-Just a side note on that lemon I mentioned in the last chapter, I thought I should get something straight. Even if FF.net didn't put up their new ratings restrictions, I never planned on including the lemon in this actual story. It was going to be a separate side-story apart from this, simply based on the same story line. I know not every reader likes that sort of thing, and I try to stay respectful as I can. I appreciate all the advice on how to… Quote, unquote, bend the rules so to speak, but I have no plans on doing so. Though I heavily *disagree* and oppose FF.net's position on lemon type stories, I'm going to honor their decision regardless. That doesn't mean you might not see said story pop up somewhere else if I ever decide to write it now. I don't know what impressed me more, all the attention that one little comment got, or the fact that some of you are actually reading the author's notes! I've gotta be more careful about what I say now…Ah, nah…
-One last thing is I'd like to apologize for the lack of quality in the last couple of chapters of this story… The truth is I lost interest in working this story for a while, and tried to force out the last several chapters so I feel the quality suffered. I took a little break, and I'm happy to say that I feel this effort is much better than a few of the previous.
Chapter 25
Videl's eyes fluttered open, immediately faced with strange unfamiliar surroundings. It took all but a moment to remember she was inside Dende's lookout, and to recall just whom she was with when she nudged gently into something large and very solid. She smiled at Gohan, who was very much still out cold, laying flat on his back, his mouth hanging open slightly. Videl scooted over close to him, resting her head against his shoulder. It wasn't her intention to wake him, but he began to stir anyway slowly returning to the realm of consciousness. Just like Videl, he appeared confused by his surroundings as he first awoke, until he felt Videl's presence next to him. He seemed to remember everything right then, as symbolized by the ever darkening blush spreading across his cheeks.
"Umm… Good Morning…" Gohan greeted shyly.
Videl laughed at his expression, and snuggled up closer to him. "Grow up Gohan… Ease up will ya? What's done is done you know…"
"Yeah… Um… I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed still…?"
"You dork…" Videl mumbled, before giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "I love you…"
"I love you too…" Gohan pulled her close to him, and their lips found each other. They were content to keep it that way too, and it was uncertain if they planned on coming up for air any time soon, until a sudden knock on their door startled them. They both jumped, Gohan glaring at the door as if the wooden pane was going to burst out laughing at him at any moment. "Who's there?!"
"Hey, what's going on in there?!" Ryo snickered from the other side of the door. "Are you guys decent?… Or at least covered up?"
"No!" Gohan spouted, before thinking over what he'd just said. "I mean, what is that supposed to mean?!"
"How did he know we were in the same room?!" Videl whispered to Gohan.
"How should I know?! Process of elimination I guess!"
Ryo chuckled, overhearing the whispers coming from inside. "Well, either way I'm coming in for a sec, so I don't know… Hide or something…"
Both Videl and Gohan tried to make themselves invisible for the entire ten seconds Ryo poked his head through the door, only to throw two sets of clean clothes into their laps. "I figured you might need these, so you'd better hurry up. We've got a planet to save, and all that crap…"
As Ryo shut the door behind him, Gohan and Videl looked towards each other and blushed. "Let's get out of here, before anybody else decides to pay a visit!"
"Good idea," Videl agreed. They hopped out of bed, and hastily dressed before exiting the building to meet up with the others. The rest of the Z-fighters were already amassed outside waiting for them, once they finally emerged from the building.
"Ah Gohan, there you are…" Shin greeted, performing an ill-advised scan of Gohan's mind in the process. Blushing slightly, the Kai backpedaled slowly, trying to act as casual as possible.
"Umm Kai… Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing at all…" Shin mumbled, berating himself about needing to learn when and when not to probe people's minds. "I thought Ryo was kidding…"
"Well, it's about time!" Vegeta snorted, as the two teens finally showed their faces. "Can we hurry this up now?! Buu's not getting any weaker!"
"Yes, I think we're all ready now," Shin announced quickly, thankful for the change in his thought flow. "As ready as any of us can be to stare straight into the face of doom that is."
And with that, the hunt began.
********
The only good thing going for Gohan and his friends at the time was the fact that Buu wouldn't be all that hard to find. Whether that in itself was a good thing or not was a subject destined for intense debate. There was no mistaking that incredible evil aurora he radiated wherever he went.
"We appear to be getting closer," Shin assessed, as Buu's energy drew closer. "Oddly, we seem to be gaining ground rapidly, as if Buu's contained himself to one spot. I wonder what he's up to?"
Vegeta was wondering the exact same thing, as they charged forward. A different view formed in his mind however, as Buu's energy came dangerously close. His expression tightened as he realized. "That's what he's… He's coming right at us!"
All eyes turned to Vegeta for all of about five seconds, when a huge energy surge was felt to the east. As their heads turned in that direction all they could see was a huge pink blob speeding towards them. "Incoming!" Gohan yelped, as Buu cut through them to the center of the group.
Neither Gohan nor Vegeta even noticed Buu was overtop of them until his arms swooped down with a pair of vicious chops sending them both hurdling towards the earth. They'd later both curse the fact that they chose to wait, rather than charge up to Super Sayians while back at the lookout.
"Vegeta, Gohan!" Shin cried out before feeling the presence of a strong power at his back. The sickening cackle wasn't a necessary hint, but potent none the less. The Kai froze in place, breaking into a nervous sweat. He hadn't even the time to turn his head before Buu made his move.
"Buu… BUUUU!" the monster whaled as a large Ki blast blew out of his hand, and completely engulfed the Kai. His shrill scream could be heard for only a moment before his body blasted off in the distance, quickly disappearing from view.
"Supreme Kai!" Ryo gaped, uncertain of the Kai's fate.
"Do you think he survived that?…" Videl asked shakily.
