--- Disturbance, Book 1: Convergence ---
Chapter C17
Disclaimer: The fun about this sentence is that by the time you realise it doesn't say anything, it's too late to stop reading it. Also: See first chapter.
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-One, two, three, go!-
Vegeta scowled, "I thought there would actually be a fight in this place!"
Overhearing his words as he stood inside the airlock-like doorway between the fighting arena and the main ship, Babidi's henchman grinned to himself. Knowing his master would hear, he asked, "Master Babidi, has the time come?"
-Broken-
Babidi sighed, "Oh, my dear Puipui..."
"Please!" He begged, "I'm becoming quite anxious!"
-Yeah, you've been living on the edge of a broken dream-
Mulling it over, the little flea-man replied, "Then, let's put that to good use. Go see our 'guests' and don't leave a drop of their energy behind."
Puipui grinned massively. "Yes. Not a drop!" He cracked his neck to either side for a moment, before folding his arms, and taking a deep, relaxing breath.
-Nothing-
Turning away from the crystal ball in his hand, Babidi seemed to just notice the energy collector in his other hand, commenting, "Look at me, I almost forgot. I should inject this energy before it loses its purity." The purple ball in his hand stopped glowing, floating away from his hand and into the stand a dozen feet away. "Come with me Dabura, I think we know how this fight will turn out."
-Yeah, that's the only thing you'll ever take away from me-
"Yes, sir," the demon agreed, following his master towards the ball of Buu.
-I'm never gonna stop-
With the whirring of gears, the group of fighters noticed the door begin to slide open slowly, revealing to the Supreme Kai's mild horror the fighter they'd seen outside. Laughing, he greeted, "Welcome fellow warriors, you've arrived at Stage One."
-Ain't never gonna drop-
"It's about time someone showed up," Gohan commented.
"So, what's Stage One?" Goku asked.
-Ain't no different than it was before-
Deciding to humour them, Puipui replied, "Master Babidi is at the bottom level of this ship. We are currently on the top level, or Stage One, and there's no way of getting down to him unless you beat the warrior that appears at each stage. You need not concern yourself with getting to Stage Two, because unfortunately for you, the first warrior you must face is none other than me. And that means that none of you will make it out of here alive!"
-So take some good advice-
He burst into hysterical laughter that was meant to sound menacing, but just sounded retarded. Staring at him like he was an idiot for a moment, Goku laughed, asking, "Alright guys, so which one of us gets to fight first?" Puipui's laughter cut off abruptly.
-You better stop and think twice-
Babidi stabbed the energy collector into the vein-covered ball, pushing forward the trigger to inject the energy, and causing the needle on the ball's stand to waver around as it increased. Once the injection was complete Babidi withdrew the collector, turning to check the gauge, and his eyes opened as wide as possible as he saw what it read. "What? A third full? We already have a third of the energy we need! Amazing! All of that from just one shot?" (1)
-Before you take your first step-
"Impossible!" Dabura cried, leaning forward to see for himself.
-Out that door-
Turning to his minion, Babidi mused, "Hmm... Then I'm wondering from how many hundred of people did Yamu and Spopovich gather all this?"
"Well, it's too late to ask them now," Dabura pointed out bluntly.
-If you wanna step up (step up)-
Scratching his cheek, Babidi commented, mostly to himself, "Right. But if they gathered this from hundreds of people in such a short amount of time, maybe I shouldn't have destroyed them..."
-You're gonna get knocked down (knocked down)-
Dabura grinned coldly, "No, you made the right choice. The energy we gather from those five fighters in Stage One will be enough to bring the gauge up to full. It's possible that our opportunity to resurrect Majin Buu will come today!"
