/*
Disclaimer: DBZ isn't mine, Gohan is, well in my dreams he is at any rate.
Anything between /* and */ is just me budding in, so is anything after // up until the next hard return.
For those of you that realised, I'm trying to learn to program in C++ as a hobby, that's the origin of the commentary codes.
*/
/*
Response to reviews:
To Lady Queen:
Well I've kept you waiting a long time again, for reasons noted at the end of this document. I've actually been looking over my shoulder recently, to see if your sister was being sent my way, but if she has been she must operate by way of stealth.
To Lady Foeseeker:
Well, I had something like writers block again, but here's the next chapter anyway. I suppose Dende maybe playing tricks, or maybe I just really don't want to finish this story cause then it will be over, and the next chapter will be the last.
To Silver Warrior:
Goku only winning against Vegeta because he could go to level three wasn't cheap, it was due to time constraints, the differences between them were to small for him to win within the time-limit otherwise, though he would have won in the end anyway.
To Ryan:
Thanks for all the compliments, though the outcome of the tournament may not be what you would like.
To Tabi Chan:
You're free to use the split-thoughts variation on the splitform, though I would appreciate it if you credit me by putting saying where you first read it.
To George:
The Buu fight is in this chapter, here's to short and sweet.
To Skate Girl:
For the Buu fight, see this chapter.
To Everyone:
Thanks for the reviews and so many of them, sorry for the wait for this chapter.
*/
Life Is Strange
Chapter 18: Tournament's Conclusion
"Kamehameha!"
"Masenko ha!"
Gohan felt the rush of power in his body as his voice mixed with his father's, the two beams shooting out at virtually the same time and racing towards each other. Soon they were locked and cancelling each other out, both configured not to push outwards into a big ball, like the showdown with Cell had, as both fighters knew this would damage the Earth, not to mention the arena and the spectators with in.
Concentrating on keeping his beam configuration right he kept pushing, putting everything he had into the showdown.
The two beams stayed locked with and equal to each other for at least 3 minutes and Gohan was starting to worry about the time. After all they'd started the showdown with only 5 minutes left and now three had passed. That left just two minutes to finish the fight.
His worries were without reason though as suddenly his dad's beam started to lose power. Apparently Goku was tired, either because this was simply his limit in level three or because the transformation in his fight with Vegeta had weakened him, Gohan wasn't sure.
Quickly he poured even more energy into the beam, allowing it to overtake his father's even faster and then feeling it connect with his father's body. He kept it up a fraction of a second longer and then ceased the attack, he knew that in that fraction of a second his beam had thrown his dad out of the ring and against the arena wall, keeping it up would only have done further damage to the stadium.
"And we have a winner!" The announcer yelled. "Son Gohan has defeated his father by a ring out to become the youngest champion this tournament has ever seen."
As the crowd roared with applause Gohan's eyes looked around, trying to find the attackers Shin had warned him about. To make matters worse he was pushing the limits of how long he could stay in level 3 and he was about to take his chances and power down when he spotted two hideous bald men with strange symbols on their foreheads flying towards him.
He gritted his teeth and got ready for the assault, it was taking more and more effort to stay in level three, but he couldn't drop out now. Just as the two bad-guys were getting close he let out a yell, flaring his aura around him with all his power, which sent them flying back. He smirked as the two of them looked at each other and then made a run for it.
Videl watched as Gohan quickly dispelled his two attackers using just his Aura and then collapsed as he transformed back to normal. Immediately she rushed forward.
"Gohan, are you alright?"
He nodded and smiled, something that always managed to reassure her. "Fine, just suffering from level three exhaustion. I think that's actually the longest I've ever been in it."
Shin smiled as the crooks fled and the girl rushed forward, so far everything was going according to plan, though both Gohan and Goku looked like they might need Kibito to help them recover quickly.
He made his way outside, along with the others, at a pace somewhat below Videl's.
"Are you two alright?" He asked Gohan and Goku, who both nodded.
"We should be good to go in a couple of minutes." Gohan answered. "Level three just takes too much, you can't really get settled in the level. So you're constantly fighting to stay in there, almost as if you're constantly trying to power up."
Shin nodded, he could understand how difficult that had to be. In fact the short recovery time came as a surprise to him, but these Saiyans seemed to know no limits.
"Are you two in shape enough to fly?" He asked. "Because I think it would be best for us to start our pursuit right away. These guys aren't exactly fast, but we don't want to risk losing them by giving them too much of a head start."
Gohan nodded. "I think we should be able to manage. Let's go."
"Wait!" Videl's voice stopped their take off. "I hate to say this, but I don't think I'd be off much use out there, should I come anyway, or stay here?"
Gohan's face turned to a look of concern. "I think you'd better stay behind Videl. Maybe you could give some sort of explanation to the crowd about why we're leaving. And then tell mom and Bulma what's going on in more detail."
Videl sighed as she watched the others take off and disappear over the horizon, she really did hate to admit to the fact that she just wasn't up to scratch, by their standards, but getting herself killed didn't particularly appeal to her either. And it wasn't like she couldn't be useful in other ways, though other ways seemed to be limited to delivering public statements and personal messages right now.
She looked around for a moment to find the announcer and then resolutely approached the surprised, gaping, man.
She could see him blink a couple of times as she walked over to where he was standing beside the ring, and then something seemed to happen inside of him. It was as though a switch, somewhere in his brain, had been flipped and he was back in announcer mode.
"Well ladies and gentle men, that was an unexpected exit for our fighters, including the winner, but I see miss Videl coming over here, so maybe she will explain what's going on."
Videl smiled, though she didn't really feel like it. "A bit of a crisis has come up, requiring immediate attetion." She explained.
"Could you explain what kind of crisis this is?" The announcer asked.
She shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Though I can assure you that everything possible is being done."
Chi-Chi felt her heart start to beat decidedly faster when Videl made the announcement, the crowd in general seemed to tense a bit in spite of, or maybe because of, Videl's vagueness. But unlike most of them she was able to guess what sort of 'crisis' it would take to get the Z-fighters to move out in force in this matter.
I hope they come out all right. She thought.
She noticed Videl walk away from the announcer and then take to the air, flying over to where she was sitting next to Bulma.
"Hi Videl." She was sure her voice must sound shaky, no matter how she tried to control it.
"Hi Chi-Chi, hi Bulma." Videl's smile was reassuring at least.
"Hi Videl." Bulma replied, her voice shaking slightly as well. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Like I told the announcer, that's a long story, and I think it would be best if we get master Roshi and then find some place private to talk about it."
