Chapter 20: In which the villains have pun names after that Cinderella song!

/

After being reassured that Gohan would be taken care of, we were off.

Vegeta had been more than upset about our last-minute departure, but followed anyway—as did Piccolo and Krillin.

The five of us had been flying together at a moderately fast pace for a few minutes. Palm trees bowed as we passed over islands, and trails of parted water followed the path of our clustered energies.

We were gaining on the Supreme Kai, and soon he was visible on the horizon.

Once within hearing range, Goku called out, "Hey, wait!" from beside me.

When we were surrounding the petite deity, the Supreme Kai responded with, "I'm glad you decided to come!" As fast as we were flying, he had to speak up. "And thank you! Without all of your help, I would not be able to defeat them!"

…Those two thugs?

As Goku flanked the left side of the Kai, his eyes widened in disbelief. "You need us? To beat those two?"

"No, it's not Spopovich and Yamu that concern me… it's the wizard controlling them."

As we slowly began angling into the clouds, I tossed a skeptical look to my right, past Goku, where Shin was. The brief mist of the cloud we flew through caused me to narrow my eyes.

And so the god began explaining the history of an evil being; a "Majin Buu"—a monster controlled by the malevolent wizard "Bibidi" some thousands of years ago. The creature was detailed to have no conscious—a killing machine that was set on the systematic destruction of all living things in the universe.

Bibidi traveled the galaxies with his creature... Occasionally the wizard would use a spell that put it to sleep if he was having difficulty controlling it. Apparently Earth had been the last place that Majin Buu was put into slumber… and with the Wizard Bibidi having been taken care of, the Kai left the harmless creature alone, to sleep for eternity…

But… the evil wizard's son had arrived to continue where the father had left off; to revive his monster using Gohan's energy and continue their quest of death and destruction.

And this monster, this "Majin Buu", had killed four of the five Grand Kais… who had all been a thousand times stronger than that old tyrant, Frieza.

The comparison to Frieza was sobering. I inhaled and exhaled deeply, turning my uneasy gaze straight ahead. 'Granted, we'd all make Frieza look like a joke now… But I'm not sure if I can accurately calculate my power level against that… and Majin Buu is stronger yet.'

I was sure that if we didn't handle business in a timely manner, we'd have something incredibly nasty on our hands…

We had strayed quite a ways from civilization, crossing over oceans and valleys, volcanoes even, dipping in and out of clouds the entire flight.

Eventually another voice called from behind us, "HEY DAD, WE'RE HERE!"

I held my bangs aside as I turned onto my back, flying backwards, and grinned at the completely renewed teenager. "Welcome back!"

Gohan, accompanied by Kibito, waved with both hands as he joined our ranks.

I rolled back around to fly properly as Goku exclaimed, "It's about time you caught up!"

And not too late, as we were closing in on the two energy thieves. They were visible, but hadn't noticed us.

The Supreme Kai tilted his chin up. "Look, they're landing."

I squinted at the mountainous terrain. That was all there was—mountains. And some grass.

Nobody else among us saw anything notable either, prompting Kibito to voice his confusion over the location; him and the Kai had already checked the area beforehand.

The eight of us touched down near the peak of a large, rocky formation that overlooked a small, green clearing. The Supreme Kai then instructed that we suppress our power levels to avoid detection.

Doing as he asked, I stood behind the crouching Kai. We were just below Goku, who was kneeling on top of a boulder to our right. The others were to my left.

Down below, Spopovich and Yamu had landed in front of what looked like a small dome. Another person—a very obvious alien—was standing at the doorway.

Goku craned his neck. "Is that Babidi? The one on the left?"

"No, it's not," The Supreme Kai answered. "It's one of his minions."

That's when Goku pointed out that the grounds around the area seemed disturbed, like it'd been recently dug up—something I had dismissed because there was a small, abandoned, human home off to the side. It could've been their doing.

But Kibito gasped at a sudden revelation. "That's why we couldn't find his spaceship when we were flying over! He buried the whole thing underground!"

My bottom lip inched forward as I studied the ground below. The area missing grass was centered around the small dome… and not the human house…

The Supreme Kai nodded gravely. "And that means… there's a chance Babidi has learned that Kibito and I have followed him here to Earth, otherwise there would be no reason to hide his ship!"

Piccolo voiced his desire to go on the offensive right then and there, but the Kai decided against it, claiming that Babidi would want to awaken Majin Buu outside as to avoid damaging their ship. We would strike then.

But someone else was emerging from the spaceship…

We all crouched a little lower to the rocks, watching quietly, until the Kai suddenly gasped, staring horror-stricken at the two figures that exited the small dome.

The first one was a towering, pink-skinned male in a blue jumpsuit and cape. He resembled Earthling depictions of the devil, but with a beard.

The second… I had to squint my eyes, leaning forward somewhat. They were small—maybe only two feet tall; an alien whose body mass seemed to be mostly cranium from outside of the robes he donned.

Kibito gasped as well, exclaiming in his gruff voice, "Dabura!"

"What is he doing here?" Questioned the small god.

Who was he?

Apparently the king of demons, as per Kibito's incredulous whispers.

Goku asked, "Which one is Dabura?" and the Supreme Kai finally designated him as the tall one.

I'd thought so… He looked demonic, alright.

"Is he strong?" Goku inquired.

"Of course he's strong. He is the king of the demon world..!"

Gohan then inquired as to the small one's identity, to which the Kai confirmed that it was indeed Babidi.

"And he is the most dangerous of them all. Remember, it is not his size you must concern yourself with—it's his magic!"

I folded my arms over the rock I was half laying over as the Kai and his assistant explained just how dangerous Babidi could be; that he'd used his magic to take control of Dabura, and that any one of us could be susceptible to the same if the wizard sensed any ounce of darkness in our hearts.

My eyebrows met in a furrow as I watched the evil-doers below make pleasantries. 'Well that's no good… I've done some pretty bad things in the past… but my head's always been in the right place… Is that what counts?'

I hoped that's what would count… especially since I knew I wasn't the only one present with a spotty past.

Yamu was handing the encased energy over to Babidi, while my brother was arrogantly proclaiming that he'd take on the whole lot of them if we were too scared.

I arched an eyebrow at his words, my eyes never leaving the transaction taking place below us.

Babidi had turned his back on the two henchmen we were familiar with, but soon rounded on them again, eyes clearly flashing red. I could see it perfectly despite the daylight and distance.

And only a short second later did Spopovich begin hollering in pain, his body contorting oddly—growing—his entire body bulging disgustingly.

We could hear his agonizing screams just as plainly, until his engorged body exploded.

My eyes actually widened and I unconsciously looked up at Goku, then to my left where the others were. They were all gaping at the spectacle. This excluded my brother, however, who watched with a steady, unaffected gaze.

Babidi and his two other henchmen then turned their sights onto Yamu, who took off without another word. But, the nameless henchmen, dressed in black, with a skull extending back like a large banana, shot the man down with ease, leaving no trace whatsoever when the smoke cleared.

