A/N: To anyone disappointed with the lack of Buu battle in the last chapter, rejoice! It's the bulk of this one.

Chapter Twenty - A Sai-jin's Limits

Trunks had walked a little slower than usual as he passed through the palace halls. He was in no rush to reach his father's room and have the coming conversation. While he knew putting off the matter would be an utterly bad idea, that didn't mean he had to rush over as fast as he could move. Besides, it gave him time to think. And thinking was something he really needed to do right now.

He'd told Bra he wouldn't mention this to their father just to ease her mind a little. But she would likely find out eventually, and if it was by the reasons she'd feared when asking him not to mention it... He'd witnessed what his sister was like when she was upset. He could deal with his father's yelling or the poundings he took from the spars that sometimes resulted. But Bra didn't do either of those. She pulled herself into her own little world and would ignore the outside world, especially the person who had upset her.

The Prince had a feeling that, if this had the result his sister feared, she wouldn't talk to him for years. Decades, at the least. Possibly even centuries. Beyond that, he was worried she might cut herself off from everyone altogether. "Well, if she tries to do that I just wont let her." he thought. As he came to a stop he blinked and sighed realizing he'd reached his destination. Reaching a hand out he knocked.

"Who is it?" Vegeta called from inside.

"It's me father. I need to speak with you, it's important."

A moment later there was a click and the door opened as the Sai-jin royal let his son in. "What's this about?" he asked as he cast a quick glance back over at the computer screen. Gohan's energy had just taken a sudden nosedive before his son had arrived. Now it read as an error message. Obviously he'd taken to battle as well, though the earlier drop bothered him. His condition could be dangerous in this battle, for both him and his father.

"It's... about 18's daughter. Marron." Trunks said. "You said to report anything odd to you at once so..."

Vegeta's attention returned to his son. There was nothing the scouter systems could tell him now about what was happening out there. And the battle was so far away that the powers would be muddled and jumbled together as they fought. No, he was now, effectively, in the dark as to the events on Kurokokan. All he could do about that was wait. This matter with Marron, however, he might be able to do something with. "What's happened?"

"Bra and I were sparring just a bit ago, Marron was in watching." Trunks began. "A stray energy blast shot straight for her and then..." he shook his head. "Her power shot up through the roof, easily matching Gohan's. I don't think she even knows it, it was like she thought Bra saved her."

"Matching Gohan's?" Vegeta asked in disbelief. "His base power?"

"Ya, only his base..."

"Still... That much power from her." Vegeta said thoughtfully, turning from his son and walking across the room slowly. "She's never trained, she's not a fighter. To have a power of such a level without having trained at all... it's utterly absurd, even for a Sai-jin, but she's just a Human. If she learned of this power, learned how to control it... Or if she had any children..."

Trunks opened his mouth to mention Bra's intrest in her, that it might not come to pass that the blonde would be presented with the chance to have children. But he stopped before the words had even begun to form. Bra's interest in Marron was about the only thing that would be able to save the girl now, he figured. And for his sister's sake he wanted that to happen. But they would have to be an item already for that to work. Informing his father of this intrest now would only speed up his reaction time. A least if he held back on that piece of information he might buy Marron a little extra time.

Vegeta turned and looked at his son again. "I'll think about this later, once I know there's still an empire that needs protecting..."

"They're fighting, aren't they?" Trunks asked, looking at the three error readings on the monitor. "I thought I felt them, just on the edge of my senses, during the spar with Bra."

Vegeta nodded. "They are. If Kakkarotto and Gohan lose... well, it wont matter what kind of power the girl has anymore."

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Kakkarotto let out a loud cry as he threw a hard kick for Buu's head. His leg impacted with a crack denting it in. Gohan, meanwhile, came up from behind jamming his knee into the pink creature's back. The two blows deformed it quite a bit but it only took a moment for it to recover completely. His left arm shot back, his elbow smashing into Gohan's face and knocking him flying away.

