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Chapter 29: the dead returns?

Trunks and Goten looked round wildly. They had not expected to come back before Gotenks had beaten Buu. This was bad.

Zara stared at them as they noticed Buu. She would not stand a chance now. Buu could keep up with a level three! She could normally only keep up with a level one. Then there was Piccolo. She looked over her shoulder as he touched down behind them, concern etched all over his face.

"Looks like we'll have to go out fighting." He muttered as he stared at the monster before them. Trunks heard him and spun round to stare at Piccolo.

"What? Are you crazy? We won't even last a second!" he cried. Goten looked round as well, with a 'are you crazy?' look that matched Trunks's.

"Trunks is right! It'll be ok for you; your old, but we're only little kids! We're too young for this!" he said and Trunks nodded. Zara stared at them then past them and into the face of evil that stared unblinkingly back.

"We can't do nothing, he'll still get us. And something tells me he's not the forgiving type. If you have any good ideas then lets hear it but other wise all we can do is fight." She said quietly. Trunks stared at her then shook his head.

"Fighting can't be it! There has to be another way! We could still attempt to apologise…" he said weakly but he knew it was hopeless. He had seen what Buu was like.

Goten stared at Trunks then smiled.

"Why can't we apologise? We could get him candy and stuff as well to show how sorry we are!" he said hopefully but Zara shook her head.

"Sorry 'ten but that won't work. He could turn all of us into candy if we wanted to. There'll be no point in giving him some." She said and Goten frowned, determined to find away that did not end in everyone dying.

"We could run."

"He's too fast." Zara shot back.

"What about that teleporting thing you do?"

"He'll find us."

"You could take us to another planet! Gohan said dad could do that kinda thing so can't you?"

"Nope, too far. We'd all suffocate." She replied after a few seconds of thought. Goten let out a frustrated groan.

"Can't you be positive about anything?" he cried.

"Can't you face that we can't escape! It'll take a miracle!" she shot back, arms across chest.

"Did someone say 'miracle'?" Trunks asked as he pointed to Buu. The other two kids looked up and stared at the monster and Piccolo couldn't help smiling.

Buu sat on the ground with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. His back was hunched over and his head was leaning to one side and…was that snoring?

"Is he sleeping?" Goten asked and stepped cautiously forward.

"Think so." Trunks said and stepped forward as well. Piccolo watched them and all thoughts of preparing the next fusion were replaced with one question.

"What are you two doing?" he asked in a loud whisper. The boys looked over their shoulders as they continued to make their way over to Buu.

"Checking to see if he's really awake!" Trunks whispered back and both boys sped up.

As soon as they reached they started their investigation. Trunks waved his hand in front of Buu's face.

"He looks asleep." He muttered. Goten stared thoughtfully at Buu then an idea struck him.

"Hey, try pulling that horn thing!" he said and Trunks looked at Goten oddly before walking round.

"It's not a horn, Goten, it's soft. Besides, it's too high, I'll need a boost." Trunks replied, making Piccolo's ears perk up.

"NO!" he yelled then covered up his mouth to muffle his yells, "no boost! This is the perfect chance to prepare for the next fusion and you want to wake him up? What is wrong with you?"

Trunks and Goten exchanged looks then hurried back to the other two. Halfway there they couldn't help looking up. They could sense a large power level but they weren't sure whose.

The others had noticed it as well, including Buu who opened his eyes and looked up. Zara scanned the sky for a clue. Saiyans had excellent sight but the Kalroo's were better at detecting movement from large distances. So naturally she was the first to see.

"There! Who is that?" she asked, pointing at a black dot high above her. Piccolo couldn't see it as well as the others but the kids were suddenly very excited.

"It's Gohan!" Goten yelled and jumped for joy as he stared at the spot that was getting bigger at an alarming rate. Trunks stared at Goten then back at Gohan.

"No way, didn't your dad say Buu killed him?" Trunks asked, even though he was thrilled to see Gohan. Zara just grinned as she stared at the oldest saiyan.

"Guess that's our miracle!" she said.