"Finding Roshi should be easy." Bulma commented. "Just follow the sound of his face being slapped by the women he hits on."
Videl smiled at the remark. "I know an easier way, I'll just search out his Ki, it may be low, but not too low to be found."
Chi-Chi and Bulma nodded at this and the three of them went to find Roshi.
Goten and Trunks had escaped with their mothers' bag of spare clothes a few seconds before Videl had arrived and in the time it took her to talk to Chi-Chi and Bulma they'd changed out of their Mighty Mask costumes.
"Boy am I glad to have my own clothes back instead of that hideous thing." Trunks commented.
"Me too Trunks." Goten said. "Those things really looked awful."
"Yeah, now let's join the adults before we miss all the fun."
"Yeah, I want to see the Buu monster."
Trunks nodded and the two of them took off, heading after the grown-ups' Kis.
Shin meanwhile was flying at the head of a V-formation, in pursuit of Babidi's henchmen. Gohan was flying to his right and slightly behind him while Goku mirrored that position to his left. On the right the V continued with Piccolo, #18 and Krillin, while on the left Vegeta, Tien and Yamcha completed the V-form. Kibito was left without anyone to pair up with, but elected to fly in-between #18 and Tien, in Shin's wake.
The pursuit was going well, the enemy had a head start, but they were rapidly catching up.
Shin turned his head to the right to look at Gohan.
"How are you holding up?"
"Good, I'm nearly fully recovered. Another couple of minutes and I'll be ready to go to level three again, if I have to."
"I must say, you continue to amaze me."
"I hope amazing will be enough." Gohan replied. "From what you told us this Majin Buu isn't going to be a push-over."
Shin nodded and turned his eyes forward again, focused at the two forms slowly becoming visible in the distance.
After the pursuers had gained a little more ground, or rather air, Shin decided to lower the pace to match that of their targets. There was no reason for, or indeed sense in, coming closer now. That might actually cause the enemy to flee in a different direction, rather than straight to Babidi's ship.
Though none of the adult Z-fighters were aware of it Goten and Trunks made visual contact with them just as they sighted Babidi's henchmen.
"Look." Goten pointed excitedly as they first glimpsed Krillin and Yamcha. "We're catching up with them."
Trunks nodded. "Hold here. We don't want one of them to turn and see us."
"So what do we do when we get there Trunks?"
Trunks thought for a while. "Well, we could just go down after them and watch, or..."
"Or what Trunks?"
"Or we could transform and attack the Buu monster when we get there."
Goten looked doubtful. "I don't know Trunks, wouldn't that be dangerous?"
"Come on Goten, where's your sense of adventure? Besides, Gohan was younger than us when he first started fighting, and he wasn't as strong as us then."
Goten nodded slowly, and Trunks could almost feel his friend weighing the situation, but he was sure Goten would agree. Like Trunks himself Goten had a tremendous respect for Gohan, and in the end the comparison with Gohan would win him over.
As Trunks mentally looked at this process himself Goten's nod gained some resolve and the two of them started to slowly power up a little, preparing to jump to Super-Saiyan once they arrived where ever it was they were going.
Gohan just followed Shin with his eyes as they flew, but when the purple God raised his hand to signal a stop he diverted his eyes forward as he slowed down. Babidi's thugs were now in the process of landing, apparently they'd arrived at the wizard's ship.
"Where's the ship?" Gohan whispered to Shin. "I don't see it."
"Kibito and I looked for it ourselves, shortly after our arrival." Shin answered. "We think it may be hidden under the ground."
As if on cue something burst through the sand in front of the two men, which looked like an elevator.
Gohan watched intently as two beings stepped out of the elevator, one of them had to be the wizard, at least Gohan couldn't think of anything else he could be, a short yellowish creature, with an oddly shaped wrinkled head. His companion was quite different, he possessed a tall and broad build, with a long almost rectangular head that sported two small horns and two huge pointed ears.
Beside him Gohan heard Shin gasp. "Dabura."
"Who?" Goku questioned from Shin's other side.
"Dabura." Shin repeated. "The lord of the demon world."
"Who's he?" Goku asked, somewhat clueless.
"The lord of the demon world." Shin repeated. "The demon world is a universe parallel to this one, in it Dabura is the strongest fighter. The Demon world is evil so it must be easy for Babidi to control Dabura, he controls his fighters by utilising their inner evil."
"So we'll have to get past this Dabura to get in?" Vegeta asked impatiently from behind Goku.
Shin nodded. "Probably, but let's look and see what happens first, I'm not sure what Babidi will do to his men now that they have failed him."
As if to answer the question Babidi gestured angrily causing his two thugs to somehow explode.
"How did he do that?" Vegeta asked. "He has no Ki to speak of."
"He doesn't." Shin replied. "But he has strong magic, that's quite unlike Ki, once he has control of someone he can do nearly anything to them, unless their minds are strong enough to resist him. Then again those strong enough to resist usually don't let themselves be controlled in the first place."
"So now what do we do?" Gohan asked as Babidi and Dabura looked like they were about to return to the ship.
"We attack." Shin answered. "If we can defeat him here Babidi won't be able to free Buu, but be careful around Dabura, his spit turns anyone it touches to stone."
The group nodded and started to power up. Gohan, Goku and Vegeta all powering up to Super-Saiyan level two while the others maximised their strength as best they could.
The massive Ki activity did not go unnoticed on the ground of course and Babidi and Dabura turned to look at the group of attackers. Even without it having been mentioned the Z-fighters all recognised this as a signal for the entire group. On this joined impulse they rushed forward, Gohan swerving to the right, Vegeta to the left and Goku down the middle in a three pronged Saiyan attack on Dabura with the others rushing after them at random.
As they attacked Babidi turned again and ran into the elevator to go down, while Dabura stayed outside and guarded his master's escape.
As the elevator closed and Babidi went down Goku swerved upwards to avoid Dabura's spit as the Demon lord was suddenly hit by Gohan and Vegeta's Ki-blasts from either side. As Goku watched from overhead the two blasts quickly reduced the other dimensional villain to a pile of ashes before clashing with each other briefly until they ceased.
"Well that's it for the Demon lord." He announced.
The others landed around him.
"The demon world must be a dull place." Vegeta commented dryly. "If this is the best they have to offer..."
Shin shook his head and smiled. "This world has just out grown them Vegeta. Frieza would not have faired so well against the demon lord, and yet only a short time ago he was thought to be invincible in this universe."
"So what do we do now?" The Saiyan prince demanded.
