--- Disturbance, Book 2: Divergence ---
Chapter D03 - Awaken
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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-Stripped of life, alone-
Babidi let out a gleeful cackle as he watched the steam venting around the muddy brown ball, which pulsed eerily like a beating heart. "He's coming out! He's really real!" The wizard exclaimed; were Dabura not digging himself out of a nearby mountainside he probably would have congratulated his master. "He's going to come out, and when he does, EVERYBODY'S GOING TO RUN AROUND AND SUFFER 'TIL THEY DIE! My father will be avenged by his own creation, and I'm the one who made it all possible!"
-In the midst of something that I want to play with your evil inside-
"Not on my watch," Gohan stated coldly, spreading his legs as he dropped into a fairly tight stance, cupping his hands by his left hip. With a primal roar, Gohan's aura exploded into a pillar of golden fire, beams of pure light shining up like spotlights before spinning around him. Clenching his teeth, he forced his aura back down, concentrating the energy until it returned to it's usual state, before charging energy in his hands. "Ka Me Ha Me..."
-Wanting, letting go, of what never could be again-
Turning around to watch him, Babidi asked rhetorically, "What do you suppose got into that one?" No answer was forthcoming however, as Dabura, with a burst of energy, blasted out of the rockslide he lay in, sped over to Babidi, and picked him up, getting him out of the way.
He was just in time. "HA!"
-Lost and alone, imprisoned now inside your mind-
A brilliant blue beam blasted forward from Gohan's extended hands, striking Buu's ball with tremendous force. Speeding over to him, Shin asked urgently, "What are you doing? We must retreat quickly! We've no choice; I've seen what Buu is capable of, and it's more than our present state can handle! This is a time for strategy Gohan, not blind heroics! We must regroup and wait for a better opportunity; we have to wait!"
Gritting his teeth, Gohan forced out, "Sorry Supreme Kai, but I can't; not again. I'm not just going to stand around and watch the people I care about get hurt."
-With the way you tried, to destroy me again-
"But we need you alive!" Shin pleaded, to no effect. With another shout, Gohan pumped more energy into the blast, the beam doubling in width as it strained against Buu's ball, but despite all the power behind it, the ball barely rocked. "He can't be stopped!"
A smirk coming to his face, Gohan quipped, "Well, at least I'll make them work for it."
-You were waiting and living for no one-
Goten and Trunks sped through the air, finally having reached the land that was the Western part of the main continent, but unbeknownst to them, they had drifted from their flight due west; neither one was particularly adept at ki sensing, and neither child were really paying attention to where they were going. Feeling a sharp ki jump a bit to the south Goten stopped abruptly, shouting, "Hold on Trunks, hold on!"
Turning to face his friend, Trunks paused in the air, his aura burning out. "What Goten?"
-With the way you tried, to completely refuse all your life-
Looking towards the direction he felt the ki, Goten replied, "Something over there feels really weird. Do you think that could be where the grown-ups are at?"
"Yeah," Trunks admitted begrudgingly, "But that's weird; I still feel something ahead of us too, don't you?" Unknowingly, Trunks' course had begun steering itself instinctively towards his father's ki signature. When Goten nodded, Trunks growled angrily, "So which way is right? Man I wish they would've left us some directions!"
-Feed on your nothing, you'll never live up to me-
Picking up something at the edge of his hearing, Goten looked towards the south again, noticing a massive flock of birds flying as quickly as they could away from where he felt the power. "Whoa, birdies!"
"Why so many?" Trunks asked curiously.
-Awaken you, with little evil inside-
Putting a finger to his lips in thought, Goten replied, "They sound kinda frightened to me."
Trunks crossed his legs in midair, contemplating what to do. "I dunno what scared birds sound like, but I bet they're coming from some kind of trouble. And that means-"
-Feed on your nothing, you'll never live up to me-
"There you two morons are!" A new voice declared, cutting Trunks off. Turning to face the speaker, the two boys noticed Oran and Lime racing towards them, white auras surrounding them. Stopping a couple of metres away from them, Oran spoke again, "Are you two numbskulls aware you've been drifting north for the past few minutes?"
Ignoring the remark, Trunks asked, "What are you guys doing here?"
Lime smirked. "We were sent to make sure you two didn't do anything stupid."
