No, you're both wrong!" Piccolo spoke up. "Majin Buu is weaker!"

"Huh?" Juumara said, staring bewilderingly at the former Demon King.

"I don't know about his physical strength, but he's starting to weaken mentally!" he elucidated. "This is a first for him- fighting with people who are at least as strong as he is."

Grasping Piccolo's words, Juumara looked back to Buu. A supercilious smirk slid across her mouth.

"So, in other words, Piccolo, Gotenji and I have the almighty Buu flustered?" she asked smugly.

Predictably, Gotenji let out a boastful laugh. "Naturally, since we're this unbelievably strong! We're the best in the world!"

"Don't get too confident!" Piccolo said. "Now Buu will be fighting like his life depended on it!"

Already knowing that before Piccolo said it, Juumara was already in a battle stance. Gotenji, on the other hand, was still braying with arrogant laughter.

"I don't mind! I don't mind!" Gotenji said pompously. "I hope he does!"

Gotenji got his wish, when Buu's mouth twisted into an evil grin and he launched himself forth. Flying past Piccolo in the blink of an eye, he aimed for Gotenji and Juumara. Due to already being prepared for him to attack, Juumara was able to sidestep the demon but Gotenji wasn't as lucky. When he realized Majin Buu was charging at him at the last second, it was too late, and the demon struck him in the face with a headbutt, sending the child flying astern.

"That little idiot left himself wide open!" Juumara hissed, chasing after them.

Piccolo flew after them as well.

When Juumara caught up, Buu was slamming Gotenji into the ground with his head tentacle. Anger flashed on her face.

"You'll pay for that, you bastard!" she screamed, darting in for a punch.

This time, Buu was ready for her. Bypassing her, he drove his elbow into her back, sending her flying toward a nearby cliff. Spotting Gotenji getting back to his feet, Buu took his right hand and reached down through the space between them, wrapped his arm around the boy's neck, and pulled him back toward him to torture the young Saiyajin with a rear naked choke.

In the meantime, just as she got within range of the cliff, Juumara regained control of her body and struck at the rock formation to kick off it, springboarding herself back in the direction she just came from. Gotenji had just freed himself by biting Buu's arm, when Juumara returned, still flying in reverse, and caught the Majin in the midsection with a headbutt. Taking advantage as Buu doubled over, Gotenji clasped his hands together and bashed the demon on the side of the head, sending him soaring into a nearby empty city where he crashed through several buildings hard enough to turn them into rubble, adding more to the damage.

The two fused warriors advanced on their common enemy again.


In the Cosmos Realm, inside an ivory room, Kosumo and Armon stood in front of a large monitor mounted on the wall, observing the battle between Majin Buu, Gotenji and Juumara.

"Those four are certainly doing far better against Majin Buu than I first imagined," Armon remarked, impressed. "You made a wise decision in choosing Juuhachi-gou-san and Amara-san to use the Galactic Rings, Kosumo-sama."

"Yes," Kosumo agreed, nodding. "Not only because of their usual impressive strength, but also by virtue of them being rivals, I knew those two would create an incredible fighter together. And the two boys, Koji and Goten, are also extraordinary. They've obtained a power that took Son Goku late into his adulthood to acquire." A vague frown touched the goddess's face. "When those two cruel humans triggered the birth of this new and deadlier Majin Buu, I feared that even Fusion wouldn't be enough anymore. So it relieves me to see that I was proven wrong."

Consequently, Majin Buu connected with a deadly-looking Chou Makouhou to both Gotenji and Juumara moments later, destroying the rest of the city where they fighting in the process. Even though the Fusion fighters were revealed to still be alive when the smoke settled, that last part still drained some of the enthusiasm from both the gods' faces.

"Perhaps we're getting ahead of ourselves?" Armon wondered grimly.

As if Gotenji and Juumara had heard Armon just now and wanted to prove him wrong, the two retaliated at the same time against Buu point-blank with a vicious Chou Makouhou and Soumasen.

Kosumo smirked. "Or perhaps not."


Majin Buu plummeted out of the sky, hitting the terrain in the wasteland from earlier on his hands and knees with a thud. His body was singed all over from his foes' angry counterattack against him.

Unluckily for him, he had no time to rest when he noticed movement out of his peripheral vision. Looking toward his right, Buu's eyes broadened; Juumara was sliding across the earth toward him, though by the time the demon noticed, it was too late for him to try to evade, and he ate a double-footed kick that sent him rolling across the ground a few times before he stopped.