I shook my head, grimacing somewhat.

Everyone else was gasping as Gohan cried out in disbelief, "What kind of people—kill their own partners?!"

I bowed my head, jaw clenching at the teenager's words. "…Ruthless people, Gohan…" I finally murmured, knowing this scene all too well.

I knew Vegeta did, too.

Gohan growled angrily as Babidi and the nameless minion retreated inside, leaving Dabura standing alone.

Goku made a questioning noise. "Why is Dabura just standing outside by himself?"

I tried to lower myself as much as possible when I saw the Demon King's head turn in our direction. "He's not looking at us, is he..?"

Without warning, a swirl of energy surrounded Dabura's feet, the Supreme Kai gasped, and my brother cried out, "HE KNOWS THAT WE'RE HERE!"

Faster than I'd expected, Dabura flew up to us—my jaw dropped. In less than two seconds his hand was an inch from Kibito's face, and he blasted the Kai's assistant point-blank.

It happened so suddenly—the Supreme Kai yelling his comrade's name—but Kibito was gone, no trace left of him but the fading echo of his last, dying screams.

The pace didn't falter there, no. Goku lunged at the Demon King a second later, easily dodged, and I jumped to my feet. Vegeta swung next, several of his punches being blocked before Dabura moved away and—

"Eat—THIS!" I chucked a quickly-formed ball of energy at the pink fiend, the on-contact explosion causing him to be shrouded in smoke.

Vegeta landed next to me, growling. I stood, breath bated and arm still outstretched as the smoke dissipated.

Dabura was hovering in the same spot, forearms shielding his face. When he lowered them to look down at us, his expression was… so very smug…

My lip curled in disgust.

He was looking over each of us with large, devious cat eyes… until they settled on the area to my far left.

'What's he planning..?'

Before I could comprehend—it was so odd and unexpected—Dabura had leaned forward and—spit on Krillin's face?

The Supreme Kai shouted a warning, but Krillin had already been hit with the saliva… "Oh no..! I should've warned them!"

I turned to the Kai. "About what?"

But the Supreme Kai could only stare, horror-stricken, as Piccolo charged Dabura and was also spit on.

I grabbed the deity's shoulder in alarm. "Sir—is that an attack?!"

Surely the demon wasn't just… demeaning us in such a way!

A pained scream—Krillin's pained screams—caught my attention. I spun around, and a horrified gasp escaped my lips.

His face and extremities were being covered in some sort of grey substance. He was stiffening, and his voice was beginning to sound as if it were traveling through a tunnel. It wasn't until the substance had nearly covered his entire body, and he'd stopped moving, did I realize—

"No…" I whispered in disbelief, shaking my head slowly, eyes wide.

And the same was happening to Piccolo. When Goku hurried to reach the namekian, Piccolo, like Krillin, had become a perfectly frozen statue.

Goku spun back around, desperately questioning, "What's happening to them?!"

The Supreme Kai replied, voice wavering, "…Turned… to stone..!"

"Huh?!"

"It's one of Dabura's powers…" The Kai elaborated. "Anything he spits on turns to stone!"

As he explained that there was nothing we could do for them, Goku ran back to Piccolo anyway, prompting the petite god to raise his voice in sharp warning. "Wait—Goku! Don't TOUCH HIM!"

"Why not?!"

"If we touch either of them now they might break!" He exclaimed, holding a hand out. "And then there's no possible way to put them back together!"

A deep, evilly-humored laughter echoed across the cliffs.

I sucked in a sharp breath, wheeling back around to face our enemy.

"I leave you one chance to run!" Dabura called as he floated away. "Take it! Unless you'd rather end up like your friends…" He cast us one final, devilish look-over before taking off and disappearing into the entrance of their space ship.

…

It had been settled amongst us saiyans that we'd take the bait and follow Dabura into the ship to defeat him and the wizard; thus returning Piccolo and Krillin to their normal states and preventing Majin Buu's revival.

The Supreme Kai had stayed on the cliffside, berating us for our rushed tactics whilst we made our way down.

But I wasn't worried. The display on the rocks had been fractions of a fraction of what we were capable of.

The four of us were huddled in front of the open doorway, peering down into a black abyss.

I blinked slowly, crossing my arms. "Well… that looks like it's going to lead to something dramatic…"

Gohan nodded. "Yeah…right?" he agreed quietly.

The walls that led down were lined with minimal lighting, just enough for us to actually be able to tell the path led downwards and we weren't just staring into a black room.

Goku looked back at the three of us. "Okay, let's go."

Both Gohan and I replied "Right" as Vegeta grunted.

We descended into the darkness one by one; Goku, Gohan, me, and my brother.

After a moment I asked, "Do you all think the Supreme Kai is overestimating these men? The lackeys I mean…"

Vegeta let out a short bark of a laugh, his voice somewhat echoing from just above me. "If there's one thing that's painfully clear, it's that he's underestimating the power of a saiyan!"

Goku added, "Yeeeah… I don't feel like these guys are going to be as tough as he says they are."

I was about to reply, but a sudden pulling sensation on my body stopped me, and we appeared—transported—into a circular room (that was adequately lit).

"Oh," I mumbled instead, blinking rapidly at the change in brightness. "This is a letdown…" Hooking my thumbs into the waistband of my shorts, I pouted.

Gohan commented, "This place doesn't look much like a spaceship…" as we took in our surroundings.

Meanwhile Goku frowned at the lack of reception. "Hey, there's nobody here..! I thought they'd be waiting for a fight!"

Just then the Supreme Kai fazed into the room, landing lightly on his feet with his back to us.

The orange-clad saiyan grinned at his arrival, emitting a light laugh. "So, you couldn't resist the draw of a good fight after all, huh?"

The God turned to him with a stern expression, fists clenched at his sides. "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into!"

Mechanical noises drew our gazes upward; the ceiling was closing up, preventing us from going anywhere.

My eyes narrowed.

"Once inside this ship," the Supreme Kai began, "there's no way out! Our only hope of escape now is to destroy Babidi!"

Well…

Goku laughed sheepishly at his words. "That is what we came to do… isn't it?"

The Kai was far from amused.

It was the plan, though…

Vegeta smirked. "I'll solve all our problems and blow this place into oblivion!"

"No you won't!" The Supreme Kai shot back, his frustration evident. "The sudden shock could accidentally set Majin Buu free!"

This seemed to quell my brother's smug attitude.

I let out a tired sigh and faced the short deity. "It wouldn't take much for me to short circuit this entire ship." I rubbed my hands together and pulled them apart, visible lines of electricity stretching from palm to palm. "How about I—"

"NO!"

My eyes widened in shock, the crackling electricity dissipating from between my hands.

"ARE NONE OF YOU HEARING ME?" Fists shaking, the Supreme Kai forced himself to close his eyes and take a deep breath before speaking again. "The degree to which you've underestimated him is astounding!"