"We wait." Shin replied. "Already what little sense of magic I have tells me Babidi is working to free Buu, if his attempts are successful we will know soon enough, if they aren't we can just go in and take Babidi, without Buu he is no threat."
"I thought you said he needed energy to resurrect Buu." #18 said.
"He didn't need it." Shin replied. "He wanted it, he wanted the energy because without it he has no guarantee of success. Either Buu will arise at full power, or, if the seal has been broken by time, Buu will not arise at all. The energy would have provided the power needed to guarantee succes, but if Babidi is lucky he can make due without it."
As the adults waited on the ground Trunks and Goten waited in the air until they felt a tremendous surge of power from some underground location, as if something enormous had come to life.
"I think it's the Buu monster Trunks." Goten needlessly informed his friend.
Trunks nodded. "Get ready Goten, we're going to attack him as soon as he leaves the ship."
Goten nodded and the two of them turned their eyes forward again, watching as the other fighters distanced themselves from the elevator shaft and faced it, ready to strike. Then there was an explosion and then elevator shaft disappeared in a cloud of smoke from which Babidi emerged with a strange round pink creature, looking more like a clown than a monster, behind him.
"That must be him Goten." Trunks said. "Attack."
Goten nodded and they rushed forward at Super-Saiyan speed. The two of them punching Majin Buu at almost exactly the same time. But the results of their punches were unexpected. Buu seemed to simply absorb the punches without even feeling them and then used his big fists to knock both boys unconscious.
"No!" Gohan let out the yell as he saw his little brother fall unconscious to the ground and was vaguely aware of similar yells emanating from his father and Vegeta.
As the ground started to shake around them Gohan was barely aware of the flaring Auras they emitted. The gold surged them and bluish white bursts of energy crackled around them, as the three Saiyan powered up further.
Gohan regained his clarity of thought just as he approached the Super-Saiyan three barrier. Not letting up on the surging of energy within him he looked to his left where Vegeta and his dad were also powering up. To Gohan's surprise Vegeta looked like he was about to go to level three as well. But then he realised that for the first time ever Vegeta was powering up, not against them, but with them. The three of them united by the common anger and pain over the two boys' fall. And so, as for only the second time in his life Vegeta prepared to fight, not for himself, but for another, all three of them could feel their hair start to rise further and then grow out down their backs at the same time, as the new level took hold of their bodies.
It seemed oddly appropriate, the prince of Saiyans, even though the title had become meaningless, flanked by two fellow Saiyans as the three of them powered up to unimaginable levels.
With a final roar the power-up ended and the three of them looked at each other.
"Three side attack?" Vegeta asked.
"No!" Even Gohan was surprised by the urgency in his own voice. "Can't you feel it?"
"Feel what, brat?"
"Two Kis inside Buu, they're very small, but they're there. I think it's the two Kais he absorbed, they weren't completely fused with him."
"So?"
"So, you might be able to release them." Shin said, from behind the Saiyans.
"How?"
"I have an idea." Goku said, surprising everyone. "If one of us could be absorbed too, he might be able to break free himself and then look for the Kais."
"But if he's absorbed wouldn't that make Buu stronger?" Krillin questioned.
Shin looked thoughtful. "I don't think so." He said slowly. "Even Buu has to have limits, he can't absorb someone as strong as him, or nearly as strong as him without any effort, so if he's kept busy outside he won't have the strength to fully absorb someone."
"And then what?" This time Piccolo was the one doing the asking.
"Then that someone should be able to break free using his Ki, and find the two absorbed Kais. We can sense their Kis, so their individualities are still intact, but their strength is being drained. Whoever is going in will have to somehow destroy whatever connects them to Buu and then get them out of there."
Gohan nodded. "I'll do that. Just one question, how do I get Buu to absorb me?"
"Buu absorbs people by encompassing them with part of his body." Shin answered. "Usually he'll split off some of his body, but if you offer him an opportunity that's to good to resist, say by ramming yourself as hard as you can into his stomach, I'm pretty sure he'll absorb you."
"Any ideas on how to fight the absorption process?"
"Not really, nobody's ever been absorbed and come back to tell about it. The process is rather physical, so you should be able to dispel it with force."
Gohan nodded. "Wish me luck."
He didn't wait for a reply though and rushed forward, launching head first into the pink monster's stomach.
The first thing Gohan had felt as he launched into Buu had been like a rubber band, but as the darkness around him grew, the sensation turned sticky on his skin, like a wad of bubble-gum. Quite appropriate given the monsters pinkish colour. Then it turned cold, as if something was trying to suck his entire being out of him through his skin.
"Ha!" His surroundings made it hard to yell but he did so anyway as he flared his aura, dispelling the matter that had held him. It fought to retain its grip, but he could sense a new threat vibrating through it that signalled the attack outside had begun. That made him redouble his efforts and after one more burst of energy dispelled the matter completely.
Gohan looked around in the light of his Ki. He was in what looked like a large cavern, undoubtedly somewhere inside Buu. The walls were the same pinkish colour as the monster's flesh and the floor looked not all together dissimilar, though it had a more greyish tone to it.
"The entry process must at least have succeeded in changing my size." Gohan remarked. "Otherwise this cavern would be substantially more cramped, or Buu would have had to have been substantially larger."
Somehow his own analytical voice made him feel a little more confident as he looked around, trying to determine where to go.
The Ki-signatures of the two Kais seemed to be even fainter inside Buu, though that might be a side effect from the attacks going on outside, which might have caused Buu to draw a greater amount of strength from the two. In the end Gohan managed to locate a general direction for them, and choose a path, which he thought or perhaps hoped more than thought, would lead him to them.
Goku and Vegeta started their attack on Buu as soon as Gohan disappeared inside Buu. Even though they were at level three the monster was quite a challenge, especially when they had to keep it busy, and preferably on the defensive, without killing it.
"Look out!"
Goku instinctively dodged as he heard Shin's yell, seeing a beam pass next to him just a fraction of a second later. When he looked over his shoulder to where the beam had struck. To his surprise there wasn't the crater he'd been expecting, but instead a rock that seemed to have transformed into Chocolate.
"That's Buu's special attack!" Shin explained from the sidelines. "He can turn anyone or anything into what ever food he desires."
"I see." Goku replied, before jumping back at Buu with a Ki-ball and shooting upwards as it hit.
He thought for a while as Vegeta took over the offensive, if they could just get Buu started eating instead of fighting, they might be able to drop back to level two without risking too much. That would mean that when the time came and Gohan returned they could jump into level three nearly fresh, which would give them an advantage in time.
