A/N: I'm confusing myself with the two Trunks thing so…. No more. No I'm not kicking one of them out or anything, I'm just going to start calling future Trunks Mirai from now on every time I refer to him. That should help me, and you, keep things straight. Especially since both Trunks's are going to be around each other more often now, you'll see.
Chapter Twenty-four - Magic Vs. Machine
"So what do you thinks going on Trunks?" Goten asked as the two sped toward the battle field. Both had felt Mirai's power. Now it had been joined by Vegeta, Goku, and Gohan. They didn't know who the four were about to fight but they wanted to find out.
"No clue." replied the pint sized prince. "Obviously it's a fight of some kind, but those two idiots they chased after weren't all that strong. There must be something really strong up ahead."
"Yeah!" Goten cheered. "We get to fight!" Suddenly they felt Vegeta's power dip and vanish. Both stopped dead in their tracks. "What just happened?"
"I don't know."
"Maybe your dad's in trouble."
"No way, he's to strong…."
"Come on Trunks, let's hurry up!" both went Super Sai-jin and sped off toward the battle.
A few moments later they landed. "Why'd we land? The fight's still over that way." Goten whined.
"Do you want them to see us?"
"No, I guess not."
"Then we have to walk."
They crept around the boulders and peaked out at the battlefield. "Who are those people?" Goten asked.
"How should I know? Those two that just came out of the building, they were at the tournament, but that yellow guy and pink blob I've never seen."
"There you two are!" Both turned around startled to find Goku behind them. "Almost didn't see you in here. Come on, we have to go."
"But…"
Goku shook his head and knelt down. "Now, it's not safe here."
The two stared at Goku for a bit before looking dejected and taking his hand. A second later they were on the lookout staring down at the fight that was about to begin.
"Out of our way!" Bobidi demanded. "You should leave now while you still can."
Mainframe laughed. "Please, don't be ridiculous. We saw this Majin Buu fight the others. He's nothing special. He sure put Vegeta in his place but that's none to difficult." He turned toward Buu. "What do you say tubby? How about we fight, or are you to scared?"
"You want fight Buu?" the creature asked. "Buu want candy, Buu fight you!"
Mainframe and Matrix both smiled and then vanished. There were two thunderous cracks as Mainframes foot connected with the side Buu's head and Matrix's fist connected with his face. The pink blob stumbled backward before recovering. Buu had a decidedly unhappy look on his face.
"You hit Buu!" he cried. "Buu not like you!" Suddenly he lashed out with both fists but the Androids dodged and began to power up. In a flash Matrix transformed as she had against Goku. Mainframe followed suit, his hair got spiky and his eyes turned green. His hair stayed black however and his aura was a deep purple now instead of gold.
More steam exploded from Buu and the entire Earth began to shake. Back on the lookout the only thing stopping them from falling over was that the lookout wasn't attached to the Earth and therefore not shaking. "This is absurd!" Vegeta shouted watching the three forms build their powers. "Those Androids are stronger than I thought!"
"She's even stronger than when we fought…" Goku said, then, "Of course! She said they were part Sai-jin."
"Oh that's just great." Vegeta fumed. "Even if Buu pounds them they'll just get stronger!"
The shaking slowly subsided as the three fighters calmed down. Then the Androids charged in toward Buu. The three exchanged blows at close range. The attacks caused shockwaves that shook the ground and cracked the rocks. "Amazing." Mirai said staring down. "Those two are keeping Majin Buu on the ropes. They're not letting him have time to recover."
Vegeta nodded. "Divide and conquer. First the one attacks then moves out before Buu can retaliate and the other catches him off guard."
"But Buu's power isn't falling any." Goku said. "It feels like it's building."
"Yes." Shin said. "They're just making him angry."
The three split apart and Buu thrust his arms out to his sides firing an energy blast at each Android. They knocked them aside easily and charged in again but Buu moved at the last second causing them to hit each other instead. Then the pink blob fired a blast of energy down at them which hit and exploded.
Before the light and dust even died down the Androids erupted out from the blast zone and charged in toward Buu again. Again they exchanged close range blows but Buu knocked them back with an explosion of energy. Suddenly more steam shot from him. "Buu mad!" it cried in a deep voice, much deeper than the child like voice it had been using. "You hurt Buu! Have big power, Buu need big power!"
