Chapter 085 – Majin Buu
The smoke which had come from the shell was moving bizarrely above them, gathering into a strange mass. It shifted and became more and more solid, slowly an arm became recognisable, then a leg.
"Is that...?" Babidi's shrill voice almost went unnoticed as Corset kept her eyes glued to the smoke. Something was forming from it; she could see limbs and a head slowly forming, its ki growing dramatically all the time.
Finally it formed.
"BUUUUUU!" The being stretched out its limbs before heading down to the ground, landing heavily on its feet. It looked rather bizarre and pudgy. It was pink with some sort of strange antenna on its head, fat and rubber-looking. Its clothes looked unusual; a small jacket barely covering its chest with baggy pants, what looked like spandex, and a large purple cape. It glanced around and smiled, making what sounded like cooing noises as it moved about.
Corset watched, slightly taken back with what she saw.
"... Is it?" Gohan asked unsure.
"Yes," Kaioshin confirmed, "I'll never forget that monster's face!"
"... I expected him to be bigger," Gohan confessed.
"I expected him to be a lot more aggressive..." Corset mumbled. "He seems really calm and carefree... You sure this is the right guy?"
"Of course it is!" Kaioshin hissed, lowering his arms. "... It's too late now... we can't escape."
"... He's got a lot of ki, but I'm not so sure it's hopeless..." Gohan mused.
"What?" Kaioshin gasped, stepping forwards. "Are you serious?"
"If I can use all of my strength, we may be ok... plus Corset's been training too so we might be able to pull this off... I hope," Gohan nodded, though he was trying to convince himself of his own words.
"... If this is his maximum then yeah, I guess we could," Corset didn't sound so sure. She was more interested in what Buu was doing. Babidi was calling his name yet Buu seemed to be ignoring him; at one point Buu even spat his tongue out at the wizard! "Looks like they're having problems on their end," she added raising an eyebrow.
Dabura muttered something about Buu being a stupid loser – or at least that's what Corset thought she heard. Buu stopped and glared, pounding his fists into the air with a growl. He hopped over to Dabura who seemed amused by the move.
"Sounds like this was a bust," Gohan muttered continuing to observe Buu's movements.
"No, this is no bust... This is Buu." Kaioshin growled.
Corset watched silently. To her astonishment Buu started to blow stream from his head and arms, hissing loudly like a kettle being brought to the boil. The slits of his eyes barely opened.
Corset almost choked on her own breath as Buu's power suddenly exploded. In a flash he'd pierced Dabura in the eyes, a kick knocking the demon king several times off the ground before crashing into a nearby mountain. He disappeared under the rubble.
Buu went back to hopping across the ground, coming to a halt and clapping.
"That was... astounding! Buu you're magnificent!" Babidi cheered.
"You felt that, right?" Gohan asked urgently turning to Corset for confirmation.
"Yeah, Buu's ki suddenly bolted up!" Corset nodded, her heart thumping inside her chest. "I can't believe just how strong he is! We're in trouble!" Buu's power had suddenly swelled into something she'd never imagined would be possible. There was no doubt in her mind now how things would turn out, Gohan had been wrong to think they could handle Buu and beat him. At best they'd be able to stall him but it would only be a matter of time.
"Buu..." Babidi stepped towards the pink majin, "...listen to me. I'm your master!"
Buu spat its tongue out at the warlord.
"Are you sure you want to defy me? I've read through my father's notes and I know the spell that seals you away!"
This seemed to have caught Buu's attention.
"You don't want me to seal you away, do you Buu?" Babidi questioned slyly.
"Master!" Buu's high voice was somehow full of innocence as he bowed several times at Babidi, pleasing the warlord.
"He acts like a little kid..." Gohan pointed out. "Maybe if we kill Babidi, he'll be harmless?"
"As long as you don't annoy him, he seems pretty harmless," Corset noted.
"No!" Kaioshin gasped. "Without Babidi then we can't seal Buu away! You are both greatly misunderstanding the severity of the situation – you don't know Buu! He's a monster! There will eventually come a time when even Babidi can't control him; then we'll have to hope he seals him away! ... I curse myself for my mistakes; I honestly thought I could stop Babidi... If I'd known you humans were as strong as you are, I could have used you the other way..."
