PART TEN: VEGETTO'S LAST RESOURCES.

Chapter 48

Translated by Kakarotto Ka Power Level Kya Hai?

At the Varga Command Center, a large Namek entered. He informed the chief who came to meet him, "We've healed everyone."

"That's excellent news. At least, it was done."

"The public also asked for something," continued the Namek. "Many have suffered because of the light Vegetto's attack produced... The contrast is too big. They would like a 'daylight' luminosity."

"We'll see what we can do," said the Varga before heading over to one of his controller technicians.

"Hey, can you increase the artificial light?" he asked calmly. "Kind of like it is at broad daylight, then... you know what? I think it's quite possible. I saw it in..."

But the technician looked at him with a face of despair.

"Increase the brightness? So that we spend a few more hours configuring it? You think it's as simple as that? Sorry, but you can't ask me something like that. That's the work of the insane... You're asking for way too much!"

"Uh... Hey, listen... We're not in any rush... Can you see if it's possible?"

"Well, of course I can!" he said, puffing his chest. "Because after all, I have nothing else to do, right? ... This kind of shield couldn't be merely recalibrated and restarted -- no, I have to reset all the individual processes one by one. The blast had scrambled them all. And then the light -- after all, it's "just" a program for producing every possible type of lighting, and a script that edits it in real-time so that there 's no intereference, and a modulator to make it work for every type of eye in the stadium. But that's nothing, of course. Sure, I understand, I'm on it. Pfft. As usual, you guys are of no use... motherfuckers...

"Okay... So... uh... I'll let you get on that, okay?"

And so, the Varga strode off, leaving the grouchy one behind. He really detested these technicians. He hoped that the guy could be replaced without too much difficulty within the next one or two fights.

When the technician Varga found himself alone, he muttered under his breath and feathers for a few minutes, looking left and right... He opened a small window on the screen and opened the brightness screen. He selected 'daylight' instead of 'night luminescence' and validated his choice. Then, he stretched his arms and legs... and took his break.

As the whole procedure ensued above, Universe 16's Bra finally located her father's coordinates. She had been struggling to find it, as Vegetto had been constantly moving and was now very far off.

For her, there was no more time to lose. Without saying a word, with a look that spoke volumes and clenched teeth, she teleported. Gohan had just enough time to put a hand on her shoulder. Piccolo, however, did not have time to do so. Worse still, he still had the senzu beans for Vegetto!

He must be exhausted... And he was already in space for a few minutes without breathing... He was definitely tired and wouldn't last long... Piccolo missed the time period when he was the strongest, or at least almost. In any case, the time when he was still useful, and it hadn't been so for many years. ... Ever since Cell, actually... After Piccolo's fight against #17, where they were equal to one another, and his defeat against Cell, he had trained (like the Saiyans) in the Room of Spirit and Time. He had become much stronger that time... perhaps even approaching Cell's power when he absorbed the first of the androids. He was still nothing compared to Perfect Cell and even worse compared to Super Saiyan 2 Gohan or Cell after his failed suicide attempt. And even against the Cell Juniors... he wasn't strong enough. Years later, he had continued to improve. But against Buu, he was just as useless, and even if he had to fight Dabra, he didn't know who was stronger. Even if they fought right now, he was still uncertain...

Moments after Son Gohan and Son Bra's disapparition, a complex sequence initiated and created a slight brightness that covered the starry sky in space. It was as if the sun was rising on the stage in a few minutes.

No announcement was made to warn the spectators, who, for the most part, were glad to see their request granted. Others were astonished:

"Hey... the artificial light has increased!" said Raditz, watching the dazzling sky before him as his eyes adapted quickly.

"Super... Let's leave," said Nappa, already turning his back to the group.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Vegeta said, uncrossing his arms, as if Nappa's comment had completely displaced them and had insulted him.

"We're nothing here. Even you would be crushed by that monster, Vegeta! So can you imagine us?!?" Nappa finished, referring to Raditz and himself.

"We will continue. We will fight. If you have a problem with that, get lost. We don't need a weakling and a coward in our group.

Nappa stood motionless, without being able to fix his eyes on Vegeta... He thought for a moment that he would have to leave the group, and be alone in a Universe that they had dominated all thanks to Vegeta. He alone would never be able to survive... so he did not move... and he stood there next to Raditz.

Best-case scenario: Vegetto would be eliminated and they wouldn't have to face him.

"If only someone could attack him outside the ring to get him disqualified! That would be the best!" Nappa thought. He had no idea that (part of) his prophecy had come true that moment, millions of miles away...

Vegetto resisted... For as long as there was resistance, Buu could not gain more ground. Instead, however, Buu seemed to be able to multiply himself to infinity, again and again. Despite Vegetto's speed as he tried to destroy each of the little heads of his opponents, he kept finding more around him. Soon, he was surrounded.

As a Super Saiyan 2, surely he would succeed better, but he lacked energy... And throwing so many ki blasts away just drained more energy. Sometimes he had to get rid of a head that was too close to him and had to power up his fist or foot. But that made him lose even more time... Soon, he would have to...

Of course, Buu could not help but revel in Vegetto's struggle to prevent him from absorbing Broly. Dozens of his head were not directed towards him, but rather to the Saiyan Broly, grinning in victory.

Vegetto had identified them, but couldn't reach them now. They were too far away, and there were too many Buu heads around him. And among them, was the 'real' Buu. But fortunately, Vegetto could sense the arrival of help.

The Buu heads that intended to absorb Broly had been stopped, as if they had been pushed against an invisible wall, by a force that had appeared between Broly and themselves... Gohan and Bra quickly analyzed the situation... it seemed critical!