"Hey Vegeta." He called the other Saiyan over and quickly explained the plan in between dodges.
"That plan might actually work Kakarott." Vegeta replied. "Though only someone like you who's even food-crazy by Saiyan standards could think of it."
Goku smiled. "I'll see if I can put the plan into action then."
Gohan suddenly felt Buu's energy level drop, but not from an attack, for some reason Buu wasn't fighting anymore, though he could still very vaguely sense everyone's power-signatures in tact outside Buu, so Buu hadn't won.
Thanks to Buu's lower power needs the draw on the powers he was sensing was far less, which meant that his reading was now clearer as he made his way down the path he's chose. He continued for about a minute until the path suddenly turned to the left, away from where he was sensing the Kais.
He stopped in the turn and did his best to sense them again, it felt as though they were right on the other side of the wall, the only problem was how to get there and how to get out.
"First things first." He remarked aloud. "This wall can eat Ma-Sen-Ko-Ha!"
His blast broke through the wall and Gohan felt another change in Buu's power as he rushed through. The gap he'd blasted in the strangely flexible material of Buu's body closed behind him, but that didn't matter, he was through.
He could feel something else in Buu wake up, and internal part of the monster's Ki signature, probably some sort of immune system, but from what he could tell it was still a long way away. The room he was in was dark, but the light from his still glowing hair took care of that. Allowing him to see by its dim glow. In front of him were two balls of whatever material Buu was made of suspended between ceiling and floor by things that looked like a cross between threads and pillars.
"Let's see what happens when I cut those things." Gohan mused aloud, before slicing them with two wide Ki-discs, hitting the upper two with one and the bottom two with the other. Instantly he could feel Buu change around him and he swept forward to take up the two large balls by what was left of the system that had suspended them. Flaring his Ki he took off toward a small opening he could see above him. The next thing he knew he was hit by a gust of steam, that seemed to be coming from inside Buu and heading out. He extended his Ki to protect both himself and the two cocooned Kais he was carrying as they were blown outside by whatever was affecting Buu.
Shin looked in amazement as Buu went from fighting to eating transformed rocks one minute, which was all the time it took for someone to knock out the protesting Babidi and then from eating to doing his steam charge a couple of minutes later. To his great surprise Gohan suddenly appeared in one of the steam vents, carrying two large ball-shaped cocoons in which he could sense the Kais Ki-signatures quite clearly now. Meanwhile Goku and Vegeta were both yelling next to him, regaining their Super-Saiyan Three forms as Buu was turned back into the smaller, faster monster he'd originally been. Gohan threw away the cocooned Kais rather disrespectfully before landing with his face turned to Buu, and even over the combined noises of Goku, Vegeta and Buu he could still hear Gohan's shout.
"Dad, Vegeta. Prepare to hit him from three sides as soon as you finish your power up."
The two older Saiyans actually managed to nod through their scream and Shin couldn't help but admire the way in which they managed to keep at least part of their concentration on battle and strategy at all times.
The two Saiyans' power up was complete just before Buu's steam was finished and as the monster prepared to attack Shin's ears threatened to jump of his head because of the sound of three Saiyans yelling with all their might.
"Ka Me Ha Me Ha!" "Ma Sen Ko Ha!" and "Gallick Gun Fire!" All mingled in the air a fraction of a second before the three beams struck Buu with an amazing force, unlike anything Shin had felt before.
Then suddenly it was over. Buu's power was completely gone and the three beams were holding each other in check where he'd once stood.
"Cut beams!" Goku yelled, giving the example, and the others followed in a fraction of a second.
Gohan fell down panting as soon as he did, his hair returning to its short black mode. "We did it." The young Saiyan panted before loosing consciousness.
The first thing Gohan saw when his eyes opened was Videl, bending over him, with some sort of tent like canopy behind her. He quickly moved up his head and pecked her on the lips.
"Hi there."
"Hi yourself sleeping beauty." Videl commented.
"How long have I been out?"
"Only half an hour."
"Good then there's still time."
"Time for what."
"To get married today."
"Yeah, you still have to go through the awards ceremony first though, and be introduced to the two Kais you rescued."
He nodded. "I suppose we do have a few things to do before we can start our honeymoon."
She bent down and pecked him on the lips this time. "You mean YOU have a few things to do. I've already met the Kais and I don't have to pick up any prices."
She smiled just a little wryly at that, but grinned broadly immediately afterwards. "I could always torture Erasa with my nerves just to get even with her." She managed before she started giggling. "But you really should get up and meet the Kais. Then we can get a move on."
He nodded and got up, bringing her up with him.
As he looked around he realised what had happened, someone had put a capsule tent over him.
"I must have been out pretty bad." He concluded. "For them to put up a tent..."
Videl nodded. "Kibito tried to replenish your energy and then Dende came and tried as well, but you were still out of it. According to your dad you held your level three form for nearly twenty-five minutes."
"I didn't think it was that long, but if it was it's no surprise I passed out." Gohan said. "But let's get going."
Goku smiled as he son walked out of the tent armed with his daughter in law to be. Gohan had definitely set a new endurance record for level three, though he'd been closer to pay for it with his life than most of the others realised. But that was fine, there was no need for them to know and worry.
"Gohan." Shin approached. "Allow me to introduce the Grand Supreme Kai and the South
Supreme Kai. Fellow Kais, this is Gohan, the one who rescued you."
He presented Gohan to the two men.
Even in the short while he'd known them Goku had already got down the basics of both new Kai's characters and their greetings to Gohan were in kind.
The South Supreme Kai was a burly, muscular fighter and greeted his saviour with a clap on the back and loud praise, while the Grand Supreme Kai was a kindly old, almost grandfather like figure and greeted Gohan with a rather ceremonious bow and spoke his words of gratitude softly.
Gohan talked with both Kais for a while, but it was evident that everyone knew they had to get back to the tournament and take care of things there. Once that was done, Goku reminded himself, there was still a wedding to be held.
Still the Kais were anxious to get back to their planet, except for Shin who was staying at least for the wedding, by Videl's invitation, so after the short temporary introductions the Kai's left, teleported by Kibito, and the rest of them took to the sky and headed for the Tournament Arena.
/*
Next time on Life is Strange, the awards ceremony takes place and Gohan and Videl are going to be married. And sadly, this fic will have to end.
Yes, the above is true, the next chapter will be the end, at least for now. I guess that's part of what's making these last chapters so hard to write, I have to finish everything up and leave no loose ends. Other than that I have been rather occupied with other things and have had some trouble hitting my stride in this story, not quite writer's block, but writing it has been a struggle.
