I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to any of the music pieces you may see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.
A/n: This one will be a lot like the 2 eps that Vegeta fights Buu in, a little short but I'm trying to get past this fight anyway.
Chapter 9: Atonement
"Verto, has your power gone up?" Krillin asked.
"I'm surprised you noticed," I muttered, "Buu pissed me off, but I'm still nowhere near enough to even attempt to take him on. I was just lucky he was just playing for so long," I admitted, turning back to the upcoming battle.
As Vegeta's power rose and expanded outwards, Babidi's backward steps increased. He was no fool, he wanted no part of the Saiyan Prince, probably saw enough of his mind to know that. Buu stood his ground, but I could tell that Vegeta's energy was pushing against him quite a bit, enough to blow him back a little, but very little at that. Vegeta reached out with his ki and a large stack of boulders tore up out of the ground. Then he sent them forward to fall right on top of Buu. The rock pile exploded as Buu held up his arms in victory, big mistake. Vegeta was already on him, punching him so fast that his arms looked like two sides of a train engine running on full. And he only went faster as he made contact with Buu, who was not fighting back at all. Vegeta's arms began to look like they had stopped in motion, but the impacts coming off of Buu said otherwise.
Vegeta quickly kicked him once and Buu skidded along the ground, his body looked like badly used beanbag, with limbs. Vegeta sped over at him again and started hitting slower but harder blows, ones that were just a step away from breaking through Buu's skin, or whatever the tub of lard called skin. Buu's body then starting looking like an S from where Vegeta was hitting him at, head to the right, middle to the left and legs to the right. And about half a second later it was the opposite. Vegeta grabbed Buu's forelock and chucked him up in the air, before appearing above him and smashing him back down to earth.
"Majin Buu!" Babidi shouted in terror. Buu smacked the surface hard and sent several hundred pounds of dirt and rock up around him, leaving a crater.
Vegeta landed next to the crater and spat at the middle, "Is this the best this thing can do? The 'terror of the universe,' ha! PATHETIC!"
"Wow, and I thought prince cocky had a maximum to his attitude," Krillin muttered. Buu popped out of the hole, looking like he had been through hell, his legs and arms were barely hanging by a thread, and his huge stomach was a pancake. He sucked in his breath and rejuvenated himself, his huge body popping back into place, and as usual, had a huge grin. Vegeta didn't really react to the ability, more like he expected it, hard to tell with him. Buu danced towards Vegeta slowly, laughing and grinning as usual.
"Vegeta, he can regenerate from almost any attack!" I called out.
"Get him Dad!" Trunks shouted encouragement. Vegeta held out a palm and charged a ki blast while Buu looked around, bored. Vegeta fired and scored a hit, right through Buu's fat gut, probably further digesting the Dabura cookie into nothing. The blast went clear through, and for the first time I saw Buu's face in pain as he screamed from it. Earlier I had blasted him into chunks and he never faltered from a smile, So this thing can be hurt. Buu bounced back a little before dropping onto his stomach, not moving.
"Yeah!" Piccolo shouted.
"Wow, all right!" Krillin smiled.
"So much for the super powerful Buu," Eighteen muttered.
"Trunks, your dad's the best!" Goten stated.
"Yeah he sure is, Victory is ours!" He said, holding up a peace sign of victory.
"Don't celebrate yet!" I yelled at them.
"Why not, Dad nailed him! He's done!" Trunks frowned at me.
"Watch!" I said sternly. Sure enough everyone gasped at what Buu did next, hopping up on his feet with a big hole dug in him so you could see the sky on the other side. Buu looked mad though, or at least unhappy, he reformed his belly in an instant and laughed a little, but not much this time. Babidi even looked surprised at this.
"No No! Buu not fall dead!" Buu said happily as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and I could feel him start digging into the bulk of his power. Oh crap. Piccolo had a similar reaction, knowing well that this was going to get ugly real fast. Judging by his position, it appeared as if Buu was going to release a ton of energy and try to plaster Vegeta with it, but that meant it would also surround him and expand outward. Videl wasn't sure what to think by looking at what Buu was doing, but everyone else was quickly looking for a place to sink low.
