Another Path
And the new chapter is here. Kind of great but I'm not the one to judge that. By the way, sorry for the Videl fans or whatever other shipping exist for Gohan. I'm only doing whatever I want to change cannon.
People might not like what I'm about to say but this story's already reached chapter 30 . And as sad as I'm to mention this, the story may not pass chapter 40. Maybe 41 if I'm the mood but we are definitely close to the end. Sorry for bringing you down but I had to say this.
And so another chapter begins now.
Chapter 30: Darkness Looms
"Now we pass into the next fight, Guru vs Shin!" The blonde Tournament announcer said, the two mentioned contestants walking steadily into the centre of the white tilling ring. The cheers and claps of the audience followed their wake like if they were famous music stars. The two fighters, strangers to each other, had their sights fixed into the other, their hard eyes not blinking at all. It looked like an even staring contest.
"Now begin!" The gong echoed over the place signaling the start of another fight.
The former Guardian of two planets tried to bend his arms and go for the offensive. This Shin guy didn't look like the type of fighter that could land the first hit. Yet The Namekian felt himself being restrained by a mystical force. His body could barely react to his will The green alien would have opened his eyes in surprise if he could. Magic.
"Dad, do you feel that?" Gohan asked towards his father from the sidelines in a worried tone. He could see and feel an energy covering Piccolo's entire frame. And it was different from normal ki.
"What is it?" Lime asked confused. Normally Gohan wasn't one to react so abruptly to a fight.
"It's hard to explain, but I think Shin is using magic against Piccolo" The hybrid explained towards his girlfriend.
"Oh man, this is bad" The palm-haired stated a bit grimly also feeling the energy around his long-time Namekian friend "I don't know if Piccolo has the strength to break that kind of grip"
"Why are you stopping me?" The Namekian mentally said to the stranger recognising the aura of magic around his shorter frame. If he powered up he might escape from the hold but that wouldn't give him the answers he wanted to find. And there were plenty of them "Who are you?"
"You will find out soon enough. I am only interested in Spopovitch and Yamu, not in winning this Tournament" The stranger to Earth replied in the mind with a small smile that was not that much of appealing for friendliness. They remained silent for a few minutes "Interesting, your mind defences are formidable. But I don't need to get inside your brain to know you once were the Guardian of this planet" Piccolo remained stoic from the news.
"And the Guardian of Namek too" The green alien replied in the mind, reminding the stranger who he was talking to.
"Quite interesting" The weird-dressed man stated with surprise in his voice. A double Guardian. That was something he had never encountered before.
After seconds of an eery silence in the outside, Shin suddenly let go of Piccolo's hold and walked away.
"I give up" He casually mentioned towards the blonde announcer leaving the arena back towards the tall Kibito. The Namekian hadn't expected that. He thought he would be forced to quit.
"Uh, apparently Shin has decided to quit, so Guru wins by default" The announcer explained through the microphone. Some viewers started to boo but the Namekian paid no heed to the meaningless comments.
"So what happened Piccolo?" Goku asked to his green friend, now back to the gang.
"I don't know, but we must keep an eye not only on them but also Spopovitch and Yamu. He is after them for some reason" The Namekian explained now floating and meditating. He normally did that when frustrated and looking for answers in his mind. The group looked one another apprehensively.
After declaring Guru the winner, the Tournament went on with the next fighters. Tarroc and Kibito were summoned to the arena.
"Be careful cousin. You know what Piccolo said about those two" Gohan said to his also half alien relative.
"Piece of cake, cous" The black-dressed hybrid replied with a confident grin. The demi alien walked alongside the red-skinned visitor, both reaching the arena together. The black-dressed demi Saiyan was ready. He could already tell he didn't need to power up at all to finish this fight.
"Transform" Kibito flatly ordered towards the Saiyan hybrid.
"What?" Tarroc asked eyebrow raised in confusion for a brief second.
"Transform into what you call Super Saiyan" The taller opponent stated, going straight to the point. If his master was right, then these fighters could have the power that Spopovitch and Yamu wanted. If they took it then it would be easier for them to follow the minnions back to the true objective.
