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CHAPTER 69
Calamity

Everything erupted in screams and pandemonium in the Quadrant 944 sector of the Tuffle city as its residents ran in every which way, colliding and piling on themselves with no way to go. The entire atmosphere was ominous; the skies had darkened with dust between explosions in the air. Mountains were sundered and broken as they flew upward, and, like missiles, fell upon the city, CRASHing into houses as the earthquakes shook and shattered the newly constructed edifices.

The ground split in its quake, and both buildings and people fell screaming into the crack in the land, holding onto loved ones and strangers as they vanished into the chasm. It was mayhem; it was terrifying; it was a catastrophe without end. But despite how the planet groaned in its agony, Bulma continued to bark orders to her staff, radioing the crew of the Tuffle I, the larger imperial ship, to prepare her people for evacuation and lift-off.

The evacuation logistics were a headache. Bulma was having trouble coordinating the collection and storing of the fuel from the evacuated Tuffle II cruiser ship. The Tuffle I may have been a larger ship, but it was built to be more ceremonial than practical. It came with fewer residential quarters, and was not built to sustain the weight of twenty-thousand refugees, in addition to its fuel.

Since they needed to reserve fuel, the best way to propel the ship's lift-off would be to use one of her elites to support the ascension to space. But where the fuck were they?!

Everything was taking too long and was getting too dangerous. Bulma was pissed that she could not perform her normal duty of giving a speech to console her people. There were no supportive words she could even fathom to say right now. She cursed her elites for taking this battle too far. If this were Earth, they would have held back. The Survival of the Tuffles should come first. The Earth would be doomed within two weeks, due to the magic of the expended and defunct Black Star Dragonballs, and Lord Baby was damaging their rightful Planet Tuffle.

There was a loud explosion and shaking of the land under her feet as another quake tore a rift into the ground below her. The new crack split the entire city in half, and crumbled the foundational base of her magnificent palace.

"Fuuuuck!" She screamed as she watched all of her dreams crumble.

She knew that Baby would take it personally and that she would be the one to reap the punishment later in the bedroom. She felt tears down her cheeks as she thought of how much she looked forward to his attention, and that she yearned to be better for him.

And then, for a split second, her thoughts wandered to another person. Goku would have been able to save her palace. Goku would have been able to save the world…

Wait, what? What was she thinking?!

Bulma gagged, her body lurching forward as she fell to her knees among the rushing people. She stared wide-eyed at the scrambling legs before her, all running and trampling each other like the turbulence within her stomach.

She shook her head and, and with every fiber of her body she realized just how dirty her thoughts just went. To think she would wish for a long-dead Saiyan to save her people, of all things? She wondered what had come over her.

She then realized she was daydreaming, and got back to work.

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Right fist, block. Double jab, block. Hook kick, block.

Their moves in the sky were clockwork. The thrill of the fight evolved into a focus on orchestrated battle tactics. Baby did mental calculations as force met force between their bodies. At this point, it was a numbers game.

The boy and Baby had fought so much, and for so long, that Baby had already seen everything that the kid had to offer. At this point, he was able to see through the boy's moves. He knew exactly where the kid's fist would go. He knew exactly how the kid would spin, and which foot would go up, and which arm contained the blast. It was choreography, as if Baby had rehearsed and perfected a dangerous dual breakdance of destruction.

They both poured sweat in their fierce combat. Their toughness and resilience seeped through their pores and weighed down their clothes. Their outfits were in remarkably good condition considering how heavy and consistent each of their blows were. Baby's dark battledress with his golden vest were barely scratched, and the boy's green gi, however soggy with his sweat, was also unharmed. It was almost as if they were simply sparring in the blood-stained purplish sky as the sun began to set on the eastern horizon. Their sweat seeped and rained with toughness and resilience as their roars joined the chorale of the land's upheaval around them.

Despite anticipating the boy's moves, all Baby could do until this point was react to the blows.

The boy's teenage body had slightly more initiative, which was a boon of which Baby took careful note. The more this teenager could withstand Baby's highest powered form, the more Baby started to reassess the value of this youth's body and stamina. Baby began to seriously consider that there could definitely be an opportunity to gain another Tuffle fighter among his ranks with this young man, but Baby wanted to be sure before he plotted his next steps. And this fucker's quick fists made it so that Baby could neither think, nor summon any of his elite warriors. Where the fuck were they?!

