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Chapter 42: Gohan vs Buu!
Buu narrowed his eyes. "I remember you. Buu fought you before."
Gohan smirked. "Yeah, but this time it won't end the same."
And with that Gohan rushed Buu and drove his fist into his gut.
Buu immediately doubled over from the punch, eyes widening in shock. But Gohan was relentless, pulling back to deliver a swift uppercut.
Buu stumbled backward and Gohan mercilessly planted his foot in his gut, sending Buu flying.
Meanwhile, Piccolo, Tien, and 17 couldn't believe it. Gohan actually stood a chance.
This could be the end of this horrible Buu ordeal, after all.
On the other hand, Buu was not as excited nor hopeful as the others. In fact, he was taken aback. Just how in the world did he get so strong? Gohan was not like this when they first fought.
In fact, it was him that had made light work of Gohan. Did he forget that?
Buu scowled. It just didn't make any sense. How could someone get so strong in what felt like such a short amount of time? He needed to get Raditz under control and soon.
However, he didn't really have much time to dwell on things as Gohan rushed him, putting him on the receiving end of fast punches.
Buu hurriedly dodged the flurries as best as he could. Suddenly, the Saiyan ended his fast combo with a knee to the chin, slinging a ki blast Buu's way when Buu was mid-stumble. Buu crossed his arms in a futile attempt to block it, skidding backward. However, he didn't account for Gohan phasing in behind him and executing a perfect roundhouse kick to his neck.
Buu stumbled back again.
Gohan quickly followed up with a knee drop, bringing Buu down to the ground.
The pink creature released a pained grunt.
"I told you things wouldn't be the same."
Buu scowled, clenching his fists. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. He was supposed to be standing over his opponent. He was the one that was supposed to be grinning and showcasing his strength.
"Buu make you pay." He promised.
And then he was rushing Gohan with a yell, slamming a fist into Gohan's stomach.
Gohan stumbled back slightly and Buu was quick to follow up with a hard kick to the chest. He needed to pull himself together. Gohan's increase in strength had caught him off guard, but he couldn't let it continue to get to him.
Not to mention, he needed to hurry and get Raditz completely under control. Otherwise, this would be a tough fight. If he mastered Raditz's power completely, Gohan would not stand a chance against him. But because he hadn't completely tapped into Raditz's power, Gohan was a threat.
~0~
"Hey, Vegeta," Goku called out with a raised brow. "Did you hear what I said? You seem a bit distracted."
Vegeta scoffed. "Of course, I heard what you said. We're just looking for the Dragon Balls. I'm no idiot."
"Geez," Goku whined, "no need to get so angry. We're just making sure." Then Goku was turning his attention onto Kibito Kai. "Alright! What do you say we get started? Hopefully, by the time we gather the Dragon Balls, Gohan will be done with Buu."
"Hopefully." Kibito agreed. "But just in case, we do have the Potara Earrings."
"I doubt we'll need those, but I guess it doesn't hurt anything to be prepared."
"Exactly! Better to be safe than sorry."
"Right." Goku agreed. "Anyway, let's meet back here after two hours."
And with that, everyone was heading their separate ways.
Meanwhile, though Vegeta was sticking to the plan, he was a little distracted. It was hard not to be after what Bulma told him. For the first time, his heart felt heavy. He couldn't quite explain it, but it was as if something was looming over him. Of course, he'd be lying if he said he deserved otherwise, but he hadn't realized he hurt Bulma as badly as he did.
At first, he pretended not to care as much.
Pretended to be okay with the outcome.
But that wasn't the case.
How in the hell was he going to fix things?
Could things even be fixed in the first place?
"Tch."
Would there even be a home for him to go back to when all of this was over?
Vegeta frowned. And what about Trunks and Tarble? How did they feel towards him?
~0~
Vegeta was such a prick.
Where does he get off bringing up that she didn't have anyone?
Zangya angrily huffed.
Vegeta had obviously struck a nerve.
It wasn't as if she didn't have anyone by choice.
As pathetic as it sounded, she was just holding out for someone.
For 17.
Though maybe that bridge was already burned; it wasn't as if she hated him or anything. They were simply too similar in personality. Not only that, but it was just hard to trust anyone and open up. Especially given her past and the way Bojack did her. Bojack betrayed her and it still stings a bit to this day.
And things like that made it hard to have a relationship.
And if 18 wasn't careful, her relationship could turn out the same way because not having trust could really make or break a relationship.
Raditz seemed like a good guy from what she could tell and he seemed to really love 18.
Zangya sighed.
She wished she had someone like Raditz. Raditz was incredibly patient.
If 18 wasn't careful, 18 would end up pushing Raditz away and that would leave her to steal him away.
~0~
"Mama," Marise called out lightly, Taro trailing behind her.
Android 18 perked up, "Mm?"
"We'd like to get stronger."
Android 18 had a feeling this conversation would come sooner or later.
However, she didn't think she was ready for it.
It was no secret that she and Raditz had pretty rough pasts. Naturally, they wanted to shield them and protect them as best as they could. Though, as they recently (and harshly) learned, it just wasn't possible to protect them from everything.