"Okay" The half alien replied with a shrug of shoulders not asking any further question about the topic. One normally did when a complete outsider suddenly talked about the most powerful transformation of the Saiyan race. But for Tarroc, it didn't matter. He only wanted to show off a bit for now.
Without moving a muscle in strain, the golden color bursted around his black-covered frame in amazing golden fire. His eyes were the usual emerald-green.
"Why would Tarroc transform?" Krillin asked confused. The others were just as staggered except for Vegeta. He was still angry at the fact his relative hybrid was stronger than him.
"Because Kibito told him to do so" Shin was the one who replied, his answer suddenly making the bald monk to jump back.
"Who are you anyway?" Vegeta asked in his common 'I'm-not-your-friend' tone. But the white mohawk person didn't bother in replying. That only made the prince more angrier and the situation more tumultuous.
"So what now?" Tarroc asked in his cockier super warrior tone. His Saiyan powers already outclassed Kibito', so fighting might be just overdestructive.
In the sidelines, the pale-skinned Yamu and Spopovitch were carrying a one-hand device with a sharp tip. It was also framed with an italic M. Their creepy smiles were showing the greediness that made them perfect candidates for their master.
"Let's go!" Yamu yelled, his hands clutching the weird white device.
"Some genius we have here" The transformed hybrid commented with malice, turning around to properly face his new attackers.
On the sidelines Shin shot both of his hands forward pointing at the demialien.
"What the..." Tarroc whispered, feeling his body paralysed. And the new opponents were getting closer. He wasn't scared though. The constrict on him wouldn't last against his amazing powers.
"Amazing, his strength is even higher than the Namekian" Shin thought to himself, sweat forming in his brow by the mental and physical exertion he had to apply against the much stronger Saiyan. He never thought someone could exist with such energy.
With another burst of golden aura, the Saiyan broke his prison, the arena cracking and tilling flying away over the stadium. The magical supression was instantly gone, the Supreme Kai in the sidelines shot backwards by the energy backlash. He hit the wall completely unconscious. Without even glaring at the new pumped up intruders, the half Super Saiyan blasted them with an invisible eye Kiai his cousin Goku tought him.
The crowd remained silent for some time while processing the unexpected events.
"Um, I think Spopovitch and Yamu are disqualified for trying to fight out of turn" The announcer exclaimed now, taking some sweat out of his brow. Kind of pointless to disqualify someone who were already dust flying in the wind.
The bright fighter turned around again to see his opponent eyes widen in utter disbelief.
"So you still want to go?" The Super Saiyan asked almost sarcastically towards the taller red-skinned fighter. If he said yes, then he was suicidal. Not that it would dissuade the Saiyan.
"I forfeit" Kibito simply said walking to attend the knocked-out Supreme being. With a hand on his chest, the tall person healed his boss back to consciousness, a yellow color similar to Dende forming around the deity.
"Alright, what's going on here?" Goku interfered now towards the healed Shin. His friends backed him up though they knew if it came to a fight Goku would handle it without breaking a sweat "First you hold Piccolo and now Tarroc. If you wanted trouble you only had to ask for a fight" The pale-skinned person stood up sighing in apparent defeat.
"I apologize, Goku. Our current situation is too dire. We thought if Yamu and Spopovitch took one of your energies, we might follow them" The white-haired person explained, then sighed in resignation "But now that both are gone the chances of finding Babidi are almost null"
"Who's Babidi? And who are you?" Gohan asked not mincing the death glare and harsh tone. Lime's hand taking his eased the angry fighter.
"I'm the East Supreme Kai" The pale being answered, making everyone open their eyes in shock. That's why his powers felt familiar to Piccolo.
"King Kai once told me about them. Supreme Kais that are in a higher level than even the Grand Kai" Tien stated remembering from his trainings with the chubby galaxy overlooker.
"I'm just the last one of my generation. My fellow Kais from the North, West, South and Grand were destroyed by a great evil power, millions of years ago before the Earth had even developed life" The mohawk-haired man explained in a rather dark tone "Its name is Majin Buu"
"Millions of years ago, there was a race that existed in the Demon Realm called Madoshi. They were powerful sorcerers and warlocks, wielders of black demonic magic granted to them by the Lord of Darkness himself" The Supreme Kai briefly shuddered when he said those last words. Like if the last words were so prohibited to mention that he might have just bursted in flames for the simple fact of thinking them. He shouldn't have talked about him. He could be watching.