The battle was starting to take too long.

Baby could feel the energy level within Vegeta waver as the boy continued the marathon of his assault. I've been Super Tuffle 2 for a significant time now. How much stamina does this kid have?! Baby was in disbelief.

Baby was also starting to feel impatient. In order for him to regain any initiative, Baby would need to disrupt the balance of the battle. With the draw that they were heading towards, it meant breaking free of their coordinated moves and instead taking a risk. While Baby did not prefer to be reckless, he did agree with the universal saying that high risks enabled high rewards… and this kid whom he was fighting was starting to look like a much bigger trophy than he had anticipated. Perhaps he had underestimated the boy.

Baby was intrigued. As he dealt his blows, his lips lightened into a sneer, "What's your name, brat?"

The kid swung his foot, and instead of blocking it, Baby flew backward to give them some distance, barely dodging the orange boot that swooshed past his face.

"Uub!" the kid clenched his left fist and ran his right hand quickly through his wet, matted yet rigid mohawk, "And you'd best remember that!"

"Whaaaaat? UUUUuuuuUUUb?" Baby teased the name on his lips as he focused his ki within his chest. "What a stupid name."

Something within Vegeta's memory, however, gave Baby the sense that the kid was somebody important. Who was this kid and why did he know all of Kakarot's moves? Baby racked Vegeta's mind for any previous battle with him. The only memory that even remotely served him was seeing this boy as a child in some tournament over a decade ago.

But something else was special about him. Baby tried to search Vegeta's memories, but felt immense resistance. It was clear that Vegeta did not want Baby to know who this kid really was. This further intrigued Baby.

"Baby is an even stupider name." Uub spit with feigned bravado.

Oh, fuck him. Immediately losing all interest, Baby was now officially done with this. This is so fucking boring. At this point, he didn't even care anymore who this kid was. Baby just wanted him dead. This annoyance was only proving to be a distraction, getting in the way of Baby killing the last Saiyan. It was already starting to get late, and his body was showing signs of getting hungry.

Baby needed to be trickier in order to secure a strong blow against Uub. He was not against using wily tactics. And he wanted to see how stupid and open this kid could get.

Innocent kids like this were so easy to toy with.

With his ki still highly concentrated in his chest, Baby raised his hands, and pretended to jerk his right arm back as he lied, "Oh woah, a cramp!"

Uub flashed before him as he phased in to target Baby's right ribs with his foot.

Sucker. Baby grinned devilishly through gritted teeth. The kid thought he had an opening, but Baby had anticipated Uub's position. As quickly as Uub appeared in front, Baby phased directly under him and shot his ki up to maximum Super Tuffle 2 capacity.

He poured energy into his hip as he powered through an upward kick, directly at Uub's chest. Uub exhaled a surprised "Oof!" as he was just quick enough to block the kick with his speed, but the tremendous force of the blow knocked him upward into the sky directly above Baby.

Baby then phased above him, behind him, focusing all his ki within his chest and core. Baby grinned ominously as Uub was suspended in the air below him for a hair's breadth of a second. Uub fell for the trap.

Positioned directly above Uub, Baby released the giant wave of energy of his chest downward, smacking directly onto the top of Uub, with a roaring "GALAXY BREAKER!" An enormous column of light tore into the boy with the megaton thrust of its force aimed directly toward the rock below.

Uub shot down, pushed hard by Baby's energy beam.

KRRRRUKKHHKKK! The impact of his collision made a crater that went deep down within the depths of the planet's crust. The continual stream of ki continued to push Uub farther down into the dark abyss, beyond where light could touch the bottom. The expanding and deepening base of the crater resembled a black hole, or perhaps a look into death itself.

With a completely black crater hole below him that descended into blackness, Baby reveled in his victory. There was no hope below, the final resting place of the mysterious yet surprisingly strong mohawk boy. Uub was surely finished.

Baby smirked and crossed his arms in victory, and took the time to gather some of his thoughts now that he had a moment to consider the strength that he had just faced.