-If you wanna step up (step up)-
Babidi burst into gleeful laughter, "Then we can mark today as the beginning of the end!" Turning serious, he commented, "You know, I've waited so long for this it's hard to believe that it's actually happening!" He turned away from Buu's ball, adding, "Let's see how Puipui's doing." Focusing on his crystal ball, he ordered, "Show me Stage One." The ball started glowing, the crystalline surface displaying the room in question, and the five fighters therein playing Janken. "What! They haven't started fighting yet? What? What in the world are they doing?" (2)
-You're gonna get knocked down-
The five fighters were chanting "One, Two, Three!" again and again, as they played game after game of Janken, all of which either ended in a draw, or a tie. It was a rule that in order for there to be either a winner or someone eliminated, it had to be unanimous; that is, all players bar one had to lose for there to be a winner, or all player bar one had to win for there to be someone eliminated. (2)
-You had your chance to walk away-
In a twist of bad luck, Kaen was the first person eliminated, the fighter muttering sourly, "Damn. Well, I call dibs on whatever is waiting for us on the bottom level." Pi was eliminated soon after him - most likely a deliberate act on her part - leaving the other three to battle it out.
-Live to see another day-
Eventually, when both Goku and Gohan chose paper, Vegeta chose scissors, making him the victor. He smirked triumphantly, crowing, "Scissors win!"
-If you wanna step up (step up)-
Goku looked crestfallen, "Aww, I wanted to fight this guy."
Vegeta just grinned at him, "Well, sorry you won't get your chance."
-You're gonna get knocked down (knocked down)-
"Wait, please!" Shin cried out in panic. When the five of them turned to him, he said, "We have to attack him together!" The five of him just gave the traditional 'What are you, stupid?' looks; well, except for Goku, who instead gave him the 'You're joking, right?' look, as unlike the other four, he actually was a nice guy inside. Shin balked. "You don't really intend to fight him by yourself do you?"
-You're gonna get knocked down-
"Of course I do!" Vegeta replied, folding his arms, "What other way is there?" That, the Supreme Kai didn't have an answer for, standing there staring like an idiot.
-Suffering-
Puipui stared at them dumbly for a moment, before he recovered his wits, laughing, "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!"
-Yeah, that's the only thing here that's left for you-
Vegeta spared him a disdainful glance, "The only moron in this place is Babidi. He didn't investigate this planet very thoroughly did he? If he had he'd know that the most powerful fighters alive are standing right in front of you!"
-Nothing-
"You? The most powerful fighter alive?" Puipui asked in disbelief. He laughed, zipping around the room a bit before pausing, commenting, "That kind of arrogance will get you killed." Laughing again, he started zipping around the room once more.
-Yeah, that's the only thing you're ever gonna fuckin' do-
Clenching his fists, Shin stated, "Don't underestimate him! Babidi uses his magic to attract the strongest fighters in the universe!"
-I'm never gonna stop-
Goku put a calming hand on his shoulder, replying, "Hey, calm down! Let's just let Vegeta take it from here, okay?"
-Ain't never gonna drop-
Puipui landed again. "You know, none of you will ever leave here!" He jumped to the side. "And every ounce of energy you lose as I pound you will be absorbed by the room." He darted forward, "And as the energy's absorbed it will be channelled directly to Majin Buu."
Pi grinned, "Thanks for the explanation."
-Ain't no different than it was before-
Vegeta just smirked, replying cockily, "Well I guess that'd unfortunate then. Since you won't be able to hurt me, you won't be able to steal my energy."
-So take some good advice-
Puipui darted forward to get right up in Vegeta's face. "Keep dreaming! Before I'm done with you I'll do much more than hurt you!" He shot backwards. "When you fight Puipui death is a certainty!" He burst into laughter again.
-You better stop and think twice-
Vegeta scowled to himself. "This guy is really annoying." Vegeta blurred forward, commenting, "Welcome to the end of your life, and I promise it's going to hurt. Unfortunately for you, I had to resist the urge to kill someone who looked a lot like you for over thirty years, and I'm feeling a little pent-up." As Puipui relaxed out of his cocky stance, Vegeta asked, "Ready for the pain?"
-Before you take your first step-
"The fool has no idea what he's up against," Dabura commented, completely confident in his ally's abilities. Babidi just laughed.
-Out that door-
Tensing his leg, Puipui leapt into the air, spinning around as he flew towards Vegeta with one leg spiralling around himself in what should have been a powerful spin kick, shouting, "You're mine!" It probably would have really hurt a normal fighter too, but Vegeta was far from normal, calmly raising one arm up to block, much to Puipui's shock; Vegeta's arm didn't even move from the impact.
