I'll keep this brief. Thank you for the reviews. I understand that there might be some who haven't read the story in a while and some things might be confusing. If you want to catch up but don't want to reread the entire story, the current arc starts at Ch. 30 and Buu gets resurrected Ch. 37. Hope you enjoy.

Warning: This chapter contains woman and child abuse.

Chapter 44

Chichi froze in terror as the creature advanced on her. She clutched Goten to her chest, trying to force herself to move away, but all her body did in response was tremble. She was barely able to utter a plea.

"Ge-Get away. Leave us alone."

"Aw, come on Chichi, don't be afraid. I've come to take you home." Buu spoke in a smooth, quiet voice. Perhaps he meant it to be soothing, but all it did was increase the horror. "Once we get back, we can be a family again. We can even get Zangya and Gohan-"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THEIR NAMES!!!" Chichi yelled. Buu's sudden appearance in the dark had shaken her. But once she heard him say the names of her son and the girl she considered a daughter she snapped and her expression changed from terror to rage.

"YOU KILLED MY SON!" Chichi screamed. "YOU KILLED ZANGYA! You took my husband away from me!"

Buu looked at the woman and gave her a placating smile. "I'm sorry about that Chichi. But I'll make it right. Maybe we can bring Gohan and Zangya back. They'll make great sparring partners. Even if we can't, we still have Goten." Buu reached out to touch the little boy's head, but Chichi jerked away.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Finally getting the strength back to her legs, she sprinted away from the monster. Chichi didn't get far when she skidded to a stop, her escape blocked by Buu.

"Come on Chichi, stop fooling around. It's time to go home." Buu reached out again, but she ducked under his arm and started running again. "FLYING NIMBUS!" She called the cloud with all her might, hoping that it could outrun the monster.

Buu let out a sigh and this stretched out his hand like a rope, lassoing Chichi around the waist. The mother and son were lifted off the ground and pulled back to their tormentor. "There." Buu said with a satisfied grin. "Now we can head home. I bet your just dying to make me and Goten some breakfast." Chichi struggled against the pink beasts hold, but it was no use.

Heavy sleeper though he was, even Goten couldn't stay asleep through all the commotion. Rubbing his eyes, the saiyan toddler looked up at his mom. "Mm. Hey mommy. Did someone say breakfast?" He asked drowsily. Chichi was on the verge of despair. If it was just her, she wouldn't care what happened. But she had already lost the rest of her family and she would die before she let anything happen to Goten. She thought desperately for anything she could do to keep him from this monsters grasp. As if on cue, the bright yellow cloud, left to her by her husband, had arrived. With all her strength, she threw the little boy as hard as she could and he landed on the cloud. The sudden motion roused Goten further and he looked indignantly down at his mom.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"Goten you have to get out of here! Take the nimbus as far as you can!"

Goten just kept looking at her in confusion. "What are you talking about mommy? What's going…" the little boy's eyes went wide when he saw what was holding his mother. "HEY! YOU PUT HER DOWN!" Goten shouted angrily at the pink monster.

"Goten fly away now!" Chichi commanded her youngest son.

"But mommy!"

"DO AS I SAY!!!"

Goten stood on the cloud, not sure whether to help his mother, or do as he was told. Buu, who had observed with quiet interest, noticed the boy's hesitation and before Goten could do anything, he extended his arm and snatched the toddler right off the cloud.

"You see Chichi? Goten wants to stay with us." Buu said triumphantly, despite the struggles of the child disproving his words. "Now that that's settled, we can finally go-"

"LET THEM GO YOU MONSTER!!!"

Out of nowhere, Dende rushed at Buu, swinging his staff. But before the guardian could do anything, Buu wrapped his antenna around the green man and brought his face level with his own. Dende struggled against his pink noose. Desperate to break free and save Gohan's family.

At first, Buu glared at his attacker, fully intent on breaking his neck. Then something occurred to him. He couldn't remember exactly how, but he had the vague notion that this little green man could help him bring back Zangya and Gohan. If he was going to do this family thing, he was going to do it all the way. So, for now, he would let the little man live.

"Ok everyone. Now that there are no more distractions, time to head home."

Break

Gohan was laying down on the rock next to his demon self. Both had long since dropped out of their transformed states and their energy levels were near zero. The dark saiyan was out cold, while Gohan was just barely holding on to consciousness. Maybe it shouldn't have surprised him, but fighting with himself had left him twice as tired as he'd ever been before. He looked at his unconscious opponent with a thoughtful expression.