Still with fingers on her forehead, Bra turned into a Super Saiyan. She let out a smile when she saw her father in the distance.

Our father is asking for help... It's not like him...

Gohan kept a grim look on his face as he remained concentrated. It had been a little while since he had last fought seriously... A few years ago, against Bra... But since that time, if someone or something he loved was in danger, he had quickly went off to save it. And his strength had not diminished one iota since he faced Majin Buu decades ago. Could he take on this Buu? He had fought Buu when he absorbed Gotenks and Piccolo and he had brutally lost while fighting at his best. Since then, he had not improved and Buu had become extremely powerful!

Well, well... So the cavalry arrives!

Buu smiled. The addition of two more fighters was nothing against his might. He remained the strongest, and he knew that for a fact. He even wanted to have a little fun. Certainly he wouldn't kill them, as that wouldn't be funny. But he would at least hurt them. At least show them the difference in their power levels and make them understand the futility of trying to resist.

Son Gohan and Son Bra kicked into gear to quickly and efficiently destroy dozens of the ugly heads around them. They were fairly well-synchronized, but Buu would not let them continue. From his position, he stretched out his arms at breakneck speed towards Vegetto's two reinforcement troops, once they had time to see it coming. Both of the fighters activated their auras, a golden one for Bra and a white one for Gohan, and avoided the strike, flying quickly towards Buu. By the time his arm reduced to normal size to parry the blows, it was too late.

Bra violently struck her left fist against Buu's right cheek. The blow tore Buu's head off his body. Gohan arrived half a second later, kicking Buu in the stomach with his feet. Once again, Buu was cut in two. The whole body of Buu seemed to tremble like the multitude of heads around him. Did he do this on purpose? To make them believe they had a chance? Or was he weakened, one way or another?

Bra and Gohan knew that Buu was dangerous for them anyway. After their first shots, they flew off to the side symmetrically to the attack point and at they used their ki to do what Vegetto had been trying for a long time already: to destroy all these evil heads that were fluttering around and trying to absorb Broly...

Good job, kids. We should be able to hold out long enough for Broly to be sent back to his universe...

These reinforcements were invaluable to Vegetto. He would not have succeeded otherwise without losing too much energy, which was critical for him at this stage to restrain Buu for enough time. This was much better. But Buu didn't seem to have run out of energy at all... He created more heads again and again. And the 'real' Buu, who had reglued his head and legs, approached to partake in battle as well, as Gohan and Bra flew close to their father. But for Bra, now was a golden opportunity!

"I don't care about Broly, but Buu is mine!" she thought, barreling over her opponent, wishing she could pop out claws...

She wanted to take care of him alone. Vegetto and Gohan knew that. Her brother was reluctant to help. He was stronger than her if she started as a Super Saiyan... but they were still largely weaker than Buu. Vegetto could not care less: If she could restrain Buu, all the better. He and Gohan could vaporize the rest.

Still hoping that the ordeal would not last long, Vegetto began to run out of oxygen...

In the arena, some people started becoming anxious... specifically those in Universe 16's wing.

"I'm worried that Vegetto, Gohan and Bra haven't returned yet," said Goten to Piccolo.

"And what's worse is that you can't feel their energy with so many warriors here," added the Namek.

"We really are powerless..." Trunks added in turn, crossing his arms and looking down, searching his mind for a solution.

"If we had learned to teleport ourselves, this wouldn't have happened!" Goten exclaimed, becoming very angry.

"If we had fused and went to Super Saiyan level three, we could be more useful... Why did my sister leave so quickly... She just does whatever she wants..."

"In any case, even as Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks and even if you knew Vegetto's position, you still wouldn't be able to catch them without teleportation..." Piccolo finally added, completely demoralizing the two Semi-Saiyans.

As they grumbled in their spots, eagerly awaiting the return of their family members, the Vargas made a new announcement:

"Next fight! #18 from Universe 14 against Yamcha from Universe 9!"

In light of this announcement, made with just one voice, all the spectators in the arena showed that they were incredibly pleased that the tournament had finally resumed. They were all especially excited for Universe 14, which had only two warriors, the first of which had not fought against I'K'L (who was still not born yet). They were finally ready to see what they had to offer. In Universe 9, the old Kulilin had impressed them in his fight against a much younger opponent. In this tournament, whether one was old or young... there was no telling what could happen... Moreover, the range of ages in the tournament was impressive. The youngest participant was not even born yet! The oldest was about several thousand years old (maybe even more)!

"Yamcha, huh?" said #17 next to his sister. "This will be quick."

"Yeah. I'll be right back," added the other cyborg, flying into the ring.

Cell watched him fly. He quickly remembered the day he had absorbed her... all thanks to Vegeta's arrogance... and also that human Kulilin, who had the opportunity to disable her via a remote but had rather destroyed. That day, the fate of the Earth had been sealed. He had been damaged to the point at which he had been unable to absorb the two cyborgs again. He needed more power here... Dr. Gero could have predicted this all the same...

In Universe 9's space, Yamcha walked toward the small boundary wall.

"Oh, so you didn't forfeit, then?"

Yamcha turned smiling. His opponent was #18, a woman. A friendly opponent for him. Why would he forfeit?

"Speak for yourself, old man," he shouted to his midget friend. "But I'm playing until the end!"

With that, he flew quitely to the ring for his fight. He turned one last time, while continuing his ascension:

"And you?"

Kulilin pondered the question. But it was still pertinent in his mind. After the last fight they had all seen, they all had doubts. Kulilin was unsure if they should continue... if ,he should continue... It would all depend on the result of this fight.