Forcing his mind through Vegeta's memories, Baby found the moment Vegeta had heard of Uub in passing. So, Uub was the reincarnation of a mighty villain to the Saiyans, Kid Buu.

Baby had unsuccessfully attempted to claim Majin Buu in the past, and had been rejected due to Buu's ability to eject items from his body. He learned from his experience that Buu would need to invite Baby in, in order for Baby to access the Majin power. But this kid, Uub, was different. He was mortal, and yet also theoretically had Buu's potential.

While Baby did not surprise himself with his own victory against the reputed Uub, he was slightly disappointed that he missed the opportunity to play with his kill. He would have been excited to stretch the limits of his strength and control within a new, stronger vessel.

He did not linger on the thought too long, though. He realized much of his contemplation came from pent-up energy that he wanted to get out. The Saiyan brat was still around. She would more than satisfy his lust for revenge. Perhaps he'd keep her alive if he… accidentally let her live. He smirked at the thought, relishing the idea. Baby's hunger for revenge against the Saiyans intoxicated him with bloodlust, and with only one remaining, Baby longed for an opportunity to prolong her torment.

A moment longer passed as Baby waited for Uub to rise from the ground, gauging any activity within the crater's depths. The moment came and went. After Baby concluded that he was the clear victor, he turned his head to try to detect the Saiyan.

But then, Baby suddenly felt it - he detected a tremendous, monstrous, absolutely delectable energy power that rose slowly from the depths of the crater and levitated upward. As Baby observed the deep abyss, Uub emerged from the shadows wearing an expression of raging fury, with bared teeth and clenched fists. Uub snarled at Baby with a broken, bloodied nose.

"It will take more than that to get rid of me!" Uub shouted defiantly and valiantly, "Your ki barely scratched me!"

Baby simply analyzed him from high above, turning mental cogs as he revived his assessment of the boy. Baby knew Uub's words to be an obvious lie, with how Uub's face was bruised and bloodied, but Baby nevertheless felt a wave of pride and excitement wash over him. It was a lust for the fight, and the anticipation of Uub's power that drove Baby wild. Most of all, Baby was thrilled that the rumor of Uub's power had proven true.

Baby considered the factors of Uub's durability and survivability, and also Uub's age. The boy looked to be in his mid-teens, approximately fifteen or sixteen, and his fighting potential and physical constitution were titillating. Baby could upgrade his current body with Uub, and finally be rid of the Saiyan filth. The idea aroused Baby. Baby liked it.

Baby decided he wanted it.

Baby's eyes remained locked on Uub, who continued to increase his power level as he ascended to meet Baby eye to eye. Uub growled, "Now the real fight starts."

Oooh, Baby would have it.

Uub finished powering up with a sudden suction of energy, focusing his energy for highest efficiency. Baby saw it, and instantly realized that Uub had some of the best ki control of any fighter he had ever faced. Uub would be an energy-efficient vessel.

Baby craved it.

Uub glowed at full power, from the tips of his fingers, to the edges of his hair. Every part of his body radiated the power from within. He was a pure form of Majin power. As Uub raged, his nose snapped back into place with a SNAPP, and healed.

What? Baby realized what he just saw. His nose just recovered on its own.

Baby's eyes bugged wide open. Uub could heal?!

This changed things. Now that he discovered that Uub could heal, Baby no longer had any interest in toying with him anymore. Uub was instantly placed in a different league than the Saiyans. Baby acknowledged that Uub had a mystical power that most mortals would never achieve. Uub had the same ability as Baby, to regenerate. And, Baby had to have him.

It was a perfect match. Uub was the one. And Baby wanted him now.

Baby wasted no time. He roared as he powered up to Super Tuffle, and then his scream became deafening as he pushed his power to the limit, reaching the next stage, and igniting the air around him in blue energy bolts.

He would have Uub.

Baby charged forward, right fist extended to melee punch Uub with the might of a Second-level Super Tuffle. This was a punch that could break a planet. This was a punch that could destroy life in one hit.

