Chapter 13- Majin
As soon as he transformed, Gohan felt two fighters approach. Something stabbed between his ribs. He clutched at one of his assailant's arms until he heard something crack. But it was too late to do anything, and he blacked out a moment later, his energy leaving him with frightening speed.
Piccolo and Kaio-shin leaped into the arena as the henchmen jumped out of it. Goku and Vegeta blasted off after them, but stayed at a distance to make them feel safe. After a moment's hesitation, Krillin followed as well.
Kaio-shin placed his hand on Gohan's chest, which caused him to sit up, gasping, just a moment later. He took a handful of Piccolo's cape and the four of them (including Kibito) left the ring.
The announcer was rather stunned by this rapid chain of events, but he'd seen stranger things in his career. He kept the tournament rolling, introducing the next match, since there were no competitors left in the ring.
Gohan relied on Piccolo to direct him. He shook his head and rubbed his temples in an attempt to regain his bearings more quickly.
"They're getting away!" He heard his father complain. Goku was dying to chase after them properly. Being covert was about as foreign to him as table manners.
"That's the point, idiot. If they think they got away they'll fly directly to wherever this thing is being kept." Vegeta reminded impatiently.
"Don't worry Goku, I can still sense them. Actually, they seem to be slowing down already." Krillin added, with a look of deep concentration.
As they slowly began to move forwards, a small ball of purple and green flew into them, gasping for breath. He clung to Gohan and put his weight on him, as he couldn't fly properly when so exhausted. "What's wrong?" Gohan asked, supporting him even though he was having a bit of trouble himself.
"We know where it is! I need to take everyone back to the Lookout." He gasped, small body shaking. "I guess I can't handle flying so fast…"
"Alright, they're just down there. We're about to chase down the people responsible, so don't worry. Look after everyone, ok?" Gohan replied, rubbing his back.
"And yourself…" Piccolo added, awkwardly patting him on the head. "There's no rush right now, so don't go exhausting yourself. You may have to fight, yet."
His son nodded before detaching and shakily floating down to the stands. Gohan's body was quickly recovering from shock and adjusting to the energy Kaio-shin had given him. Soon he was back to normal, with only a lingering pain between the ribs on his left side to remind him of what had just happened.
"Between Krillin and Dende we can't lose them now. Let's go!" Piccolo grunted and sped off, not particularly caring if he wasn't followed. Of course, Gohan was not very far behind him, and everyone else followed their lead just moments later.
They caught up to the men in a matter of moments, now in range to sense another two relatively weak power levels. The group of fighters landed opposite the henchmen, who were handing the container of energy to a small, wrinkly… man? To the surprise of everyone, the two men were killed before the mage and his demon turned to face them.
"Kaio-shin, what is it you think you can achieve here?" He asked, waving his staff as if to emphasise a point.
"I will stop you, one way or another." Kaio-shin replied smoothly. Dabura chuckled, staring at the medley of warriors contemptuously as his master inspected the amount of energy that had been gathered. "Do not let Dabura spit upon you; you will be turned to stone."
Krillin gulped and took a step back. "I know I said I could handle magic, but this is going a bit far!"
"Well, I guess the weaklings are up first!" The demon exclaimed, sending wads of spit in Krillin and Piccolo's directions. Only Kaio paid much attention to Babidi's disappearance.
Gohan had been highly strung since the encounter began. He pulled Piccolo out of the line of fire with speed that almost wrenched his arm from its socket. Krillin leapt back and quickly kicked off his shoe when he realised it had been hit. It became a brittle kind of stone and smashed upon impact with the ground.
Goku darted forward and punched their assailant in the gut to give Krillin time to get away, who immediately took the opportunity. He headed directly to the Lookout so that he could meet up with and inform the others; they were expected to be up there by this point in time.
The demon was flung back several meters by the unexpectedly powerful punch, only to be stopped upon collision with a jagged rock face.
"Are you ok, Piccolo?" Goku asked, carefully watching Dabura get back to his feet. He continued to hold his position with an unusually serious expression.
There was a thump as his weights hit the ground, followed by a worrying crunching sound as Piccolo relocated his shoulder. But he didn't seem too fazed by it. "Of course, just be aware of his magic. We don't know the extent of his demon powers."
"I thought you might know, being part demon and all." He replied with a smile. He became serious again as Dabura approached at speed. He was stronger than he let on.
"I told you, I don't do that anymore." Piccolo answered, kicking his weights out of the way. "I went to a tournament and didn't get the urge to kill a single person. I have to admit to wanting to kill this guy, though."
Dabura appeared to pause as though considering something, before he vanished from sight. "Where did he go?" Gohan asked, trying to look and feel in every direction at the same time.
"He's not here anymore," Piccolo began, being rather more thorough and disciplined with his own search. "He ran off for some rea- arrgh!" He was cut off by the overwhelming presence attempting to forcibly enter his mind. He groaned again and hunched over, instinctively clutching at his head.