"I honestly don't know Videl… I'm not even sure if you can kill a supreme being, but either way…" Ryo's head jerked around, remembering that he had more pressing matters to concern himself with aside from the Kai's fate. That was the matter of Majin Buu, who was glaring down at Videl and himself, either sizing them up or just messing with their heads. He had to know from the two previous encounters that neither one of them were much of a threat to Buu without backup.
"What do we do now?" Videl asked, facing the sudden feel of isolation.
"Only one thing to do." Ryo looked Videl in the eyes. They shook their heads completely understanding the other, and in full agreement proceeded to run like hell. Buu smiled, as he watched them flee not even bothering to make a move after them. They raced towards the ground, landing near Gohan and Vegeta as they were just then managing to pick themselves off of the ground.
"Damn… Where's the Kai?" Gohan asked, noting that while Ryo and Videl's Ki had gathered around him, the Kai was inconspicuous by his absence.
"Buu just blasted the snot out of him after he knocked out you and Vegeta," Ryo replied. "All joking aside, he could be half way to Canada by now if he was lucky enough to survive…"
"Darn it! That's one more down…" Gohan complained. "What do you we do now?!"
"Well, for starters…" Vegeta grunted, as he powered all the way up to his SS2 mode. "So much for conversing energy before the battle eh?"
Gohan followed the elder Sayians example, and they all braced themselves as Buu finally decided to descend down towards the group. "Ha, ha! You come, you come! You take too long to find Buu, so Buu come find you!"
Vegeta growled, and stepped out in front of the others. "You kids stay out of this! I'll defeat this blob, or die trying! Don't get in my way understand?!"
"Vegeta, we don't have time for this!" Gohan argued. "As many as six of us have been ganging up on him at any give time, and we haven't been able to scratch him! How well do you think you're going to fair one on one?! This isn't the time to let your pride blind you!"
"I fight better alone! I'll handle myself more efficiently if I don't have to worry about a bunch of kids getting in my way! Besides… I don't see any of you coming up with any better ideas!"
"Actually, I think I might have one," Ryo announced, drawing all eyes to him.
"Oh, you think so?" Vegeta snorted, clearly skeptical. "Then by all means enlighten us!"
"Well… I'm sure you all have noticed despite all that raw strength, he appears to have the mindset of a small child. That's one of the things that makes him so dangerous, he doesn't seem mature enough to realize the difference between right and wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if he really does think he's playing a game with us."
"Yeah well, even if he does acts like a big kid, he's still dangerous," Gohan gathered. "How does that help us out?"
"Well it doesn't off hand…" Ryo continued, smiling slightly. "But just like any child, I'm sure he can easily be distracted or manipulated if you handle him just right… Well, it's hard to explain, so just watch me I guess… This might seem a little crazy and incredibly stupid at first, but trust me. I know what I'm doing… I think…"
Ryo took a few steps forward, and shouted upward. "Hey Buu! Come on down here a second, I have a little proposition for you!"
"Has he lost his mind?!" Gohan gasped, while Gohan and Vegeta both cringed. "Calling Buu out like that! Why doesn't he just stick himself between a couple loafs of bread, and save Buu the trouble!"
"Why you call to Buu?" he asked, as he landed in front of Ryo. The boy took a step back, but managed to maintain his cool. "You want fight Buu now?"
"No, no, it's pretty obvious that I'm no challenge to you," Ryo stammered, hoping to high hell that Buu would take a moment to listen before electing to do something unimaginable to him. "It's just that I couldn't help but notice that you like to have fun."
The creature smiled. "Buu like fun."
"Yes, you've obviously had a ball smacking us around from one side of Earth to the other," Ryo mumbled. "But I'm not bitter about that. You see, I like to have fun too, so I just wanted to ask you Buu… Do you know how to dance?"
"Dance?!" Gohan's mouth dropped, unable to believe what he'd just heard.
"He's got to be kidding…"
"I don't think he is Videl…"
"What Dance?" Buu asked innocently.
"Oh, just something humans do for fun you know?" Ryo told him. "I can teach you if you want to try it…"
"More fun than blowing up cities, and making people dead?"
Ryo flinched. "Um yes... Much more fun than that, and not near as damaging to the economy or property values."
"Hmm… Buu no so sure, but Buu try anyway!"
"I don't know what he's doing, but Buu just may be stupid enough to fall for it…" Vegeta assessed, staring at them in complete shock.
"Okay, now stick your leg out and shake it like this…" Ryo demonstrated his instructions by sticking out his leg, and rotating it around in a circle. Appearing mildly confused, Buu repeated the actions somewhat reluctantly by sticking out his pudgy leg and shaking it. "Okay, now set you leg down, and try it with the other one." Buu did as instructed, and the next several minutes or so consisting of nothing much more than Buu shaking his chubby legs. "There, you're getting the hang of it already!"
"Buu get, Buu get!" the monster chuckled happily.
"Yeah, that's it! Now turn around a swivel your hips like this…"
"Like this?…"
Buu turned face, and promptly wiggled his butt around in a circle much to the disgust of the remaining Z-fighters.
"That thing could block out the sun…" Vegeta commented, as Buu shook his rump.
"What is he doing?…" Videl asked, as if actually expecting some sort of logical answer that obviously wasn't coming…
"Well… From the look of things I'm fairly certain he's trying to teach Buu how to dance…"
"I know that much Gohan!… Even though it looks more like the hokey pokey right now… What I want to know is why he's trying to teach Buu how to dance!"
"I don't know… Well, he's certainly smart enough, so I'd like to think he knows what he's doing… Then again, there is the possibility that the pressure's gotten to him, and he's lost his mind."