"We'll see what your father has to say about it, and we'll go from there." 18 promised.
Marise and Taro looked hopeful. They shared a glance, a smile spreading across their features. It wasn't a flat-out no, which meant that there was a chance they could be just like Goten and Trunks. After all, they weren't that young. They were only three.
"Thanks, Mama."
Android 18 cocked a brow. "Don't thank me yet, you two. I have to talk to your father about it and see how he feels."
They nodded silently.
Knowing Raditz, he'd probably want to train them but she wasn't sure so it was best to still check anyway. After what happened to them, they needed to feel safe again. Espeically since she and Raditz both felt an immense amount of guilt for failing them. Though 18 couldn't help but feel as if Raditz was taking it harder than her. A lot harder.
She could feel it through their bond.
He hated himself at that moment and he was disgusted with himself.
He had felt like a failure.
At the time, she didn't think it was appropriate to ask him about it or talk to him, but she did make a mental note to talk to him later and see how he was feeling. It looked like when all of this was over, they were going to have a long chat about everything.
~0~
"Don't tell me you're throwing in the towel already?"
Buu growled, whipping the blood off of his lips with the back of a hand.
Buu was not amused. He was tired of going tit for tat with Gohan.
He needed to do something - anything - to turn the tides in his favor completely.
He didn't have the patience for a drawn-out fight like this.
Not when he had other things he could be doing.
He glanced around. Didn't he see other warriors around earlier?
Gohan slugged him as hard as he could, Buu spluttering up blood.
"The fight's here, Buu. I'm not letting you drag anyone else into this."
Buu growled, harshly head-butting Gohan. "You make Buu angry."
And then he was flinging an energy wave with a roar, rushing Gohan and exchanging fierce punches and kicks.
~0~
"Hey guys," Tarble called out lightly.
Tarble was sitting on the sidelines with Chiaotzu. Yamcha and Krillin were training together.
"Yeah?" Yamcha called back. "What's up?"
"Do you think Buu's still wreaking havoc?"
Krillin blinked. "I-I'm not sure."
"Me either," Yamcha answered. "But I'm sure we could ask and find out."
~0~
"He's relentless!"
"Yeah," Goten agreed, leaping up and narrowly avoiding a low kick from thought clone Raditz.
Trunks attempted to sneak up on him from behind while he was busy with Goten, but he was quickly whirring around and clotheslining the smaller Saiyan.
"Trunks! Let's fuse!"
"Right!"
Trunks quickly made his way beside Goten and the two quickly fell into position. "FUUU - " they inched towards the other, moving their arms and legs accordingly. "SIONNN!" The boys got into the final required pose, "HA!"
"Now," Gotenks began proudly, "here's to SSJ3!"
Without further ado, Gotenks jumped into SSJ3 form. He'd have to make this quick and basically seize the first opening that he saw. In a drawn-out battle against his uncle, he would not win. The fusion wouldn't last too long and his uncle had mastered SSJ3 right before Buu first came to the Lookout tower. Things would be different if this was simply a battle against time and if Raditz were still only able to hold the SSJ3 form for 30 minutes.
Maybe the thought clone had some sort of weakness?
The thought clone in question rushed an SSJ3 Gotenks, moving to deliver a harsh kick to Gotenks chest and Gotenks dodged it with a side jump. Instead, Gotenks flung a rapid series of ki blasts his way, watching as Raditz pulled back and fended them off with an arm.
While he was occupied, Gotenks phased in behind him and fired a massive ki blast at his black. "Take this!"
However, Raditz also phased out of sight.
Gotenks hit nothing but air. "Tch."
From above, Raditz quickly descended upon Gotenks with a huge leg lifted up.
"Aah!" Gotenks pulled back, narrowly avoiding the drop of Raditz's leg.
Raditz was unfazed, dropping into an all-too-familiar stance. "Kaaaaa-meeee - "
Gotenks eyes widened. This was his opportunity right here!
" - haaaaaaa - meeeeee - "
Quickly, Gotenks was phasing out of sight, and with as much force as he could muster up, he slammed his leg into the back of Raditz's neck.
Instantaneously, the Kamehameha wave that Raditz was forming dissipated and the thought clone was falling to its knees, disappearing.
Gotenks released a relieved sigh.
Now he had to find his uncle's actual body and get him out of here. Things should be a lot easier now that he wasn't being attacked for once.
It was weird seeing a body from the inside and Gotenks was ready to get out of Buu's body for once and for all. Earlier, he and Trunks had covered a lot of ground when they weren't fused, and being able to fly helped out considerably. It was only a matter of time before they found uncle Raditz as they would have soon covered just about all of Buu's insides.
~0~
Meanwhile Piccolo and the others were watching Gohan and Buu fight from afar. There was no telling how long they've been at it nor just how long the boys have been inside Buu. Time seemed to be passing painfully slow for all parties involved.
And then, Tien was finally breaking the silence after what felt like an eternity of watching.
"They're pretty much around the same level."
"Yeah, it looks that way." Piccolo agreed. "If the boys can hurry up and free Raditz, the gap will be widened between Gohan and Buu considerably."
