Wow! Cannot believe I'm actually posting Chapter Forty! These next couple of chapters are pretty beefy and full of action. I really enjoyed writing them, so I really hope you enjoy reading them. Thank you all so much for your continued support. Reading your reviews and seeing the number of followers going up just makes me want to keep on writing and posting. So thank you. Enjoy! :) xx

Chapter Forty

Rescue Gokuto

xxxx

Goku couldn't believe what he was witnessing. Majin Buu had ascended. He had ascended to the legend passed down by his own saiyan ancestors for thousands of years. The power was unreal, Godly even. He could hear the distant cries of the spectators by the temple as the planet shook with raw evil energy.

The golden haired Buu grinned manically, tilting his head so that white eyes landed on the saiyan warrior, "What's the matter saiyan? Are you speechless? Don't tell me you haven't any last words!"

Goku gulped, how could he stop this from happening? Buu was going to kill them all! He was going to destroy everything! And Gohan and Gokuto were still inside that monster!

"G-Goku?" he heard Krillin whimper as he limped over, "Any ideas on how to beat this thing?"

Slowly, the saiyan shook his head in response, his jaw tightly clenched. It was already taking the majority of his energy to maintain his super saiyan three state, he had never forced himself to hold it for so long. It was more powerful than super saiyan two yes, but the transformation was supposed to be used for quick and direct defeats - it was pushing his body to the limit.

A glint of light caught his eye from above. The spirit bomb, humming with the purest of energy. But if he fired it now would it even work on this form of Buu? Gohan and the others were still inside, and it was with a heavy heart did he remember that Babidi had managed to tap into the darkness that resided within the teenager's heart. Gohan wasn't pure anymore, and the blast would surely destroy them.

"Goku, no matter what we have to hold this thing off," came Piccolo's voice of reason, although he noticed the slight quake in his tone, "But don't get too close. Remember if Buu kills you, you won't exist."

The saiyan nodded in understanding, his obsidian stare still fixated on the evil being. He couldn't risk getting killed, his friends and family needed him now more than ever.

A strangled cry interrupted his thoughts, as the wicked Majin erupted into insane laughter. The dark hue of energy surrounding him grew in size, the dazzling light obscuring their vision. Deep cracks began to forge in the earth below, which was already partly decimated by Gohan and Buu's previous fight. Goku yelped, pushing his Ki downwards in order to propel himself above the red hot lava that escaped the planet's surface.

Panicking slightly, his eyes found Chi-Chi and the other non-fighters, who thankfully had been suspended in midair by a circular shield by the Kai's. They were safe, for now, though the planet was beginning to die, and from Goku's experience, it wouldn't be long until it exploded. They had to do something before it was too late!

With an almighty bellow, the saiyan warrior ignited is aura around him. It crackled and fizzled with sparking energy, before he propelled himself forwards towards the mentally deranged beast. It was obvious that Buu's new found power had gone to his head, but if he kept powering up like this then the planet would explode in seconds.

"Ka…meh…hah…me…HAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Goku roared, the bright blue energy erupting from his palms and firing towards the Majin.

His senses tingled, as the rest of the Z-Fighter's and the Grand Kai's warriors joined him in his attack. Beams of technicolour intermingled together, slamming into the ancient beast and causing him to cease in his power up.

The planet rocked from the amount of raw energy that fed into the blast, causing North Kai to almost have a heart attack.

"No Goku!" He cried, "It's too much! We'll all be killed!"

Though the spikey haired saiyan could not hear him over the roar of the high winds that he and the other's had created. Hot lava spilled forth from the cracks within the planets surface, causing temperatures to rise dramatically. They needed to keep Buu at bay, even if it was risky. But Goku steadily realised he was putting out too much power, and in an instant, dropped out of his transformation, his long golden locks returned to its usual short ebony.

"INSECTS!" Buu screamed, as Goku's blast became significantly weaker and the manic Majin was able to overcome the attack with an explosive wave.

The warriors yelped, as they were thrown backwards by the sudden force, and Goku was so exhausted that he allowed the rush of the wind to carry him lifelessly through the air, where he crashed straight into Yamcha.

