The Battle Isn't Over Yet! In the Realm of the Gods!
Piccolo and Krillin hovered in the air for a moment as they watched the dome that had once been Vegeta slowly vanish from sight. The wind blew through Piccolo's dark blue cape as they watched, waiting for a moment.
"Do you think that did it?" Krillin asked. "I can't sense Majin Boo." Before Piccolo could answer one way or the other, they could sense it already again. That overwhelming, mind-bending, absolute evil. It was just a flickering flame at first, yet it blossomed and grew with every passing second. "Oh no," Krillin said weakly in horror. "Oh, no. You've gotta be kidding me! Even Cell would have been destroyed by something like that!" So Vegeta had died for nothing? "Should we… should we go back there and make sure?"
Piccolo shook his head sternly. "We can't take any chance for Majin Boo to see us. Even if we weren't carrying three unconscious people, we'd be defenseless. We know he's still alive and that's all that matters. We need to get to the Lookout with everyone else." Krillin nodded forlornly and the pair flew off, trying to put as much space between themselves and the growing ki as they could, as quickly as they could. Still, Piccolo couldn't help but think what Krillin no doubt was thinking. If Vegeta wasn't able to destroy Boo with all of that power, what would be enough to defeat this monster? It was insane to even think about.
OoOoOoO
Majin Boo reformed from a hundred twitching, writhing pink scraps. The scraps turned into tiny Majin Boos, all cheering and whooping in high-pitched voices as they flew toward one another, morphing and contorting before he returned to his natural size, fully restored and completely unharmed.
"Boooo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Boo cheered as he was restored, bouncing on the tips of his toes from foot to foot and grinning. He was a little confused about where the angry guy had gone but he didn't really care that much. He wasn't that strong anyway. Now Boo was hungry again!
"M-Majin Boo," croaked a weak, paper-thin voice. It caught his attention and made him float back to the ground. "Majin... Boo…" the voice gasped. It was coming from the blackened, severed head of Babidi. One of his bulging eyes had burst from the heat of Vegeta's explosion. "R-restore me," he told Boo. "I c-command you!" He was clearly not in a position to be commanding much of anything, something that even Majin Boo could recognize with his limited brain capacity.
"Boo not wanna!" he declared emphatically. "Boo wanna eat! Boo wanna fight strong people!" Babidi glowered as best he could with one eye.
"When I am healed, we will find you some cake," he promised, knowing that he had, at best, less than a minute before death. "N-now fix me!"
"Boo already fix you!" Majin Boo pointed out. "Boo not need you to find cake! Boo make his own!"
"But you do need me to be free!" Babidi reminded him. "I have just enough power left to put you back in your ball before I die! Then you will never, ever be free again! No more fighting, no more cookies, no more chocolates!" This was, of course, a complete lie. Babidi barely had enough magical power to cough up a butterfly, never mind cast the sealing spell. If he said it with enough conviction, however, and if Boo was stupid enough…
"Okay!" Boo agreed, holding out his hand toward Babidi as he showered him with pink sparkles again. Babidi grinned for a moment before howling in blinding agony. If growing back half of his body had been unpleasant, this was the very concept of pain.
OoOoOoO
As those on the Lookout watched the light slowly fade away, Bulma chewed her lip thoughtfully before producing a special orange capsule. "Good thing I gathered these a couple years ago for safe keeping, huh?" she asked as she popped the capsule and the seven Dragon Balls rolled out onto the tiled floor. They rolled naturally into a circle and began to glow and hum softly.
"So we're wishing back all the people that were killed today, right?" Yamcha asked while turning to Videl for confirmation. "Everyone killed by this Babidi guy's minions?" The young woman had filled them all in on the details on the way to the Lookout, as the most Lazuli or Suno had gotten from their spouses was "evil wizard wants to destroy the universe."
Videl nodded while chewing on her thumbnail. She wasn't really paying that much attention to She couldn't sense Gohan's ki. Why couldn't she? She had to tell herself that it was just because she wasn't as far along in her training as the others, though that didn't explain Suno's fainting spell earlier… No! Gohan was fine. He'd be fine.
"Okay, Puar," Chi-Chi told the floating, gray-blue cat encouragingly. "Do your thing." Puar tapped a paw to his chin thoughtfully for a moment.
"Uh… how does it go again?" he asked. The others groaned and Puar puffed up indignantly. "Hey, I forgot, okay? It's been a long time and I'm getting old! Do you know how many cats there are that live to forty?"
"Korin?" Shouronpo pointed out with a bit of a grin. Puar huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.
"That doesn't count!" he insisted. Launch rolled her eyes and stepped forward.