"No, he knows what he's doing," Vegeta disagreed. "He's obviously trying to distract Buu… At least I sincerely hope he is anyway…"
"Trying to distract Buu from what?" Videl asked.
"How should I know?… But I'm sure he'll find someway to signal us when this mockery is over with… I just hope it's soon. I might be the one to go insane if I have to stand here much longer and watch that bloated blob shake his fat a…"
"Buu Shake Booty!"
"Indeed," Ryo grumbled, resisting the urge to hurl on the spot as he watched Buu's blubber curdle and churn in ways no living being should. "And I'll have to hand it to you, that's a lot of rump to move… Now, why don't you try this move?…"
"Hmm…"
"First lay flat on your back like this," Ryo instructed, taking to the ground. "And spin your body around like so…" Ryo leveled himself by the support of his rear-end, and spun his body around like a top, looking more like a set of helicopter blades to a normal set of eyes. Buu watched curiously as Ryo slowly spun to a stop, and stood back up. "Okay, now you try."
With a curious hum Buu dropped to his back, and tried to duplicate Ryo's movements, but resembled more of a hippo wallowing upside down in a muddy lake. "This stupid! Buu's body no move that way!"
"That's exactly what I was hoping for," Ryo smirked, before taking to the air and screaming out. "NOW!"
Buu looked up, and before he could blink his eyes found a wave of energy blasts crashing down on him, including a Kamehameha wave, a Gattling gun attack, and several other assorted blasts. Half a minute, and numerous energy exerting attacks later, Buu was engulfed in a gigantic puff of smoke. Vegeta fired a few more for good measure, even after Buu's carcass was no longer visible underneath the cloud of post-aggression. Finally, they relented and waited as the cloud rose to the sky slowly revealing a giant crater blown into the ground, waiting to see if there was anything left of the monster, or if their assault even had any effect whatsoever.
"Did we get him?…" Videl stammered, fearing the answer.
"I doubt it…" Gohan mumbled, still sensing something lurking in the clouds. "He's still around here somewhere…"
"Well, I'd wish he'd hurry it up and show himself... I'm tired of these ridiculous games he's…" Vegeta's face faltered as he felt something moving it's way through the smoke. Within the time it took to take a breath, a pink blur speed through the cover of black. Never slowing his momentum, like a bullet Buu drove his head into Vegeta's midsection. Vegeta folded over and barely managed to grunt before Buu, with one hand, grabbed the Sayian Prince by the ankle and hurled him down towards the Earth. As it seemed to be inevitable on this particular battlefield, Vegeta's back met rock and yet another pile of boulders was instantly decimated. Vegeta grumbled as he sat up from his bed of stone. "What was that purple goof thinking?!… Burying that creature in a place like this… Live or die, I'm going to find a way to get him for this…"
Ryo cringed as he watched Buu attack Vegeta, and made a strategic decision to distance himself from the marauding monster. Too bad for him that almost as soon as that thought processed, a pink blur zipped in front of his face giving way to the vision of an angry looking Buu staring right at him. Ryo sweat dropped as he stared straight into the angry scowl on his fat pink face. "Oh, hey Buu… I hope you're not sore about that… We were just playing around you know… No hard feelings hey… ack!"
Ryo received his answer when Buu's hand snapped forward, and grabbed him by the neck. Ryo struggled to get free, but found himself at Buu's mercy as his pudgy pink fingers coiled around Ryo's neck. "You no play nice." Buu's frown converted to a sick twisted smile. "You say bye-bye now!"
With a motion seemingly as simple as a flick of his wrist, a large ball of energy quickly swelled in Buu's hand. Ryo was helpless to defend himself when Buu placed his hand up to Ryo's stomach and viciously released the blast into him. Ryo felt as if his insides were being ripped apart after the blast exploded into him, propelling him backwards at breakneck speed. Buu waved to him casually as Ryo's body sped off in the horizon. "Bye-Bye!"
"Ryo!" Gohan gasped after watching his friend get blasted close range with a devastating blast of energy, and then sent sailing.
"That son of a!.. Do you think he's o… kay…" Videl asked, but when she turned her head she noticed Gohan had already zoomed off in the direction Ryo had just been blasted. "I guess that's a no…"
Gohan tracked Ryo down a good twenty miles or so away from the battleground, which was barely a full minute trip for a speeding Super Sayian. Ryo was laying flat on his back with most of his clothes ripped up or torn away, and blood splattered over a good portion of his body when Gohan found him. With a gasp, Gohan sped to the scene, dropping down to his knees almost as soon as he landed. Gohan could still feel his life force, but it was frighteningly faint even at such a close range. Still, Gohan remained optimistic, and calmly tried to stir his friend into showing some sign of life. "Ryo… Come on man, I know your still in there. This is Gohan, come on buddy wake up…"
Ryo's eyes fluttered open slowly, at least partway anyhow. He managed to make out Gohan's half-smirking face, despite his vision being made blurry from over all fatigue and numerous popped blood vessels around his damaged retinas. "Gohan… What the… What… the hell are… you doing here…You should be back there fighting with Buu…"
"And I'll get back to that in a minute. I just wanted to make sure you were okay… How are you feeling?" Gohan wanted to slap himself after realizing how stupid that question sounded. Ryo chuckled lightly, while his body quivered and trembled slightly. He wanted to see if he could find any part of his body whatsoever that had any feeling left in it… The answer so far was none.
