Chapter 82: Turning Point
Sorry, guys! I made a couple of mistakes in the last chapter, which some reviewers have pointed out to me (thanks!). I fixed the training times so they actually come out to twelve months, and mentioned that Kuriza's at the Lookout. Sorry for any confusion.
EDIT: Just putting this disclaimer thing in so that it's somewhere in the story, and this chapter didn't have too much going on in the author's notes at the beginning, so here it is:
This is a non-profit fan work. Dragon Ball in all its permutations (including Z, GT, Kai...) and all its characters, etc., are owned by Akira Toriyama, and I guess also Toei Animation and Funimation. And apparently Fuji TV, but c'mon who is that, who even is that. Original characters of mine in this story are sort of owned by nobody, since the world they exist in is owned by the aforementioned people, but c'mon guys the characters were my idea. So I guess that they exist in a sort of creative void. Please buy official DBZ stuff and keep the franchise going, guys. And thanks to Team Four Star for coming up with a disclaimer that I could shamelessly adapt.
Music for this chapter is The New Black Gold by Miracle of Sound. At least, it's the music for Eighteen's part of the chapter. There are two versions of the song; personally, I prefer the new, 2013 version, but that's just me.
Eighteen sat up, opened her eyes.
"...all right?" Bulma was speaking. Eighteen shook her head, as if to clear her vision, but it hadn't been blurry. In fact, it was, it seemed, too perfect; everything picked out in detailed high-definition, a flood of visual information. Not overwhelming, though—evidently there was some kind of filter in her optic nerve.
Eighteen put a hand on the table to lift herself off, and immediately recoiled as if stung. She stared at it—it certainly looked normal. But... "I didn't feel anything." She raised her other hand to her face, touched it gently—nothing. "Well...there's information...I'm getting a purely factual sense of what I'm touching, what the texture and temperature is like, but I can't actually feel it." She fell silent as this sank in.
"I, uh...we did talk about this." Bulma shrugged. "I'm sorry. This tech is years in advance of me—I couldn't pick it apart and apply only certain bits to you. It's amazing that the future me was even able to adapt a from-scratch blueprint into an 'upgrade' for an existing person."
"No, it's okay," Eighteen replied hurriedly, looking away. She hopped off the table, surprising herself again. She was taller now, and Bulma barely came up to her shoulders. "Huh."
Bulma brought a change of clothes to fit Eighteen's new stature, though since 'very large' sizes were often designed for the horizontally large, these were simply largish, and...almost fit. The shirt didn't quite stretch down to her waist, and large rips at the shoulders and knees lengthened the sleeves to fit easier. Once she was changed, Eighteen asked, "any other changes I should know about?"
"Well, you won't actually need to breathe," Bulma replied as they made their way to the building's exit. "You still have that function, but you'll only need air for speech, not survival. Also, no heartbeat; that's all mechanical now." For some reason that hit hard. Eighteen felt suddenly cold all over, hard, artificial. She repressed a wave of regret. This was necessary.
The power-unlocking ritual was well on its way now, and Goku was beginning to understand the true meaning of boredom. Old Kai seemed to be asleep, but was apparently awake enough to snap at Goku every time he went to shift or stretch slightly. Raditz's muffled laughter had long since died; he was now crouched with his gaze locked on the crystal ball, watching the state of things on Earth, face pale and sweat-drenched, teeth grinding together, hands clenching and unclenching with impotent fury.
Goten crashed to the floor yet again, already hearing Piccolo's approaching footsteps. "Get up!" the demonic alien ordered. They'd been 'sparring' for six hours straight, and Goten was hovering on the edge of consciousness; though at least his training so far had ensured he'd been able to constantly maintain his Super Saiyan state. Still, he was exhausted, aching all over, and was desperately missing real company. "Raaah!" The young saiyan rolled over onto his back, throwing out a hand and launching a yellow energy bolt. "I hate you!" he half-shouted, half-sobbed.
"Good!" Piccolo grinned savagely, catching the blast and crushing it into a puff of smoke. "Let that fuel your power! You want to hit me back, don't you? Come on!"
"Grrr..." Goten stood, drawing back a fist, but was immediately driven to his knees by a volley of quick blows. His breath caught in his throat. A bruise on the side of his head had squeezed one eye shut, and vision out of the other was hazy.