Gohan winced in sympathy and tried to communicate. He didn't know if he could do anything to help. 'No, just, ah… I need to concentrate…' But Gohan could see he was losing the struggle. The other person, who and wherever they were, was just too sharp. Piccolo yelled again and curled in on himself more.
Suddenly his struggling ceased and an odd calm overcame him. Piccolo shakily stood up straighter and slowly staggered toward Kaio-shin. His power level was rapidly rising beyond anything Gohan had ever seen from him. He had changed. Gohan automatically shut himself off from the foreign presence. What were they supposed to do now?
"Stay away!" Kaio-shin warned as he took a few steps back. "Babidi has possessed him! Do not let him damage you, or Buu will be reawakened sooner than expected."
Vegeta frowned as he rapidly considered and discarded options. Why had the Namek been chosen? Now that Krillin had left, he was the weakest one there. But still, they couldn't just attack him either. Gohan would probably put himself in the way of any attack, which they did not need.
"Where is this Buu thing? Can't we just kill it while it's 'sleeping' or whatever?" Vegeta asked, inspecting the ship.
"We could, but we have to get to it first. That ship goes underground a fair way. Undoubtedly Babidi is prepared for us attempting this." Kaio-shin replied, watching Piccolo's continuing, yet unsteady advance. His hands slowly came away from his head to reveal the tell-tale 'M'.
Vegeta snorted, "If Dabura is his strongest henchman it shouldn't be a problem for me to get down there alone."
Kaio-shin cringed as he felt a presence attempting to enter his mind. He realised it was Piccolo, who had a surprising aptitude for the feat. However, he didn't fully understand Kaio-shin's mind let alone his defences, so it was only a minor threat.
"Do not be ridiculous. I will handle this. Take Kibito and the other Saiyans into the ship with you." Kaio-shin replied. It would be difficult, but his power was still able to match up with the green alien's.
"I'm not going anywhere." Gohan replied, appearing in front of Piccolo. To his surprise, this sentiment was echoed by his father. "You go defeat Buu and Babidi. I'll try to get Piccolo back to normal."
Kaio wanted to protest, but they were running out of time. A decision had to be made and action taken now. "Alright, fine. If you feel that it is your responsibility I understand." He turned and followed Kibito and Vegeta into the ship.
Piccolo made a quiet sound of distress before sending his fist out. Gohan caught it before it could collide with his throat and held it firmly in place. Goku moved closer, wondering what Piccolo was doing in his head. It felt kind of funny.
"I don't get it." He said, folding his arms and screwing his face up in confusion. "Why is he in my head?"
Gohan stared for a moment before attempting to enter his father's mind himself. It was completely unguarded, since he didn't feel as though he had anything to hide. At the same time, it was impossible to do anything sinister, such as control or influence him.
"I think he's trying to either debilitate or control you." Gohan replied slowly. "But your mind is really weird. You shouldn't be able to function like that."
"Is this to do with falling on my head again?" He frowned and shrugged. "Come on Piccolo, you're stronger than this! You said you wouldn't do this kind of thing anymore."
"Apart of me… has always… wanted…" He tried to speak, but it seemed to take too much effort. Gohan could see his body was slowly destroying itself the longer he stayed like this. The energy had to be coming from somewhere, perhaps the very matter he was made up of.
Gohan opened his mind in an attempt to communicate that way, but all he could see was a montage of vivid memories. Most of them involved killing and destruction. He thought he even saw Goten once, before realising it was actually his father.
Piccolo violently shook his head from side to side before pulling away from the two Saiyans. 'I am not my thoughts.' He staggered into the ship. They followed him closely, in case he was trying to go after Kaio-shin again. They jumped down two levels before encountering both the villains and their allies.
Kibito was nowhere in sight. Kaio-shin was staring at a huge Ki burn mark on the floor, while Vegeta fought Dabura in his Super Saiyan form. Babidi was gaping open mouthed at his display of power. He began cackling with glee. Gohan realised this fight was only causing his plan to come to fruition.
Piccolo began gathering his seemingly limitless energy as he slowly approached the magician. Goku joined the fighting, much to Vegeta's annoyance, but this only caused Babidi to become more pleased. He vanished again, but both Gohan and Piccolo could sense he was only another two floors below them.
"Have to… kill…" Piccolo managed. Gohan nodded and blew a hole into the floors below so they could drop in on their opponent. But by the time they got down, it was too late. Two halves of a sphere lay on the ground, and the room was filled with a strange gaseous substance.
The gas formed a fat, pink being before their eyes. Gohan gaped, but Piccolo was on a mission. His only goal in that moment was to prevent someone more powerful from being possessed. He continued to power up and approach Babidi, then brought up his hand and fired the blast. It disintegrated the wizard, but unfortunately it also left him open to an attack from Majin Buu.
The pink thing flexed its fingers and laughed in a high pitched voice as the Ki beam seared Piccolo's body. It was like Nappa's attack all over again. "Buu's not even warmed up!"