"You alright mate?" the ex-bandit asked worriedly, his own body littered with cuts and bruises.

The saiyan nodded wordlessly as he panted, allowing his friend to throw his arm over his shoulder for support.

"Damn it," Yamcha spat viciously, "I was certain we had him there."

"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Majin Buu cackled at the helpless group of fighters, "Fools! Your attacks are useless against me! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Aw man," Krillin sighed, "who brought him a one way ticket on the crazy train?"

"I don't know Krillin," said Tien, glaring at the demented beast, "But the most we've succeeded in doing is pissing him off."

"Damn it," a sharp voice came from behind them, Vegeta was back on his feet, "Where the hell is that brat? I swear, if he's gotten distracted again by those blasted harpies I am going to-"

BOOM

Vegeta was cut short, as Buu suddenly appeared before them, delivering a well aimed kick to the side of his head. He was caught off guard, and was send spiralling through the air before he managed to stop himself mid fall, blood pouring from his lip.

"Vegeta!" Goku gasped, "Are you okay?!"

The older saiyan rolled his eyes, spitting out a mouthful of blood, "Just fantastic Kakarot, now if you could concern yourself more with the rampaging beast in front of you instead of my wellbeing, that would be even better."

Majin Buu was berserk, his golden aura shooting across the sky as he fired himself towards the Z-Fighter's. It infuriated Goku to no end, Buu knew that he could just end them all instantly, but like a true blood thirsty saiyan, he was enjoying beating the living snot out of them before he made his final move.

The other's screamed and dodged out of the frenzied beasts murderous path as the darkening clouds began to circle above them, creating whirring tornados that sprang up across the planet, causing even more destruction. Goku couldn't even see the spirit bomb above the darkened hue of the clouds, that cast eerie shadows over the planet. They were injured, severely so, and it was only a matter of time before it would all be over.

Buu's shrieks reached his ears through the darkness, and with a sudden sonic boom that caused his bones to shudder, did the saiyan realise that he had been struck by the beast. Agony erupted in his torso as he began to plunge towards the ground, a brilliant violet light obscuring his vision as a blast came hurtling towards him.

He scrunched up his eyelids, preparing himself for the impact - but it didn't come.

The Supreme Kai suddenly appeared before him, grasping him by the collar before he hit the lava below and conjuring a shield between them and the attack, sending it careening off into the distance.

"Goku, are you alright?!" The deity asked worriedly, lowering them gently to the ground next to the other Z-Fighters.

Majin Buu had quickly become distracted, his crackling aura firing across the skies in order to engage in combat with the deceased warriors.

Goku nodded his head numbly, as Krillin roughly shoved a senzu bean into his mouth.

"That was the last one," Krillin told him as he swallowed, "It's too risky for Dende and Kibito to come back out of the shield, we're going to have to be careful."

The saiyan sighed at his best friends words, feeling his body restore to full power, "I just can't believe how strong he's become. I don't know how to say this everyone, but I honestly don't know how we're going to beat him."

Beside him, Vegeta growled in anger, "Where's your saiyan pride Kakarot?! It may be hopeless but you still have your honour. What would your son and grandson say if they saw you wallowing like this? We have to give this ingrate everything we've got!"

"I'm afraid Goku may be right Vegeta," The Supreme Kai said solemnly, "At Buu's current level of power, he is by far the strongest being in the entire universe. Even if we made an attempt to seal him up again, the probability of him breaking out of his prison of his own accord is very high."

"Then what do you suggest we do Supreme Kai?" asked Piccolo, his weighted cape and turban long discarded and his gi bloodied and torn, "We can't keep going on like this until we keel over. Even if Gohan does manage to get Gokuto out, he'll have no universe to come back to."

The Kai sighed hopelessly, opening his mouth to retort when an angered cry sounded from above them, accompanied by the familiar shrieks of the destructive Majin.

"OI MAJIN BUU!"

It was Gotenks, hurtling across the sky towards Buu. The monster ceased in his attack on the Grand Kai's warriors, only to dodge the vibrant blast aimed at his head by inches. The fused warrior gritted his teeth, a furious look upon his strong features as Buu inclined his head curiously towards him.