"Is that it?" Piccolo snarled. "The girl was a lot stronger than you. Hell, she achieved Super Saiyan 2 just by training and powering up...you've been at a figurative wall for about a week. Your power's stopped increasing—you won't be able to get any stronger without transforming."
Was that it? Goten wondered. Just normal training—it was that easy? Damn...she's always leaving me behind...is she just a better fighter than me? He pounded a fist into the ground, but the smooth, empty whiteness remained undamaged. The intense gravity normally didn't affect him, but weakened as he was he felt it crushing down on his shoulders and back; the heat was about as high as it had ever been. His skin screamed at his brain, registering that it was practically on fire, but his brain had become used to the sensation by now. Still, the situation was deeply unpleasant, and Piccolo was doing his best, as ever, to make it worse.
"Don't you give up now!" He gave Goten a kick, almost gently to test the kid's reflexes, but Goten didn't dodge or respond, just stumbled back wearily at the impact. Piccolo frowned. "You'd better not think you can pull this crap on me. If you're not useful any more...if I don't think you'll be able to fight...I will kill you rather than waste my time on you."
"THEN GO AHEAD!" Goten suddenly burst out, his aura instantly fired up and raging around him, wild-eyed, flecks of foam and blood flying from his mouth. "I don't care anymore! Not about Buu, or fighting, or saving everybody, or your stupid training! I'm not a hero! I can't take this! I don't care! Just kill me or whatever if it makes you happy, I've had enough!" His aura exploded, it seemed, filling the air around him and Piccolo with blinding golden flares. "No more! I DON'T CARE!"
There was a collective glance upwards as Eighteen, carrying Bulma, landed on the Lookout, Trunks touching down just behind them.
"E-Eighteen!" Krillin, holding Marron, approached cautiously. "You...got pretty big, huh?" There was no ill-will in his voice, though; he'd never really been insecure about his height.
"Don't worry, I'm still me." Eighteen reached out to stroke their wide-eyed daughter's hair, had to will herself not to flinch away at the bland mental chatter of information, devoid of any real sensation. She'd decided not to tell him she couldn't feel anymore; he'd only agonise over it.
"So, how strong d'you get?" Kuriza piped up. "Can you beat Buu?"
"I don't think so," Bulma said sadly. "From what I've been able to ascertain from the schematics, she should be somewhere between a Super Saiyan 2 and 3."
"Well, that makes her the strongest here at any rate..." Roshi looked hopefully up at the android. "You'll be the first line of defence if it comes to the worst."
Majin Buu strode through a burning, corpse-littered street, lips moving silently as if mulling something over. Suddenly, he halted, raised his head to the heavens and bellowed, "I'M BORED!"
One pink, blobby hand was raised to the heavens, and a pink glow began to rise from the earth, up Buu's body, and focusing around the outstretched hand. With a grunt, Buu let fly the blast, which rose up, meteor-like, into the sky, then began to split up and shoot off in different directions—dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions, still they fired, arcing off towards the horizon in all directions, covering the sky in crisscrossing beams.
"Hu?"
Raditz and Kaioshin leaned in towards the crystal ball, wide-eyed, panicking. "What's he doing?"
One moment, the Earth had a population in the billions.
The next...it didn't.
"What just..." Raditz sat back, pale-faced.
"He killed..." Kaioshin murmured, disbelieving, "...nearly every human..."
"What'd you say?" Goku called over from his spot by Elder Kaioshin.
"Buu just...eliminated the entire population of Earth. The only people still alive are the ones on the Lookout, they put up some kind of shield..."
"W-What?!"
"Not now!" Raditz warned. "Stay where you are! Stay still for the rest of the ritual!"
Casting a dark look at his brother, Goku turned back to the gently-dozing Old Kai. This had better be working...
Kuriza lowered his hands, floating back down to the tiled floor of the Lookout. "Phew..." Thinking fast, he'd been the first one to throw up an energy barrier; thanks to the split-up nature of Buu's attack, each shot had only a tiny fraction of its full power, and Kuriza had been able to block the group of beams aimed at them.
"Th-Thanks..." Yamcha said fearfully. "But all those people down there...just gone!"