"To tell you the truth, I've felt better…You know, I saw this coming… Not from any psychic premonition or anything… Just judging by my own history I guess… It doesn't seem to matter how hard I try, or what I do to improve myself it never seems to be enough… Born useless, I guess that means you're always useless hey? I'm not sure how many times I'll have to prove that to myself before I'll finally admit to myself how pathetic I really am… I probably should've quite while I was ahead a long time ago…"
"Ryo how can you say that?… Look at all you've accomplished over the past couple of weeks alone! You do remember that you're the marital arts champion of the world don't you? Once we wish the planet back to normal you're basically going to be world famous… It's not really a false title either, you're basically one of the strongest humans on the planet you know?…"
Ryo laughed weakly. "Yeah big deal… So I beat some loud mouth for some stupid strap of tin, and the guy can't even fathom the league we're in… And I won the adulation of a few million people who quite frankly, a couple of months ago wouldn't have crossed the street to piss on me if I were on fire, let alone cared who I was. That's not what I wanted anyway… It just sort of happened, and I had to deal with it… So what if I'm one of the strongest humans alive?… I can uproot trees, cause minor earthquakes, and blowup buildings with medium-sized energy blasts from my bare hands… Big deal, whoopee-do…"
Gohan's eyes went a little wide, unsure where this weak but passionate rant was coming from. "Ryo… If none of that matters to you, the strength in particular, then why have you bothered to train so hard to reach this level… There's got to be some reason for it isn't there?"
"Of course there was… I… I…" Ryo rolled his head to the side, taking a tremendous risk when you considered that he might have the strength to roll his head back up again if the desire hit him to do so. "I just wanted to make something of myself you know?… I wasn't looking for accolades, or anyone to feed my ego by acknowledging how strong I was. I've seen some horrible things in my days Gohan… And there was a time in my life when I was completely powerless to stop them. I always hated feeling helpless... And I hated seeing other people afraid a helpless knowing there was nothing I could do to help them, or myself for that matter. You know I'm not trying to sound sexist here, but do you know how damaging it is to the male ego to have to be protected and rescued by the girl you have a crush on not once, but on a couple separate occasions? It's not that I mind being defended by a woman mind you, actually I found it a bit of a turn-on, but it did get me to thinking… What would I have been able to do if the situation was suddenly reversed? Just one slip on the road of fate, and she might've been the one to wind up needing help? What would've happened if she needed my help? I'll tell you what would've happened, we would've both been dead that's what! I wanted to be able to protect the people I care about, and it wasn't long after that when I decided to learn how to defend myself… Or just to help anyone in general who needed it… Now I'm actually faced with that scenario and just like always I've failed… Ever since Buu appeared after we left that spaceship, all I've managed to accomplish is to get in yours and Vegeta's way… I got exactly what was coming to me for being stupid enough to believe I'd actually be of any use to you…"
"Come on Ryo, cut that out…" Gohan muttered weakly. "Don't sell yourself short by comparing yourself to Buu! This monster is unlike any other even I've seen before, and I've stared down the faces of some pretty wicked creatures… If case you haven't noticed, Vegeta and I haven't had much luck against that monster either… Don't judge yourself based off of one battle with a being stronger than any other monster we could even fathom!"
"Funny, I was always taught a warrior was measured by how he performs when it's all the line… When everything counts, and the stakes for this battle are about as high as it gets…" Ryo laughed weakly, but his expression softened as he looked up at Gohan, seeing the legitimate concern for him filling his eyes. Ryo wasn't used to that look. There was a time in his life when he thought nobody cared about him. It was sure nice to have friends for a change… Too bad he could do nothing to help him when he needed it the most… Just like always. Right there, he realized that whining about it wasn't going to solve anything. He'd gotten a chance to play out his little death scene, and it was time to let Gohan move on to more important things. "You know, maybe you're right… Buu is one tough asshole… I'll take your word for it I guess…"
"That's good…" Gohan said, despite knowing his friend didn't mean it. You couldn't change a person's mindset just like that with a few unorganized words, despite what you might see on some corny weekday afternoon Anime show. That took time. Still, Ryo just as Gohan, realized they didn't have a lot of time to be wasting tending to Ryo's wounded self-confidence. Ryo possibly had much less time than Gohan even. "I better get you fixed up first…"
Gohan reached for the bag attached to his belt that contained the senzu beans he'd been keeping ever since the Tenkaichi. He immediately became alarmed when his hand patted the pouch, and noticed the bag wasn't as lumpy as it should be. Gohan quickly yanked the bag off of his belt, and opened the pouch. To his dismay, all that remained of the miracle herb were dust particles as they fluttered out from the pouch's mouth. "On no, the senzu beans! They must've gotten destroyed somewhere during the fight with Buu! Damn it, how could I be so careless?!"