We each stood silently as he berated us; Gohan looking down, Goku scratching his head, and my brother and me sharing a look.

"Don't you understand? Even at a fraction of his full power, Majin Buu could annihilate this entire planet and all of its inhabitants in an instant—he can't be stopped!"

I folded my arms over my chest, looking away. 'I know Majin Buu is to be feared, but if Shin would just let us take care of these other guys and be over with it—it's not like we're children that don't know how to control a situation…' I glanced at Vegeta, remembering his suggestion to blow the whole place up. 'Well…'

We stood in stiff silence for another minute or two. I happened to catch Goku's gaze; we shared a serious look before he turned his sights back to the one door in the room that we'd noticed but had yet to try.

And just as my brother's annoyance sparked, said door slid open, drawing in all eyes and causing the tension to momentarily fester.

It was the more alien-looking minion from before, with his curved, tubular cranium, big lips, and spandex suit. When he spoke, his voice reminded me of a gremlin (on steroids).

"Welcome, fellow warriors. You've arrived at stage one!"

Stage one?

Apparently we were at the top level: stage one. Babidi was below, on the final level. We had to pass each trial (fighter) on the way down, of course.

As the minion finished explaining this, he broke into obnoxious laughter. I had the mind to shoot him down on the spot, but…

Goku laughed. "Alright guys, so which one of us gets to fight first?"

The minion's laughter ceased at my comrade's easy manner.

I arched an eyebrow, slowly turning to Goku. "I could use a little movement after getting stiff standing here like this…"

He rubbed his nose, partially hiding a smirk. "Heh, guess there's only one way to decide."

I strolled over to Goku as Vegeta grunted and Gohan sighed, also moving forward.

Standing between Gohan and Goku, and across from Vegeta, I held my right fist up near my face. "So, how are we doing this?"

Gohan held his hand up. "Uh, how about counterclockwise, starting with dad?"

Goku nodded as I replied, "Alright."

All four of us drew our fists higher before jerking them down once, twice, thrice, in unison, shouting, "ONE—TWO—THREE!"

Rock all around.

"ONE—TWO—THREE!"

Paper… all around.

"ONE–TWO–THREE!"

This time it wouldn't matter what direction we were going in because everyone had chosen paper again, except for Vegeta… who'd thrown scissors.

My brother laughed. "Scissors wins!"

"Aww–" Goku looked childishly dismayed, his shoulders sinking. "I wanted to fight this guy!"

"Well, sorry you won't get your chance," Vegeta replied, smirking all the way.

I folded my arms again with a light sigh.

"Wait! Please!" It was the Supreme Kai, who'd been staring at our antics in somewhat of a stupor until now. "You don't really intend to fight him by yourself, do you?!"

"Of course I do!" Vegeta crossed his arms haughtily. "What other way is there?"

A sly grin taking my lips, I clasped my hands in front of me and took a long tippy-toed step forward to stand next to my brother. "A sibling tag-team sounds good, doesn't it?" I asked with a wag of a brow, leaning my shoulder into his. "Hmmm?"

"Oh please—" Vegeta shrugged me off, his cocky attitude (or good mood, as I liked to call it) unaltered. "You just want to make sport out of playing with him when you know we have more important matters to deal with!"

My eyelids lowered as the "stage one" minion began cackling once more.

"Master Babidi told me to be very careful because your high energy makes you strong and dangerous… But you're nothing but a bunch of morons!"

Oh?

Both Vegeta and I turned to face him with the same unamused expression. But my brother soon smirked, retorting "The only moron in this place is Babidi." Despite being shorter than his adversary, Vegeta watched him with his head tilted back, as if looking down on the alien. "He didn't investigate this planet very thoroughly did he? If he had, he'd know that the most powerful fighter alive is standing in front of you!"

Vegeta was answered with more obnoxious cackles, but the source of said laughter was moving; he was trying to intimidate us by flitting around the room at a fast pace (Which wasn't too fast considering I could see his streaky movements), occasionally throwing out a threat about how he'd steal our energy.

The sound of the minion's voice was grating on my nerves. "Vegeta," I began, lower eyelids rising. "Please kill this fool…"

I would've caught the alien by the foot in midair and slammed him through the floor if I weren't such a good sport about taking turns.

The prince chuckled, lowering his crossed arms and bending them at waist level. "You need not even ask, sister…" He then disappeared, reappearing in front of the minion at the same time he was about to jump again. "Welcome to the end of your life! And I promise it's going to hurt…"

I snickered at the alien's faltered expression; a definite mood improver.

But I wasn't the only one snickering.

I paused, somewhat of a smile still on my face as Goku moved next to me.

"Idunno what's funnier, how Vegeta and Bulma are together, or how Vegeta and you are together."

I let out a small breath, arching an eyebrow in disbelief. "Neither of those things are funny."

"Yeah, dad!" Gohan spoke up from the other side of his father with a sour look. "If you saw how these two really are together, you wouldn't be calling it funny!"

The teen was probably having flashbacks of me and Vegeta making fun of him together… heh… hehe…

Okay, maybe that was a little funny.

As Vegeta began making a joke of the M-labeled minion in the background, Goku laughed quietly again, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess! But you should see the two of you! It's priceless!" He really was amused.

My tail wiggled behind me as I leaned forward slightly, an eyebrow lowering as I planted my hands on my hips. "Well what of it?"

"It's like you guys are twins sometimes! Talking the same way, with the same glare and same pose and same—"

Gohan leaned forward as well. "Same inclination to exterminate anything that bothers them!"

I let out a dry laugh, glancing away. "Alright, I get it. Thank you both."

I'd rather not look more suspect in front of a Kai.

Goku let out one more giggle, rubbing his nose again. "You're a heck of a lot prettier than Vegeta is, though!"

Inhaling deeply, a nervous and breathy "Ahh-ha…" escaped my lips as I tried to mask my shock with an awkward smile, my rounded eyes stuck on Goku's humored expression.

Did he not care that his son was right there?

'Gohan doesn't seem put-off though… And everyone knows how blunt Goku can be…' My brow then furrowed as I looked down.

… Was that even a compliment..?

The entire room shook without warning—I looked up and saw the minion fall down from the wall; Vegeta had kicked him, hard.

Well, hard enough.

I then spared a glimpse at the Supreme Kai. He was gaping.

"See?" Goku said to the petite deity. "Vegeta can handle this guy, no problem."

My brother walked to the kneeling alien calmly and promptly kicked him into the air again, then teleported behind him after he'd landed, punching him into the floor.

Watching this, the Supreme Kai couldn't help his low, impressed tone as he uttered, "He's good…"

Gohan agreed. "He's really good! It looks like he's gotten a lot stronger!"

Goku gazed upon his rival with a calm smirk. "Well that's what happens when you spend all your time training."

Yes… we hadn't been bluffing about that.

Tilting my head to the side I called out "Looks who's playing now!" as Vegeta knocked the fiend around some more.

