Chapter 38: Vastation
Author: Rocket (a.k.a. Roketto/RyunoOhi); Editors: Elbadj, Devilman337, & Renalto
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I don't own DBZ or its associated franchises. That's Akira Toriyama's product & pride. I only tenuously own my own O.C.s created for this fandom, & my speculative theories on Arcosians & other things DBZ never delved into. If you would like to use either, feel free, as long as you give me credit & a link back! I'd love to see my ideas become accepted fanon. So with that, welcome back to the action!
Wind blew through the valley, disturbing plumes of dust that raced past the two silent fighters. Tenshinhan wrinkled his nose, wondering how he, of all people, had been put in this position. 'Damn it! I need to get him up; I can sense Buu's power, but the others have all disappeared...this is bad, and we can't be wasting time like this!' he thought impatiently. Normally, his training would have imbued in him a fastidious temperance, an unwillingness to jump blindly into things, but the energy of Majin Buu ignited some cold terror in him that he couldn't rationalize. It screamed at him that they needed to move. Now. "Frieza, come on, we need to go. I know you're in turmoil right now, but to be blunt, we can't pause to deal with it. Majin Buu is on the move, and both Goku's & Vegeta's energies disappeared. That means they're either suppressing it completely, or..." He let the words hang, looking at the Arcosian's eyes for any sign of an effect. Nothing. He was still despondent. The android sighed. "They might both be dead, so if you're worried about punishment, let's assume that's on the back burner for now, alright?"
Frieza finally took a shuddering breath. "...Alright, fine. I don't know if I can move forward from here, but... I'll try. My blade's not broken just yet," he said in a detached tone, while curling one hand into a fist. His tail quested along the ground, wrapping around the faishin where it lay in the dust. He brought it up to his hand, paused, then pointed it at the human. "Shin wirusi zou shin. A sword can only ever be a sword. Point me at the enemy, and I'll do what I do best," he said, with what could best be described as an almost sad smile on his face.
Tenshinhan's momentary look of surprise turned into a hard smile. 'This could be trouble. He went from catatonic to calm in a heartbeat, like he's compartmentalizing everything. I don't like it, but...' He nodded. "Right then. Let's get going." They lifted off, and with the next gust of wind, they were off, leaving only the swirling dust behind.
"Man, what's takin' Vegeta so long?" Goku whined, his childish impatience masking his true turmoil.
"I imagine that battling Babidi is a tremendous mental ordeal," Popo said, "Indeed, if he has succeeded in overcoming that, then it's likely that he has collapsed of exhaustion. If he has failed..."
"N-nonsense, Vegeta is far too proud to succumb like that. Don't say things like that Mr. Popo; Goku's tense enough already," Dende quickly stammered, trying to distract Goku, "R-really, it's pointless to sit here stewing. It's Vegeta's fight, isn't it? We aren't helping anything by imagining the worst..." The young Namekian twiddled his fingers nervously, looking up at the Saiyan.
"...yeah," Goku sighed. Then, he straightened, forcing a smile to his face. "Vegeta's super stubborn! I'm sure he's just fine, just like you said, Dende!" He tapped his fist into his palm. "In fact, I'll bet he's not out yet 'cause he's trainin' in there! Pretty sneaky of him!"
"Oh yeah, that's right!" Dende said, brightening considerably, "You two were amazing during your last fight...er, I know it wasn't under the best circumstances, but I could tell from watching that you two were just about even in power. Hmm... I wonder if there's a higher plateau of power than what you can Saiyans can currently reach? Well, Goku?"
The spiky-haired Saiyan furrowed his brow. "Nah, I've thought about it a lot, and I think we've pushed ourselves as far as our bodies can take us. I've trained & trained, but it's the same result. Goin' any further won't make us any stronger, it'll just break us."
"Whoa, really?" Dende exclaimed, "I dunno...I kinda figured you two would just keep pushing your limits forever..."
"Goku has become surprisingly wise since he trained up here with Master Kami and I," Mr. Popo smiled proudly, "It's a reality that most mortals never want to accept, but the most limiting factor of all is the body itself."
"What do you mean?" Dende asked, "Sure, people's bodies can only take so much punishment, but isn't that the point of training?"
"Up to a point, yeah," Goku nodded, "But once you pass that point, you're not improving, you're just hurtin' yourself. Unless you find a way to train without a body, there'd be no way to get any stronger. Huh, wonder how that'd work..."
"That makes sense, I guess..." Dende conceded. Then, a thought struck him. "Hey, what about when you trained with King Kai when you were dead? You progressed by leaps and bounds compared to when you were alive."
"Huh? Yeah, guess so..." Goku pondered, "Maybe if I die again, I can see if there's someone stronger who'll train me? Hmm...maybe that Enma guy, if he's not too busy..." He chuckled. "Anyway, I don't plan on kickin' the bucket anytime soon, so I guess I'll have to accept my limits until then. For now, I'm gonna have to hope that I'm strong enough to beat Majin Buu like this."
"Yes, though it might be wise for you to gather all of your allies," Mr. Popo said, "Strong as you are, even you can't hope to win alone." The genie looked troubled. "I fear that even all of Earth's warriors together may be no match for this monster."
"Good thinkin' Mr. Popo," Goku said, focusing his ki sense outward and down, to the Earth below, "Let's see...Goten and Trunks musta gone back to the tournament, so..." He went silent, closing his eyes as he concentrated. "I sense Bulma, an' Chi-chi, an' Yamcha... Goten and Trunks are headin' towards 'em... Can't sense Tenshinhan, but I feel Frieza...heh, he probably stopped him and talked some sense into him somehow... Wait, where's..." His face curled into a frown. "Oh no. Can't sense Krillin anymore, and he was back with Tenshinhan by Babidi's ship, along with Videl... Wait, I can't sense her either! No, no... Frieza, what did you do?" A bead of sweat dribbled down the side of his face. "No... Piccolo... Gohan..." Slowly, his eyes opened. "They're all dead," he mouthed, "I can't feel any of them." Trembling, he sat down, hard, on the tiled floor of the Lookout. "Grr...this is all my fault," he choked, his teeth gritted, "If it hadn'tve been for my stupid fight with Vegeta..!" He punched the floor, provoking a startled yelp from Dende. "What am I gonna tell Chi-chi? I promised her this'd never happen, ever again. I'm so stupid..." He clutched his head in his hands, shaking.
Mel drove the car, tapping his thumbs on the wheel, whilst his five-year old daughter, Cara, bopped her head to a colorful cartoon and jingle playing on a tablet. "Are we nearly there yet?" she piped up.
Mel let out an amused sigh at hearing the question once again. "Not yet, honey," he said, "Just another thirty minutes or so, if the traffic holds up well." They were driving down the highway and, in the distance, the tall skyscrapers of West City were rising over the horizon. The traffic had held up well, only a small jam impeding their progress earlier. He whistled a tune to himself as Cara resumed her humming along with the jingle.
((People of Earth…))
The sudden intrusion of the voice startled Mel and the car screeched slightly. Cara banged against the back of the seat and let out a whine. "Daddy!" she said, "What was that? Did you turn the radio on?"
Mel looked around, slowing the car. Ahead of him he could see others doing the same. Did that mean… He glanced at the radio. It was definitely off.
((I am speaking to all of you directly,)) the voice came again, rasping and cold. Mel shivered.
"Daddy...who is that..." Cara said, a tinge of fear in her voice. She gripped the tablet tighter, as if it would offer some protection, the happy jingle continuing.
"I don't...I don't know sweetie…" Mel pulled the car into the curb. Ahead of him others were stopping and getting out, looking around.
((If you shut your eyes then you can see me,)) the voice said.
Reluctantly, but feeling compelled, Mel shut his eyes, as did Cara.
And suddenly, rather than blackness, he beheld the vivid image of a diminutive, alien-looking figure, with sickly green skin, bulbous eyes, and wearing a robe. Behind the creature was fat pink blob who was currently doing cartwheels through the air. Wind whipped around the creature. Below them, far below, they could barely make out a village. Mel blinked open his eyes and he was back in his car. He shut them again, and there the two creatures were, the one closest smiling pleasantly and the other mucking about. The image was absurd, to the point where he didn't question how he was seeing it at all.
((Ah, there you are)) the creature said, ((Allow me to introduce myself: I am Babidi and this here is my friend, Majin Buu. Say hi Majin Buu.)) Babidi turned to give Buu a fuller view. Buu pulled a duck face and waved.
Cara giggled. "He's funny," she said. Mel kept his eyes closed. Something didn't seem right.
Babidi swung back into view, the same patronizing smile on his face. ((Now, I unfortunately have a problem. You see, there's a man I'm looking for. He looks like this—))
Suddenly the image of a fierce-looking man, with spiking hair, a pronounced widow's peak, and a menacing scowl, entered Mel's mind. It was there for a moment and then disappeared. Babidi was back. ((And a friend of his.)) Another picture, this of another man, with spiked hair, wearing orange and a much more pleasant expression. Babidi again. ((And two children.)) Another image, that of a child that was almost a carbon copy of the second man. Another image flashed in of another child with purple hair. Mel frowned. This one looked familiar, as did the one of the first man, now he considered it. The thought of who they were was just out of his minds grasp.
Back to Babidi, with his calm smile. ((So you see, I just want to know where I can find these people,)) he said, ((Any information would be gratefully received. If you have any you only need to think of me and you'll be able to get in touch through your mind.)) He tapped the side of his head. ((But I am afraid that I'm in a hurry so...)) He turned away, giving a view of Buu spinning around. ((Buu, would you mind?)) Babidi called, ((That village below.))
((Okay!)) Buu chirped and spun around and raised his hand. There was a flash of light, and the village below disappeared in an explosion that cracked the ground apart, the fire and smoke rising into the sky.
Mel's hands hurt as they tightened around the wheel, his eyes shut observing the destruction. A piercing wail came through his consciousness, though still distant as if through water.
Babidi swung back into view. His smile was gone, replaced with an ugly leer. ((You have half an hour,)) he said, ((Or another village goes.))
The image went to darkness.
Mel realized, as the horrific vision faded, that the wail was Cara screaming.
"Shit! Babidi just had Buu destroy a whole village! And he's looking for us to settle the score!" Goku cried, his teeth gritted. "No...they were...they were innocent! They had nothing to do with this!" He balled his fists, quaking with barely-suppressed rage.
"He knows your faces," Dende said, with an air of grim acceptance, "He's not going to stop until you go back and face Buu, no matter how long it takes or how many uninvolved people he has to slaughter to get to you...what a fiend..!"
"What should we do?" Goku hissed, "I could go try to stop him...but Buu's so strong, I know it'd be pointless." Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Oh no. We were all at the tournament earlier; what if people recognize me and turn Chi-chi in? I've lost Gohan; I can't lose her too!" He whipped his hand to his forehead, pausing in anguish. "I... I can't save everyone..." he struggled, "but with the Dragonballs...yeah, that's just gonna have to be good enough... I'm sorry, and I hope everyone in West City will be okay..." He turned to Dende. "Hey. I'm gonna bring Chi-chi and the Ox King up here, okay? Even if they recognize 'em, they'll be a lot safer up here."
"We'll keep them safe, I promise," Dende nodded. He turned to look at the still-closed door to the Room of Spirit and Time. "As soon as Vegeta gets out, you two can rally everyone else to take out Buu as a team. I just don't see any other way of doing it."