"You really think it'll widen that much?"
Piccolo nodded. "Definitely. I have no doubt about it."
17 released a low hum. "How do you think Goku and the others are coming along on the search for the dragon balls?"
"I'm not sure," Piccolo answered truthfully," but I'm sure they have everything under control."
"Hey guys," Tien called out squinting and pointing, "I think I see the boys!"
Piccolo perked up noticeably, eyes following Tien's gaze. "You're right! It looks like they have successfully retrieved Raditz."
17 cocked a brow. "Then how come Buu hasn't changed yet?"
"I'm sure where bound to see something." Piccolo then diverted his eyes onto Tien, "Go ahead and give the signal."
~0~
Buu frowned.
Something felt amiss.
Yet he couldn't put his finger on it.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a flare of sorts and Buu squinted, eyes flickering onto the source.
There was Piccolo, Tien, and 17 on the sidelines and it seemed like Tien was responsible for the flare of sorts.
But why?
Meanwhile Gohan was smirking. That must be the signal.
In other words, the boys were successful in getting Raditz out of Buu and now the real fight could begin.
This meant that he could fight without worrying about Raditz, Goten and Trunks.
Additionally, he could fight and easily overwhelm Buu; Buu would offer less resistance and wouldn't be able to put up much a fight.
The fight was basically over.
"Don't let your guard down, Gohan!"
Gohan's smirk fell slightly, eyes diverting onto Piccolo.
"I hate to say this," Piccolo yelled, "but you remember what happened during the Cell Games, don't you?"
At this, Gohan winced.
Piccolo was right.
He couldn't get too ahead of himself.
He shouldn't relax until this was over for good.
Buu, on the other hand, was grimacing.
Something was definitely wrong with his body, but what was it?
The pink creature hunched over and released a long yell.
His body...his body was changing.
~0~
"Doesn't it feel like we've been here forever?" Bulma moaned.
"I was just thinking the same thing." Chi-Chi admitted. "I want to go back home to my precious boys and Goku already."
Android 18 cocked a brow. "Someone was supposed to get with me and inform me of what was going on Earth, but they never did. I'll go check things out and see what's going on."
After all, she had a family to get back to as well.
She was ready to tuck her kids into bed again.
She was ready to fuss at 17 and be what he called overbearing.
18 was even ready to get back to gossiping with Bulma and girls again.
All of this happening made her realize that she had taken her life for granted on Earth.
~0~
"H-He's not waking up." Tien claimed in disbelief.
Piccolo's frown deepened. "That's unusual. Maybe it'll take him a while to come to. I remember it took a while for 18 to wake up after she was spit out by Cell. Perhaps this is no different in a sense."
"Regardless," 17 butt in, "we got what we wanted at the end of the day. Now what?"
"Now I say you guys get out of here and find some place safe. I'll stay behind and keep an eye out on Gohan."
"What, why?" Trunks asked in confusion. "Why do you get to stay behind?"
Piccolo diverted his eyes onto Trunks and Goten. "You two have done enough. Good job. I'm proud of you two, but now everyone needs to get out of Gohan's way, so he can truly fight without worrying."
"And so Buu doesn't resort to cheap tricks again." Tien tacked on thoughtfully.
"Right." Piccolo agreed. "The last thing we want is for someone else to get absorbed. We're so close to this being over, I can feel it."
Tien smiled. "Yeah. I can feel it too."
"Tien. 17." Piccolo addressed calmly. "Can I trust you two to find Dende and look after Raditz and the boys?"
Tien nodded. "You can count on us. I know just the place we can go. We can all crash at my place. I'm sure I made Launch worry and I'm probably due for an earful."
"Sounds good." Piccolo responded. "Goku, Vegeta, and Kibito Kai will sense all of the ki at Tien's place and probably meet up there with the dragon balls in hand."
Gamelover41592: Thanks! And we'll definitely see what's in store for Bulma and Vegeta!
coldblue2015: No need for apologies! I didn't expect the double update either!
Q1&S1) I'm not sure to be honest. While that's a great idea and I wish I thought of that myself earlier, I think I had someone else in mind for Vegeta to go to. Someone no one would really expect or see coming. Q2&S2) Like you mentioned, they should be about equal. At least I feel like they'd be about equal. Buu hasn't completely taken over Raditz per say, so I did make that a factor to take into consideration as well. If Buu wasn't having issues with Raditz, I think it would make sense for him to be stronger since SSJ3 is a very powerful form. Also, Gotenks wasn't necessarily absorbed. Kinda like what happened to Goku and Vegeta during the Buu Saga when Vegito got "absorbed". Q3&S3) I think it would probably make sense for them to worry about it. Especially on Vegeta's end. Vegeta isn't in the clear just yet, especially what he did at the tournament. Vegeta has a lot to prove to everyone and you're right, his history doesn't help. Q4&S4) That is very possible! Like you stated, I think it'd be pretty cool to have Tien training a son or a daughter. I agree. I still wish we got more of Tien in the actual series but that's just me. He had so much potential.
Thanks! Stay healthy and safe as well!