"Yeah I'm talking to you ugly!" he seethed before a rather confident smirk inched its way over his lips, "I see you've got a new transformation, shame it didn't make your face any better to look at."

The Majin growled, sparks emitting from his aura as his temper began to rise.

"Gotenks what are you doing?!" Goku yelled, but the boy didn't listen.

"Hey don't get so mad," said Gotenks, unfazed by the fact that Buu's Ki had begun to spike, "I know exactly what you need to help you unwind. You need a real challenge, and Gotenks is gonna be the one to give it to you."

"Why that insolent little-!" Vegeta spat from beside Goku, but the rest of his sentence was drowned out by the almighty bellow that suddenly escaped the fused boy's chest.

"And guess what?!" Gotenks growled, his Ki spiking rapidly and causing raging winds to erupt around them, "Whilst you've been busy wasting your time trying to beat on my friends, I've mastered a new technique!"

"What the hell is he talking about?" Piccolo growled, "Is he trying to distract him?"

Though the Namekian was silenced, as the young boy's aura crackled and snapped at the air. He transformed easily into a super saiyan, his power reaching enormous heights as his hair turned golden and his eyes a vibrant shade of green. But it didn't stop there, Gotenks' hair started to grow, spreading to his ankles in the same spikey mass as Goku. His eyebrows disappeared and his facial features grew sharper and more defined.

Gotenks smirked, ceasing in his power up and relishing in the flabbergasted reaction of the Z-Fighter's, "Oh yeah Buu! Let's see how you like fighting a real super saiyan three!"

Goku blinked, as the young boy fired himself towards the awaiting Majin. The ground shuddered beneath their feet, as Vegeta uttered a frustrated cry about 'stupid, father surpassing hybrid brats'.

"This is what you get for messing with my friends!" Gotenks bellowed, striking Buu hard across the jaw and causing a sonic boom to echo over the planet.

The destruction God was either too shocked to move or not bothered in the slightest about the young saiyan's attacks, as the fused warrior back handed him across the sky with malicious intent and Buu made no effort to move.

"This is for Earth!" he yelled again, reappearing behind the monster and driving his elbow into the back of his neck.

"This is for Gokuto!"

BOOM

Buu was thrown into the air by a fierce kick, before Gotenks cupped his hands to the sides gathering a ball of golden energy beneath his finger tips, "And this one's just for you ugly, MASENKO GUN!"

The combined attacked erupted from his palms, careening towards Buu and exploding in a shower of light. The blast was enormous by all accounts, but to Gotenks' and the other's horror, it didn't even leave a mark on the Godly being.

These kids, Goten and Trunks, Gohan and Gokuto too, were the future. The saiyan halfling's were far beyond anything that he and Vegeta were when they were that age. It was an amazing sight to behold, and Goku wouldn't put it past Vegeta's little girl to have the same potential. But there was no time to congratulate the fused boy, as Buu's laughter reached their ears.

It was useless, he mused hopelessly as the smoke cleared, even a fused super saiyan three was no match! But then again, Goten and Trunks were just young boys, inexperienced in battle and not up to the same level as he and Vegeta. If only there was more time to show the boys how to use their power, if only they were as strong as he and Vege-.

Lightbulb.

"Vegeta?" Goku asked suddenly, causing the man in question to turn towards him.

"What is it Kakarot?" he frowned, catching on to the giddy look upon his features.

The younger saiyan grinned, "I think I know a way of holding Buu off."

Vegeta eyed him, following his gaze up towards Gotenks and back towards him, "No."

Goku's jaw dropped, "B-but I haven't even said what it is yet!"

"You don't have to!" The prince spat, gaining the attention of the other Z-Fighter's, "There is no way in HFIL I'm doing that ridiculous dance!"

"But Vegeta," Goku reasoned, "It's to save the universe!"

"And I'd rather die than have to share a body with you!"

"Well that's not very nice…" he pouted.

"Why don't you ask the Namek?" Vegeta growled.

"But he's not nearly as strong as-!" Goku cut himself short, as Piccolo shot him a murderous glare, "I mean uh, well, were both saiyan's aren't we? It'll work better!"