"Thanks Dende," Goku smiled, looking somewhat tired and worn in that moment.
SHHFFT!
"I hope that whatever happens, Goku and his family come out of it safely," Mr. Popo said, "The lot of them are nothing but kind-hearted, decent people. Despite this, it seems Goku has always had the misfortune of attracting the worst kind of evil..." The genie sighed.
"Don't fret, Mr. Popo," Dende said, "As long as I'm alive, the Dragonballs can undo any sorrow he must endure. It's my duty to help the people of this planet, but it's my obligation to take care of Goku and his family first...for what they've done for me... Do you think that kind of bias is unbecoming of a Guardian?"
Mr. Popo hummed in thought. "No, I think not. After all, saving Goku facilitates saving the rest of the world, as he's inclined to do that anyway. It would be a wise priority to hold as Guardian, even if you weren't indebted to him in any way."
"Thanks, Mr. Popo," Dende smiled.
"What's taking those worms so long?" Babidi griped, "Surely someone has seen those wretches..."
((B-babidi? Uhhhhh...how do I know if he hears me?)) a meek voice echoed in his mind.
"I can hear you. Speak," Babidi commanded, smirking at the small noise of fear the human made in response.
((I...uh...well the guys you're looking for...the intense looking guy and the kid with purple hair...that's the husband and son of Bulma Briefs, from Capsule Corp,)) the voice echoed.
"That means nothing to me..." Babidi said, voice twitching with anger, "I need something specific!"
((W-well they, they live in West City! It's the—))
"Is that where you are?" Babidi interrupted.
((Y-yeah I mean…))
Babidi focused a moment. In his mind's eye a pinprick of light emerged, something in the distance. He could feel the presence of the person connecting with him and through that divined the direction and rough distance he needed to go in.
"Right, thank you for your service," Babidi said, pleasantly, "It's been most helpful to find where to go."
((Uh...go..? Do you mean..?))
Babidi cut the connection. "Buu! Come here!" he called. The pink creature floated over to him and Babidi hopped onto his back. "Go that way!" he said, pointing in the direction of West City. "We've got a former subordinate to root out!"
With a happy cheer Buu shot towards the horizon.
"Uh, hello? Hello?" the man said, looking confused and slightly terrified.
"What's happening?" the woman next to him hissed, "What's going on?" Others were earwigging the conversation, stopping their activity and milling around.
"I don't know; he cut off the connection. But I think..." he swallowed, "It sounded like they were coming here."
Silence struck the crowd. The woman grabbed him by the lapels. "Coming here?!" she shrieked, "You mean Babidi and that Buu monster are coming here?!" The noise was picked up by the rest of the crowd and the words were repeated, flowing out from the epicenter around the city like wildfire.
"I guess so!" the man said defensively, "I guess the Briefs must be people he's really angry with for some reason!"
"What are we supposed to do then?!" a voice shouted from the crowd.
"You saw what that monster did to the village, they could do that here!"
Panic took hold. People began running back inside, others to their cars, others just running, directionless.
"What if we took care of the Briefs?!" a voice shouted out, "Then Babidi wouldn't care!"
This notion caused pause, bouncing out through the crowd, discussed in small corners along the city—
"Yeah that could work!"
"There'd be no reason to do anything to us then!"
"It's their fault, whatever they did to anger him!"
Suddenly a segment of the crowd had direction, angrily shouting and coalescing together as it started towards Capsule Corp, while others continued to pack and try to leave.
Trunks opened his eyes. Goten was beside him, hanging in the sky, and both were pale with shock and fear. "Goten..." Trunks breathed, "He...he showed our faces and..."
"Mom..." Goten whispered.
Trunks' eyes widened. "Oh shit!" he shouted, "Everyone will recognize me and that'll lead them to Mom!"
Goten's face scrunched up. "And if the people in the village down the mountain recognize me, then..." The two boys exchanged a glance, and then they both jetted in opposite directions, turning Super Saiyan and slamming through the wind.
'Damn it, damn it, damn it!' Trunks panicked, 'I have to make it in time!' He stretched out with his senses, looking for his father, hoping desperately that he was making his way to West City...but he felt nothing. 'What's happened? Please don't tell me Dad is dead!' Trunks focused his mind as much as he could. Whatever had happened, he couldn't afford to dwell on it. He needed to make it in time.
"Not good," Bulma whispered under her breath, "That's one of the major downsides of being rich and famous... I hate to do it, but it looks like it's time to bug out. If someone told that creepy wizard about Trunks, they're gonna make a beeline here!" She hurriedly stuffed some clothes in a suitcase, then capsulized it. As she rooted through another drawer full of clothes, she heard a low, but building, murmur. "What the hell is that..?" she wondered, leaning towards the window. "Goddamn it, that was quick," she hissed. The susurrous commotion from outside came from a massive mob of people, nervously milling around outside the front gate.
Bulma reached for a comm unit and radioed the guards at the gate. A voice crackled at the other end. "Ma'am," the guard said, "There's a crowd of rather angry people here..."
"Do your best to keep them quiet," she said, "We need time to get out of here."
"Okay. Do I have your permission to use force?" the guard asked, a hesitant pause between sentences.
"Try to keep reasoning with them and try to scare them off, but if your life is in danger...then yes," Bulma said evenly. 'If it comes down to it, the Dragonballs can be used to revive anybody killed in the chaos today...provided we get through today in one piece...' she thought, adrenaline and pragmatism overriding her normal emotions.
She heard a nervous grunt of affirmation on the other end of the line. "Okay, good luck Ma'am."
The connection cut and Bulma instantly switched the frequency to the general Capsule Corp. one. "Everyone, I'm sure you saw that message from that thing called Babidi," Bulma said, "Rest assured that I am aware of the situation. Prepare flyers within the grounds and get yourselves away from here as fast as you can." She switched off the frequency and grabbed her prepared capsule, running for the exit. 'Damn it, I need to get that thing from the lab!' she thought as she bolted down the stairs and into Capsule Corp proper, 'And get Mom and Dad out. Where the hell is Vegeta!?'
The guard stepped forward towards the mob. It had come with anger and passion but now, facing the gates and Capsule Corp, it had lost its initiative, nobody wanting to be the first to step forward. This was something he hoped he could use to his advantage. He kept his hands loose on the gun and tried to project a feeling of stillness and patience. It wouldn't be good to provoke them. "Good afternoon," he said, keeping his voice calm. "What can I help you with?"
The crowd initially seemed baffled by the question, before a voice shouted out, "You saw that message!" The crowd muttered, their anger rising again. He sweated, but kept his hands loose.
"I did indeed, and what about it?" he asked.
"He's after the Briefs! If they offer themselves up the rest of us might be okay."
"With respect, none of you know that to be the case," the man replied evenly.
A flyer took off from the Capsule Corp grounds. The crowd shouted and surged forward a little, anger rising. "They're trying to leave!" Somewhere in the crowd, a woman screamed. "They're going to leave us here, the bastards!"
Sensing that the crowd's anger was going too high, the guard decided to use shock to knock them back a bit. He raised his gun and fired into the air, the bang startling the crowd into silence. "Of course they're running away," the guard said, "Listen to yourselves! It's not just the Briefs in there, but employees. They're all running for their lives and trying to get out, because they're all frightened like you." The crowd murmured, shame creeping into them, backing off. The guard internally let out a sigh of relief. He had this under control now. "I suggest you should all do the same. Get back to your families, get back to your homes, pack what you can and get out of here before—"
A thunderous boom echoed across the city. Everyone's head whirled to the sky, where a shockwave ring sliced the sky, the sonic boom shattering the windows of the towers below and shaking the cars so the alarms went off, in a great cacophony of bleeping and cascading glass. In the center of the expanding ring were two figures. "They're here!" someone screamed, and the crowd panicked and surged for the gate. The guard couldn't react and was overwhelmed, thrown to the floor and trampled on as the people ran at the walls, tumbling over one another, bones and bodies being crushed underfoot. They clawed at the walls and tried to heave themselves up and over the gates, all thought of the Briefs forgotten, driven purely by the animal instinct to get away as fast as possible. Behind the gate, the other guards panicked and opened fire, bullets tearing into the people who dropped over the gates in bloody lumps. But more kept coming, slipping and stumbling over the carnage underfoot.
Babidi, his arms clasped behind him in satisfaction, observed the panic in the city below, the wind whipping about him. Behind him Buu put his hand horizontal to his forehead to observe what was going on below. "They look so funny!" he said, watching the small figures running about and the cars crashing into one another in their desperation to get away. He raised a hand. "Should I destroy them?"
"No, that won't be necessary, Buu," Babidi said, "I want them to run and panic. All the better to bring Vegeta here. If he doesn't arrive soon, then we'll begin to slowly destroy the city to force him out." Babidi grinned. "And if we can find his wife and child, so much the better." He closed his eyes, using his magic to try and trace the ki signature of Vegeta, trying to find someone who also had that trace. Suddenly, his bulbous eyes snapped open. He peered into the distance. Someone was coming. Someone with a Majin mark. "Vegeta?" he wondered, "Already?"
Bulma pushed her way through the crowd of panicked employees. The gunfire rattled loudly, as did the screams and shouts from the gate, thinking, 'How has this gotten out of control so quickly?' She was bumped to the ground, and rolled to avoid some feet before hauling herself up. It didn't matter that she was Bulma Briefs anymore, now she was just another desperate person. Elbows out and at the ready, she redoubled her efforts and shoved her way through, heading for her parents' section of the compound. She managed to clear the crowd, which was mainly streaming towards the hangar and the capsule depot, and sprinted towards the house. She didn't bother knocking and slammed open the door. "Mom! Dad!" she yelled.
"Bulma? What is it honey? You look a bit flustered." Her mother emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tray of cookies.
Bulma stared, incredulous. "Mom, have you seen what is going on out there?!"
"Well, yes, but it seemed so awful we thought it best to stay indoors," Pansy said with an apologetic shrug, setting the cookie tray down, "After that horrible message from that creature, well…"
Bulma put her hands to her hair, nearly tearing it out, before dropping them away and moving swiftly forward. "No, no, no, no we are not doing this," she said firmly, "Go upstairs, pack some stuff, and then you and Dad are getting out of here. I've got a flyer for you, you'll head out and get to the Lookout, now go!" She shoved her mother towards and up the stairs. She took a deep breath and stepped back. And then her ears picked up something. Above the noise of panic there was another sound, a low ululating thrumming noise, like a jet passing overhead. Though not a fighter, she'd heard that distinct sound her whole life, and there were two possibilities... 'I hope that's who I think it is. If not, then Babidi's already here and I'm screwed!' she thought as she ran to the window and pulled a small scope out from her pocket. From outside, she could just see a small black dot hurtling through the sky towards Babidi and Buu. "Vegeta..?" she wondered hopefully. She pulled up the scope and focused it. Frieza. With Tenshinhan just behind him, streaking towards the enemy. Bulma pulled down the scope feeling a sense of relief and gratitude, a relieved sort of smirk breaking the tension on her face. "The cavalry has arrived, heh. At least someone's on the ball." Another thought began to surface, that if Goku, Vegeta, or Gohan weren't leaping into battle then maybe that was because... No. She buried it and then whirled around, sprinting up the stairs to help her parents pack.
Frieza and Tenshinhan came to a halt in the air, Frieza placing his hands on his hips, his tail held high behind him in a confident manner. He smirked at the sight before him as Babidi's eye twitched.
