Chapter 15 – "'Fight back, Uub!' Goku's stern words of confidence ignite the fire in his young student."
A long painstaking search…
"Did you find it yet?" Pilaf asked as he watched his subordinate Shu climb up the trunk of a tall tree. An old model of the dragon radar that he had been able to swipe from Bulma's lab allowed him and Shu to begin searching for the Dragonballs once more, yet the two that were stored away at Capsule Corporation would have to wait until some other time after they had gathered the other five that were still scattered across the globe.
Pilaf felt a finger poke him on the top of his head and he tried to ignore it as much as possible but the finger poking was getting more aggravating and painful with each poke pressing down even harder.
"Will you cut that out, Bao?!" Pilaf screamed at his new assistant, an obese gentleman with a droopy face that leered downward, the look of a simpleton to Pilaf's eyes, but his ability to showcase quite a bit of strength meant his brawn was of much use to him. A new hired hand to make up for the absence of Mai meant that his search for the Dragonballs wouldn't be as difficult as he initially surmised, yet Bao seemed to be even more problematic due to his slow-witted nature.
"What are we searchin' for again, boss?" Bao asked, and shoved the same finger he poked Pilaf with up his nose to "dig around". Pilaf felt disgusted that that very finger touched his head and he sneered at Bao.
"The Dragonballs. Don't tell me you forgot already?" Pilaf asked and Bao pulled his finger out, trying to flick the "nugget" off. He had a bit of a doofy smile when he showed happiness and ignored the nugget on his finger for the moment.
"Oh yeah. Dragonballs. Er, what are Dragonballs again, Pilaf?"
Pilaf almost fell on his back and glared at him.
"You can't seriously make me believe that you forgot my simplest explanation again?! And stop picking your nose so much!" Pilaf yelled.
"Lord Pilaf! I found it!" Shu cried out from the top of the tree. He managed to spot the Dragonball tucked away in a bird's nest among other eggs of a similar color and he almost fell off the branch he was sitting on due to the difficult nature of the nest's placement, forcing him to reach out to grab it while holding onto the branch for balance. Pilaf ignored Bao for the moment and looked up at Shu with a huge grin on his face.
"Yes! Excellent work as always, Shu!" He yelled and Shu let the Dragonball fall down for Pilaf to grab. Bao instead reached out with his hand and caught the ball as it fell before it could reach Pilaf and he looked at it.
"Pretty," he said, looking at the three red stars inside the orange crystal-like sphere. Pilaf jumped up to try and grab it but due to Bao's rather large stature, he was quite out of reach unless Pilaf had some sort of step-ladder to even get up to the large oaf's chest.
"Bao, that Dragonball is mine! Give it to me now!" Pilaf yelled and Bao glanced down.
"Oh, right. Sorry boss. Here," he said, dropping the ball and Pilaf caught it. He then reacted with disgust as the "nugget" that was on Bao's finger got stuck to the Dragonball instead and he wanted to drop the ball, but the sticky substance glued his hand to the ball and he began to panic, running around trying to shake it off his hand, yelling.
"Shu, GET THIS THING OFF ME!" Pilaf screamed and Shu quickly took the ball, pulling it off Pilaf's hand.
A few moments later, Shu had cleaned off the gunk with water from a nearby stream and Pilaf was busy observing the dragon radar to locate the next ball. Bao meanwhile was staring up at the sky and saw a flash of light streak by.
"Uh, hey boss?" Bao asked.
"Not now, Bao, I'm busy tracking the next Dragonball," Pilaf stated, not looking at him.
"Something fell from the sky, is that another Dragonball?"
Pilaf broke from looking at the radar to the sky for a moment but didn't see anything out of the ordinary other than clear blue skies with a few clouds floating aimlessly to the east and he stared back up at Bao. He sighed, figuring it wasn't worth chastising him and studied the radar a bit more.
"How far is the next Dragonball, Lord Pilaf?" asked Shu as he placed the cleaned Dragonball in the bag that was slung around Bao's shoulder. It clinked against the other two they found earlier and he could see the 2-star and 5-star balls together, adding the 3-star ball to the growing collection.
"Too far by foot, we'll need to get our hands on an aircraft," Pilaf informed him and passed the radar back to Shu. They stole a capsule for an aircraft earlier when they took the radar, but upon finding the second Dragonball, they ran into a group of desert pirates who smashed it beyond repair. If it weren't for Bao, they likely would've lost not only the Dragonball they found, but their very lives as well. They had spent the last few months since then on foot, eating off the land as Shu did what he could to cook and clean up after the two. He glanced back at the bag with the Dragonballs inside and sighed.
"I miss Mai. I know she would've gotten us another aircraft," Shu said and Pilaf stamped up towards him, glaring up at him.
"Don't ever say that name again! She's ancient history and we don't need her!" Pilaf cried out but Shu could tell that there was still a lot of hurt in those eyes when he looked at him. Pilaf did care a lot about his subordinates, even if they seldom succeeded in following his instructions. That he wanted to forget about Mai for the time being meant that Shu had to be extra careful not to even bring up anything remotely resembling her, much less her name.
Elsewhere, the light that blared through the sky crashed at a far away location up in the north mountains where the weather was cold and the landscape was covered in a blanket of snow. There was a ship that had melted the snow away with the heat that it radiated and the hatch opened. The two that emerged from the craft and looked around the area were the bio-androids Freeza and Cooler sent to Earth days ago.
"Is this the planet Uncle Freeza assigned us to?" said Tundra.
"Indeed it is, brother. We've arrived on Earth," Glacial replied. They touched down on Earth a full day ahead of schedule and they began to scan the area.
"Our data doesn't show any signs of the ones associated with the Saiyan called Son Goku," Tundra said.
"Shall we draw him out to ask where to find these Dragonballs?" Glacial replied.
Tundra grinned. "There is no rush to engage Son Goku and his kin just yet. We must prioritize finding the Dragonballs and destroy them once they have been all gathered as per Uncle Freeza's instructions."
"Agreed," Glacial said. "We have the proper data on what they look like so we should scout this area first before expanding outward. If we find one of Son Goku's friends or family, we'll kill them immediately."