A deep pink energy engulfed Buu and spread out around him. The Androids backed off from the field as at smashed through mountains. It grew to over a mile across before stopping. "Buu need more power! Buu get more power!"
On the look out Vegeta suddenly flinched as though in pain then dropped to one knee panting. "Father." Mirai said stepping up.
"Dad." cried Trunks running over.
"What's wrong Vegeta?" Goku asked.
"Not… sure…." he panted. Suddenly his head shot backward and he floated into the air screaming. His body began to glow and then his golden aura exploded around him as he went Super Sai-jin. Everyone backed away from him as both Trunks's continued to try and help.
"Oh no!" Shin cried looking down at the battle below. "It's Buu's doing!"
"What?" Hiroshi asked.
"Buu was formed from pure negative energy, in this lower form he can search out others with evil in their hearts and draw on their power….or even…"
"Even what!" Mirai demanded.
"He can take a piece of them, a part of their…" Vegeta's screams died off and he fell to the ground weak and tired and unconscious. Dende walked up to heal him but Shin shook his head. "That wont work." he said softly. "It's not a physical injury, it's not something that can be healed."
"What did he do to my dad?" Trunks asked worried.
"Buu found a darkness inside Vegeta and called it out, he absorbed the evil that was in him, absorbed part of his soul. It will take some time for him to recover, his soul has to repair itself…" he stopped again staring down at Vegeta. "But there's only one way that can happen."
"How?"
"He has to want to come back, to face what he was before. He has to overcome his own inner demons."
Mirai looked up at Shin. "How long will that take?"
"There's no way to tell. Maybe just hours, or weeks, even years. Or…never."
Trunks knelt beside his father. "Isn't there anything we can do?" he pleaded.
"I know!" Goku said. "Mirai, take Vegeta back into the Hyperbolic time chamber. We might not be able to help him through this but we can get him healed faster."
Mirai smiled at Goku as he picked up his father. "Right, I'll stay with him. Come get me if you need my help."
Goku nodded but Trunks ran over to Mirai. "I want to go too!" he cried.
"Sure." said Goku.
"What about the limit?" Asked Mirai.
"Huh? Oh, that. There is no limit. I made that up." Mirai just blinked at him. "Don't worry about it, just go."
"Can I go too?" Asked Goten.
Goku smiled and rubbed Goten's head. "Sure, you can keep Trunks company. And you two get some training while you're in there."
As the four of them walked away the others all looked back down at Buu. The energy field still surrounded him but now there were streams of gold, blue, and red light flowing in from the edges to Buu in the center. A few seconds later the energy field began to shrink and finally vanished.
Buu had changed they saw. Not much but it was clear he was different. His arms were a bit longer, so were his legs. They also looked more muscular. Otherwise he was still the same, but his power had shot up greatly. The two Androids stared at the powered up Buu for a moment. It was Buu who spoke first. "Buu got more power! Now Buu thrash you, turn you into chocolate!" Suddenly he vanished.
No one on the lookout could keep up with Buu's movements as he went from one Android to the other pounding on them. The Androids could barely get up off the ground before Buu was attacking them again. After a few minutes of this Buu stopped and smiled. "Buu win now! You no match for Buu!"
Matrix and Mainframe pulled themselves up off the ground and brushed the dirt, blood, and torn scraps of clothes off of them. "He's got more power than I'd expected." Mainframe said flexing his sore muscles.
Matrix nodded. "But he made a mistake." she glanced at Buu and smiled as a trickle of blood rolled down her chin.
"Buu make a mistake?" he asked. "What mistake did Buu make?"
Matrix cracked her neck and straightened up. "You gave us time." she said with a smile. Suddenly a blue glow surrounded her and a red one outlined Mainframe. The cuts sealed up and vanished, the bruises faded, and the blood vanished.
"You're kidding, right?" Gohan asked. "You have to be kidding, they can regenerate?"
"Don't think so." Hiroshi said. "It's not that advanced, more like a self healing thing. They fixed all the cuts and scrapes but I don't think they could re-grow limbs or anything."
"Not that it really maters." said Vegeta softly. "They're part Sai-jin. Just being able to heal is enough, didn't you feel that energy spike? Recovering from severe injuries makes a Sai-jin stronger, they can heal during a battle which gives them an edge."