"Mind your own business!" he barked back before advancing once more on his fallen foe.

As I rolled my eyes, something happened in a split second—like someone opening a window in an aircraft midflight; the air pressure changed and there was an abrupt, harsh gust of wind.

I blinked, gasping as the room we were in changed within the blink of an eye to open, barren wasteland with clouds of dust rolling past us. It was dark; the sky above us was black, swirled with colorful astrological formations and nearby planets hanging in the backdrop.

My gaze shifted around slowly, lips slightly apart.

Were we… not on Earth anymore..?

Gohan gasped as well, exclaiming "What happened?! Where are we?!" as he whipped his head side-to-side. "Weird!"

"It's that Babidi!" The Supreme Kai answered bitterly. "He's used his magic to change the room! It seems—he's trying to give that fighter the advantage!"

Hmm…

"Aaahh," Goku smiled. "Should be interesting."

The Supreme Kai shot a look over at him. "Goku, it isn't Vegeta he's giving the advantage!"

"Yeah, I know," The deceased saiyan answered.

I planted my feet in a slightly wider stance and cuffed my left wrist with my right hand. "Sir... unless this advantage involves giving that fighter actual energy—insane amounts of energy... the tides won't be turning."

"You don't know that..." The Supreme Kai replied in obviously suppressed frustration.

I glanced at the God before looking back to my brother. "I guess..."

The minion gladly welcomed us to what was his home planet, stating that the gravity was ten times that of Earth.

I looked down at my feet. 'Is it really?' I lifted a foot and held it a few inches above the dirt for a moment. 'Oh, I feel a pull now,' I thought, my foot having felt the slightest bit heavier.

As I'd said, the tides wouldn't be turning.

Vegeta chuckled, interrupting the alien's victorious cackles. "Maybe—if this was five hundred times gravity, you might have an advantage! But ten?" The prince then continued in a darker tone, "I don't even feel it..."

And still true to my prediction, Vegeta was as fast as ever, dodging the minion's laggy attacks, even making light of him by bouncing nimbly on his toes in boxing fashion.

The prince laughed once more as his enraged opponent charged.

Ready to finish it, my brother met the alien halfway by flitting forward faster than the minion could see. Vegeta appeared just before him, knees bent low, surprising his foe as he pressed his gloved palms flat against their chest plates.

And suddenly the stage one minion was gone, enveloped and disintegrated in the prince's double-handed energy blast.

When the aggravated dust clouds cleared Gohan threw a fist into the air, exclaiming, "Alright!"

Vegeta scoffed at the charred remains of his adversary on the floor. "I'm amazed that Babidi would send us such a weakling," he commented as Goku, Gohan and I made a B-line for the opening shaft in the floor.

Down to level two...

"Come on!" Goku called before jumping in.

I descended into the darkness after him, Gohan just behind me ("Right behind you, dad!").

I heard my brother mention something about children being easily amused. I smirked, but barely noticed when Goku came to a stop below me.

"The Supreme Kai!" He exclaimed before turning around and flying back up.

But it was so dark I couldn't react until—"Hey—ow!"—he'd all but headbutted my breasts and then knocked his forehead into my jaw.

He'd grabbed my upper arms in instinctual shock, "Oo—SORRY!" and despite his embarrassed expression, there was somewhat of a laugh. And his face was only visible because he was so close, something that was absolutely affecting me...

My breath stalled for a moment, one eye twitching as he giggled.

That damn giggle...

"Just—" Rubbing my jaw, I turned my face slightly away and grabbed one of his elbows with my free hand. "Watch it..." I mumbled, gently pulling his arm away.

"Sure," he replied humorously, releasing both my arms and continuing back up without another word.

I let out a tiny groan, adjusting my boobs as I waited for him to fetch The Supreme Kai.

...

Goku stepped forward, flexing his wrists and shaking them out. "It's my turn to fight next," he stated confidently before smiling. "So—I wonder who's behind that door. I sure hope he's gonna be tough enough for me!"

Yes, who was behind the next door? That was the question as we were kept waiting yet again, for what seemed like even longer.

'I wonder how everyone's doing back at the tournament...' Sighing, I folded my arms over my chest, idly rubbing my left bicep with a thumb.

Goku was getting impatient; very much so. He was displaying that indisputably childish side of his again. "HEY! Come on!" He exclaimed, pouting, fists at his hips. "Get out here!"

Vegeta suggested that we smash through the floor to get to the final level, and the Supreme Kai served some more chastisement of how Majin Buu would be awoken by such interference.

While waiting, my brother and the Supreme Kai debated on just how powerful the infamous Majin Buu actually was (and Dabura). The prince voiced that he was becoming more convinced that fighting either of them just wasn't worth his time.

And while I agreed that Dabura wasn't as big of a threat as I'd first imagined, Goku suddenly shouted, "HEY! GET OUT HERE NOW!"

But nobody appeared.

"LET'S GO! I AM READY TO FIGHT!"

He might've been intimidating if not for his slightly higher pitch and expectant glare.

Finally, the door slid open... revealing an enormous, horned, frog-like creature with a deep, growling laugh.

Goku's indignant anger was swapped for a shocked exclamation. "WHAT IS THAT THING?!"

"Oh yummy," it said. "Who do I eat first?" As grotesque as the drooling monster was, its swinging arms and grabby hands made me arch an eyebrow as it advanced one slow stomp at a time.

The stage two minion wasn't so intimidating any more. Just ugly. And awkward.

Goku was similarly unimpressed. "Why'd I have to get this guy?" he asked himself. "Sure he's big... but he kinda looks dumb to me..."

"I know that monster!" The Supreme Kai spoke in a hushed manner. "I know who he is! His name is Yakkon..."

I then asked, "Is he noticeably stronger than the last fighter?"

The petite deity nodded solemnly. "He's one of the most feared creatures in the universe, and he is extremely strong!" he answered. "I don't think Goku will be able to beat him on his own..."

Vegeta scoffed, and I nodded for show, pursing my lips.

I still wasn't the least bit worried.

Yakkon swung at the deceased saiyan, who darted out of sight. What was surprising was that the toad-like alien went after him, moving just as fast.

They shot across the room, and when Goku performed a flip to land back on the floor, Yakkon swiped at the saiyan's chest.

My eyes narrowed. "Careful now," I called airily.

Goku blinked. "Huh?" The collar of his orange top came apart a second later, having been sliced by the minion's elongated claws. "That was close!" he yelped, realizing that his chest could've been sporting a long gash instead.

Gohan brought a hand to his chin. "So," he said, his smile showing intrigue. "He's a big one but he's quick!"

The Supreme Kai turned his stressed gaze back to the teen. "That's what I was trying to tell you! And Goku can't beat him!"

"Huh?" Gohan seemed amused by the god's fretful words. "Nooo, my dad should be more than enough for that guy. Just watch and see!"