Bulma seemed empty, shattered. "Mom...Dad..."
"Oh...oh, no..." Roshi tilted his head back slightly. "It seems we may be joining them soon..."
"What do you—ah!" Krillin whirled to face the approaching ki, noticing what Roshi had sensed. "He's coming!"
Shit... Eighteen hurriedly surveyed their surroundings. If we're all grouped together like this, he can just kill us all at once... "Everyone spread out! Make Buu fight us one at a time!"
"But—" Zarbon began.
"Yes, I know! We're going to die! Somebody get to the Chamber! Wait as long as possible—give them as much time to train as we can—then get them out here! I'll stall Buu so you can get to positions! Go!" With that, she turned and flew off towards the rapidly-growing speck on the horizon.
Majin Buu slowed his flight, coming to a leisurely halt as the tall android flew up to face him. She hung in the air, filling out her large frame and glowering at him.
"Want...to die?" Buu said slowly. "Fine. Start with you. No difference..."
The sheer magnitude of Buu's deeds hit her at that moment. Seven billion people... "GO TO HELL!" She screamed, launching an energy blast at him. He warped his elastic body out of the way, then charged at her. She swung a kick at him, but he blocked with one arm and punched back with the other, sending her flying uncontrollably back towards the Lookout. She flipped upright, coming to a halt inches off the floor, then looking up—Buu was gone. He appeared behind her, kicking her through a pillar, grinning with unrestrained glee.
"KIENZAN!" Krillin's signature energy attack came slicing through a wall, and Buu didn't bother to dodge, letting the disc carve through him before resealing the gash. Krillin barreled through the wall after it, Kaioken pushed to the limit, but Buu casually stepped out the way of his swing. The creature's antenna swung up. "Chocolate," he said simply.
Eighteen recovered her senses and looked up just in time to see the man she loved being eaten.
"Don't worry," Buu growled, patting his stomach, "you'll be together...in here." The transformation beam shot out again, but Eighteen dodged it, much to Buu's surprise, dashing up to him and throwing a high kick he had to backflip away from.
As he landed, he extended his arm, launching a long-range punch. Eighteen caught it by the wrist, surprising Buu again, reeling him in and attacking. Her offensive lasted nearly ten seconds, driving Buu almost to the edge of the Lookout, before he found an opening and struck back with his left, stunning her. He then brought his right arm around, fist pumping like a jackhammer with bone-cracking force. The fourth, or possibly fifth, blow snapped her neck.
Buu strode away from the body, irritated—it shouldn't have taken that long to kill two humans.
Another attacker, crashing through another wall— "Wolf Fang—"
"Wolf fang nothing!" Buu hissed, still in a bad mood. "Chocolate!" He snapped, and Yamcha too was eaten.
Buu rounded a corner, seeing his way blocked by a blue-haired woman. "W-Wow...got to me already?" She said shakily.
Buu sniffed, shook his head. "You're weak...not like those others..."
"But smarter than all of 'em combined!" With that, Bulma activated the machine she'd used on Cell. The cage of light burst forth, enveloping the bemused Buu. "Hah! No Instant Transmission to get you out!"
"Grr..." Buu struggled as the machine drew him closer to it, threatening to suck him in and disintegrate him. "Won't...hold...me!" He flung his arms out, ripping straight through the energy field and tearing it to pieces. He clambered to his feet, glaring at Bulma, before smashing the machine with one balled fist.
"Er...neat." This thing really is on a completely different level to Cell...! She gulped, steeled herself, and activated her new power-amplifier. Again, the slow-motion sensation, the rush of power. Seeing Buu's pink, rubbery mass towering over her, she decided it would be difficult to miss, and swung a punch at its stomach. Too bored to dodge, Buu let the attack bounce harmlessly off him. Bulma stepped back, rubbing her fist, jolted back to the real world as the amplifier's charge ran out, exhausted by two uses in such rapid succession. "...huh."
Buu's mouth spread wide in an evil grin. "Chocolate."
Roshi slunk along the wall, shadowing the sound of Buu's heavy tread on the other side. He heard Buu stop, knew the demonic being had found the strange circular container he'd placed on the ground and was examining it, and nodded to himself. Now!