Uub brought his right hand up. With his own blast of ki, he stopped Baby's punch mere feet from Uub's chest. He then returned a punch, which Baby dodged, and their fists and kicks began to fly by so fast that their bodies were blurs, almost imperceptible images against the red sky. The blasts of their impacts were so striking that air waves themselves became visible like water ripples from their fists breaking sound barriers.

Earthquakes continued to roll like thunder under their clash, with low rumbles that echoed across the mountain ranges as the land was tossed and churned like a tempestuous sea.

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Hercule and Buu bounded along the rocks of the mountain range, trying to stay out of sight. The sounds of battle and the correlating earthquakes rumbled like thunder from horizon to horizon.

Hercule was resolute in his need to find Pan. Despite his fear that something terrible may have happened or would happen to his granddaughter, Hercule continued to press forward. Panny needed her grandfather, and Hercule would always be there for her. He would not just stand by and let her get hurt if he could help it.

"Let's hurry, Buu! Panny still needs us!" Hercule hurdled over a rock with a "Haa!" as he impressed himself with his own agility. This entire run, he had felt like he was warming up and getting some life back in him. Hercule missed the feeling of a good battle rush.

Buu gleefully repeated "Pan need us!" as he bounced among the red rocky terrain, keeping to the shadows of the sunset light.

"Right, Buu. We gotta find her 'fore Baby gets to her!"

A striking rumble on the ground suddenly seemed to flip the land as they were suddenly launched upward. In its intense quake, the ground bowed and flexed and shot them both up in the air with a convex arc like a trampoline.

"Aaaah!" Hercule clawed at the air as he floated in the air a moment, accidentally doing a perfect forward flip and landing on his feet in a stupor.

Buu bounced down and hopped until he stopped and looked around, with the land cracking and breaking around them. As if he had received some type of signal, or a strong gut feeling, Buu blinked in a daze, looking off to where Baby's battle was taking place.

"Uub?" Buu inquired with a blink.

"No, we're looking for Panny. She's gotta be 'round here!"

Buu just looked to Hercule with a blank stare that slowly came to a realization. "But Baby fight Uub."

"Yer right. They're fightin' hard right now, but let's get to Panny." Hercule grabbed Buu's arm, and tried to lead him away from the direction of the fight.

"But… Uub need Buu…" Buu seemed to be in a daze.

Hercule stopped, looking to Buu and sensing something was different. Buu was often reticent about his personal thoughts, and for the past two decades, entertained Hercule's plans and ideas without resistance or talking back.

"What are ya thinkin', Buu?" Hercule squeezed Buu's arm.

Buu jerked his arm away, unwavering. "Uub need Buu!" He then started to jog in the direction of Baby and Uub's battle.

"Huh? Wait! Where are ya goin?!" Hercule ran at top speed, and jumped in front of Buu with his arms out to block the djinn. "Ya can't just go off!"

Buu looked startled for a minute and turned to look at Hercule with a strange expression. "Buu can't?!"

The world champ put his hands on his hips and stood tall to appear official and commanding as he persisted in his goal. "No, ya gotta STOP. We gotta find Pan." He waggled his finger to the djinn. "You can't go."

Those words were not what Majin Buu wanted to hear. Buu may have been good for the past twenty years, but he did not take kindly to commands.

Buu's demeanor quickly darkened into a vicious snarl and an ominous glare. When he spoke, his words boomed louder and deeper, emphasized by his Majin magic. "Mr. Satan NOT STOP me!"

Hercule backed up in a mild terror at Buu's temper. His eyes were wide and his heart palpitated as he suddenly had a flashback of Majin Buu's old ways. A disturbing chill ran up Hercule's spine as he felt intimidation course through his body like weighted lead. He waved his hands in front of him as if to disarm and de-escalate the djinn's temper. "Woah, Buu. Woah, Ah'm your friend."

Buu's ki around him started to swirl as the pink djinn began to build his anger. He looked off to the battle in the distance, allowing his anger to build. "NO ONE STOP MAJIN BUU."

"Woah," Hercule took a step back, unsure of what to say to Buu. His friend was acting strange, and Hercule was suddenly not feeling as safe or secure in Buu's company.