Gohan sped towards the ground then flipped round in mid air so he landed on his feet. He quickly looked over his friends then locked eyes with a glaring Buu.

"Hey guys." The teen said, speaking to his friends and never looking away from Buu. Goten beamed up at his brother and sprinted over.

"Hey Gohan! What happened? Dad said you died!" Goten exclaimed with a wide grin that matched his father's. Gohan smirked but didn't move his gaze.

"Yea, he told me about that, but I didn't. I've been busy training. I'll tell you about it when I'm done here." Gohan said casually and started walking forward.

Trunks rejoined Zara and Piccolo and stared at Gohan.

"You can't be serious. Are you actually going to fight Buu? Goten and me were both level three's and fused together and couldn't beat him! How do you expect to win?" he asked but Gohan laughed.

"Don't worry about me. I'll take it from here." He said and continued to walk up to Buu.

Piccolo could only stare at Gohan. He had barely recognised him. His attitude and power had changed drastically. He could not get his head round it.

Gohan walked confidentially up to Buu and looked up at him. Buu was a head taller but that didn't matter, at least not to Gohan. He just looked up at the monster with a smirk on his face.

"You have to face me now." It was said in a way that told you Buu didn't have a choice. The monster growled then an eerie smile swept across his face.

"I know you. I beat you before." Buu said slowly. Gohan nodded.

"Yea, but this time I'll be the one to win." He said confidentially. Buu growled again and swung his fist round to hit Gohan Square across the jaw, only to meet air as Gohan ducked at the very last second. Buu frowned and swung again and kept trying but every time he missed.

The four on the sidelines stared in disbelief. Gohan wasn't that fast before. Now they could only watch as Gohan dodged Buu's every attack, making the monster more and more frustrated.

Gohan smirked as he dodged yet another attack. He had been showing off his speed, now it was time to show his strength. Buu was bringing down his arm for a blow to the back of Gohan's head but to Gohan, the monster was moving in slow motion. Gohan quickly raised his fist and shoved it into Buu's gut before getting up and kicking Buu hard across the jaw, sending him flying backwards. Gohan phased out of site and appeared in Buu's flight path and kicked the monster high into the air just to beat him up there and charge a kamehameha. He released the wave and when it subsided Buu was missing most of his appendages.

The monster regenerated them then glared at Gohan.

"So you're him." He said.

"Who's him?" Gohan asked calmly.

"Him. I sensed you while I was fighting the boys. I've been waiting for you." Buu said and hunched over slightly and slowly powered up. Gohan smiled and followed suit as soon as they were done they lunged at each other in a blaze of punches and kicks. They were moving far too fast for the others to see. All they could see was the occasional blur. Then finally Buu came back into sight as he crashed into the ground and skidded along, making a deep trench as he did so. Gohan floated down to meet him, still smirking.

Buu slowly got up, now heavily bruised and dented but those soon popped right out. Buu glared at Gohan.

"I will not allow a power to be greater then mine." Buu said and began to power up again. Gohan looked puzzled for a moment before he realised what was happening. Buu was going to blow himself up!

Gohan quickly turned and ran towards the others and grabbed them as he took to the air and flew as far away from the blast radius as he could. Then Buu blew and a large shockwave hit the gang dead on, threatening to knock them all out of the air but Gohan held on tightly.

Finally the turbulence subsided and the group landed on a nearby cliff.

"Can't believe he blew like that." Trunks said as he strained his eyes to see any sign of Buu. Gohan sighed.

"True, wasn't expecting that but he'll be back." he said and they all fell silent. Piccolo was the first to speak.

"Speaking about comebacks, what happened to you?" He asked Gohan who smiled at his old mentor.

"Long story." He said

"We have time." Piccolo said back and Gohan nodded.

"Well, after Buu knocked me out the supreme kai found me with Kibito. Apparently Bulma used the Dragonballs and wished him back. Anyway they brought me to the sacred planet of the kais for training. There was this sword there, the Z sword, that was supposed to give the user incredible power so I trained with it." Gohan said.