'I just hope this was all worth it.'

Despite this thought, Gohan felt a rare peace about the situation. He had conquered his inner demon. More than that, he had accepted it as part of him. It wasn't that he would never feel pain or sorrow again. Gohan realized that was part of life. But now he knew not to hide from it. He would temper it. Mold it into a weapon fiercer than any other in his arsenal. Before, every time he broke loose, it was like his rage was controlling him, now he would wield it instead.

He tried to get up, but had only managed to prop himself up on one arm before he fell back down.

"Darn…" He half laughed. He had been resting for over ten minutes and he still couldn't feel even a sliver of energy returning. If anything, he felt weaker the more time went by. Maybe it was a byproduct of the spell, or maybe he just couldn't recover while he wasn't whole. Either way, he remained weak and immobile.

"Hey… Piccolo." He spoke with all his might, but it barely registered at a normal volume. "I'm all wrapped up here… I promise I'll never whistle around you again. So…If you have a minute… Feel free to swing by."

Ten minutes later, though it felt like hours to the exhausted youth, Piccolo, Towa and Dabura landed on the floating rock island all with varying expressions. The demon king almost looked disappointed. Likely he was hoping that the darker side would prevail, though what he had to gain from this was hard to say.

Piccolo on the other hand had never looked happier. The hellish ordeal his young friend and pupil had to endure was finally over, and he had passed with flying colors. The namekian found it almost ironic that his initial desire when he trained Gohan was to bring out his destructive potential and here he was, rooting for the light side. Turns out it was the gentler side that held all the power.

Finally, there was Towa. She eyed the young man with a mixture of awe and expectation. He had shown such unsurpassed power, rivaled only by the potency of his inner darkness. She knew that he was someone special. He was unlike any warrior, demon or mortal, that she had encountered before. She wished to know more of this boy. For now though, she was just glad the whole thing was over.

"Hey mister Piccolo." Gohan said weakly. "Glad you could make it." Gohan had never been more grateful that namekians had such amazing hearing.

"Heh, don't sweat it kid. Oh yeah. You better believe I'm holding you to the whistling thing."

"No problem." Gohan replied with a smile. Then he turned his eyes to Towa. "So, how does this work? Do I need to do anything?"

Towa shook her head. "No. you have done what is required of you. You have made your inner demon submit to your will. You can leave the rest to me. If you are ready, I will make you whole."

Gohan let out a sigh and closed his eyes. "I'm ready."

Towa nodded. "Brother, Mr. Piccolo, I must ask that you stand back." The two men complied and she raised her staff high before burying it in the ground. A light purple aura started to surround her and she began her chant.

" Amek htta chiwshah ebne p'silt ni watni,"

As she chanted, her aura began to form two strings, each one trailing toward one of the Gohans and encircling them around the waist, before engulfing them completely.

"Kebe mo p'mo ketel wadnehol ga'ani!"

At the end of her spell, the two forms sped at each other, but rather than slam into each other, the form that was demon Gohan seeped smoothly into the other, almost like water pouring into a lake. Piccolo couldn't help but think this was a little anti-climactic, especially compared to when he fused with Kami. Just as he was about to say this, the now single form of Gohan began to glow with a bubbling aura.

All at once, a quiet explosion of black and white energy burst forth and enshrouded everything in sight. All three spectators brought their hands up to protect their eyes as the wave rushed past them. The force of the power threw them all back, none of them able to stand their ground against this impossible energy. The enormous pressure couldn't be resisted and they all felt as if it would crush them into oblivion. The power felt 10 times greater than when the atomic kamehamehas clashed and Piccolo wondered how they hadn't been disintegrated into nothing. Then, just as suddenly and speedily as it had erupted, the energy went rushing back at its source, forming a violent cyclone of ki. The cyclone grew smaller and smaller until, finally, the cyclone took on a human form. Son Gohan now stood in its place, all that destructive power contained within his newly completed frame.

Gohan stared down at his hands and flexed his fingers. He had never felt power like this before, and yet, it seemed natural. Like this is always what he should have been. It felt as though his whole life he had been missing an arm or a leg but didn't realize it till now. It felt…

"Amazing."

"G-Gohan?" Piccolo floated closer to his student. "Is… Is that really you?"