Scratch that, he was already watching.
The Kai shook his head. No time for those thoughts.
"And the strongest of them was Bibidi" The Kai kept on explaining "While Bibidi wasn't physically powerful, his magic allowed him to create a creäture called Majin Buu. An entity of unbridled evil and power. He was just madness and havoc impersonated, murdering without a second thought and without mincing whoever got in his way. That creäture alone started spreading chaos and destruction over the cosmos. And then he targeted us, the Supreme Kais" The Kai stopped for a second,
"My fellow brothers and sisters died at the creature's hands and I would have died too if the Grand Supreme Kai hadn't stepped forward and gave his life in the process" The Kai stopped talking for a minute to gather his grim thoughts "After that, Bibidi sealed Buu inside a cocoon and sent him into outer space. Fortunately I managed to kill Bibidi before he had found where he had left that egg"
"Let me guess, this Babidi guy showed up next and found the egg" Tarroc chimed in and the Supreme nodded. Quite very cliché.
"Babidi is Bibidi' son and has inherited all of his father's abilities. Including the way to bring back Majin Buu to live" The Kai pressed the topic forward.
"Last year we tracked Babidi and his ship heading inside the North Galaxy" Kibito said now towards the fighters of Earth "Into this planet"
"Spopovitch and Yamu had been empowered by Babidi's magic. It's obvious he needs a lot of energy to revive someone of Majin Buu's caliber. That's why they were in this Tournament" The Supreme being kept on "After all, this gathering includes Earth's strongest fighters, doesn't it?" The Earthlings nodded to each other.
"So what now?" Piccolo asked the million dollar question.
"If I had had the chance I would have questioned those two" The East Supreme Kai answered, his hands balling in fists of anger "But if they were Babidi's minions he must had obviously placed a safety measure for no one to betray him"
Gohan suddenly walked outside the room into the green grass around the stadium.
"Gohan?" Lime asked but her boyfriend kept marching like if he hadn't heard a thing. He then grabbed something. It was the sharp-edged power-absorbing device that had almost impaled his cousin. Everyone looked at him in curiosity.
"Tell me something, what you did to paralyze Piccolo and Tarroc was magic?" Gohan asked now the siphoning device in his hands. The Supreme Kai nodded.
"I'm no wizard but all the Shinjins have basic knowledge of magic" The Shinjin replied.
"Then why don't you use that magic to trace Babidi?" The half alien suggested casually offering the absorbing object. It left the group a bit mouth aghast by the simple yet plan fulfilling idea.
"Good idea, Gohan" Goku complimented his son. The Supreme Kai would have jumped in delight but he remained professional.
"Indeed. If this proves to be right, we might still be able to stop Buu's rebirth" The Kai stated, encompassing the object into a purple-colored bubble "Kibito, join me and we might do this faster" The red-skinned being stepped forward and put his hands with his master's. Colors blurred around the device, going mostly for red and yellow.
Until it was positive green.
"There, we found him!" The Supreme Kai and his attendant smiled by the prospect "This is not going to be easy. Babidi must have assumed an ambush coming and might have some more lackeys to do his bidding"
"That makes sense" Goku stated now "If he's so weak then he must have the strongest guards to protect him"
"And that's why I must ask for your help" The white mohawk man requested towards the Defenders of the planet "I'm not going to force you into coming but you have to understand the fate of the universe is hanging by a thread here"
"Count me in!" The martial arts Champion said cheerfully. Maybe this could turn to be funnier than the Tournament.
"We are going to. Not that we'll do a lot but we can't let you guys have all the shots" Krillin said now with Yamcha and Tien.
"Excellent, follow me" The Shinjin said, flying away along with Kibito. The three humans followed along with Goku and Tarroc. Vegeta was following behind.
"You are coming too, Vegeta?" Tarroc asked in surprise.
"You bunch of fools would die without my help" The flame-haired Saiyan stated in his over-arrogant tone, taking into the air. Non of the fighters wanted to remark how weak he truly was so they just decided to let it pass.
