--- Disturbance, Book 3: Endurance ---
Chapter E11 - Kryptonite
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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-I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind-
-I left my body laying somewhere in the sands of time-
In a plane of existence normally reserved for the dead, on a planet no mortal had stood on until the previous day, stood all that remained to protect the universe from destruction, and that self-same destruction made manifest. The planet itself was silent, save for the wind blowing through the trees nearby. The only sound, in fact, not made by nature, was the soft, evil chuckle of the monster before them.
Goku eyed Buu warily as the monster glared between him and Vegeta. He could see, in the creature's eyes, that this Buu was pure evil. There would be no talking him down, no honourable combat, no quarter given. Once this fight started, Goku knew it would not end until one side was dead.
Goku turned his gaze to Vegeta, keeping Buu in his peripheral vision. The Saiyan prince had died once already, and if he were to die again, he would cease to exist. It was funny, in a way, how the tables had turned, as just yesterday, Goku had been the one with the halo, and Vegeta was alive. Vegeta had made the ultimate sacrifice to defeat Buu, his mortal body, and it had failed.
Goku would not let Vegeta fall again. Rival or no, even if it cost Goku his new life, he would ensure Vegeta was not slain by this creature again.
While Vegeta would never admit it, even under torture, deep down inside he was scared of this monster. The prince knew he wasn't strong enough to kill Majin Buu. One on one, he knew the monster would kill him. However, Majin Buu had killed his son, and for that transgression, Vegeta was willing to risk his very existence to avenge his heir.
The tense mood was shattered when Goku, his voice jovial but battle-hardened, asked, "Hey Vegeta, play you for first?"
-But I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon-
-I feel there is nothing I can do, yeah-
'What in all that's good and just in this universe are they doing?' Dende thought bemusedly, as he watched Goku and Vegeta playing, of all things in the 'verse, Janken. For almost a minute now, every game they'd played, they would both pick the exact same option, and would be forced to play another game. And it didn't look like they were going to stop any time soon.
Looking around, the minor God noticed that the five Kais all looked as stunned by the event as he was; well, all except Shin, oddly enough. Closing his eyes, Dende tried to pick up a few of the Kai's surface thoughts. 'Must they do this every time?' He overheard Shin muttering to himself mentally, before being treated to the memory of a similar event taking place yesterday in Babidi's ship, only between five Saiyans, instead of just the two present.
An amused smile flickering across his face, Dende blinked a bit as if his sharp eyes spotted something. 'Goku just won, and they kept playing. What are they doing?'
It was subtle, at first, but slowly the assembled demigods could notice the build up of power happening in both Saiyans, and realisation came suddenly; the pair were using this 'game' as cover to gather their energy. And Buu, it seemed, was quite content to let them play. 'Actually,' Dende mused to himself with the slightest of smiles, 'It looks like they've almost bored him to sleep.'
"You know," Elder commented quietly, "Maybe we shouldn't be here when they actually start. I'm pretty sure it'll get real rough real fast."
A bead of sweat slid down Shin's face as he thought of the damage their pristine planet would soon suffer. "That... is a very good idea..." The current (former?) overseer of the universe remarked, before, seconds later, Kibito teleported them away to watch the fight from elsewhere in Otherworld.
-I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon-
-After all I knew it had to be something to do with you-
"Rock! Scissors! Paper! Rock! Scissors! Paper!" 'Good, almost there.' Goku mused to himself, slowly bringing his power level up. He could have brought his power out faster, of course, but that would've gotten Buu's attention, and he was pretty sure the monster was hoping to fight a weaker opponent. Casting a quick eye at the creature, he noticed it seemed to be sleeping standing up, judging by the snoring and the snot bubble.
Despite what many people thought, Goku Son was no dunce; well, for all things combat, at least. He may not have had the subtlety and cunning of Piccolo, but having fought the man and his father many times, he'd learnt a few things. Similarly, having fought Vegeta and his ilk many times, he'd acquired the Saiyan prince's 'kick in the door' approach to combat, and he merged both of these attitudes with his own personal combat style.
It was time to see if this new style bore fruit.
In truth, the Earth-raised Saiyan was a little surprised Vegeta had caught onto his plan so quickly. Goku knew there was only one way they were going to defeat Buu: they had to hit him with everything they had from the start. Overwhelm the creature before he could draw too deep from the potentially limitless well of power he had available. He had to hit Buu with all of his strength, without giving the monster the same chance to gather strength.