Tundra grinned. "Of course. But only after we've extracted information about the location of the Dragonballs first."
The two began their search, walking around the area.
A restless sleep…
Bulla's hair was matted to the shape of the pillow as she woke up. It had been a little all over the place as she slept and groggily woke up to the sounds of grunting and heavy breathing. She rubbed her eyes to get some focus into her eyesight and saw Pan fully awake, moving around in the room throwing punches and kicks.
"Pan, what are you doing? Go back to sleep," Bulla said and Pan stopped with a fist in the air.
"There's no time to rest, I have to be prepared to take that brat down," she said and began moving more slowly, making smooth motions with her arms and legs as she paced herself around the room with fluid movements. She took a deep breath and sat down cross-legged in a meditative position and closed her eyes. She pressed her fists together and steadied her breathing, focusing her energy as she began to float up in the air.
Bulla groaned a bit as she walked out of the bed to the bathroom and gasped when she saw her hair in the mirror. She sighed as she leaned against the sink, looking at her face.
"How's a girl supposed to get her beauty sleep from all that excitement the night before?" Bulla asked herself groggily. She smoothed out her hair as best she could and was annoyed at how some of it was still awkwardly hanging in front of her face. She blew it away with a puff of air from her mouth and decided to get dressed.
"Well, since I'm now a spectator, I guess something casual and fun should suffice," Bulla said and took out a capsule which popped open a large wardrobe that had all the outfits Bulla packed for her trip and that caught Pan's attention as she opened her eyes and almost fell down on the floor. She gaped at the selection of outfits Bulla had in her wardrobe.
"Now what to wear," Bulla said, sifting through dresses, pants, shirts, shorts, and a pair of denim overalls that she eyed for a bit longer, thinking this might work for the day. She took it off the hangar and picked out a shirt that matched it and whatever else she needed and went off into the bathroom for a while to fix herself up.
Pan was still amazed at all the clothing Bulla had but shook her head. "Focus Pan, think about this after the Tournament's over."
Her thoughts began to turn towards Uub and she glanced at the door to the hallway outside.
"Bulla! I'm going to see Uub, okay?" Pan called out and walked out of the room.
She felt a mix of emotions as she walked down the hallway, remembering back to last night when she kissed him on the cheek. She didn't plan on doing it, but by reflex, she felt this was something she wanted to do and went through with it anyway unconsciously. She smiled as she walked over to his room, picturing his face with that smile of his and imagining him with his arms raised in victory and being awarded a large trophy by the announcer. She then imagined him being carried on the shoulders of Goku and Piccolo and they paraded him around the island while her parents showered him with praise. The look of embarrassment on his face as he blushed red made her giggle and she almost walked past the door to Uub's room. She looked down at herself for a moment, hoping she'd look at least presentable enough given that she had decided not to bother getting ready too much and instead simply got dressed in her fighting gi and get in some light exercises first before starting the day.
She knocked on the door and waited a few moments. She frowned and knocked again.
"Uub?" she called, waiting for an answer. When a few seconds went by and silence was all that was greeting her, she checked the door and found that it wasn't even locked.
"Uub? I'm coming in," she said, opening the door. She looked around the room and noticed that the curtains were closed, obscuring the sunlight from outside. There was still enough of it to peek through, surrounding the wall with a faint yellowish hue from the morning sun and she walked around the room, looking for Uub but her face began to show a bit of worry when there was no sign of him.
"Uub? Are you still here? Say something if you still are," she called out and waited again for an answer. She sighed and began to focus her energy to sense where he had gone to and gapsed when she saw a silhouette in the corner that she hadn't seen earlier.
Uub was leaning up against the wall by the window near the corner of the room, his body out of the light, blended in the shadow. She walked up to him and as he stepped forward, she could see that he looked incredibly tired and gaunt as he stared down at her.
"You look terrible, what happened?" Pan asked.
"I couldn't sleep," Uub said quietly. She led him to the bed and he sat down on the end of it.
"Oh no…how are you supposed to fight Buu like this?" Pan asked and Uub stared down at the floor.
"I haven't had a good night's sleep since I left the lookout. Ever since I saw what I used to be, what this 'body' used to be, I've been having terrible nightmares. I can't get these memories out of my head and I don't understand why I'm having them."
"Uub, you're going to be fine. They're just bad memories and bad dreams. Grandpa assured us that you have what it takes to fight hard and be the best fighter you can be. Don't let these shake you up so much," Pan said and Uub looked at her, panic in his face.
"I can't stop them from coming! It's even worse every time I look at Buu now! When I see him, I see this other face, this horrible monster that wears my skin and has done terrible things to innocent people. I don't know why I'm remembering things I've never done before yet it feels as though I did and it's driving me crazy!"
Uub stood up and walked over to a mirror that hung on the wall overlooking a dresser and he could see the bags under his eyes and dark circles from lack of sleep. Pan grabbed his hand and put her other hand on his shoulder, looking up at him.
"Sometimes I look at my reflection and lately it feels like I'm not even looking at me anymore. I see a different face staring back at me and I'm scared to look back now," Uub said as he turned to face away. Pan could feel his hands shaking and he took a couple steps in front of her.
"I can't do it, Pan. I can't fight Buu. Please ask them to switch our matches so I can fight Choi instead," he said and Pan sighed.
"You know they can't do that, Uub," Pan said and reached up to touch his face with her hand, drawing it towards hers.
"Look at me. Focus on my face," Pan said and Uub blinked a few times.
"Pan, I-I'm scared," Uub said and Pan nodded.
"I'm scared too. I know I want to beat up that brat but seeing how easily he defeated Trunks it does make me worry about fighting him but I gotta keep going and see what it is I can do. I can't give up, and neither should you. I believe in you, Uub. I have faith that you will be the best fighter in this tournament and nothing will stop you."
Uub grinned a bit as he stared at her and she couldn't help but blush a bit.
"You've been a really great friend, Pan," Uub said and Pan blushed even more.
"You too," she said and grabbed his hands.