-I've stricken you, I want to live with the lie-
That comment seemed to appease Goten's curiosity, but Trunks was a little more sceptical. "Uh huh. Why are you really here?"
Oran shrugged. "We wanted to see that Buu thing as much as you."
-Feed on your nothing and you'll never live up to me-
"So why did you stop here?" Lime asked.
"Oh, we were tryin' to work out which way to go," Goten replied, as if it were obvious.
-Awaken you-
The twins gave the boys blank looks. "You really don't know how to sense ki properly do you?" They deadpanned together, before pointing at opposite power signals. Oran, aiming at the one they were previously headed, added, "Your dads are that way, kicking the shit through each other." Lime, pointing at the one to the south, added, "Gohan's that way, fighting some big evil thing."
-Ooh no, can't live up to me-
"Then south it is!" Trunks declared, his aura returning as he blasted off without another word.
"Wait for me Trunks!" Goten shouted, blasting off after him.
-So, I've stricken you-
Turning towards his sister, Oran pointed his thumb towards the receding form of Trunks and asked, "Honestly, what do you see in him?"
She just shook her head. "Some days, I honestly don't know." Without another word, the two took off after the boys. Again.
-Feed on your nothing and you'll never live up to me-
The force of the wind being kicked up by Gohan's attack was incredible. Were he not holding tightly to Dabura's cape, the diminutive wizard would probably have been blown right off his feet. Despite all of that, however, the ball of Majin Buu had still not budged from its spot atop its stand, and the steam continued to vent around it. "Curse that boy!" Dabura growled. "Master, we must stop this interference before he ruins the hatching!"
"Oh let him have his fun Dabura," Babidi replied cheerfully, a massive grin splitting his tiny face, "That level of attack is like a fleabite to Majin Buu!" Observing for a few more moments, he added, "There, you see? All that and he can't even budge it one bit!"
-Stripped of life, alone-
As if just to spite him, Gohan let out another yell, pumping more energy into his attack, and this time it reached critical mass. A massive tornado of energy exploded upwards around Buu's egg, completely vaporising the stand upon which it sat, and sending the brown ball hurtling into the sky, much to the shock of everyone watching. As gravity took hold again, Gohan cupped his hands once more, charging more energy. "Here goes. Kamehameha!"
The new beam, carving a trench through the earth despite the fact it had been fired at an angle, intercepted the ball before it could reach the ground. The force of the beam kept the ball afloat for quite a while, before the energy detonated, the light of the explosion preventing the observers from noticing the final pulse of light from inside the ball, before it crashed heavily to the ground, rolling a bit before coming to a complete stop.
-In the midst of something that I want to play with your evil inside-
Wiping the sweat off his brow, Gohan commented offhandedly to the Kai, "And you were worried Vegeta'd release him by blowing up the ship... why?"
Before Shin could reply there was a slight crack sound from the scorched brown egg, and a low whistle as pink smoke was released at high speed from the hemispherical line where the two halves of the egg met. As the smoke washed over them, Shin watched in horror as the egg split open, pink smoke still rising from inside the two halves, to reveal... nothing. Babidi and Dabura, previously so excited about their success, could only gape, stating horrified, "It's empty..."
-Wanting, letting go, of what never could be again-
"But... how?" Babidi muttered to himself, feeling numb from shock. "I did everything correctly... Followed every step... Said every word... Come out," he pleaded, "Yes, come out and destroy them all Buu! We're all waiting."
The Supreme Kai burst into hysterical, delirious, and highly relieved laughter; he even had to resist the urge to dance joyously. Recovering himself, he turned to Babidi, commenting, "To think I'd see the great wizard reduced to tears! All your efforts for nothing. You've made a fatal mistake Babidi. Just like your father, fooled by overconfidence, underestimated your opponents, and so this Earthling has destroyed your sacred Buu!" Conveniently, Shin chose to forget that he, too, had underestimated them.
-Lost and alone, imprisoned now inside your mind-
"No Supreme Kai," Gohan commented slowly. "I didn't." When Shin turned to him with a shocked look on his face, and a good deal of fear in his eyes, Gohan continued, "My last attack still wasn't enough to destroy the energy I felt in there. There's something-" He cut himself off, casting his gaze upwards quickly, and staring fearfully at the pink smoke cloud above them all; the same pink smoke that had escaped Buu's egg.