"Tch."

"Come on Vegeta," he pressed desperately, his tone becoming serious, "We have to do something! If not, our son's will be killed! Not to mention Bulma and Chi-Chi, and all of our friends!"

The saiyan prince glared at him, yet something changed within his obsidian eyes, "Fine, I'll fuse with you, but you'll have to teach me first."

"W-what? But there's no time!" Goku spluttered, "Weren't you watching me and Piccolo practice before?"

"I was too busy laughing at your pathetic display to take notice of those idiotic moves," he shot back, "Damn it Kakarot, have you no pride? We are WARRIORS not ballet dancers!"

"Wait," interrupted The Supreme Kai, smiling slightly at them, "I think I have a way for you to fuse without using the fusion dance."

"What, really?" Goku gaped.

The Kai nodded, surprising them by taking off his bauble like earrings and placing one in each of the saiyan's palms. "These are potara earrings, better known as a weapon of the Gods."

"Weapon?" Vegeta growled, "You expect me to believe that a pair of earrings will actually help us destroy this monster?"

Shin smiled knowingly, "I can't believe I hadn't thought of it before! Although I am sure there are rules against using the potara earrings on mortals, but I say we've gone too far now to worry about such things! You see, if both are worn by just one person, they are quite ordinary earrings. However, when two individuals wear one on opposite ears, their true properties awaken and they have the ability of fusing them into one single powerful entity."

"Woah, all that from just one tiny earring!" Goku exclaimed, "Cool huh Vegeta?"

"Idiot, stop wasting time!" Vegeta snapped, before turning to the Kai, "And just how long can I be expected to be fused with his buffoon?"

"Hey!"

"One hour," said The Supreme Kai, "Although I recommend you fuse in your base forms, the sudden power increase from your super saiyan transformations may cause your time to cut short."

"An hour should be plenty of time," Piccolo nodded thoughtfully, "Do you think you will be able to hold him off?"

"Well it wouldn't hurt to try!" Goku grinned, looking over at his agitated, spikey haired friend, "Aw come on Vegeta, it's only for an hour!"

The prince sighed, clasping the earring to his right ear, "One hour. And we will not speak of this again."

Goku chuckled, putting on his own earring on his left ear, "Thank you Vegeta, you've really changed over the last seven years, you know."

"Hn."

The Z-Fighter's had to shield their eyes as a bright white light encompassed the desolated terrain. Power surged around them as Goku and Vegeta's bodies flew towards each other, connecting at the sternum until the light became so bright that the other's couldn't see what was happening.

The commotion below caught the attention of Majin Buu, who was engaged mid battle with Gotenks. The wicked beast turned towards the ground, ignoring the frustrated shouts of the young boy as he pulled himself away from their fight.

Gradually, the light dimmed, and where Goku and Vegeta had previously stood, a single being had taken their place. He was around Goku's height, and wore the same style gi as the deceased warrior with the colours reversed. The man had rippling muscles and enormous energy, Vegeta's white boots and gloves adorned his extremities. His hair was black and peaked upwards like Vegeta, yet two messy bangs wavered over his dark obsidian eyes in defiance.

The Z-Fighter's were frozen to the spot, even more shocked at the fusion than they were with Gotenks. They just hoped this new one wasn't a cocky little -

"Er Goku? Vegeta?" Krillin mustered meekly, "I-Is that you?"

The man smirked, all too reminiscent of the prince of saiyans. His dark eyes twinkled just as Goku's did when he was excited as he opened his mouth, the voices of both saiyan's reverberating through his vocal cords, "I am neither Goku nor Vegeta, I am Vegito!"

"Vegito huh?" Yamcha quirked, slightly awestruck as the fused saiyan suddenly kicked off from the ground and hurtled towards Buu at breakneck speed. "I really hope this works."

"Me too Yamcha," said Tien, looking towards the sky, "Me too."

xxxx

"So this is what it looks like inside Majin Buu's head," Videl pondered as they squinted through the dark tunnels of the monster's mind.

"Figures it would be empty," Gohan said bitterly, walking briskly ahead of the two girls, "Kind of gives an explanation to all that mindless destruction."