"Come and get something to eat, it'll clear you mind for your match. I don't like you moping around your room like this. Promise me that no matter what happens today, win or lose, you'll get your butt in bed and get some actual sleep," Pan said and Uub chuckled a bit.
"Yes, I will. I promise," he said and the two walked out of the room to head to the restaurant for an early breakfast. The two could sense that Goku and a few others were already there and Bulla joined up with them, with her outfit picked out for the day and her hair tied back in a ponytail with a red ribbon. Pan was amazed at how pretty she made herself look and felt jealous that Bulla was a natural at making herself look amazing and wanted her to teach her how to doll herself up like that as well.
After a long session of breakfast, Pan took Piccolo aside and spoke to him privately.
"You're concerned about Uub," Piccolo said and Pan nodded.
"He's in a pretty bad state right now, I'm worried it'll interfere with his match against Buu," she said and Piccolo sighed grimly.
"Your grandfather kept that secret from Uub only for Uub to discover it on his own during his spiritual journey in the Time Room," he said.
"That's got to be the worst thing to live with," Pan said and glanced back at Uub, who was busy chatting with Goku, who was all smiles. She frowned as she spotted Choi but ignored him for now.
"You were saying that he can somehow remember past memories that weren't his?" Piccolo asked her and she nodded.
"Yeah. It's causing him a lot of stress and he has really bad nightmares because of it. I didn't want to bring this up until after some time had passed, but it wasn't the first time he's had these nightmares. During our training, I sometimes catch him crying as he's sleeping, grimacing as though he's witnessing something horrible happen. He'd toss and turn a lot during this time. I was afraid to wake him up not knowing what I'd expect but the next day he'd be his usual cheerful self eager to help around the village."
"This is disturbing news," Piccolo said. "When an evil spirit is reincarnated, all the evil is cleansed first and all trace of memory wiped. Yet when Goku made the request to King Yemma for Buu to be reincarnated, I'm starting to suspect that because of how pure Buu's evil energy was that it's almost impossible to completely cleanse it and I'm worried there may still be a speck that remained that is causing these memories to resurface in Uub's deep subconscious."
"What? Does that mean Uub might lose control and revert back to what he was before?" Pan said, her voice beginning to shake.
"Doubtful," Piccolo said, shaking his head. "I'm only speculating here but in time Uub will eventually accept that he was once Buu and acknowledge that that monster no longer exists. He gained Buu's power but not his evil aura. You should continue to be there for him and encourage him without worrying about these memories."
"Okay," Pan said, nodding. She walked back to join up with Uub and Goku and Piccolo stood back, staring at Uub, frowning. I might have to speak to Dende after the Tournament.
Goku escorted Pan and Uub to the entrance of the building where the competitors would gather and he put his hand on Uub's and Pan's shoulders.
"You both have very strong opponents to fight. Do your best and keep your minds focused," he said. Uub paused for a moment and didn't want Goku to see his hand shaking a bit. He quickly put it behind him out of sight. He looked up and gave Goku a small grin.
"I will Master," Uub said. It wasn't an entirely honest answer on his part and he was afraid Goku would see through it but instead he smiled his usual smile and began to run off, waving at them.
"Have fun and fight hard!" he called out to them before he was out of their sight. Pan reached around Uub to take his shaking hand and she squeezed it.
"Don't worry about what happens today," she said. She could still see signs of restlessness in Uub's face as he glanced down at her. He did manage to eat well despite the lack of sleep and Goku was too busy with his own food to really notice what was bothering Uub so much.
"I'm going to let him down, I just know it," Uub said and Pan frowned, staring up at him.
"Don't say that. Don't lose hope, you're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. I know this because of how much more effort I have to put into my attack and defense whenever we spar. You're on a whole different level than Bulla and myself combined. I have an easier time sparring with her or uncle Piccolo than I do with either you or grandpa."
Uub nodded. She tapped him a couple of times on the chest and gave him a more reassuring smile.
"Take a deep breath, shake those nerves out and win that fight, you got it?" she said and began walking into the building.
Uub stood for a moment, but he did take a deep breath and calmed himself down. He didn't notice Kelerot staring at him from the top of a building, however, and Kelerot was looking at him with his arms crossed.
"He'll defeat himself if he doesn't defeat his opponent at this rate," he said quietly and flew down to the ground to walk over to the stadium so he could join the crowd to watch the fights unfold.
When Uub and Pan walked into the competitor's waiting area, Pan frowned when she saw Choi leaning up against a wall. His wrists and ankles were taped up and he glared at Pan with a menacing smile, figuring to get in some early intimidation before their match. She glared back with equal determination and Choi smiled. Uub could see Buu performing some light exercises and stretches (not that he ever needed to stretch in the first place), and had his usual grin, but it widened when he spotted Uub and Pan and walked over to them.
"You're my opponent today," Buu said.
"Yeah. Um, good luck in our match?" Uub replied, extending his hand nervously. Buu took Uub's hand in both of his gloved hands and shook it up and down.
"I'm happy to fight someone with familiar energy," Buu said and walked back to his spot. He popped open a capsule from under his outfit and a picnic appeared. He wanted to get in a quick meal before the fight started and Uub decided to ignore it for now. He and Pan walked over to the sign blocking most of the view from the auditorium so the spectators couldn't see the fighters very well and looked around to see if they could locate Goku and the others.
"Oh, there they are," Pan said, pointing to the west side of the stands. She saw Goku sit with her parents, sandwiched between Gohan and Bulla, who had Arugula sit beside her with the stuffed dinosaur in her hands. Bok, Cheelai, Broly, and Lemo were all together in their seats, while Piccolo was standing further upward, keeping his distance as usual yet still be able to watch the matches. She could sense Kelerot's energy as well as he too stood by himself watching the activity below, yet he wasn't really looking at anything specific. She still felt a great deal of suspicion about him, wondering what his motive really was.
"Why is that guy still here? I really wish he'd go away," Pan said, staring at Kelerot. When he stared back at her, she felt for a brief moment an intense aura about him and quickly looked away.
"The way Master Goku was talking about him during breakfast he seemed like he wasn't a bad person. I noticed his voice was sounding more excited as he was describing his fight with him yesterday and I'm kind of glad to see him this happy."