Ryo forced a weak smile as he watched his one chance for survival blow away in the wind. "Ha… Look on the bright side Gohan… At least now you won't have to waste one of those things on me…"
"It's just a minor setback, don't worry about it! I'll get you to Dende, he'll be able to help you! Just hang on okay…"
"Gohan stop!" Ryo coughed, as Gohan motioned to lift him off the ground. "There's no time for that… You need to be worrying about Buu right now! Vegeta and Videl are still back there, you need to focus on helping them right now…"
Gohan looked back in the direction of the battlefield from whence he came. He hadn't forgotten about them for a second. "Vegeta can handle himself for a while at least… And don't worry about Videl, I'm pretty sure she followed me… I just went way too fast for her to keep up. I haven't forgotten about them, don't worry about that. I need to get you some help first, and then we'll get back to finding a way to stop Buu…"
"But you don't understand!" Ryo shouted as loud as he could mange, and thus didn't reach loud enough decimals to be considered much more than a grumble. In fact, yelling even that loud proved to be too much stress on his chest and lungs, as he began to cough up blood. Panicked, Gohan pressed his hands down on Ryo's shoulders to keep him steady, noting grimly how the life in Ryo's eyes was beginning to fade with each passing second. "You don't understand… You'd never make it to the lookout in time… I'd be long gone before we got there… Even if you traveled at top speed, in my body's condition I wouldn't be able to handle the stress of traveling at that sort of speed… You'd just be wasting your time…"
"Well, I have to try something! I can't just leave you here…"
"Yes you can… Think about it, what if something happened to Videl or Vegeta while you were wasting time with me? You'd never forgive yourself. I'm a lost cause anyway… Besides, there's always the dragon balls you know… Once you finally mange to defeat Buu, you can wish everything back to normal. Think about the big picture for now Gohan, stop focusing on the blueprints…"
Gohan gritted his teeth. "You can't just expect me to leave you here to die! I can't do it Ryo, I just can't…"
Ryo couldn't even manage the slightest smirk at this point. It was hurting him just to talk… He was too exhausted to do much of anything. He couldn't move, it gave him a migraine to think, and what little energy that was left in his body was pathetically enough being used to hold his eyelids open and to cough out a few barely audile words. All he wanted at the moment was for this conversation to be over, so he could shut his mouth, close his eyes, and rest. Just to rest. To let his body relax, and not have to worry about such daunting tasks as speaking and thinking. He would have to use those muscles just one more time, and this would all be over. "Alright Gohan… If that's the case… Then I promise I won't die…"
Gohan's eyes went wide. He looked down at the wreck of a boy below him, knowing full well he couldn't keep a promise like that. "You promise not to die?…"
"If that'll ease your mind about me, and get your thought process back on stomping Buu, then I'll give it a shot… I'll try to hold out as long as I can… You have my word, just trust me okay?…"
Gohan wasn't normally the gullible type. His predominantly gentle and easy-going nature could be manipulated at times, but this wasn't one of those cases. It was obvious Ryo was just trying to get rid of him. Trying pathetically to ease his mind, and shift his focus back to Buu. Gohan knew deep down that was indeed exactly what he should be doing, concentrating on destroying that bloated freak, but at the moment he'd be quick to dare anyone who might question his actions to put themselves in his position and see if they had the gall to tell him they wouldn't hesitate. Still, Gohan was faced with that same rather dubious decision. He could either concentrate on saving the planet, or he could stand there and watch his friend die. That spur of the moment revelation led to his decisions to humor Ryo's offer. "Okay then Ryo… Just try to stay alive until I get back okay?…"
"I'll give it a shot…" Ryo laughed weakly… At least Gohan assumed it was a laugh. Gohan smiled grimly as he stood up, but found himself forced to turn his head away. He just couldn't look at him anymore. He knew exactly what it felt like to be in that position. So broken and helpless lying there so close to death, that you feel death himself trying to drag you to the other side while you use up the last ounces of strength you have trying to kick him off your ankles. "Just make sure you pop that son of a bitch good for me okay…"
Ryo could sense Gohan smile even through the back of his head. "I'll be sure to do that… I owe him one for Piccolo too…"
"Hey Gohan…"
Gohan forced himself to look down at his friend one last time. Ryo managed a fake smile, using his last ounce of strength to tilt his head upward. Gohan flirted with the thought of chewing him out for it, but held back. "What is it Ryo?…"
"There's just one more thing I wanted to tell you… You know I really think Blonde is a good look for you, but the eyes still kind of freak me out…" Gohan blinked a couple times, startled by what he'd just heard. He wanted to laugh, but under the circumstances just couldn't sum up the will. Instead, he just smirked, allowing Ryo to provide as feeble of a snicker as he could manage. "What are you still waiting for?… You've got a world to save…"
"Wouldn't be the first time… You just hang in there until then okay?…" Gohan didn't bother waiting for a response. With a thunderous burst, he took to the air and headed back towards the battlefield, wanting to get away from that spot as quickly as he could before he changed his mind. He already had a fairly good idea that once he did start to have second thoughts it would already be too late.
After watching Gohan blast off into the distance, Ryo allowed his head to harshly crash back down onto the ground. He did regret having to make a promise to Gohan he knew first hand that he had no intentions of keeping. Not that he wouldn't keep it if he could, but he didn't have much say in the matter. As his last thoughts shifted through all his family and friends, that in his heart he had let down, he still managed to stay true to his character by practically laughing in death's face.
"Hold on a second… So where's the damn light?!"
----------
Gohan hadn't been airborne more than twenty seconds, when to no surprise he ran into Videl who screeched to a stop once she saw him. Gohan did likewise, so their bodies were floating directly across from each other, though their momentum was carrying them in different directions. "Gohan! There you are! You took off so fast I couldn't catch up with you until now! What's going on?… Did you find Ryo?…"
Gohan's expression fell grim. "Yeah… He's a mess… Buu really laid it into him… It's really easy to tell he's just been playing around with us after seeing what kind of damage he can really do to somebody when he really wants too."
"I was afraid you were going to say that… Where is he?… I'm pretty much useless on the battlefield, so maybe I can make myself useful to somebody…"
Gohan's eyes perked up. "Hey, that's right! Why didn't I think of that?! And to think I was all ready to take him back to the lookout myself! If I have you help him out instead, that way I can get back to fighting Buu and…"
Gohan's body suddenly tensed up, as a chill ran through his spine. Videl's eyes filled with concern over the sudden change in Gohan's demeanor. Not as adept at sensing Ki as the others were just yet, Videl was at a complete loss for an explanation for his abrupt reaction. "Gohan, is something wrong?… Is it Buu? Ryo or Vegeta maybe? Gohan?! Answer me?!"
Gohan either didn't hear her, or he just chose to ignore her. He wasn't sure why it shocked him like it did, he saw it coming but that didn't make the fact any easier to accept. His hands curled up into fists, as he began to rant. "No, not now!… After we could've… Damn it Ryo, you lied to me! You couldn't have waited just a few more minutes?! I knew I should've stayed! I shouldn't have left him there!"