*/
Disclaimer: DBZ isn't mine, Gohan is, well in my dreams he is at any rate.
Anything between /* and */ is just me budding in, so is anything after // up until the next hard return.
For those of you that realised, I'm trying to learn to program in C++ as a hobby, that's the origin of the commentary codes.
*/
/*
Response to reviews:
To Lady Queen:
Well I've kept you waiting a long time again, for reasons noted at the end of this document. I've actually been looking over my shoulder recently, to see if your sister was being sent my way, but if she has been she must operate by way of stealth.
To Lady Foeseeker:
Well, I had something like writers block again, but here's the next chapter anyway. I suppose Dende maybe playing tricks, or maybe I just really don't want to finish this story cause then it will be over, and the next chapter will be the last.
To Silver Warrior:
Goku only winning against Vegeta because he could go to level three wasn't cheap, it was due to time constraints, the differences between them were to small for him to win within the time-limit otherwise, though he would have won in the end anyway.
To Ryan:
Thanks for all the compliments, though the outcome of the tournament may not be what you would like.
To Tabi Chan:
You're free to use the split-thoughts variation on the splitform, though I would appreciate it if you credit me by putting saying where you first read it.
To George:
The Buu fight is in this chapter, here's to short and sweet.
To Skate Girl:
For the Buu fight, see this chapter.
To Everyone:
Thanks for the reviews and so many of them, sorry for the wait for this chapter.
*/
Life Is Strange
Chapter 18: Tournament's Conclusion
"Kamehameha!"
"Masenko ha!"
Gohan felt the rush of power in his body as his voice mixed with his father's, the two beams shooting out at virtually the same time and racing towards each other. Soon they were locked and cancelling each other out, both configured not to push outwards into a big ball, like the showdown with Cell had, as both fighters knew this would damage the Earth, not to mention the arena and the spectators with in.
Concentrating on keeping his beam configuration right he kept pushing, putting everything he had into the showdown.
The two beams stayed locked with and equal to each other for at least 3 minutes and Gohan was starting to worry about the time. After all they'd started the showdown with only 5 minutes left and now three had passed. That left just two minutes to finish the fight.
His worries were without reason though as suddenly his dad's beam started to lose power. Apparently Goku was tired, either because this was simply his limit in level three or because the transformation in his fight with Vegeta had weakened him, Gohan wasn't sure.
Quickly he poured even more energy into the beam, allowing it to overtake his father's even faster and then feeling it connect with his father's body. He kept it up a fraction of a second longer and then ceased the attack, he knew that in that fraction of a second his beam had thrown his dad out of the ring and against the arena wall, keeping it up would only have done further damage to the stadium.
"And we have a winner!" The announcer yelled. "Son Gohan has defeated his father by a ring out to become the youngest champion this tournament has ever seen."
As the crowd roared with applause Gohan's eyes looked around, trying to find the attackers Shin had warned him about. To make matters worse he was pushing the limits of how long he could stay in level 3 and he was about to take his chances and power down when he spotted two hideous bald men with strange symbols on their foreheads flying towards him.
He gritted his teeth and got ready for the assault, it was taking more and more effort to stay in level three, but he couldn't drop out now. Just as the two bad-guys were getting close he let out a yell, flaring his aura around him with all his power, which sent them flying back. He smirked as the two of them looked at each other and then made a run for it.
Videl watched as Gohan quickly dispelled his two attackers using just his Aura and then collapsed as he transformed back to normal. Immediately she rushed forward.
"Gohan, are you alright?"
He nodded and smiled, something that always managed to reassure her. "Fine, just suffering from level three exhaustion. I think that's actually the longest I've ever been in it."
Shin smiled as the crooks fled and the girl rushed forward, so far everything was going according to plan, though both Gohan and Goku looked like they might need Kibito to help them recover quickly.
He made his way outside, along with the others, at a pace somewhat below Videl's.
"Are you two alright?" He asked Gohan and Goku, who both nodded.
"We should be good to go in a couple of minutes." Gohan answered. "Level three just takes too much, you can't really get settled in the level. So you're constantly fighting to stay in there, almost as if you're constantly trying to power up."
Shin nodded, he could understand how difficult that had to be. In fact the short recovery time came as a surprise to him, but these Saiyans seemed to know no limits.
"Are you two in shape enough to fly?" He asked. "Because I think it would be best for us to start our pursuit right away. These guys aren't exactly fast, but we don't want to risk losing them by giving them too much of a head start."
Gohan nodded. "I think we should be able to manage. Let's go."
"Wait!" Videl's voice stopped their take off. "I hate to say this, but I don't think I'd be off much use out there, should I come anyway, or stay here?"
Gohan's face turned to a look of concern. "I think you'd better stay behind Videl. Maybe you could give some sort of explanation to the crowd about why we're leaving. And then tell mom and Bulma what's going on in more detail."
Videl sighed as she watched the others take off and disappear over the horizon, she really did hate to admit to the fact that she just wasn't up to scratch, by their standards, but getting herself killed didn't particularly appeal to her either. And it wasn't like she couldn't be useful in other ways, though other ways seemed to be limited to delivering public statements and personal messages right now.
She looked around for a moment to find the announcer and then resolutely approached the surprised, gaping, man.
She could see him blink a couple of times as she walked over to where he was standing beside the ring, and then something seemed to happen inside of him. It was as though a switch, somewhere in his brain, had been flipped and he was back in announcer mode.
"Well ladies and gentle men, that was an unexpected exit for our fighters, including the winner, but I see miss Videl coming over here, so maybe she will explain what's going on."
Videl smiled, though she didn't really feel like it. "A bit of a crisis has come up, requiring immediate attetion." She explained.
"Could you explain what kind of crisis this is?" The announcer asked.
She shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Though I can assure you that everything possible is being done."
Chi-Chi felt her heart start to beat decidedly faster when Videl made the announcement, the crowd in general seemed to tense a bit in spite of, or maybe because of, Videl's vagueness. But unlike most of them she was able to guess what sort of 'crisis' it would take to get the Z-fighters to move out in force in this matter.
I hope they come out all right. She thought.
She noticed Videl walk away from the announcer and then take to the air, flying over to where she was sitting next to Bulma.
"Hi Videl." She was sure her voice must sound shaky, no matter how she tried to control it.
"Hi Chi-Chi, hi Bulma." Videl's smile was reassuring at least.
"Hi Videl." Bulma replied, her voice shaking slightly as well. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Like I told the announcer, that's a long story, and I think it would be best if we get master Roshi and then find some place private to talk about it."