"Oh, for cryin' out loud," she grumbled, "I'll do it!" Then she tilted her head back and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Yo! Shenron! Get your big, scaly ass out here! I've got wishin' to do!" There was a long and awkward silence where nothing happened.
"Yeah" Puar muttered, "That's definitely not i–" Then the sky turned back and thunder rumbled as the sky turned black and lightning flashed through the clouds. "Oh, how does that count?!" Kani, Shouronpo, and Ocha huddled near their parents, having never seen Shenron in real life before. Kani kept right on sketching, even as she watched with eyes wide and her mouth agape in wonder.
As the bolt of lightning raced out of the balls and snaked out across the sky, Piccolo and Krillin flew up over the edge of the Lookout, Piccolo carrying the unconscious children and Krillin carrying a very battered-looking Goku. At the sight of them, Lazuli, Marron, Suno, and Bulma pulled away from the rest of the group, completely ignoring the enormous dragon that appeared in the sky overhead. Dende followed quickly behind them once he saw the rough shape Goku was in.
"Goten!" Suno cried as she took her daughter from Piccolo, cradling in her arms. "My poor baby," she cooed softly, "Are you alright?" Goten groaned weakly and blinked awake slowly, squinting up at her mother before she was held in a tight, motherly embrace. "Oh, you had me so worried! I'm just glad you're safe!"
"Mama," Goten whimpered, "Why can't I feel big bro? Wh-where is he?" Suno bit down on her lip to keep from crying as she stroked Goten's hair.
"It's alright, baby," she whispered reassuringly. "It's alright. It'll be okay, you'll see." Goten gawked over Suno's shoulder up at Shenron and Suno smiled as she patted her back. "That's right. If anything happened to Gohan, Shenron will fix it."
"You who have gathered the seven Dragon Balls," Shenron boomed as Krillin set Goku down gently for Dende to heal her, "State your wishes and I shall grant them."
"Okay, Shenron!" Launch called up to him. "I wish for you to revive everyone killed by the minions of the Wizard Babidi today!"
"What happened to you?" Lazuli asked Krillin as she and Marron hugged him tightly. I couldn't sense your ki for a little bit there. You had me worried."
Krillin gave a nonchalant shrug. "I'm fine," he promised. "But, uh… can we maybe take that statue out of the birdbath in the backyard for a little while?" Lazuli gave him an inquisitive look, clearly not entirely sure what that meant. "I'll explain later," he told her before noticing the absences from their party. "What happened to Lapis, Amy, and the kids?"
"They went back home," Lazuli explained. "Lapis thinks it'd be safer if we all spread out." Krillin chewed his lip thoughtfully for a moment. His brother-in-law might have the right idea. "What's going on?" Before Krillin could answer, Shenron's eyes flashed red.
"A simple matter," it declared.
OoOoOoO
Spopovich and Yamu gasped for breath as they awoke in the middle of the empty desert, the smoldering wreck of Babidi's spaceship behind them. The patted themselves down in disbelief, as if making sure that they were alive with all of their bits intact and inside their bodies.
"Alright," Spopovich admitted, "That was… awful. But we must have been returned to life for a reason! Master Babidi must have given us a second chance! We just gotta go find him and–"
"Excuse me?" Yamu interrupted. "What do you mean we? The last time you pulled this we shit, I got cut up into cubes. There is no we anymore, Spop. I'm done." Then Yamu turned and started to fly off.
"Yamu, wait!" Spopovich called after him. "You can't leave! We're sworn to Master Babidi! W-we're brothers!"
"I know," Yamu called over a shoulder, "And as your brother, go fuck yourself!" Then he rocketed off into the sky, leaving Spopovich alone. The muscled monstrosity of a man sat down in the dirt, alone and confused. He never even got to fight Hercule.
OoOoOoO
Kibito gasped for breath as well as he was returned to life, acutely aware of the fact that he had just been blasted to ash only thirty minutes before. It was an… unsavory memory, to say the least. He also noticed that he was alone, so the others had gone on without him. Good. He watched one of Babidi's bald minions (who he was sure he'd seen horribly butchered by Dabura) fly away but before he could deal with that, he sensed the Kaioushin's Qi.
"Master!" he breathed out in worry. Her energy was weak and swiftly waning. He closed his eyes and traveled to her with Instantaneous movement, finding her leaning weakly against a tree in a forest not more than fifty miles from where they had been. She looked battered and bruised but her face lit up when she saw him.
"Kibito!" she cried with as much energy as she could muster. "Oh, in Zenou's name, am I happy to see you!" She staggered forward and clung to Kibito's red coat as he looked down at her in surprise.