"Way to bring down the tone blondie," chirped Lime, looking around, "He does seem to have a lot of cobwebs up here though, he really is ancient."

"Gokuto has got to be around here somewhere," the young saiyan muttered aloud, annoyed that he still couldn't sense the toddler.

The mind of a monster was a strange and eerie place, with dark tunnels veering off in every direction. The teenager's tried to stick to what looked like the main path so that they wouldn't get lost, but Gohan didn't have any clue as to where they were going. The fleshy walls were the same greyish colour as the bowels, which said a lot about the wicked Majin in his opinion. Although the horrendous smell had gone, the floors were as slimy as ever, and Gohan had lost count of the times where a less agile Lime had fallen over - she didn't have any martial arts training like he and Videl.

The young saiyan squinted through the darkness, when suddenly, he spotted a dim light up ahead.

"What's that?" he muttered, picking up his pace.

"I hope it's not another worm," Videl groaned as they rounded a corner.

Gohan began to raise his Ki a little should something attack them, when he stopped suddenly, causing the two girls to crash into his solid back.

"Ow Gohan! What the hell?" the Satan girl hissed, but the teenager ignored her.

His breath caught in his throat, relief flooding his chest as he stared in front of him, the light illuminating the pathway as a small figure stepped out from the shadows.

"'Kuto!" Lime cried, beaming from ear to ear and kneeling down, "Come here sweetie! Come to Mummy!"

Gohan frowned, as the toddler made no effort to move. Gokuto stood stoic, his features devoid of any emotion as he stared at the girl. The light he had seen seemed to be emitting from the child like some strange blueish aura. Something didn't feel right.

"Gokuto?" his best friend tried again, confused when the little boy did not run to them immediately.

"Lime look out!" Gohan roared, catching the menacing glint within Gokuto's haunted emerald eyes, before a beam of purple energy erupted from his palm and careened towards her.

The young saiyan instinctively shoved the two girls out of the way, landing heavily on top of them as the hot blast shot right past their heads and exploded.

"Gokuto!" Videl scolded, dusting herself off as they clambered to their feet, "What did you do that for?!"

"It's not Gokuto," Gohan stated darkly, eyeing the two year old who was giving them all an uncharacteristic smirk.

"What do you mean?" asked Lime, "It looks like him."

He racked his brains, trying to think of some sort of logical explanation for the imposter in front of them.

"I think it's got something to do with the fact that we're in Buu's mind," he reasoned, "You heard how he was talking earlier, everything he was thinking and feeling was all about Gokuto."

"Are you saying that this Gokuto is a thought?" Videl gaped.

"Something like that," Gohan shrugged, "I can't sense anything from him."

"I think you're right," said Lime fearfully, "Look at him Gohan, he looks so creepy! What are we going to do?"

The teenager gulped down his nervousness, his tail swishing around behind him, "I'm going to have to fight him."

Videl's eyes widened, "Are you serious?!"

"Completely," he replied boldly, although his heart was lurching uncomfortably at the thought of fighting his own son, "The way he's looking at us he's not going to let us get past without a fight, and Gokuto might be in that direction, we haven't looked there yet."

"Oh no, I can't watch!" Lime whimpered, burying her face into Videl's shoulder as the fake Gokuto suddenly fired himself towards the awaiting halfling.

Gohan dodged the child with ease, but the copy used his feet to bounce off the fleshy walls behind and propel himself backwards, using the momentum to deliver a roundhouse kick to the teenager's jaw. Gohan was startled for a second, the little tike was really strong!

Though, trying to block out the image of his son, he quickly recovered and struck the toddler in the stomach with a sharp and powerful knee. The fake coughed out a wad of blood and mucus, as Gohan followed up in his attack and connected his elbow with the boy's spine, sending him crumpling to the floor.

Pain briefly reflected in the child's eyes, causing Gohan's heart to ache. He forced down the overwhelming urge to run over and kiss him all over his chubby little cheeks to try and make his owie's go away. But all that went out of the window when the toddler got back to his feet, sending him a wicked grin which made a shiver run down to the tip of his tail.

Just like Spopovich, the boy would not stay down.

