Chapter 83: Edge of Hope

All right, so some people guessed the reveal here at the start, and some didn't. Wonder if anyone noticed the hint I dropped a couple chapters ago: Notice when I started referring to Buu as 'him', rather than 'it'.

And remember I said, trust me, everyone gets their moment? They do, be patient. Starting with all four of these guys. Yes, all of them.

"Fine." Majin Buu shrugged, and it suddenly seemed that a great weight had been lifted from him; a tremendous effort he no longer had to sustain. He instantaneously 'snapped' into another appearance: his face grew more human-like, with a fully-formed nose and smaller mouth; he became leaner, with less blobby flesh and more muscle tone; and finally, a third eye opened in the centre of his forehead. "How did you know?"

"I've been watching you remotely for a while," Raditz answered. "You revealed that you'd absorbed Tien when you fought Zarbon. He'd been able to predict the movements of the savage, unintelligent you; but then you used Tien's martial arts skills, and he wasn't prepared for it."

"I see..." Buu flexed his taut-muscled arm self-admiringly. "It's true that I didn't absorb Tien for his power, like the South Kaioshin of old...but for his fighting skill, and his knowledge of all of you. Feigning ignorance...was equal parts amusing and infuriating. But whatever second wind you may have received from your adopted human emotions won't help you when I'm fighting with all the skill of a real martial artist—as opposed to the simple flailing around I was doing before." He pointed his index finger towards Raditz, beckoning a challenge. "As the former Buu declared...I will kill you. And enjoy it."

"Lovely." I don't have to win...just survive for a few seconds. Raditz heard the Chamber door click shut behind him, returned his focus to Buu. "Come on, then."

Launch had come in at a bad time—the four fighters in the Chamber were halfway through their last day of training. They hadn't had an easy time of it—their outfits were all the worse for wear (not including Piccolo's, as his small talent for magic let him renew his damaged clothing), and Gohan and Break's hair hung messily down past their shoulders.

She'd had to wait an agonising hour for them to stop, rest and recuperate to full strength, comforted slightly by the knowledge that only ten seconds would pass outside for the whole hour inside. Finally, they were ready. Piccolo, strangely, seemed to be deferring to Gohan, though she didn't bother questioning it—time enough later, if they survived.

"All right," the oldest half-saiyan decided. "I'll take point. Break, cover me. Piccolo, flank him. Goten, hang back and wait for an opening. And, uh..." He turned to Launch. "Raditz might be in serious trouble out there, if what you've told us is true. If so, you should get him to safety."

"A sound plan," Piccolo said grudgingly. "Let's do it."

They took positions, Launch joining up with Goten behind, and the saiyans powered up to Super Saiyan 2 simultaneously. With that, Gohan kicked open the door and raced through, the others following. What they saw was not a heartening sight; Buu was lifting Raditz off the ground by his shirt, one-handed, and the saiyan had reverted to base form. One arm, clearly broken, hung by his side, and an ugly gash ran down the side of his head. Seeing five new enemies approach, Buu tossed Raditz aside, a broken toy no longer of use. Launch put on a burst of Kaioken-powered speed, picking Raditz up and crashing through the wall opposite, soaring away out into the open sky.

"Now—go!" Gohan ordered, rushing Buu head-on, the others taking up positions behind me. Buu looked up at them with interest as Gohan fired off a full-power blast at close range, but it did nothing more than knock Buu back a couple of steps. Buu then lurched back forwards, one hand swinging around faster than Gohan could comprehend, taking him down. He controlled his fall, rolling and quickly standing again.

"Resilient—eh?" Buu barely noticed Break's incoming energy beam in time to dodge, the attack instead boring a hole straight through the Lookout. "Ah! Not good enough!" At least he could actually hit me!

"Oh?" Break smiled savagely, a flicker of green energy mingling with her aura. Just like before...gotta combine both powers—no matter how much it hurts! "Then how 'bout...THIS!"

Something stopped Launch, a mile or so from the Lookout. Slowly, she turned to look back at it. From that distance, it looked like it had been lit on fire, enveloped in a deep yellow glow. Shafts of golden light escaped from every hole and opening. Wait, don't tell me...she came to a sudden, shocking realisation. This feels just like when Raditz...!