"The other way?" Gohan repeated.
"No... It doesn't matter whether I tell you or not now; we're all doomed..." Kaioshin lowered his head with disheartenment, assured there was now nothing that could be done to stop the monster.
"There's gotta be at least something we can do!" Corset grunted in annoyance. "Enough with this doom-and-gloom attitude; tell us something that could help against Buu!"
"There is nothing." Kaioshin replied.
"Buu, your first order is to kill those three!" Babidi's order was carried on the wind. Corset quickly glared up to Buu and Babidi anticipating Buu to come charging at them.
Before she knew it Gohan had grabbed both her and Kaioshin and had bolted it off the ground. Babidi and Buu quickly became dots on the horizon as they fled the scene, "Don't worry; I'm sure of my speed at least!" Gohan cried.
"Hey, let me fly – I'm faster!" Corset yelled over the wind; a shadow darted before her stopping her from speaking any further, eyes shifting ahead of them. It felt the moment lasted forever. She saw Buu overtake Gohan.
Gohan stopped dead in his tracks; Corset snatched her arm free and turned frantically around, putting up her guard as fast as she could.
"Die!"
A rush of air bolted past her as Buu swatted Gohan clean from the sky; the Super Saiyan crashing hard through the ground below, vanishing into a cloud of dust and rubble that'd been displaced.
"GOHAN!" Corset screamed, hurriedly turning back up to face the Majin who now blocked their way, easily towering over her with his large mass. Though all the adrenaline and panic, another emotion found its way to the surface. Anger began to rise through her body again and she quickly moved between Kaioshin and the Majin. "Kaioshin, get outta here!" She ordered, suddenly lashing forwards and striking Buu in the face with a fist, connecting with an elbow to the head and finishing off with a knee to the jaw. The strikes knocked Buu head over heels and sent him flying back slightly. Quickly he recovered and floated before them. He didn't seem too bothered. Corset dashed in again, a knee connecting with Buu's arm as the monster actually reacted to an oncoming hit. One swipe from the Majin was dodged as Corset flew back out of harm's reach –
The other bulky pink arm suddenly extended outwards straight for her grabbing the stunned girl, swinging her up over his head and tossing her down towards the ground. Corset clamped her eyes shut waiting for the impacting strike, unable to slow herself down in time...
When she regained consciousness she realised she was lying face-down on the ground. She could sense the fight was still going on. A scream passed her ears. She was sure she recognised it but for a while couldn't quite recall who it was.
Then it hit her: Kaioshin.
Corset rose to her feet, albeit wobbly from her crash with the ground. She spotted Kaioshin on the ground; Buu sitting on top of him. Without much thought she started to run straight for them, charging up her ki into one fist. The ki in her clenched palm began to shine and manifest into a small aura as she closed in. With a yell Corset jumped forwards and punched Buu straight in the back of the head, sending the unsuspecting Majin shooting across the ground and onto his face. Hurriedly she stood between Buu and Kaioshin, wiping the blood from her lip. How long had that been bleeding for?
"Buu! Get up, please Buu!" Babidi screamed from quite a distance away.
Corset turned and glared furiously at the wizard, "You... You're the cause of all this! You can't even fend for yourself; you have to seek other people to protect you! That Dabura guy was being used; hell you're probably using my father too! You're the worst!"
"Silence pest; Buu will make mincemeat of you!" Babidi jeered defiantly though with every step Corset made towards him, he took one shaky step backwards.
"BUU!"
Buu was suddenly on the attack and charging straight for Corset. A sudden kick to his cheek sent the bulky monster skidding across the ground as Gohan landed in front of Corset, revving up his energy.
"Corset, no matter what happens, protect Kaioshin." He ordered. "We've gotta keep him alive."
"Well duh," Corset snorted, "What's gotten into you? You should be worrying about yourself; you haven't trained properly in seven years!"
"Just promise me you'll protect Kaioshin and stay alive." Gohan responded.