"Gohan, what's the matter with you?!" Videl yelled into his ear for about the third time. Finally, Gohan seemed to take some notice of her as his head turned so he was facing her. Videl still wasn't sure if he was listening to her or not, but she said her piece regardless. "What do you mean Ryo lied to you?! Did something happen? What's going on?!"
Gohan did hear her this time, but didn't exactly give her a direct answer. He just continued to spout off, his words seemingly more directed towards the wind than to her. "I just left him there, and let him die… I could've… I… I…"
Videl's heart fluttered at the mention of the word 'die'. While no names where mentioned, Videl was smart enough to put two and two together. Already having feared the worst, she composed herself and put her hand on Gohan's shoulder. "Gohan… I don't know what happened, but it's okay… I'm sure…"
"No, it's not okay!" Gohan barked, tarring his shoulder away from her hand. It wasn't out of a flash of anger towards her or anything of that nature, he simply didn't want her to be in the immediate path of what was to come next. Videl watched in shock as Gohan's body began to tremble as his Ki spiked, exerting a heavy boom of energy. Videl was forced to shield her eyes, and hovered back a few yards while Gohan's power level continued to raise. "This is insane! First my mother, then Piccolo, and now this… I'm not going to stand for it anymore! I'm tired of watching the people I care about get trampled over every time some psychopath bent on destroying the universe pokes his ugly face into the picture! If Buu thinks he's going to walk all over me, he's got another thing coming! One way or another, this ends right now!"
Videl hovered there, completely at a loss watching the man she loved, someone normally so reserved and gentle, but right now look ready to kill. While a part of her was frightened by this, guiltily her more aggressive and sometimes violent nature was a bit turned on by it. Either way, all she could manage to say was… "Damn…"
Gohan abruptly calmed, and turned to face Videl. He reached out and grabbed her by the arms, peering directly into the eyes of the awestruck girl. "Videl please listen to me… I want you to go back to Dende's lookout, and wait there okay… I'm sorry, you've come a long way, but I'm afraid Buu is still way out of your league. I don't want to see happen to you what happened to Piccolo and Ryo! I might go do something stupid like blowing up half the planet if that happened, so please just go back to the lookout?! I don't want to see you get hurt…"
As expected, Gohan could tell just by the frown creasing across her face that she didn't like what he was requesting. "I see… So, I'm just in your way now am I? I guess I have been just one big burden throughout this entire ordeal haven't I?…"
"I'm sorry but yes… At least partly. You haven't really been in the way until now… Because I'm going to pull out everything I possibly can to destroy that fat bastard, and I don't want you to get caught up in the crossfire! Think about it Videl! You didn't have to see what he did to Ryo… If that blast could do that to him, just think of what would happen to you if you got hit with a similar attack! There wouldn't be enough left of you to even bury… And just for the record you never were a burden. You mean the world to me Videl, and though I hate to say this, I might be lovesick enough to put you in front of the planet's well being if I saw you in mortal danger… Please understand, I can't allow that to happen!"
Videl still didn't look happy, but she didn't persist to argue. Instead, she lowered her head dejectedly neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his demand. With a sigh, Gohan tilted her chin back upward. Videl scowled, and tried to resist at first, but Gohan insisted and forced his lips onto hers. Videl squirmed a bit before giving in, and leaning into the kiss. It was all too short, but they both understood that every second wasted was one second closer to total Armageddon. "Remember, I love you Videl… Even though I know I can fix everything with the Dragon Balls, that still doesn't make it any easier to watch someone you love die… No matter how many times you have to live through it."
Once again, Videl said nothing. Gohan nodded his head to her, and quickly took off towards the battlefield and Buu. Knowing Videl, he wasn't sure if she'd honor his request or not. Still, he should've known her well enough to know the answer was no. "I'm sorry Gohan, but I've never run away from a fight before… If you think I'm just going to hide out on some Guardians glorified dreidel, and worry about what's happening to you then you have another thing coming!"
Charging up her Ki, Videl looked behind her briefly. "Ryo you idiot… You were supposed to pull through with the rest of us… I'll have to remember to beat the hell out of you the next time I see you… Sayonara Ryo-Kun…" With a tear in her eye, Videl flew off after Gohan.
********
Gohan arrived back at the battle sight to find Vegeta locked in yet another vicious assault against Buu. Gohan wondered to himself, if Vegeta thought he'd been abandon or something, but knowing Vegeta Gohan figured he probably could've cared less, and possibly preferred it. Either way, battling Buu one on one wasn't getting Vegeta anywhere. Gohan arrived at the scene just in time to watch Buu swat Vegeta out of the sky, sending him crashing to the ground with a thunderous slam. Buu peered downward and snickered, only for his head to jerk upward upon sensing Gohan's presence. He didn't appear overly thrilled at first, but his usual smile quickly found his fat lips. Something seemed different about the young Sayain at first, but upon closer inspection decided the boy still wasn't a real threat to him. "You look funny? You want play some more?"
"Do I want to?…" Gohan grumbled, but only for a moment before an ill-boding smile formed over Gohan's lips, one to match even Buu's. "So… You still think this is all one big game don't you? We're nothing more than a bunch of living playthings to you aren't we? When you get tired of us you think you can just snap our heads off and toss us aside like pieces of garbage! Well, I've got news for you Buu! Play time is over!" Gohan snorted with a flare of his Ki.
Buu applauded Gohan's power surge. "Ewe… Pretty!"