"Wow, looks like it worked then." Trunks said as he stared at Gohan who shook his head.

"Not exactly. You see after dad showed up and we had trained for a while he suggested that I try it out. So I practised slicing up a rock but then the supreme kai said that we should try something denser before producing a block of the heaviest metal in the universe. I tried to slice it but the blade…err…broke." He said. Zara looked up from her perch on the edge of the cliff, confused.

"Then how'd you get so strong?" she asked.

"Through a very boring process. You see it turns out that inside the sword was an elder kai that had been trapped in there for hundreds of years. And he had the ability to awaken all my sleeping power and give me my new mystic form." Gohan answered with pride. Piccolo nodded approval.

"So breaking the sword was good after all."

"Yea. But tell me what's been happening here. Where is everybody else?" Gohan asked anxiously. Everybody dropped their heads. Goten, who was sitting next to Zara, drew his legs up to his chest and embraced them and Trunks kicked a stone down the side of the cliff. Gohan watched their reactions then stared at Piccolo who quickly explained.

"…So we're all that's left." He finished solemnly. Gohan nodded.

"What about Dende?" he asked quietly. The group looked at each other then Piccolo answered.

"We were in the time chamber for over an hour. He had enough time to do anything."

"No you weren't," Zara said, "You were in there for over ten minutes. As soon as the door disappeared everyone else went upstairs then Buu got out."

The boys looked confused then Piccolo nearly slapped himself.

"Of course, we were in the time chamber. We experienced time differently to the outside world." He said then looked at Zara.

"What happened when Buu got out?"

"I…I'm not that positive I stayed by the door longer then everybody else. The only person I saw was Bul…" she trailed off and looked at Trunks then down at her feet.

"Buu said he killed everyone. I didn't see it all." She almost whispered and the boys stayed silent.

"Wait, it's faint but it's still there." Gohan said after a few moments. The others all looked up at him then concentrated.

"You're right, that's Dende." Piccolo said as soon as he found it.

"So that means that the…" Trunks started and Gohan finished.

"Dragonballs are in perfect working order." He said and they all grinned before setting off to find the guardian.

They flew over a desert like area, looking out for Dende when Trunks spotted something.

"Hey, what's that?" he asked making everyone look down.

"It looks like…a man and a dog." Gohan said. Everyone exchanged glances; they had thought that Buu had managed to kill everyone. They looked back.

"Wait a sec, is that that Hercule guy?" Zara asked and Trunks rolled his eyes.

"Oh great, a whole planet full of people and he was the last one to survive? What are the odds…" he muttered.

"Who knows, but we might as well pick him up…" Piccolo said as he swooped down and brought the shaken man up.

Hercule instantly started kicking and praying as soon as Piccolo grabbed him but he stopped when he noticed the others.

"Hey you're Videl's friend…" Hercule said as he stared at Gohan who waved at him.

"Hey Herc" Gohan said and Hercule looked round completely bewildered and holding on to his puppy for dear life.

The group scanned the ground below them and finally spotted something.

"There he is!" Piccolo said, momentarily forgetting that he was holding Hercule and let go. They all landed and Hercule crash landed face first, leaving the kids to stare at him and hold in their laughter.

Piccolo and Gohan walked up to Dende who ran towards them. After greetings were exchanged they got down to business.

"What happened up there?" Piccolo asked as he surveyed the young guardian. Dende dropped his head.

"Buu came out of this rift in liquid form. Krillen tried to hold him off while the others escaped and Mr Popo pushed me off the lookout just to make sure I didn't get killed along with any hope of using the Dragonballs." He quickly explained. Gohan nodded and clenched his fist.

"Good old Mr Popo, he did the right thing but I can't believe Buu did this. Everyone's gone. He'll pay!" he said and the others nodded.

"Looks like you'll have your chance." Zara mentioned, looking up. Gohan glanced to the horizon.

"You're right, I can sense him coming straight for us."

The others stared at Gohan.

"Already? It's only been an hour. How does he expect to win?" Trunks asked, jumping down from the rock he had been sitting on.

