Chapter 72: Daybreak
I know I left plot threads hanging, don't worry, I'll resolve them. Have patience. And there will be a flashback at some point, to deal with some stuff that happened between the end of the last chapter and the start of this one.
Bulma woke up with a start. It's tomorrow. She knew, of course—she'd been counting the days. Tomorrow was when the seven years would run out. Well...I've had enough time to prepare, at least. Despite constantly getting sidetracked, a couple of weeks ago she'd finally finished the project she'd started after Cell. She put it on as she got dressed. It wasn't today, no, but...she was nervous.
Eighteen's 'upgrades' were just about finished too—the process sped up greatly by the annotations her future self had provided. She'll be at the tournament, I can tell her then.
Ah, the tournament. That was the thing. Will something happen there today? Something to trigger...whatever it is will happen tomorrow, that my subconscious was counting down to? Better be careful.
She tried to put the anxious thoughts out of her mind. Today was a big day for Trunks. All right, Bulma. Just put on a smile. Don't let this kind of thinking spoil the day. She made herself walk confidently towards Zarbon's door, in order to shake him out of bed. Nail was already gone—it had been arranged yesterday that he'd go and make sure Launch and company remembered which day it was, and actually turned up. As for Goku et al., she knew Chi-Chi wouldn't let them forget.
The familiar sound of fist meeting face reverberated throughout Otherworld, shortly followed by Pikkon crashing to the ground, rolling and standing up quickly. He put his hands on his knees, breathing hard. "Damn! I can't believe you beat me in just your first Super Saiyan form! How do you keep improving like this?!"
Raditz floated gently to the ground, powering down. "When I unlocked Super Saiyan 3, it was like discovering a whole new realm of power. Room for improvement in every form."
"Tch! You'll never be satisfied. What are you aiming for, anyway? Got any galaxies you need to blow up?"
The saiyan grinned. "Haha! I don't think even I'm up to something like that, friend. Hold on..."
"Yeah, someone's coming, I know. Kaioshin, feels like."
The Supreme Kai could hear their conversation, including the dismissive way he was being addressed, but chose to ignore it. Why is it that every time I'm around these two, I feel like my position counts for nothing? "Raditz—I have need of you."
"You do?" So what's new?
Kaioshin frowned. "Might I remind you that I am telepathic?"
"Er...right."
"In any case, I have good news—we've tracked down Babidi. He's been moving with a shielding spell that even my ancestor's power could not previously penetrate, but he's had to drop it now he's finished his long journey. He's been gathering energy with which to revive Majin Buu, and he's returned to the planet on which Buu is imprisoned."
"Which is..."
Kaioshin blinked. "Earth. Did I not tell you?"
Raditz returned his blank stare. "...No. You did not."
"Oh. Well, either way, we must stop him from reviving Buu. The fate of the universe hangs in the balance."
Raditz pointed to the halo above his head. "Uh, dead. Sorry, can't help you unless you drag him up here."
"Are you not aware that the pure-hearted dead are allowed one day in the living world to settle their affairs, if they are able to find a suitable intermediary? One such medium does exist on Earth...a fortune-teller by the name of Baba."
A memory surfaced. "You mean...when Goku talked about seeing his dead grandfather again at Baba's palace, that was the truth?" He laughed, pleasantly surprised. "Heh heh! And here I thought he was just confusing it with a dream or something! He was a kid when it happened, after all. Oh, that's great! A whole day, huh? If I finish your wizard off quick, I can see everybody one more time before coming back here!" He turned to Pikkon. "Hey, did you ever—"
Pikkon shook his head. "My planet has no such person, to deal with the business of the dead. In any case, I had full closure. Any further contact with my friends and relatives would have merely prolonged the tragedy of my passing...and anyway, that was centuries ago." He smiled. "They're all in Heaven now. You should go."
"Y'think?"
"Yes...you always sound a little sad when you talk about them." He shook his head, annoyed with himself. "Oh! And the whole universe being in danger. That, too."
"Right, will do." Raditz turned to Kaioshin. "Let me stop by somewhere to pick up some back-up, and we'll go kick that wizard's ass, all right?"
Kaioshin nodded. "Excellent. Today will be a glorious day...I can feel it in the air. Kibito—take us to Earth."
Gohan was woken by the dawn. Light streamed in the window, bathing the room in a reddish glow. Unexpectedly, pain stabbed at his head as he sat up. He staggered down the hallway to the bathroom, flicking on the light and looking into the mirror. He suppressed a gasp. An 'M'—no, the M, the same design—was scratched into his forehead. There was dried blood beneath his fingernails. Frantically, he washed himself off; luckily, the cut was extremely shallow, and was practically invisible once he'd cleaned the red stain away.