He then kicked out his lef leg slamming his foot into Kakkarotto's stomach. Then he did the same with the other leg. Grinning and laughing the creature crossed it's arms and started kicking out it's feet, alternating between one and then other, landing nearly a dozen powerful kicks. Suddenly the blows stopped as the Sai-jin grabbed the incoming leg. Spinning around quickly he pitched him down toward the planet and then fired a blast of golden energy after him.

The Ki blast slammed into the ground, swelled, and then exploded savagely looking like a second sun for a moment. The ground beneath them began to groan as cracks snaked through the dirt and rock. The force of the explosion had distabilized the entire area. Gohan didn't doubt that the two underground bouts hadn't made it any harder. As the Hybrid came up next to his father the entire area below them collapsed. A large canyon forming for about five miles in every direction, dust shooting up into the air.

A pink glow formed within the dust and then suddenly a ball of energy shot out of it straight for the Sai-jins. They moved aside quickly and it zipped passed them. As soon as they turned to look again they found Buu only feet away. There was a loud smack a second later as his fist smashed into Kakkarotto's jaw knocking him away before he could react. Another crack came as he kicked Gohan in the back of the head.

He then thrust his short arms out toward the two of them and smirked. He floated up into the air quickly keeping his arms pointed at the Sai-jins. Stopping his ascent as they righted themselves and prepared to charge him he started laughing. Pink energy formed at the end of his arms and then he started spinning with it. The two warriors watched him in confusion and curiosity. A moment later he was nothing but a blur as he spun like a helicopter blade. And then suddenly a rain of Ki came rushing down from him shooting out over the area wildly.

The randomness of it made it next to impossible to gauge where the next one would be. Gohan only managed to slip one before three smacked into his head and two into his back knocking him toward the ground. Kakkarotto faired better at first, managing to dodge four, but then was pounded as he took eight to the head, four to the chest, two to each leg, one to his right arm, and then six to the back driving him into the ground.

Gohan picked himself up out of the ground and sensed it insantly. "Shit." he muttered, looking up toward Buu. His father was down, probably knocked out by the blows to the head he just took. "Looks like I go solo until he's up again. Not good." His aura flared up around him and in a burst of speed he shot toward the blob. Reaching it he started swinging hard and fast. He pushed as much power behind each attack as he could muster, moved each one as fast as he could.

But the short pink creature before him weaved and dodged without any effort. He didn't even bother to actually change his position in the air, just twisted and bent his body around the incoming blows. "Hold still!" Gohan yelled thrusting both arms forward, the base of his palms touching, and blasting a stream of golden energy at Buu. As the energy vanished there was no sign of the pink creature but the Hybrid could still sense him.

The pink goo that made up Buu's body began to swirl in the air and soon coalesced into the creature once more. It blinked a couple of times and then looked around a bit confused before realizing it had reformed upside down. It's body rippled and a moment later it had morphed so that it was rightside up. Buu just tilted his head back and forth as though trying to crack his neck.

Gohan floated panting and not really sure how to handle this creature. He'd never fought something with such advanced regenerative powers. Piccolo and Cell could recover from extensive damage but that used up energy and had limits. This thing could seemingly recover from anything. He wasn't even sure if atomizing the thing, assuming he could generate that much power, would be enough to stop it.

"Well, I do have a few tricks up my sleeve." he thought with a grin. Hunching over in the air he clenched his hands into fists and began to focus his waning power. He'd already lost a small chunk of it, about ten percent, and at these levels that was a lot. With a cry his aura flared up savagely and power rushed from his body. The backwash of energy kicked up dust and rocks on the planet below and blasted the clouds above apart and away.

The Hybrid smirked as he felt it. The wamth building deep in the pit of his stomach. Focusing he continued to draw on his power, to channel every drop of energy he had through his body. His aura thickened and grew brighter, more intense. The flashes of blue about him lasted longer and were bigger and brighter. And then he felt the rush of energy wash up through his body and his power jumped back up to his maximum and beyond.