"You," the shorter alien snarled, "Another one of my damned servants turns against me!"
Frieza smirked. "It would appear that your great wizardry is not so powerful after all," he baited.
"You miserable little..! How dare you insult me?! I don't need you anymore, I have Majin Buu!" Babidi shouted.
"Hello," Buu said cheerfully, waving at them.
Frieza's smile widened. "This is Majin Buu?" He laughed. "This fat pink blob is the most terrifying being in the universe? I can't believe I ever harbored even a moment of doubt!" Buu squinted at him, not quite understanding what Frieza was getting at but not liking the tone.
"We need to be careful," Tenshinhan quietly counselled, "That thing fought Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan, and yet there isn't a scratch on him. He's either incredibly durable or he has some kind of regenerative capacity."
Frieza nodded without taking his eyes off the pink being, trying to suss out any visible weaknesses. 'A tricky, underhanded opponent? Hard to imagine such a simple creature having any type of guile or technique. Whatever it can do, it's likely purely instinctual.'
Babidi slipped back a little bit and pointed at Frieza. "Buu, kill them!" he commanded.
"Yay!" Buu cheered, clapping his hands.
"Keh, pathetic..." Frieza sneered. He yelled, and his aura surged around him as he ascended to his Fifth Form. Buu 'Oohed' at the transformation, and then took a fist to the face as Frieza shot forward. Buu's head squished to the side and Frieza followed up with another blow to the face, knocking Buu back slightly. Before he could follow up again, Buu's head snapped back with a grin and the dents in his face disappeared.
"That was fun!" Buu said, grinning, "Now Buu's turn!" He punched with a swiftness that caught Frieza off guard, and the blow hammered into his chest. The Arcosian hissed and shot backwards, but Buu pursued him, launching a series of punches, some of which Frieza was just barely able to turn aside.
'This strength is unbelievable!' he thought, 'Much higher than I anticipated!' Frustration growing, he widened his eyes and caught Buu with a telekinetic hold. Buu paused, unsure why he wasn't moving, before Frieza slammed him towards the ground, pile-driving him through a building and sending him crashing through the foundation beneath.
Buu shot up a moment later, slightly dirtied, with his cape ripped. He paused in front of Frieza, and a moment later his body and clothes were restored. He frowned. "You fight unfair..." Buu muttered.
"That's the best way to fight," Frieza replied. In answer he punched forward, and a section of Buu's body blew out from the shockwave. Buu glanced down at it and restored it, then looked back up. "How did you— Grrr!" Frieza yelled and launched a flurry of punches, none of them reaching Buu but all of them ripping chunks of his body.
'Amazing!' Tenshinhan thought, 'Frieza's using the physical motion of his punches to concentrate and direct his telekinetic attacks. He could hit with possibly greater than full force with more penetrating power at a distance. No doubt he was saving this one for Goku...' He glanced back over at Buu. Though he was being battered, the Majin didn't seem that bothered and kept regenerating. A moment later he surged forward, ducking under the attacks, before slamming into Frieza. 'Taking chunks off him doesn't matter though...he regenerates too quickly. Only one thing for it.' Ten slowly floated up into the air and began to concentrate his energy, moving his hands into a diamond shape. "With Frieza keeping him busy, he'll never see this coming..."
Trunks burst over West City. He paused, panting, sweat pouring off of his body, his body aching with the effort and strain of getting here as fast as he could. He could see and hear the panic below. He looked up. Across the sky were the sounds and sights of a battle taking place, a thudding of blows struck and the streak of energy beams. He reached out and picked up Frieza. 'He must be fighting Buu...' he thought, 'Where the hell is Dad though? Did he get killed? No way! That's not possible.' The half-Saiyan shook his head in defiance of the thought. 'It's gotta be some part of a plan.' Whatever it was, he didn't have time to worry about it. There was no way he'd be any use in the battle, not in his current condition. 'Sorry Uncle Frieza...' he thought, as he turned away and shot towards Capsule Corp.
Frieza detonated the energy blast in Buu's face, blowing off the top half of it. Sans cranium, the creature's scorched tongue waggled grotesquely, but the bottom half of the fat face kept smiling. Frieza shuddered at the disturbing sight, flinching back...and then the top half reappeared, with the same dumb grin. Then, Buu slammed a fist at Frieza, who blocked it with both arms, the bones bending under the force. Frieza grimaced. 'How the hell can anything be this strong? And this unkillable! Not even the Namekians could regenerate like this!' It didn't seem like this brute registered pain, fear, or any other exploitable sensation. The Arcosian growled, falling back to circle around this strange opponent. 'I still can't find any chinks in this thing's armor,' he thought with aggravation, 'It's like a perfect juggernaut! Can't incapacitate it with blows or blasts... I can't even slow it down!' A bead of sweat crept down his face. 'What if it's truly immortal?' The thought came unbidden, terrifying in its implications. He shook his head violently, growling at his own hesitance.
"What's the matter, hmm?" Babidi called, sounding insufferably smug. He let out a cackling laugh. "Try as you might, you can't beat Majin Buu," he said matter-of-factly, "He's invincible, the perfect weapon! Now that I have him under my control, the universe is mine, all mine! I'll subjugate all, with Buu as the eternal enforcer of my will!"
"Oh, is that so?" Frieza laughed, a sudden glimmer of realization in his eyes, "You know, you sound just like someone who thought they could conquer the universe with me as the point of the spear. Funny, how that didn't turn out quite how they predicted... I would suggest you cut your losses now, but we both know you're too full of yourself to ever admit the danger posed by your pet monster." That got both Babidi's and Buu's attention.
"Huh? What that mean?" Buu asked, cocking his head, "You use too many big words..."
"Grrrrr...pay him no mind, Buu. He's just trying to forestall his own death," Babidi said, though his eyes flicked nervously to his creation, as if worried that the Majin would turn on him in an instant.
The Arcosian chuckled darkly. "I know an unequal relationship built on manipulation when I see one..." He slyly addressed the hulking pink blob. "So Buu, between you and your master, who do you think is stronger? Faster?"
The chubby monstrosity put a gloved hand to his chin, seeming to think deeply. "Hmmm... I guess...Buu is?"
Babidi spluttered, "N-not that that matters one whit! You listen here, Buu! I can put you away with a word! A single magic word, and that's faster and stronger than even you, got it?! Now hurry up and silence this fool, unless you want to go back in your cocoon!"
Frieza smirked at the little creature's obvious panic. 'Couldn't find a weakness in the slave, but the master...he's the real chink in the armor...' he thought. Maybe there was a hope of winning this fight after all. 'Sowing the seeds of dissent...it's been quite a while since I've had to use such a tactic, but it never gets old, watching the weapons turn on their wielder so predictably.' His eyes glinted with malice. He just had to push this dumb blob towards the obvious conclusion.
Tenshinhan took advantage of the momentary stillness below. He concentrated and carefully moved himself until Buu was centered between his hands. "Shin Kikoho!" he screamed.
"Huh?" Buu had just enough time to turn his head up as the enormous wave of energy slammed into him, Frieza darting back to avoid being caught in the heat emanating off it. The wave ripped through the air and tore through the ground below, blasting apart a square hole, the end of which could not be seen.
The smoldering ashes of Buu dropped through the air, smoke rising off of them and swirling upwards. Frieza smiled, and then laughed. "Haha! Was that all it took in the end?" he crowed, "A little warning would've been nice, but I must compliment your perfect aim, Tenshinhan," he laughed. Then he stopped when he noticed that Babidi was unbothered. "Your monster has been destroyed, wizard, shouldn't you be more concerned for yourself?" he asked.
"Oh Frieza," Babidi sneered, "You don't seem to understand, I've seen this show before." He pointed upwards and Frieza followed his finger.
The Arcosian's glowing eyes bugged out. Behind Tenshinhan the smoke was steadily molding together into the shape of Buu. "Tenshinhan!" he shouted, "Watch—"
Before Ten could react, Buu reformed and delivered a kick to his side. Tenshinhan shot through the air, diagonally downwards, and scythed through two buildings before he slammed into the ground, smashing apart the street. The sliced buildings teetered for a moment, holding up, before, with a groan and whine of metal bending and cracking, the building toppled to the side. It smashed into another on its way down, setting off a domino effect. Below, the people screamed and ran in panic, before the building crashed into the ground, the force of it making the earth ripple and throwing people into the air and slamming them back down.
Tenshinhan groaned and raised himself up, clutching his head. His eyes widened and he whirled around in time to block an oncoming punch from Buu, his arm bending under the power. The follow-up strike took him in the chest and Tenshinhan wheezed from the force of it.
Frieza slammed into Buu, sending the creature flying down the street. He grabbed Tenshinhan and they leapt back up into the sky. Ten clutched at his head and chest. "That force, that strength..." he groaned, "It's incredible. And to regenerate like that, from smoke. How do we beat something like that?"
"I don't know..." Frieza growled, as Buu emerged and rose up into the sky.
Buu's eyes narrowed at them...and then his stomach rumbled, comically wiggling around. Buu looked down at it and rubbed his stomach. "Buu hungry," he said. He looked up and his eyes locked on Tenshinhan. "Time for Buu snack time!" His antenna whipped forward, and a bolt of jagged pink magic struck the cyborg, before he could react.
Tenshinhan let out a yell as Frieza turned to him, eyes wide in horror. A moment later, an oversized, person-shaped graham cracker cookie floated where the cyborg once was. Frieza's eyes bugged in mute confusion, then fear, sweat dripping down him as he parsed what had just happened.
"Now go to sleep Frieza," his father intoned, putting him to bed, "Or the monster Majin Buu will come and eat you, and you wouldn't want that."
The cookie drifted over to Buu, as the creature licked his lips—
"Ha, ha! The Majin Buu monster is going to get you and gobble you up!" Kooler jeered as Frieza ran away, putting his hands over his ears.
"No he won't, he doesn't exist!" Frieza shouted back, "It's just a stupid story! I'm not scared of that!"
The cookie drifted into Buu's hands. Frieza's body shook, but he couldn't move, could only watch...
"Yum yum time!" And Buu popped the cookie into his mouth, his cheeks cartoonishly bulging before he smiled, mouth dusted with crumbs.
"T-that...that...can't be..." Frieza stammered, "Ten...Tenshinhan..." He listened numbly to the crunch crunch crunch as Buu noisily chewed, before finally swallowing and patting his belly with a satisfied chuckle.
Behind the monster, Babidi looked equally amused, sniggering at Frieza's stricken expression.
'No...Tenshinhan..! He...he ate him!' The Arcosian swallowed dryly, suddenly feeling nauseated. Suddenly, he couldn't breathe, his bone mask dropping involuntarily as he sucked in a shaking breath, a sick feeling rising in his throat. It wasn't just that he'd killed and eaten his human companion, it was the way he'd done it: effortlessly, brutally, and merely for pleasure. Cold sweat slimed over his body, all those childhood terrors revived and made real in a painfully, terrifyingly, visceral way.
"Oh that is glorious!" Babidi crowed, "Where's your bravado now, hmm? You should see your face!"
"Hmm...Buu still hungry..." the Majin said, rubbing his stomach. Frieza flinched, trying to get his limbs to obey him and flee, but instead, Buu looked down at the people running about below. He reached out his hands to the swarming mass of humans, licking his lips. "Buu want candy now!"