He leapt around the corner, throwing out both hands. "MAFUUBA!"
Buu blinked. "...what...?" But at that moment, a great wind whipped up from nowhere, and the container on the ground began to vibrate. The wind focused into a great hurricane centered on Buu, Roshi and the container, and began to drag Buu towards it. Grunting, Buu found traction on the floor and forced itself away from the unearthly wind, firing off a small energy blast and smashing the container to pieces. Roshi yelped, falling to his knees, as though he himself had been struck.
For the Mafuuba, the Evil Containment Wave, is a powerful technique, capable of sealing away an evil being—but only at the cost of the user's life. Buu, however, was simply too powerful, it seemed, to be affected by such a technique.
Roshi felt himself fading, when an idea slipped into his mind. Of course...it's still there...since that silly fool Ox-King wanted to experience the ascent to Kami's Lookout the 'traditional way', and wouldn't let one of the flyers carry him...yes. And Buu...is standing right over it.
With a tremendous effort, the old Turtle Hermit raised his head, and with his dying breath called out, "POWER POLE—EXTEND!", before finally collapsing.
Buu was only confused momentarily—a second later, a magically-growing red staff smashed up through the floor, impaling Buu right in the small of his back and emerging out of the top of his head. Temporarily transfixed, Buu was an easy target, and Trunks, Kuriza, Videl and Hercule took advantage of the fact, rushing Buu from all sides. Snarling, Buu ripped itself free of the magical weapon, gouging out a great tear down its back which rapidly filled in and smoothed over, then flung out its energy in an omnidirectional wave, reducing the four vastly weaker fighters to ash.
"That's enough." Buu idly looked left, spying Zarbon approaching, an unreadable expression on his face. "You don't know how much I wished I could have gone before my family...let them live on a little longer...but it was agreed that I'd need to wait until nearly the end before engaging you."
"Hmmm..." Buu just stared for a while, then shrugged, walked up to Zarbon and swung one arm up, attempting to swat him aside. Strangely, the alien warrior dodged the attack. Buu's eyes narrowed. He attacked again, and again the green man dodged. "Rrrr..."
"Just an ability of my race," Zarbon explained, unsmiling. "I've been studying every aspect of your movements and fighting style since you got here. You can't imagine how hard it's been to remain as calm as I have to be for it to work, watching you murder the people I love the most...but you're not getting past me."
"Eh." Buu tried a kick, but Zarbon seemed to know where it'd be before even Buu did, and avoided it again. He made no move to attack back, though; he knew that in all other things his power level was still vastly inferior to Buu's, and all he could hope to achieve was this stalling action.
Buu took a step back, thinking, and soon reached a decision. "Fine." Its voice sounded slightly different all of a sudden, and its stance subtly shifted.
Zarbon paled. "Wait. This is..."
Buu grinned.
Baby, hovering an inch from the ceiling, tensed himself as Buu walked under him. He dropped silently to the floor, creeping up behind the monster, raised one hand, and formed and fired a hail of razor-sharp energy bolts as quickly as he could. They ripped through Buu's 'flesh', opening up numerous small cuts.
Buu turned to face him, interest piqued. While this one wasn't as strong as some of the others he'd killed today, he certainly wasn't weak like most of them. Buu started to regenerate, but before it was fully healed Baby sprung, body stretching and elongating into a stream of silver liquid, which flowed into the openings created by his energy attack, vanishing inside Buu's body.
Buu stood stock-still for a second, wondering what had just happened. Then, finishing the regeneration process, he straightened up. "Ah...useless."
Baby found himself in a dark, cavernous tunnel-like area with pink, fleshy, veined walls. "What the..."
"You're trying...to control me?" Came Buu's mocking voice. "You go inside people...I absorb them into me..."
"I see..." Baby said, realising. "We're opposites. I guess your absorption and my parasitic control must have cancelled out...but what weird magic your body's made of!" He patted the wall. "It seems I was shrunk down."
"And you'll never leave," Buu replied, startlingly close. Baby spun, jumping back—and seeing a perfect replica of Buu, standing inside his own body in front of the Tuffle. "In here...out there...I'll kill you."
"Heh..." Baby smiled, and had he been a biological creature nervous beads of sweat would have appeared on his brow at this point. "We'll see."