The teenager gritted his teeth, preparing himself as they engaged in battle once more. Each fist was met with an oncoming fist, sending tremors through the pathways of Buu's mind and causing Lime and Videl to sink to the floor and throw their arms over their heads for cover.

Ki blasts ignited in the air, sizzling and popping when they hit the walls of the cavern. Gohan would have thought it would have been over now, but trying to harm something that kept recovering from the brink of death was proving to be quite a difficult challenge. And the young saiyan was getting increasingly annoyed.

BANG

With a hammer fist to the skull, the toddler was sent crashing to the floor in a heap. However, it didn't take long for the boy to recover, and soon he was back on his feet, glaring up at Gohan with empty eyes.

"Alright you little shit," Gohan growled, "Where is the real Gokuto?"

The fake said nothing.

"Question," Videl piped up suddenly, "If this Gokuto really is what you say he is, then how do you beat a thought?"

"Not appreciating your input Videl," the young saiyan shot back as the toddler lifted himself into the air in order to face him once more.

"I was just asking!"

"Well don't!" Gohan growled, averting his eyes away from the enemy for a spilt second in order to glare at her.

The teenager realised his mistake almost instantly. A sharp pain suddenly radiated through his skill as he was caught off guard by a crippling head butt - courtesy of his own son.

"Damn it kiddo, just how hard is your head?!" Gohan winced, tears forming at the corners of his eyes as he dropped several feet.

The younger hybrid smirked devilishly, before delivering a sucker punch to the teen's gut.

"Ow! You little bastard!" He yelped, booting the child across the face and sending him flying through the air.

Below him, he heard a snort.

"Did you just get beat up by a two year old?" Lime giggled, causing him to blush furiously.

"He's stronger than he looks!"

ZIIIIIIIIP

"GOHAN!" the girl's cried, as an enormous purple blast came hurtling towards him out of no where.

The teenager yelped, as the hot sphere of energy prickled his skin. He growled, raising out his palms in order to deflect the blast, when he was suddenly pushed into the orb with a sharp kick to the bottom of his back.

Where the hell did that little bleeder come from?!

BOOM!

The blast was so powerful that it seemed to rock the entirety of Majin Buu's skull. There was no way Buu wouldn't have felt that unless the Z-Fighter's were doing an extremely good job of keeping him distracted.

"Gohan! Gohan are you alright?!" Lime cried, as they both ran to the teen who was singed, smoking and sore, face planting the ground.

"Ow," he croaked, he was really starting to loathe this Majin magic.

Videl rolled him over, her sapphire eyes boring into his for a moment, panic in her eyes along with a spark of something that the teenager could not depict, before they were startled by an almighty scream.

"Gohan he's gonna blast us!" Lime cried, pointing a shaky finger towards the evil child who had appeared before them, his palm outstretched as he gathered another ball of concentrated Ki beneath his fingertips.

"Uh oh."

POP!

"What the hell?!" Lime yelped, and quite rightly so.

Gohan blinked, and then blinked again, unsure of whether or not his eyes were deceiving him, or that he had just been blasted so hard that he was hallucinating. As suddenly, the evil copy of his only son was replaced by a giant steaming hotdog, one identical to the one's that Gokuto had been munching down all weekend.

"Is he a hotdog?" Videl cried, "Somebody pinch me so I know I'm not dreaming."

Lime readily obliged.

"Ow! Lime!"

"So er any ideas boy genius?" the red head quirked, looking up at him.

Gohan stared at the boy that was now a tasty snack in front of him. He didn't understand it, was this some sort of trick laid out by Buu? But they were in his mind weren't they? And if this copy of Gokuto stemmed from his thoughts then something must have…

The girls gave him a startled look, as the young saiyan started to roar with laughter.

"Um, Gohan?"

"Adda boy! Ha!" The halfling barked, tears stinging his eyes, "I can't believe that actually worked!"

"You know what's going on?" Videl asked sceptically.

Gohan grinned, "We're in Buu's thoughts remember? He's thinking about the strength and power that's coming from Gokuto's absorption. But like Babidi says, Gokuto is still in here somewhere, on Namek he had some of Gokuto's memories, he knew who me and Lime were right? So Gokuto's thoughts are having just as much of an affect on Buu than I think he realises!"