Trunks, chest heaving with each gasping breath, zoomed over Capsule Corp. It was total chaos below, people running about, trying to leap on flyers. One flyer tried to get away, but was pulled back and down by the weight of the people clinging onto it, so it drifted and slammed into the side of the house in a chorus of screams. Trunks put his hands to his head in horror, tears stinging his eyes. His Super Saiyan transformation fell away, as he was unable to keep it going anymore. 'I have to continue! I need to find Mom...' he thought, shuddering, but turning away from the scene of destruction. He tried to pick out her energy signature, but it was too chaotic, his mind too exhausted to try and pinpoint it.
He flew overhead. "Mom! Mom!" he screamed. He scanned the crowd, trying desperately to pick her out. 'Maybe she's inside? Maybe she's already got on one of the ships and got away?' he thought desperately, unwilling to accept that she would still be here, that she might be crushed in the crowd, that she might—
He shook his head. He needed to focus. Keep his mind calm, think logically. 'Where would she have gone?' He looked back down, and his eyes widened.
In front of him, some of the people were beginning to lift off of the ground. Then more and more of them. The screaming and panic died down momentarily as the people looked around themselves in confusion as to what was going on. Then it started up again, at a louder pitch as they flailed desperately, some attempting to swim their way through the air, others clinging for dear life onto anything that was nearby, trying to stop themselves from being dragged inexorably upward.
Trunks watched in horror as people drifted past his line of sight, people desperately flailing for him, shrieking for help, trying to grab his arms and hold onto him. He felt a pull on himself as well, but he ducked and flew among the crowd, dodging out of the way of them.
'What?! What the hell is going on? Is this...is this something Buu or Babidi is doing?!' He glanced up at the sky. The battle seemed to have halted. 'Don't tell me Frieza and Tenshinhan have been beaten as well?!' Trunks panicked, not able to process what was going on. He looked back around wildly, and spotted a figure with blue hair, flailing in the sky. "Mom? Mooom!" Trunks screamed, darting towards her, trying to dodge around the bodies flailing for him. One grabbed him by the arm and tried to hold him, drag him back.
"Kid! Please kid! Help me!" the man screamed, reaching around from behind him and trying to cling to Trunks. Terrified, Trunks snatched his arm away— too fast, as the man's shoulder dislocated with a wet schluk. The man screamed and clutched at his shoulder, writhing in agony as he ascended higher and higher.
Tears of fear and panic stung Trunks' eyes as he backed away. "I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't—" he stammered, trying to explain.
Another arm wrapped around him, the person clinging tight, the arm shifting up to Trunks' throat and choking him. "Get us the hell out of here!" the person screamed into Trunks' ear as he tried to pull away. He slipped down and out of the person's grasp, who reached forward and snatched at his hair, ripping some chunks out. Even as he winced, he whirled and spun around, trying to see through the mass of people—
'I've lost her! I've lost her!' he panicked, desperately searching, his blue eyes wide in terror as screams rose all around him.
Frieza looked around him, eyes wide. "This...this can't be… The whole city…" he breathed, seeing the enormous horde of people, thousands, hundreds of thousands, rising into the air, a cacophony of screams and shrieks and panicked pleas. "How can..." he started, trailing off. 'Bulma!' he thought, 'She's in this somewhere! I have to stop him!' He tried to bury his fear, swallowing down the nausea and drawing on his anger at what had happened to Tenshinhan. He growled with anguish, swearing to get back at this...this thing. "You...damn you!" he hissed, pelting him with a barrage of psychokinetically enhanced blows. Buu's form caved in with each blow, but reformed each time. Frieza drew his hands back to unleash an energy blast, his throat raw with a desperate cry.
Buu's eyes flicked up to him, and unleashed a kiai wave that slammed into Frieza, knocking him backwards and jerking his head back, nearly snapping his neck. He lost control of the energy and the blasts went wide, streaking through the air and obliterating some of the hapless people floating before it detonated against the ground.
Buu's eyes narrowed again at the people, and his antenna moved forward, purple energy crackling at the end of it. "Hungry..." he muttered.
'Damn it!' Frieza swore, recovering just enough to shoot up into the air, out of range. The blow had knocked him back, knocked some of the animal panic out of him, but that thing, that horrible, nightmare-made-real monster was still there, still real, still hungry. And he was powerless to do anything to stop him, or even slow him down.
Among the crush of airborne people, Bulma flailed, still stubbornly holding a suitcase and brandishing a portable railgun. "No no no no no!" she screeched hysterically, panic overcoming her. 'This is crazy! It's like that thing got everyone in the city in a tractor beam or something!' she thought. Earlier, she knew she'd seen Frieza, high overhead, trying to repel the monster. Now though, there was no sign of him. Or any of her friends. She'd been so close to getting out, nearly on the flyer with her parents. Her parents who were now stuck in the same situation as her. Bulma's mind raced, but she couldn't see a way out. No way of escaping from the pull. 'Maybe I should have taken up Goku's offer to teach me to use my ki...' she thought with a stab of regret.
"Mom!"
She heard the cry and looked down. In the distance, far below, she could see Trunks trying to struggle past the people in the sky. He glanced around and looked up, spotting her.
"Mom!" he screamed, starting towards her, trying to dodge around people.
Hope swelled in Bulma, but at the same time, a sense of impending danger. She swung her gaze up, feeling as though the motion was slowed somehow. The blue-haired human saw from afar Majin Buu rearing back, that thing on his head glowing. 'No! There isn't enough time!' she thought, desperate. She turned her head back, to where Trunks was still struggling up. "Trunks!" she screamed, throat stinging from the strength of it. He snapped to a halt. "There's no time! Get out of here!"
"No! I can make it—I can!" His hair floated up, flickering golden.
'I won't let them have my son! Not my son!' Bulma thought, her stomach dropping. "I said no, Trunks! Go! Get out of here!" she screamed again, voice cracking with hysteria.
Trunks paused for a moment, struck by his mother's uncharacteristic intensity, but more so by the palpable fear in her voice. 'I've never heard Mom so scared,' Trunks reflected. Not when Dad screamed at her during their arguments, his ki flashing around him. Not when Uncle Frieza stumbled through the back door of the workshop with his arm in several pieces, dripping blood all over the floor. Never. He glanced from her to Buu and back, tears leaking from his eyes. Then he broke and ran, streaking away the way he'd come, through the already clear gap, back to the ground and then shooting away along the now-cleared path.
Bulma let out a near-crazed laugh of relief. 'Good. Stubborn kid; at least he listened for once. ...At least...at least Trunks is safe... Vegeta...I hope you are too.' She took one last look at her parents, who had both calmed and gave her a resigned nod. Then she squeezed her eyes shut, tears trickling down her cheeks.
A split second later, the cacophony of the crowd was silenced as Buu fired his magic at the floating population of the city, turning them all into various sweets. He opened his mouth, and all of the candies, cookies, chocolates, parfaits, and others went into his outstretched mouth. His face overstuffed like a cartoon character with a candy as big as his head, Majin Buu crunched down, feasting on the former inhabitants of the city. Then he swallowed, grinning and giggling. "Yummy yummy!" he chortled.
"That was pure ecstasy to witness, Majin Buu! Let all of Earth tremble before your name! Let all of Earth scream in bloody terror as they meet their utter end at the hands of the most powerful creature ever created: Majin Buuuuuu!" Babidi screamed hysterically.
From on high Frieza looked down, his whole body trembling. "That monster...all the stories were true...all of them..." he breathed, in a haze, almost unable to comprehend what had happened. A fear gripped him, an intense terror that he hadn't felt since that fateful moment on Namek when he'd finally realized who and what Son Goku was. "Damn it!" He whirled in the air and shot away, streaking across the sky.
Buu glanced up, seeing Frieza run. He raised a hand. "Nasty man trying to run," he said, "Should Buu kill him?"
"No! No, let him go," Babidi sneered with a cruel smile, "The humiliation and fear will be better for him. He's no threat to us and I can find him anytime I like. I'll give him time to think, and then when I come for him, he can either beg me to spare him, or you can turn him into your favorite sweet." Buu cheered and clapped and Babidi laughed, satisfied that his victory was complete.
Yamcha halted in midair, his eyes wide, looking in the direction of West City. There had been a sudden flare up in energy signatures, as if hundreds of thousands of people were all crying out in panic...and were suddenly silenced. 'What is going on over there?' he thought. He could feel Frieza's energy signature retreating from the city, but the other enormous energy signature that he presumed must be Buu was still there. He cursed. 'I hope Bulma wasn't involved in that whatever it was,' he thought as he turned and flew towards the Lookout, 'But I need answers.' He flew up and then dropped onto the Lookout, running forward as Dende and Mr Popo turned to look at him. "Dende!" Yamcha called. "Mr Popo! What the hell is—"
SHHFFT!
He screeched to a halt as, in front of him, Goku appeared with Chi-chi and Goten in hand. Both the boy and Chi-chi looked frightened.
"Goku!" Yamcha breathed in relief, "Thank goodness you're around. What's going on? I just felt...well it seemed like everyone in West City just snapped out of existence!"
Goku looked up towards the horizon, his expression pained. "Damn it..." he murmured.
"Goku...what is going on?" Yamcha asked again, steadying himself.
Goku looked down at him, and then over at Goten and Chi-chi, the latter of whom was similarly looking lost. Goku sighed. "It's...it's tough to explain..." He rubbed behind his head, looking for the best way to start. And then he launched into the story, about the Supreme Kai, the fight with Babidi's minions, the conversion of Frieza, Vegeta, and Piccolo, the subsequent battles… He paused, coming to the hardest part.
Chi-chi's breath caught, already seeming to sense what was coming. "Gohan..." she breathed, "Goku, Gohan, is he—"
Goku looked over at her, crestfallen, ashamed, hurt. Tears broke from Chi-chi's eyes and she whirled around and ran for the sanctum as she sobbed. Goten glanced over at his father, before running after his mother. "Mom!" he cried, "It wasn't Dad's fault! Mom!"
Goku watched them go and then wearily slumped to the floor, broken, his dark eyes misting over. Yamcha ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I think I can guess the rest..." he said, "Buu killed Gohan and Videl, you and Vegeta tried to fight him and lost, and then that must have been Frieza and Tenshinhan trying to stop Buu over West City. And I guess that means Bulma and the people there are all dead. And Krillin?"
"Frieza killed him," Goku said bluntly, "Of that I have no doubt."
"God..." Yamcha turned away a moment, "And what about Vegeta?"
"Babidi was able to track him through the Majin symbol on his forehead. He went into the Room of Spirit and Time to try and get rid of it. He hasn't come out yet though." He clenched and unclenched his fingers. "I don't know what to do...Gohan's gone, and even if Frieza, Vegeta, and I united our strength...I'm not sure we could beat him. That monster's regenerating powers are incredible. It seems like if even the smallest piece of him is left, he can come back."
"Well we'll have to think of something," Yamcha said, frowning, "Maybe when Vegeta comes out we can put together some kind of strategy..."
Videl, Gohan, Shin, and Kibito sailed through the sky of Kaioshinkai. Videl looked down and around her: the place truly was an idyll. It was a mass of green hills, trees, and lakes, all seeming to repeat themselves almost. No signs of any real life or disturbance at all. And yet, there was a real peacefulness and harmony about the place. She could easily imagine spending her life, possibly many thousands of years just relaxing in this place... She glanced away from it, shaking her head. 'Maybe that's how these guys managed to screw up so badly in the first place,' she thought, 'They all got complacent hanging out in this place, detached from all reality.' It was a dangerous thing to always float serenely; you never got a sense of the rumblings on the ground until one day the explosion ripped through the sky.