"Applaud this fat boy!" Gohan growled before dropping down on Buu like a torpedo. His fist exploded into Buu's gut, followed by a series of damaging punches to every region of Buu's body. One final right hook that connected with the center of Buu's face sent him plummeting towards the Earth. Buu's body spun a few rotations before it managed to stop himself right before he could crash into a small rock surface near the ground. This also left him no time whatsoever to dodge when a fast approaching Kamahemaha wave sped into him, blasting him into the rock anyway, completely decimating the small cliff with a devastating combination of the after-blast of the Kamahemaha wave and Buu's ass. Buu quickly jumped back up, none the worse for wear, though not overly amused either. "Hey you! That hurt Buu!"
"And what do think I've been trying to do?! That's the entire point!" Gohan barked, as he sped towards Buu. "And here I thought you liked to play rough!"
Apparently, Buu was no longer in the mood to play the role of the open target, and casually sidestepped the antsy Sayian as he followed through. Undeterred, Gohan reached upward and grabbed hold of Buu's long antenna of flab, giving it an aggressive tug. Gohan pulled the monsters head towards him, and decked him square in the face following up with a series of rapid one-handed jabs. Seemingly growing tired of this, Buu drove his knee forward into Gohan's sternum. Grimacing, Gohan rocked backwards, losing his grip on Buu's flab extension. Buu took full advantage and drove him back down into the ruble Buu had created just moments ago. Much like Buu, however, Gohan immediately bounced right back up and assaulted Buu, reverting the monster back into the role of a punching bag. Making little effort to defend himself, Gohan was still left to wonder if he was doing damage to Buu or not.
Videl jetted back to the battle scene as fast as her body would take her. She was well aware that Gohan most likely wouldn't like it, but his approval over her actions was the last thing she was concerned with at the moment. Upon arrival, she was surprised to see Gohan in the middle of a fist fight with Majin Buu, not surprised that they were fighting, but by the fact that Gohan appeared to have the upper hand for the time being. Looks could be deceiving however. On several occasions through the fight with Buu, one of them appeared to have the upper hand when Buu would suddenly pop right back up like one of those clay targets at a kiddy arcade that are timed to sit up a few seconds after being knocked down. Videl stayed low to the ground, and even landed for a short while trying to stay out of the view of the two combatants. Once again, she didn't really understand the total concept with Ki detection just yet. A few seconds after touching her feet to the ground, as expected Buu did his little pop back into shape act and started knocking Gohan backwards again. With a scowl, Videl charged up her Ki and intended to zip over there to help him when she felt something grab onto her leg, and pull her back down towards the ground.
"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Videl barked at Vegeta as he let go of her leg. Hoping he had a good reason, Videl landed next to him and waited to hear said reason.
"To keep your head from being blown off, what do you think you stupid girl?! Do you want to end up like your friend?!"
Taken back, Videl's mouth opened, but nothing came out at first. She closed her jaw, and then muttered. "How did you know about that?…"
Vegeta said nothing at first, but finally grunted and said. "… I felt his energy fade out some time ago… Don't dwell on that too much though, for I doubt you friend's death was in vain as you can see."
Videl frowned and snorted. "Oh really?! And how do you figure that?!"
"First of all, don't look at me stupid girl, look at your boyfriend up there!" Vegeta grabbed Videl by the arm, and forced her to look up towards where Buu and Gohan were fighting. Once again, Gohan looked to be pounding the living hell out of Buu, but also once again, that hadn't meant a damn thing in the past. "As you can see the tide of the battle appears to be shifting…"
"I'd be daring to hope right now… What's so different that Gohan seems to be at least fighting toe to toe with Buu right now?"
"Because he's angry. Buu's killed his friend and his sergeant father all in the span of a few hours. For whatever reason, the boy seems able to take his power up to a higher level when he gets really angry… The boy's so calm, and disgustingly gentle the majority of the time that he doesn't lose his temper easily. It takes a lot to force him over the edge. In fact, I've only known him to reach that level once in his lifetime…"
"When was that?" Vegeta gave Videl a glare letting her know just how stupid that question sounded to him. Videl seemed to understand, and answered her own inquiry. "Oh, you must mean when he fought with Cell…"
Vegeta nodded his head once in conformation. "He doesn't seem to be anywhere near that level yet however… He's not angry enough quite yet… He's just working off of pure adrenaline. The second the momentum turns in the favor of Buu, that's all going to fade and Gohan will be right back where he started."
"I see…" Videl said, her eyes still focused on the battle at hand.
Gohan sensed Videl's arrival, and he would've been lying if he said he was surprised. He couldn't waste time worrying about her right now though. He had to focus all of his energy and attention on Buu. Gohan levied another hard left hook to Buu, and once again the fat blob looked like a gouged glob of playdo. Once again however, Buu staggered backward a step or two before blowing himself back into shape, ever present shit-eating grin plastered over his face. Wearing a frustrated scowl, Gohan charged up his Ki in a show of aggression. "Damn you! All that and you still want to smirk at me like that! In case you haven't noticed, I'm not playing around! Why don't you try fighting me for real?!"
Buu laughed softly, but the smirk didn't last. An angry glare took it's place, hinting to Gohan that his attacks at the very least were hurting Buu enough to piss him off. Either that, or he was just getting upset that one of his toys was starting to get an attitude with him. "You want fight Buu! Fine then, Buu fight you for real!"
"Fine, that's just the way I want it!" Gohan sneered, at the moment thinking that was what he wanted. His fist flew forward, but Buu's hand quickly shot up and stopped Gohan's fist cold. Gohan found he couldn't move Buu's hand back an inch as it quivered within his grasp. Buu's glare now formed into a sinister grin, before he cut loose on Gohan giving the young Sayian the same treatment the Z-fighters had been giving Buu since his rebirth. Buu unleashed a series of at least two dozen punches and a couple slaps and backhands, the last punch being the most devastating as it sent Gohan hurdling back towards the Earth. Gohan's impact was comparable to that of a small meteor crashing into the Earth, creating a small crater in his wake, and shaking the ground around him.