Yes, my sentiments exactly, but the Supreme Kai still seemed horrified.

A new voice suddenly sounded from above us; a high-pitched, grainy voice that would match a midget mastermind—Babidi, probably.

"Can you hear me Yakkon? Listen to me. You're doing well, my marvelous monster!" He said. "I'm proud of you, do you know that? With your help, Majin Buu will be resurrected sooner than expected!"

'Oh, that's definitely Babidi,' I thought, a hand sliding onto my hip as my brow furrowed.

"I have a treat for you that will help you finish off these intruders quickly. How would you like to visit your favorite planet—the planet of darkness? Would you like that, my pet?"

Babidi was going to try and make favorable conditions for his minion again...

The lights began dimming around us until it was pitch black. I couldn't see a thing, not even when I raised a hand in front of my face. It was that dark.

"Hey," I heard Goku say. "What happened? Who turned out the lights? It's so dark I can't see a thing!"

He was answered by the monster's deep laughter from a ways off. "Welcome to the planet of darkness! You can't see me, but I can see you!"

"You can?"

The Supreme Kai murmured beside me that the monster was born in this location—a planet on the far side of the universe where no light could reach it.

The monster then shouted, "I'M GONNA EAT YOU!" as it approached.

I opted to close my eyes, as sensing was easier in these circumstances; Goku wasn't having any problems, but the other fighter wasn't doing so well.

After another moment Goku's power level began to climb, and before I knew it there was a bright light sinking through my eyelids.

I cracked my eyes open to see the Super Saiyan standing tall in front of the frog-creature.

"Yakkon! Come on out, stinky!" the deceased saiyan called in challenge. "I seemed to have found my spare flashlight—see?" The circulating, golden energy lit up the area for meters, bathing all of us in yellow light.

But Yakkon didn't seem the least bit worried... If I heard correctly, he mumbled something like "time to eat..." as he moved forward.

I cocked my head to the side as the creature began inhaling the air.

My clothes were being pulled, hair as well, but the oddest thing was that Goku's aura was being sucked up.

I squinted at the scene, my nose scrunching in confusion. "What..?" And the more I concentrated on him, I eventually realized with a gasp that "Goku! Your power level!"

But the Super Saiyan glow wisped away a second later, leaving us in chilled darkness again.

Only then did the Supreme Kai care to fill us in on Yakkon's light-energy eating capabilities...

"Hey listen, Dad!" Gohan called. "Don't become a Super Saiyan again! If you do, that monster will eat your energy!"

Goku was silent for a moment until we heard him smugly say, "Ready for round two?"

My brother moved a bit to my left. "What on Earth is Kakarot trying to do now?"

"Dad, seriously! Don't go Super Saiyan! He's draining your energy, let's fight 'im together!"

Goku called back, "No way. I fight alone, Gohan. I don't need help." And then the familiar sound of bursting energy hit my ears, the area illuminated once more.

"Has he gone crazy?" The Supreme Kai uttered in astonishment. "Why does he insist on fighting alone..?"

My brother answered, "Let him do what he wants. Kakarot wouldn't purposely get eaten alive. He has a plan."

Almost immediately Yakkon began sucking Goku's energy in, with far more force than before; Goku was actually sliding forward. This only continued for a few seconds, however, before the saiyan's energy surged. He'd powered up, causing Yakkon to absorb what was ultimately too much ki for his body. And with that, the stage two minion exploded from the energy overload, causing me to emit a soft, surprised laugh.

"Look!" The Supreme Kai's voice shook in awe. "Look—he blew up!"

"Alright, dad won!" Gohan cheered.

The prince added, "And with energy to spare... Interesting..."

I smirked, moving forward. "I know, I'm impressed too..."

There was something about watching him fight that got me, despite his "out of the box" choices.

Just then the entryway to the third floor opened up next to Goku. He looked back at us, still providing the light. "Come on, guys, let's go!"

I reached him first, hands on my hips. "Ladies first this time," I said slyly, watching Goku through low-lidded eyes.

He chuckled. "Of course," the Super Saiyan responded, smirking back as I dipped into the tunnel.

Thankfully this one was lit well, and Goku powered down to his regular state as he, Gohan, and Vegeta followed after me.

The Supreme Kai lagged behind again due to being in a daze.

...

I let out a bitter, exasperated sigh as I stared at Gohan's hand and mine.

Rock beat scissors, and I hadn't been the one to throw rock.

As the teen celebrated I said, "You know what?" while raising my fist near my face. "That's fine... I'll just be the one to kill Babidi, how's that?"

The Kai gasped at my brazen statement, Goku then turning and sniggering at his shock.

"And you better make it quick," my brother advised sternly, his mood having gone downhill after witnessing Goku fight.

And so the waiting commenced. We waited.

And waited.

Aaaand waited.

Really, we could have grown roots...

I exhaled hard, my mouth remaining open as I stared at the door ahead of us with a grossly bored look.

It got to the point where Goku was actually yawning in genuine sleepiness and eventually sat on the floor.

And after what felt like forever, my brother shouted, "WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE KEEPING US WAITING SO LONG?! COME ON!" He'd already offered to bust the door down some time ago.

It had to have been over an hour...

But Gohan was still pumped to face his opponent. "I wonder who they're gonna send out next!" He exclaimed, pounding a fist into the palm of his hand.

Goku commented that he couldn't wait to see how much Gohan had progressed, guessing that the teen had to be twice as powerful as when he faced Cell.

I arched an eyebrow at the assumption, a sniff of a laughter escaping me.

Oh, if he only knew...

Gohan was suddenly very bashful, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm—uhh... not quite as strong as I was then... eh-hehe..."

Vegeta hmph-ed at his phrasing. "Gohan's been far too busy going to school and going out on dates to do any serious training." The prince's sharp eyes bored into the back of the robed teen's head. "All three of us are more powerful than he is in his condition."

Having moved to stand by Goku a while I go, I looked up from the father's blank expression to face my brother with a mirthful look. "Be easy, Vegeta," I said, almost laughing. "You make it sound like he's become an invalid."

But Vegeta chuckled. "Of course I could be wrong!" He admitted, a devilish smirk offsetting any sincerity. "Maybe he's been training in between classes, or during P-E or something!"

As Gohan continued to laugh nervously, I shook my head despite enjoying my brother's relentlessness.

"Maybe he's the strongest one here!" The prince continued.

"Well..." Gohan rubbed the back of his head again. He was beginning to sweat.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed as his impish grin stretched. "I didn't think so."

Just then a loud, hair-raising hiss drew in our attention. The door was sliding open, with an ominous display of mist slowly seeping out.

And as the door rose, it revealed a blue-suited being, tall and pink-skinned.

My eyebrows rose in pleasant surprise. 'Oh, good! This will make my job even quicker.'

The Supreme Kai gasped, horrified at the turn of events. "IT'S DABURA!"

