Humming. To anyone who still retained their wits about them, this was the unnerving sound that now broke the stunned silence. And it was coming from none other than the creature that everyone had been so terrified of.
Majin Bū.
The pink, rotund demon was certainly an oddity. After forming and then crashing onto the ground, he proceeded to walk around aimlessly. He stopped, looking around, and even rubbing the top of his head. "Ahhh..." Seeming to giggle, the creature was acting more like a curious child than anything. Was this really the creature that could throw the entire Universe into darkness?
"I wish I knew..." Babidi thought to himself, floating away from the crater created by the combined attack from only minutes earlier. "The only one who's seen him is the wretched Kaiōshin...I can't even tell for sure if this is the djinn my father created."
If the Kaiōshin had ever been good at hiding his body language, all of that was betraying him right now. He was practically quivering, his entire body trembling and threatening to collapse at that exact moment. Memories flooded back to him at the sight of Majin Bū, and none of them were pleasant. Shin couldn't feel the incentive to even move anymore; Majin Bū's very presence had him trapped in fear, and it could be said that Tenshinhan, who was capable of feeling the sheer depth of Majin Bū's ki, was in a similar state.
But this was all the confirmation that Babidi needed and he practically giggled with glee. "So you ARE Bū!" Floating over towards the Djinn, he dispelled his barrier, landing next to the pink monstrosity and greeting him with a wide smile. "Majin Bū! May I have your attention? I am Babidi, the son of Bibidi, your creator! I'm the one who freed you from your seal, so look alive, you work for me now!"
Bū, who was in the middle of performing a few basic stretches now, turned to look at Babidi. Face blank at first, his squinted eyes opened slightly to reveal black irises and a very irritated expression. It was quite clear that Bū was not taken with Babidi in the slightest. "Me Bū!" The creature, however, did reply, and as before, his voice was high-pitched and childish. "Bū not recognize you! You say you Bibidi?"
"...okay, either he's hard of hearing or we're clearly working with a few tools short of a toolbox..." the mage thought to himself, as he was not fond of having to repeat himself. Sighing, Babidi cleared his throat — perhaps something had caught in it and prevented the monstrosity from hearing him? — and tried again. "No, Bū. I am Babidi, your new master! Your creator was Bibidi, my father, and my name is Babidi! You are Bū, our servant! Chin up now, I can't keep repeating things all day!"
Bū twitched, gazing at Babidi with utmost distaste. "Why Bū listen to you? Bū free now! Bū can do whatever Bū wants!"
"Oh? You've got quite the mouth on you, Bū!" Babidi snapped, irritated now. "I am my father's son and I know all of his spells. I can spin you one, if you'd like, seal you back into your sphere for a few thousand years and see if you'll be more agreeable after your time-out!"
The Majin slumped slightly at these words; after tasting freedom for the first time in eons, he was in no quick hurry to be resealed into that sphere that Bibidi had crafted for him. As quickly as he looked put out, Bū snapped back to normal, and bowed quickly to Babidi. "Okay! Bū do what Master Babidi says!"
"Now that's more like it!" Babidi was pleased to finally be making some headway.
Tenshinhan, 18, and Shin were forced to watch as this entire discussion happened. Tenshinhan and Shin were too petrified to do anything, and 18 was merely at a loss for words. She wasn't able to sense ki like the rest of the team, and Gero hadn't installed any form of scanning devices into her or her brother — in hindsight, probably a deliberate design flaw given the incident with Cell — but she was feeling something off from Majin Bū.
And yet...
"He acts like such a child..." She noted aloud. "Like an infant, innocent even. Are we sure this is Majin Bū?"
"Yes..." Shin replied quietly. "These mannerisms are his, there is no doubt about it. Do not be fooled by his outward appearance, he is a terrible monster. In fact, our only hope might be Babidi's magic at this point..." The Kaiōshin inwardly cursed his own powerlessness. "Had I known the true extent of your Earthling powers — or even the Saiyans who inhabit this world — I would have come up with a different plan. But it's hopeless now..."