"Uh, Supreme Kai?" Gohan called.
"Yes?" Shin looked back over, "Though I suppose technically that is Kibito now, as I am dead." He frowned and dipped his head. "Although, now that I think about it, we never did really sort out what the succession lines are in the event of death: my fellow Kai were all killed permanently by Buu. Well...the ones he didn't..." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Gohan, I was lost in my thoughts. Irrelevant information. What was it you wanted to know?"
"Oh. Well, it was mainly just wondering where you're taking us?" the half-Saiyan asked.
"Ah! Sorry, I forgot to explain. I'm taking you to the Z-Sword," the deity said nonchalantly.
"The Z-!" Kibito was so shocked he momentarily dipped out of the air before he recovered himself, "Supreme Kai! That is the sacred weapon of the Kai! The sacred sword! You can't really think that—"
"I know Kibito!" Shin snapped with a sudden fury, "I know the legend and the history and the meaning it has to the Kaioushin; I taught all you this damn stuff! But desperate times call for desperate measures and both you and I have tried." He shook his head wearily. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. But there is no other option. We have to let Gohan try."
Videl frowned. 'Oh, so Gohan gets to try and not me...What is this thing?' she thought, slightly miffed at the dismissal in the Kai's words.
"I'm not meaning to be dismissive," Shin said, making Videl jump, "But you have to realize that your power is significantly below mine and Kibito's. Only Gohan here surpasses us, so only he can be the one to make the attempt."
"Can you please stop invading my mind?" Videl muttered.
Shin glanced over at her and smiled. "I'm afraid it's not something that I can stop," he said apologetically.
Videl arched an eyebrow. "Really?" she said. She then concentrated hard on a memory. One very specific memory…
Shin's eyes bugged and his cheeks blushed furiously as he whipped his head away. Videl smirked.
"Huh? What's going on?" Gohan asked, ever the naive one.
"N-nothing!" Shin said, voice cracking, looking anywhere but at the half-Saiyan. "Ahem, anyway, we're here!" he announced, halting in the air and making his voice gruffer.
The others halted around him. Below them was a tall rock, with a flat top. Embedded into it was a straight, gleaming sword.
"The Z-Sword..." Shin said. They dropped down to the ground, looking up at the rock, the pommel of the sword just visible. "This is what we have come for."
"Soo... What is it?" Gohan asked.
"The legendary sword of the Kaioushin," Kibito stepped in to explain pompously, "Whomsoever manages to free it from the rock will wield an immense power." He nodded. "If there is anything that can stop Buu, this weapon would be it." He turned to face Gohan. "Legend has it that one day a Kai would step forward to remove the sword and claim the power within. Many Kai have tried, but none have succeeded. So, you can understand what desperate straights we are in that we are allowing you, a mere mortal, to even attempt to claim it."
"Wow..." Gohan said, looking up at the sword. "And both of you tried?" he asked. Shin and Kibito nodded. Gohan gulped, then set his face in a determined look. "Well... If this is the best way of defeating Buu, then I'll give it my best shot." He nodded, setting his eyes in determination. Videl crossed her arms, still mildly annoyed at being ignored on this issue.
Gohan floated up to the rock and looked down at the sword. It looked...ordinary in many ways. The hilt, pommel, and handle were not exceptional in anyway. Perhaps that indicated its power, though? The less fancy things were, often the more importance they carried, having no need to advertise themselves. Gohan reached down and gripped the hilt. He tugged— and nearly wrenched his own arms out of their sockets. The blade was heavy, and stuck fast into the rock. He looked down at it. He set himself in a solid stance, bracing his boots against the stone, then gripped it again and heaved, pulling with all of his might. "Urrrrrgh..!" he grunted. He couldn't get it to budge one millimeter. Gohan drew back and blew on his hands, which were smarting from the effort he put into gripping it. Down below Kibito smirked at Gohan's failure. "Man... This thing is really hard to get out..." Gohan said, scratching the back of his head, "It's jammed in there good and tight."
"Hey Gohan!" Videl called, "Let me have a go!"
"Huh?" Gohan looked up. He floated up and over towards them, as Shin looked over at her with surprise while Kibito stared with incredulity. "Are you sure Videl? It's really heavy and stuck in there like it's glued. I think I could get it with Super Saiyan—"
"Yeah, yeah, before you go blond, just let me have a go first," Videl huffed, "We're not going to lose anything from that are we?"
"Uh, well sure... I guess not," Gohan said, dropping back down to the ground, as Videl stepped forward.
"No!" Kibito said firmly, stepping forward. Videl glowered at him. "This I absolutely will not allow! This is the sacred blade of the Kaioushin. Many have attempted to withdraw it over the millenia! One even died in the attempt, pulling at it for four days before a heart attack struck him down! Millions of years have passed with no one getting even close. Allowing a Saiyan to attempt it— admittedly, out of desperation— is one thing. But allowing a human, one of the lowest, weakest creatures in the universe is just an insult too far!" Kibito heaved in a breath at the conclusion of his rant.
Videl twizzled a finger in her ear and then dismissively flicked away the wax on it. "Wanna bet?" she asked.
"Excuse me?" Kibito blustered.
"You're so confident I won't get it out, well, I bet you a new shirt that I can," Videl smirked.
"Fine!" Kibito sneered, "And for my wager, when you fail you will have to spend the days here fishing for our food."
"Kibito, I really don't think this is becoming..." Shin tried to intervene, feeling embarrassed.
"Oh don't worry yourselves, I'm going to get this sucker." Videl stepped forward with a confident smile. She laced her fingers in front of her, gamely cracking her knuckles. "You guys ever hear the story of Alexander and the Gordian Knot?"
"The who and the what?" Shin asked.
Videl let out a little laugh. "Figures. You're up here in a perfect little world with no obstacles to force you to think creatively, so of course you can't see the answer. If I'm right, then it's stupid-obvious. Watch." She gathered her energy, sucking in a deep breath as she concentrated, bringing her power up. "Hah!" Videl threw her hands forward and unleashed a huge kiai wave. The enormous rock exploded into pieces, and the Z-Sword tumbled down through the rubble. Gohan, Shin, and Kibito's eyes bugged as the sword fell free from its prison after millions of years, the rocks bouncing in a shower of rubble around it. With a whoop of victory, Videl darted forward to catch the blade as it fell. As her hand closed around it, she grinned, "You, my friend, owe me a shirt, and maybe some resp— Agh!" Boom! Dust flew up as the human fell heavily into the plush grass of the Kai's planet, disappearing into the earth, only her boots sticking up awkwardly.
"Videl, are you okay?!" Gohan shouted, running over to the vaguely Videl-shaped hole in the ground.
"Holy geez this thing weighs a ton!" Videl's muffled voice came from below the dirt, as she kicked ineffectively, trying to free herself.
"Hold on..." Gohan sighed in relief, grabbing her ankles. With an awkward squeal, Videl came loose, dragging the Z-Sword determinedly out of the hole.
"Well, I got it," the girl grinned through a face full of dirt and grass, "Nobody said you have to pull it out, just that you had to get it free from the rock, right?"
"..." Kibito was so dumbfounded he didn't even have any reluctance as he lifted his hand and zapped Videl. Her torn and dirt-stained clothes instantly changed into the regalia of the Kaioushin, so that Videl's clothing now matched Shin's.
"Awesome!" she shouted, admiring her new look, "I fit right in now!" Releasing the sword, she got up and danced her way over to Kibito, singing gleefully. "I got the sw-o-o-ord! I got the sw-o-o-o-rd! All those dumbasses before me, and I got the sw-o-o-ord!"
"...Blasphemous mortal, you don't have to rub it in," Kibito growled, shame-faced.
"Videl, you're amazing!" Gohan shouted, starstruck.
Shin continued to stare, jaws slack, eyes wide. "Kibito...in all those millions of years why did none of us ever think of doing that?" Shin asked.
To that Kibito had no reply, continuing to glare at the sword glinting on the grass, as though it had betrayed him.
The bug creature stepped forward, through the ruins of the city, a smoking and ashen wreck. Broken bodies lay around the remains of an amphitheatre, bent and cracked over the rubble and the destruction. The creature slumped to his knees over one corpse and lowered his head and sobbed.
Detached, a mere ghost in the bloody tableau, the prince stepped out into the open, making himself visible to do...what? Gloat? Console? The emotions running around his head were a mess. He'd...he'd done this, he was pretty sure of that. But hadn't he also lost his city, his home, his planet? Couldn't he sympathize with this creature and what it was going through? Even if it was beneath him? Even if he'd taken pleasure in what happened?
The creature looked up and saw, looking through and past him. His eyes narrowed and his mandibles snapped together. "You," he hissed, "You did this, you were responsible for this, you—!" The creature pointed a finger at him, jaws clicking around the unfamiliar syllables of the common language, "You are destroyer, you are murderer!" Suddenly an ear-piercing, unearthly shriek filled his consciousness as the creature seemed to melt, his skin sloughing off his bones as a ball of ki enveloped him.
He turned, spinning to see himself; albeit younger, leaner...meaner. He was laughing over the din the dying creature made, as if this was all great sport. Black eyes set into a youthful, proud face. His face. The reality around him began to dissolve as if in acid, the cruel laughter surrounding him even as the screeching, keening cry of the dead pounded deeper into his aching skull—
'One day, the screams will find you too,' Sauza whispered.
Vegeta snapped up in bed and fired an energy blast. The ki sailed out over the endless white of the Room of Spirit and Time, streaking away until it faded from sight and sound into nothingness. He panted, his body covered in a cold sweat. He put his hand to his forehead and drew in a shaking breath. What was that? A dream? A memory? Something of both? He shook his head and growled. 'I've been in this place far too long,' he thought, 'I should have left the moment I conquered Babidi's stupid curse.' He slid off the bed and shook his head, still feeling slightly woozy, and made his way over to the door.
Goku and Yamcha looked up at the sound of the door opening. "Vegeta," Goku said, "Finally." He swung up onto his feet and the two of them crossed the platform to the sanctum. Vegeta emerged from the Room of Spirit of Time, white light shining out, before the door closed behind him of his own accord. He squinted out at them and crossed his arms. "Vegeta," Goku smiled, "It's good to see you. You got rid of the mark, huh?"
"Of course I did," Vegeta grumbled, "That wizard's grip was tenuous at best. Now, what's been going on while I was away?"
At that Goku and Yamcha exchanged a look and turned away slightly. "Well, buddy, you see..." Yamcha began.
Then he was cut off as all three of them looked up to see Trunks ascend through the sky and then drop down onto the Lookout platform. The boy looked crushed, his face streaked with tears and snot, his clothes and hair in disarray. He looked up and saw his father, and his eyes set in anger as he stormed forward.
"Trunks?" Vegeta asked. "What's wrong? What's—"
"Mom is dead," Trunks said.
Vegeta's eyes widened and his arms uncrossed from the shock. "What?"
"Mom is dead!" Trunks shouted, "She's dead! That monster took her and turned her into a sweet and ate her!" Everyone looked horrified at what Trunks was saying, unable to comprehend it. "Where were you?! How could you let that happen?!"
"Trunks, I was…I-I didn't know, I was—" Vegeta began, not arguing or rebuking for once, trying to placate his son.