"Videl, get down now, I'll protect you so you don't get hurt by what's about to happen!" I shouted just as I heard a very loud scream followed by the sound of a hurricane type wind rushing at us. The sky darkened in the light of Buu's power display. Shoving Videl down and creating a ki shield, I prepared for the onslaught. My ki shield managed to hold Buu's explosion of ki only because of distance, however it further drained my strength. I had to pump a lot of power into it so it wouldn't collapse on us. Videl was hanging onto my leg, as the force had cleared the mountain we were sitting on.
She let go and hovered, flying up to eye level, "Thanks kid!" she said with a smile.
I dropped the shield and faced her, "Videl, go now, get outta here, you should not have come back here anyway! It's way to dangerous for you. Hell, its too dangerous for me, but any stray blast could kill you in an instant. I don't mean to be harsh or mean, but its for the best," I said seriously.
She frowned, "No way, I want to fight too! I could beat that tub of lard! I may not have all your special powers but I still know how to fight the old fashioned way!" Is her skull really this thick?
"Verto is right Videl, get going now before that thing starts up again, both of you!" Piccolo said from below, a fresh load of dirt and rock being brushed off his cape as he flew upwards.
"Both of us?" I asked.
"Yes, I can feel that your energy is too depleted to do any good here, not that you could have anyway. Go to the lookout at once, and stay until we get there, if we get there," he said, staring at the new crater the size of a small city. Buu floated above it, and Babidi was as well, incased in what appeared to be a magical shield.
"Vegeta, can you hear me?" Piccolo shouted. Vegeta was still there, he staggered a little, holding his arm upright. Below the others had dug themselves out and were staring as well at the injured prince.
"Man just like that he turns the tide!" Krillin stated for all of us.
"Dad's still got fight left in him!" Trunks said as he gazed towards his father. Buu laughed crazily again, dancing in mid air as Babidi cackled at Vegeta. Buu landed and kept his smile, before grabbing his gut with both hands and stretching it forward.
"What is he doing?" Videl asked my question for me. Buu then removed the flab piece and fiddled with it for a minute.
"Gross!" several of us said at once. Buu stretched the flab piece like a wad of gum and twirled it in the air, giggling while dancing forward. Then he spat a ki blast directly at Vegeta, who dodged easily and it exploded behind him. Buu looked as if he expected that and started spitting blasts repeatedly at Vegeta, who dodged them all over and over again. Vegeta then must have insulted him again or something because Buu shot a big blast from his mouth and creating another big explosion. Vegeta flew upwards in time to avoid the impact and appeared high in the air. Buu was waiting for him there, and tossed the flab he had been twirling at Vegeta. It stopped and curved around him, before tying around like a rope and grabbing a hold, squeezing tight and rendering Vegeta helpless against it. Vegeta, tied up, dropped to the ground, where Buu landed right on top of him with a lot of force. Then Buu kicked the tied up prince around the field like a soccer ball, laughing sadistically all the way.
I sensed Trunks' power go up in anger, "Come on Dad, you can do better!" Buu started punching Vegeta in the face, taking full advantage of his tactic. With every blow I felt Vegeta's power drop a little more, getting too low to fight Buu with. Buu kept up the rampage, knocking the crap out of Vegeta's royal face. Trunks had had enough of this and blasted into Super Saiyan.
"No Trunks, there's nothing you can do now. You'll only get in the way and cause Vegeta more suffering, we don't want to lose you too!" Piccolo said, to no avail. Trunks lifted off and charged at Buu and his helpless father. Goten was a quick second to transform and followed after Trunks, despite Piccolo's demands. The pair shot past Babidi, who wasn't sure what to do, other than watch.
"Well, don't want to be a party pooper," I muttered, "Videl, stay here, and I mean it this time!" I said, as Piccolo rose into the air as well, but he didn't move as fast, instead he headed in Babidi's direction and crept up behind him. I followed suit, wondering just what Piccolo was going to do.
Trunks came in on Buu so fast that his kick sent the fat blob flying into the distance and crashing into rubble there. Goten landed next to Vegeta and began to unravel the pink mass that had held him down, Trunks assisted by rolling his father over and over. I could hear general conversation going on, mostly Trunks and Goten, and slowly Vegeta as he managed to keep awake and not pass out from exhaustion. A few blows from Buu were enough to do that alone.