Majin Buu, confident that the parasite was taken care of, reached out with his mind—there was only one more high power level left on the Lookout, right at the bottom. But...much closer, he sensed a group of weaker powers, all clustered together-Chi-Chi, the Ox-King, Chiaotzu, Dende and Mr. Popo, hiding from the battle. Buu licked his lips, red-on-black eyes lighting up.
Never too much chocolate.
Standing by the door to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Launch gasped. No way...he's going after them first! "Damn it...he was meant to sense my energy and come here...!" She turned to the door. All right, we've held out enough! If they're not strong enough to win now, they never will be! She took a step towards the door—and Buu crashed down through the ceiling, landing directly between her and it. Launch skidded to a halt, bringing her arms up to guard her face as Buu looked up at her.
Raditz tore his gaze away from the crystal ball. "I can't watch this!" His energy flickered around him. "I have to help her!"
"Don't be foolish!" Kaioshin hissed. "You're dead, you can't return to the living world!"
"Just watch me try!" He flashed into Super Saiyan 3, bowling Kaioshin and Kibito over with the massive release of power. "I've sat here...and watched Buu work his way through everyone I know...but not this one!"
"For one thing, Buu's much stronger than you!" Goku reminded him.
"You'll do more harm than good!" Kibito protested. "The fabric of time and space will—"
"You don't get it, do you?" Raditz raised two fingers to his forehead, homing in on Buu's energy signal. "Of course you don't. Right now, compared to her, reality can go jump off a cliff." His face darkened. "I have to draw the line somewhere." With that, and the hiss of Instant Transmission, he was gone.
"Wha...?" Old Kai woke from his nap, head swinging left and right. "Oh, dear...he's gone and done it now..."
Launch braced herself.
"What? This door?" Buu jeered. "Wonder what's in there?" He raised a hand, forming an energy ball. "I'll blast it out."
If he destroys the entrance, they'll be trapped in there! She cleared her mind of doubts and fears. There was no option but to attack. "Rrrr...SPIRIT KAIOKEN!" Tongues of red flame danced up and down the walls, the fiery vortex centred around her. Power fully released, she attacked, ramming home a punch to Buu's stomach. However, her fist simply sunk in slightly; Buu didn't flinch. He grunted, swatting her away. She smashed into the wall, bringing it down around her as she fell to the ground in a heap. "Ugh..." How can a creature like this even exist...?
"You survived that..." Buu said contemplatively. "You are strong. But...this?" He drew back his hand, preparing to swing down and crush her—
—a strange noise in the air—
—CRACK!—
—"RAAAAGH!"—
—a heel planted itself firmly in Buu's chin on its way upwards, sending Buu sprawling back down the corridor. Raditz landed, lowering his leg and raising his guard. "That's. Enough."
"Y-You..." Launch pushed the wreckage off herself, sitting up against the wall. "...came back?" She saw the halo, still over his head.
"Yeah...I wasn't supposed to," Raditz admitted. "I really don't know what will happen now. But I'm not leaving again."
"The moron!" Old Kai yelled as the ground on the sacred Kai planet began to tremble. "What does that ass think he's doing? The balance of nature can't support him in the living world anymore!" He, Goku, Kibito and Kaioshin were stumbling back and forth as the shaking intensified. The sky darkened, great shafts of red light lancing down from the heavens to the earth, like wounds in the very sky itself.
"And the amount of energy he's putting out in that form..." Kaioshin realised. "...everything's falling apart! It's starting up here, but it'll spread to the mortal realm before long!"
King Kai held on tight to a tree as a whirlwhind whipped up around him. "Damn it, Raditz, I know things were looking bad—but the complete and utter annihilation of EVERYTHING is a little worse! Forethought isn't your strong suit, is it?!"
"Well..." Suddenly growing calm, the Elder Kaioshin sat back on the grass, folding his legs and closing his eyes. "I suppose there's only one thing to do. He won't come back, so..."
"Ancestor?" Kaioshin said; then, with growing worry in his voice, "Ancestor! What are you doing?!"
Old Kai ignored him, drawing in a deep breath, serene amidst the chaos. "And so passes the Supreme Kai..." he mumbled, almost a whisper. "...fifteen generations too late."