Break's form was completely obscured by a pulsing, solid-seeming mass of energy, ripples of similarly-hued power expanding to fill the entire area and blasting gale-force winds in all directions. She had been screaming, at the beginning, but her voice-box had given out before long; still, her power continued to rise.

Gradually, her figure became visible through the glare. Great chains of lightning danced around her, blasting gaping craters in the walls where they struck. Though silent, her face was twisted into an expression of intense pain; the wind grew more intense, becoming now more like waves of pure force.

The whole world seemed to fade away, a pale unreality before this tiny but blinding beacon. Colours, sizes of objects, perspective and proportion warped around her. She threw her head back, silent scream continuing, and her power shot up again. Her aura and the lightning merged, becoming a shifting, hissing field of jagged golden energy bolts.

Finally—it was done.

Buu had observed the whole procedure unblinkingly while everyone else had averted their eyes. Tien knew nothing about this, so Buu only had his own experiences to go on with reference to Break's changed appearance. "You did the same thing...as Raditz?"

"My dad? Yeah." Break locked her gaze on Buu. "It isn't your lucky day—two Super Saiyan 3's in a row." She leapt at him, throwing a punch Buu blocked. He hit back, but she ducked under it, swinging her whole body backwards and kicking at his head. He dodged sideways, clasping both hands over his head and punting her down through the floor.

"In case you've forgotten," he called after her, "I beat your dad twice! A Super Saiyan 3 is nothing to me!"

"On their own, maybe," came Piccolo's voice as the Namekian approached Buu cautiously. "But you're outnumbered, too." He quickly removed his cape and turban, throwing them in Buu's face as a distraction, then rushed around from the side to take Buu by surprise; Buu saw through the ruse, however, and vanished from sight. Piccolo felt a grip on his forearm, then cried out in anger as Buu swung him overhead and threw him through the wall into the corridor beyond.

Buu grinned, satisfied with the course of things so far, then a jarring sensation of building ki warned him of Gohan and Goten coming at him from behind, both charging energy attacks. Smiling, he leapt off into the twisting maze of the Lookout, fleeing towards the open top of the floating building.

Kaioshin and Kibito stood mournfully over Old Kai's body, Goku still sitting nearby. "Such a shame," Kaioshin managed, a restrained, austere sentence that belied the depths of sorrow within.

"It was...for the best," Kibito forced himself to say. "Others lived because of his actions, and Raditz gave Buu as good a fight as anyone has yet."

"We won't forget him," Goku said solemnly.

At this point, Old Kai sprung back up, a halo floating over his head, shaking a gnarled fist. "Of course you won't forget me! I'm not going anywhere!"

"Oh!" Goku almost managed not to laugh. "Right, I forgot!"

Kaioshin went red, having momentarily forgotten his own demise and continued existence on the sacred Kai planet. "I apologise for my foolishness, ancestor. I only wish I could have offered my life in your stead."

"Nonsense." Old Kai settled down in front of Goku, aimed one hand's palm directly at the saiyan, and ostensibly continued the ritual. "You're still young; I only had a few thousand years left in me anyway. Not that I'm entirely sure you're sufficiently skilled to even attempt a technique like life-force transferral. Besides, the way you spent your own life was noble enough in itself. Now, if you'll leave me alone, I've got to unlock this young man's hidden power so that it'll take Buu a few seconds longer to kill him."

"R-Right!" Kaioshin slunk back over to a nearby tree and lay under it, Kibito standing vigilantly beside him as ever.

Piccolo, creeping down a corridor, heard a noise from behind him—Buu, standing on the ceiling and laughing. Piccolo whirled, firing a machine-gun volley of energy beams, but Buu was already gone.

Buu dashed away down the corridor, stifling another laugh, but ran almost immediately into Gohan and Goten coming the other way. With Piccolo behind and the brothers in front, he chose the path of least resistance and forged straight ahead, punching both at once as he passed. They recovered fast, however, and Gohan Shifted in front of him, blocking his path and charging a Kamehameha. Buu just barely threw himself out of the way, aiming to escape past Goten, who he guessed was the weakest. However, Goten's mocking, tongue-waving image faded, revealing Piccolo's hyper-extended arm behind it, which flew at Buu, hitting him dead in the centre of his face. Buu fell back, rolling upright and gasping. An afterimage...? I was careless! I shouldn't have fallen for that kind of trick from someone so much slower than me! Damn...they're weak, but their teamwork is impressive.