"You didn't know? Or didn't care? You think I'm stupid? That I didn't see that mark on your forehead or know what it means?!" Trunks hissed. Vegeta took a step back, stunned. "You...how could you?! How could you just be controlled like that? I thought you were better than that, stronger than that! And because of you, Gohan and Videl died, everyone in West City died, and Mom died!"
"Trunks, just calm down, just listen—" Vegeta said, his voice trembling.
"I hate you!" Trunks screamed and then ran, the tears flowing again, disappearing down the stairs.
Vegeta held out a hand towards him and took a step in his direction, then stopped. His face was confused, lost.
Yamcha blew out a breath and Goku took a slight step forward. "Vegeta," he said, softly. Vegeta snapped his head over to him and his eyes narrowed. "I know that was hard, but currently we don't have time to—"
"What business is it of yours?" Vegeta snarled, his voice catching at the end of the accusation. And then he turned and stormed off, going in the opposite direction from Trunks.
"Vegeta!" Goku called, desperate, "Wait! We can't afford to..." The other Saiyan ignored him and disappeared around the corner. Goku growled and swung his fist through the air. "Damn it..." He sat back down on the ground, hanging his head.
"So...to summarize," Yamcha said, "Gohan is dead. Piccolo is dead. You, Vegeta, Gohan, Frieza, and Tenshinhan have taken a swing at Buu and come up with nothing. You're angry at Frieza because he killed Krillin; Frieza is probably keeping a distance because he knows you know he killed Krillin; and Vegeta is angry at everyone else because he's Vegeta and also his son hates him now. And our only vague moonshot of a chance for defeating this monster was for you, Vegeta, and Frieza to work together?" Yamcha let out a bitter sigh of a laugh at the absurdity of the hopeless situation, holding his head in his hands. "Man, we are absolutely screwed..."
"What the hell is going on out there?!" Rudin barked, banging at the bars of his jail cell. He'd just been floated up to the ceiling and then slammed back to the ground suddenly. He was pissed, more pissed than usual at any rate. And the damn guards were refusing to say anything, other than shake nervously and grip their weapons tighter. "I'm talking to you!" he shouted, banging the bars again making the guards jump. "You tell me right now what—"
Suddenly a pain seared through Rudin's head. He clasped his hands to his head, fingers digging into his skin, at the pain running through it. 'Obey me...' a voice whispered, a seductive voice, one Rudin was sure he'd heard before not so long ago, 'Obey me and you'll be more powerful, able to take revenge on those who wronged you, on those who mistreated you. Just open the door and let me in.' More power? Revenge? Well that didn't sound so bad. And if all the mysterious voice wanted was a little obedience...well Rudin wasn't so proud as to refuse that.
Gently he let down his mental wall. Suddenly something surged through him. His muscles bulged and veins popped. Like taking steroids only more so. He collapsed to the ground, panting, sweat pouring off of him. He stood back up and as he did so he caught a glance of himself in the mirror. His eyes had narrowed and veins pulsed around his temples. Emblazoned on his forehead was a calligraphic 'M'. Rudin grinned. The power surging through him...he felt invincible! He turned to the bars. Outside one of the guards had collapsed and the other was quailing, hands around his gun. Rudin reached out and gripped the bars. He heaved, body straining as he pulled. The bars bent apart.
The guard's eyes popped and he raised the gun as Rudin stepped out of his cell. "S-stay back!" the guard squeaked, "Come any closer and I'll shoot!"
Rudin grinned and advanced. "Just try it," he purred defiantly.
Another gun appeared, pointed at the guard's head. Before he could react, the guard's compatriot pulled the trigger, smirking as brains and blood splattered across the floor. The guard slumped. The other grinned, taking off his cap to reveal an 'M' emblazoned on his forehead as well.
Rudin didn't care. He wanted his revenge and this one had been particularly cruel to him. He growled, his fingers twitching in anticipation of throttling this bastard. Suddenly pain seared through his head and Rudin collapsed to his knees, clutching his temples, howling. 'No,' the voice came again, 'You both obey me now. And I won't have infighting among my servants.' Rudin squinted, drool dripping from his lip, raging at the denial of the vengeance that was promised. "D-damn you!" he cursed, spittle flying from his lips. The guard grinned at him and then walked out the door, going to the console to release all of the cells.
Babidi floated in front of the palace, Buu beside him. It was large, with a sprawling area topped with a central tower. He nodded at it. Yes, this would do nicely. He turned around and looked out onto the city streets. A mass of people were making their way forward, some of them caught under Babidi's control, but many of them simply scared and pleading, being shoved forward by Babidi's thralls. The survivors, who through one form of luck or another escaped being turned into candy. This was fine. Babidi needed people to work for him. The people were dirty, bloodied. Smoke and dust billowed through the city from the rubble and the rising fires from crashes and detonations of energy beams. They shivered, some children in the crowd bawling, all looking up in terror at Babidi and Buu. "I don't want to die!" one woman shrieked, bolting. As one, a group of seven Majin thralls turned to box the dissenter in. The crowd looked away numbly as they descended upon the woman, her screaming form soon lost beneath the blows and kicks that silenced her finally. The Majins cackled in triumph, high-fiving before dispersing back into the terrified mob of humans.
Babidi grinned. They were already so compliant, it was beautiful. "Rejoice people!" he said, voice booming. The crowd shuddered at his voice and the thralls leered. "You have survived and your survival means that you will be rewarded." The crowd murmured, not sure how to take this. "You will all get to linger on and live for now, for I have need of you." Babidi closed his eyes. The people suddenly screamed as their vision disappeared, replaced with the image of his space ship. "This is the task before you," Babidi continued, "You will build me a ship. You will work night and day to achieve this. Succeed and work hard and you will not suffer. Fail or slack off..." Babidi grinned and snapped his fingers. There was a brief shriek from the middle of the crowd, followed by a wet bang. Someone's body exploded, the blood and guts raining down on the crowd. The people were too shocked, almost catatonic to react, and stood blankly with blood and innards dribbling down their bodies.
Babidi waved dismissively. "Now, get to work all of you," he said, "and don't stop until you've finished." Behind him the thralls began to shove and beat the crowd, the people yelling and bawling as they were shoved out onto the streets in search of the materials necessary to build Babidi's ship.
Babidi floated over to the palace and then through the entrance. At the back of the entrance hall was a large throne, made of gold, which was on a balcony overlooking the space below. Babidi grinned and moved towards it. Yes, this would do nicely indeed.
King Furry massaged his temples. He couldn't believe what he had just been shown. Almost the whole population of West City turned into candy and eaten. It didn't seem possible. And now Babidi had established himself in one of the palaces, and seemingly had every criminal that had been in jail obediently working for him. It was a mess. A real mess. And it was giving him horrible flashbacks to King Piccolo and that brief but horrific era. Hence the migraine. The dog sighed. Around him the various military commanders were debating strategy, angry and frightened; none of them had a clue how to confront a threat like this.
One voice spoke up. "I know everyone is going to object to this," the young man said, "But I think we should nuke them." Howls and objections issued around the table, but the young man raised his hands and kept going. "I know! I know! There are civilians still in the city, but in this case we need to make a utilitarian calculation that this threat is too large to allow it to—"
King Furry banged his fist on the table, startling everyone. "Damn it, people!" he swore, "We have one creature that can turn a village to dust with a flick of its hand, and one creature that can communicate with us through our minds! They can damn well survive a nuclear blast! Why would we even consider such a futile and horrific option in the face of that?!"
They fell silent and somber, cowed by what King Furry had said and the daunting nature of what was before them. The king took off his glasses and massaged the point between his eyes. "I'm sorry for barking at you just now, young man. We're all a little...tense." He consciously tried to relax his shoulders, trying to set a good example. "We need to think harder about this," he said after a moment, "Think through everything. Right now Babidi seems content to sit in West City, doing god knows what! He's maybe underestimated the resources we have. So we only have one chance to take advantage of that." He put his glasses back on and looked around the room. "Now, with that in mind, what is our best strategy?"
They were quiet, thinking, looking around the table to see if someone was going to come forward. Eventually, another younger general spoke up. "I think we've all been putting it off," he said, "None of us want to admit it. But if nuclear attacks are out the window, then that's really the best we've got gone. So it's time that we swallow our pride and looked at alternative means. Fight fire with fire, as it were." There were some nods of assent. "We may not like it, but we need to turn to a real hero, a single fighter to challenge and do battle with this threat." More nods as the people realized where he was going. "A hero who has saved us from a threat just like this, if not greater, before. Who risked it all for the world." Some taps at the table and noises of support. The young general turned to the senior general at the table. "Please, sir. I know it's painful. But we have to."
The senior general looked around at the pleading, hopeful faces. He sighed. "You're right of course," he said, "I didn't want to admit it. I hate admitting the military's weakness. But in this matter, it seems we have no other option." He turned to his aide. "Get me Mr. Satan."
Hello my loyal SoD readers! Happy New Year, & here's to a wonderful 2020 full of fun & fanfiction. My team & I have endeavored to bring our own take on the Buu Saga to life, but where Dragonball Z ends, our tale has just begun...so there will be at least a few more adventures beyond this. I can't say for sure how many installments remain, but I am amazed that I have been able to stick with this project for this long. Do you guys realize it's been SIX YEARS?! It's all thanks to you, so I hope that you continue to read & review with as much enthusiasm as I shall continue to write. On to the Q&A!
Q: I somehow missed the previous update but got this one, so that's pretty whack. I was wondering why this chapter suddenly started off with Tenshinhan and Freeza when the last I remembered was Vegeta, Piccolo, and Freeza falling under Babidi's control. "Given your sense of time, that should be plenty." - from the last chapter. This has probably got to be one of the best lines I've ever read in a DBZ fic; that subtle allusion to the drawn out fight on Namek that got DBZ infamous for spending too much time on screaming and powering up. Also, just letting you know, I cried when Piccolo killed himself, knowing that if he allowed himself to roam under Babidi's control any longer, he would harm Gohan and the others (but mostly Gohan). It threw me back to Android 16's death in the original series as well as Piccolo's death in the saiyan saga. No one really talks about in in this I feel like, since it's mostly about Freeza, but Piccolo's come so far I feel like. I'm so glad he was given the opportunities he was robbed of in canon during the Boo arc (chickening out in his tournament fight, getting turned into stone by Dabura etc.). Toriyama missed so many opportunities with that guy. The mentor-student relationship between Piccolo and Gohan has probably got to be my favorite relationship in DBZ, the second being Vegeta and Goku's rival-enemy-friend friend relationship, which also really shines through here during the battle between them. (Also REALLY glad you made Goku actually have more than three brain cells to rub together; it's like Toriyama and Toei (but mostly Toei when you see his rendition in DB Super) have forgotten that he is capable of using that cellular mass between his ears outside of fighting). I'm also happy that Roshi got a small chance to shine as well, even if he died anticlimactically (which is only natural, seeing as he's face with a powerful magic-user as well as fat pink child Satan). Most of his feats and techniques like the Mafuba he used on King Piccolo (which he learned from Master Mutaito) become obsolete and forgotten in DBZ. I like to think that if Babidi hadn't interfered, he would have successfully been able to seal an off guard Boo (though he would probably break out pretty quickly). This also makes me think further ahead down the line—if Boo were to follow a similar path to canon and become Hercule's friend, perhaps he could also develop a relationship with Roshi, too. If you choose to go down that path, it would be a nice touch. I'm not a huge fan of the canon Boo arc either, but Hercule becoming friends with "The Most Evil And Terrifying Canon DBZ Villain TM" was actually golden. Their moments together were probably my favorite in that arc, and I remember impatiently flipping through my manga in a hotel bed, eager to see more Hercule-Boo-Bay (the dog) moments because I thought they were funny and adorable despite the underlying sense of dread and wrongness in their relationship. I'm also very glad Vegeta broke free of the Majin curse without having to die! Though I believe that Vegeta's sacrifice in the Boo arc was also a powerful moment in a story arc I otherwise found lacking compared to the previous ones (with his brief regression back into his ruthless killer self before snapping back into reality with a ton of regrets and heartbreak), I'm happy with how you furthered his development without sending him to the afterlife. I'm sure Bulma and Trunks are happy about that, too, haha. ... We'll see how long he lasts for the remainder of the arc. Also, because I've forgotten, where is Cooler in all of this? I try to wrack my brain, but seriously cannot remember, whoops. One more thing: I can't remember if you ever said anything about it, but is the Boo arc the final arc? I know you said you mostly likely won't be doing Super because you don't like it, but is there anything else to come after this arc?