With a sensation like a bell ringing in his mind, Goku realised he'd gathered all the power he'd be able to tap into without kicking things up a notch. He sent a nod Vegeta's way; it was time. Time to end this once and for all.
-I really don't mind what happens now and then-
-As long as you'll be my friend at the end-
Goku raced forward in a blur of motion, releasing the gathered energy and ascending into Super Saiyan Two in an instant, powering up all the way to his maximum in this form; he was still too 'new' at level three to shortcut his way to his full power, so this would have to do for now.
Before Buu could so much as register the power up, Goku slammed his right fist into the monster's stomach, folding the pink creature around his hand as he shouted, "ROCK!" Extending two fingers on his left hand, he jabbed them into Buu's neck, and construct he may have been, but Goku still succeeded in collapsing the creature's windpipe, and temporarily stunning him. "SCISSORS!" Bringing his left hand back, he extended his fingers flat, then slammed the palm of his ki-charged hand into the creature's chest, causing an explosive reaction that rocketed Buu away at high speed. "PAPER!"
By luck, fate, or design, Buu slammed backwards through a series of trees, snapping each but slowing himself slightly, before wrapping around the fourth one with all the grace and form of a bug splattering against the windshield of a truck.
It took Buu a few moments to pull himself together again, and when he did, he looked pissed; a fact backed up by the ear-piercing shriek the monster unleashed. The sonic attack also caused the felled trees to shatter like glass, and send the jagged fragments at the cringing Saiyan.
Focusing his ki in front of him to incinerate the wood shards before they could harm him, Goku was completely blind to the rapidly approaching Buu. He would have been hit, too, with a punch easily strong enough to dislodge some teeth, if not for a warning niggle in the back of his mind that warned him to get the hell out of the way.
That warning proved important, as moments after Buu's fist passed through an after image left behind by the fleeing Saiyan, the entire area was glassed by a massive blue ki ball, moments before the winds carried out the attacker's cry of "Big Bang Attack!" Super Saiyan Two Vegeta grinned as he landed next to Goku, remarking, "You didn't really think I was going to sit this out did you?"
-If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman?-
-If I'm alive and well, will you be there a-holding my hand?-
"Damnit, he's earlier than we anticipated!" Avarrdo cursed, rushing to his console to begin tracing the monster's co-ordinates.
"Which means either he's stronger than we believed," Kellre mused, assisting his life-long friend, "Or he's not at full strength."
"Either way, we need to get there as soon as possible," Kaen remarked, pacing impatiently up and down the length of the control room.
Rolling his eyes at his son, Avarrdo replied calmly, "Hold your horses boy." A few key presses later, he added, "Found it. A direct pathway to Otherworld, and one hell of a battle."
"That's great and all, but how am I gonna be able to sense where we're going through your shields?" Gohan asked curiously.
Wordlessly, Kellre reached under the console and pulled out what looked like two electrodes, instructing, "Affix these to your temples." Wary, but compliant, Gohan did as told. "Now," the elder Saiyan remarked with something of a grin, "This may feel, a little weird."
-I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might-
-Kryptonite-
A gasp escaped Gohan's lips as his consciousness was, for lack of a better word, ripped from his body and flung along the cybernetic pathways through the hole in space/time and into Otherworld. For a matter of seconds, Gohan stood once again on the World of the Kais, before being ripped back to his body.
Slumping backwards, he found arms around his waist steadying him, before noticing the scent that came with them; a subtle application of perfume, perspiration, and a scent that was unique, and branded in his mind. His Videl. "I'm okay," he remarked quickly, steadying his legs, though he made no move to remove the girl's arms from around him.
"So, we good to go?" Pi asked, her voice slipping into battle-mode.
With a helpless shrug, Gohan replied, "Well, I found our destination, but we've got a bit of a problem. Dende and the Kais are gone."
A string of Saiyan curses slipping out, Kaen scrubbed one hand through his hair, before sighing and remarking, "Okay, Plan B it is."
"'Plan B'?" The human girl asked.
Kaen just grinned, pressing the middle two fingers of his left hand against his temple as his eyes slid shut. "Yes, 'B'. I just need to make a long distance call."
"To who?"
His grin widened. "An old friend."
-You called me strong, you called me weak, but still your secrets I will keep-
-You took for granted all the times I never let you down-
"Vegeta?" The younger Saiyan gave the prince an odd look. "Why...?" There were so many 'why's he wanted to ask, but couldn't think of which one would make the haughty Saiyan less offended.