Pan sighed. "Well at least one of us is sure of themselves."
The announcer was seen walking up the steps to the stage and raised his microphone to the air to get the crowd's attention. The local band began playing their fighting song to rile up the crowd and get them cheering loudly as a few fireworks popped in the air, signifying the start of the semi-finals of the Tournament.
"Thank you all for coming! Are you excited to see the next two fights?" he shouted to the crowd and they roared with cheers in response.
Buu's fan club rallied and cheered on, waving their flags with Buu's face on it and waving signs that drowned out the sight of those unfortunate to be sitting behind them and a few were yelling at them to sit down but they ignored them.
"What do we want?"
"For Buu to win!"
"When do we want it?"
"ALL THE TIME!"
"Who will be the new champion?"
"BUU! BUU! BUU! BUU!"
Ongoing chants of "Buu! Buu!" resonated across the whole crowd now as the fan club got most of them to join in with them and both Goku and Gohan were a little beside themselves as they saw this.
"I had no idea Buu was this popular, dad," Gohan said and Goku couldn't help but chuckle.
"Everyone wants Buu to take over after Hercule retired," Goku replied. Videl was a bit annoyed by that remark and stared at him.
"I hope you're not getting the idea of cheering for Buu when our little Pan and Uub should be the ones we need to support," Videl said and Gohan raised his hands.
"Relax, we're fully behind Pan and Uub."
"Hmph, I hope so," Videl said and stood up.
"Come on Uub! Come on Pan! Win this and get that championship title!" she shouted and a few around her glared at her and began to laugh.
"Buu can't lose, he never does. Only Hercule ever beat him to keep his title!" said one of them and she glared at him, balling her hands into fists.
"Videl, I-I think you should sit down," Gohan said and Videl glared at the man with a smile.
"When my baby girl mops the floor with Buu you're going to eat those words!" she said and Gohan stood up, trying to get between the two.
"Sorry sir, my wife can get a bit excited during these events," he told him. He glanced back at Videl.
"Please don't antagonise anyone, we all want to have a good time, don't we?" Gohan said and Videl crossed her arms as she plopped herself back down on her seat, staring at the man who looked back uncomfortably and resumed chanting Buu's name a moment later. Gohan sighed as he sat back down.
Piccolo stared at the competitor's area and could see part of Uub's head beside Pan. He glanced to the side and could spot Kelerot observing the crowd with his hands behind his back and locked eyes with Gohan for a moment before staring back at the stadium, waiting for the announcer to call out Uub and Buu for their match.
"We have a very exciting match coming up as your favorite to be the new champion, Buu, is set to fight off against contestant Uub, who gave us a stunning display of fighting prowess in the quarterfinals!"
Another roar of cheers and Buu chants resounded and the announcer raised his microphone to the air again before speaking.
"Let's not keep you waiting any longer! Contestant Buu and contestant Uub, come on out to the fighting stage, please!"
Pan grabbed Uub by the arm and stared up at him, looking squarely at him in the eyes.
"I believe in you," she said and Uub blushed. Buu was already up and walking towards the sign when he walked past Uub and out to the roaring crowd who went even louder now that they could see their fan-favorite. Uub swallowed and began walking out himself a few steps behind Buu, keeping a bit of distance as he made his way to the steps.
"'I believe in you?' That's the best pep-talk you could give that loser?" Choi said behind Pan and she spun around to glare at him. He walked up to her and stood at the opposite side of the arch, staring ahead. She turned her head to ignore him and stared at the fighting stage as Uub climbed up the steps to stand on the opposite side of the stage, facing Buu.
Pan clasped her hands together. "Please don't lose your nerve, Uub."
"Tch, I don't know what's got your boyfriend so spooked but he's a bundle of nerves right now. You sure he's a competent fighter?" Choi said and Pan glared at him again, baring her teeth.
"Shut your trap, brat! Uub's a great fighter, stronger than you'll ever be!"
"Uh huh," Choi said nonplussed and he leaned up against the archway wall, staring outward.
"This should be a laugh; I can't wait to see how fast Uub gets knocked off the stage."
Pan clenched her fists. She wanted to deck this kid so hard but knew that he was trying to provoke her into fighting him and risk disqualification. She steeled herself so she wouldn't lose her resolve and continue hoping Uub would come through and regain his composure.
Uub nervously bowed at Buu before glancing around the crowd, who was firmly behind Buu. He spotted Goku again and Goku waved at him with his arms in the air, cupping them to his mouth.
"You got this, Uub! Stay focused and fight hard!" He shouted. Uub gave him a weak nod. Because his heart was pounding so much, it drowned out the crowd and that was the only thing Uub could hear now. He began to feel dazed from his nervousness and the sound of the announcer grew more distant and muffled. His vision felt a bit blurry now as Buu looked more out of focus. Uub felt like he was going to faint, not only from being so nervous, but also from lack of sleep.
"What's wrong with Uub, Bulla?" Arugula asked, tugging at her shirt. Bulla stared at Uub for a moment and sighed.
"Pan said he didn't sleep last night," she said and Arugula tilted her head a bit.
"Is Uub afraid of something?" Arugula asked. She brought her stuffed dinosaur to her ear and nodded.
"Mr. Bronto says he could sense a lot of fear from Uub too. But why would you say that Pan-Pan is scared too, Mr. Bronto?" Arugula said and Bulla glanced down.
"Wait, really? Why would Pan be scared? Scared of what?" Bulla asked and Arugula shrugged her shoulders. She looked at Mr. Bronto and shrugged again.
"Mr. Bronto doesn't know, but he can tell Pan-Pan is scared of something," she said and Bulla rolled her eyes a bit.
"Great, this is going to go well. I know we should cheer for Pan, but I don't mind if you want to cheer for your brother when he fights," Bulla said and Arugula shook her head.
"Nuh uh, I want Pan-Pan to win," Arugula said with a smile on her face and Bulla blushed. So cute.