A: There've been some weird hiccups with updates, since I've had to re-upload chaters after initially posting delay notices. Anyway... I do love lampshading some of the inside jokes we DBZ fans have, & Frieza having a horrible sense of time will never not be funny. From funny to horrifying, I also love Mood Whiplash to death, pun intended. Nothing to keep readers on their toes like killing off a main character. Piccolo is pragmatic, & he knew that there was no way he would be able to shake Babidi's control...& he would rather die than continue to tenderize Gohan. I'm glad that you noticed that Piccolo too has changed drastically. It may be Frieza's redemption story, but all the other former villains have room to grow. Y'know, it's funny that Piccolo is shafted so badly in Z, considering that he's Toriyama's favorite character. Guess he didn't want him to be a Creator's Pet, so he went to the other extreme. I go through the same thing with Frieza, but I try to make it so that he's not in any way favored by the plot. If I had a dollar for everyone who said they loved my interpretation of Goku not just being dumb muscle, I could probably buy a domain for my very own SoD website. Roshi had zero chance against Babidi, even as dumb as he is, but hey. At least he made an effort, & successfully bought some time. Mr. Satan may yet prove useful in taming Buu, seeing as how he hasn't met him yet. Or maybe not. As for where Kooler is...he's far away in another sector of the galaxy, blissfully quelling insurrections of Majin Buu death cults without realizing what's happening back on Earth. The Buu Saga will not be the final story arc, don't worry. Might be the final arc that vaguely resembles canon, but trust me, there's a fair bit more to go, story-wise.
Q: Damn! another great chapter! and an emotional one at this, I'm loving how you're writing Buu so far, very in place with the canon, but also interesting enough to keep attention. Poor Roshi though. rest in peace you dirty old man. I am quite curious though, as sometimes it can be hard to keep up with the power in this fic, where would you say everyone is in terms of power currently? Is this Goku stronger than he was in Canon? is Freiza stronger than Cell? just how strong was Piccolo for goodness sake? so many questions! can't wait for the next chapter!
A: Buu is haaaard. Between his mannerisms & his speech, he's surprisingly frustrating to portray accurately. Good to hear he reads well to you! Poor Piccolo, poor Roshi. They won't be the last victims though... I am awful at power levels, & I really don't like them other than as a fuzzy indicator that, "this character at their strongest can't beat this character at their weakest." In terms of power, I'd actually say that everyone is significantly weaker than in canon. There haven't been the same or as many opportunities for powerups & training, not to mention that in some ways, they haven't faced the same level of threats. I wonder if that's going to come back to bite them..? (⌐ ̫⌐)ᶸ
Q: Another amazing chapter, Ryu! Gotta say, this version of the Buu saga is already seeming way better than the canon. Goku, Gohan, Kibito and Vegeta getting out of there instead of simply trying to kill themselves in an attempt to take them out. I can't wait to see what happens with Frieza, though... His training with Tien and Chiaotzu should help him overcome Babidi's influence like Vegeta did, but at the same time... Would he have to face himself, or perhaps his father's full power? I mean, on one end, it makes sense for him to overcome his self-loathing, and he already cut himself away from Kold, after finding out his father basically hooked him up on the worst life support of all time.
A: I'm glad you like my version of the Buu Saga. I always thought they took too many desperate risks early on. I suppose Kaioushin's panicking might have primed them to react that way, but still. Frieza doesn't know it, but he dodged a bullet by refusing to go with Tenshinhan to help Goku & Vegeta. Right now Babidi has conveniently forgotten him in favor of his shiny, new, pink toy, but if he showed up? Bam, instant thrall again. He does not have Vegeta's mental fortitude to resist it. As it is, with Babidi still alive he's a potential risk. Pft, I now want to draw a gag comic of Frieza in a T-shirt reading, "I came to Earth & all I got was the worst life support of all time...& a T-shirt." xD
Q: I doubt that he actually did but did Vegeta ascend into super saiyan 3?
A: Nope. Trust me, the hair would have given it away. Nobody in this universe has reached that level.
Q: Frieza is a tough nut to crack I wouldn't be shocked if the Majin curse DID mess with your head in various ways. Rule 1 of going after Goku's family: Don't. Oh, well, there goes Shin. Points to Buu for just going with a snapped neck instead of slowly trying to beat him to death. Yeah, a little decapitation isn't going to stop Buu. A Boyfriend Girlfriend Kamehameha. Should be fun. I sincerely doubt it'll stop Buu but, one can dream. Yeah, Buu, kinda cheats at life. "Is everyone on this planet insane?" Kinda, yeah. Seems even now, Vegeta has a soft spot for Trunks. Yeah, Vegeta's pride may often be his downfall, but it's also just as often what keeps him going. Roshi may be an old pervert, but he's a WISE old pervert who (usually) knows what he's doing. And my above point is proven. Roshi might play the fool, but he's got more experience that Goku and Vegeta together. Vegeta meditating? That should be fun. The Mafuba! Oh. Roshi's head exploded. That's, probably not the most pleasant way to die. Also it's gonna piss Goku off something FIERCE when he finds out. Buu's no genius, but he's definitely smarter than he lets on. Right, the Supreme Kai's World is in Otherworld. Kinda forgot about that. Yeah, I'm pretty sure if Vegeta starved, he'd kill you. I do love when Vegeta is able to use his pride for his own benefit. Alright, go Vegeta!
A: Frieza is great when it comes to physical durability, but he's awful at mental durability. Goku's gonna be on the warpath after this next chapter, if Goten being in danger didn't rile him up enough here. I want Gohan & Videl to be closer in their interactions with each other, & since they met far earlier than in canon, I don't see why Gohan wouldn't have shown her some more advanced techniques to impress her. Plus, Battle Couple is a cool trope. Roshi was ready to die to put Buu away...but he just couldn't quite pull it off. It has seemed to seed an interesting personality shift in Buu, though. If anyone can break free of Babidi, it would have to be someone with the kind of all-encompassing pride that Vegeta owns.
Q: Oof. Goodbye Roshi, you died doing something good. At least we know Buu at this point can be talked to and somewhat reasoned with. Just need to get rid of Babidi first. Buu was great in this chapter, showing off his strange, childish yet still unnervingly creepy strength.
A: He tried. I think if Babidi was somehow stripped of his magic, Roshi would thrash him. It's just that magic-users don't play fair. I mean, look at Majin Buu. He's one big "lol, nope" [insert Trollface] to anyone who tries to kill him. Punch him? He's rubber. Disintegrate him? Eh, he can get back together. Vital organs? What vital organs? He really has no weaknesses.
Q: I love the fact that you're giving Videl more of a role in the upcoming arc, assuming that she's gonna be trained by Shin and Kibito alongside Gohan and who knows what'll happen to her when Elder Kai pops out the Z-Sword. Personally, I'd be down for anything. You're just killing people off like crazy now (not that it's a big thing, I rather enjoy it for the raised stakes). Krillin, Roshi, Shin (technically) and by default Beerus (if you ever include him in the later arcs) and Piccolo, and it's probably gonna get bloodier from here. Keep up the good work!
A: If the Kaioushin refuse to train her, she will make them regret it. Kibito, at least, has already seen her grit & determination, so even though she's his least favorite disrespectful mortal, he can't deny that she's got utility. Huh, I didn't even realize how many main characters I offed in these past two chapters, but you're right, Buu's up to a staggering bodycount already.
Q: A turmoil of emotions, this was! Buu seems WAY more menacing here than in the show for some reason, but I can't explain why. Tien and Frieza's relationship gets better and better with each chapter they interact in! Kind of makes my wish they were real people. 8P ROSHI NO! BUT THEY SAID NO ONE COULD DEFLECT THE EVIL CONTAINMENT WAVE! D8 Okay, that's enough Jojo for me today. It's subtle, but the cogs are turning. Babidi kicking the bucket's gonna be REAL satisfying. 8) Also good on Vegeta for beating back the Majin influence via the Hyperbolic Time Chamber! Finally putting its other feature to use! Next chapter's gonna be gooooood...
A: Buu? Menacing? Surely you kid. He's just a deceptively cheerful Eldritch Abomination with a taste for candy. Made out of human flesh. Tenshinhan is wondering how he ended up being Frieza's shrink when he's the most emotionally constipated person on Earth. In theory, the Mafuba should be invincible, but in practice...you really depend on the element of surprise more than anything else. Subtle is my middle name, haha... Yeah I can't wait for Babidi to die; he's seriously annoying to write. Honestly, the lost opportunities for the RoSaT are mind boggling. Set up a Senzu plantation with automatic sprinklers? Set up a winery in there (Frieza's idea)? Just shove an enemy in there & lock the door, then wait a year & open it to a dusty mummy? I mean, come ON guys, use your imagination.
Q: Ah, another chapter! Two actually since I must have missed the last one, but no matter! Personally I thought Roshi's bit was the best one, and I can see Buu was certainly shaken a bit by it, so I have a feeling Babidi may not be involved for much longer... but we'll see. Slightly surprised with Frieza's inactivity here, but I suppose he needs time to sort this stuff out, right? Though that does make me wonder. Piccolo killed himself so Babidi couldn't mess with him, and it was framed as having a mere moment of clarity before he reverted to being evil. But with Vegeta and Frieza, they seemed more or less lucid after they snapped out of it. I'm sure it'll make sense. Oh, and has Buu turned anyone into candy yet? Makes me wonder how Vegeta knew he could do that to imagine him doing it... not that any of that detracts from the chapter, mind! I enjoyed it thoroughly, and can't wait for the next one. See you next review!
A: Time flies when you're missing deadlines like crazy, huh? :D Hehehe...heh... All credit for Roshi's scenes go to Elbadj, & you're right, they are the best scenes in this chapter insofar as both plot & character development. Frieza is in a unique position of vulnerability here. He threw away literal years of reform to try to regain the state of mind he had back when everything in his life was (relatively) stable & under his control. Now, he's come to his senses, but still can't fully rationalize WHY he did it...& he's afraid of how the powerful people in his life will interpret his lapse of judgement. Piccolo didn't just have to battle his demons, he is a semi-literal demon, so there was never any chance of him breaking free of Babidi, & he was wise enough to know that. Vegeta too craved the comforting nostalgia of his past, like Frieza, but he's a lot stronger, psychologically, due to his unshakeable self-reliance/esteem, his "pride" in himself. Frieza may project a proud facade, but he's secretly insecure & paranoid — you see this in canon with how he reacts in an overblown way to the mere rumor of a low-class Saiyan insurrection. Unlike Vegeta, he doesn't relish fighting, he relishes winning & dominating, so he can remain in control. Losses hit him harder, relatively speaking. As for Vegeta knowing Buu can turn people into candy, that was Babidi deliberately projecting that into his mind in an attempt to cow him back into submission.