Break hovered outside the Lookout, rubbing her chin. "Damn it, he keeps moving! And the inside of this place is so confusing...I know." She raised both arms into the air, gathering her substantial power around them. "I'll blast him out of there—he has to come out eventually!" With that, she began peppering the Lookout with piercing ki beams, blasting even more holes into the once-beautiful structure.

As the beams began to rain down around them, Buu smiled. A perfect distraction. In the moment of hesitation it caused, he put his superior speed to good use, running up to Gohan and kicking him up through the ceiling, then stretching both arms out backwards Namekian-style, Goten and Piccolo each taking a fist to the face. Buu then turned to the source of the indiscriminate energy attacks and blasted off towards it, flying out through a hole Break had made and aiming straight for her. She noticed just in time to block his first punch, but the second sent her spinning away through the air. Laughing heartily, Buu flew back up to the top of the Lookout, landing on the 'roof'. "Well, come on then, all of you! I'm being extremely generous here; I could have finished one of you off just then!"

One by one, his four opponents rose to face him, touching down on the cracked stone in front of him. "Ah, good, we're all here," Buu chuckled. "I was beginning to worry you'd realised you can't win. Which is true, by the way; you don't have a hope of killing me." He spread his arms invitingly, mocking them. "But, by all means, do try. It's so much more entertaining that way."

"Don't pull anything like that again, Break," Gohan warned. "We were in the line of fire too, y'know..."

"Ah, don't worry," she assured him, "I know what I'm doing."

Piccolo grunted. Too overconfident by far.

"And Buu—" Break continued with an over-dramatic sweep of her arm, "—I'm not done with you!" Before anyone could stop her, she charged up at Buu alone. She catapulted at him, but built up too much acceleration and he easily dodged, letting her fly past him, trailing curses entirely inappropriate for a child her age. She wheeled in mid-air, raising her guard just in time to block Buu's sweeping arm. He threw a knee strike up at her, catching her in the stomach, but she pressed forwards, her head smacking him in the face. He flung himself away, shaking his head to clear his vision.

"Hah!" Break taunted. "Am I too much for you?" She charged up a two-handed energy beam, firing while Buu was still disorientated.

At the last second, Buu's hand snapped up, stopping the yellow beam in its tracks. "Do you really think you can compete with me, child? I am older than humanity, than the saiyans. I was alive when the Nameks were still crawling things that skulked in caves." He began to form his own blast in front of his hand, using it to push back Break's. "I have fought the gods themselves!" His blast quickly grew in size, and when he launched it, shaping it into a beam, it effortlessly smashed through Break's, colliding with her and sending her into a tailspin back towards the Lookout. "I can survive being carved into pieces! I can survive the vacuum of space! What do you think you can do to me?"

"She can provide a good distraction while I get into place, for one thing!" This from Piccolo, who barreled into Buu, grabbing him by both legs and tackling him to the ground. Buu growled, agitated, his antenna extending and lashing out, whipping Piccolo across the face. The Namek's grip loosened, and Buu vanished. Piccolo sprang to his feet, keeping his guard up, but when Buu appeared in front of him he couldn't react fast enough, and Buu's shoulder-barge sent him flying.

"KAME—HAME—" Buu turned, seeing Gohan's fully-charged attack. Buu raised his hands to block, then Gohan smiled and Shifted away. Predicting Gohan's most likely destination, Buu did a hundred-and-eighty degree turn, crossing his arms over his face to block Gohan attempting to come around behind him—but he didn't expect a double-bluff. Gohan materialised right where he'd been standing before, and now with Buu's back to him—"HAAA!"