-So if you wanna step up (step up)-
Jumping back, he threw a punch at Vegeta's head, but the Saiyan calmly raised his other hand and caught it with his palm, before casually moving it aside. Fighting back his shock, Puipui flipped backwards a few feet, commenting, "Well, you fight pretty good, but not that good!" Vegeta just relaxed out of his stance, and didn't even flinch as the white carapaced fighter charged forward, launching a flurry of attacks at him. The Saiyan powerhouse just calmly turned his head away from the punches, and didn't even have to more his torso except to lean away from the occasional kick.
-You're gonna get knocked down (knocked down)-
Quickly growing tired with the game, Vegeta caught the next kick that was to come his way, letting it sink in for a few moments, before lifting one knee out and extending his leg for a powerful kick to the torso, which send Puipui crashing into the wall.
-If you wanna step up (step up)-
"There you go, didn't I tell ya?" Goku commented casually. "See, Vegeta can handle this guy no problem."
-You're gonna get knocked down-
Climbing painfully back onto his hands and knees, Puipui looked up to see Vegeta standing right in front of him. Growling, he charged forward to attack, but ricocheted backwards when Vegeta swung his leg up under his chin. Flipping to make land on the wall with his feet, Puipui leapt away, never noticing Vegeta blur out. As he landed back on the ground, he looked out across the room, surprised to not see his opponent anywhere.
-You had your chance to walk away-
"You looking for me?" Vegeta asked from behind him. As he spun around, Vegeta quickly dropped him again with a right hook.
-Live to see another day-
"He's good..." Shin commented quietly.
"He's really good," Gohan corrected. "It looks like he's gotten a lot stronger; I haven't really had a chance to spar with him this past month."
"Well, that's what happens when you spend every waking moment training," Goku replied.
-If you wanna step up (step up)-
"This is pathetic!" Babidi spat in disgust, "What is Puipui doing out there? Just look at him; he's losing! It's not good, not good at all. How are we supposed to get energy for Majin Buu if he can't damage that fighter?"
"Master, don't worry," Dabura replied, comforting him in an evil sort of voice, "Puipui has a lot more fight left in him."
-You're gonna get knocked down (knocked down)-
"What's wrong?" Vegeta asked derisively, when Puipui took his time climbing to his feet. "Had enough?"
-You're gonna get knocked down-
"No!" The alien fighter shouted, jumping up and lunging at his opponent, but Vegeta calmly leap-frogged over him, spring boarding off his elongated head. As he spun around, Puipui was met by a solid right kick from Vegeta, making him slide back a few feet. Before he could recover Vegeta attack, laying into his armoured torso and head with a series of punishing blows. Swiftly growing bored, Vegeta laid out the fighter again, sending him sprawling with a powerful elbow drop to the head.
-You're gonna get knocked down-
Growling to himself, Babidi turned to Dabura, asking, "Tell me, where's a place where Puipui can fight his best?"
A tiny bead of sweat running down his face at Puipui's performance, the Demon King replied, "On his home planet; Planet Voon."
Babidi turned back to the crystal ball. "Yes. Planet Voon it is." Raising his hands, Babidi began focusing his magic, waved of yellow lines appearing around his hands, before he released it with a shout of, "Papara papa!"
-And now you've crossed that line-
Vegeta halted in his casual stroll towards his opponent when the room seemed to disappear, leaving behind an orange dust-filled wasteland in it's place; the sight of stars and large planets in the sky showed that this planet didn't have a visible atmosphere like Earth. All that remained of the original room was the blue circle within an orange circle that once sat in the room's centre.
-You must be out your mind-
Looking around, Gohan asked, "What happened? Where are we?"
"Little toad..." Kaen commented, "He's used his magic to change the room, in an effort to give Puipui the advantage." Shin gaped at him, surprised that he'd stolen the very words from his mouth.
A smile graced Goku's face as he mused, "Ah, should be interesting."