Q: Wait so if Shin died (rip one of favorites) then does that mean our favorite god of destruction dies too? I feel like if that were the case there would be...problems for everyone really. Also it was nice to see Tien show off some of his old tricks and see the trust Tien had in Frieza work out in his favor. I'd write more but I am so beyond sick atm so I'll just say thanks!
A: Ehhh...I'm not entirely sure yet how much of Super I want the SoD-verse to include. Let's just assume for the time being that Beerus isn't a thing, just as he wasn't a thing in the Buu Saga. Ten's got a lot of tricks up his sleeves, but unfortunately, dealing with somebody else's mental breakdown is not one of his skills. Hope you feel better soon!
Q: Hey, Rocket. It's been a while since I have seen you. Or at least your old username on multiverse. Your fanfic, savior of demons is displayed on dragon ball multiverse's webcomic. How do you feel?
A: Yeah, I keep meaning to get back on DBM, but I've missed so many pages. So much plot. So many discussions in the comments. Also I have a full time job so I really don't have big blocks of time like I used to. I'm grateful that Salagir & I came to an understanding & I'm now one of the advertised affiliates, so I'm definitely not gone forever, but if it's between commenting on DBM or writing SoD...I'll pick my readers every time. Maybe I can catch up around the holidays when I have time off. Anyway, it's good to know somebody misses me there.
Q: ... I- ... I don't know what to say about gohan and videl right now...
A: (•_•) Okay. Hopefully next chapter you can better articulate how you feel, once they up the epicness.
Q: If Baba is a witch, are the people she brings back from otherworld for 24 hours her thralls? We've only ever seen her bring back friends, she could've chosen not to command them. Canon aside as this is a fanfiction, if her undead are her thralls, could she bring back Cold? I'd like to see how Freeza would react to the man who made him a gun. And besides the juicy character development, how strong is Cold's fourth form? Freeza' did astronomically stronger than his own third right? Even if you lowball Cold, can he transform? In the new Broly movie, Cold was King Cold, and he was the one to conquer the Saiyans. Then he stepped down and said his son Freeza, who was a child at the time, would be ruling differently than himself. On entrance, Freeza introduced the newly invented scouters and after discovering the power levels of a number of Saiyan Snipers (with rifles!) he killed them with death beams. Oh, also, King Cold introduces Freeza as "King Freeza" when he 'crowned' him. Maybe Freeza chose the title "Lord" between them and now because of Beerus? I doubt he just accepted Beerus' orders without a fight. Speaking of which, if you didn't know, Beerus ordered Freeza to exterminate the Saiyans. Completely. As in Freeza wasn't even supposed to keep Vegeta, Nappa and Raditz. Oh also! Two other Saiyans survived Planet Vegeta's destruction with Vegeta, Nappa and Raditz, but they died before the Saiyan Saga (obviously). They were both adults roughly the age of Nappa, while Vegeta and Raditz were both children with Raditz being the older of the two. I like to believe that if King Cold conquered the galaxy he received some resistance. I mean, Super Namekians and Super Saiyans and Yardrats that could kamikaze to teleport you into the sun? Come on there were probably others before King Cold slaughtered them. Oh, and since Goku can get energy from the sun for the spirit bomb, can't he sense that energy? If he can, can he snag Buu and teleport into the sun? If Goku's already dead (halo), why not break the rules and IT Kid Buu into the sun when he invaded the otherworld? If your going that route that is. Whatever you choose to do, I'm sure it'll be great! Also, the Broly movie isn't as you described, I saw in theaters I promise it's better than that. With better writing and graphics (except for that one scene with Gogeta). If you haven't seen it, there's a certain "Hub" of nature content which has the entire movie from start to finish uploaded on it if you don't want to waste money on a "bad" movie. But really, watch it I promise it'll be at least enjoyable because of the astounding animation quality!
A: Are they thralls? Not really, from what we've seen. Granted, to my knowledge she's only brought back Grandpa Gohan, Goku, & Frieza (if we're counting Super), all of which seemed to have free will & were not under her control. There's definitely a potential for Baba to have powers that we don't see in canon, but somehow I don't think necromancy is profitable enough to be her thing. How strong is Fourth Form Kold, you ask...well, I think that at full power, he'd be able to fight Perfect Cell to a standstill. That's with Cell's regeneration, which is the only factor that might put Cell on top in this matchup. It would be a painful victory, either way. I saw the new Broly movie, & yeah, it's a hot mess of horrible. Plotholes everywhere, & the whole thing just felt like a fumbling lead-up to a fight. Beerus in general seems like the tar baby that every bad idea sticks to, so he comes off as a superbly fractured, nonsensical character. Uuuuuuuugggghhh. I'm done with Super; not even entertaining it for SoD, end of story. It's so bad. To understand why Goku or anyone else can't just teleport to the sun, you've gotta understand that everything living has ki, but a lot of other things - like stars - have what we understand as different types of energy: radiant heat, radiation, gamma rays, etc. While you can draw from those sources of energy & effectively convert them to ki, it's fundamentally different. Think of it like trying to plug an American corded plug into a European outlet - they are not compatible without a converter. Shunkan Idou is only compatible with living, sentient energy sources.
Q: I hope Krillin is watching Frieza's genuine breakdown from Otherworld. Krillin's forgiveness would probably do wonders for Frieza. ... They'll have to revive him first, though. Or die. Interesting that Goku and Vegeta both survived their first meeting with Buu and are actually attempting to develop a counterattack, and that Vegeta beat the Majin curse himself without having to die first. Roshi did so much this chapter without actually doing anything. His talk with Vegeta, realizing Buu isn't that evil and more like a weapon for Babidi, and his short lived attempt to Mafuba Buu away. I can't help but notice that Super Saiyan 3 is nowhere in sight for any of the saiyans alive right now, and there are no dead ones that are relevant. Not that this is a bad thing, mind you. But definitely interesting. Not like having access to it would give the heroes victory as it stands right now, though.
A: It's definitely gonna be awkward when Krillin is revived. That's all I'm gonna say to avoid spoilers. The SoD-verse is comprised of weaker, but savvier fighters. They know when to withdraw & recoup their losses. It was interesting coming up with someone overcoming the Majin curse, because we don't have a reference for that in canon. Vegeta died with the mark still on him, but when he's revived, it's gone. If he hadn't blown himself up, would the curse mark have faded? Been permanent? We just don't know. Master Roshi is a pivotal character, so while he doesn't get a lot of scenes in SoD, we always try to make them impactful. As for SSJ3... I'm personally biased because it's so bizarre-looking & clunky. I also hate how in canon, it was introduced as Goku's new, "look what I can do!" trick, & he admitted that he could have one-shotted Buu with it, but didn't, because...reasons? (ꐦ－‸ლ) I dunno, man. SSJ3 just puts a bad taste in my mouth.
Q: Well, Frieza and Ten's cliffhanger went better than it could have, at least the former didn't need to actually cut the latter to ribbons to realize that he done fucked up. The most interesting part is seeing Frieza verbalize how much he knows he's fucked up and how he admits he feels a lot of self loathing and doesn't know how to deal with it. Him not immediately proclaiming that he would jump back into the fray to atone but rather saying that he doesn't think he can ever make up for this level of mistakes really humanizes him. Granted we know both Frieza and Ten will have to help before the arc is over but the angst is nice, as weird as that sounds. Your introduction of Majin Buu proper hits a good balance between funny and intimidating, and while it is obvious that all of the heroes fighting him during the chapter had no chance of winning the struggle didn't feel like feeling; in fact the part with Videl and Gohan firing the kamehameha together is a total Final Flash moment, something so hype you just want to put on background music and suspend your disbelief for a moment. Also I love the idea of Videl doing the Kaioshin training with Gohan and where that could take them. My favorite part of the chapter however was Roshi deconstructing Vegeta and then handling Buu like a loving grandpa. Every line of dialogue he had commanded so much dignity and wisdom, like an Obi Wan from the original trilogy kind of figure, that seeing him die so unceremoniously just felt sad, even in this setting where death never sticks. Most of your character deaths are treated with brutal realism: they are fast and with no room for monologues, but this one hit harder than usual. In fact, now that I think about it there is one thing I really like about the Buu saga that none of the other ones do, and that is that it frames the conflict as a retreating battle for the heroes, where they have to run away again and again while suffering losses every time, allies slowly dying not for the sake of instant shock but to build that sense of desperation where there are less and less resources to defeat the threat after each attempt. And if in canon this was done competently, your version of the same dynamic is improving on it so far. Really intrigued to read how the counterattack will go after the Vegeta scene at the end, and what exactly will happen to Babidi since he is a bit more competent than usual but still already losing control... also wild card Dr Gero, never forget (?)
A: Frieza is getting marginally better at not screwing up fully to the point of no return before realizing that yep, he done goofed. He's still terrible at actually dealing with his emotions, though. Speaking of emotions, I do sorta love writing Buu as this bubbly, happy Eldritch Monster. He's hilariously horrifying. I figured that having started their relationship earlier than in canon, Videl & Gohan could comfortably & plausibly become a Battle Couple. ~(•̀ᴗ•́)و What else can I say about Roshi that you haven't? You hit upon every little thing that we wanted him to exude in his scenes. He's an often-overlooked character, for being Goku's master, so it's important to give him his due. As far as Sagas featuring retreating battles go, I'm more a fan of the high-stakes tension of the Frieza Saga, but I get your point here. It's what I like about the Future Trunks storyline, that we got precious little of in actual canon. Everyone keeps mentioning Gero, but I'm of the mind that he wouldn't risk mixing magic & science to make Magitek. I can see someone else doing it in the Dragonball universe, just not Gero.
Reviews from Previous Chapters:
Q: Chapter 9: Obsequy: ... for chapter nine I ... am ... shook like I don't know whether to find this weird or good so far both.
A: Oh no...my first thought was, "I am never gonna live this chapter down, am I?" My second thought was, "Oh no, I've awakened a weird fetish in some poor soul..." Believe me when I say that everything in this chapter was for extremely tactical Plot reasons. I mean that.
Q: Chapter 1: Revenants: I utterly despise Frieza as a character, but that phrase, nice doesn't last long on my planet, I truly feel sorry for the guy now.
A: You are my target audience. A lot of canon depictions of characters are hard to like or hate, based on the black-&-white flatness of how they're portrayed. I wanted to write a story that explores the way that pre-canon events shaped well-known characters, so that even if you don't like them, you come out of this story seeing them as much more morally grey, which lends some sympathy to villains & some disapprobation to the heroes.
Q: Chapter 16: Ignominy: GIVE FRIEZA HIS ORGANIC ARM BACK... please. I'll be disappointed if he's stuck with a prosthesis.
A: Hey, he already got his whole body back. Let's not test Porunga's patience with him again, yeah? (If anyone asks, this is canonically why he hasn't had that arm wished back: a fear of vengeful dragons). ლ(ಠ∀ಠლ)