Palace of God, Room of Spirit and Time
The door to the Room of Spirit and Time shut, and the figure began to flow a vibrant bright hue; the single figure split into two, revealing the forms of Goten and Trunks. Wiping sweat from his brow, Trunks inclined his head towards his friend.
"Think that was a big enough beacon?" inquired the young heir to Capsule Corporation.
"Yeah," replied Goten. "He'll come. And we're going to win."
Trunks wasn't used to seeing Goten so serious. He'd lost count of how many days they'd been inside here — ten? Fifteen? — but Goten's demeanor hadn't regressed back to his usual cheerful self. If anything, it had become stonier. And when they fused, it was rubbing off on Trunks; he could feel all of Goten's frustration. It wasn't that he couldn't relate; he hated Majin Bū for killing Vegeta. But he realized now there was a difference between knowing someone had died and seeing them die right before your eyes.
Still, with Goten and him fused, they would avenge their family, and save the world.
Palace of God, Earth's Skies
Bū shot up above the Palace of God like a rocket, his aura dispersing, floating above the Palace to shocked and terrified gasps.
"H-He's here!" gasped Kuririn, taking a stance as Majin Bū floated down onto the tiles. "You monster! Where's Piccolo?!"
"Ah, yes," the Majin replied, his eyes looking aside, off the Palace of God, as if he could see into the crater where he'd left the Namekian's broken body. "He's...probably not okay."
"Wh-What do you want?" Yamcha ventured tentatively.
"My strong fighter," replied Bū. "I know he's here. I felt his power. Show me where he is."
"B-But, he still needs time to get ready," interjected Bulma. "Please, just a little more ti-"
"NOW!" yelled Majin Bū. "TAKE ME TO HIM NOW!"
"I-I'll do it," Dende volunteered quickly. "Please, just calm down and follow me. The fighter is this way."
Grinning devilishly, knowing he had gotten his way, Majin Bū followed the God of Earth into the deeper recesses of the Palace. Turning inward, he lead Majin Bū down a flight of stairs, resolving to take the Djinn the long way through his palace, to put a few additional grains of sand into the boys' proverbial hourglass. Descending the many flights of steps, Dende focused his mind to link towards Trunks and Goten — communication across dimensions, a specialty of the gods.
"Goten! Trunks! Can you hear me? It's me, Dende!"
"I can! It's Goten!"
"Where's Trunks?"
"Sleeping."
"Good. Listen, I'm bringing Majin Bū to you, but I'm going to take the long way. This should give you enough time to rest and recuperate, to be ready for the fight! You don't have much time; please, hurry!"
Cutting off the mental link, Dende began to take Majin Bū up a new flight of stairs, and then down another. He made his way towards the last staircase when Majin Bū's final vestiges of patience appears to be wearing off.
"I think you're stalling," growled the Djinn.
"I assure you, this is the way there," replied Dende. "Just a little more patience, please." They continued climbing, and Dende did not need to regret his decision to lead Majin Bū the longer way. Before Bū's patience could truly wear thin, they approached the door that led into the Room of Spirit and Time. The entire detour had taken enough time that he afforded the boys' several additional hours — were they merely postponing their eventual deaths, however, remained to be seen.
"We're here," said Dende, gripping the door's handle firmly. One second — six minutes — two seconds — twelve minutes — three seconds —eighteen minutes. He couldn't stall much longer. Offering a fervent prayer to the heavens, the God of Earth opened the door and gestured towards Majin Bū to enter. "Your opponent is in there."
The Djinn grinned, and stepped past Dende into the Room of Spirit and Time. Dende closed the door behind Bū, and tried to ignore the nervous feeling in the pit of his gut. That feeling was quickly replaced by another feeling, however; surprise. Ki. A strong ki signature. And it was coming directly from Karin's Tower. Could he still dare hope?
With this feeling, Dende gripped the door to the Room and let it open once more. He was placing everything on this gamble.
