Chapter XIX: And Flights of Angels Sing Thee to Thy Rest
Gohan felt the stinging tears of pain overcome him as he fell onto the cold ground of the Kai's planet. Kabitokai moved around him quickly, surveying the injuries, "Oh no . . . Gohan? You have to stay with me! Hold on for just a few moments, and I can repair most the damage." His hands moved to grasp Gohan's left shoulder, and his left breast. Gohan coughed, sending blood across the blue-green grass. "He is dying."
Videl collapsed next to him, "Gohan? Gohan please speak to me." She saw through the tears energy beginning to flow out of Kabitokai and into Gohan. Her friend's eyes cracked open as he felt his bones and flesh mend. She brought herself closer to him, bending down, "It's ok, Gohan. You're safe now. Just, please, stay still."
The Elder Kai walked up behind Kabitokai as he grimaced, "When I healed Gohan earlier it did not require so much effort. His strength is ungodly, far beyond any of the Kais of legend." The Elder Kai gave a small sound of agreement.
She let her hands cup Gohan's face as she turned to the fused Kai, "Will he be all right?"
"Dry your eyes, Videl. The wounds inflicted were fatal, but there is not much beyond my power to heal. At least I hope there is not." Kabitokai shook his head, "I was a fool to believe Goku had a viable plan. Now he is a part of Buu, and that demon's strength will be all the more indomitable."
They stayed in silence then. Kabitokai concentrated more of his energy into the task of healing the fallen warrior, and Videl murmured sweet nothings to calm him, or perhaps calm herself. He didn't understand what could have been taking so long with the healing.
A sudden, chilling pulse ran through the three. Though he did not falter in his efforts, Kabitokai brought his fear filled face to bear. There, across the plain, stood Buu. Videl's hands jerked as she beheld the creature's striking resemblance to Vegeta. The eyes were more fearsome than the power radiating off him.
"Good, you're all here. I think I'll torture you all, you especially Kais. You're the ones responsible for my millennia of dormancy. Those are lost years I shall repay in full." Buu's antennae whipped around his body in a lash, cutting through the rock and soil. He marched on the trio.
No, this can't be happening. I only need another minute to finish it. I can feel Gohan's full power; it is so near . . . Though it was minor, Kabitokai felt a power source very near to him beginning to build. The he saw Videl's clenched fists, shaking with hate.
"No, you can not do this." The Elder Kai stepped forward, hoping to grab on to the young woman before she could make any rash moves. "Majin Buu will strike you down in an instant."
She didn't care for the Kai's warnings. Videl stood up, turning her wet face to the approaching enemy. She found it hard to talk, clenching her jaw in rage and crying from sorrow. Her power expanded outwards, "D-did you enjoy hur-hurting him?"
Buu licked his lips, "You know I did."
Her lips stopped quivering as she steadied herself, "That's all I wanted to hear." Videl phased out, reappearing just above Buu with her fists together. His eyes had watched the entire movement.
"Videl stop!" Kabitokai cried.
She didn't listen. Videl howled and roared in anguish, striking Buu on his head. Little more than an indent was made, which smoothed out instantly. Videl didn't notice as she struck again and again, pouring her overwhelming emotions into every attack.
Though it amused him, Buu had better, more entertaining things on his mind. His hand shot out and grasped Videl's slender throat. Her eyes bulged as he lifted her off the ground, applying choking pressure. He grinned, "Tell me; how do you wish to die? I feel like giving you a choice."
She couldn't breathe, but she still managed to say, "G-g-go to hell."
"Videl?" Kabitokai stared down at the hoarse voice of Gohan. The wounds were gone, and now his power was returning to him in full. Gohan's eyes drifted to Buu. His entire body jerked as he saw his loved one in the monster's grasp, "Videl!?"
Buu licked his lips for a second time, "Actually, this could be fun." His sadistic eyes drifted back over to his victim, "Go and join your father." With the slightest effort, Buu clenched his fist. He felt the frail cartilage and bone snap and crumble. The skin tore, and Videl's body fell to the ground, her head following a moment later. Buu watched Gohan's face as he ran his tongue over the blood that coated his hand.
Gohan's eyes flared rage. Kabitokai cried as the sudden, sharp increase in power brought forth violent lightning that tore at his very skin. Gohan's aura flashed to a brilliant gold, and he ascended to the highest level of the Super Saiyan without blinking. The inhuman scream of rage could barely be heard as Gohan closed the distance between himself and Buu in a flash, forcing a crater into the planet with his sudden burst of speed.