"Your eminence," he said worriedly as he put his hands on her upper arms and began to use his healing magic on her, "What has happened? Where are the others?" Even as her wounds were healed, the Kaioushin sighed weakly and dropped her head in shame.
"I've failed," she muttered in defeat. "Vegeta fell and then he and Goku went off to fight each other. Their battle released Majin Boo. Gohan and I tried to stop him, but…" she shook her head. "I was too weak. I can no longer sense Vegeta's Qi, so I can only guess that Goku was able to kill him. You have to help me find Gohan, I know he's around here somewhere." She pulled away from Kibito and started walking, her injuries reduced to a slight limp as her attendant followed after her dutifully. He could not sense the young mortal's Qi, so he was either gravely injured or already dead. "I know what you're thinking, Kibito," the Kaioushin told him, "But I know Gohan is alive. He has to be. He's the only hope the universe has for stopping Boo."
OoOoOOO
Goku sat up with a groan and gingerly touched the back of her head, the spot still sore even if her wounds were healed. "Friggin' Vegeta," she muttered under her breath before noticing the black clouds and the giant dragon in the black sky.
"It is done," Shenron announced. "What is your second wish?"
"Oh yeah," Yamcha muttered, "I forgot we get two of these now." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I… guess we could make everyone forget what happened today? Save us a whole lot of trouble when Vegeta gets back." Goku popped in instantly at his side, waving her arms to get Shenron's attention.
"Hey, Shenron!" she called out. "We don't need any other wish right now! Can you just hold onto that one?" Shenron nodded and closed his eyes.
"Farewell," he boomed before he vanished with a thunderclap, the Dragon Balls scattering in all directions.
"Goku, what the hell?!" Bulma asked irritably as she held onto Trunks, the boy clinging tightly to her middle. "Now we've gotta wait a year to use them again!" Like everyone else, she was trying desperately to ignore the fact that Goku was nearly naked.
"Actually," Dende put in, "Since you didn't use the second wish, the Dragon Balls will be usable again in four months."
"The best thing to do right now is wait," Goku told the others as Dende magicked up a new, clean gi for her. "We're not done with this Majin Boo stuff yet. We don't know how many more people are going to get hurt that will need to get brought back with the Dragon Balls." Before Goku could continue, Suno threw herself at her, wrapping her arms around Goku's neck and holding her tightly.
"Goku," Suno asked as Goten also hugged her mom, "Where's Gohan? Where's our baby boy?" She pulled away from Goku to look at him, her expression one mixed with an unavoidable knowledge of the truth and yet the desperate hope that she was wrong. "Why can't I sense our son's ki?" When Goku gave no answer, Suno buried her face in Goku's chest and wailed. 'Not Gohan,' she thought desperately. 'Not him, too. Please, please! I can't lose Goku again and my son in the same day!' Goten joined her mother in her grief, burying her face in Goku's leg as she sobbed helplessly.
"What about Vegeta?" Bulma asked. "Is he…?" even though she couldn't sense ki, she could feel that something was wrong. Goku nodded slowly and regretfully, her eyes downcast. Bulma crumpled to her knees as if all of the wind had been knocked out of her, shaking her head furiously as she let out wet, broken sobs, her face buried in her hands.
"I don't get it," Yamcha muttered as he scratched his beard. "Why didn't the wish bring them back?"
"Because Vegeta wasn't killed by anyone," Piccolo explained. "He sacrificed himself trying to kill Majin Boo. On top of that, Shenron already revived Vegeta back on Namek. As for Gohan…" Piccolo stopped to purse his lips in thought. He couldn't believe that the boy was just… gone. "Perhaps," he guessed, "Boo is less firmly under Babidi's control than we thought, so he wouldn't necessarily be a 'minion'."
"Shut up!" Trunks snapped suddenly, his face red with fury and his eyes barely holding back unshed tears as he balled his fists. "My dad's not dead!"
"Trunks…" Goku started to say softly as he shook his head.
"He's not!" the young boy insisted vehemently. "He's fine! My dad's the best! No one could kill him! Y-you all just can't sense him because you're weak! You're stupid, weak, and you all suck!" Then he flew straight up into the sky, as high as he could. He needed to get away from them all. Their kis were getting in the way. He knew his dad was alive, he just had to try harder to find him! He screwed his eyes shut and balled up his fists, concentrating as hard as he could. "Where is he…" Trunks muttered as he searched. "Where is he?" He powered up to Super Saiyan, hoping that he could increase his senses by boosting his ki. Still, he couldn't find any trace of his dad. "Where is he?" he asked aloud, his voice desperate. "Where is he?!" He could find his dad. He knew he could! His dad was fine! He was alive! He was… he was… The tears slowly started to roll down Trunks' cheeks, even as he fought them back desperately. "DAAAAAAAAD!" Trunks cried, throwing back his head and screaming in utter heartbreak as he finally started to break down and accept the truth.