Gohan looked at his mentor with an easy smile. Overall his features were the same aside from his hairstyle which was a little wilder. If you weren't looking for it, you would have completely missed the reddish tint to his black hair and eyes. He was taller by several inches now and he had an almost animalistic look in his eye. It was subtle, but it was there.

When he finally spoke, it was slightly deeper than normal. "No longer am I Gohan nor the demon inside. I am now the Saiyan with no name."

Piccolo stared at his disciple, then he turned away. 'So, that's how it is? You won the fight, but now you are no longer yourself. Goodbye my friend. Your sacrifice will not be in vain. I will miss you.'

"Pft…" Piccolo looked up to see that the saiyan was covering his mouth, apparently trying hard to stifle a laugh. "PFtBha-BAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!!! I got you Mister Piccolo! Gahahaha!"

Piccolo's face turned red. "WHY YOU LITTLE RUNT!!!"

"Alright, alright. Sorry about that. I don't get a lot of chances to get you. To answer your question, yeah, it's really me. In fact, I might be more me now than I've ever been before." Gohan grinned at his master, who was still fuming at his young friends antics. Then Piccolo noticed something else different about Gohan.

"AH! Gohan! Your tail!"

"Wait, what!?" Gohan looked over his shoulder, trying to look at his backside. There it was, a long monkey's tail, waving back and forth behind him like it had never left.

"Huh… Well what do you know? Wonder what that could mean." Cautiously, the teen reached out and touched it. Then, closing his eyes as if anticipating something very painful, he gripped the tail as tight as he could. Then he opened his eyes. "Hey! It doesn't even hurt!" He grinned before wrapping his tail around his waist like a belt.

Piccolo marveled at how little the change phased him. He hadn't had a tail in over 10 years and now he acted like it was no big deal that it was back. Sometimes he forgot just how much like Goku Gohan could be.

"I guess I really am completely whole now." Gohan suddenly turned serious and looked at Towa, who had slowly made her way back. "Thanks a ton Towa." He said to the blue demon. "I owe you one. Now, if you wouldn't mind sending me back, I've got a universe to save."

Towa didn't register what he had said. She looked right past Gohan with a look of total shock. The teen followed her gaze, unsure of what she was looking at.

"My… My staff…" She uttered, floating toward her magical instrument, which now lay in pieces on the rock. "You… You broke my staff." She knelt down and picked up the pieces.

"Oh… Sorry about that. Is that bad?" Gohan asked with genuine sympathy.

"Yes." Dabura's voice answered. "Without her staff, Towa will not be able to transport you back to earth."

""WHAAT!!!"" Gohan and Piccolo yelled simultaneously.

"It is true." Towa said sadly. "I can do many things on my own, but without the staff, I will not be able to focus my power enough to cross dimensions."

Gohan rushed over to Towa and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Please tell me there's something we can do!? Can't we fix your staff? Maybe get you another one?"

Towa shook her head. "It will take at least a week to repair properly and even longer to craft a new one that is strong enough."

"GRAGH!" Gohan shouted in frustration. "Isn't there any other way back!? Instant transmission or something?" His eye's met Towa's, pleading with her for some solution.

"I… I suppose there is another way." She said hesitantly.

"What is it?" Gohan asked impatiently.

"There is a portal I know of. It leads directly to Earth, but it has been closed for almost 20 years."

"Where is it? Can we reopen it?"

Towa looked reluctant.

"Towa, please."

The demon girl sighed. "I will take you to the door. As for whether it can be opened, I can't say. Nobody has tried since it was closed so it's possible. It will take a day at least to get there."

"I don't have a day!" Eyeing Towa briefly, he scooped her up, causing her to let out a small squeal. "I'm sure I can cut that time down. Just tell me where to go." Without another word, Gohan blasted off at full speed, Leaving Dabura and Piccolo in awkward silence.

Break.

Dawn had broken over mount Paozu. The soft twittering of birds sounded over a gentle breeze. In the midst of their morning song, The Son house was once again a picture of serenity with smoke curling out of the chimney. Little would anyone who came upon this house suspect the horror they'd find within.

Chichi and Goten were sitting in the kitchen, bound hand and foot with a pink, gooey substance. Both of them struggled against their bonds, but neither were able to break free. Across the table from Chichi sat Buu, smiling casually as if nothing were wrong with this picture.

"Isn't this great everyone?" He asked. "We're all here, just like one big happy family."