"Are you just going to give up?" replied 18 stubbornly. "And what, let the Universe be destroyed? Aren't you meant to be the Lord of the Universe?"
"...Even as a Kaiōshin, I'm powerless against Majin Bū..." Shin admitted ruefully. "He slaughtered my fellows, my betters, while I hid like a coward and watched the carnage. And now, eons after the fact, I am still powerless in the wake of Majin Bū..."
"Yes, you are!" Babidi cackled, having finally turned his attention to the group at large. "But you won't have to worry for too long! Bū! My first order is to execute them all!"
The words rang throughout their heads; after the minutes of dread ticked by, any of the borrowed time they had was up. The Majin crouched, much like a football player about to tackle, and launched himself forward. In that instant, he closed the gap, tackling 18 with the full force of his body, sending the lithe form of the cyborg tumbling. It was then that Tenshinhan finally realized the full scope of the situation. They weren't fighting a monster. In the instant between his movement and that physical strike, Tenshinhan felt Bū's ki spike, revealing a vast well of power that had no end.
This had to be some kind of demon god.
Elsewhere, in Earth's skies...
Over the skies of planet Earth, two golden comets were streaking, tails flaring behind them as they raced across the planet. These were, in fact, not 'comets' at all, but the young Goten and Trunks, who had departed from the Tenkaichi Budōkai, were flying full pelt, in Super Saiyan form, towards where most of their family and friends had gone off to.
They were entirely ignorant of the events that had transpired since the abrupt interruption of the Tenkaichi Budōkai, including three of their group being taken over by Babidi and the ensuing battles that had happened. Neither of the boys were skilled in detecting ki just yet, not that they lacked the ability. So, laughing and giggling, the young Super Saiyans were flying off towards danger, treating the entire thing as a field trip.
"Hey! Trunks!" Goten made a large spiral around his best friend in the air, spinning and then simply flying sideways. "What do you suppose everyone is doing right now?"
"Probably having a lot of fun without including us," the son of Vegeta replied with a simple shrug. "But just you wait! When we get there, we'll show 'em all up!"
An abrupt sensation caught their attention, causing the boys to come to a dead halt in the air, looking to their left. They were staring, wide-eyed, at the source of the ominous feeling, and they quickly recognized what it was. Ki, and it was a ki signature so huge they could feel it all the way where they were.
"It's big...really big!" said Goten excitedly, gripping his tiny fists. "Can you feel it, Trunks?! It's super super strong!"
"Yeah!" grinned the older boy with the same eye-lighting excitement. "Let's go that way! I bet you everyone else is where that really big ki is!" With an explosion of their Super Saiyan aura, the two young Saiyans took off towards the direction of the ki with childish yearning. Without their knowledge, they were heading right towards the danger.
Wasteland, Earth
18 had been sent tumbling with the kind of force she'd never imagined. She hadn't even seen him move; in fact, she may as well have blinked and suddenly a giant wall of pink had collided with her and sent her careening across the rocky ground of the wasteland. Expertly, she flipped back onto her feet, skidding along the dusty wasteland before coming to a full stop.
"His ki..." Tenshinhan watched, all three-eyes wide. "It's insane...and he's so fast...!"
"Am I really at that much of a disadvantage?" 18 asked, only having the insane force of Bū's blow to base a guess off of.
"Running is useless..." Shin offered, already sounding defeated. "We're finished!"
"Both of you need to pull yourself together!" 18 protested, uncharacteristically stubborn. It was, without a doubt, the dire situation they were in; she had no choice but to stand and fight, even if the others would not. She hadn't been willing to back down against Cell, even when the bio-android had consumed her beloved twin brother and evolved into his Second Form, and she wouldn't give up now, even when death was staring them down in the form of this Majin Bū. "You're a fighter, Tenshinhan, not a coward! Get it together!"