As Trunks screamed in grief, he sensed another ki rushing up beside him. He let himself hope for just a second before realizing that the ki was much too small to be his father's. He turned his head to see Goten, her golden aura flickering around her and tears running down her cheeks. She put her arms around him and he let his head drop, burying his face in her shoulder as they cried together and slowly drifted back toward the ground. Trunks broke away from Goten and fell into his mother's arms, leaning against each other as they wept while Goten went back to her mothers. During all of this, Videl stood off to the side, hugging herself and looking down at her feet.
"Videl?" Suno asked as she wiped her eyes, slowly pulling away from Goku. "A-are you alright?" she knew how deeply Videl had cared for her son so she was a little surprised that her reaction was so reserved. "Talk to me," she urged gently, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "It's alright." Videl shook her head and pulled away from Suno's touch.
"He's not dead," Videl said firmly. Suno looked at her with concern. "I don't care what you say. I don't care that I can't sense his ki. I just…" she chewed on her lip for a moment and seemed to be on the verge of her breakdown before she caught herself. "I know in my heart that he's out there and he's alive." Videl hadn't realized the strength and depth of her feelings for Gohan until she couldn't sense his ki anymore. He had to believe alive. The universe couldn't possibly be so cruel as to let her realize who she loved and then snatch him away. Could it?
"Goten, Trunks," Goku said to the children once they'd exhausted their reserves of sorrow. She crouched down to be at eye level with them, putting her hands on their shoulders. "I know how you feel," she told them. "I've lost people, too." Her Grandpa, Master Roshi, Krillin twice. "It hurts," she acknowledged. "It hurts worse than any wound someone could give to you with their fist or their foot or a ki blast. But," she went on, "I've got some good news." Then she grinned a little, catching the young pair off-guard. "I'm gonna help you get strong enough to beat Majin Boo."
OoOoOoO
Xī sighed with relief as she and Kibito found Gohan's body in a clearing just a little east of the forest. His body was a bruised, battered, bloody mess, but he was still alive, if only barely.
"We've got to get him out of here, Kibito," she told her Attendant as the large pink deity knelt beside Gohan and began to heal him.
"Where will we go?"
"Earth is lost," she admitted. "Majin Boo will destroy it. The only thing we can do is train Gohan to be ready. We have to take him home." Kibito balked in dismay.
"B-but your holiness!"
"We don't have time to discuss it in committee, Kibito!" she told him sternly as she grabbed his shoulder. The trio was transported to the Sacred World of the Kaioushin, Gohan being the first mortal to ever set foot on that plane. The trio stood in a sea of soft, green grass, perpetually blown by an invisible breeze. Xī frowned down at Gohan as Kibito used his magic. Even with his wounds being healed, the demisaiyan was still in a sorry state of undress. She held her hands out and did a bit of her own magic, casting him in a fresh set of garments. At first, she had merely intended to dress him as one of them, casting him in a cerulean blue shirt and pants with red boots and a navy blue longcoat with an orange sash around his waist. Belatedly, though, she realized that she had dressed him in the exact same clothes that Dong had once worn. The revelation made her face heat up, a condition that was only worsened when Kibito looked back at her curiously. "Zip it," she warned him with a scowl. Before she could change Gohan's clothes again, though, the young man sat up. His vitality was truly remarkable.
"Ugh," he muttered as he touched a hand to his pounding head. "What happened?" He felt like his head was about to split open. "Oh…" he muttered as the memory came back to him and he slumped his shoulders forward in defeat. "Oh, yeah." He sighed and looked down at the grass. "I really messed up, didn't I?"
"Don't say that," Xī told him comfortingly as she laid a hand on his shoulder. "You did all that you could. Besides," she added, "The fight isn't over yet. Not as long as we're still standing."
"But what can we do?" Gohan asked. "Boo took me out like I was nothing! Even now that I'm at full strength and probably got a boost from almost dying, there's no way I could match him!"
Xī offered him an encouraging smile. "Don't be so sure," she told him. "I think it's time you got back to training. In fact," she added as she pointed behind him, "I think I know exactly what will give you the boost that you need." Gohan turned around to look where Xī was pointing, sitting up a little straighter as he looked up and up at an enormous pillar of stone. At the very top of that pillar, Gohan caught the glint of steel and squinted, trying to focus. There was something at the top, he realized. It was… it was…
"A sword in a stone," Gohan muttered. "You gotta be kidding me." Still, if it could help defeat Majin Boo, if there was even a chance, he'd give it his best shot.