The sound of the drums quieted the crowd as the tempo began to build up and the crowd eagerly awaited the gong to start the match. Uub was still staring off in the distance, his heart pounding like crazy, several beats faster than the pounding of the drums. They almost synced up at one point when the drumming began to intensify and move faster. Buu tilted his head from side to side to the beat of the drums, eager to start the match and he couldn't really tell Uub's state of mind for the moment yet noticed that Uub wasn't really taking up a fighting stance at all. Gohan pointed that out to Goku as well.
"Hey dad, shouldn't Uub be taking up a fighting position so he doesn't get knocked off guard?" Gohan said and Goku raised an eyebrow.
He crossed his arms. "You're right. Why hasn't he heightened up his energy yet?"
When the drumming stopped and the gong rang, Buu immediately went on the offensive, flying towards Uub with a punch ready to hit him. Uub was still spaced out as he stared ahead.
"Uub, look out in front of you!" Goku yelled and Uub came to his senses when he heard his voice. His eyes widened and he narrowly dodged Buu's fist, forcing him to take a few steps back. He almost lost his balance as he reached the edge of the stage and wobbled back and forth to keep himself from falling off. Uub looked around shakily and saw Buu coming at him again with another punch that he had to dodge again. Buu was going a bit faster now and Uub was forced to block each blow as Buu unloaded. Uub started gaining speed as he blocked the blows a lot more and the two danced around the stage, Uub on the defensive.
"Steady, Uub! Find an opening!" Goku shouted and Gohan crossed his arms.
"I'm getting a bad feeling," he said.
"Uub will be fine, trust me," Goku said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. This is his first big test after all," Goku said and watched the match continue on. Gohan frowned, not feeling as confident. He glanced back at Piccolo who nodded back at him, catching onto this feeling as well.
"What's with the kid? He's way more shaken up than when he was fighting Bok," Lemo stated and Bok glanced at him.
"I don't know, uncle. He was a bit nervous fighting me earlier, but then again so was I since that was my first real fight."
"He doesn't want to fight him," Broly piped in and the family looked up at him.
"I'll say," Lemo said. "Maybe he's seen a scarier version of Buu when he was younger and developed a phobia."
"He's going to lose if he can't get a hold of himself," Bok said and Broly nodded. Cheelai stared down at the stage and sighed.
"Guess we'll wait and see how long this fiasco lasts until we get to the other match," she said, her face looking a bit disappointed. She seemed to like the kid when she saw him a few times but this complete lack of confidence as he was fighting Buu was painful to watch.
Buu stayed back a moment and fired off energy blasts at Uub, who dodged them wildly as he moved to avoid them. He paused a moment and looked around.
"C'mon Uub, get a grip. Focus like Master said," he told himself and shook the nerves out of his hands. He took up a bit of a fighting stance and breathed deeply. He charged straight at Buu and Goku's eyes widened a bit.
"No Uub, a direct attack doesn't work against Buu," he said and watched as Uub went in for a punch that was easily knocked away by Buu and the two began knocking fists against each other.
"He's not using Buu's body to his advantage," Gohan said. Gohan could still remember the time he had fought Buu himself when it was the evil version (now reincarnated as Uub) and even though he was a bit overconfident in his fight, he was still able to study how Buu's body worked and how to fight against him. Goku was the most knowledgeable out of the group when it came to fighting Buu and notice a lot of glaring errors in the way Uub was fighting as he traded fists with Buu. He took a hit to the face with a left hook and then Buu stretched his arm out to wrap it around Uub's leg and tossed him across the stage. Uub had to stop himself in mid-air otherwise he would've landed outside and he flew back to land a few feet away in front of Buu. It didn't help that the crowds were cheering wildly and chanting Buu's name while his heart was still pounding wildly in his chest.
He went to charge forward at Buu again and wear a determined face while he was at it but his eyes widened when his mind began to superimpose the evil version of Buu on this Buu's face and he stopped short of punching it, instead catching a hard right to the face from Buu. Uub flew back and landed on the stage, sliding across it while breaking through the concrete tiles a bit to slow down his fall.
Goku put a hand to his face, shielding his eyes. "Uub, what are you doing?"
Videl looked at Uub with a lot of worry now and Gohan stared at him, frowning.
"This is bad," he said.
Uub stood back up and shook his head, trying to get the image out. He took up a fighting stance again and darted forward at Buu. But each time he got close, Buu's face would morph into that sinister face with the demonic red eyes and toothy grin and Uub's eyes widened in panic and he stopped himself short. He narrowly avoided Buu's punches and backed away step by step. Uub's face continued to get paler as his hands began to shake and he staggered back.
Pan felt considerably more worried as she saw how frightened Uub looked and her hand was to her chest. She could feel her own heart beating faster.
"Uub…"
"Ugh, this is so pathetic. He's wasting everyone's time fighting that pink moron. Just get the fight over with so I can win my match already!" Choi yelled, his patience wearing thin and Pan stared at him hard with tears in her eyes.
"What're you gonna do, Panny? Nothing, that's what," Choi said.
"Shut up! Shut your face! I hate you so much!" Pan screamed at him and was ready to attack him when he stared back with a grin on his face.
"The only thing you should be hating is that weak performance your boyfriend is showing everyone. You should be hating cowards like him who have no business being a fighter in the first place," Choi said before he walked away and Pan wanted so badly to deck him but slammed her fist against the archway which left a deep crack that almost caused the whole foundation to collapse on top of her.
The crowd was getting tired of this as well and they started growing more negatively towards Buu and Uub.
"What a joke!"
"I paid to watch a fight, not a circus performance!"
"Get off the stage, ya coward!"
"Forfeit to Buu!"
The boos were getting louder as Goku and the others looked around. Even Lemo decided to join in with the crowd.
"Get off the stage ya bum!" he cried out and Cheelai smacked him on the back of the head.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! We should be supporting Uub not trashing him!"
"That kid's in no condition to be fighting. He should give up and leave," said one of the spectators nearby.
"Whoever taught this kid should be ashamed of themselves," said a woman behind Goku and that caught his attention as his eyes widened.