18's words struck home. Ever since he'd met Goku, Tenshinhan had been faced with insurmountable odds. Goku himself, numerous times Piccolo Daimaō, the Saiyans, and the Cyborgs, and finally, the Cell Games. Time and time again, he had been presented with odds that were so far out of his favour, it might have seemed ridiculous, but he faced them with his head held high. But in the end, he'd been forced to watch as Goku and others stronger fought his battles for him. That had to change. 18 was right.
"I am not a spectator! I am a warrior!" Tenshinhan shouted, a vibrant aura of white ki enveloping him in the moment, the prayer beads on his neck whipping up with the wind of his ki.
Bū, who seemed to be marching to the beat of his own drum, turned to look at Tenshinhan, a look of utter curiousity on his face.
"Bū!" crowed Babidi. "Why have you just been standing around!? Kill them!"
Tenshinhan pointed a finger towards Majin Bū, and a vibrant circle of orange ki began to form, growing ever larger as Tenshinhan focused his energy into a single point. "Shin Dodonpa!" With a cry, he unleashed a blast of yellow energy from his fingertip, larger than the average ki blast. It connected with Majin Bū, and pierced the beast in the stomach, before erupting out from his back, leaving a wide, gaping hole. Everyone's eyes grew round with shock.
Had Tenshinhan actually done it?
Fear flooded Babidi at the sight of his monster's gaping new wound. "Bū! Bū!" He trembled, approaching the Djinn. If Bū died now, everything was for naught.
Bū's face, however, was far from the expression of life leaving one's body. No, contrary to this, Bū looked angry. With a thought, the wound in his stomach healed immediately; pink flesh restored itself where there had been only air, and even his cape, which had been damaged by the blast, was restored as if by magic. The ghost of a grin that had been on Tenshinhan's face after his successful attack slid off like water.
"Regeneration!?" He'd seen this ability before, in Piccolo and Cell, but they seemed to have limits, and it was biological, in the same way a lizard regrew a tail. This...this ability was supernatural.
"You make Bū angry!" The pink creature shouted, glaring down Tenshinhan.
Tenshinhan braced himself. He had to prepare a new move, something to at the very least stall Majin Bū. But 18 moved next, unwilling to stand and do nothing when the others were fighting.
"If he can regenerate, then I'll try and aim for the head!" She thought, following sound logic; cut off the head and the body will crumble. Placing a hand above her hand, she formed a thin disc of ki, which began to spin. This was the Kienzan, the technique created by her husband; in their training sessions together, she'd picked up the move from him and refined it herself. She lobbed the disc forward, guiding the path and shifting it vertically; the disc expanded in size, and cut Bū in half right down the middle.
Then, something straight out of a horror movie happened. Before any of them could react, or even make a follow-up action, the two halves of Majin Bū sent flesh out from either half, reconnecting and quite literally pulling himself back together. And he was only looking angrier.
"You in Bū's way!" The Djinn turned his attention to the cyborg, arms swinging in anger. "Bū eat you and make you go away! Turn to jelly!" The antennae on the back of Majin Bū's head began to twitch, before it bent forward and emitted a beam of pink light. At a fairly close range, the light collided with 18, stopping her movement dead. And then, in seconds, screams erupted from her throat as the beam began to forcibly affect the woman's body. Where she had once been solid, she appeared to be melting, her form taking on a brownish hue as she quickly lost a human shape, becoming a medium-sized brown cube that fell from the air and landed in Majin Bū's hands.
She had become coffee jelly.
There was a stunned silence from Shin and Tenshinhan; the actions Bū had just taken were so unpredictable and so horrific that neither of them had the mental acuity to utter a word.
Opening wide, Bū tilted the jelly into his mouth and swallowed, like one would a cube of Jell-O. Without any resistance, 18 — or rather, the coffee jelly that had been 18 — slid down Bū's throat and into his newly reformed stomach.