Chichi stayed quiet, still trying to think of a plan to escape, but Goten couldn't contain himself. "YOU'RE NOT MY FAMILY! YOU'RE JUST A BIG MEANIE! YOU JUST WAIT UNTIL MY BIG BROTHER GET'S BACK! THEN HE'LL TEACH YOU A LESSON!"

Buu blinked at Goten and then laughed. "Hahaha! You're just hungry Goten. Chichi, why don't you make us some grub?"

"Why!? Whatever you want with us just get it over with! Stop playing this sick game!" Her reply was dripping with as much venom as she could muster. She had no idea why this monster wanted to play house, but it gave her the creeps. She was sure that he was just trying to mentally torture them before he killed them.

"Hmm. That's not a bad Idea. Me and Goten can play a game while you cook."

"I don't wanna play with you!" Goten yelled.

"And I am not making you breakfast!" Chichi joined in.

Buu glared at the two. Why wouldn't they just play along? He was sure they wanted to.

"Alright, fine. I'll make breakfast." Stretching his gummy arms out, he opened the pantry and pulled out Dende, who was also out cold with several cuts and bruises covering his body. "He wouldn't tell me how to bring Gohan and Zangya back, so I might as well turn him into something delicious."

Chichi gasped. "You're not going to eat him?" Shock, horror and disgust mingled on her face.

"No." Buu replied. " We're going to eat him." Buu pointed his antenna at the defenseless Dende and a pink glow emanated from the tip. Just as he was about to fire, Chichi yelled.

"STOP! I'll make breakfast alright!? Anything you want! Just leave him alone!"

The pink light died away and Buu grinned. "That's more like it." He put Dende in the corner. "Pancakes please. With bacon and eggs." The pink bonds removed themselves from Chichi and went back into Buu. She shakily got up from her chair and made her way to the cupboard, pulling out a cast iron skillet. "W-why don't you let Goten go now too?" Chichi added.

Buu looked at her suspiciously. "Why? He says he doesn't want to play with me."

The way Buu was acting reminded Chichi of a petulant child. He was rude, forceful and didn't listen to what anyone said. If something didn't go his way, he would pout. Chichi had no doubt this monster would never let her leave alive, but his childishness gave her an idea. Maybe if she was lucky, Goten could get away.

"Oh, you know how kids can be. He just needs to let off a little energy. Why don't you let him go, then the two of you can play outside."

Buu considered this for a moment. It did seem like the kind of thing a family should do. "Alright. But you'll let us know when the food is ready right?"

"Of course." Chichi forced a smile.

Buu nodded and soon, Goten's restraints were reabsorbed into his pink body. Goten looked at his mother, wondering what he was supposed to do. "Goten, go play, alright? You can play hide and seek."

He looked at her, puzzled for a moment, then to her relief, Goten nodded signifying he understood.

"Is that fun?" Buu asked. While his attention was on Chichi, Goten began to get closer to an exit.

"Of course. Goten plays it all the time. It's lots OF FUN!" With all her might, Chichi slammed the frying pan as hard as she could onto the pink blob's head.

Taking this as his cue, Goten ran out the back door as fast as he could, heading straight for the cover of the trees.

The sudden blow surprised Buu, but was otherwise ineffective. He turned a glare on Chichi then with a low grunt, casually backhanded her through the wall. "That's not how you make breakfast." He said with a frown. "Do it right."

Outside, Goten had almost made it to the tree line, when he found his path was blocked by a pair of legs in white gi bottoms. He looked up to see the serious face of Buu. Scrambling to the side, Goten tried to get around him, only to be blocked at every turn thanks to Buus superior speed.

"This isn't very fun Goten." Buu said with disappointment. "Gohan was a lot faster. He was more fun." He placed his foot on the little boys face. "Go faster." As he said this, he pushed out his leg and sent the toddler flying, smashing through a tree trunk in the distance.

"GAH!" Goten cried out, but despite his pain, he got to his feet and kept running further into the forest.

"That's more like it." Buu said playfully. He was about to continue his pursuit, but something reached around his waist from behind, trying to hold him in place.

"Chichi, I'm playing with Goten right now. I'll hug you later." He grabbed her by the face and pushed her away, making her fall to the ground. He stepped forward, but this time, Chichi's arms were wrapped around his legs.

"I won't let you hurt my baby!"

Buu looked down in confusion. "Chichi, take it easy. We're just playing."