The Lookout...
The storm died down. Calm returned. The universe, against all odds, was still there. Launch looked up again—Raditz's halo was gone. "Hey..." she said weakly.
"Yeah...I feel it." He reached up, feeling the empty space where it had been previously, to confirm it. "I don't know how, but...looks like I'm back in business." Whatever you did, guys...I owe you. "Now—YOU!"
Buu climbed to his feet with exaggerated slowness. "You...with the hair. I beat you up before..."
"Before, it was just another fight. Some evil creature that might destroy everything—what's new about that? But now..." Raditz let his power boil around him. "you've pushed me too far."
"Enough talk—I'll kill you!" Buu roared, launching himself at Raditz.
"Just like you killed everyone else?" Raditz tensed up, waiting for Buu to near him, then lashed out. His fist drove deep into Buu's stomach, and he screeched to a halt, choking. Buu staggered back, clutching at his slowly-filling-out stomach, strings of saliva hanging from his silently-screaming mouth. He'd vaguely felt the other attacks he'd taken today, but this one hurt. "But...you..."
"I told you." Raditz raised his fist in front of him. "This is completely different to last time. I've got hundreds more where that came from!"
Relief flooded Launch's face. "I can't believe you're so happy about coming back for good...what about the reason you stayed dead in the first place?"
"My warrior's pride?" Raditz let out a loud bark of laughter. "Screw that! I have a family."
"Grrr..." Buu had recovered, and Raditz took a step towards it—but Buu was faster. He lashed out, fist aiming straight for Raditz's head, but the saiyan caught it two-handed. Buu followed up, pushing his whole body forwards with the motion of the attack, and shoved Raditz back into the wall. They struggled against each other, Buu slowly forcing Raditz back, driving cracks into the wall. Buu drew back its other arm, swinging at Raditz again, but Raditz brought his legs up, jumping over the punch and letting it smash the wall behind him to dust. He continued the jumping motion, swinging both legs up and pushing off Buu's over-extended arm, letting his knees collide with Buu's face. Buu staggered away, and Raditz turned to Launch. "I can't keep this up forever!" he yelled. "Get inside!"
"R-Right!" Struggling to her feet, she raced off towards the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Buu turned to give chase, but Raditz blocked the way, drawing his sword from his back and plunging it into the ground between them. "I won't let you past this point. If it kills me."
"Rrrrgh..." Buu ground its teeth, furious.
"You see the difference, then," Raditz said. "But then...you've still got something up your sleeve, haven't you?" He smiled.
An unreadable expression crossed Buu's face. "You...know?"
It's Sunday afternoon and I'm still writing this. This one took me a while...
And if anybody wants music for Raditz's return, try the Fairy Tail main theme. I couldn't really say this at the start, it would kind of spoil it.
Incidentally, on that same power scale:
Super android (17 or 18): 2.5
Q: I'm worried that Piccolo doesn't seem completely evil right now, just really strict and a little sadistic. Not because of bad writing or anything, but because it seems to me like it means he's either going to make a gradual heel-face turn like in canon or just help out a little bit and then pull a dick move on everybody. Somehow the former seems really implausible.
A: It does, doesn't it?
Q: another great chapter I got a question thou elder kai said gohan had so much potential that it would take 25 hours to come out why would it take goku 24 hours if he hasn't go that much as gohan ? or are you making it 24 hours for the time to work out better in your story and also cant belive you left out what happen to tien :( don't kill him off yet you did in the cell saga you made him in to such a badass he one off the strongest human. keep up at the great work by the way
A: He said it'd take 25 hours; then he said it'd take longer because Gohan had so much potential to draw out. So Goku will really take 25 hours.
Q: Is there any chance of BTTL Piccolo becoming good like Canon Piccolo due to the influence of the Son children? Or does that big M just cancel that out?
A: There's too much history between them, now. It's too late for him, I think.
Q: This was another interesting chapter, as always. Although I'm beginning to feel that Piccolo is getting a tad overpowered. Also, what good will this do exactly against Buu? Even if you do have a team of SSJ2 tier warriors, it won't do much against Buu when there's a distrust of Piccolo and jealousy/competition thing going on between Goten and Bra.