Being that Babidi's devil-man was standing before us instead of in the air, I could appreciate his size and overall appearance more. He was a very large man, several feet taller than Gohan (who was the tallest among us, having an inch over Goku). And when he congratulated us on advancing to stage three, his voice was like a deep, sinister purr; regal and smooth, yet a bit gruff.

"So now you must face me..." he elaborated, fanged canines perfectly visible. "Which means... you will progress no further."

Well...

Like me, Vegeta wasn't concerned with Dabura's threat on any level. "Your boss must be nervous if he sends out his number one guy," he said. "Why doesn't he come out himself, huh? He too scared?"

While the Supreme Kai was beyond scandalized by Vegeta's verbal jab, Dabura kept his calm, replying, "Let's dispense with the idle talk, I'd prefer if you just attack—all of you, together!"

I blinked slowly at the proposition. "Well that's stupid of you," I called blandly.

It would be the shortest fight in history.

Gohan then held his arms out, as if to prevent anyone from moving. "Yeah, wait a second! It's my turn to fight and that's what I'm gonna do!" The teen exclaimed, thumbing to himself. He then quickly realized that the unchanged room of Babidi's spacecraft was ill-suited for a fight and suggested other places, like the mountains or a beach.

At that, Dabura seemed to finally have his feather's ruffled and growled loudly, "YOU WILL FIGHT ME HERE AND NOW!"

"Dabura, wait a second..."

I glanced up at the sound of Babidi's voice, knowing what was to come.

"I was just thinking, and it might not be a bad idea to pick another location for the fight." His voice sounded calm and even. "You see, to revive Buu, we're going to need the space ship in tact."

Dabura stood erect, also calmed from his previous state. "Yes, I understand."

The mastermind suddenly sounded a bit more devious as he inquired, "Any preferences?"

To which Dabura revealed his fangs again in an evil smirk. "Perhaps a planet similar to this one. I don't want an unfair advantage..." He trailed off, extremely confident.

And as we stared ahead at Babidi's top henchman the room began to spin, star lights and bright colors swirling around us; something that would have enthralled a small child.

Or... were we not spinning... and the walls were..? It was hard to tell, but my hair was definitely being blown about.

We stopped after a good fifteen seconds, the ground beneath us rocky and sky ruby-red, lightly blushed clouds floating by and large mountains surrounding us.

"WELL THEN," Dabura called, holding his large arms out in a welcoming (or cocky) gesture. "Let's begin, shall we?"

"Sure!" Gohan took a quick fighting stance as his father reminded him to stay focused. "Right, dad."

Smiling softly from beside Goku, I added, "Don't hold back."

Gohan responded with a small acknowledging noise before tensing slightly—jumping into the air and disappearing.

'And they're off,' I thought as the first blow was delivered, and the two fighters gravitated away from us, exchanging jabs the whole way.

They stopped over the sparking purple lake ahead of us. Gohan was definitely holding his own, no problem...

'He just seems a bit sluggish in his movements...'

His underwater maneuver had shown the double edged-sword of his current capabilities: the excellent tactic of distraction, blasting at Dabura from beneath the lake's surface and then teleporting back up to kick the devil. The only thing was that Gohan was nearly hit by his own attack in the process.

And since Dabura had been knocked into a mountain (with not much down time), he then used his energy to launch the crumbling boulders at the teenager, who wasn't quick enough to evade and was sent crashing into a different mountain.

'But at least he's taking this seriously...' I thought with a tiny smirk as a ball of golden flame could be seen through the smokescreen.

"Finally," my brother spoke up. "Now we'll get to see a real test. Let's see how this Dabura fellow does against a Super Saiyan."

Goku agreed that it definitely raised the interest bar, and while he was talking I looked down to my left; the Supreme Kai was watching, breath seemingly still, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Sir," I started gently, interlocking my fingers in front of me. He blinked his enlarged, slanted eyes as he faced me. "As cocky as it sounds, before this wizard came along, we were all convinced that we were the strongest beings in the universe, and well..." I briefly closed my eyes, smiling and shrugging.

Vegeta backed me up with "A saiyan becomes stronger after every battle, and we've faced and defeated all challenges the cosmos have to offer."

Even Goku added, "The biggest and the baddest." while smirking.

The Supreme Kai gazed upon each of us, completely awed. "I... I see..." And in the background Gohan had just given Dabura a good smacking around, prompting the God to gasp again, murmuring, "Amazing..."

Amused by the shorter male's words, Goku replied, "You haven't seen anything yet!"

The Demon King decided it was his turn to power up, in a thunder-ridden, rock-moving display of energy. Yes, I could feel that Dabura was very powerful indeed, but even with the power increase, Gohan was still in control.

Or so I thought...

The teenager dodged waves of flame-like breath attacks that left the rocky terrain melted from extreme heat, and he was closing in on his opponent, but then Dabura abruptly changed his strategy and fired a large, flaming energy ball at the teen—which hit dead on.

"He could've dodged that..." I murmured under narrowed eyes.

The fight wasn't going anywhere... It was an intense battle, no doubt, but given that the rest of us were much stronger... well, it was growing to be a tiresome experience.

Goku frowned as the two darted back and forth, their physical blows loud like sonic booms. "What does Gohan think he's doing? A direct attack won't work on this guy! He should know better than that!"

Vegeta was beginning to tap his fingers on the surface of his arm. "This is what happens when you don't train for seven years! He's completely lost his fighting sense—pitiful!"

And as Gohan charged full speed into the pink demon, Dabura spat at the teen.

My heart skipped a beat.

The Supreme Kai shouted, "Gohan, be careful! Don't let it hit you!" but thankfully, the stone-turning saliva only hit the Super Saiyan's glove, which was tossed a heart-pounding moment later.

I let out a deep breath, akin to a groan, momentarily closing my eyes. "That was close..."

Goku hummed in thought as he watched the near mundane fighting continue. "This Dabura guy's giving Gohan a lot more trouble than I thought he would..."

Vegeta's patience was waning again, indicated by an angry noise. "He's tough but he's not unbeatable!" The prince exclaimed. "Gohan's gotten soft! He was a lot stronger when he was a little kid! It's absurd!"

Goku laid a hand over his forehead. "Yeah, he's definitely slacked off! Well, at least he got straight As on his report card!"

I nearly rolled my eyes at his words. Though I knew the importance of an education, his good grades definitely weren't helping us defeat the villains.

Vegeta then growled loudly. "I could beat Dabura!"

As if hearing the prince, Dabura turned around to face us from above the rippling water, his large, piercing cat eyes attentive. Such a move allowed Gohan to lunge forward and punch the Demon King in the face, hard.

But Vegeta was steadily tapping his fingers with more annoyance. "I can't take this any more, this is ridiculous! Why are we subjecting ourselves to this?"

My gaze slid over to my brother before I turned my head. "Would you calm down?" My eyebrows bunched in irritation. "It's not the end of the world, Vegeta."

Really...