Palace of God, Room of Spirit and Time
Stepping over the threshold into the Room of Spirit and Time, Majin Bū looked around. he noted the place felt and looked very odd. Walking forward, the two figures of Goten and Trunks crossed into his field of vision.
"So, it's you two," he said, inclining his head to the side. "I remember you from before. But where is my strong fighter? I could feel it here — a gigantic power. Has he gone into hiding, little boys?"
"Don't count on it!" replied Trunks, grinning. "The strong fighter you're after—"
"—is right here!"
With all of their training behind them, Goten and Trunks assumed the Fusion stance. Memorized correctly, the boys executed each and every stance flawlessly. Their movements in sync and perfectly timed, they stretched their bodies out to the opposing sides, extended their left legs, and their fingers touched. At the point of impact, both bodies began to glow an impressive bright light. Goten and Trunks' forms were immersed in this light, obscuring them from Majin Bū's vision. Within the massive sphere of light, a new figure was formed, and limbs began to make themselves known.
The light died down, revealing a young man of similar height to Trunks. Incredibly well-built, despite his age, he had stern black eyes, and hair that stood upright, in dual tones of black and lavender. Two bangs framed his face, and he wore a unique attire; a blue vest with yellow accents, white gi pants tied with a blue obi off to the side, and thick black shoes with dark blue wrappings.
Majin Bū's eyes widened, and a smile crept onto his face; a practical Glasgow smile that would have unnerved anyone else. "There you are — my strong fighter! You're the one I've been waiting so long for!"
"You sure seem excited," replied the fused Saiyan, speaking in the double timbre of Goten and Trunks' voices. "We haven't even started and you're underestimating Gotenks!" Gotenks took a stance, extending his right leg, placing the weight onto his left. The boy raised his left arm above his hand, placing his right arm in front of him. The time was now. With this fight, he would kill Majin Bū, avenging Chichi and Vegeta.
Majin Bū took a stance — Gotenks recognized it as Piccolo's, having seen Gohan adopt a similar stance at numerous points — and readied himself for battle.
There was a brief moment of tension, with both fighters sizing the other up. Gotenks' had a slight smile on face, even though his eyes stared daggers at Majin Bū...and then he was the first to move. He launched off the white space of the Room of Spirit and Time, barreling towards the Djinn. With a wide leap, he slammed his leg into the demonic creature's face; Bū's entire body jiggled with the force, but was otherwise unperturbed.
Bū responded with a powerful elbow swipe, striking the boy in the torso, sending the young Saiyan careening backwards. Gotenks flipped onto his hands, back-flipping back against the stainless white ground of the Room of Spirit and Time. In this instance of an opening, Bū had dashed across the Room, appearing in front of Gotenks as if by magic. He thrust his fist forward, and Gotenks was caught wide-eyed...only for Majin Bū's fist to harmlessly pass through Gotenks, who now appeared to be a flickering hologram.
"You missed me, didn't you?" shouted Gotenks, slamming his foot directly into the Djinn's face with a surprise attack from the side. Unlike his first attack, this next one found purchase — a clever use of the Zanzōken to distract Majin Bū worked wonders. "I thought you were supposed to be strong," chided the child with a dark grin. "I know I'm going to kill you, but you shouldn't go out of your way to make it easy for me."
Catching his balance with ease, Majin Bū turned to glare at the boy. The dent that the child had made in his face swelled back to its former shape, and his demonic eyes narrowed. "You are strong after all — but watch yourself, little boy. Don't make me angry."
"Angry?" replied Gotenks, his black eyes burning. "My Dad fought you to the death! I watched you kill my mother! You don't know what angry is, Bū!" With a shout, the boy's aura began to flare, and he dashed forward once more. Having enough intelligence to lead the fight away from the doorway — which, to his muted surprise, was gaping wide — Gotenks swung his right leg forward, only for Majin Bū to catch his leg in his forearm, and throw the boy into the infinite abyss of the sky.