"So you are just going to fly away and leave and I can't follow?" Lime asked hands on her hips, her stern gaze on her boyfriend.
"Hey, I'm not leaving for eternity. And you know that I don't want you getting hurt" The Saiyan teenager said, kissing Lime reassuringly in the lips. He knew this could piss her off but it would be for the best. As powerful as she was, the enemies might be stronger "Besides, I'll bring you a souvenir" The brown-haired teenager sighed in resignation accepting the fact that having a Saiyan for boyfriend would sometimes be a pain in the neck.
"Smooth talker" The brunette replied casting him a playful smile and stealing a quick kiss.
"Enjoy it. You will be the only competent fighter left" Gohan was already floating when she realised what he had said "So good luck, champion!" He had already rocketed away.
The now bigger group of warriors flew through the air away from the city, heading for the south hemisphere.
"We don't know how many servants Babidi sent out to collect energy so we must not slow down at all" As the Kai finished saying that he accelerated a bit faster, though the others followed not far behind.
"What's the big deal anyway?" Vegeta interfered now in his usual grumpy tone arms folded over his chest while flying "If that Buu is so powerful then let him come. If his stronger than you then it won't be a warm-up for me" The prince in his most polite mood.
"You don't understand, Vegeta" The blue-dressed supreme said now more serious "Majin Buu doesn't understand reason. He doesn't feel compassion or even pain for anything he does"
"Not to disrespect, but maybe you are overestimating him" Piccolo said now his cape bellowing behind him in the wind.
"And you are underestimating him!" The Supreme said now fixing his eyes in the distance "That monster must not be taken lightly! My brethren did that and were slaughtered without putting a dent on him!"
As they flew for a couple of minutes, the landscape changed again, showing mountain ranges in the distance with lush forests and clear rivers. Many Pterodactylus were nesting in the peaks but the fighters flew too fast for them to catch a good image of the blurring things. There were a few villages on the way but there were no signs of live. Only dead bodies of animals and people, their energies obviously sucked dried from the bone.
"Hey, look!" Tarroc exclaimed, pointing at the energy-sucked corps. It reminded him of Polaris when he had woken up to find the wildlife in the same condition as the people "That's what happened to the animals in Polaris when I woke up from the coma"
"Babidi must have visited that planet and extracted the life force of every living creäture to give it to Majin Buu" Kibito explained to the half alien, who nodded. So the Babidi guy had woken him up.
Tarroc shrugged his shoulders. He would still kill him. Easy as that.
Miles away from the fighters, a spacecraft was buried beneath the Earth' surface, only a tip showing on the outside. There were at least four different levels to go down before one could meet the owner of the alien object.
"My lord, the intruders are coming" A red-skinned demonic figure said towards a shorter presence.
"I know that Dabura. And I'm hoping they arrive soon" A high-pitched voice replied with some malicious mirth, his hands twitching in anxiety. Floating in front of him, a crystal ball showed him the fighters heading his way. The short-sized being spun around and faced the object. It was a dark purple giant ball. Inside it slumbering was the magnificent and deadly creation his father couldn't control. But he would do things differently. "Majin Buu has slept long enough. Destroying this backwater of a planet will be the perfect warm up for the new wave of chaos I'm going to spread!"
Notes from Chapter 30:
Bibidi's race was explained in the Dragon Ball Wiki.
I don't know if what the Supreme Kai used in cannon to hold Piccolo and Gohan was magic or not. But because King Kai said that he and the other Kais had sealed Bojack inside a planet, then I go with magic.
They might have left the Tournament, but Lime is still fighting.
Power Levels:
Goku:
Base form: 13 billions
Gohan:
Base form: 15 billions
Piccolo:
Weights on: 100 billions
Without weights: 150 billions
Vegeta:
After training: 7 billions
Tarroc:
Base form: 9 billions
Super Saiyan: 450 billions
Krillin: 400 millions
Tien: 350 millions
Yamcha: 350 millions
Supreme Kai: 135 billions
Kibito: 1 billion
Satan: 70
Spopovich: 12,000
Yamu: 10,000
Dabu: 15
Killa: 15
A new threat lingers in the horizon for Earth and the Martial Arts Tournament might have a new championess. What other things can happen?