Rising, Buu then found himself having to deal with Gotenji, as the boy dealt a follow-up kick to his chin that rocked him back a couple of feet. Shrugging the pain off, the Majin boiled as he glared at the two Fusion Warriors, who watched him with even disdain and confidence. With a growl, Buu stretched his arms out through the distance between them to punch them each, and instead hit empty air as his opponents were already in the air by the time his fists reached them. Coming back down, Juumara and Gotenji unleashed an all-out assault on Buu, staggering him backward across the wasteland with an unrelenting torrent of blows.

By the time Gotenji and Juumara had stopped their onslaught, Majin Buu was completely bruised all over; his right eye was completely swollen shut.

Back up in the air, Piccolo's sharp, white fangs flashed with vengeful glee as he grinned at the picture down below. "Yes! This is it! Crush him now!"

"It's over, Majin Buu!" Juumara declared coldly, both her and Gotenji charging up their auras. Thrusting her right hand forth, she folded her thumb across her palm in a familiar gesture. Beside her, Gotenji cupped his hands together as he took on a well-known stance.

"Now we're going to blow you up into pieces," Gotenji crowed, "then to chunks, then to shreds, and finally into bits! This time, you won't be able to return to normal! Once we blow you up, we're going to wipe you out with our ki!"

The battered Majin Buu could only let out a choked gasp. This wasn't supposed to happen! He was Majin Buu! He wasn't supposed to be done in by the likes of them!

"Die!" the Fusions shouted together.

Then, in a "poof" of smoke, Gotenji regressed back to his base form.

Juumara, Piccolo, and Majin Buu stared at the youth, varyingly stunned.

"Ut-oh," the fused boy said, in the tone of someone who knew they were in serious trouble.

"You idiot!" Juumara scolded, glowering down at the boy while her hand was still aimed at Majin Buu. "You could have used your last minutes in that form destroying Majin Buu together with me instead all of that longwinded bluster!"

Looking uncharacteristically chagrined, Gotenji brought a hand to the back of his head and laughed nervously.

"Fine, I'll finish him myself!" Juumara said, shifting her frosty gaze back to Majin Buu. A horrible smile twisted her lips when she saw the apprehension on the demon's face. She thought it was a nice expression, especially after everything he's done. Now it was time to make him pay his debt in full. A sphere of golden light accumulated in her palm. "BIG…BANG…ATT-"

Before Juumara could finish the last of the phrase, her and Gotenji both split back into two people each. Amara and Juuhachi-gou still had their hand raised to fire the Big Bang Attack- that was, until they realized a moment later that they were themselves again.

The women and the two kids gawked at one another in stupefaction, and then at Majin Buu.

Above, Piccolo watched in appallment.

Beneath all of his bruises, Buu smirked triumphantly.


"Dammit! They've gone back to normal!" Goku cried in alarm, both Kibito and Kaioushin looking down into crystal ball in equal shock. Standing, Goku whirled towards Rou Kaioushin and Gohan. "Grandpa Kaioushin-sama! Is Gohan ready yet? The others back on Earth need his help right now!"

After a long silence, the old god turned ancient, narrow eyes onto the young man.

"Yes, he's ready. In fact, he's been ready about five minutes ago," he answered casually. Then he turned his attentions back to his comic, ignoring the immediate look of bewilderment on the others' faces.

"Five minutes ago!?" Gohan exclaimed in disbelief. He glared at Rou Kaioushin in outrage. "What is wrong with you!? Why didn't you tell us sooner!?"

"Idiot! Because it makes things more dramatic this way!"

Gohan was about to give a retort, however, he decided not to waste time doing that as he knew the others back home were in a dire situation and really needed him. He clambered up to his feet.

"Quick! How do I change into this ultimate warrior thing?" Gohan asked.

"Just change into that Super whatchamacallit you Saiyajin are so proud of," Rou Kaioushin explained. "Gather up your ki like you do for that."

"Like a Super Saiyajin…?" Gohan repeated. He nodded in understanding. "Okay."

Just like he was instructed to do so, Gohan brought his energy to the surface and let it go. A storm of colossal power exploded from the teenager, whipping out ferociously at everyone and everything; being so close to Gohan, Rou Kaioushin was literally blown away. East Kaioushin and Kibito had their arms crossed out in front of their faces in a ki-block. It was all the two could do to keep themselves from suffering the same fate as Kaioushin's ancestor.

However, the only person who wasn't trying to shield themselves was Goku. He stared into the eye of the storm at his son in sheer amazement. He had seen the incredible boost of strength Gohan's latent power had given him in the past, but he never imagined the full extent was this massive.