In mere, horrifying moments, the woman had been consumed by the horrifying Djinn.
"What...what was that!?" Tenshinhan gaped, all of his bravado vanishing as quickly as it had come. "18...he just ate...18...!"
"You're fantastic, Bū!" cheered the mage from the sidelines. "I had no idea you had such a delectable power!"
Neither, truthfully, did Shin. When Majin Bū had come to slaughter his people, he'd showcased many abilities, but the other to turn someone into confectionery and devour them was something he'd have preferred not to see in Majin Bū's repertoire. In one day, his actions had cost him his faithful aide, Kibito, and now, one of the Earthlings who had agreed to fight by his side.
"I'm sorry, Tenshinhan, I really am..." Shin confessed, his head hung in shame. "I led us right to our death in my own arrogance, and now, Bū is going to kill us and the entire universe is doomed..."
"That might be so...but if I have to die, you can be sure I'm going to die fighting!" Tenshinhan growled, fire sparking in his black eyes. He was still horrified, he couldn't deny that; the depth of this monster's ki, and it devouring 18, made him shake with a kind of fear he didn't believe was possible. But everything had a weakness, and this thing was no different. He just had to find it.
The remaining question was: would Bū give them enough time? And the answer was a resounding no. After he finished enjoying his first meal in eons, Majin Bū once again turned his attention to Shin and Tenshinhan and charged forward. Tenshinhan responded; he had no choice, he refused to die like a weakling. He thrust his fist forward, releasing a ki wave that Bū swatted away without even slowing down. The Djinn slammed his stout foot into Tenshinhan's head, sending the three-eyed warrior careening backwards, roaring in pain.
"So fast...so strong...!" He thoughts, trying to regroup, something Majin Bū did not require. "How can a monster like this even exist? It looks like I don't even have a choice anymore...if I want any shot at destroying this thing..." He made the familiar triangle symbol in front of his body again. "I can't hold even an ounce of my power back! Shin Kikōhō!" An ungodly force emerged from Tenshinhan's body, golden yellow light slamming into Majin Bū and actually managing to force the Djinn back. The ground was entirely ruptured, as if a large square had been dragged along it in a straight path, but Tenshinhan did not let up.
"Kikōhō! Kikōhō! Kikōhō!" Shouting the name of his attack like an incantation, the blasts collided with Majin Bū with a force indescribable. The power of the Kikōhō, the Crane School's Ōgi, far outstripped most normal ki techniques. It wasn't able to damage a target stronger than the user, unlike Kuririn's Kienzan, however, its strength lay in the sheer force it packed. And Bū was feeling all of that right now, as Tenshinhan poured his soul into his efforts.
"Bū! What's going on, Bū!?" Babidi cried from the sidelines, having erected his red barrier the moment the first blow struck Bū. "Shrug it off, power through it, what are you doing!?"
But Bū seemed unable to do as commanded. The Kikōhō was hitting him with outstanding force, and his gelatinous body was being ripped to pieces. Even with his arms held up to block the blow, each flash of light rent Bū to pieces. Sweat was dripping down Tenshinhan's face, and he continued to release the Shin Kikōhō from his body, hammering Bū with ki until he could release no more. Panting, the man fell to his knees, the ground beneath him slick with his own perspiration. He propped himself up with an arm, refusing to kneel as he glared in Bū's direction with all three of his tired eyes barely opened.
His attack had done it. The Djinn was scattered into multiple pieces, each and every one of them as small as stones. The pink flesh lay on the wasteland ground, a nightmare laid to rest.