His muscled expanded slighly under the strain of the power as he relaxed and stopped the power-up. He'd always possessed unusual reserves of energy, ever since he'd been a little child. It had only been in recent years that he'd learned to tap into those reserves on his own, instead of through instinct. "Alright, time to see how you handle this!" Gohan called, raising his arms above his head and crossing them, one palm over the back of the other hand.

His aura pulsed, flashed, flared, and then sank into a sphere in front of his hands. He pushed as much of the energy he could into the forming attack, the golden ball of Ki flashing and flaring as it grew larger and larger. Buu merely raised a single eye ridge but didn't seem all that concerned. With a cry Gohan thrust his arms down and forward. "Masenko Ha!" The golden energy sphere exploded into a massive wave of orange energy that surged toward Buu at incredible speeds.

The beam cut down into the planet below gouging out a massive trench along it's length. The Hybrid felt the impact a second later as the attack hit its mark. But even after the resistance faded and Buu's body was vaporized once more the Hybrid simply continued his attack. The Masenko narrowed, the beam growing more intense and focused. And then it suddenly vanished in an instant, a loud agonzied scream accompanying it's depature.

The Hybrid's hair turned black as he fell from the sky, his right arm rippling and pulsing like some sort of giant worm was inside attempting to escape. He hit the ground a moment later with a dull thud. The rippling reached through his entire body now, every muscle spasming and contracting randomly. And then it was gone, just as quickly as it had come. It took the pain a moment longer to fade and as he slowly opened his eyes again brilliant pink and gold lights flared up into his vision.

Kakkarotto stood and rubbed his head. He'd come to again just in time to see his son's Masenko make its impact. As the scream sounded a second later the powerful Sai-jin turned his eyes from Buu's former location to where his son floated. "Shit." he muttered, bracing his body as he watched Gohan fall. He was still gathering his power when he saw a pink light flare up a short distance from where Buu had been previously. Turning to look again he saw the creature reformed and charging a large pink energy bomb over his head.

"I don't think so freak." he growled, shooting off toward his son in a flash of gold. He'd not gathered enough power to reach level three as he transformed. Buu saw him moving rapidly, just above the surface of the planet, and let out a cackle as he pitched the energy down toward them. Kakkarotto glanced up at it and then put on more speed pushing himself as hard as he could go. He reached the location of his son only a moment before the attack did.

Thrusting his arms up he caught the energy in his palms and instantly felt it pushing him back down into the planet with incredible force. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" he cried as the ground around him cracked and exploded, debris lifting into the air as his feet were pushed down into the planet. He could feel it clear as day as he pushed against the attack above him to no avail. The creature had put over half of it's power into the attack and he could still feel the thing at full strength above him.

"I am..." Kakkarotto growled, his feet shifting and his aura growing brighter. "Starting to... get annoyed!" he roared, his aura flashing and then flaring up as he transformed to the third level. With a cry his hands flashed blue and a wave of blue energy slammed into the energy ball forcing it back the way it had come. Buu merely dodged to the side easily avoiding the attacks. Turning and looking back down it found Kakkarotto still standing where he'd been, arms held up, and panting heavily. Buu grinned, pointed one finger down at him and put his other hand over his stomach, and started laughing insanely.

"I'm going to enjoy wiping that ugly grin off your face." Kakkarotto growled, lowering his arms. Buu stopped in his laughing and blinked, and then cracked up laughing even harder. The amused look that had been on the Sai-jin's face for most of the fight was gone now, replaced by one of determination and annoyance. Buu was getting under his skin, drawing out his Sai-jin nature more and more. To Gohan, that was a good thing. His father was an expert fighter but was only at his peak when his Sai-jin instincts where out in-force.

Standing up, he walked up beside his father and transformed again. Kakkarotto glanced over to him and shook his head. "Stay back. You already had a flare up, it's too dangerous for you to stay in this fight."