Fortunately for Goku, he didn't have to say anything else, as Vegeta answered, "Listen to me Kakarott. If today has proven nothing else to me, it is that you are the stronger of the two of us. If either of us are going to defeat Majin Buu, it will be you, but I know you can't do it at your level; you will need to go beyond. However, I know you will not be able to do that as long as your fight with Buu continues."
"Vegeta..." Goku honestly didn't know what to say that wouldn't further damage the prince's ego.
The Saiyan prince cut him off before he could say anything else. "I will give you the time you need to power up." His face hardened. "Don't squander it." Powering up as high as he could, bolts of blue lightning arcing off his form, Vegeta charged towards the monster, recovering swiftly in the still-glowing crater.
"...Thank you Vegeta," Goku remarked quietly, knowing the elder Saiyan wouldn't want to hear the words, but they had to be said. Putting two fingers to his forehead, Goku teleported as far away as he dared go, focusing his will to drawing out his full power.
"Come on you ugly pink son of a bitch!" Vegeta shouted, screaming towards Buu at high speed. "Your fight is with me now!" Buu opened his mouth, almost certainly to unleash another sonic scream, but Vegeta wasn't going to give him that chance. Blurring forward, Vegeta charged a ball of ki in one hand and slammed it into Buu's mouth, before detonating it with an uppercut to the monster's jaw, and unknowingly echoing Gohan from maybe three hours earlier.
Not giving the creature a moment's respite, Vegeta unleashed upon Buu the raw fury of an angered Saiyan, unleashing wave after wave of devastatingly powerful punches and kicks. Against any normal creature, Vegeta's attacks would have liquefied its insides, and shattered it's bones into powder; against Majin Buu however, all he managed to do was piss the monster off.
With an echoing shriek, Buu unleashed a torrent of energy, driving Vegeta back several feet, but the prince didn't let that stop him. Gathering ki at his side, Vegeta unleashed a massive purple beam of ki with a cry of "Gallic Gun!" When the beam hit Buu's shield, however, it didn't detonate; instead, it began wrapping around it. It wasn't until the two ends met up on the other side, poetically just as Buu's shield dropped, that the fun began.
Instead of a single explosion, the ki ring detonated in a series of small explosions, battering Buu's form, before finally reaching the main mass, which exploded with enough force to send Buu rocketing into, and through, a mountainside almost a mile away.
-You stumbled in and bumped your head, if not for me then you'd be dead-
-I picked you up and put you back on solid ground-
A smirk on his face, Vegeta focused ki through his hands and fired off a short series of blasts after the fast receding form of Buu, before the creature could pass the horizon; he wasn't entirely surprised to find it did nothing. Seconds before any of the blasts could hit, Buu snapped upright, batting the first few blasts away, warping his body out of the way of the next few, before finally opening his mouth and eating the last one.
The dust of the shattered mountain hadn't even had time to settle before Buu retaliated. His mouth opened again a mere fraction of a second after it had closed to swallow, his throat glowing with pink ki, before he belched out a jagged bolt of energy at his Super Saiyan opponent.
Gritting his teeth, Vegeta held a hand out, catching the oncoming blast and forcing it back into a ball. With his attention focused thus, he almost missed the extended fist aiming to take his head off; almost. Ducking under Buu's incoming extended arm, then weaving to the side to avoid the other arm, Vegeta waited until Buu almost passed him by before swinging his hand out and catching Buu by the face; the hand still holding the deadly ki blast.
There were a few seconds as Buu's body continued, his neck stretching rather disgustingly, before the ki blast exploded, sending Buu hurtling back again, cart wheeling through the air due to the snap-back of his elastic neck. Throwing his hands out to either side, Vegeta focused his power again, throwing his hands forward and merging the ki balls before unleashing his trademark attack. "Final Flash!"
Majin Buu disappeared in a massive mushroom cloud, and though he lost sight of his target, Vegeta couldn't keep the self-satisfied smirk off his face. Unfortunately, the blinding flash of light, and the ensuing dust cloud, meant he couldn't see Buu's return to combat. He felt it soon enough, though, as extended pink arms grabbed his upper arms, before spinning him in rapid circles, slamming him through trees, rocks, and anything else within reach, before hurling him into the side of a mountain. Reaching back to form a car-sized pink energy ball, Buu shouted his first word since his rebirth, as he launched the attack. "DIE!"