"Well," Goku said sitting down and hanging his legs over the edge of the look out. "Looks like Round two is about to start. I can't believe how strong they are."
Chapter Twenty-four - Magic Vs. Machine
"So what do you thinks going on Trunks?" Goten asked as the two sped toward the battle field. Both had felt Mirai's power. Now it had been joined by Vegeta, Goku, and Gohan. They didn't know who the four were about to fight but they wanted to find out.
"No clue." replied the pint sized prince. "Obviously it's a fight of some kind, but those two idiots they chased after weren't all that strong. There must be something really strong up ahead."
"Yeah!" Goten cheered. "We get to fight!" Suddenly they felt Vegeta's power dip and vanish. Both stopped dead in their tracks. "What just happened?"
"I don't know."
"Maybe your dad's in trouble."
"No way, he's to strong…."
"Come on Trunks, let's hurry up!" both went Super Sai-jin and sped off toward the battle.
A few moments later they landed. "Why'd we land? The fight's still over that way." Goten whined.
"Do you want them to see us?"
"No, I guess not."
"Then we have to walk."
They crept around the boulders and peaked out at the battlefield. "Who are those people?" Goten asked.
"How should I know? Those two that just came out of the building, they were at the tournament, but that yellow guy and pink blob I've never seen."
"There you two are!" Both turned around startled to find Goku behind them. "Almost didn't see you in here. Come on, we have to go."
"But…"
Goku shook his head and knelt down. "Now, it's not safe here."
The two stared at Goku for a bit before looking dejected and taking his hand. A second later they were on the lookout staring down at the fight that was about to begin.
"Out of our way!" Bobidi demanded. "You should leave now while you still can."
Mainframe laughed. "Please, don't be ridiculous. We saw this Majin Buu fight the others. He's nothing special. He sure put Vegeta in his place but that's none to difficult." He turned toward Buu. "What do you say tubby? How about we fight, or are you to scared?"
"You want fight Buu?" the creature asked. "Buu want candy, Buu fight you!"
Mainframe and Matrix both smiled and then vanished. There were two thunderous cracks as Mainframes foot connected with the side Buu's head and Matrix's fist connected with his face. The pink blob stumbled backward before recovering. Buu had a decidedly unhappy look on his face.
"You hit Buu!" he cried. "Buu not like you!" Suddenly he lashed out with both fists but the Androids dodged and began to power up. In a flash Matrix transformed as she had against Goku. Mainframe followed suit, his hair got spiky and his eyes turned green. His hair stayed black however and his aura was a deep purple now instead of gold.
More steam exploded from Buu and the entire Earth began to shake. Back on the lookout the only thing stopping them from falling over was that the lookout wasn't attached to the Earth and therefore not shaking. "This is absurd!" Vegeta shouted watching the three forms build their powers. "Those Androids are stronger than I thought!"
"She's even stronger than when we fought…" Goku said, then, "Of course! She said they were part Sai-jin."
"Oh that's just great." Vegeta fumed. "Even if Buu pounds them they'll just get stronger!"
The shaking slowly subsided as the three fighters calmed down. Then the Androids charged in toward Buu. The three exchanged blows at close range. The attacks caused shockwaves that shook the ground and cracked the rocks. "Amazing." Mirai said staring down. "Those two are keeping Majin Buu on the ropes. They're not letting him have time to recover."
Vegeta nodded. "Divide and conquer. First the one attacks then moves out before Buu can retaliate and the other catches him off guard."
"But Buu's power isn't falling any." Goku said. "It feels like it's building."
"Yes." Shin said. "They're just making him angry."
The three split apart and Buu thrust his arms out to his sides firing an energy blast at each Android. They knocked them aside easily and charged in again but Buu moved at the last second causing them to hit each other instead. Then the pink blob fired a blast of energy down at them which hit and exploded.
Before the light and dust even died down the Androids erupted out from the blast zone and charged in toward Buu again. Again they exchanged close range blows but Buu knocked them back with an explosion of energy. Suddenly more steam shot from him. "Buu mad!" it cried in a deep voice, much deeper than the child like voice it had been using. "You hurt Buu! Have big power, Buu need big power!"
A deep pink energy engulfed Buu and spread out around him. The Androids backed off from the field as at smashed through mountains. It grew to over a mile across before stopping. "Buu need more power! Buu get more power!"