"I'm not backing down. I'm not going to lose to some wad of bubblegum." Gohan replied brushing some dirt off of his armor. "Don't worry about me, keep your focus on Buu. If something happens... it happens. I'd rather die fighting this freak than stand by doing nothing."

Kakkarotto remained silent for a moment and then nodded. "Alright. I can understand that." he said, turning his gaze back to Buu who was still laughing his ass off. "Damn it. This thing is really starting to piss me off."

"Let's show it what a pair of Sai-jins can really do." Gohan said with a smirk as he changed stances. He spread his legs apart, bent over slightly, pulled his arms back to his sides, and clenched his hands into fists. Kakkarotto smirked and soon followed suit. Their golden aura pulsed and flared up growing larger and brighter until a moment later they'd met. Blue lightning flashed around their auras as their powers charged and they gathered the energy for the coming attack.

The blue lightning around their auras intensified and started flaring up around their fists as well. In the sky above them Buu stopped his laughing and was gazing down at them, head tilted to one side. There was a flash of gold from the two Sai-jins a second later and their auras turned into a bubble of energy around them. "See you in hell!" Kakkarotto yelled thrusting his arms up. Gohan did the same and a second later their voices rang out in unison. "Twin Dragons!"

Blue light flared from their palms and shot skyward. The twin beams of energy surged toward Buu as they spiraled and twisted wrapping around each other and then merging. As the two became one, the ball of energy at it's forefront morphed and transformed into a Dragon's head, it's mouth gaping wide in a silent roar. Buu's eyes widened slightly in shock, disbelief, and fear, as the two became one and the attack neared him.

"Gyryaaaaaaaaaaaa!" the creature cried, thrusting his arms out toward the rapidly approaching attack. Pink light flared on it's palms and then shot toward the Dragon's head quickly. The two impacted only yards from where Buu floated, the head exploding. The pink creature's eyes widened further as it realized its counter attack wasn't stopping the incoming energy, it was getting pushed back.

"NOW!" Kakkarotto roared from below, barely audible over the thunderous sounds of the dueling energies. "Full Power!" Both Sai-jins released loud roars, their powers soaring as they dug deep into the hidden reserves of power they held. Neither had much reserve power left but they drew out what they could find. The twin energy streams coming from them merged down their length right down to their points of origin.

The now single beam grew brighter and thicker swelling as new power was forced along it's length. Buu's cries of shock and anger flared up even louder above them as their attack increased in speed pushing back against the creature's own counter. Suddenly steam began to surge free of the small being's body from the openings on its head and arms. It's pink aura flared up swelling out to massive size, nearly reaching the point of the dueling beams. The creature's body rippled and pulsated as it forced the entirety of its power out of its body and into its attack.

The pink beam flared and swelled, matching size with the other. And then it began to push it back down again, repelling the Sai-jins assault, though with some difficulty. "Keep going!" Kakkarotto called. "It's straining against us, if we can find some more power..."

"I don't have anymore!" Gohan cried, trying in vain to do as his father had suggested. But he was tapped. Completely and fully tapped. He could already feel what power he did still have starting to slip away from him. "I'm losing it, my power is maxed out! I'm already starting to drain my standard energy stores!"

"Damn it!" Kakkarotto roared, pushing down deeper into his body, trying to find something to fight with. As he did he felt his own reserves depleting rapidly. If this kept up he'd soon be draining his own standard energy stores and then it would be all over. If he ran out of reserves completely, if he started using his standard energy to maintain this attack with... he'd be unable to retain his Super Sai-jin 3 state. His energy wouldn't be stable enough, and he'd quickly deplete the power needed to sustain the form anyway.

As his mind raced through this fact it also noted that Gohan's statement was proving accurate. His son's power was declining now at a high rate of speed. As things stood he'd only last another minute, max, before he ran out of energy to sustain his level two form, and then they'd have far too little power to even slow the nearing attack. Both of them were at their limits, both of them were as far as they could go, and then some. And neither one could match the creature in the sky above them.