Gohan continued to pour power into the blast, seeing only a blaze of blue light in front of him. Slowly, he felt resistance increasing—is it working? Am I burning through him?—but his hopes were dispelled by an impossible sight. Buu was striding up to him, marching through the Kamehameha as if it were nothing more than a heavy wind. When Buu was inches away, Gohan let the attack die down, lowering his hands and staring in shock. Buu's entire surface, front and back, was scorched and half-melted, but the damage now repaired itself in short order before his eyes. "Clever," Buu said, nodding slightly. "Just what I'd expect from you, Gohan." Having said this, his arm whirled around, an almost gentle-looking haymaker sending the Super Saiyan sprawling. "So...is this the extent of your power? Really, you're all so disappointing—gaaahk!" This because one of the many arrow-shaped energy bolts suddenly piercing through his body had shot right through the back of his throat, disrupting his speech faculties somewhat.

Goten kept up the barrage, punching large holes throughout Buu's body, the surprised demon only able to desperately stagger around, then after a few seconds the young fighter clenched his fist-and the tiny, hyper-concentrated energy balls embedded in the tip of each 'arrow', which had remained lurking in Buu's body after the carrier had dissipated, all exploded at once. Massive chunks of Buu's body were blasted out in all directions, charred or reduced to liquid sludge, leaving only a quivering skeleton-shape, terrified eyes staring out of the top.

"You heal pretty good...but how about from that?" Goten said, grinning

"'Ssss uh mhhtter of fact..." New matter burst into existence, springing out to fill the gaping holes, burnt black fading back to vibrant pink. In a grotesque reverse explosion, Majin Buu was whole once more, his speech becoming slowly more intelligible as his throat and mouth regenerated. "...I can. But I thank you, for helping me to test the limits of my capabilities. You had me genuinely worried for a second." Goten made no attempt to conceal his disappointment, watching on with a look of despair as Buu began to pulse with a deep red light, a shimmering energy field appearing around him.

"Huh?" Break, who'd been coming around for another attack, lurched to a halt. "What's he—"

"Move!" Piccolo barked. "He's about to—"

"I'll show you Hell!" Buu declared, then released the colossal wave of power in an attempt to blast the Lookout apart. He was entirely successful.

Huge chunks of stone, slices of pillars and enormous clouds of dust rained down towards the Earth, taking the precariously-balanced Korin Tower beneath with it, the long-time seat of the godlike Guardians brought down to Earth in ruin by the works of a devil.

Gohan managed to open his eyes, but the world wouldn't stay still and stop shaking. The ringing in his ears wouldn't stop either. Sitting up was not as hard as he expected, but a loud rustling broke through the ringing as piles of rubble shifted, thrown off by even the most casual application of his superhuman strength.

As he fell slowly into full consciousness, he gradually became aware of a rhythmic crashing noise, the footfalls of a sprinting giant. His ki sense was the last to return, and with that to help, he was able to pinpoint the source of the noise—high in the air above him, Piccolo and Break were still furiously attacking Buu, relentlessly hammering down blows on the monster's guard, which stubbornly held. A fusion of Tien's refined martial arts skill, the product of decades of dedicated training, and Majin Buu's monstrous natural power, gave him an unbelievably quick, fluid and adaptable defence—and when he moved onto the attack, each strike was carefully calculated for maximum effect, almost impossible to follow, and devastating when it landed.

Despite all this, Piccolo and Break managed to keep up the fight against Buu for several nigh-breathless minutes, spurred on by strength borne of fury and desperation. Their intense training had made each of the four intimately familiar with the others' fighting styles, and they used this knowledge to blend their attacks seamlessly, working with and around each other to keep up the pressure on Buu—to whom it was more like fighting one opponent with four arms, four legs, who thought up strategies twice as fast. They kept the fighting to close range, deliberately leaving no room or time for energy attacks.

However, the outcome was inevitable. As valiantly as they battled, as long as they dragged out the moments of resistance, they began to tire. Break first, losing out to the immense energy drain of Super Saiyan 3 and falling to the ground, far below. Piccolo could not hope to match Buu on his own and was quickly driven back by the creature's vastly superior speed and strength.

"All right..." Piccolo considered his options. Continuing a close-range fight alone is suicide. Going giant would just make me a bigger target. I could use the Special Beam Cannon...but that'd be far too much energy expended for a relatively small hole which would barely take any of his energy to heal.