"Well sure, I'm not in this to get myself killed..." Corset stared confused at Gohan, a little nervous, "... What's going on?"
"He's coming!" Gohan charged forwards past Corset and drew back a fist straight for Buu. Buu held out both hands in front of him.
"Dodge!" Corset bellowed frantically.
He had no time to even react; Gohan was struck at point blank range. The energy blast engulfed him in a bright green light and pushed him back and into the sky, heading higher and higher, soaring towards the outer atmospheres and towards space. Corset watched as the attack vanished into the distance, mouth slightly open and eyes wide with horror.
She couldn't sense him.
Gohan's ki flickered and vanished. He was out there somewhere attached to the other end of that energy attack. She could have sworn she'd felt a distortion. The attack must have exploded and killed him...
"Nice one, Buu!" Babidi jeered pleased with the development. "He must have been pushed into space! Alright, enough of this! Kill the girl and Kaioshin!"
Corset stared at the spot in the vast sky she'd seen Gohan vanish in, Babidi's voice breaking through her attention. That shrill, annoying and demanding voice. She'd had to endure the betrayal of her life because of that voice; the planet was now in danger because of that voice; her friends had been turned to stone because of that voice. Now Gohan had died because of that voice. Her best friend was gone, hadn't reacted in time and had been hit by Buu's attack at point-blank range. She hadn't gotten him out of harm's way in time, hadn't even considered intervening and taking his place.
Her anger at her father earlier started to bubble up to the surface yet again. It was his fault they were here; had he not allowed himself to be overcome by Babidi's magic, he and Goku could have been here helping. Gohan hadn't needed to have died. Instead they were dealt this bad situation, all because of the selfish actions of her father and the cowardly magic of the warlord before her. She couldn't run anymore. She was the only one left. Goku and her father were out there somewhere fighting each other, Gohan was gone, Piccolo and Krillin were stone, Kaioshin was unconscious. She was the only one.
"... I may go down..." Corset muttered, turning to face her opponent, "... but I'm not going down without a fight!"
With a battle cry Corset began to power up, the ground breaking below her feet as she transformed back into a Super Saiyan, then a Super Saiyan Two. Majin Buu seemed unfazed by the power-up; he seemed more amused! "Girl looks funny; Buu kill!"
She pelted off the ground and charged the monster. A kick to the face literally knocked Buu's face into his skull! She spun around and kicked once again, knocking Buu clean into the sky. Feet tapped off the dusty ground as she charged after Buu, quickly catching up and decking him down towards the ground. Buu ploughed through the rocky surface, vanishing in the dispersed smoke and rubble. Corset landed on the ground nearby, guard up. That hadn't been enough.
The ground began to shake as Buu suddenly emerged, flipping and landing on both feet. There were a couple of dents in his body – including his face – places Corset'd hit. Corset stared a little taken back. She hadn't expected him to just get back to his feet like this! She watched cautiously as Buu's body began to shudder slightly. Suddenly his face bulged out and turned back to normal! The dents in his body sprung back to normal! Corset gawked shocked. "... What is he made of? It's like elastic!"
Buu chuckled and began to bounce up and down on the spot.
"That's it, Buu!" Babidi cackled. "Transform into whatever you want – You'll never beat the Buu!"
'Man that guy's annoying! Stupid scrawny little weakling!' Corset glared quickly over to Babidi before turning back to Buu. From what she'd just seen, any physical attack could easily be repelled or fixed by this monster's body. If denting wouldn't work, she had to try and pierce it. Corset brought her palms up to her forehead and began gathering ki. Buu watched curiously, much to Corset's astonishment and relief. She continued gathering ki, emotions rising again as the Masenko grew larger. This guy had taken away her closest friend right before her eyes; the least she could do was try to avenge him and destroy this monster with his attack.
"Buu, don't just stand there - do something!" Babidi snapped.
"Buu do." Buu retorted cheerfully.