Kakkarotto's scowl turned into an angry glare as the sound's of Buu's laughter reached his ears again. "Don't mock me you freak!" he roared, suddenly finding more power he'd not even realized he had. It wasn't enough to make a difference in the attack but it slowed his own drop in power. His angry cry only seemed to amuse Buu even more as the laughing intensified.

And then it happened. The event that the powerful Sai-jin knew would be the turning point in this power struggle. The event he knew would mark the end of the battle as things stood. The event that would spell the death of him. The event that would bring the end to his son. An event that could easily lead to the destruction of the entire Empire and the death of every living being in the universe.

For such a grand event it was marked with only the simplest of signs, a light flash of light from Gohan, a flash that came from the failing of his power. A flash of light that spelt the end to Gohan's Super Sai-jin 2 status, an end to the other's greatest level of power, and a grand weakening to the attack the two were producing. Feeling this great failing in power and the sudden increase in speed from Buu's attack Kakkarotto growled, an angry and primal sound from deep within.

His Sai-jin blood boiled. This creature had been toying with him the entire time they'd been fighting. He'd been playing around, not even trying, and he'd walked all over him. This freak of nature was stronger than him, the most powerful Sai-jin to ever live, and it was treating him like a joke. Few things riled the powerful Sai-jin. Few things earned his anger and wrath. Betrayal was one, as he firmly believed in loyalty. The other was when his power was mocked.

Gohan's eyes narrowed as he fell down to level one. He couldn't hold the attack much longer but he knew there would be no time to escape once it gave out. And now that his power had nosedived Buu's own attack was nearing them at a much faster pace. He tried franticly to find some sort of reserves, some sort of hidden power he'd not used yet. He even tried doing as his father had suggested several times in the past and tried to locate the means with which to reach the third level. But it was all for naught, there was nothing there.

And then he felt it slipping, his grasp on his Super Sai-jin power. In a matter of seconds it would fail, his power would reduce to nearly nothing compared to the grand scale on display here. And then it would end. Without his power to help, his father's own waning energy would be all that remained to hold off the attack and that, at this point, would not be enough. Buu's attack would cut through their's like a hot knife through butter.

"At least..." Gohan said, giving in to the inevitable defeat. "I'll be dying a Sai-jin."

"I am not being killed by a wad of insane pink goo!" Kakkarotto yelled. That's when his son felt it. A burning power emanating from his father unlike any he'd felt before. It wasn't a new strength or new level of power, it was more like a state of being. He could feel no power within this energy but yet could feel an intense power beyond anything he'd ever felt. He could feel anger, hatred, despair, pride, and a million other things washing out through his father's energy.

Before he could process this in his mind, however, he was distracted by the failing of his first form. His power sapped and depleted he could no longer maintain the transformation and returned to his base form, severely weakened. Instantly he saw the pink energy wave begin tearing its way through what remained of the attack the Sai-jins had launched. It was all over... they'd finally met an opponent that they couldn't defeat.

And then a loud roar sounded from his father, the churning power he'd felt from his father taking form, shifting into true power, strength. His father's aura exploded, his power rushing up through the roof as golden light engulfed him. The explosion of energy blew Gohan off his feet knocking him back at least two hundred yards before he was able to stop. His father now looked like a sun that had fallen to the planet. The blue attack had faded away and Buu's own pink energy had slammed head on into the golden glowing Sai-jin.

And then the glare faded, the aura swirled and receded into a more natural one. Blue lightning crackled about his body fiercely and madly as Kakkarotto stood, unharmed by the attack that only moments before would have destroyed him. His long golden mane of hair no longer stopped at his waist, it flowed down further, just passed his knees. His eyebrow ridges had extended out a bit further, the blue color of his pupils had darkened, and a thin ring of gold now outlined his teal irises as well.