Gohan growled in frustration. Even after all his training, the thing was still faster than him! He closed the rest of the distance between them and placed his hand over Piccolo's chest. He was relieved to feel it moving up and down, even if his heart beat was erratic.
"Take him to Dende!" Goku's voice suddenly cut through Gohan's daze of shock and anger. He nodded jerkily in response as a yellow and orange blur went by. He took his opportunity while Buu was distracted and blasted back up through the underground structure. He transformed so that he could fly faster.
The other two Earth Nameks ran forward as soon as they reached the edge of the Lookout. "Over here, quick!" Dende called, diagnosing Piccolo's state as they approached.
Gohan gently laid the Namek on the stone tiles of the Lookout. Piccolo shuddered and his breathing became irregular. "Can you help him?" his son asked Dende.
Dende didn't reply, but simply got to work. His powers were even more impressive than when he was a child. Gohan could feel Piccolo's Ki stabilising and could see him being forced to regenerate before his very eyes.
"Alright, you're definitely stable. But I don't think even I can make it so that you're ready to fight again today."
'Hurry up Gohan, they need you.' Piccolo reminded mentally, mostly because he didn't dare risk damaging his airway in the middle of a healing session.
"Alright… I'll see you all soon." He replied, standing to leave, but still rather worried.
'Oh, and scaring them off with your Saiyaman costume doesn't seem to be working.' Piccolo added, which only made Gohan realise he was further along the road of recovery than he thought.
He paused to pull the tunic off over his head and drop it next to Piccolo's prone form. "There we go; something to remember me by." With that said he flew back towards the raging battle.
However, when he returned, the battle did not seem to be raging at all. Buu was standing by impatiently with his hands on his hips. He was waiting because Goku and Vegeta were arguing about something. 'Where have I seen this before?' Gohan thought despondently.
"You can't go blow yourself up! I've been learning a fusion technique. If we fuse we can easily win."
"We don't have time to perfect a new technique! Look, that thing isn't going to wait around forever. I can destroy it, I know I can!"
"That's what you said about 18 and Perfect Cell -"
"Enough!" Gohan yelled. Surprisingly it worked better on the adults than their children. He could feel his power rising as his temper became hotter, and didn't bother to try and restrain it. He needed any strength he could get. "That thing formed from a gas, there's no point in trying to blow it up that way. Not unless you want to try splitting atoms, which I would not advise."
The older men stared at him dumbfounded. Gohan was usually so timid and positive, but now Goku saw his son didn't just look like Chi…
"Have you forgotten what Bulma said? It doesn't have a master now, so maybe we can try and befriend it!" He turned to the creature and tried to look as non-threatening as possible, which was difficult when he was already ticked off.
"No, Gohan, he's too powerful! Cell was nothing compared to…" Goku trailed off when he recognised the stubborn set of his son's jaw. Oh Kami, he had left him with Chi for far too long…
"Buu sick of waiting!" the monster complained in its almost painfully high-pitched voice.
"Buu, is that your name? I'm Gohan." He began, hoping this would work. Otherwise he'd look like an idiot again. "Why are you trying to destroy everything?"
Buu seemed to consider this for some time. "Buu told destroying is fun. Like a game. Look, Buu can also make stuff chocolate!" A strange beam came out of the appendage on his head and a section of the ground nearby turned into a lump of chocolate. The pink being chowed down on it, but soon turned his head away in disgust. "Rocky chocolate yucky! Make it from people next time!"
"Woah, wait a minute!" Gohan exclaimed, waving his arms frantically. "It's not really nice to destroy people or their homes you know? You should probably stop it!"
"Hmm! Why should Buu listen to you?"
Gohan honestly had no idea how to answer this. He imagined Piccolo would probably put it down to his self-esteem problems. He decided to put on the mask again, even though he only had the spandex suit of his costume left.
"Don't you know? I'm a hero of Earth." At this point he was flailing in the dark for something to say, anything that popped up would do. "People like heroes; don't you want to be one too?"
It seemed he'd managed to hit upon the creature's instincts in a positive way. "Yeah! How Buu be hero?"
Gohan was about to make something up when an obnoxious voice boomed from the helicopter flying overhead. "Hear ye, beast! The great Mr Satan, hero of Earth, will destroy you!" The speech was followed by the usual fake laughter. A rope ladder was thrown out of the helicopter and an obviously scared silly Mr Satan began his slow decent.
"That's another hero?"
"Umm… yes! Mr Satan is the greatest hero! You should ask him all of your questions!" Gohan blurted, retreating from the scene. The bushy-haired man was a better actor than he would ever be. He turned his head to see his father and Vegeta were still staring at him as though he were a dragon ball short of immortality.
"Maybe we should leave and make a plan now? I'm sure Satan can handle this for a while." They cautiously nodded and left when they saw the man was now sucking up to the monster instead of trying to fight him.
I swear my jokes getting lamer is a symptom of DBZ… :P
Please let me know what you think so far. I predict another two or three chapters and a massive epilogue are still to come. Hopefully the next one will be up around Easter, but I can't make any promises with my current workload.