"I know, right? Who teaches martial arts to a kid who flails about like a coward?" another woman beside her stated and Goku frowned, staring down at the stage. As he watched Uub scurry backwards to avoid Buu, he began feeling angry. It's been such a long time since he last felt angry that it surged inside him very quickly and he gritted his teeth. Piccolo noticed this and knew what was coming. Kelerot glanced over and saw Goku's face and even he had to briefly glance away. He actually looks a bit scary when he's angry.
Goku stood up and using his energy, he heightened up his voice so that it could be louder than anyone else in the crowd.
"GET UP AND FIGHT BACK YA STUPID JACKASS!" Goku screamed as loudly as he could and the entire crowd went silent. Buu stopped dead in his tracks and Goku's family stared at him in shock. Piccolo's stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed, as well as Pan. Broly's family never expected Goku to look this angry before and never in their lifetime would think him to say something like that.
Uub snapped back to reality and glanced at Goku.
"Master?"
Goku took to the air and flew down to land in between Uub and Buu and the announcer began to panic.
"Um, sir? Y-you can't be on the stage during an official match!" he muttered but when he saw that it was an old familiar face, he felt a bit guilty for chiding him, yet he still needed to maintain order.
"Sorry Mr. Announcer, but I have to do this," Goku said, then glanced back at Buu. "Sorry Buu, I won't be too long." He stared down hard at Uub with his fists clenched.
"I can't fight him, Master, I-"
"Shut up! Why did I go through all the trouble to train the reincarnation of Majin Buu?" Goku cried and the spectators looked down at him in confusion.
"Reincarnation?"
"What's he talking about?"
Some shrugged their shoulders and waited to see where this was going. Some clued in that this was a teacher scolding their student and remained quiet.
Uub couldn't help but start feeling angry himself. "Why didn't you tell me I was him, Master? Why did you keep this from me?! Why didn't you tell me I used to be a monster that killed billions of innocent people?!"
"BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT BUU!" Goku screamed back. Uub was taken aback by that statement and Goku continued to glare down at him.
"Do you want to know why I wanted to bring you back?"
Uub looked away for a moment.
"Out of everyone I've ever fought in my life, you were the only one that could make me feel the most excited. You learned how to fight so quickly and so effortlessly that I envied you, Uub. I can never say that about anyone else and you have no idea how happy that makes me feel. I knew you did some evil things before as Majin Buu, which was why I wanted Yemma to reincarnate you as a good person. I made this request not because I wanted another chance to fight you again, but because I believe you have the determination to use all that power for good now and to protect the ones you care about. But you can't do that if you keep doubting yourself!"
Uub looked up and his face sank.
"Master, I-I'm sorry," he said and felt the tears begin to trickle down on his face.
"You have the power to do some actual good, Uub. Whether you remember things you did as Buu or not is irrelevant because what matters is what you're capable of doing NOW. The Buu that stands before you cast away his evil self a long time ago and wants to help people. He's best friends with Hercule, the greatest champion this world has ever known and together they helped us defeat the evil Buu. But that's not you anymore and you have to accept that. Not just for us, but for yourself."
Goku offered a hand to help Uub back up to his feet and Uub wiped his face against his forearm.
"Believe in your power Uub, you are the strongest fighter I've ever known and I'm proud to have been able to teach you everything I know. You inspire a lot of goodness in those from your village, and I know your mama and papa raised you well."
Uub's eyes widened when he heard that and he began to smile again, nodding.
"Heh, Mama would give me a whipping if she saw me act like this," Uub said, chuckling. Goku clapped him on the shoulder.
"Fight hard and do your best, Uub," Goku said and he waved at the announcer.
"Sorry that took so long, I'll let them resume the match!" he said and flew back to his seat.
"I hope Goku's words inspired contestant Uub to fight back and fight hard!" he said to the crowd and Uub stared at Buu, bowing at him.
"I'm sorry Buu, I should not have doubted you, nor myself. We may have been the same long ago but I know now we're totally different. I'd be honored to give you a proper fight this time."
"I would like that too," Buu said and took up a simple fighting stance. Uub could tell it wasn't as simple as Buu alluded it to be and he went into a stance that was much like Goku's.
Seeing Uub wear his old gi and take up a pose that was much like his, Goku couldn't help but smile again. Gohan stared at his father with a relaxed look on his face.
"That takes me back to when you helped me defeat Cell," Gohan said and Goku glanced back with a smirk.
"You didn't need any help, Gohan, you had the power all along."
"Ha ha, yeah," Gohan said, chuckling a bit.
"Thank you grandpa," Pan whispered, breathing a little more easily this time. She blushed as she saw Uub look more confident and clasped her hands together. Good luck, Uub.
Choi was even looking at the whole spectacle and walked back up to the arch.
"'bout time someone talked some sense into him," he said and Pan glanced at him.
"Someone should do the same for you," she piped back and Choi smirked.
"You got a lot more guts than he does, that's for sure," he said.
Pan ignored him for now and closed her eyes.
Piccolo breathed a sigh of relief when Goku returned to his seat and could hear the crowd murmuring among each other. Most of it was along the lines of not knowing what the heck Goku was talking about but began cheering when they saw Uub stand tall and look more confident, as though Goku's words actually did reach him.
Kelerot looked at the whole situation unfold with an air of curiosity. I wouldn't mind knowing a bit more about this. I didn't think there was more to this Uub kid than I realized initially. Show me what you got, Uub and prove Goku right.
Bulla looked up at Goku with a newfound admiration and smiled. "Thank you for talking some sense into him."
"Yeah," Goku said, and glanced back at Piccolo, whom he sensed was looking his way. He stood up and excused himself to walk up to him.
"So why did you decide to keep that secret from him?" Piccolo asked.
"Because I wanted Uub to live his own life, unburdened by the past. If I told him right away as soon as I met him that he was Majin Buu and that he caused a lot of destruction, he'd be reluctant to learn how to use his power. He needed to live his life and take care of his family, but I didn't want him to waste the opportunity presented before him to harness his power. There's still a lot of Buu that's a mystery, but I'm glad we don't have to worry about them being a threat to the earth."