Gohan swallowed as he stared at his father, the other Sai-jin's gaze hard and focused, his eyes locked on Buu. He could feel his father's energy brimming and full, his body restored from the wear and tear it had taken in the battle. The side-effect of attaining a new level of Super Sai-jin, a complete healing and recovery of the body. His father was back to his full power, and well beyond the level of what that power had once been.

Standing before him was a Level 4 Super Sai-jin, it's power astounding and mind boggling. He knew his father had insisted it existed but he'd never been convinced, until now. Gohan turned his attention skyward, toward Buu once more, and compared the two powers before him. Both were absurd, mind numbing, and bubbling with anticipation. But his father's was the superior, he could feel it.

"Alright you pink freak!" Kakkarotto called up, his deep voice a shock to his son. "Now the battle gets interesting. Let's see if you can stand up against me now!"

Buu's expression of shock had returned as he stared down at the being before him. Suddenly he let out a thunderous yell throwing back his head and arms, steam pouring from his body as it rippled and pulsed. And then it's body began to shift slightly. It's arms grew thicker, as though powerful muscles were forming inside them. It's chest expanded some as well, muscles forming there too. A moment later it had grown about two inches taller and it was about twice as bulky as before. And it's power had climbed a fair amount too.

In fact, it now felt even, or really close to it, with his father. But he could also feel the strain of the power washing from the creature. Apparently the two Sai-jins weren't the only ones with excess power beyond what their bodies could easily manage and contain. "At least that means he's got limits too." Gohan thought as a crack sounded, his father launching up into the battle once again.

Buu waited for the charging Sai-jin where he was. As soon as the powerful warrior reached him the creture brought it's arms up to block the incoming punch and then the two were locked into combat. It was evident to the experienced fighter that Buu was, finally, taking the fight seriously. The creature was actually putting effort into its defenses, attempting to dodge or block as many incoming blows as possible.

Kakkarotto, however, wasn't. He was no longer interested in a challenging or a hard fought battle. Merely in destroying the creature floating before him. He slipped the blows that he could as he looked for solid openings, but did little to block attacks coming for him. The powerful Sai-jin deflected a kick and then pounded his knee into Buu's gut. The thunderous crack had barely subsided before the Sai-jin's elbow smashed into the side of Buu's head.

Then the powerful warrior reached out his hand, before the pink creature had even begun to restore its face to a normal condition, and grabbed the small antenna atop its head. His other arm lanced out at the same time and smashed into his face, his chest, his face, his stomach, his chest, and so on and so on in a relentless assault. All the while the creature was held in place by the firm hand gripping tightly to its appendage.

He launched another punch for its face and this time his fist and arm, up to his elbow, went clean through. The pink creature rippled and began to turn into goo and flow along his arm. It spread out covering his body, working its way over his arm, across his chest, down his body, and up over his face. In only a matter of seconds the Sai-jin's entire body was hidden within the covering of pink goo.

And then a loud scream sounded from within and gold light began to punch through the coating. Gohan shielded his eyes as a blinding flash filled the sky and Buu was blasted apart and off his father's body by the energy burst. Opening his eyes and looking up again he saw blobs of pink falling to the planet like some kind of freaky snow. Kakkarotto lowered his arms and relaxed a little, taking the lull in the battle as an opportunity to adjust to his new form and re-collect some of the energy he'd lost since the transformation.

Gohan looked around him and watched as the blobs began to shimmer and roll along the ground toward each other. It took a few moments but soon a pile had formed. As more blobs merged with it, it rippled and took shape. A moment later Buu was reformed and gazing up at his opponent again. His face was set in a determined and angry scowl. With a cry he surged up at Kakkarotto again, pink energy trailing behind him. Reaching the Sai-jin he didn't slow and merely slammed, head first, into his stomach.

The blow knocked the Sai-jin higher into the sky and caused Buu to bounce back down toward the planet. On his way down he curled into a ball and his clothes rippled away. By the time he hit the ground he'd turned into a solid ball of pink... whatever he was. Hitting the planet's surface he bounced skyward again straight toward Kakkarotto. The powerful Sai-jin saw him coming and dodged to the side letting him zip passed.