"But, I don't sense anything Gohan!" Shin replied, likewise looking upwards.
-With the way you tried, to destroy me again-
"Dabura, what is the boy looking at?" Babidi asked, following their gaze.
"Clouds," Dabura replied in a bored tone. "No, it's some kind of smoke. I can't feel anything from it but... emptiness." Despite Dabura's words, the clouds began to spiral around, almost as if a tornado was forming, as the pink smoke began to be sucked inwards.
-You were waiting and living for no one-
"Whoa, what was that?" Videl asked wondrously, gazing westward as if she thought she'd see something.
"Feels like Gohan went all out there," Kat replied.
"No, not that," the human girl corrected, "The thing that appeared after."
"Oh, that." With a shrug, the redheaded catgirl replied, "That's probably bad news."
-With the way you tried, to completely refuse all your life -
A pillar of translucent blue light appeared, the voice preceding the body. "So I guess this would be a good time for preparations to be completed then?" Avarrdo asked rhetorically.
"I imagine it would also be a good time for us to return." Kellre commented, as he and his younger brother landed on the edge of the group, the older man holding a sack full of something over his shoulder. Handing the bag to Bulma, he added, "All seven Dragon Balls have been collected. The Dragon Radar is inside the bag."
April sighed. "I guess we better get going then huh?"
-Feed on your nothing, you'll never live up to me-
"Are you sure you don't wanna come with us?" Bulma asked. "We're heading back to Capsule Corp to summon the dragon."
Raene smiled, though the gesture seemed a little forced. "Sorry Bulma, not this time. I hope you'll understand that we've got to look after ourselves first. Our race has faced extinction once before, and if that power we felt is any sign, it may well be again."
"Can we come with you?" Falcon asked. When the woman looked at her, torn between shock and amusement, the human girl continued, "It's just that, well, no offence to the others but I think we'd all feel safer with you guys." The rest of the Club Chaos gang nodded.
Truniz smiled. "Sure, the more the merrier."
-Awaken you, with little evil inside-
"You comin' too 'Del?" Kat asked.
Videl shook her head. "Sorry. I really wanna see this dragon thing."
Kat shrugged. "Suit yourself." Running up to the rest of the group, which had all assembled around Avarrdo, she added, "See ya later. And if the Earth gets destroyed, well, I'll see you much later." With that, the group disappeared in another pillar of translucent blue light.
-Feed on your nothing, you'll never live up to me-
In the silence that followed, Videl commented, "Well, that was a little pessimistic."
Yamcha shook his head. "No. Just a little too realistic."
-I've stricken you, I want to live with the lie-
What formed from the smoke was not what Gohan expected; hell, the teen was willing to bet that no one, bar possibly the Supreme Kai, could have known that this was Majin Buu. Having seen his fair share of planet destroying monstrosities, based on the Supreme Kai's stories he had expected a ten-foot tall killing machine with fire in it's eyes, hell bent on death and destruction.
Instead, what they got was a six to seven foot tall pudgy pink thing, looking teardrop shaped, with some sort of tail on it's head, a big happy grin on it's face, and eyes that looked like they were permanently squinted tight in an eternal expression of amusement. It's lower half had some sort of baggy white pants on, an oversize novelty belt with the Majin 'M' on the buckle, and black leggings ending with festive yellow boots. On it's top half it had similarly festive yellow boxing gloves, an open black-with-yellow-trim vest, and, of all things, a purple bed sheet tied around it's neck like a cape. All in all, it looked completely ridiculous.
-Feed on your nothing and you'll never live up to me-
From the horrified look on Shin's face, it was assumed by all that this was in fact Majin Buu, as the Supreme Kai was the only living being to have seen Buu before. Watching Buu seem to be playing around with the ranting Babidi, walking around like a child taking it's first steps, sticking it's tongue out and whatnot, Gohan had to ask, "Is that really Majin Buu?"
"Yes, that's Bibidi's creation without a doubt," Shin replied tensely, "I could never forget that disgusting creature's face." He sighed. "I'm sorry Gohan, it wasn't meant to be this way. I was confident I could stop Babidi before Buu was revived. If only I'd paid more attention to this part of the universe, the other method may have worked."
-Awaken you-
"What other method?"