The Satan girl's eyes widened in disbelief, "So you're saying Gokuto is thinking about food?!"

"Well he is a saiyan after all!" Lime laughed, "Poor love, he must be starving."

"What does being a saiyan have to do with anything?" Videl asked haughtily.

"It's a long story," said Gohan, feeling slightly chipper, "But if all Gokuto is thinking about is food, then that's got to make it easier for everyone on the outside, I bet Buu can't think straight!"

"Well come on then," said Videl, leading the way, "Let's get out of here before he gets his thoughts back in order."

They followed the girl obediently, fighting their way through stringy cobwebs and dark tunnels until Videl suddenly called out to him.

"Hey you two, over here! I think I've found him!"

Gohan started forwards immediately, finding Videl starting wide eyed at a pink fleshy pod that was attached to the damp floor and dark ceiling. Veins protruded around the spherical matter, pulsating vigorously around the figure that was nestled deep inside.

Gokuto.

The little boy looked fast asleep - or at least he prayed to Kami that he was. His eyes were shut peacefully, his spikey fringe slightly matted and wet from the disgusting juices of Buu's insides. Gohan wasted no time in levitating himself upwards, pressing two fingers to the child's neck in desperation.

Thump thump.

The teenager let out a sigh of relief, the tension in his muscles subsiding slightly, "He's alive."

"Oh thank Kami!" Lime cried, as Videl wiped her brow free of nervous sweat, "My poor baby. Come on Gohan, what are you waiting for? Cut him down!"

Gohan bit his lip hesitantly, "Thing is, as soon as I get him free, Majin Buu might notice. The connection between them will be gone, we're going to have to move quickly."

The girls nodded in understanding, slightly fearful.

"Videl, do you think you can carry 'Kuto?" The young saiyan started, "He's going to be heavy in this thing."

Gohan breathed slowly, as the girls got into position. Lime was on his back, her legs and arms wrapped tightly around his waist and throat. He held Videl by her waist, using his free hand to raise his palm up and gather a ball of energy.

Well, it was now or never.

The teenager released two white hot beams, severing through Gokuto's restraints. Videl snatched the pod out of the air as he flew them quickly towards it, and the girl was using quite a bit of her strength to keep hold of it.

"You were right, this is really heavy! Just what do you feed this kid Gohan?!" She griped, her hair whipping about her face and one of her pigtails hitting him in the nose.

"Ew, it's really squishy isn't it?" chimed Lime, reaching over the halfling's shoulder and poking at the pod, "Kind of reminds me of a pair of-"

But before the girl could finish, a loud roar cut them off, and the unmistakable shriek of Majin Buu echoed around them.

"Well, that's our cue to leave!" Gohan said hurriedly, "Hold on tight! And don't drop that ball Videl!"

"Ha, balls."

"LIME!"

They took off, the teen saiyan zipping past cobwebs and dodging stringy nerves as he propelled them through the air as quickly as he could. However, it was kind of difficult to know just where he was going, the innards of Buu all looked the bloody same!

"BUUUUUUUUUUU!" came another scream of fury, though the sound seemed to be coming from all directions.

Gohan slowed down in his flight, as tunnels they were flying through started to pulsate and quiver around them, twisting and turning and blocking off several clear escape routes.

"Is it just me or is this place changing?" Videl asked weakly.

"Buu must be reverting back to his original form," said Gohan a little bubble of hope building in his chest.

"That's all well and good but you'd better hurry up Gohan before old ugly has an aneurysm and we're stuck in here forever!" Lime shouted in his ear, causing his head to spin.

"Who calling Buu ugly?"

Oh shit.

The trio whirled around in horror, only to be greeted by the wicked Majin himself, now reverted back to original form, not a trace of saiyan traits in sight.

"W-what?!" Videl shrieked, "That's impossible! How can Buu be inside his own body?!"

Majin Buu tilted his head creepily to the side as he stared at the girl, "What Buu do in Buu's body? No No. What YOU do in Buu's body! BUU KILL YOU ALL!"