Well, I've been wanting to give this one a try... He let surges of energy flow into both hands until they shone like miniature suns, holding them out to either side. Buu watched patiently, until Piccolo swung his arms forwards, releasing a rapid-fire burst of energy bullets.

Buu snorted, dodging the first few effortlessly. "What, is that your grand plan?" However, the blasts kept coming and eventually he grew bored of dodging, so settled back in place and began to bat the attacks aside as they came at him. "Yes, yes, a very entertaining lightshow..."

Let's see if he's still laughing when I'm done...! Piccolo, grim-faced, continued to fire rapid bursts of the ki balls in Buu's direction, and Buu, for his part, continued to knock them out of their collision course with him. Buu failed to notice, however, that the deflected blasts were not dissipating in the air; they hung there, still perfectly formed, in a quickly-growing cloud around him, one that he was in effect creating himself.

Finally, the small light sources dotting the air around him caught Buu's attention, and seeing this—knowing Buu wouldn't fall for it any more—Piccolo stopped firing. "So you finally noticed."

"What...did you do?!" Buu hissed, panic edging into his voice.

Piccolo directed the spheres inwards, gleefully proclaiming, "Now learn the fate that awaits all who oppose the Demon King!"

"N—" Buu didn't get any further in his futile plea, as scores of densely-packed balls of ki collided with him at once, releasing their stored energy in a single cataclysmic explosion. Piccolo shielded his eyes as a colossal fireball billowed out from the spot Buu had occupied, the mere proximity to the soul-searing heat scorching the rubble-strewn ground beneath black, the displaced air transformed into an omnidirectional blast wave that would have proved deadly to any lesser being.

Piccolo didn't even allow himself a satisfied smile; too often he'd underestimated an enemy, believing them defeated, only to have them come back from the brink and deal him a crushing blow.

"Cease fire and surrender, Piccolo! Or face the consequences."

"I'm coming at you with everything I've got! It's time for your terror to end!"

"Nice shot—you almost got me there! Let me show you how it's done!"

"You...can't win!"

Given all this, Piccolo was not entirely surprised when, as the smoke cleared, what was revealed was not a horribly-mangled or dead Buu, but instead a fading afterimage. Now, I'm not angry, the one-time ruler decided, but I am disappointed.

Buu appeared directly ahead of Piccolo, and in instinctive response the Demon King flung both arms up, firing off a full-powered energy wave, but Buu was, as ever, faster, and swung his own hands up, catching the blast and crushing it between his fingers, leaving nothing but the quickly-expanding dust cloud Piccolo's attack had flung up. "A fine display of dust, if such were your intention..." Buu's hand shot out, clamping onto Piccolo's head. "Do you know, I've just had an idea. My regeneration's really been put through its paces today, I think you'll agree. Why don't we give yours a few tests, eh?"

"Gohan, he's—!"

"Don't look, Goten." Gohan pulled his younger brother back down into the shade of the rock they were taking cover behind. Even if he probably deserves it... "All right. I guess it's come to this...like I feared, Buu's too much for us."

"What are we gonna do?" Goten's eyes began to water.

"Well...there's something I could try. But I'd have to get back home to go and get it." He paused, wishing with all his being that he didn't have to say this. A kid this young, he doesn't deserve this."I'll...be back as soon as I can, but if Buu follows me I'll never make it. Goten, I'm—I'm gonna have to ask you to do something very brave, okay?"

Bored, Buu let Piccolo fall to Earth. "Well, that was entertaining for a while. His regenerative capabilities are impressive, but not a patch on mine, of course. I bet he wouldn't even survive a simple decapitation...hmm?" His ki sense alerted him to Gohan rapidly leaving the area. "Running out on me, Gohan? Wherever to, I wonder? There's no-one left to run to. A noble effort at concealing your energy, but you'll have to do better to slip past me!" He began to chase after the rapidly-retreating ki signature, but halted to avoid an energy beam scorching the air just in front of him. He looked over to the left, to the source of the blast.

Goten hung in the air, back in Super Saiyan 2, arms held slightly outwards, determination battling fear on his face. "You stay right where you are!"

"Oh?" Buu turned to face his new opponent, drifting closer with deceptive speed, folding his arms and looking down at Goten with an expression of mirth. "And I suppose you're going to make me?"