"Woah, Buu. I'm not stoppin' ya. But just wait a min-"

Another long, deeper and dangerous rumble rattled the landscape below them as a fissure cracked by them, and a giant crater began to collapse the ground in on itself. Hercule was thrown backward, and for the briefest of moments, he wished he knew how to fly. "Woahhh!"

Buu seemed to react to a feeling he was sensing, and roared in a frantic, angry rage, "UUB NEED MAJIN BUU!" Then, Buu took off toward the battle in a sprint.

Hercule ran and stumbled after him, waving his hands and panicking under the planetary duress. "Buu! Come back! Buuuuuu!"

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The planet moaned beneath them as the crater began to collapse in on itself, spreading its vast abyssal hole wider as Baby fought against Uub at full power.

Despite Uub's resilience and the boy's ability to channel his energy anew from a reserve power source, Baby continued to have the upper hand. Uub punched quickly, but Baby easily dodged the punches and kicks. He had already learned these moves. The idiot boy was still using his banal skills and moves taught by Goku. They were the same moves that sent the Saiyan to the Other World, and would also be Uub's own undoing. But god, this fight was so…

BORING, Baby despaired over the longevity of the increasingly vapid fight. Everything right now was just one big fucking waste of time, but it was frustrating because this kid kept healing quickly. Baby was unable to find a good window of opportunity to enter the kid's body through a wound. While Uub may be young and naive, his constitution was phenomenal. Baby desired it. Baby needed it. But Baby was also stuck while locked in a battle whirlwind.

Kick-Block-Punch-Dodge-Schwing-Swipe-Blast-Swing-Blow-Schwing-Thwak-Boom-Blow-Bam-Schwing-Crack-Burst-Hit-Slam-Schwing-Hook-Strike-Knock-Schwing

All the moves were a blur… until Baby got very lucky.

On one of the punches, Uub dodged just barely in the nick of time, but in that time, Baby managed to nick Uub's cheek with his fingernail.

It was a paper cut, hardly even a scratch. But one singular bead of blood pooled to the surface before the wound healed.

And that was the moment of Baby's opportunity.

Baby screamed, and shot his head back, wide-mouthed. Uub hesitated in confusion, and in that time, Vegeta's body ejected a silver tarry liquid from his throat that wrapped around Uub's head, smothering his face like viscous taffy.

The next moment happened in a breath of an instant.

Uub only had time to gape in surprise and alarm as the silver substance around his head began to forcibly enter his body. Uub screamed silently as the cold liquid heated to a blistering, searing sludge that that forced its way into Uub's wound and orifice as the silver substance flooded into him in a turbulent stream.

The liquid bled into him and became a part of him. Uub's eyes widened and bulged in agony as the liquid violated him by squeezing throughout him and within him. In his desperation, Uub roared, shaking the heavens as he released a tremendous ki explosion from his body. It shrouded him with a fiery blaze aura as a last effort to stay Baby's possession.

Uub gasped as he felt the icy liquid force its way into his fingers, as his hands began to open and close on their own. He sensed his arms giving way as he began to lose feeling and control of his body. And in those moments, he knew that this may be a battle from which he may never return.

In those moments frozen in time, Uub thought of his sisters. Pan reminded him of them; his sisters' spunk and vivacity had always made life fun. They were the reason he fought today - so that the world could have a second chance at being able to laugh and smile again. It was all he could do, to wish that this could come to pass, and that the sadness and grief that Baby cast upon the world could reincarnate into a strong sense of purpose.

After his own reincarnation from his former life as Kid Buu, Uub had gained his purpose to train under the world's greatest fighter, Goku. It was a blessing to be able to be mentored by the man who had defeated him in his former life; he had the opportunity to truly stretch his abilities as far as he could go. It was an honor to also be able to fight alongside Goku's granddaughter, Pan. Her fighting spirit helped to fuel him during these dark days with memories of his sisters. She had an ineffable superpower within her that somehow evoked and inspired the best in people.

And he entrusted the future to her hands.

He felt his world go dark, as his mind began to form static and then thicken itself like a black, putrid ooze.

In Uub's last conscious thought, he vaguely heard a loud shout that pierced the air through the struggle, "FLASH BANG!" and a massive white energy sphere exploded into Uub with an ear-piercing DA-DOOOM!

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–9/12/23–