"I don't know but you guys better stay back." Gohan answered and stepped forward just as Buu came into view and, a few seconds later, landed.

"What do you want, Buu? A rematch already?" Gohan asked but Buu looked past him and at the boys.

"You two, I want to fight you again!" Buu declared, shocking everyone. Gohan frowned and tried to block Buu's view of them.

"No. Your fight is with me now." He said but Buu was not going to do as told.

"No, I have a score to settle with them first, then you." Buu stated then looked at the boys again.

"What's the matter boys? You were so confident before! Don't tell me that now he's here you two want to cower behind him."

This got the boys' attention. Trunks's head snapped up and he got exactly six paces away form Goten.

"We're not afraid! It was us that was kicking your butt before, remember?" Trunks said hotly.

"Yea!" Goten agreed. Buu laughed.

"Is that so? I remember it differently. We'll see who's stronger, fight me!" he yelled just as the bottom of his back began to wiggle.

Trunks and Goten glared and raised their arms and Gohan turned to them.

"No! It could be a trap, stay back!" he yelled but it was too late, the boys had started the dance. Piccolo and Zara both got out of the way and she caught a glimpse of the namekian's face.

"This makes no sense, he's ignoring the obviously bigger challenge and going straight for the boys." He muttered. Zara frowned and she stared Buu in the eyes searchingly. She was determined to find out Buu's plan.

The light that had gone up around the boys faded and level three Gotenks stood there smirking.

"You called?" he asked Buu then stepped forward then stopped when he felt someone grasp his arm firmly.

"Gotenks, he's up to something! You can't fight him he'll-" she started but Gotenks cut her off.

"…Do absolutely nothing but get pounded. I told you, he's not smart enough to pull off a trap." He said and broke free, walking towards Buu. Zara frowned.

"Gotenks!" but he wouldn't listen. He got level to Gohan and kept walking.

"You can take a break, Gohan, I'll handle this freak show." He said calmly and Gohan found himself smiling.

"Sounds like you've got a little Vegeta in you." Gohan pointed out and Gotenks smirked.

"Why thank you." He replied and got close to Buu. Buu grinned down at the boy as some of the pink substance he was made of slid down both of his legs. Gotenks was asking where they left off as the two blobs slid along the floor towards Gotenks and Piccolo. Zara quickly looked to the side but missed it for it had gone behind some rocks.

Gotenks casually got into a stance, as Buu did nothing. The monsters eyes glowed brighter and the two blobs that were now in position leaped into the air to completely cover their targets. Gotenks looked round and cried out as his engulfed him and Zara looked round to see the same thing happening to Piccolo. She hesitated then swiftly ran to help Gotenks and started to attempt to tear off the blob.

Gohan looked on in shock. He wasn't sure what to do. He didn't know what this meant or who to help. He glared at the laughing Buu.

Zara shoved her arm into the pink goo and felt around. She could feel it trying to suck her in but ignored it until she felt an arm.

"Got ya!" she exclaimed and sunk her feet into the ground and tried to pull out, flaring her aura up as she tried. Slowly but surely a hand came out of the blob, holding Zara's tightly. Buu growled when he saw this and his eyes shone brightly. The blob that was still covering Gotenks quivered violently then grew and folded over so Zara was engulfed as well.

Buu laughed evilly and the two quivering blobs leapt into the air again, carrying their yelling victims, and attached themselves to Buu, quickly covering him.

Gohan ran towards Buu but was thrown backwards as Buu's power doubled and the force of his power pushed him back. Gohan looked up from his place on the ground and was astonished at the sight of Buu.

Buu's head tentacle had grown longer and now ended at the small of his back. He now wore Gotenks's waistcoat. His face had change slightly as he now had Piccolo's nose and his eyes that were once black voids with a red iris floating in them now had golden specks.

Buu threw his head back and laughed at his new power while Gohan stared wide-eyed.

"No…"

......

A/n: yay, a nice long one for ya! Bet you weren't expecting that were ya! Or maybe you were…hmm.

Lets see how Gohan deals with this turn of events. See it next time!