Fear flickered over Buu's face as he failed to track the Saiyan's movements. Gohan landed a blinding left punch to Buu's face, following up with a right kick that sent the menace skidding over the terrain. Gohan felt every part of him shaking. Tears jumped from his eyes as he twitched in agony. He had never felt such hatred before, such sadness. He wasn't even consciously in control of his own body.
Gohan stared down at Buu. Nothing was choice, only instinct. He dropped to his knees, nearly straddling Buu, and punched away as hard as he could. Buu's upper body was hardly recognizable after the first blows, and became more disfigured as Gohan kept up his assault. He didn't care about anything any more, only that he wanted this creature to suffer.
"Bleed, God damn you! Bleed!" Gohan brought his hands together and brought them down on Buu's face. Then he did it again, "Why won't you bleed!?" Gohan pulled back more time, but gathered his energy into his fists. His eyes never left his enemy.
Kabitokai stood up, having not moved since Gohan's rampage began, "Gohan stop!! You'll destroy this planet and all of us with it!" The anger pouring out of the young Saiyan was overwhelming. Kabitokai could feel it from where he stood. He could see it in Gohan's eyes. Tears of pure, indescribable rage.
"I don't care!!" Gohan brought the mass of his power down on what remained of Buu's head. Kabitokai felt his body flying as the world around him exploded. The light was blinding, the very air around him howled, and his skin became numb as debris pounded him.
The shockwave faded away, and he cracked him eyes open. The world of the Kais still existed, but only half of it. The force of Gohan's attack had shredded only whole side of the planet to pieces, which now floated around the ether realm of Other World. He struggled to move, his body ached and hurt. There, amidst the carnage, was a badly injured Gohan. The Kai could feel his greatly diminished energy, and thought the Saiyan should count himself lucky he survived such an event.
A new presence made itself aware, and Kabitokai turned around at the sound of a voice he did not expect, "What the hell happened here?" Goku, in his Super Saiyan Three form, floated several meters away, and with him were all the loved ones they had lost on the Lookout.
"How . . . how did you-" Kabitokai blinked as he saw the body of the fat Buu with him. There were too many questions, "Goku, what did you do?"
"I wanted Buu to absorb me so I could free the others. Without all that power Gohan would have an easy time with him." The warrior's gaze turned back to the battlefield, "I could feel Gohan's power go up sharply, and knew he was going to commit himself to an all out attack. I barely got out of there in time, and it wasn't any easy task keeping the others from getting hurt in the explosion. What happened?"
"Buu . . . killed Videl; most violently. It drove Gohan mad, and he killed Buu for it."
Goku looked around, "But . . . I still sense Buu's energy. It's very faint, but I-" his eyes widened and Goku cried out in agony as a massive energy blast caught him in the back. His jaw quivered, and he fell unconscious.
Gohan's eyes jerked to the sounds of battle, and felt his body shake as he saw his father, and all his friends alive and well. But his father wasn't well. His golden hair shrank and became black again. Gohan started to move to him, and froze as he saw the perpetrator launch himself at the floating form of Vegeta, attacking the warrior brutally.
It couldn't be, "Buu . . ." Smaller, stubbier, but still the sadistic monster he made himself out to be. The new Buu strike Vegeta hard anywhere he could. Gohan's sensitive ears picked up the distinct noise of bones snapping and cracking. His rage returned to him, "Noooo!!"
Buu stopped his attack and saw Gohan charging him. A snarl spread on his face, utter disgust and contempt, and Buu charged as well. Kabitokai rushed to the floating bodies of the Saiyans' loved ones and enveloped his power around them. Shockwaves rocked through him as Buu and Gohan renewed their battle. As he moved everyone safely away, Kabitokai cried softly in fear, "It's over. We're doomed." So weakened was he that he couldn't heal the others to help Gohan. They were going to die.
Gohan spit what blood had gathered in his mouth and dove back into the fray. He had more power, he was stronger, he was faster, and Gohan knew he was superior to Buu's newest form. He knew all that, and yet he didn't seem to be hurting the thing in the slightest. With every blow Gohan felt Buu regenerate most of the energy he lost and kept coming back for more. There was no fighting style, no reasoning, no logic in the actions or attacks of this Buu. He had no restraint, and Gohan didn't know how long he could continue the fight. The Super Saiyan Three was burning through his energy, despite his training to hold the form for as long as possible. Gohan felt fear move in place of the anger.
Buu laughed manically, enjoying the sensations he was getting from Gohan. He punched, and kicked, and felt Gohan slow down a little more each time he moved to block. A losing battle, that is what the Saiyan was fighting, and Buu relished in it.