Keep it together, Gohan. What could go wrong, huh? Besides, if something does come up, I've got my new ace in the hole. I haven't exactly been devoting myself to the martial arts like Dad, but...I haven't been idle.
"All right, you all ready?" Launch regarded her daughter—dressed in a simple dark gi, smiling up proudly at her mother.
"Yuh-huh!" Break grinned happily. "C'mon, let's go now, let's go now!"
"Just a minute, okay?"
"I wouldn't worry about it." Nail emerged from the back rooms, having grabbed a drink of water. "I'm all set."
Launch turned back to Break. "In that case—"
A hiss of air, gently pushed outwards as the space it had formerly occupied was suddenly filled by a humanoid body.
The tac of a foot touching the floor.
An intake of breath.
Launch spun, certain of what she'd see. She practically tackled Raditz, throwing them into an embrace and cutting off whatever clever quip he'd spent the last half an hour working on. They remained there, just feeling and smelling and breathing in each other, until the silence was broken by a tiny voice.
"Are you..."
Launch stepped away to the side, letting Raditz crouch down in front of their child, an expression of absolute wonder on his face.
"Are you my..."
He gave a boyish grin, ruffling her hair. "Hey, you grew up!" Leaning closer, he whispered, "C'mon, if I was anybody else your mom would have killed me for sneaking up like that!"
Tien burst into the room, Chiaotzu just behind, as the reunited family continued to celebrate. He stared, wide-eyed. "Raditz...?! Then I really did sense..."
Nail nodded. "Yeah, it's him." Something's up. If he just wanted to see them one more time, he wouldn't have waited so long. Unless he didn't know he could, of course...but I sense something troubled within his mind. All, it appears, is not well.
"Hey, check out the halo." Launch drummed her fingers on the ring floating above her dead partner's head. "Do they hand those out in Heaven, or what?"
"Don't touch that!" Raditz laughed. "Wow, I was wrong."
"About what?"
"I thought I knew how much I missed you." He fought to hold back tears.
"Hey." Launch leaned down towards Break. "You've got a tournament to be getting to, haven't you?"
"Oh! Is Daddy coming?" Break hopped back and forth, her superhuman strength letting her literally bounce off the walls with excitement.
"Uh...can you take her, Nail? We need a little time to talk, alone..." she smiled down at the young girl. "We won't be long, but you've got to get going now."
"Promise?" Break asked.
"Promise."
Raditz held up a hand. "Ah, actually it might be better if you stuck around...Launch, Nail, Tien..."
"Don't worry, I'll take her." Chiaotzu walked over to the door. "C'mon, I know the way. We'll meet up with Bulma, she can help you sign up."
"Right! See ya!" Break vanished into the sky, following her tiny guide.
"Okay, good," Raditz said when they'd gone. "I didn't want them getting mixed up in this. Listen, there's a—"
"Can this wait ten minutes?" Launch asked.
"Uh, I guess—" Immediately upon hearing the words, she swung a vicious uppercut that launched Raditz clean through the wall and into the mountain behind, then sped off after him.
Raditz clambered out of the rocky crater, sensing her approach. Not enough to really hurt me, but still...when did she get so strong? "Hey, I'm impressed," he said as she landed opposite him on the mountain road. "I didn't think it was possible for a human to improve that much so fast." His eyes narrowed. "I think I know what this is about..."
Launch pounded her fists together, grinning savagely. "You bet! I promised you when we met again, I'd be stronger. I'm gonna prove it."
"If you want to fight, I'm all for it, but you don't have to prove anything."
"Yeah, I do." A fiery Kaioken aura blazed to life around her. "That attack didn't even scratch you-I'm not satisfied yet."
"Are you sure you aren't a saiyan?"
"Hyaaah!" She attacked again, even faster than before, but this time he was ready. He deflected the momentum of her first kick to the side, then jumped twenty feet into the air to avoid the second. She pursued him upwards, and he sidestepped around a punch, sending her crashing back to the ground with a kiai—but it took some effort. She rolled, instantly springing to her feet.
"Hey, you were right. You're not the fragile human you were when I left." He paused, realising what he'd said could be taken badly. "Uh, not that I loved you any less for it—it's just great to see how far you've come!"
She smiled. "Still not fast enough to catch you, though?"
"No, but you're making me work for it with the Kaioken—it's impressive."
"That so?" She breathed in deeply. "Then let's see how you like me going all-out."
"Oh?" He watched, curiosity piqued, as she discarded her bandana, letting her hair hang loosely down her back. She dug her feet into the ground with a downwards burst of ki, then crossed her arms in front of her face, energy building around her.