"Who are those meddling kids, I guess Vegeta still has a few allies left, well no matter. Buu will kill them too!" Babidi laughed as Piccolo snuck up behind him. I kept enough distance away from the wizard to just hear him now. More conversation continued below as Vegeta suddenly sat up and looked around for Buu.
"Well what do you know, he's still alive, the fool! Would have been easier for him to just roll over and croak, but either way, now Buu will eat them all up, hahahahaha!" Babidi laughed.
"That's not going to happen! What you and that monster have done is unforgivable!" Piccolo interjected, scaring the wizard.
"Who are you? What a lovely shade of green you are, looking good! But who can blame you, after all you've seen the power of Majin Buu, you've turned green with envy!" Babidi chuckled.
"No I always look like this, so you can stop flattering yourself Babidi!" Piccolo said.
"What? How dare you! You have some nerve talking to me like that! Watch what you say, I may sick Majin Buu on you next!" Babidi said as he pointed at Piccolo.
"Go ahead, call your monster, I'm sure he'd love to see you entrenched in agony and destroyed like the pathetic worm you are!" Piccolo countered.
"Oh that does it! Say goodbye you green freak! You're going to become a chocolate snack for Buu next!"
"Yes, get him over here to see this, so he can watch you die!" Piccolo shouted, charging at the wizard. Babidi managed to get his shield up before Piccolo reached him, deflecting the blow from his right hand.
"You see, I am far too powerful for you! PA PA RA PA BA!" he shouted, releasing some kind of magic attack that attached to Piccolo and tried to manipulate his body while the wizard laughed. Piccolo just frowned at the weak attempt and overpowered it easily with his energy. Babidi's jaw dropped, and he flew to the ground, calling for Buu. Piccolo landed and charged again, this time keeping the pressure on as Babidi raised his shield.
"No you fool, don't you realize that if I'm gone then no one can control Buu! He'll run wild and destroy this planet!"
"That's not going to happen even if you are alive so it doesn't matter!" Piccolo said, blasting the shield and burning it up as Babidi bounced back from it. The wizard flew backwards quickly, but instead he ran right into me. Turning around, he immediately cowered in fear, fresh memory of my actions earlier. I frowned upon him though, and lightly kicked him away, right at Piccolo's knife hand. The wizard's body sliced neatly in three, leaving only the head and one arm attached his torso. His legs and the other arm went crashing to the ground along with him, and he screamed curses all the way. I landed about ten feet from Vegeta, who was watching Piccolo's destruction of the evil wizard. In the distance I heard a few mountains shatter, Buu had woken up from his flight.
"Trunks, you need, you need to take good care of your mother," Vegeta said softly. I could feel the emotions that he had kept hidden for so long begin to slide out. What I had thought before turned out to be true, Babidi's magic had cracked his stone heart and all emotions were flowing strong, especially ones of love and care.
"What do you mean Dad? Why do you need me to take care of Mom? Are you going somewhere?" Trunks asked. The look on Vegeta's face said it all; he was going to face Buu until he took his last breath. But in his shape, he won't do much unless…oh no, he's going to sacrifice himself!
"I will fight Buu alone, you three get out of here now!" Vegeta said, turning towards Buu's direction.
"What, are you crazy dad? Do you want to be killed? Let us help you! What do you say, are you in?" Trunks asked Goten.
"You bet!"
"See, if we gang up on him he won't know what hit him! He won't be able to stand four Super Saiyans beating the tar out of him!" Trunks exclaimed.
"Trunks is right! We could even beat his fat butt without you, might do better than you did!" Goten said, quickly covering his mouth. Vegeta ignored the last part, it really meant nothing in the long run.
"Stop it, its too dangerous here, go now," He said.
"No way, we're going to beat that tube head into the ground!" Trunks declared.
Vegeta sighed and shifted to a different emotional angle, "Trunks, you are my only son and yet I have never held you once since you were a baby?" Trunks wasn't sure how to answer that.
"Buu mad!" Buu shouted from the distance.
"Come here son," Vegeta said, offering a hand. Trunks didn't move, but Vegeta came forward anyway and held him in a tight embrace, causing Trunks to blush a little. Vegeta looked down at him with nothing but pride and love for his son, not letting go of the embrace.