I can't remember if I've already said this recently, but:

1. No, Super 18 was not entirely pointless. Even if you overlook the fact that she managed to hold Buu long enough for everyone else on the Lookout to get to their positions and fight him properly...which you shouldn't...even if so, just...just wait and see, all right?

And some more persistent, recurring questions:

2. Yes, Goku will have his time in the spotlight. And soon.

3. Yes, Gohan too. Multiple times.

4. Yes, I will explain the Dragon Fist.

(Treat that as a Q&A of sorts for the people asking things along those lines.)

Now, some numbers for all you enterprising guessers:

Majin Piccolo (post-training): 2.5

And I got some interesting guesses for Goten, Break and Gohan's power...even though right when I first came up with the scale, I said quite clearly:

Super Saiyan 2: 1.5

(And Super Saiyan 3: 3, in Break's case)

So I had some people predicting Gohan at significantly higher than that. "But wait!" I hear you cry. Well, I don't because you're typing it, but...you know what, shut up. Back to your impudent outburst: "Haven't you always held that one form can get vastly stronger, even surpassing the low end of a higher form? I mean, you had base Goku fight King Cold's final form!"

Well...yes. If the fighter in question first has access to that higher form, then it unlocks a lot more potential in all their lower forms as well—so a Cell-Games-level FPSSJ is quite possibly stronger than Frieza in base. But with the exception of Break, who didn't have much time to train SSJ3 anyway, none of the four unlocked a higher form.

"But wait! Again!" I hear you cry. Again. "Are you seriously saying that one SSJ2 can't be vastly stronger than another without having unlocked an even higher form?! They can't all be that similar!"

Well...yes. Again. BUT while, for instance, Majin Vegeta is vastly stronger than, say, canon adult SSJ2 Gohan, the thing about this scale I'm using is it's not very precise. The scale, as it were, of the scale, is very large. Within that one value of '1.5' there is a lot of room for the whole range of SSJ2 power levels. Gohan went from the low end of it to the high end of it, I suppose.

So does that mean that Piccolo improved more than Gohan did in the Chamber, since his number changed? Well...not necessarily. Remember, the scale is not meant to imply proportionality. The only thing that can be inferred from it is 'X is stronger/weaker than Y'. So the reason for Piccolo's change is that I wanted to show that he is now about as strong as Super 18.

In any case, here's a compiled list:

Dabura: 1

Super Saiyan 2: 1.5

Majin Piccolo (pre-training): 2

Majin Piccolo (post-training): 2.5

Super 18: 2.5

Super Saiyan 3: 3

Super Buu: 4.5

Incidentally, a couple of the actual numbers are a sort of call-back from my much-maligned 'original script'. I tried to apply actual power levels to the thing (another reason I dislike that version), and at the time I wrote it, I had somehow decided that an 'average' SSJ3 would have a PL of 3 billion, and Super Buu of 4.5 billion. I'm sure it was completely unfounded, and just generally pretty dumb. But that came to mind when throwing this scale together, and I just based the rest off of that.

Q: Question- is android 18(present) much stronger than android 18 (future), therefore shouldnt super android 18(present) be stronger than super android 18 (future)

A: I should think that Super 18 is sufficiently different to normal future 18 that it shouldn't make a difference. Also, I always thought Trunks just was under the impression that the future androids were weaker because they never used full power on him.

Q: Im guessing buu is going to absorb raditz? Then the kids will fight and loose, then

A: Well...you got the second part right?

Q: Really liked the way you handled Buu's assault on the Lookout in your continuity. Everyone struggling hopelessly just felt so true to canon, in the vein of the "Bad Future" Trunks came from. Zarbon's ability makes a comeback, & it is incredibly well-suited to this situation. Can't wait to see what Buu reacted with...I'm guessing he copied the technique by observing it? Raditz almost breaks the universe, lol. Way ta go, hair-for-brains! :V

A: Since I've already mentioned that a couple of people guessed correctly, I figured I'd put this in here instead, as it's actually an interesting idea. Super Buu didn't seem to do the technique-copy thing like the other two main forms of Buu, but it does raise the question of what exactly the limits are on Buu's copycat ability?