"Hrrr...ggghh...kkk..." The red aura appeared again, brighter, more intense. "Gyaaaah...!" She seemed to become completely drenched in sweat in an instant, and steam began to rise from her body. Multicoloured flashes of light played up and down her shaking form as the fiery blaze continued to expand. Finally, she raised her head, a look of deadly concentration on her face. "SPIRIT KAIOKEN!" With a noise like a barrage of artillery, the red glow seemed to burst free of the confines of her body. It raced out in every direction, covering the landscape.
Remember the balance...two sides of me. Working in harmony. Calm, peaceful...and violent, chaotic. With one, reducing the strain of the technique, letting me push it to higher levels without tiring...with the other, adding that sudden burst of power and speed in the exact instant I need it—making my level seem even higher than it is.
Raditz almost choked in surprise. Horizon to horizon, everything was tinted in the same crimson. The sun's light, just beginning to shine over the mountaintops, was red on red. And Launch...at the centre of the inferno, she was a figure of living flame, shining almost white. The ground around her melted away, streams of lava rolling off into the snowy mountainside and cooling instantly. "Tien's never seen this." She kicked off the air, propelling herself easily towards him and flooring him with a double-handed swing. He moved with the attack, sliding backwards through the evaporating snow. It gleamed, reflecting the red light into his eyes as she landed in front of him. He threw a quick jab, a feint, but she saw through it, stepping back to avoid the real threat of his rising knee.
He followed up, throwing a ki blast that she ducked under, aiming a high kick. He dodged, noticing her fist already swinging at him again. He caught the punch, trying to push her away, but she matched his strength. His hand began to heat up from contact with her fiery skin, and he had to break away, only for her to take advantage of his momentary imbalance and trip him. He let himself fall backwards, landing a kick straight to her face with the same motion.
Nail was dumbfounded. "They've just been reunited after seven years...and they start fighting?!" Red-tinted daylight streamed in through the broken wall as dawn broke.
"That's just like them!" Tien was almost bent double with laughter. "It's good to see some things don't change." He calmed down, folding his arms and standing up straight. "They'll get to the more normal stuff in a minute, I'm sure." Crazy...I never suspected Launch was this strong...!
Several minutes later...
Launch's elbow smashed into Raditz's ribs, and he cried out as he fell, the breath knocked out of him. For her part, she felt drained all of a sudden, stumbling and falling next to him, the flames her body was wreathed in dying out and the unnatural glow that covered the landscape receding.
"Heh..." Launch sat up, taking great heaving breaths and trying to recover. "...I thought you were a little stronger than that."
"You matched me..." He stared up at her, eyes full of wonder again.
"Only in your normal form." She shrugged.
"Still. You completely overcame normal human limits...I'm happy for you."
They sat in silence for a while. "I missed you," she said, finally.
"Missed you too."
"But you couldn't face coming back, only to fade over the years..." she sighed. "Similar as we are, humans and saiyans aren't the same at all."
"No. And for understanding that, I'll never stop thanking you." They shared a glance, then went back to gazing at the sky. "You think I'd have been a good father?"
"No."
"Hahaha!" He grinned. "I think you're right."
"Why'd you come back, anyway? You're still dead, I can see..." She tapped his halo. "...so it's temporary. What's the deal?"
He stood up. "Well, first I only just found out I could come back. So I might have come anyway—but as it is, there's something I have to do."
"Not alone, I hope." She stood as well, stretching—while both were winded from their fight, they'd recover soon enough, and weren't really injured.
"No, I was going to ask for your help. Tien and Nail, too. See, there's a wizard named Babidi..."
"Hey!" They looked up to see Tien floating down towards them, suppressing a smile. "Somebody's going to have to fix that wall, you know."
"Gohan, Gohan! It's today, c'mon, let's go!"
"Aw, give it a rest, Goten, it isn't for a couple of hours...do I even have to enter?"
"You bet you do," Chi-Chi tutted, descending the stairs. "We need as many chances as we can get at that prize money. It's not easy with two kids, especially now you're in high school."
"All right, but let's give it a—"
"What are we waiting for?" Goku's voice came from outside. Gohan leaned out of the door, seeing his father silhouetted against the rising sun. "You've got something better to do?"
And so the Buu saga begins. Fun times.
Q: The Solar Flare is Tien's technique. The Kaioken is King Kai's technique. The Kamehameha is Muten Roshi's technique. And the Tenfold Kamehameha is really just a boost of Muten Roshi's technique.
The Dragon Fist is the only technique that Goku actually created; everything else he used was created by someone else and taught him by that someone, or he learned it by seeing it done once.
A: Okay, okay, I guess.
Q: where is the buu saga?
A: Here!
Really short Q&A this week, as most of the questions were repeats and I've already answered them in the story, so I answered the repeats via PM.