"And despite all that, you still want your re-match against Uub after the Tournament is over?" Piccolo said and Goku responded with that same simple grin he always had when he's determined to get something done and Piccolo closed his eyes, grinning.
Goku went back to his seat and waited with anticipation for the match to resume.
Uub waited for Buu to make the first move and Buu disappeared in a high-speed burst to reappear in front of Uub, and the two knocked fists together. They began a high-speed exchange of blows that were blocked and dodged, moving across the stage. They were moving so fast the crowd could only barely see blurs zip around the stage and were at a loss for what to say. They noticed Buu was moving a lot faster this time than when he was fighting Android 18 and decided rather than attempt to locate them on the stage, they began cheering for Buu once more.
Uub ignored the cheers and any noises around him, feeling out Buu's energy which he was still amazed felt exactly like his own. There was no denying it now that he and Buu were once the same but he felt assured now that neither of them were even remotely evil anymore and Uub began to have a bit of a confident smile on his face as he moved around the stage, blocking and dodging Buu's punches. He began to counter some of them and socked Buu in the face with a counter-left and sent him crashing down to the stage with a double-ax handle blow. He flew down and landed near the impact area, waiting for Buu to re-emerge and the crowd was a bit stunned to say the least.
"Uub with a heavy strike that sends contestant Buu crashing into the stage! I'll start the count! ONE! TWO!"
The dust cleared, leaving Buu's head still stuck to the stage. Uub stood and waited, seeing what Buu would do next and he stood up, but not without detaching his head from his body and Uub's eyes widened.
Buu reached down and plucked his head from the stage and began molding it into a ball, juggling it in his hands before placing it back on top, the ball reshaping itself into Buu's head and he smiled as he sauntered over to Uub.
"This is a lot of fun!" Buu cried with a huge smile on his face. Uub returned the grin and took up a fighting stance once more. Buu rushed with a forward roundhouse kick and Uub arched his back dodging it. Buu then stopped his motion mid-way and brought his leg down, yet it was blocked by Uub's arms. The two moved around, blocking each other's punches and kicks and their movement carried them across the stage as the crowd warmed up a lot more to the fight.
They both made contact with their fists and it shook the area from the impact, each one trying to push the other one back with Uub wearing a more determined expression while Buu still had his signature smile. Uub couldn't help but chuckle a bit and the two resumed trading blows that were blocked and Uub slid down on his knees to duck underneath a roundhouse kick from Buu, who then spun around and swept Buu's other leg from underneath, causing Buu to lose balance. As Buu was falling down, Uub flipped back up on his feet and made a high-speed burst to punch down at Buu, who quickly dodged out of the way. Uub hit nothing but the stage and created a small crater from the impact but anticipated another kick from Buu who blocked it with his arm. Uub flipped back a few feet to gain some distance and fired off several energy balls that Buu deflected away, returning with his own barrage.
The energy balls collided against each other, exploding all around the stage and the two fighters disappeared, reappearing above the ring to trade blows once more. Buu grabbed Uub by the shoulders and extended his arms to push him to the outside of the stage but Uub grabbed the arms and spun around to twist them and he quickly tied them up in a knot, which stunned Buu for a moment. He used this opportunity to fly back up and fire an energy blast at Buu, but the pink fighter dipped his own head into his body to dodge it, untying his arms in the process. Buu began retracting his arms and in the process managed to wrap them around Uub's body, trapping him.
"Crap!" Uub cried out, caught off guard by the sudden movement. He tried to move out but Buu's grip was getting tighter. The crowd waited on with anticipation, seeing where this would lead and Uub grunted as he gritted his teeth, trying to free himself.
"Dad," Gohan muttered but noticed that Goku was still smiling.
"Uub'll be fine, don't worry," Goku told him and Gohan stared back up at the two. Pan stared up with worry once more as Choi narrowed his eyes.
Broly and his family watched eagerly as Bok was amazed at how fast Uub and Buu were moving.
"Glad to see that kid looking more confident this time," Lemo said and Bok nodded.
"Yeah, he's way more determined in this fight than he was against me."
"C'mon Uub, you got this," Bulla said and Arugula held up Mr. Bronto.
"Uub! Do your best!" she cried out.
Buu began flying down towards the outside of the stage, forcing Uub into a ring-out. Uub glanced down and saw how close the ground was getting and he closed his eyes, crying out.
"Time to go bye-bye," Buu said and Uub shook his head.
Focusing his energy, Uub began to power himself up even more and let out a huge yell, bursting outward with his energy that shattered Buu's arms around him, exploding them into pink goo as the pieces flew all around the stage. Uub's brilliant white aura shone brightly around him as he flew right at Buu and punched him hard in the gut before Buu could reform his arms. Steam vents shot out like a tea kettle's whistle as Buu felt the full impact of that blow. Uub hit him again with another full force blow to the face, caving it inward and he grabbed Buu by the antenna on his head and began spinning him around. Buu's muffled cries as he was being spun around were ignored by Uub as he launched Buu up in the air, flying upward in a burst of speed to surpass him and he swooped around and dived down, planting his feet squarely in Buu's face again, sending the pink fighter crashing down into the stage.
"Attaboy, Uub!" Goku yelled out with his hands cupped around his mouth. Videl was stunned at how strong Uub looked and Gohan was equally amazed. Piccolo stared up with a smile on his face and even Kelerot couldn't conceal his amazement. Broly was surprised to see how strong Uub looked and he glanced over at Goku who returned his glance with a huge grin on his face.
"DOWN!" the announcer shouted and he rushed over to the stage. Uub quickly landed on the stage and his aura disappeared. Pan clapped and whistled and gave Choi a look with a smirk on her face as he was a bit taken aback from Uub's display of strength.
"You're not getting nervous, are you?" Pan said and Choi scoffed at her.
"Please, that's still nowhere near my level," he boasted and Pan rolled her eyes, looking back at the stage.
As the announcer made his count to ten, Buu burst out from the rubble and plopped his face and stomach back. The gooey debris returned to him and reformed his arms and yellow boxing gloves and he cracked his neck. Uub stood ready to fight again as the crowd cheered for Buu, chanting his name again.