-If you wanna step up (step up)-
Climbing to his feet again, Puipui laughed. "Welcome, to my home planet. I have won many great battles here, and by know you've noticed that my planet is very different from yours." He bent down, picking up a rock from the ground. "It's the gravity. Ten times stronger than Earth!" He dropped the stone, which fell to the ground like... well, a stone, burrowing a hole as it landed. "Your hopes of winning are falling faster than that stone! You won't leave here alive!" He burst into laughter once more.
-You're gonna get knocked down (knocked down)-
"Oh please, like he's the only being who's home planet has ten times Earth's gravity..." Kaen muttered sourly, drawing Shin's attention again.
Pi sighed, "They really didn't do their homework on this one."
-If you wanna step up (step up)-
Vegeta smirked, instantly shutting Puipui up. "Maybe, if this was five hundred times gravity, you might have an advantage, but ten? I don't even feel it."
Puipui glared at him. "You're just bluffing, I know you are!"
"Maybe I am," Vegeta replied with a mild shrug, "Hard to tell."
-You're gonna get knocked down-
"Enough!" He shouted, charging forward and launching into another flurry of punches, but just like the last one, Vegeta calmly leaned his head out of the way of each and every attack, before silencing him with a gut punch, followed quickly with a close-range kick to the stomach, sending the carapaced warrior flying back to crash into a huge boulder behind him.
-You had your chance to walk away-
Climbing out of the crater he found himself in, Puipui stared in shock as Vegeta calmly bounced from foot to foot, making tiny hops, similar to how a boxer would, before falling into stance, asking, "So, you still think I'm bluffing?" Vegeta burst into laughter as Puipui started growling. Puipui roared and raced forward, Vegeta darted towards him, ducking down and raising his hands to rest inches from his opponent's chest, as the alien screeched to a halt. It availed him not, however, as with a smirk Vegeta unleashed a massive wall of energy, at least twice as tall as himself, at point blank range. When the dust cleared, Puipui was nowhere to be seen.
-Live to see another day-
As the room faded back to normal, Vegeta barked a laugh. "Ha. I'm amazed that Babidi would send us such a weakling."
-If you wanna step up (step up)-
"And yet you took your time beating him Vegeta," Kaen taunted.
-You're gonna get knocked down (knocked down)-
The older fighter just shrugged, "As I said before, I was working out some pent-up aggression towards Frieza."
-You're gonna get knocked down-
Goku and Gohan raced towards the centre of the room as the sound of gears heralded the inner blue circle descending, the older of the two commenting, "Hey look, the floor's opening up."
"It looks like an elevator shaft," Gohan observed.
-You're gonna get knocked down (step up)-
"Come on!" Goku shouted, wasting no time in jumping down.
"Right behind you dad!" Gohan added, following his father.
-You're gonna get knocked down-
"Children, so easily amused," Vegeta remarked, lacking the usual heat of one of his insults, as he made his way down, and with a shrug, Kaen and Pi followed him. (3)
-You're gonna get knocked down (step up)-
Sticking his head back out of the hole and waving, Goku cried out, "Hey, Supreme Kai, what're you waiting for? Come on, let's go!"
Shin blinked owlishly. "Oh, I see. They're very strong."
-You're gonna get knocked... down!-
To be continued...
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Author's notes:
(1) - Note that in the series the gauge went straight up to half, not a third. However, as this time it was Kaen that was drained instead of Gohan, and he wasn't ascended at the time, in this story the gauge stops there.
(2) - Janken is Rock-Paper-Scissors, for those who don't know the term.
(3) - This line of Vegeta's actually is in canon, which amuses me to no end.
Whoops, almost forgot about this update... I'm just glad I uploaded these things ahead of time...
Now, I have come across a slight connundrum that I can't find a suitable solution for, so I decided to pose the question to my readers. With this 'book' of twenty chapters drawing to a close, I have 2 choices for the next set. I can either create a second story for them, and in turn, a third story for the final 20 chapters, or I can leave it as one story of up to 60 chapters, and just rename it every twenty or so. I was leaning towards the latter myself, but if people feel strongly about one option, please feel free to elt me know, either in reviews, emails, or private messaged. You're (obviously) got until I post chapter 21 to let me know.