Flying upwards at immense speed, Gotenks barely registered the fact that Majin Bū was rocketing after him. It was clear on one thing at least — base form wasn't going to cut it. Channeling ki throughout his body, Gotenks let out a mighty yell, and an explosion of yellow ki erupted from him. His dual-toned hair was bathed in this golden light, and his eyes became vibrant emeralds. The locks of hair that framed his face were violently flapping in the wind of his aura, and Bū stopped dead in surprise.
"Say hello to Super Gotenks!"
Like a golden meteor, Gotenks shot downward, slamming his entire body into Majin Bū's torso. The blow rocketed through the Djinn's form, and he crashed into the ground with a gigantic explosion. Gotenks, continuing to move in his streak of golden light, pursued, only to be taken entirely by surprise when a pink extended arm shot forward and grabbed him by the throat. His entire body was forced upwards and thrown to the side, with Majin Bū standing up again, undamaged by the blow.
"So you can get even stronger?" grinned the creature, recalling his arm back to its regular length. "Yes! Just like that man with the wild hair! 'Super Saiyan'!"
Gotenks briefly recalled his father's fight with the original form of Majin Bū; it only made sense that he would remember the form, but Gotenks was surprised that there were enough brain cells in there to recall the name. But what perturbed the young warrior more was the fact that a full power, full body blow had done nothing to even damage Majin Bū.
"You're a tough one," grumbled Gotenks, obviously upset. "Alright then, let's see how you like this one!" Gotenks raised a hand above his head, pointing a finger to the sky. Drawing a circle in above his head, it formed a golden ring — a halo, but far too large — before compressing itself into a manageable size. "Galactica Doughnuts!" Thrusting his arm forward, he launched the halo forward. When it hovered directly over Bū — who looked up at it in confusion — Gotenks used both his arms to expand the size of the halo, before bringing it down and compressing it, binding Majin Bū at the limbs.
"I'll squeeze you 'till you pop!" shouted Gotenks.
Majin Bū's face contorted; the halo was putting pressure on his body, and an uncomfortable amount at that. And Gotenks just appeared to be strengthening it like a vice-grip. But just when Gotenks was about to deliver the coup de grâce, Majin Bū's pained expression became a grin of malice, and he forcibly stretched the halo apart until it split; ki shot everywhere, and Majin Bū was free again.
Gotenks' eyes widened in surprise; when he made that move up several days ago, he had assumed it was unbreakable.
Majin Bū, apparently, disagreed.
Lifting off his feet, the Djinn rushed towards Gotenks, and Gotenks reciprocated. Lifting high into the air, they clashed; fist struck fist, knee struck knee, and blows were parried. However, no matter how hard Gotenks pushed, he seemed to be unable to deal any lasting damage; every time he made an impact, Bū brushed it of, striking back harder and harder — and with frighteningly more sophisticated blows each time. A powerful backhand struck Gotenks' face, knocking him back and stinging something fierce. Coating the edge of his feet in yellow ki, Gotenks leapt into the air, kicking multiple times.
"Croissant Cutter!"
Multiple, crescent shaped constructs of ki were shot from the young warrior's feet. They meshed together into a single blast, colliding with Majin Bū and ripping the pink menace into multiple shreds. Landing onto his feet, Gotenks watched the pieces fall to the ground, and allowed a grin to cross his face.
"And just like that — I win!"
Gotenks did not have the time to celebrate, however; the pieces began to move, and converge on each other. They formed a humanoid mass, and the form of Majin Bū was recreated in record speed — and he looked furious.
"Oh man, he can regenerate!?" gasped Gotenks, eyes wide in shock.
A vein throbbed in Majin Bū's forehead, and steam issued from the multiple holes all over his body. "Stupid! Little! Boy! You're making me very angry! Bū will kill you!"