I have to kill him now or else I won't have anything to defend myself with. Gohan backed away at high speed and planted his feet firmly into the ground. His hands whipped to his side and he gathered his power as Buu stared on and laughed. Gohan sneered; Let's see you laugh after this you bastard.
"Ka . . ."
Kabitokai turned to see Gohan in the stance for his Kamehameha attack. An ability passed from master to father, father to son, and now a last resort. Buu floated in the air waiting. He knew this attack; he had seen it before. It was easily countered.
"Me . . . Ha . . . Me . . . HA!!" Gohan unleashed the wave and sent it to Buu full stream. The pink being laughed, and moved aside as the beam passed him by. Gohan smirked and pulled his arms back. Buu frowned, and then screamed as the energy swung around and hit him directly. Buu felt his body tearing and burning away from the might of the attack.
Gohan poured as much as he could, and fell to the ground in exhaustion as he could no longer sustain the attack. The rest of the energy ate away at Buu and his body deteriorated away. Gohan tried to keep his eyes open, determined to see if he had ended it.
He hadn't.
There wasn't much left of Buu, and despite he regenerative ability he had lost half of his energy in the assault. His body returned slowly, and he felt his hatred for the Saiyan grow more and more as he returned to full stature. Buu was insulted that he had nearly been so easily finished. It would not stand.
Gohan could make out Buu's movement. He could feel Buu's leg impacting the back of his neck. Then he could not feel anything. Buu felt the bone and give way as he dealt the final blow. Gohan's body dove into the ground, and stayed there. Buu began kicking it in hate, breaking ribs and shattering vertebrae as he took out all his frustration on the Saiyan's corpse.
Kabitokai couldn't bear to watch even as Gohan's body reverted back to its normal state. It was a disgrace to someone who had sacrificed everything, "Buu stop! I shall fight you!" The creature turned its gaze unto the Kai, and snarled. He leaped over Gohan's body and planted himself a short distance from Kabitokai. His arms trembled with giddy desire. He would make the Kai suffer.
"What the hell . . . what happened?" Two sets of shocked eyes turned to the sound of the voice of someone who shouldn't be. Gohan sat up, rubbing his hand on the base of his untouched neck. He looked over at Buu and Kabitokai, "But I-I should be dead!" Gohan noticed the direction of his friend's gaze and looked up to see a perfectly round halo over him, "Oh, I am."
Buu's trembling became more violent as his anger grew. The Saiyans just didn't seem to die. They were a virus. Kabitokai laughed with great joy, "Of course! You're in the Other World, Gohan! When you died here your spirit stayed with your body. You're able to keep your physical form. We can still win this!"
And Videl couldn't because Buu ripped her head off. He should have done more than just kill me. Gohan could feel his returned strength, and powered up. His frame and build bulged as his thrice ascended, returning to the glory of his Super Saiyan Three form. But it wouldn't be enough. Not enough of his power had returned to him to defeat Buu. Not unless . . .
The sudden change in expression on Gohan's face startled both Buu and Kabitokai. He was calm, serene, and sad. Gohan looked at the Kai, "Tell them all I love them very much." Gohan let loose a sudden burst of energy and phased in front of Buu. He wrapped his arms around him, and held Buu tight.
Buu struggled in the Saiyan's grip, trying to free himself. Gohan's eyes pierced into the creature, "I guess we're going together, Buu." He didn't feel any satisfaction as fear overwhelmed the monster. Gohan knew what he had to do, and he would follow it through.
"Gohan don't do this!! We can find another way!"
Brilliant light began to shear from Gohan's body. His eyes glowed, his entire form became a great beacon, and he looked one last time at his friends, ". . . goodbye." There was no pain, there was no despair, only the knowledge that it would be over. Gohan erupted as the full of his power enveloped both himself and Buu. In the brief second before the end, Gohan smiled.
Kabitokai did not shield his eyes as he watched. Raw power erupted outwards and thrashed at the remains of his home world. He and the others were in no danger though as the ball of light halted, and then retracted. It shrank back, becoming nothing more than a mere dot, and then it too vanished.
Buu could not be felt; he was gone. It was finally over.
And Kabitokai wept, for he also could not feel the presence of the one who had finally ended the nightmare of so many millennia. Gohan had committed the ultimate sacrifice.
The hero was no more.
Author's Note:
That is the end of Buu. He is NOT coming back people. The fight is over. Stay vigilant for the next chapter. The aftermath, Gohan's resurrection, and a surprise ending that will leave you all crying and hating me. All I can say is that there would be no room for a GT after this. Until then, my friends.