"Gohan!" Videl tried to fly out to him, but once again Vegeta held her back.
"Stay back stupid girl! You'll just get in his way!"
"So, I've been told before!" Videl snorted. She intended to ignore Vegeta and disobey, but by the time she turned around Gohan had already picked himself up and had gone after Buu again.
"He doesn't have near enough power to defeat that fat freak yet," Vegeta grumbled. "He's just wasting his energy."
"What can we do then, besides just standing here I mean?! How can we make Gohan angry enough to bring out his full power?"
"How should I know?! The only thing I know of for sure that makes him angry is when one of his friends is…" Vegeta paused, and looked over at Videl with thoughtful eyes.
Noticing Vegeta's gaze was directed on her, Videl had to inquire about it. "What are you looking at me like that for?"
"Oh, it's nothing…" Vegeta turned his head to the side, and began grumbling to himself. Come on, what is wrong with me?! A few years ago I wouldn't have hesitated to do this, but now… I've been hanging around this planet with these sentimental humans for too long… I've gotten weak, have I really forgotten all my Sayian instincts so easily? Damn it, I guess I might as well ask the brat!
"There has to be something…" Videl murmured again, looking thoughtful.
"Look girl, are you truly serious about helping Gohan?" Vegeta asked her, surprisingly soft in tone.
"Of course I'm serious!"
"And you're willing to do whatever it takes?… No matter the cost?"
"Of course, that's the way I've always been! The risk doesn't matter to me! I'm willing to die to protect this planet if that's what it takes, and I'd give my life for Gohan too if I had to! Just tell me what you have in mind, and I'll give it a try!"
A few years prior and Vegeta might've smirked at her comment. At this point in his life however, all he felt was a grim sense of irony. "Try to remember that… Listen close girl, because I don't say this too often… And it's something you'll probably never hear me say again…"
"And what is that?"
Vegeta hesitated. "… I'm sorry… For this!"
Videl look confused up until the point when Vegeta grabbed hold of her arm, causing her eyes to go wide. "Vegeta! What the hell are you do… AHH!"
Buu and Gohan's battle had inched its way towards the ground, so that's where Vegeta aimed as he flung Videl out into the fray. There wasn't anything Videl could do but scream, eventually forcing Buu and Gohan apart as she split the small gap in-between the two of them.
"Ah, Videl! What the hell are you doing?! Have you gone crazy?!"
Videl managed to gain control of her momentum, and forced herself to a stop a good fifty yards away from where she'd split the small gap between Buu and Gohan. "Damn Vegeta, what the hell was that all about?! What good was throwing me at Buu supposed to accomplish?! Your aim wasn't even any good!"
Apparently, Buu didn't care for the girl's interruption of his playtime. As with all the other toys he grew tired of, Buu decided to simply get rid of her. Buu summoned up a small ball of Ki, small for him anyway, and extend his arm forward.
"Hey, what are you… NO!" Dreading that he knew what Buu was planning, Gohan reached his arm out to stop him but Buu's blast had already left his hand. Videl barely had time to blink before feeling something warm and eerily liquid-like in substance crash into her stomach, rip through her insides, and eventually explode outward through her back. With the base of her spine blown away in the process, at least very little pain could be felt from the experience. Not that she had much time to feel any, for the entire world around her seemed to freeze, and a second or so later everything went black. Four feet or so off the ground already, she dropped the rest of the way, falling flat on her back.
Gohan couldn't manage so much as to squeak out his lover's name, as he just stood there with his mouth agape in total disbelief. His world didn't freeze, but it did fall into a painstakingly long period of extreme slow motion only serving to prolong the agony now pressing against his chest. He could see daylight through the hole in her lower torso it was cut so cleanly. An eternity seemed to pass as he found himself forced to watch her eyes roll to the back of her head, before she slumped lifelessly to the ground. There wasn't even any point in rushing over to her. She was undoubtedly dead before she hit the ground.
Buu snickered as if entertained by his latest victim's demise. He turned his attention back towards Gohan who has still frozen in shock, staring at the fallen girl. "Hmm… Buu make mess. That good one huh?"
The world seemed to shift back into real time, once Videl's back hit the dirt. Hearing Buu's utterly stupid remark, Gohan's head shifted slowly towards him the same stunned and empty expression covering his face. The only exception was his eyes, which held something meaningful and distressing enough that it caused Buu to flinch. So did Vegeta, remembering seeing that look in the boy's eyes in the past. With an eerie silence blanketing the scene, as he listened closely the Sayian Prince could swear he heard Gohan snap.
End.
Okay, okay, everybody, now take a deep breath and calm down. I just like to request of everyone not to resort to death threats, or childish name-calling like I've noticed some reviewers tend to do when something like this happens in these types of stories. If you absolutely must, at least please keep it respectful. I warned you something was going to happen ya'll wouldn't like in the last chapter. Normally, I wouldn't explain myself like this, but I know I'll probably get some comments about Vegeta's actions towards the end. I know it's debatable whether or not he'd do something so extreme, but in my honest opinion I don't think it's that far out of the realm of believability. I have a harder time seeing him actually apologizing for something he was about to do, rather than him actually doing it. I apologize to any of his fans who might be offended, but that's the route I decided to take. (By the way, I am purposely being vague in this note for all of you sneaks who read the author's notes first to find out what happens in the actual chapter itself. Shame on you… I know you're out there because I'm… Well… Guilty…)
I hate to break this to you guys, but the next chapter just might be the last. There may be two more depending on how long it runs. Now everybody take a guess, and say how it's going to start off.