"Finding Roshi should be easy." Bulma commented. "Just follow the sound of his face being slapped by the women he hits on."
Videl smiled at the remark. "I know an easier way, I'll just search out his Ki, it may be low, but not too low to be found."
Chi-Chi and Bulma nodded at this and the three of them went to find Roshi.
Goten and Trunks had escaped with their mothers' bag of spare clothes a few seconds before Videl had arrived and in the time it took her to talk to Chi-Chi and Bulma they'd changed out of their Mighty Mask costumes.
"Boy am I glad to have my own clothes back instead of that hideous thing." Trunks commented.
"Me too Trunks." Goten said. "Those things really looked awful."
"Yeah, now let's join the adults before we miss all the fun."
"Yeah, I want to see the Buu monster."
Trunks nodded and the two of them took off, heading after the grown-ups' Kis.
Shin meanwhile was flying at the head of a V-formation, in pursuit of Babidi's henchmen. Gohan was flying to his right and slightly behind him while Goku mirrored that position to his left. On the right the V continued with Piccolo, #18 and Krillin, while on the left Vegeta, Tien and Yamcha completed the V-form. Kibito was left without anyone to pair up with, but elected to fly in-between #18 and Tien, in Shin's wake.
The pursuit was going well, the enemy had a head start, but they were rapidly catching up.
Shin turned his head to the right to look at Gohan.
"How are you holding up?"
"Good, I'm nearly fully recovered. Another couple of minutes and I'll be ready to go to level three again, if I have to."
"I must say, you continue to amaze me."
"I hope amazing will be enough." Gohan replied. "From what you told us this Majin Buu isn't going to be a push-over."
Shin nodded and turned his eyes forward again, focused at the two forms slowly becoming visible in the distance.
After the pursuers had gained a little more ground, or rather air, Shin decided to lower the pace to match that of their targets. There was no reason for, or indeed sense in, coming closer now. That might actually cause the enemy to flee in a different direction, rather than straight to Babidi's ship.
Though none of the adult Z-fighters were aware of it Goten and Trunks made visual contact with them just as they sighted Babidi's henchmen.
"Look." Goten pointed excitedly as they first glimpsed Krillin and Yamcha. "We're catching up with them."
Trunks nodded. "Hold here. We don't want one of them to turn and see us."
"So what do we do when we get there Trunks?"
Trunks thought for a while. "Well, we could just go down after them and watch, or..."
"Or what Trunks?"
"Or we could transform and attack the Buu monster when we get there."
Goten looked doubtful. "I don't know Trunks, wouldn't that be dangerous?"
"Come on Goten, where's your sense of adventure? Besides, Gohan was younger than us when he first started fighting, and he wasn't as strong as us then."
Goten nodded slowly, and Trunks could almost feel his friend weighing the situation, but he was sure Goten would agree. Like Trunks himself Goten had a tremendous respect for Gohan, and in the end the comparison with Gohan would win him over.
As Trunks mentally looked at this process himself Goten's nod gained some resolve and the two of them started to slowly power up a little, preparing to jump to Super-Saiyan once they arrived where ever it was they were going.
Gohan just followed Shin with his eyes as they flew, but when the purple God raised his hand to signal a stop he diverted his eyes forward as he slowed down. Babidi's thugs were now in the process of landing, apparently they'd arrived at the wizard's ship.
"Where's the ship?" Gohan whispered to Shin. "I don't see it."
"Kibito and I looked for it ourselves, shortly after our arrival." Shin answered. "We think it may be hidden under the ground."
As if on cue something burst through the sand in front of the two men, which looked like an elevator.
Gohan watched intently as two beings stepped out of the elevator, one of them had to be the wizard, at least Gohan couldn't think of anything else he could be, a short yellowish creature, with an oddly shaped wrinkled head. His companion was quite different, he possessed a tall and broad build, with a long almost rectangular head that sported two small horns and two huge pointed ears.
Beside him Gohan heard Shin gasp. "Dabura."
"Who?" Goku questioned from Shin's other side.
"Dabura." Shin repeated. "The lord of the demon world."
"Who's he?" Goku asked, somewhat clueless.
"The lord of the demon world." Shin repeated. "The demon world is a universe parallel to this one, in it Dabura is the strongest fighter. The Demon world is evil so it must be easy for Babidi to control Dabura, he controls his fighters by utilising their inner evil."
"So we'll have to get past this Dabura to get in?" Vegeta asked impatiently from behind Goku.
Shin nodded. "Probably, but let's look and see what happens first, I'm not sure what Babidi will do to his men now that they have failed him."
As if to answer the question Babidi gestured angrily causing his two thugs to somehow explode.
"How did he do that?" Vegeta asked. "He has no Ki to speak of."
"He doesn't." Shin replied. "But he has strong magic, that's quite unlike Ki, once he has control of someone he can do nearly anything to them, unless their minds are strong enough to resist him. Then again those strong enough to resist usually don't let themselves be controlled in the first place."
"So now what do we do?" Gohan asked as Babidi and Dabura looked like they were about to return to the ship.
"We attack." Shin answered. "If we can defeat him here Babidi won't be able to free Buu, but be careful around Dabura, his spit turns anyone it touches to stone."
The group nodded and started to power up. Gohan, Goku and Vegeta all powering up to Super-Saiyan level two while the others maximised their strength as best they could.
The massive Ki activity did not go unnoticed on the ground of course and Babidi and Dabura turned to look at the group of attackers. Even without it having been mentioned the Z-fighters all recognised this as a signal for the entire group. On this joined impulse they rushed forward, Gohan swerving to the right, Vegeta to the left and Goku down the middle in a three pronged Saiyan attack on Dabura with the others rushing after them at random.
As they attacked Babidi turned again and ran into the elevator to go down, while Dabura stayed outside and guarded his master's escape.
As the elevator closed and Babidi went down Goku swerved upwards to avoid Dabura's spit as the Demon lord was suddenly hit by Gohan and Vegeta's Ki-blasts from either side. As Goku watched from overhead the two blasts quickly reduced the other dimensional villain to a pile of ashes before clashing with each other briefly until they ceased.
"Well that's it for the Demon lord." He announced.
The others landed around him.
"The demon world must be a dull place." Vegeta commented dryly. "If this is the best they have to offer..."
Shin shook his head and smiled. "This world has just out grown them Vegeta. Frieza would not have faired so well against the demon lord, and yet only a short time ago he was thought to be invincible in this universe."
"So what do we do now?" The Saiyan prince demanded.