"This is for Gohan!" Corset yelled, "MASENKO!" She threw her hands forwards and launched the Masenko; emotions overwhelming her as tears rolled down her eyes as she relived the moment Gohan had vanished on that green beam of energy. The yellow beam of light shot towards Buu who simply stood there-
A scream came from the monster as the Masenko pushed straight through his chest, knocking the Majin onto his back. The energy attack was directed up into space, vanishing into the skies and beyond.
Corset crashed to her knees, tired from gathering and using so much ki, but also vulnerable from the overactive emotions she had to deal with. It had finally hit her. She'd seen her friend die, Gohan of all people had been killed. She could have stopped it from happening. She could have dived in and saved him! She'd let him down. Too much crap was happening right now, too many things close to her heart were being ripped apart before her and she could no longer hold back her reactions. Babidi's screams of horror rattled her brain further; she couldn't focus on anything in particular. 'Calm down... Now's not the time to be getting emotional! You've gotta clear your head! Clear it!'
"Buu! Majin Buu!" Babidi was shrieking with horror.
The change in ki caught her attention. Corset turned to look in amazement and disbelief, a wave of panic hitting her. Majin Buu was on his feet; a large hole in his chest... yet his face wouldn't even suggest he was in pain! That same old innocent face. Corset shuddered in disbelief. "... No way..." Slowly she got to her feet, wiping her cheeks.
Buu's body began to shudder. Suddenly, somehow, the gap in his chest began to shrink until it was no more.
"Buu, you're ok!" Babidi sighed in relief. "Finish her off! Do it, Buu!"
Buu began to hop over towards Corset, who was tired and still trying to calm down and gather her energy. One jump forwards and Buu slammed head-first into Corset! Corset's feet scraped against the ground, her brow crossing as she glared at her opponent. Nothing was working.
'No, don't think like that.' She scolded herself. She'd been taught better than to give up without putting up a fight. She had to protect Kaioshin from this monstrous being - she couldn't let Gohan's sacrifice go to waste.
Clenching her fists, Corset began to gather up her ki once again as Majin Buu made his way towards her, his innocent face sending chills down her spine. In one swift flex of her legs, Corset leapt up into the sky and fired off an energy blast straight for the tubby pink being, the attack striking its target and exploding upon contact, sending clouds of dust towering high into the air. Corset threw down several more energy balls to the ground in rapid succession, the ground swallowed up further by the dust displaced by the shredded ground.
Pausing, she patiently waited to see what had happened...
Majin Buu shot up from the smoke and grabbed her by the leg with an extended arm. Corset struggled to slow herself down as Buu violently threw her straight into the ground; Corset landing with a heavy thud.
For a while her head panged, her body lay unable to move. Again she'd been sent to the ground and couldn't get up...
'Get up... Just get up...'
Corset struggled to move her limbs, body still suffering from hitting the ground so hard. That Majin had some pretty warped abilities. Regeneration, the ability to stretch his limbs, able to knock off physical attacks like they were nothing...
'How am I supposed to beat this thing?' She groaned to herself. Corset staggered forwards, leaning over slightly as she stood up. Buu was currently facing the other way; a spear lodged through his stomach! What had she just missed and where had the spear come from?
Further behind him was an injured Dabura; Babidi seemed pretty angry yelling at his lackey. Corset was stunned to see the demon king was still alive! The feeling was short-lived as Buu effortlessly yanked the spear from his stomach and tossed it to the side. Just as Corset feared the small hole closed up.
Just as it had done before, Buu's ki shot up as he opposed Dabura. "Me eat you up!" He declared as the Demon King put up his defences. Buu began to hop towards Dabura watched the monster cautiously. The strange antenna on his head moved. Light bolted out from it and struck Dabura. At first Corset thought it was a regular old ki attack but Dabura's body began to behave strangely, convincing her perhaps it was instead magic. His body slowly began to straighten as if forced to; his facial features changed to that of a calm, almost expressionless person. In a flash Dabura's body had turned to a life-size cookie!
Corset's eyes were so wide she could have sworn they were gonna pop from their sockets! "... Regeneration... almost immune to any physical attack... stretchy body... and now he can turn people into cookies?" She spluttered. "... It's no use... At this rate I'm gonna die..."