A: That's the worry, but it's their best shot...
Q (contd.): Which brings me to my next note, where I continuously think that Goten and Break are gonna get together but then I remember they're cousins in this. Of course you wouldn't go that route! Haha! Right?
...right?
A: Right. Don't worry, I'm not doing that.
Q: this story is the bomb
A: AHH RUN AWAY IT'S GOING TO EXPLOthank you very much, I'm glad you're enjoying it.
Q: My predictions:
Gohan: 2.5
Majin Piccolo: 3-3.5
Goten: 1
Break: 1.5
Also, why is Piccolo still Majin? i thought babidi being killed would nullify the effects?
A: Interesting predictions. And maybe. But we never see it happen in canon, so...who knows? I mean, Gohan didn't lose his mystic state when Old Kai died.
Q: It occurs to me that the reason you gave for Goku only using Super Kaioken once was because the power of Kaioken and the power of Super Saiyan are incompatible. Except Goku is going to get the Elder Kai's power up, rendering Super Saiyan redundant. Are we going to see a return of Kaioken?
A: Perhaps, perhaps not.
Q: I actually read SoTF before finding this, I guess I initially skimmed over it based on your summary notes, but then DBM comments redirected me back and i took a second look. (Perhaps you should rephrase that summary or something, from your notes im not the only one to have done this) BUT I'm definitely glad i found it again! :D
I did miss Vegeta throughout most of the first part of this [i do really like his character] but you have really made it work, and I'm sure everyone else has already complimented the massive improvements you have made to your style from the earlier chapters - a bit more obvious cause I read this all in a few days I guess
I'm just a little bit worried about Goku - I know half the point is to explore ideas not already done in the manga/anime; but he seems to be getting a little useless [note I didn't say weak - he just has less of a hero role than I think he should, which he kinda fell into by default with Raditz taking up the big brother role] (aside from his usual optimistic personality and being the 'social glue' for the Z fighters as it were).
I didn't like how you stole his Dragon fist for no other reason than to be different to the original - even in your timeline why would Raditz ever invent that over any other attack you could have made up? - but now it also seems that Old Kai will be less effective because he doesn't have Gohan's inner power, and then in weighted fairness he will miss out on Super Saiyan God because he got mystic..? :/
I'm hoping you will pull it all back again and make me feel okay about this in the next 20 or so chapters like you did with your choices for Vegeta. So ill absolutely still look for updates. You are doing a really good job on everything else its a great story you have going! :)
A: Ah, I see. If you could suggest how to improve my summary, that'd be great!
Anyway, yeah...Vegeta was tough. As for Goku...he will have his moments. He will have one such moment very soon, in fact.
The Dragon Fist, now that's been a point of contention for many readers. However...an explanation is coming. It always seemed a bit random and out-of-nowhere in the movie...and equally, I know people have thought it was the same (even more so, in fact) here.
All will be revealed. I promise.
Anyway-glad you're enjoying it, and hope you continue to do so!
Q: I really like your story so far; I read it all at once and once i got past the first few chapters im completely loving it! You are doing a great job, getting better and better with each chapter. It still feels weird with the lack of Vegeta but he hasn't left any holes in your narrative so i guess I'm gonna have to trust you with the (so far) lack of fusion learnt by any character - has Raditz picked it up in other world? As well with mystic Goku? - I still think that boost would always have more of an effect on Gohan than any other character - but then again he didn't use it for much anyway did he? XD
I actually agree with you in terms of GT - Although it does deserve what it gets - It makes you want to punch the characters more often than the 'The Crucible'. But there was potential there... at some point... I liked the idea that the dragon balls were not a complete game breaker and had to be paid for in the end. And by the looks of this story so far you will be able to turn it into a truly epic tale. Keep it up!
A: Interesting thoughts. And you're right-the power-up would benefit Gohan a lot more, with all the hidden potential he has.
Q: And now, some guesses; Mystic Super Saiya-jin (I got into saying this lately) 3 Radku (that sounds gross), Gokditz or just "The Saiya-jin". Hatchiyack dying...not sure how, but I think it will happen. And the return of Vegeta, once again, no evidence, just an uneducated guess (hehe...)
A: If you say so...