"You first." A gravely voice retorted, moments before Buu's attack was sliced in half vertically by a yellow energy disc. Moments later, that same disc sliced clean through Buu, cutting him into two symmetrical pieces. Materialising between the bisected monster and the downed prince, Super Saiyan Three Goku had arrived. Round three had officially begun.
-If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman?-
-If I'm alive and well, will you be there a-holding my hand?-
Kaen himself would be the first to tell you he considered his telepathic skills meagre at best; he's focused his training towards strengthening his chi and ki, leaving his psi to fall by the wayside. The bond he had with Pi gave him a leg up on Joe Average when it came to training his mental abilities, but he still believed himself lacking. Which is why he was surprised at the ease at which he established a mental connection with his target, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
It was ironic, in a way, just how close telepathy was to a phone call, because once you sent out the connection, you had to wait for the other end to 'answer' before a conversation could begin. Skilled telepaths, or people forcing the issue hard enough, could force a connection, but that wasn't exactly ideal for polite conversation. Kaen could almost imagine hold music, or at least a dial tone, as he waited for the 'line' to be picked up.
It was a few moments before Flute responded, greeting his Saiyan friend a slowly. 'While I am more than happy to hear from you again, you certainly chose an inopportune moment.'
Kaen winced slightly, muttering more to himself than to Flute. 'Sorry. See, this is why I don't call often. You guys keep such an odd schedule compared to us I never know whether I'm gonna interrupt something. Were you meditating with Viola?'
'...Yes, I was.' Flute replied, before quickly changing the subject. 'I take it, once more, this is not a social call?'
Kaen 'shrugged' helplessly. 'Sorry man. I swear, one of these days I'm gonna call just to talk and catch up, but life's been hectic. Who would've thought settling down could be so stressful?' Not wanting to take up any more of his old friend's time than he had to, he quickly explained the situation, and the plan.
'I wondered what that dark energy I could feel was...' The Namek mused. 'Don't worry, we'll take care of things on our end. You have my word.'
''Preciate it,' Kaen replied, more jovially then before. 'This works, we're so gonna need to catch up proper, but 'til then, stay safe.' With nothing more to say, Kaen drew his consciousness back, ending the 'call'.
-I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might-
-Kryptonite-
After the connection was broken, Kaen was left to speculate on just what, exactly, Flute's behaviour earlier meant. A horrifying realisation hit him quickly, and he remarked slowly, "...Wait, they were getting it on..."
Pi tilted her head to one side, asking, "Who?" She'd been mere seconds away from asking how things went when he'd spoken, and his statement completely derailed her train of thought."
"Flute and Viola," he replied, giving her a look as if to say 'who the fuck else would I have meant?'
If she noticed said look, she paid it no mind, commenting, "Aww, that's nice."
Kaen just shook his head slowly, moaning, "Fuck, I seriously didn't need that mental image..."
A thoughtful look on his face, Gohan mused aloud, "Hmm, I wonder if it works the same way for Nameks as it does for humans and Saiyans..."
Kaen glared at the teen, spitting, "Shut it half-boy. We're about to go into a battle to decide the fate of the universe; I really don't need this rattling around in my head."
Gohan just smirked back. "Oh, it's way too late for that." Carrying on his previous comment, he muttered thoughtfully, "I wonder if everything is green..." He ignored Kaen's squawk of shock. "Maybe I should ask Dende when I see him next..."
-If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman?-
-If I'm alive and well, will you be there holding my hand?-
Kaen just shuddered in mild horror. "You seriously can't want to know this stuff..." He drawled sourly.
Gohan just smirked back. "I have no idea why this aggravates you, but it's pure gold!" His eyes shining with amusement, he added, "I've found your weakness! I need more ammo."
Kaen just shuddered again, barking defensively, "Hey, I had to give Flute the sex talk! The fact he's actually using that advice is..." There were lots of things that was; too many, in fact, to settle on a single word, so the Saiyan teen just trailed off.
A giggle escaped Pi's lips. "I recall you finding it immensely amusing at the time though."
"That's because it was amusing at the time, but now it's almost like walking in on your parents and catching them in the act." He shuddered again, before glaring half-heartedly over at Pi and commenting wryly, "You're not helping you know?"
"Sure I am!" The girl replied perkily. She waited just long enough for him to give her the 'what the fuck do you mean' look before adding, "I'm helping the same way you help a fire: by throwing more fuel on it!"
Kaen rolled his eyes at her. "You're supposed to be on my side..."
She just grinned back. "Since when?"