Chichi tightened her hold, desperate to give Goten as much time to get away as possible.

"Alright, fine. One quick hug. Then you have to hurry up with breakfast. The game will be over soon." He picked her up and squeezed tight.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Chichi let out a blood curdling scream, feeling her bones break as Buu wrapped her in his deadly embrace.

"HEY!" Buu looked away from the mother to see the son charging back at him. "LET HER GOOOO!!!"

Covering the distance surprisingly quickly, Goten landed a punch to the face that did little to damage Buu. Nevertheless, Buu dropped an unconscious Chichi and turned his attention to Goten, who was throwing punches and kicks at Buu's shins, desperately trying to chop him down.

"Aw, what's the matter little guy? You want a hug too?"

"NO!" Yelled the little Saiyan without stopping his assault. "I HATE YOU! GO AWAY!"

Though the child's blows did nothing to him, Buu reeled back at those words. "You… Hate me? But why? I'm your dad."

Goten stopped, the monster's words too shocking to comprehend. Then, like the tides of the see, his anger rushed forth in greater abundance.

"NGRYAAAAAAAA!!!" Goten's ki skyrocketed. "YOU'RE NOT MY DADDY!" He restarted his assault, this time, leaving dents in Buu's putty like body. "YOU'RE JUST A MONSTER!!! YOU HURT MR. BROLY! YOU HURT MOMMY!!! YOU KILLED MY BROTHER AND SISTER!!! JUST GO AWAY! GO! A! WAAAAAAY!!!"

"ENOUGH!" Buu grabbed Goten and slammed him against a boulder making Goten spit out blood. "I am going to be your father and you are going to be my son! Do you understand!?"

Goten struggled to break out of his grip, but it was in vain. Tears of frustration, rolled down his face. He was too weak to be a hero like his brother. He was too weak to do anything. Goten looked at his mother and then at the monster holding him in place. He did the only thing he could think to do.

"SOMEBODY!!! HEEEEELP!!!"

Loud as Goten was, his cry wasn't likely to make it to the ears of anyone who could answer it. Nevertheless, he continued his screams. These desperate pleas both disturbed and angered Buu.

"Stop it." He ordered, but Goten kept yelling for help. "I Said STOP IT!" He slammed the boy against the rock to shut him up, but Goten still didn't listen. He just kept yelling till he was hoarse, praying that somebody, anybody would come and save them.

Buu had had enough of the crying. It wasn't supposed to be like this. They were supposed to love him. To have fun with him. He was supposed to be in a frame on that wall with them. Why were they being so difficult? He put one hand over Goten's mouth to shut him up and held him so tight, Goten's teeth drew blood from his cheeks. He tossed him over to his mother's side.

"If you don't want to be my family, fine." He walked over to them with a look of pure rage. "You don't have to be my family, but you won't be anyone else's either."

Goten covered his mother looking up with tears still streaming down his face. Was he going to die? Well, if he was, then he would die like a warrior. Like Gohan or his dad. He wiped his tears and stood up, taking the fighting stance that Gohan had taught him.

Buu looked down at the little face that had switched from fear to defiance. He felt regret at what he was about to do, but the evil side that ruled him had won out, suppressing the good that Goku had been trying to push out. But before he could charge his attack, he noticed that Goten's expression had changed once again from defiance to surprise, then recognition and relief and finally joy.

"Broly!"

"Broly?" Buu repeated, turning around. Before he even saw what was coming, a meaty fist drove into his face and tore off his head.

It took only a second for Buu to regenerate and when he did, he saw something that made steam erupt from his head. Goten was standing behind the giant Saiyan, holding tight to his leg. Broly looked at the pink majin with absolute loathing.

"Zangya asked me to keep this family safe." He gestured to the Sons. "You will not hurt them ever again!"

End chapter.

A/N: I'll be honest. This chapter kind of scared me while I wrote it and probably won't write something like this again. It really isn't that dark when compared to some other stories I've read, but I think this is about as dark as I want to go. I tried to go with Buu being a monster without him knowing that he was a monster. It's like he saw the concept of family through a fogged up window and tried to emulate it but couldn't. In the end, he's still a being of chaos and destruction. The influence of Goku and Daikaioshin could only do so much, but Goten and Chichi's rejection of him brought out the worst in him.

This was a relatively short chapter because I'm trying to keep the ball rolling. Broly vs Buu round 2 will start next chapter.