Buu stopped dead a few feet away and then reversed direction, slamming into his face and driving him all the way down into the ground. There was a loud crash as they slammed into the surface, dust and debris shooting high into the air from the impact and the ground shook, even where Gohan stood more than a hundred yards away. The half Sai-jin cursed not being able to see what was going on now that they'd smashed out a crater and drifted up into the air a little to try and get a better angle.

The ball of Buu had taken up residence on Kakkarotto's face, covering it completely. It was begining to snake down along the rest of his body in an attempt to cover him enitrely once more. "What is it doing?" Gohan wondered. The first time he saw it he merely thought it some sort of counter to his father's attacks. Now, however, it appeared to be an independant tactic with some sort of goal involved.

Whatever that goal was, Gohan wasn't going to see it this time either. Twin beams of blue energy surged up through the ball tearing holes in it and lifting it into the air. The downed Sai-jin's eyes flashed and two more beams shot up driving the creature away further. With that taken care of, he climbed back to his feet scowling. "Ugh, disgusting." he muttered brushing himself off. "It felt like he was trying to eat me."

In the sky the blob had only partially reformed, a head emerging from the deformed mass. Its eyes were locked on its opponent, its brows furrowed in a deep scowl. Apparently it was rather annoyed at the continued resistance to... whatever it was attempting to do. Then, suddenly, its eyes widened as though something dawned on it. Something that it felt should have been so obvious that it felt stupid for not thinking of it sooner.

Its red irises moved within the black pools of its eyes, its gaze shifting from one warrior to the other. As it locked its focus on Gohan a smirk grew on its face. Suddenly the deformed mass swelled out massively like a giant net and surged through the air. Before the half Sai-jin even had time to register its approach Buu was on him and had him completely enveloped in its body. Kakkarotto turned to look as the thing writhed and shifted around his son. "What the hell is it up to!?"

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Gohan was at a loss for where he was. One moment he's standing on Kurokokan watching his father fighting Buu. The next he's... not. The world around him was pitch black but he could see himself just fine. His armor, his hands, his boots. It was as though a spotlight was on him and yet there was no light to speak of. "What... is going on?" he asked no one in particular. After all, he wasn't expecting a reply. So it was quite the shock one a voice responded.

"Inside head!" it said, rather cheerily. He turned to look behind him, at where the voice had come from, and saw a large fat version of the creature he and his father had been fighting. It took a moment for him to realize it was the original incarnation of Buu, the good version that had stopped the evil half originally.

"How... what...?"

"Bad Buu trying to absorb you." the round blob said. "Trying to make you part of it, take your power."

That's when he remembered the wall of pink that had appeared before him just before this darkness. "That's what it was trying to do to my father, wasn't it?"

The round Buu nodded. "Make stronger so no die." he said. He tilted his head to the side slightly for a moment as though curious and then looked up. "Ooooh, he comes! He comes!"

"What?" Gohan looked up and saw a pink light forming in the blackness above him. It was spreading out and engulfing everything as it grew.

"Me no like him. Me help you fight!"

"Fight? Here? How?"

"Bad Buu must knock out conciousness, you conciousness. We fight Bad Buu's conciousness. If we beat him then he go bye-bye. If we no beat him..."

"Then I go 'bye-bye'?"

The round Buu nodded. "But Buu no scared. Buu no worried. You have two conciousness!" Gohan was confused at this but, before he could ask anything further, the pink light reached them and the world around them went from black to pink in an instant. And then the small Buu him and his father had been fighting appeared before them both. "Full power!" Buu cried. "All power here in mind!"

Gohan realized what he meant almost instantly. He didn't feel any fatigue or strain on his body here. Which meant... There was a bright flash of gold as he ascended to the second level. He wasn't sure how strong the other Buu was, but if he could summon every drop of his energy, he might be able to repel this 'bad Buu' from his mind. And any help in that regard was appreciated.