-I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might-
-Kryptonite-
-Yeah!!-
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Kaen groaned dryly, "Can we not have this discussion now? While I have absolutely no doubt the two of you will bring this up again later, if only just to torture me, we've got a battle to get to. Majin Buu, remember? Fate of the Universe?"
"Oh alright," Gohan replied, rolling his eyes. "If only because everything I know and love will cease to exist if we don't."
"Take these with you," Kellre interjected, producing two more cans of the energy drink. "I'm sure the boys will need them."
Grinning at her father referring to Goku and Vegeta as 'the boys', Pi turned to their half-Saiyan transporter and asked, "You still know where we're going 'Han?"
"Sure do," the teen replied swiftly, walking towards Videl and adding, "Just one thing I need to take care of first." Before anyone could question him, he slid one arm around Videl's back, wrapped the other behind her head, leaned down, and kissed her.
Her arms sliding around his neck instinctively, Videl melted into his embrace. The kiss lasted all of a minute before the human girl needed air, but for that minute, they were in a world of their own. No Buu, no annoying friends and family, no concerns or worries, just him, and her, and the love joining them. Separating from him, a smile on her lips, Videl rested her head against his chest, asking softly, "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"
"Inspiration," he replied just as softly, "To give me something to come back to." Leaning down to whisper directly into her ear, he added, "We'll do the rest when I come back." That was a lie, as Gohan knew he wouldn't bond with her as soon as the fight was over; she wasn't ready, and quite frankly, neither was he. However, he knew it would bring a rosy blush to her cheeks. "You know, you're cute when you blush."
"Gohan!" The girl chided, though it came out as more of a whine than she intended. 'Damn, I'm losing my edge!' the girl reeled to herself, though, despite how angry she wanted to be, she couldn't keep the smile from her face.
Taking a few steps back, Gohan felt Kaen and Pi each place a hand on either shoulder. Grinning cheekily, he remarked, "See ya later," raised two fingers to his forehead, and the trio were gone.
-If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman?-
-If I'm alive and well, will you be there a-holding my hand?-
"Oh man, this doesn't look good... Even in Super Saiyan Three, I'm just not doing enough damage," Goku's bass voice growled out. While he'd never admit it out loud, this form was taking a lot more out of him now that he was alive than it had while he was dead, and he was tiring fast.
"Ugh, he's just toying with us!" Vegeta spat irritably, glaring at the pink monster, who, in turn, was chuckling at them.
"Look out, here he comes!" The younger Saiyan warned, but by then, Buu had already blurred forward, his arms extending to an obscene length and catching the prince in the stomach. Grabbing Vegeta's shoulders, Buu then swung him like a club into Goku, knocking the two of them to the ground.
"Grr, get off me Kakarott!" Vegeta growled, as the two landed awkwardly. Casting his eyes up as Goku began to rise, saw Buu preparing the killing blow; he swore loudly and kicked Goku away, barking, "Move Clown! Get off me!" He needn't have bothered.
As the attack began to descend, it was met halfway by a familiar looking blue energy wave, nullifying it completely, before three very welcome figures flew into view. His face brightening dramatically, Goku exclaimed, "Gohan! Kaen! Pi! You're all still alive!"
A grin on his face, Gohan noticed a now-angry Buu descending rapidly towards them. Powering up as high as he could in the few seconds it took for the monster to reach them, he lashed out with his knee, catching Buu in the gut, before withdrawing it and spinning around, rocking Buu with a series of spinning kicks, from alternating legs. With one last straight kick, he sent Buu careening uncontrollably into a distant mountain, before replying, "And kicking!" The other two teens grinned at his pun.
"Drink these," Pi remarked, holding out the two cans they'd brought. With a shrug, the two Saiyans took the offered drinks from her, downing the contents in one gulp; there was no time to drink it slowly. As their energy returned rapidly, matching smirks spread across both Goku and Vegeta's faces.
This battle was only just getting started.
-I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might-
-Kryptonite!-
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Author's notes:
I know, I know, the ending is a bit weak, but I have discovered that I suck at endings. That said, I don't particularly feel like correcting this, as this chapter has been the proverbial albatross around my neck for far too long, and I'm just glad to see the back of it.
Hopefully, the next will be done sooner. The action only heats up from here.
In other news, World of Warcraft is very quickly consuming my soul. Sad to say, I get more writing done at work than I do at home... At the rate I'm going, I'm starting to have doubts I'll meet the December 31 2008 deadline I set myself when I started this...