Shin didn't dare hope to laugh. Tenshinhan's efforts had been immense, and he'd never seen such resolve and strength pool out from an Earthling — or, it could be said, any being throughout the known Universe. But he had done it! "Tenshinhan! You've succeeded!" The deity croaked. "Finally, we've—"
Perhaps it would be best if Shin stopped jumping to conclusions. As soon as it hope was rekindled, a swift wind blew the embers out. The scattered pieces of flesh began to twitch, making a sickening sound as they began to converge on a single point, creating a swirling orb of pink. Just as the smoke had before, the orb began to split and take shape, and Bū emerged, fully reformed, humming to himself.
"You strong! But you not stronger than Bū!" The Djinn grinned in his childish timbre. "You make Bū mad! Bū beat you now!" Majin Bū placed his hands to his chest, forming a crude imitation of the triangle that Tenshinhan himself had created.
"He can't be—"
Tenshinan had only a moment to regret anything. There was a blinding flash, and an explosion of light, bigger in volume by far than Tenshinhan's could ever be, rocketed from Majin Bū and enveloped both the Kaiōshin and Tenshinhan. The full force of Majin Bū "Super" Shin Kikōhō rained down on the final remaining fighters. When the blast had died down, Tenshinhan himself was un-moving, his eyes whited out and body limp. Shin, miraculously, had survived the blast, but his garb was in tatters and his body wounded considerably. He barely had the strength to stand, and Majin Bū was coming for him.
Then another miracle happened. Before Bū could close the distance between him and Shin, a foot landed solidly into the Djinn's face, and sent him careening back across the wasteland. He flipped back onto his feet, the foot having left a visible imprint in his face that Bū recovered from in moments, turning to face his new threat.
"Gohan!?" Shin rasped, looking up to see Gohan, clad in his ascended Super Saiyan form, standing before him, glaring down Majin Bū.
"So this is it...?" Gohan asked, not looking at Shin. "This is Majin Bū? It's because of this that I killed Piccolo, and Erasa and Dad are fighting Videl and Vegeta?" His voice was laced with fury, and the young Super Saiyan clenched his fists, muscles flexing and forming with ki. "Now...even Tenshinhan..." Gohan cast a look over to the motionless body of his father's former rival. He couldn't sense a speck of ki from it. In a short time, Babidi's dastardly ambitious had claimed two people that Gohan cared about. "Where's 18, Kaiōshin? Wasn't she with you and Tenshinhan?"
"He...ate her," Shin explained, still not having fully come to grips with the Djinn's ability to devour others by turning them into food. "Gohan...I can't ask you to run, but be careful! His antennae has a terrifying ability, and he can regenerate from any wound. If I had to be truthful, he's invincible..."
"Then I'll have to place everything on a chance...!" Gohan growled. "HAH!" He shouted to the heavens, powering up. Even after his fight with Piccolo, his ki was rising. Gohan was furious, livid with Babidi at everything he caused. His friends were dying, and right now, he had a chance to stop it. Shin could only watch in astonishment; Gohan looked ragged, he was beaten and bruised, and Shin knew that Gohan's fight with Piccolo had to have taken a toll on him, both mentally and physically. And yet here he was, standing and ready to fight as if nothing had happened. How could an Earthling have so much power?
"Bū!" Gohan snarled. "Stay still, bastard! I'm coming for you!"
Bū grinned, his eyes opening wide. "You look strong! You fight Bū!"
Gohan launched himself from where he stood, blasting a crater into the ground with his ki. Like a golden meteor, the half-Saiyan dashed towards Bū, slamming a fist hard into his tubby pink face. Before he could respond, Gohan slammed a foot into the Djinn's belly, and unleashed a barrage of physical blows on Bū. However, they all seemed to bounce off as if he was striking rubber. Any blow that made contact was quickly healed, impressions removed and damage nullified.
"How sturdy is he!?" Gohan thought, irritation rushing through him as his inability to make a dent. "I thought it was odd that my kick did nothing...but he's not even feeling this!" The Super Saiyan took a step back, attempting to formulate a plan. Physical attacks seemed worthless, but the Kaiōshin had said Bū could regenerate from anything. "They must have already tried kiattacks as well...!" Gohan grimaced. Tenshinhan and Shin were down. 18 was killed. And Bū hadn't even made a move. Was he fighting a monster?