Eyes still glued ahead of him, Vegeta shot back with "Maybe you don't mind this mediocrity, but I've just about had it!" He then whipped his head around to Goku. "Look—call him down, Kakarot, I'll finish this!"

"Just give 'im a little more time!" Goku pleaded, eyes widening. "It's not like he's completely lost yet, why not let 'im fight? He's hangin' in there!"

"DABURA'S TOYING WITH HIM, YOU KNOW THAT!" Vegeta shouted, patience officially dead and gone. "COME ON!"

As my brother began his full-on rant, I rubbed my left ear, which was taking the abuse of his gruff, bellowing voice. 'Ugh, Gods...' I then scrunched my nose in annoyance as I remembered that there was an actual god standing next to me, and that invoking his name wouldn't help.

"WHY SHOULD I SIT AROUND ALL DAY ACTING LIKE THIS MATTERS?" Vegeta pointed at Goku. "I COULD END THIS IN FIVE MINUTES IF I WANTED TO! I'M NOT HERE TO PLAY GAMES, KAKAROT—OR TO CREATE NICE FATHER-SON MEMORIES—I'M HERE TO WIN! STOP PRETENDING! KNOCK OFF THE SENTIMENTAL RUBBISH!"

Vegeta paused to jerk his head away from the taller saiyan. "THE STRONGEST ONE IS THE ONE WHO SHOULD DO THE JOB! I'M THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE FIGHTING, NOT HIM!"

I scoffed when he was finished, letting my hands fall into place on my hips. "You wanna repeat yourself? I don't think they heard you," I stated sarcastically as Gohan and Dabura floated motionlessly ahead of us, obviously distracted by the prince's diatribe.

But before anyone could answer, our surroundings suddenly gave way to a brighter, smaller setting—we were back in the ship.

Gohan bumped into the wall from his spot midair.

"WHAT?" Vegeta questioned loudly. "What are we doing here?"

"Idunno!" Goku was blinking rapidly, hands slightly raised in alarm. "I-I guess they wanted us back on the ship for some reason."

The Supreme Kai whispered, "But why..?"

That's when I noticed Dabura leaving. "Look!" I cried indignantly.

"HEY!" Gohan shouted at his casually retreating form. "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?! ARE YOU GIVING UP, OR WHAT?!"

Dabura paused in the doorway, his back to us. "Oh no, it's just a brief intermission. We just need a few minutes to rework our strategy." He then tossed us one more devilish look over his shoulder. "It seems we've found a new recruit—the perfect warrior, capable of handling all of you! So just take a little rest while we bring him up to speed," he laughed, finally disappearing behind the closing door.

"HEY! COME BACK!" Gohan shouted in vain.

I turned away, looking down subconsciously at the Supreme Kai's feet. 'A new recruit... that's stronger than Dabura? Strong enough to take all of us out?' I began to feel uncomfortable with the idea, until Vegeta's yelling interrupted my pondering.

"You've disgraced us with your pitiful performance!" Vegeta was digging into Gohan again. "There's no excuse for you fighting the way you did!"

I hadn't seen my brother this agitated in some time...

"You have saiyan blood running through your veins!" The prince shoved Gohan, causing him to gasp and stumble. "A warrior like DABURA SHOULD BE DEAD!"

As Vegeta continued to berate the teenager, calling him pitiful and practically blaming him for Piccolo and Krillin's predicament, I pinched the bridge of my nose, eyes closing and eyebrows rising. When I looked over at them, Gohan's expression and body language spoke of heavy guilt.

"Hey—look," Goku tried to reason. "Gohan didn't know that Dabura was gonna run off!"

And as he continued to reason, redirecting Vegeta's irate words onto himself, I moved quietly over to the seventeen-year old. "Hey..."

Gohan looked up at me as if he were experiencing a small amount of pain.

"I know you tried your best," I gently told him. "Like I said... it's not the end of the world," I finished with a slight smile, reaching out and slapping a hand onto his shoulder.

Even though he nodded, thanking me under his breath, he still looked ashamed.

"—AND I'M TIRED OF PLAYING AROUND!"

We both looked over at Vegeta, me in developing anger, Gohan in alarm. My fist was starting to itch... for his face...

"I'M GOING TO PUT AN END TO THIS THING ONCE AND FOR ALL!" Vegeta was suddenly channeling energy for a concentrated blast that was aimed for the floor.

Goku shot a hand up in fear. "Vegeta, what are you doing?!"

"NO MORE WEAK-HEARTED EXCUSES, KAKAROT! I'M TAKING CONTROL OF THIS OPERATION NOW!" The energy had formed a perfect ball, ready to be launched. "AND FOR STARTERS I'M GOING TO BLOW THIS SHIP TO KINGDOM COME!"

Both Goku and the Supreme Kai tried desperately to talk the prince down, only managing to further anger my brother.

You know what...

I moved to Vegeta so that there was only a mere foot's distance between us; almost in his face. "HEY—calm the hell down, Vegeta!" And with my head slightly turned to the side and a finger raised just above waist level I continued, voice raising. "I don't GIVE A DAMN HOW BADLY YOU WANT TO BE OUT OF HERE TO FIGHT GOKU! WE CAME HERE TO DO A JOB AND WE'RE GOING TO DO IT THE RIGHT WAY!"

The look he was giving me was beyond nasty.

"YOU CAN SURVIVE A FEW HOURS NOT GETTING YOUR WAY!"

But he refused to release the energy. "You stay out of it," he started in lower, but still dangerous tone as he leaned in. "Your passiveness is just as well pissing me off!"

The Supreme Kai stepped forward, imploring Vegeta not to do what he was about to do, for it would surely wake Majin Buu and he would wreak havoc on our planet. "HE'LL TURN THE EARTH INTO A DARK AND LIFELESS TOMB!"

"ENOUGH!" Vegeta then did the unthinkable, turning his hand on the Supreme Kai. "NOW YOU LISTEN TO ME! WHAT HAPPENS TO THIS PLANET IS NONE OF MY CONCERN!"

NONE OF HIS CONCERN?

I side-stepped around Vegeta to his front, blocking him from the bewildered and fearful god. "EXCUSE ME?" The outrage I was feeling! "I dare you to blast this ship..."

The Kai whispered a shaky "No..!" from behind me as my brother growled, eyes narrowing dangerously. I stared him down evenly, fists clenched tightly.

But, a split second later Goku was at my side, a hand clasping around Vegeta's wrist, forcing the prince to lose the ki while gasping at the audacity of the taller saiyan.

"Hey—cut it out! This has gone far enough!"

I glanced at Goku's serious expression, then to Vegeta's smoldering stare. Inhaling deeply, I could feel my quickened heartrate and the tension in my shoulders.

"How dare you..." The prince uttered disdainfully, breathing heavily. "You better let go of me, Kakarot..." A vein was bulging on his tall forehead.

"Come on! Let's put what's happened behind us and move forward from here!"