"We wait." Shin replied. "Already what little sense of magic I have tells me Babidi is working to free Buu, if his attempts are successful we will know soon enough, if they aren't we can just go in and take Babidi, without Buu he is no threat."
"I thought you said he needed energy to resurrect Buu." #18 said.
"He didn't need it." Shin replied. "He wanted it, he wanted the energy because without it he has no guarantee of success. Either Buu will arise at full power, or, if the seal has been broken by time, Buu will not arise at all. The energy would have provided the power needed to guarantee succes, but if Babidi is lucky he can make due without it."
As the adults waited on the ground Trunks and Goten waited in the air until they felt a tremendous surge of power from some underground location, as if something enormous had come to life.
"I think it's the Buu monster Trunks." Goten needlessly informed his friend.
Trunks nodded. "Get ready Goten, we're going to attack him as soon as he leaves the ship."
Goten nodded and the two of them turned their eyes forward again, watching as the other fighters distanced themselves from the elevator shaft and faced it, ready to strike. Then there was an explosion and then elevator shaft disappeared in a cloud of smoke from which Babidi emerged with a strange round pink creature, looking more like a clown than a monster, behind him.
"That must be him Goten." Trunks said. "Attack."
Goten nodded and they rushed forward at Super-Saiyan speed. The two of them punching Majin Buu at almost exactly the same time. But the results of their punches were unexpected. Buu seemed to simply absorb the punches without even feeling them and then used his big fists to knock both boys unconscious.
"No!" Gohan let out the yell as he saw his little brother fall unconscious to the ground and was vaguely aware of similar yells emanating from his father and Vegeta.
As the ground started to shake around them Gohan was barely aware of the flaring Auras they emitted. The gold surged them and bluish white bursts of energy crackled around them, as the three Saiyan powered up further.
Gohan regained his clarity of thought just as he approached the Super-Saiyan three barrier. Not letting up on the surging of energy within him he looked to his left where Vegeta and his dad were also powering up. To Gohan's surprise Vegeta looked like he was about to go to level three as well. But then he realised that for the first time ever Vegeta was powering up, not against them, but with them. The three of them united by the common anger and pain over the two boys' fall. And so, as for only the second time in his life Vegeta prepared to fight, not for himself, but for another, all three of them could feel their hair start to rise further and then grow out down their backs at the same time, as the new level took hold of their bodies.
It seemed oddly appropriate, the prince of Saiyans, even though the title had become meaningless, flanked by two fellow Saiyans as the three of them powered up to unimaginable levels.
With a final roar the power-up ended and the three of them looked at each other.
"Three side attack?" Vegeta asked.
"No!" Even Gohan was surprised by the urgency in his own voice. "Can't you feel it?"
"Feel what, brat?"
"Two Kis inside Buu, they're very small, but they're there. I think it's the two Kais he absorbed, they weren't completely fused with him."
"So?"
"So, you might be able to release them." Shin said, from behind the Saiyans.
"How?"
"I have an idea." Goku said, surprising everyone. "If one of us could be absorbed too, he might be able to break free himself and then look for the Kais."
"But if he's absorbed wouldn't that make Buu stronger?" Krillin questioned.
Shin looked thoughtful. "I don't think so." He said slowly. "Even Buu has to have limits, he can't absorb someone as strong as him, or nearly as strong as him without any effort, so if he's kept busy outside he won't have the strength to fully absorb someone."
"And then what?" This time Piccolo was the one doing the asking.
"Then that someone should be able to break free using his Ki, and find the two absorbed Kais. We can sense their Kis, so their individualities are still intact, but their strength is being drained. Whoever is going in will have to somehow destroy whatever connects them to Buu and then get them out of there."
Gohan nodded. "I'll do that. Just one question, how do I get Buu to absorb me?"
"Buu absorbs people by encompassing them with part of his body." Shin answered. "Usually he'll split off some of his body, but if you offer him an opportunity that's to good to resist, say by ramming yourself as hard as you can into his stomach, I'm pretty sure he'll absorb you."
"Any ideas on how to fight the absorption process?"
"Not really, nobody's ever been absorbed and come back to tell about it. The process is rather physical, so you should be able to dispel it with force."
Gohan nodded. "Wish me luck."
He didn't wait for a reply though and rushed forward, launching head first into the pink monster's stomach.
The first thing Gohan had felt as he launched into Buu had been like a rubber band, but as the darkness around him grew, the sensation turned sticky on his skin, like a wad of bubble-gum. Quite appropriate given the monsters pinkish colour. Then it turned cold, as if something was trying to suck his entire being out of him through his skin.
"Ha!" His surroundings made it hard to yell but he did so anyway as he flared his aura, dispelling the matter that had held him. It fought to retain its grip, but he could sense a new threat vibrating through it that signalled the attack outside had begun. That made him redouble his efforts and after one more burst of energy dispelled the matter completely.
Gohan looked around in the light of his Ki. He was in what looked like a large cavern, undoubtedly somewhere inside Buu. The walls were the same pinkish colour as the monster's flesh and the floor looked not all together dissimilar, though it had a more greyish tone to it.
"The entry process must at least have succeeded in changing my size." Gohan remarked. "Otherwise this cavern would be substantially more cramped, or Buu would have had to have been substantially larger."
Somehow his own analytical voice made him feel a little more confident as he looked around, trying to determine where to go.
The Ki-signatures of the two Kais seemed to be even fainter inside Buu, though that might be a side effect from the attacks going on outside, which might have caused Buu to draw a greater amount of strength from the two. In the end Gohan managed to locate a general direction for them, and choose a path, which he thought or perhaps hoped more than thought, would lead him to them.
Goku and Vegeta started their attack on Buu as soon as Gohan disappeared inside Buu. Even though they were at level three the monster was quite a challenge, especially when they had to keep it busy, and preferably on the defensive, without killing it.
"Look out!"
Goku instinctively dodged as he heard Shin's yell, seeing a beam pass next to him just a fraction of a second later. When he looked over his shoulder to where the beam had struck. To his surprise there wasn't the crater he'd been expecting, but instead a rock that seemed to have transformed into Chocolate.
"That's Buu's special attack!" Shin explained from the sidelines. "He can turn anyone or anything into what ever food he desires."
"I see." Goku replied, before jumping back at Buu with a Ki-ball and shooting upwards as it hit.
He thought for a while as Vegeta took over the offensive, if they could just get Buu started eating instead of fighting, they might be able to drop back to level two without risking too much. That would mean that when the time came and Gohan returned they could jump into level three nearly fresh, which would give them an advantage in time.