On the look out Vegeta suddenly flinched as though in pain then dropped to one knee panting. "Father." Mirai said stepping up.
"Dad." cried Trunks running over.
"What's wrong Vegeta?" Goku asked.
"Not… sure…." he panted. Suddenly his head shot backward and he floated into the air screaming. His body began to glow and then his golden aura exploded around him as he went Super Sai-jin. Everyone backed away from him as both Trunks's continued to try and help.
"Oh no!" Shin cried looking down at the battle below. "It's Buu's doing!"
"What?" Hiroshi asked.
"Buu was formed from pure negative energy, in this lower form he can search out others with evil in their hearts and draw on their power….or even…"
"Even what!" Mirai demanded.
"He can take a piece of them, a part of their…" Vegeta's screams died off and he fell to the ground weak and tired and unconscious. Dende walked up to heal him but Shin shook his head. "That wont work." he said softly. "It's not a physical injury, it's not something that can be healed."
"What did he do to my dad?" Trunks asked worried.
"Buu found a darkness inside Vegeta and called it out, he absorbed the evil that was in him, absorbed part of his soul. It will take some time for him to recover, his soul has to repair itself…" he stopped again staring down at Vegeta. "But there's only one way that can happen."
"How?"
"He has to want to come back, to face what he was before. He has to overcome his own inner demons."
Mirai looked up at Shin. "How long will that take?"
"There's no way to tell. Maybe just hours, or weeks, even years. Or…never."
Trunks knelt beside his father. "Isn't there anything we can do?" he pleaded.
"I know!" Goku said. "Mirai, take Vegeta back into the Hyperbolic time chamber. We might not be able to help him through this but we can get him healed faster."
Mirai smiled at Goku as he picked up his father. "Right, I'll stay with him. Come get me if you need my help."
Goku nodded but Trunks ran over to Mirai. "I want to go too!" he cried.
"Sure." said Goku.
"What about the limit?" Asked Mirai.
"Huh? Oh, that. There is no limit. I made that up." Mirai just blinked at him. "Don't worry about it, just go."
"Can I go too?" Asked Goten.
Goku smiled and rubbed Goten's head. "Sure, you can keep Trunks company. And you two get some training while you're in there."
As the four of them walked away the others all looked back down at Buu. The energy field still surrounded him but now there were streams of gold, blue, and red light flowing in from the edges to Buu in the center. A few seconds later the energy field began to shrink and finally vanished.
Buu had changed they saw. Not much but it was clear he was different. His arms were a bit longer, so were his legs. They also looked more muscular. Otherwise he was still the same, but his power had shot up greatly. The two Androids stared at the powered up Buu for a moment. It was Buu who spoke first. "Buu got more power! Now Buu thrash you, turn you into chocolate!" Suddenly he vanished.
No one on the lookout could keep up with Buu's movements as he went from one Android to the other pounding on them. The Androids could barely get up off the ground before Buu was attacking them again. After a few minutes of this Buu stopped and smiled. "Buu win now! You no match for Buu!"
Matrix and Mainframe pulled themselves up off the ground and brushed the dirt, blood, and torn scraps of clothes off of them. "He's got more power than I'd expected." Mainframe said flexing his sore muscles.
Matrix nodded. "But he made a mistake." she glanced at Buu and smiled as a trickle of blood rolled down her chin.
"Buu make a mistake?" he asked. "What mistake did Buu make?"
Matrix cracked her neck and straightened up. "You gave us time." she said with a smile. Suddenly a blue glow surrounded her and a red one outlined Mainframe. The cuts sealed up and vanished, the bruises faded, and the blood vanished.
"You're kidding, right?" Gohan asked. "You have to be kidding, they can regenerate?"
"Don't think so." Hiroshi said. "It's not that advanced, more like a self healing thing. They fixed all the cuts and scrapes but I don't think they could re-grow limbs or anything."
"Not that it really maters." said Vegeta softly. "They're part Sai-jin. Just being able to heal is enough, didn't you feel that energy spike? Recovering from severe injuries makes a Sai-jin stronger, they can heal during a battle which gives them an edge."
"Well," Goku said sitting down and hanging his legs over the edge of the look out. "Looks like Round two is about to start. I can't believe how strong they are."