"Dad cut it out," Trunks said, trying to maintain his tough guy image he had inherited. Goten watched the scene, and sucked his thumb slightly.
"Trunks, there's something you must know. You've made me proud, my son!" Vegeta said. Trunks looked up in amazement to his father's eyes, completely missing the hand that was coming towards the back of his head. Vegeta struck Trunks lightly in the head, knocking him clean out, and Trunks fell out of Super Saiyan and to the ground in a heap.
Goten lost it, "Why did you do that, what did you do to him? Why did you hit Trunks? Why did you hit him, why why, you're his dad, dads aren't supposed to do that!" Vegeta gave Goten a small punch to the gut, sending him into dreamland as well. He glared at me but I had no intention of getting knocked out and backed up a step with my hand held up. Piccolo landed before Vegeta and stared him down. I could feel Buu coming closer, but ignored him, watching Vegeta and Piccolo for signs of trouble. But the stare off was not one of hatred, it was one of understanding, neither looked too upset at the other.
"Take the two boys and get as far away as possible, go now!" Vegeta said.
"Of course," Piccolo acknowledged, bending down to scoop the boys up.
"You'll die, you know that?" Piccolo said. Vegeta didn't answer, and Buu began to close into sight range now, taking his sweet time. Man, I wish there was something I could do to prevent this. I know I can't talk him out of it, I've never been able to talk him out of anything.
"There is something I'd like to know, will I meet that clown Kakarot in the other world?" he asked.
"I'm not going to lie to you Vegeta, yet the answer might be hard for you to hear. This is the truth. Goku dedicated his life to helping others who were in need of it and fighting off those who jeopardized life itself. Because of his selfless-ness, he was allowed to keep his body and travel to King Kai's planet. You however, have promoted a life of selfish-ness in pursuit of your own desires. You will not receive the same reward," Piccolo explained.
"Oh well, so be it," Vegeta started in my direction, but didn't come too close. "As for you, after I do this, you will be the last full-blooded Saiyan alive. I hereby charge you with protecting my family, with your life if necessary, do you understand? You will have to find a way to destroy this thing with everything you've got if I fail!" Vegeta barked. The raised voice threw me a little since it had been so quiet lately.
"I understand," I said, looking at the ground, not wanting to hear those words from his mouth.
"Good, now get out of here, and hurry!" Piccolo had already lifted off and was flying fast towards the broken cliffs where we had watched from. I powered up and followed as fast as I could. I didn't want to watch what Vegeta was about to do.
"You stay! You fight Buu!" Buu said, walking up to Vegeta just as we took off.
"Yes, that's right! Your fight is with me now, the others are of no concern to you! Got it, you big bloated balloon freak!"
Buu steamed up right away, "Me no like you! Buu angry!" Vegeta just snickered at the monster, who kept blowing his top.
Piccolo and I raced past the cliffs, "Hurry Krillin, Eighteen! We all have to get away from here now!" Krillin and Eighteen followed quickly, but Videl was not fast enough to get away. I reached down and grabbed her by the waist; I wasn't going to lose anyone else if I could help it.
"Verto, I can fly, put me down!" she said, beating her hand at my shoulder.
"Sorry, but I'm not going to lose anyone else, and you won't be fast enough to outrun what is about to happen!" I explained, racing to catch up with Piccolo and the others. Vegeta's power skyrocketed and began to exceed the amount he should be using for his beat up condition.
"Piccolo? What's Vegeta up to? He can't fight that thing alone, it's going to eat him alive!" Krillin asked.
"For the first time, Vegeta is fighting for someone other than himself, controlling his own fate!" We continued rushing away from the battle scene; with Vegeta's power now surrounding Buu and strengthening.
"You are a fool, I'm going to crush you!" I heard Vegeta shout. Seconds later I heard the scream, one I would never forget.
Power levels
Vegeta (SS2): 370,000,000
Fat Majin Buu: 380,000,000
Super Saiyan Trunks: 95,000,000
Super Saiyan Goten: 90,000,000
Piccolo: 180,000,000
Super Saiyan Verto: 145,000,000