"Hey Vegeta." He called the other Saiyan over and quickly explained the plan in between dodges.
"That plan might actually work Kakarott." Vegeta replied. "Though only someone like you who's even food-crazy by Saiyan standards could think of it."
Goku smiled. "I'll see if I can put the plan into action then."
Gohan suddenly felt Buu's energy level drop, but not from an attack, for some reason Buu wasn't fighting anymore, though he could still very vaguely sense everyone's power-signatures in tact outside Buu, so Buu hadn't won.
Thanks to Buu's lower power needs the draw on the powers he was sensing was far less, which meant that his reading was now clearer as he made his way down the path he's chose. He continued for about a minute until the path suddenly turned to the left, away from where he was sensing the Kais.
He stopped in the turn and did his best to sense them again, it felt as though they were right on the other side of the wall, the only problem was how to get there and how to get out.
"First things first." He remarked aloud. "This wall can eat Ma-Sen-Ko-Ha!"
His blast broke through the wall and Gohan felt another change in Buu's power as he rushed through. The gap he'd blasted in the strangely flexible material of Buu's body closed behind him, but that didn't matter, he was through.
He could feel something else in Buu wake up, and internal part of the monster's Ki signature, probably some sort of immune system, but from what he could tell it was still a long way away. The room he was in was dark, but the light from his still glowing hair took care of that. Allowing him to see by its dim glow. In front of him were two balls of whatever material Buu was made of suspended between ceiling and floor by things that looked like a cross between threads and pillars.
"Let's see what happens when I cut those things." Gohan mused aloud, before slicing them with two wide Ki-discs, hitting the upper two with one and the bottom two with the other. Instantly he could feel Buu change around him and he swept forward to take up the two large balls by what was left of the system that had suspended them. Flaring his Ki he took off toward a small opening he could see above him. The next thing he knew he was hit by a gust of steam, that seemed to be coming from inside Buu and heading out. He extended his Ki to protect both himself and the two cocooned Kais he was carrying as they were blown outside by whatever was affecting Buu.
Shin looked in amazement as Buu went from fighting to eating transformed rocks one minute, which was all the time it took for someone to knock out the protesting Babidi and then from eating to doing his steam charge a couple of minutes later. To his great surprise Gohan suddenly appeared in one of the steam vents, carrying two large ball-shaped cocoons in which he could sense the Kais Ki-signatures quite clearly now. Meanwhile Goku and Vegeta were both yelling next to him, regaining their Super-Saiyan Three forms as Buu was turned back into the smaller, faster monster he'd originally been. Gohan threw away the cocooned Kais rather disrespectfully before landing with his face turned to Buu, and even over the combined noises of Goku, Vegeta and Buu he could still hear Gohan's shout.
"Dad, Vegeta. Prepare to hit him from three sides as soon as you finish your power up."
The two older Saiyans actually managed to nod through their scream and Shin couldn't help but admire the way in which they managed to keep at least part of their concentration on battle and strategy at all times.
The two Saiyans' power up was complete just before Buu's steam was finished and as the monster prepared to attack Shin's ears threatened to jump of his head because of the sound of three Saiyans yelling with all their might.
"Ka Me Ha Me Ha!" "Ma Sen Ko Ha!" and "Gallick Gun Fire!" All mingled in the air a fraction of a second before the three beams struck Buu with an amazing force, unlike anything Shin had felt before.
Then suddenly it was over. Buu's power was completely gone and the three beams were holding each other in check where he'd once stood.
"Cut beams!" Goku yelled, giving the example, and the others followed in a fraction of a second.
Gohan fell down panting as soon as he did, his hair returning to its short black mode. "We did it." The young Saiyan panted before loosing consciousness.
The first thing Gohan saw when his eyes opened was Videl, bending over him, with some sort of tent like canopy behind her. He quickly moved up his head and pecked her on the lips.
"Hi there."
"Hi yourself sleeping beauty." Videl commented.
"How long have I been out?"
"Only half an hour."
"Good then there's still time."
"Time for what."
"To get married today."
"Yeah, you still have to go through the awards ceremony first though, and be introduced to the two Kais you rescued."
He nodded. "I suppose we do have a few things to do before we can start our honeymoon."
She bent down and pecked him on the lips this time. "You mean YOU have a few things to do. I've already met the Kais and I don't have to pick up any prices."
She smiled just a little wryly at that, but grinned broadly immediately afterwards. "I could always torture Erasa with my nerves just to get even with her." She managed before she started giggling. "But you really should get up and meet the Kais. Then we can get a move on."
He nodded and got up, bringing her up with him.
As he looked around he realised what had happened, someone had put a capsule tent over him.
"I must have been out pretty bad." He concluded. "For them to put up a tent..."
Videl nodded. "Kibito tried to replenish your energy and then Dende came and tried as well, but you were still out of it. According to your dad you held your level three form for nearly twenty-five minutes."
"I didn't think it was that long, but if it was it's no surprise I passed out." Gohan said. "But let's get going."
Goku smiled as he son walked out of the tent armed with his daughter in law to be. Gohan had definitely set a new endurance record for level three, though he'd been closer to pay for it with his life than most of the others realised. But that was fine, there was no need for them to know and worry.
"Gohan." Shin approached. "Allow me to introduce the Grand Supreme Kai and the South
Supreme Kai. Fellow Kais, this is Gohan, the one who rescued you."
He presented Gohan to the two men.
Even in the short while he'd known them Goku had already got down the basics of both new Kai's characters and their greetings to Gohan were in kind.
The South Supreme Kai was a burly, muscular fighter and greeted his saviour with a clap on the back and loud praise, while the Grand Supreme Kai was a kindly old, almost grandfather like figure and greeted Gohan with a rather ceremonious bow and spoke his words of gratitude softly.
Gohan talked with both Kais for a while, but it was evident that everyone knew they had to get back to the tournament and take care of things there. Once that was done, Goku reminded himself, there was still a wedding to be held.
Still the Kais were anxious to get back to their planet, except for Shin who was staying at least for the wedding, by Videl's invitation, so after the short temporary introductions the Kai's left, teleported by Kibito, and the rest of them took to the sky and headed for the Tournament Arena.
/*
Next time on Life is Strange, the awards ceremony takes place and Gohan and Videl are going to be married. And sadly, this fic will have to end.
Yes, the above is true, the next chapter will be the end, at least for now. I guess that's part of what's making these last chapters so hard to write, I have to finish everything up and leave no loose ends. Other than that I have been rather occupied with other things and have had some trouble hitting my stride in this story, not quite writer's block, but writing it has been a struggle.
*/