"Buu was down but definitely not out!" the announcer shouted. "There's still plenty of fight left in him!"
Buu began firing up his power now and he cupped his hands to his side.
"Uh, dad? Is it really a good idea for Buu to fire a blast like that with all these people around?" Gohan asked and Goku looked on with a more serious expression.
"There's a lot of us here who'll make sure no one gets hurt if that happens," Goku told him and Gohan nodded.
Electric sparks swirled around the energy as Buu was charging up his attack and he fired off a massive blast at Uub. Uub planted his feet and brought his arms forward to catch the blast in his hands.
I gotta bring this out of here so it doesn't hit anyone! Even though I can sense he's not using all of his power with this attack.
That made him a bit curious about why Buu was holding back on his power. But Uub knew that his full power wasn't being tested either and part of him felt that this was just a tournament match and not a real life-and-death struggle so restraint was definitely a necessity. He brought his hands underneath the blast and lifted up the energy, shooting it upward into the sky. The energy blast exploded and shook the earth below, causing a bright flash to illuminate the whole area which forced the crowd to shield their faces and brace themselves as the whole area shook again.
Uub breathed a bit of a sigh as he stared at Buu, who watched his energy explode up in the air with a hand to shield the glare above his eyes. He turned to Uub and gave him a huge smile. The dust settled as the crowd were able to see again what was going on and noticed that the two fighters weren't moving now.
"I made up my mind," Buu said. Uub cocked an eyebrow.
"You made up your mind?"
Buu nodded. "Yep! I'm happy to have fought you but I want to spend some more time with Hercule. Let's fight again sometime! Bye!"
With that, Buu turned around and jumped off the stage, walking to the back. The crowd, stunned in silence for a few seconds, suddenly erupted.
"WHAA~~AAT!"
Uub couldn't believe his eyes either as he blinked, processing this. The announcer rushed to the stage and couldn't find the words for a moment.
"Uh, contestant Buu has declared forfeit? That means contestant Uub is the winner of this match and will advance to the finals!"
He raised Uub's hand in the air and Uub glanced up at it. For some reason, he realized that Buu was more content spending time with his friend than with the tournament. Thank you, Buu.
Uub walked to the back and was greeted by Pan.
"Congratulations!" she cried out and Uub frowned a bit.
"But I didn't really win though," Uub said. He spotted Buu and ran over to him. Choi glanced at him and sighed.
"Well that was pathetic," he said and stared out at the stage again, watching the staff fix up whatever they could before the next fight.
"Buu!" Uub cried out and Buu stopped.
"Why did you forfeit? Didn't you want to become the next champion too?" he asked.
"I don't care about the championship. Hercule retired, maybe I should too," Buu stated. He let out a huge yawn.
"I'm sleepy," Buu said and walked away, rubbing his eyes. Uub let out a small chuckle, crossing his arms as he watched Buu leave and Pan approached him.
"How do you feel?" Pan asked him and Uub momentarily lost his balance.
"Woah, easy there," she said, holding him up.
"I'm alright, just expended a lot of energy."
"You were fighting back fatigue after all," Pan said. "Maybe you should go get some sleep back at your room and I'll come get you after my match is over."
"I should stay and watch your fight, though," Uub said but Pan could clearly see the fatigue was more noticeable on Uub's face.
"Go and get some rest. I'll be fine. I can handle that brat," she said and caressed his face with her hand. Uub blushed a bit.
"Okay. Be careful and don't underestimate him. He's more than just talk; he has the power to back it up."
"I will, Uub. Thank you."
"Good luck," Uub said and the two stared at each other for a moment. Pan blushed as she stared up at him and glanced back to see if Choi was looking at them but he was still busy staring out at the stage. She quickly turned back and gave Uub a full kiss on the lips this time and walked away. Uub stared back, shocked at what had just happened and he touched his lips instinctively, his cheeks red against his tanned skin.
"We will be taking a short recess to repair the stage. Please be back in ten minutes!" the announcer said and some of the crowd stood up to leave to take up that opportunity and the families looked at each other.
"Why would Buu forfeit the match?" Bulla asked. Goku stared down for a bit, watching the repairs go on and he crossed his arms.
"Because he knew he couldn't beat Uub. Rather than drag the fight on even further he decided he was satisfied with Uub's power and forfeited," Goku said and Bulla sighed.
"That's weird. I would've kept going until I got knocked out or fell off the stage or something," she said. "But whatever. Pan's up next so everyone of us better cheer extra loudly for her, right Arugula?"
She glanced down at Arugula who wasn't looking so enthusiastic and stared ahead with a blank expression on her face.
"Arugula?"
No response.
"Hey, are you okay?" Bulla asked and Arugula was still staring dead ahead. Bulla glanced down to get a better look on her face and noticed that it wasn't just a blank expression, the girl looked petrified with fear.
"Hey, you're scaring me like that. Arugula?"
She grabbed her shoulders and shook her a bit.
"Arugula!" Bulla cried out and Arugula snapped out of it. She looked up at Bulla, confused and raised her eyebrows a bit.
"What?"
"You were spacing out. You got me all worried," Bulla said and that brought the attention of the others as well.
"Is something wrong?" Cheelai asked.
"Arugula looked freaked out about something," Bulla said. Cheelai glanced down at her daughter with worry.
"Little one? Are you okay?" Cheelai asked her.
"I was talking to Mr. Bronto and he said something bad is going to happen," she said and the others looked at each other.
"Something bad? What do you mean?" Bulla asked this time. All eyes from her family and Goku's family were on Arugula as she could see them all staring at her now.
"Mr. Bronto didn't say what the bad thing was but he began to feel scared about Pan-Pan," Arugula said and Videl stood up, gasping a bit. Gohan put a hand on her arm, calming her down.
"What's going to happen to Pan? Is she in danger?" Videl asked.
"He doesn't know," Arugula said, looking down. She glanced up at her mother, at her father, then at Bok and Lemo but didn't say anything. She then spotted Choi staring out at the stage and her face grew pale again, her heart beating a bit faster as her eyes widened.
"Pan-Pan's in danger," she whispered.