And when Bū did move, Gohan felt it. On his way, he'd knew he felt a ki surge, but now that he was up close, it no longer felt like ki. When Bū lunged, slamming his pink fist into the boy's stomach, he realized he was staring into an abyss that had no end. He'd come, entirely unprepared, to fight a monster nothing like he'd ever seen. He felt intense pressure and pain on the side of his head; Bū had slammed both his hands onto Gohan's hand like a cymbal, and he was hearing the ringing in his head to match.
"Go on, Bū!" came Babidi's voice from a distance. "Give it to 'em!"
In an effort to fight back, Gohan crushed his elbow into Bū's face, which healed almost instantly after it caved in.
"You weak! You bother me! Bū make you disappear!" The Djinn replied menacingly, his eyes opening once again to reveal the merciless black irises. He thrust both hands in front of himself, and there was a flash of light that quickly took shape. It became as round as a sphere, enveloping Gohan in its terrifying, blinding white light. There was a scream of pain, and he shot off like a meteor, far into the horizon. He traveled so far in so short a time that the sphere now simply resembled a star, even the sun.
"Gohan...no...!" Shin watched the sphere fly off with what had been his last hope, and his eyes flashed, releasing a brilliantly powerful kiai. It ruptured the sphere, causing it to explode far into the distance. Gohan, unconscious, and no longer a Super Saiyan, fell to the ground in a dense, lush forest. "Gohan...you need...to live..." whispered Shin. He felt weak, strength rushing from his body as blackness overtook him.
Elsewhere, in Earth's skies...
Just out of the Teufel Mountain Range, Erasa was flying as quickly as she could through the sky, encumbered by the weight of her unconscious friend, and her generally depleted stores of ki. Her ability to sense ki was diminished as well, but as she flew, she could feel an immense energy spiking and then shrinking, only to spike once more, Furthermore, she could now feel another strong ki among them. As quickly as she could move, she was heading in that direction, and had been for quite some time.
Woosh!
With a rush of wind, and a surprising brightness, something else caught Erasa's attention. A sphere had rushed directly past her at such intense speeds it would have killed her if she had been directly in front of it. Before she could even voice her confusion, the sphere exploded in an even brighter flash, and a figure fell from it, descending into the lush forest below her.
"What in the...?" A mixture of curiousity and dread overtook Erasa, and she changed course. Turning to follow the trail of the ki blast, the girl descended where the figure fell. Something wasn't right, and she had to check it out. It wasn't logic, it was merely a sixth sense calling out to here, compelling her to move. She knew now that didn't need to be heading towards the large ki. The forest had something for her instead.
A/N: This was quite a chapter, wasn't it? I'll be honest, at first, I did not know what I was going to do for Majin Bū's introduction. There was no Dābura to use as an example, so I was actually at a loss. Then I remembered, hey, this is my story, and I got quite a surge of inspiration that carried me on over the past two days I started this chapter to write it. And suffice to say, I really enjoyed this chapter. It was quite an eventful one too; Tenshinhan and 18 make their stand against Bū. What surprised even ME was the turn of events this chapter. 18 and Tenshinhan getting killed off was not something even I originally anticipated. This chapter was going to be much shorter, and part of chapter 34, but I'm so glad I split it in two. Also, yes, to people curious, I did deliberately use the line from Dragon Ball Z Abridged for Tenshinhan because, right there, it fit so well.
So, I have heard Shin can sense ki. However, as far as my story is concerned, he can't, because in the ACTUAL SERIES, this man judged people more by their appearance than their abilities so I highly doubt he has any proficiency in sensing ki, even if he can do it.
Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter! It's only gonna get more serious from here on out! As always, thank you to Demod20 for helping me proof it and make it shipshape for everyone!