Slowly, Gohan's power had quieted completely. As Chou Gohan, nothing had changed about the teen's appearance at all, except for his hairstyle and expression. His hair stood a little more upright and his facial features were more pronounced.

"You dumbass! You didn't have change so close to me!" Rou Kaioushin berated as he sat back up.

Gohan could vaguely hear Rou Kaioushin, as he was too busy staring down at himself as if he was just seeing the real him for the first time.

"Amazing," Gohan muttered. He turned to his father. "Dad, this is amazing!"

"You really are somethin', Gohan," Goku agreed, smiling proudly. "Just by looking at you, one would think you hadn't even transformed at all. I wonder if you can get even stronger than this..."

"I'll take him to planet Earth," Kibito volunteered.

"Good luck, Gohan-san!" Kaioushin said, holding his hand toward the teenager.

"Thank you for everything, Kaioushin-sama!" Gohan replied, shaking his hand

Finally, father and son were now standing face-to-face, preparing to say goodbye.

"Unfortunately, we won't be seeing each other again until you come to Other World," Goku said sadly. "I want to see you close up once more, to take in how big you've gotten."

"Dad..."

Goku smiled. "Do your best, Gohan! Kill Majin Buu!"

"Yes, sir!" Gohan promised.

The two then moved closer to share one last, final hug. After a long moment, the two broke apart, and Gohan left his father's side to go join Kibito in powerful strides. Just as he reached Kaioushin's attendant, Gohan turned around and gave his father the thumbs-up.

"Goodbye, Dad!"

Goku wordlessly returned the sentiment to him by giving him a thumbs-up of his own.

Then Kibito placed a hand on Gohan's right shoulder, and the two vanished in a flash of light.

"That rotten jerk!" Rou Kaioushin grumbled right after, fuming quietly as he glared at the spot where Gohan and Kibito vanished. "He left without thanking me, and I'm the one who worked the hardest!"


Majin Buu dissolved into a fit of maniacal giggles while he leisurely repaired his damaged body. Yes, learning to be patient really was paying off for him today! He grinned that old sadistic grin at his four soon-to-be victims, his eyes glinting with a very deadly glint.

"Ha! Now you're mine!" he hissed.

Both Koji and Goten were trembling, knowing that this was all over for them. Juuhachi-gou quickly stepped in front of her son and his best friend protectively.

Like all Saiyajin in situations such as these, Amara didn't cower, instead she bristled. Her hair rising in spikes as she glared coldly at the beast who took her family away from her. With a silent scream, she powered up to Super Saiyajin Two. Abeam her, the others had to shield themselves as the angry full-blooded Saiyajin's power whipped viciously at them.

Suddenly, Piccolo swiftly alighted between his comrades and his enemy, immediately setting his dark eyes on Majin Buu.

"Hold it right there!" he barked fiercely. "If you want them then you'll have to go through me! I won't allow you to take their lives!" Piccolo drew back in a fighting pose. Not really caring that he really didn't have the strength to stand up to Majin Buu and protect the others, he could only hope to distract Majin Buu long enough for them to hide somewhere and wait until they could fuse again. And undoubtedly, Majin Buu would kill him, but at least Earth would still have a fighting chance to survive.

In response to this, Majin Buu only cackled in jeering mirth at the Namekseijin.

"Out of the way, Piccolo! I don't need anyone babying me!" Amara snarled, crouching in readiness, hate and revulsion flashing across her beautiful face toward Buu. "I'm the Saiyajin no Oujo, and I won't back down from anybody! And if I must die right now, I'll do so with honor!"

Majin Buu stopped laughing long enough to respond. "Feh! In all your current states, I can destroy you before you even blink!" he boasted, licking his lips in anticipation. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy squashing you insects!"

But despite his threat, the demon made no move to implement his threat. He stayed where he was, leering at them. This went on for so long that it started to bother the surviving Z-Warriors.

"Why is he just standing there like that?" Juuhachi-gou questioned distrustfully.

"D-does this mean that Buu doesn't wanna fight anymore?" Goten asked.

"B-beats me..." Koji replied.

"Isn't it obvious!?" Amara asked crossly. "That freak is just toying with us!"

"I agree," Piccolo said. "Buu knows we're utterly helpless without Fusion, so he's merely taking his time before he finishes us off."

That made Koji and Goten even more alarmed about their predicament.

FLASH!

Juuhachi-gou, Amara, Piccolo, and the kids precipitously turned away from Buu and stared skyward in shock. Buu did as well, though he looked more vexed than surprised. A new and unbelievably powerful ki had just set off all their senses.

And it was speeding straight towards them!


To Be Continued