In response to Goku's urging, Vegeta snatched his wrist away—"Alright!"—then turned his back on the deceased hero, crossing his arms in an uptight manner. "Whatever you say, Kakarot!" He finally gave in, making sure to sufficiently coat his words in sarcasm.

I also turned around then, crossing my arms over my chest, running a hand down my mouth and chin as I released a heavy sigh. 'This is ridiculous,' I thought, 'Why is he acting like this..?'

To say Vegeta was an impatient person would be putting it lightly, but... this was just too much! He'd made it known throughout the day that he'd rather be at the tournament fighting Goku, but Goku had a full twenty-four hours here. Even if the tournament ended, they could fight elsewhere!

I grunted, closing my eyes. 'But knowing my brother, he wants the whole world to see it...'

The others were discussing the mystery recruit and who it might be, and I wondered too... who—

'Whoa...' A dizzying sensation came over me like an unexpectedly strong wave on a beach-goer, prompting me to lean forward, a sickened moan escaping my lips as I grabbed my forehead.

Seeing my sudden ill state Goku quickly asked, "Are you okay?" while grabbing my right shoulder to steady me.

But then Vegeta started hollering, and I knew... I knew exactly what it was...

Gohan blinked, startled out of his previously defeated mood. "Vegeta! Hey, what's wrong?!"

Goku turned at the prince's pained noises as well. "Vegeta! What's going on?!"

Through gritted teeth, he responded "Something's... attacking me!"

"WHERE?!" Goku cried in alarm. "We can't see anything!"

The shorter saiyan ground out, "Inside!"

As I felt my hands become clammy, the only thing I was capable of in that moment was staring in horror; the horror of what I'd just remembered.

But how could I have forgotten?! The most important thing that was stressed to us! It was Babidi—it had to be Babidi doing this to him..!

From beside me the Supreme Kai urged, "Fight it! Resist!"

"I caan't!"

"You must!" The god insisted, drawing closer to my brother's collapsed, growling form. "That's it! Resist!"

Vegeta was writhing on the ground, fingers entangled tightly in his hair. Even when he managed to get back onto his feet, he nearly toppled over again. It was hard to watch, my brother being attacked like that... He then burst into his Super Saiyan form in an attempt to force the intruder out, screams growing louder.

Swallowing the large lump in my throat, I held a feeble hand up to my brother. "Vegeta..! If you let this happen, he's going to make you kill us!" And I wouldn't be able to stop him if what Babidi could do was true...

The Supreme Kai started up again. "Don't let him win, Vegeta! Don't let him do it!"

But the prince had collapsed again, sounding as if someone was tearing apart his insides at an agonizingly slow rate.

'What... what am I supposed to do..?' I thought, feeling disoriented and terrified; terrified for him and terrified for us. The pain Vegeta was experiencing—the pain of my sibling—was so radical that it was affecting me—physically!

The Supreme Kai's mild voice was suddenly very strong. "VEGETA, NO! DON'T LET HIM! YOU'VE CHANGED! YOU'RE NOT THAT WAY ANYMORE! BABIDI HAS NO CLAIM OVER YOU!"

Vegeta stood straight at the God's words, looking nothing short of completely mad as he began powering up.

And it was terrible... his energy... filling the room with an oppressive force that made goosebumps form on my arms. Red lashings of highly concentrated energy shot from his body around us, and his power level continued to grow, and grow...

When the prince's feet left the ground, and he levitated above us like an unstable star, ready to explode, Gohan shuffled backwards in disbelief. The ship was quaking in Vegeta's wake.

The seventeen-year old then took a brave step forward, raising a fist to the prince. "DON'T LET THEM DO IT, VEGETA! DON'T LET THEM USE YOU—AGH!" Gohan was blown back by the red, lightning-like currents of energy and landed roughly on his back.

Goku immediately called out to his son (who reassured us that he was okay), and I couldn't help but latch onto the deceased saiyan's arm in an attempt to sturdy myself. The entire ship was shaking as if it were about to fall apart, which meant that Majin Buu might be released early...

I gritted my teeth as Goku stumbled to the side, making me stumble with him. He finally exclaimed "VEGETA! NO!"

Gohan hollered, "FIGHT IT, VEGETA!" and I joined in with "DON'T LET HIM TURN YOU AGAINST US!"

The prince threw his head back, "AAAAAAHHHHH!" screaming with enough force to split his vocal chords.

And then his energy dispersed... body going limp as he fell to the floor, thudding to his knees and hunching over onto all fours.

But his hair was still blond...

It grew very quiet then, save for the animalistic growling that my brother was doing. I was also breathing heavier as I stepped slowly away from Goku, eyes wide and lips in a straight line.

What was about to happen?

Gohan called from the other side of Vegeta, "Dad! Midori! Talk to 'im!"

I stared for a moment, lips slowly parting before I shook my head, gingerly touching my right temple. With some dizziness still present, I almost hadn't comprehended what the teenager said.

So Goku stepped up for me, speaking calmly. "Vegeta... We're here! It's okay..." He took a few steps forward. "We're going to help you get back to normal."

As I finally moved forward, the Supreme Kai held an arm out to block the both of us from further approaching. "No, stop!" He then cast a grave look over my fallen brother. "It's too late..."

Eyebrows meeting in a furrow, I back-stepped and moved quickly around the Supreme Kai's other side to stand next to Vegeta.

"Wait, Midori!" The God called after me, but I paid no heed.

Vegeta's breathing was less labored than moments before, and lessening with each second.

"Vegeta..." I spoke quietly, squatting next to him and reaching out to rest my fingertips lightly on his shoulder. "I felt your turmoil... please tell me that you overcame that wizard's magic..."

Slowly but surely, the prince rose to stand, and I pushed against my knees to stand with him, but it sounded like... he was beginning to laugh...

I tilted my head slightly in confusion as he began chuckling openly, and when he stood completely straight, raising his bowed head, I froze.

'No... No—no way!' I shook my head again, jaw clenching tightly as I stared at the large M on his forehead.

This couldn't be happening... not to Vegeta... not again... it was different this time! The Supreme Kai... I believed him when he said that Babidi had no claim over him!

I took one cautious step backwards, then another, my heart racing as he powered up once more.

Vegeta stared over my shoulder—at Goku—with a sinister smirk as he continued his low laughter.

To make things worse, the room was growing darker... It was time to fight!

And as I waited in dread it were as if the things of nightmares were before me: My brother bathed in an eerie dark blue light, half of his face blackened by harsh shadowing, his overall appearance that of a sadistic ghost.

A cold wind was swirling around us as the others braced themselves for the new destination. But, like high-beams being shined on my face, the atmosphere was abruptly brightened and the cool winds that blew on my skin were replaced by a warm gust of summer air.

I squinted slightly, but was soon able to blink away the discomfort, and as I did so I heard voices—a mass of intrigued and skeptical voices... then cheering.

My jaw dropped as I looked up from the white tile under my feet... and into the bleachers... of the World Martial Arts Tournament...