Q: 2. Saiyans do in fact get stronger through training. If you look at the history of the show you will see that the power levels rise through training although it seems to be less effective the stronger they are after a set point. Then they need a new form to be able to gain at the same rate again. I don't think it allows them to get endlessly stronger but they can train until they max out each form.

A: Oh, they get stronger by training, yes, definitely...but so does everyone else. The reason saiyans improve quicker in general is due first to zenkai boosts and later to transformations.

Q: 3. I think that Goku could use Kaio-Ken with his mystic form but it would put a great deal of strain on his body. Perhaps more than it could handle(of course that would be up to you as the writer.)

A: Another interesting prediction.

Q: 5. Does anyone know fusion at all? Maybe we will learn that now that Raditz is back, I still suspect we will have a brothers fusion.

A: I see...

You know, I've only just realised that the way it's come together, it is still a mystery whether or not Raditz knows the fusion dance technique...I'm just going to leave it that way for a while...

Q: 6. Which reminds me how exactly is Raditz all of the sudden able to fight evenly with Super Buu? Just because hes pissed off now? Is he tapping into his anger like Gohan does?

A: As he said, a fight like any other with some monster you have nothing but somebody else's word for is a Very Scary Thing...is completely different to fighting the creature that

-you have a personal score to settle with,

-has just killed its way through your entire circle of friends and most of your family,

-is directly threatening the life of your loved one.

Determination (to the point of stubbornness) has always been Raditz's defining quality when it comes to fighting, or at least that's the way I've tried to portray it (for instance, his battles with Piccolo and Cooler).

Q (part 1): Not a bad chapter, nice to see Eighteen to adjust to her new body and Buu get bored and kill everyone. Now I'm confused about Roshi...why didn't the Evil Containment Wave work? It's supposed to work on anyone evil and trap them so long as they either don't dodge it or counter the wave...Buu should have been trapped in the bottle since he didn't understand what was going on. The only problem I have with this is Raditz going back to Earth while dead. While the concept of the Universe falling apart from the world of the Supreme Kais and working down sounds...okay...just him getting there no problem shouldn't happen. I mean if he really could use Instant Transmission like that, then Goku would've done it immediately to help everyone at the Lookout. And don't say "he's afraid of Super Buu", that's the biggest lie I've heard from the fan base. If he really was scared he wouldn't have been confident of taking Super Buu with Piccolo absorbed which increased his power (although it wasn't by too much) all by himself without fusing with Gohan.

A: -The Evil Containment Wave didn't work because Buu is literally millions of times more powerful than, say, King Piccolo. He is far beyond the limits of that technique. Also because it'd be really anticlimactic if it worked (and you'd think if they could have used it on Cell or Buu, they would've).

-I'm afraid you have fallen for the insidious Dub Line Trap. Goku being afraid of fighting Super Buu is, I'm afraid to say, the truth. In the English dub, Goku says he can take Buu on his own. In the manga, he says "Gohan can handle you now", and notably, when he and Vegeta are inside Buu's body, after they've removed Gohan, Goten, Piccolo and Trunks, he says something along the lines of 'we still can't beat him if we go out there and fight him now', implying Super Buu is superior to SSJ3 Goku.

However, you do have a point. Goku did not, in my opinion, refrain from doing what Raditz did here because he was scared. Goku is brave, fearless even. However, Goku, by that point in the series, a bit more rational and sensible than he was as a kid. Well, a bit.

Raditz...in Break Through the Limit, has always been impetuous, impatient, and made some stupid slip-ups because of it; like exposing Hercule's relative weakness on live TV instead of just letting him be; challenging Pikkon immediately, averting the Otherworld tournament and getting the Supreme Kai's attention early on besides; and, well, doing what he did last chapter, and almost, as one review put it, breaking the universe as a result.

Goku thought it was impossible; Raditz would have thought the same, but, well...he wasn't thinking.

Q (part 2): I digress though, in all honesty Raditz should have either just stayed where he was at, because he couldn't go anywhere in the Mortal Universe or hit some wall which bounced him anywhere in the realm of the Dead. Because, otherwise any dead fighter would just be able to fly off to their home or anywhere else whenever they wanted. I apologize if I sound condescending, but this just doesn't sound right to me.