"Not if I kill you first," shot back Gotenks. Now that he knew Majin Bū could regenerate, it was clear that he had to go all out. With his strongest form, he would defeat Majin Bū and put and end to everything. Taking a stance, Gotenks clenched his fists, and began to emit a very powerful ki. Bio-electricity crackled around his entire body, and his hair began to grow more rigid and spikier. His golden aura burst to life, erupting around him in a geyser of ki. Crying into the heavens, he completed the transformation: his hair was completely rigid, with only a single lock hanging down over his head. Electricity crackled and snapped, and Gotenks was shining brighter than ever.
"Check it out, Majin Bū!" crowed the boy. "This is Super Gotenks 2!" The Super Saiyan 2 form — the form he'd unlocked when he watched his mother killed right before his eyes. "I'm gonna beat you down!"
"You can shine as bright as you want," snapped Majin Bū. "It won't make any difference! I will crush you — and enjoy it!"
They exploded towards each other, and Gotenks made the first strike. His fist slammed directly into Majin Bū's face, stunning him long enough for Gotenks to grab Majin Bū by the throat, forcibly sending him towards the ground. "Double Palm Press!" Leaping down, Gotenks pressed both palms onto Majin Bū's chest with great force. Majin Bū was winded, and Gotenks slammed his foot into the chin of the Djinn, sending him flying like a rocket.
Recovering quickly, Bū regained his balance and slid along the pristine white floor of the Room. Rubbing his chin, he growled in anger. Gotenks was plowing towards Bū, and the Djinn opened his mouth wide. A gigantic wave of ki, pink in colour, was expelled from his gullet. Gotenks was engulfed in the rose wave of plasma, washed away in the mass of ki. When the wave and smoke cleared, Gotenks was standing, alive but wounded and frazzled — and also angry.
The two fighters' fury was reaching their boiling point — the young Saiyan and the eons old demon. Moving at speeds so intense they practically disappeared, the two reappeared in the sky above the Room, clashing with enough force to shake the ground — if there was truly anything physically there. When Majin Bū struck Gotenks in the face, Gotenks retaliated with a punch to the gut. In a short time, Gotenks' tenacity and sheer power output in Super Saiyan 2 proved to be enough to turn the match in his favour.
Vanishing with a surprise Zanzōken, Gotenks shot upwards with a powerful uppercut. Bū wasn't one to be deterred, however, and struck Gotenks with an elbow blow. Gotenks vanished, landing an axe kick onto Bū's forehead when he reappeared. Retaliating with a roundhouse kick, Majin Bū sent Gotenks flying backwards. Breathing heavily, Gotenks forcibly stopped his flight with ki.
"It's over, Majin Bū!" cried the Super Saiyan. "I know you're getting tired! And now I'm going to wipe you out — I'll blow you into dust and then you won't even be able to regenerate from that!" Thrusting a palm forward, Gotenks released a yellow kikōha at Majin Bū.
"Do you really think that you can beat me with that basic technique?" Bū braced himself, and the blast collided with him in a moderate explosion. Within the dust, however, he felt a powerful blow to his head, and was sent careening towards the ground. The Djinn cursed himself — this was nearly identical to the ploy he'd used to defeat Piccolo!
Crashing into the ground, he heard the voice of Gotenks above him.
"Galactica Dozen Doughnuts!" Extended his hands, he fired multiple halo-shaped constructs — not exactly twelve, but he still thought the same sounded good — towards Majin Bū. They collided to the ground with an audible metallic sound, and Bū was bound to the white ground of the Room of Spirit and Time by Gotenks' special binding technique.
"Get...them...off...me!" Bū growled, trying to force his way free like he had earlier.
Gotenks placed both hands by his side, and began to charge yellow spheres of ki within each of them. They crackled with powerful electricity; the ki condensed into these spheres would be able to destroy the planet easily, had they been fighting out there on Earth. This was why he chose the Room of Spirit and Time as his venue — to release his Ultimate Secret Technique without worrying about the Earth. Cupping his hands to his side, the spheres began to glow with a blue outline, adding to their yellow hue. "This is it, Majin Bū! VICTORY KAMEHAMEHA!"