Shin shook his head, "It doesn't matter now. With any luck, Babidi is going to lose control of Buu and be forced to seal him up again, giving someone the chance to defeat him before Buu can be released once more, but I'm afraid that someone will not be us, as we will no doubt be the first ones to perish."
-Ooh no, can't live up to me-
The two duelling Saiyan warriors stared each other down, panting harshly from exhaustion. Growling, Vegeta charged towards Goku once more, but, sensing something, the younger fighter quickly raised his hand, shouting, "Hey! Wait a second!" Vegeta stopped on a dime. "I just felt a tremendous surge of energy. While we've been fighting each other that 'Buu' creature must've been hatched."
-So, I've stricken you-
Taking a moment to examine the power he felt as he calmly floated down to land, Vegeta threw his head back as he burst into hysterical laughter. "It's as I thought," he commented, calm now, "There's nothing to worry about Kakarott. This Majin Buu has been revealed as a weakling; at least by the measuring bar you and I have set." When Goku just continued to stare vacantly at him, Vegeta barked, "Is it too hard to understand clown? The Saiyan race has evolved since that creature was entrapped."
-Ooh, can't live up to me-
Clenching his fist, Vegeta continued, "Think of what the Supreme Kai said: he's been constantly surprised by our strength; on Babidi's ship we conquered what were supposed to be the strongest fighters in the universe, and we barely broke a sweat! Think about it Kakarott. We Saiyans have taken a ruling place in the universe that even its greatest overseer couldn't predict. And Majin Buu may have ruled in his time but now he's sorely outclassed."
"You're... wrong," Goku replied fearfully, "I can feel something deeper inside him!"
-There isn't a thing that I can do-
"Enough of your feelings!" Vegeta shouted angrily. "You're just stalling because you know I'm going to beat you!"
"No Vegeta. I know you can sense the same thing," Goku replied. "You're just too proud to admit it." There was another surge in power, and both Saiyans glanced in the direction it came from. "You had to have felt that one Vegeta. I don't think we can take this guy for granted. Not any more."
"Enough!" Vegeta roared, lunging towards him again.
-Watching this whole thing just wash away-
Grabbing the Saiyan Prince's wrists, Goku barked, "We don't have any time for this now Vegeta! We're the one's who let Buu out of his shell; it's because of us!"
"Buu is just a sideshow; you are my only concern!" Vegeta growled.
"Everyone on Earth will be killed, you hear me!" Goku shouted, "Bulma, Trunks, everyone!"
-Making me long-
"Shut up!" Vegeta shouted, kneeing Goku in the stomach to free his hands, before clasping them together and slamming them into Goku's head. "Shut! Up! Remember I've sold my soul to Babidi!" Vegeta roared, lashing out at Goku, who dodged the flurry. "I keep no loyalties! I have a Saiyan heart that depends on strength alone! They're NOTHING to me!"
As Vegeta's attack swung in, Goku grabbed his wrist, barking, "LIAR! I don't buy it!" He punctuated his remark with a cross to the face, dropping Vegeta like a stone. "Talk all you want Vegeta, but you better convince yourself of it first."
-There isn't a thing that I can do-
Climbing to his feet, Vegeta calmly spat out a small collection of blood from Goku's last attack, wiping his mouth with his glove. "Fine. You win" He smirked a little, before looking away towards where they sensed Majin Buu. "Our fight is postponed. I want you at your fullest when we fight, and you're obviously distracted by that ridiculous 'Buu'." When Goku's face broke into a smile, he walked towards him, stating, "Well don't just stand there, get out your senzu beans. We should be at full power when we face him."
When Goku turned away and began fiddling with the pouch, the smirk on Vegeta's face slipped to a more neutral mask. Still smiling, Goku commented, "With all of us working together I'm sure we can beat this guy." He never saw the blow to the back of the head coming, but he sure felt it as he fell to the ground, moments before passing out and dropping out of Super Saiyan entirely. The bad of senzu beams fell from his hand, a single bean spilling out.
-Watching this whole thing just wash away-
"So Kakarott, even you can prove helpless when you drop your guard," Vegeta commented to himself, picking up the spilled bean and consuming it. Shouting as he felt his energy restore, Vegeta mused to himself, 'I'll take care of this Buu myself. The last thing I need is for this clown to play hero again and dangle it over my head.' Turning to face the fallen Saiyan, he commented, "We'll finish this fight when I return Kakarott. Enjoy your sleep. And should your time run out before I'm done..." he trained off, laughing a bit, before adding, "Then we'll have to continue this another day... When I see you in Hell!"