A: It's a good point, but remember not everyone can—only those who know Instant Transmission, and even among those most of them would simply be like 'eh, it's impossible', and even if they somehow decided to try anyway, they'd be unlikely to have a ki signature to lock on to (Raditz was watching events through Old Kai's crystal ball, remember, and knew who was where), and even then a being of lesser power would have simply, as you put it, 'bounced' back; Raditz smashed through that barrier and almost caused the end of, well, everything. It's not, in other words, as easy as it might seem.

Q (part 3): I liked your earlier chapters a lot, but now it's like your writing some characters able to do whatever they want like Raditz (even more so than Goku in cannon in my opinion) or you just slowly write others out of the picture just to make Raditz or his daughter Break be the only ones that can do anything main story wise. I liked how Gohan was able to take out Turles and Slug, Vegeta got Bojack, but it's like with the main villains it has to this. Earthlings start off, then Nail/Piccolo, Goku and Gohan, and then Raditz and Break come in when at times it looks like they're showing off or they do it just to get a few could hits into their opponent to finish them. I apologize for this long review and how I seem to jump from one topic to another, but I just wanted to post my thoughts on this chapter and how I feel this story is going at the moment.

A: I take your point.

Though, uh...Cell was beaten mainly by Goku.

And so were the Tuffles.

And Tien beat Vegeta...

...I'm digressing. You do have a point. Raditz and Break get quite a bit of attention. Fair enough. Hopefully, though, the rest of the Buu saga, and everything after, in particular Battle of the Gods, will show other characters getting their turn.

Q: I've got a prediction for the future timeline Buu saga. Majin … Broly.

A: Erm...okay. You know, as I'm currently overhauling my plans for the future Majin saga (read: at the moment I don't know what'll happen at all, or when I'll write it), you may well turn out to be right.

Q: Ah, Majin Piccolo is reminding me of DbZ: Super Sonic Warriors 2. I want some Goten action! Its ironic, isnt it? Goten, canon and in here, is the youngest Ssj, yet the weakest in many fans eyes. (I love Goten, and I think he has more potential then anyone in the Dragon ball franctise ever, but Trunks is stronger, I mean, he trained with VEGETA in the GRAVITY CHAMBER. Goten trained with CHI CHI in the WOODS. Curse Toriyama for making Trunks a year older) Anyways, cant wait for this saga to be explained, excecuted, finished (though I am in no rush) So I can see how BATTLE OF THE GODS! Will play out. Super Saiyan God Raditz/Goku/Gohan/Goten/Break!

A: You...have a fairly high chance of being right with one of those guesses.

Q: I HONESTLY like the part where raditz goes to get launch. Whatever argument the internet critics want to make... Goku was aloof, raditz has prorities family is first always.

Must suck getting all these reviews it'd annoy me

A: I really don't mind. Most of the reviews I get are positive and really make my day, and the negative ones are constructive criticism 99% of the time (and I'm starting to learn to ignore the 1% that is simple, unreasoning unpleasantness). Plus, they usually have a point, and often they're giving criticism because they enjoy the story and don't want it to take a dip in quality—so I actually really appreciate the support.

And speaking of which, I'm glad you liked it! I'm very happy that the scene did have the triumphant hero's-return feel for some people (some other reviewers have been similar), that's exactly what I was going for.

Q: OH GOD! HERCULE! KURIZA! OTHER PEOPLE! NO! (I don't know why but I REALLY like this smart and somewhat relevant Hercule, especially over his almost gag-like manga counterpart)

A: I am internally jumping for joy at this emotional investment. It's like when people tell me they laughed out loud or teared up at moments; it makes me feel like this was really worth doing.

Q: 1. How much of a boost would someone get with Baby taking them over?2. So is 18 out for the count?
3. I know Potaras will work, but would the fusion dance between a Mystic Goku and Raditz (in any form) work?

A: 1. HFIL if I know.

2. To you, and everyone else who wants to know, I shall decline to answer and let that speak for itself.

3. Theoretically, if the stronger one lowered their power level to match the other, then there's no reason why not. As brothers, they are quite physically similar, after all.

If I haven't specifically put your review here, as ever, I hope that I've managed to answer your questions adequately.