Thrusting his palms forward, Gotenks released a powerful wave of energy, yellow in hue, with blue waves of ki wrapping around it like sentient lightning. The blast practically erupted from his palms, racing downward towards the pinned form of Majin Bū. It collided with the ground in a gargantuan, spherical explosion, encompassing the entire figure of Majin Bū and kilometres of the ground. The glowing sphere of energy persisted for a full minute, creating powerful winds before it began to die down.
He descended to the ground, breath truly ragged now, and his hair changed back from golden to its dual hue of black and lavender. The bangs that framed his face fell forward again, and Gotenks hit the ground on a single knee. That attack — the Victory Kamehameha, composed of the Victory Cannon and Super Kamehameha that his individual components could use — was his strongest and most devastating technique, but it also used up too much ki.
"In the end...I could only use it in Super Saiyan 2..." the boy muttered to himself. "But I did it...Mom...Dad...I killed him..." The sphere had died down completely, and all that was left of Bū were ashes. Even his Galactica Doughnuts hadn't survived that blast; they'd most likely been destroyed before Majin Bū had been incinerated. During even the most intense training sessions, fused or otherwise, he hadn't felt this exhausted. His entire body felt like jelly, and he didn't even have the ki to fly. With a final breath, Gotenks' form began to glow brightly, and he split apart into the two forms of Goten and Trunks, both of whom were equally worn.
"We..."
"...did it..."
They flashed each other exhausted smiles — the first time Trunks had seen Goten smile in days.
"Did what?"
A chilling voice shook them out of their celebratory mood, and the boys turned to look at the pile of ashes, which was beginning to rise. Without even the ki to use the most basic attacks, the boys could only watch in horror as the ashes began to waft upwards into the sky. They formed a humanoid shape, which became clearly defined as the form of Majin Bū returned. Hovering upside down, the Djinn looked down upon Goten and Trunks in absolute fury.
"I warned you...not to make me angry!"
When these words escaped the Djinn's throat in an angry growl, a single foot stepped over the the threshold into the open door of the Room of Spirit and Time.
A/N: So this one surprised even me. A chapter three days after the previous one? Well, four now, I think? Yeah, it actually happened. Either I felt guilty about the two month delay, really wanted to get to the chapter after this one, wanted to go through Gotenks quick, or maybe all three in some way, it happened. It's actually a Christmas miracle — four months late, so about as late as my chapters.
So yes, I did a LOT of adjusting to Gotenks here. Since Chichi's death, Goten unlocked Super Saiyan 2, he became the stronger person both power-wise and personality-wise, the form is more influenced by Goten now than Trunks. You see it in his hair, which is more like Vegetto than Gotenks, as well as his stance, which anyone who knows Dragon Ball would recognize as one of Goku's Turtle School stances. I also tried to make him a little more serious — due to the fact that Goten is still furious — but the essence of what makes Gotenks him is still there; i.e. ridiculous move names and the creativity of his techniques. I was hungry when I made "Croissant Cutter", which was based on the technique used by Cabba in the opening for Dragon Ball Super.
The Victory Kamehameha is a favorite of mine; Trunks' signature move, the "Big Tree Cannon" (ビクトリーキャノン Bikutorī Kyanon) can actually be translated as the "Victory Cannon", which is a name I prefer to the "Big Tree Cannon", so I opted for that instead. And yes, "Galactica Doughnuts" is the actual name, the dub dropped an "a" for whatever reason.
The ending of the chapter is my particular favorite moment. Ending things with a foot is a trademark of Tite Kubo from BLEACH, and I wanted to fight a way to put that in a written form. Bite me, I managed it. As always, thank Demod20 for proofreading and making sure this was ship shape! I'll see you guys in the next exciting chapter of the Erased Chronicles!