"GOHAN GO!" Lime roared, tugging on his long hair like reigns and shoving her knees into his side.

"I'm not a bloody horse you know!" He yelled, wincing as she dragged back on his messy spikes once more.

"I don't give a monkey's uncle what you are!" She cried, "Now giddy up and get us the hell out of here!"

Rolling his eyes, the teenager shot off like a speeding bullet, causing the girls to scream as he used his new found speed to put enough distance between them and Buu. Yet despite his incredible speeds, the beast was still hot on his tail, and was sure to catch up to them soon if he didn't find a way out.

Throwing caution to the wind, Gohan skidded to a halt at the end of one of the passageways, building up his Ki and gathering a blue ball of energy within his left hand.

"Gohan! What the bloody hell are you doing?! It's a dead end!" Videl cried.

"Ka…meh…"

"Gohan! Are you even listening to me?!"

"Ha…meh…"

"Er Videl?" called the red head on his back, grimacing slightly.

"What Lime?" she seethed, Buu's laughter getting louder and louder.

"Brace yourself."

Videl frowned, "Brace myself? What for-?"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The blue hue of the blast illuminated the space around them, as the Kamehameha Wave erupted from Gohan's palm and connected with Buu's flesh. Videl screamed both in shock and anger, whilst Lime gripped onto the halfling's neck for dear life. Gokuto's pod swung in the mighty gust of wind that picked up around them, though Videl still held on tightly and the toddler seemed none the wiser.

The young saiyan sighed as the blast died down, but was aghast to find that the beam had merely scorched the wall in front of them. Gohan's eyes widened, where was the hole? That was supposed to be their escape route damn it!

The tunnel shook suddenly, as an almighty screech offended their ears.

"Nice going Mister Blasty!" Lime growled, glaring daggers at the teen, "He probably felt that one! Now he's really pissed off!"

"Incoming!" Videl yelled, and Gohan had to duck to avoid a fuchsia blast that came out of nowhere, dodging it by a hair's breadth.

"Shit!" The halfling spat, as the tunnel was filled with dazzling light once more.

The walls had started to close in on them now, and Gohan could hear the familiar sound of bones breaking, as they repositioned themselves into their original position.

"Gohan we need to get out of here!" Lime gasped, the tunnels getting smaller and smaller.

"I'm trying!" He shot back, powering up and blasting back through the cavern of Buu's mind.

Everything was getting darker, and Gohan was struggling to navigate just where they were going when Lime bellowed down his ear hole, causing him to wince in pain.

"I can see a light!"

The teenager rolled his eyes, "If that's some kind of death joke Lime I swear to Kami-"

"No look! I see it too!" called Videl, as Gohan followed her gaze.

Sure enough, there was the unmistakable glare of daylight shining through an opening above their heads. Without wasting any more time, the young saiyan shot through the tunnel and careened towards the light. It was a long way, much further than he had anticipated, and it was starting to get very warm.

The air was thin, suffocating even, and he had started to sweat profusely. The tunnel suddenly started to shake, a loud rumble reached their ears along with a strange whirring sound.

"STEAM!" Lime shrieked, as a cloud of hot smoke shot towards them.

Gohan yelped, forcing them as far as he could up the wall, the burning heat singeing his tail hair as it careened past them towards the opening.

"It's where we came in!" shouted Videl, "It's one of Buu's steam holes! Quick, we need to get out before it closes!"

"Woah it's like he's about to take off!" said Lime, "steam is coming from everywhere!"

Gritting his teeth, Gohan hurried forwards, following the cloud of steam as fast as his Ki would carry him. But, to his horror, the hole closed up just before they could even reach it.

"Damn it!" he spat, "Missed it."

"OPEN SESEME!" Lime roared, causing the black haired teens to give her an odd look, "What? It was worth a try."

"Don't worry," Videl panted, sweat trickling down her brow from the searing heat, "We just have to wait until he gets pissed off again."

"Well with Vegeta fighting him out there it shouldn't take too long," Gohan snorted, gathering a ball of energy in his palm, "Though I could always blast him again."

The girl's eyes widened, "Wait don't-!"

BOOM