(Apparently he didn't mean Hatchiyack, I ascertained through PM-he meant Launch.)
Q: fuck u you bastard i have just started reading this and i hate u for not making goku the first super saiyan in story 17 i was really mad and i was not going read your fic any more but my mood good and i opened it told u about it well it won't make any difference now but i really loved the part in dbz goku ss fighting freeza and u could have made both ratidz and goku super saiyan and u made goku die? really man i will not forgive u
A: Wait, wait, wait. So do you rage at EVERY fic in which Goku is not the first Super Saiyan?
Does 'Alternate timeline' mean nothing to you?
Well, at least I know that scene was well-written enough to make people emotional, eh?
(I think this is the first purely negative review I've gotten that hasn't made me feel completely flat for the entire day. It's just so closed-minded...)
Q: I have always been a fan of piccolo but to have him be so much more powerful then a SSJ2 is just crazy. He could barely take on a SSJ and now he's tossing around an ascended ssj with ease. The fact that he is still stronger then Gohan after three months of non stop fighting is crazy. Saiyans get stronger with every fight Gohan should at least be on par with him or slightly stronger then him. Is it possible to have Mystic and SSJ combined( and have it look different say silver hair) because that would be badass.
A: I think you're taking "Saiyans get stronger with every fight" too literally. It comes from two things:
1. Saiyans receive power-ups ('zenkai') when they recover from being injured.
2. They have higher transformations that they can unlock through training and fighting.
At this point in the series, for reasons I've theorised about before, zenkai boosts just didn't come into play anymore. And as for transforming, Gohan now has full control over SSJ2-and Piccolo is stronger than a SSJ2.
So...yeah.
As for mystic and SSJ...I don't think so, since mystic is the ability to bring out all of someone's power at once, without needing to transform. Mystic Gohan, as seen in Battle of the Gods, still could go Super Saiyan, but didn't do so in battle as all it'd do would be to waste time and energy.
Q: Also are you going to have break and goten fuse because that would be awesome, a fused legendary ssj would be pretty sick.
A: Nope. Opposite-gendered Metamoran fusion is too confusing. I don't think they're similar enough.
Q: Ok last thing lol as you can tell I'm a big Gohan fan and I feel like all the great moments that he had in the show have been taken away from him and given to someone else, I.E killing Cell and being turned into a Mystic Saiyan. As a fan please tell me you have something big planned for him, some new transformation or something.
A: Oh yes.
Yes.
Q: Is the Sleeping One mentioned by Kai Bills,the god of destruction?
A: Maybe.
Q: still suprised that majin piccolo is that much stronger then a ssj2.
A: Join the club.
Q: So, everybody's getting stronger.
Goku's power-up seems like the only useful one, unless fusion comes into play. Super 18 could probably rival Majin Piccolo, but she wouldn't be able to handle a SSJ3.
The fact that Gohan's anger still affects him in SSJ2 still annoys me. I thought this issue had been addressed 7 years ago, when he fought and killed Turles.
A: Well...it has now!
Q: Ummm...Some things:1)Goku can use Kaio-Ken now, huh...2)Is a Kaio-ken&Kaiohameha(10x?)feasible?
3)He learned Kaio-Ken on his own;Isn't it time for IT too? 4)Why the HELL would they waste a whole Wish on Tarble?! Just use a damn ship, idiot...And I presume he'll return later with Abo/Kado and maybe SSj? 5)Um...Gonna use any real Piccolo Attacks? 6)What about Raditz? 7Holy sh*t, Piccolo can go Giant now O.o!? 8)Gonna use the Vegeta-Daughter-Son-Spwan-tihingy?...
A: 1. and 2. The Kamehameha x10 IS using the Kaioken.
3. No. Raditz isn't exactly a teacher.
4. Because they get two more, and all three again in 100 days.
5. If they're relevant. Most of them take far too long to have been useful against Goku.
6. What ABOUT Raditz?
7. He always could. It's just not as useful as it seems.
8. I'm not saying anything about that.
Sorry, still no bonus material here. I barely finished this chapter in time anyway.
Oh, somebody asked about skipping Tien's fight. I couldn't quite remember who that was. But, to Answer: Don't worry. We'll see what happened to Tien. And to Zarbon. And to Baby.