-Making me long-
Fed up with how Buu was treating him, Babidi shouted, "Listen to me Buu! I'm well versed in all my father's incantations. I could put you back in your ball with a phrase if you'd like..."
This barely veiled threat seemed to get through to the pink monstrosity, which then bowed a couple of times, exclaiming cheerfully, "You the master, you!"
"Yes, this arrangement will work nicely," Babidi commented, before ordering, "Now go destroy those two over there!" Majin Buu just continued to look at him blankly.
-Making you strong-
"Supreme Kai, Buu's definitely strong, but maybe he wouldn't be so destructive if we took Babidi out of the picture," Gohan commented after some thought.
"No Gohan, I'm afraid that's the exact opposite of what we need to do." Shin replied. "Buu may not look it, but it has a deep seated need for destruction, and Babidi is the only living person who knows how to seal him up again; without him we'd be doomed."
Giving him an odd look, Gohan commented, "Are we doomed anyway?"
-Awaken you, with little evil inside-
"A pity," Dabura stated. "For all his vaunted abilities, Majin Buu is nothing but an idiot and a waste." Buu glanced over at the Demon King, a neutral look on its face. Dabura smirked, asking in a mock-sympathetic tone, "Oh, what's wrong? Do you have a problem with what I've said?" Buu proceeded to dance around happily, chanting "Pow" and "Ow" alternatively, before stopping in front of Dabura with a content little smile on its face. "A shame. He's not even aware enough to know he's outmatched." Dabura remarked confidently. "Run along Buu, or shall I turn you into stone?"
Buu just smiled.
-Feed on your nothing, you'll never live up to me-
"Are you just going to stamp 'dead' on your forehead?" Gohan shouted at the Kai. His attention was drawn back to Buu again as the pink creature laid Dabura out, first with a punch to the eyes, blinding him, then a slap to the side of the head, sending him crashing into one of the few remaining mountains. 'Amazing! It's like he tapped into a well of energy that doesn't end!' Gritting his teeth, he growled, "Time to see what it can do!"
Ignoring the Supreme Kai's shouted warning, Gohan blasted towards Buu, the wind of his approach sending the unprepared Babidi flying. Charging ki into his fists, Gohan began laying into Buu with everything he could musted, only to watch in horror as the being just stood their and took it. Growling, he formed a circular blade of ki, like one of Krillin's Destructo Disks, and used it to sever Majin Buu's head.
-I've stricken you, I want to live with the lie-
Gohan was suitably shocked when the severed head stuck its tongue out at him. Fighting back a frightened gasp, Gohan charged a ball of ki and planted it inside Buu's mouth, blowing up the severed head before racing over to Shin and grabbing his arm. "Come on, it's time to leave," he stated quickly. Turning back to Buu, he vaguely noticed Babidi fighting to get his cape from covering his face, but most of his attention was drawn to the fact that Buu was pulling a new head from between his shoulders. Feeling a sense of deja vu, he commented, "You know, I blame Cell for setting this precedent." Still holding onto Shin's arm, Gohan blasted off at high speed.
-Feed on your nothing and you'll never live up to me-
By the time Babidi got over his wardrobe malfunction, Buu had fully reformed from Gohan's beating. "Hey, what are you standing around for? You're letting them get away!" Babidi shouted. Putting one leg forward, Buu leaned in the direction the other two had fled, before taking off like a rocket, kicking up a cloud of dust. Coughing violently as the dust cleared, Babidi commented, "I sure hope he comes back."
-Ooh, can't live up to me-
"I'm pretty confident about my speed," Gohan stated. Turning his head back, Gohan added, "It doesn't look like anyone's behind us yet." By the time he'd turned forward again, he was forced to come to an abrupt halt, as floating right in front of him, sticking it's tongue out at him again, was Majin Buu. "How...?"
Gohan was never given the chance to finish that thought.
-Feed on your nothing, you'll never live up to me-
To be continued...
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Author's notes:
There was so much dead air I had to cut when I was writing this chapter... Ah well, at least it's done.