PART THIRTY ONE: ULTIMATE WARRIORS

Chapter 155

Translated by npberryhill, Edited by Guilarai

Son Bra was preparing to finish off Son Gohan, and the two Piccolos could bear it no longer as they were watching from afar. They had to intervene before Vegetto’s daughter did something unforgivable, something she would inevitably punish herself for. A telepathic voice popped into their heads at that moment.

‘Hey, Piccolo! Both of you! Fire everything you have at her, all the Makankosappo you can muster! Right now!’

Recognizing the identity of the voice right away, the Namekians shared a glance of uncertainty, but nonetheless turned in agreement to do as they’d been asked. It would seem one of their theories about a certain enemy perhaps switching sides had just been confirmed, and if they wanted to put an end to this carnage they would have to work with this unexpected ally.

Quickly gathering energy in their fingertips, one of them launched the beam cannon towards the Majinized Saiyan. She cast a sarcastic glance at the pathetic Ki attack approaching.

Bra dissipated the energy blade on her arm so she could effortlessly swat away the beam — when it suddenly veered off course. To her surprise, it came full circle and struck her in the back of the head. She staggered forward in annoyed surprise, the shock only enough to budge her as she easily withstood the blast. The two Namekians, puzzled, watched her turn towards them with a honeyed condescension.

“Was that supposed to hurt? she chuckled. “I don’t need any weaklings interrupting my fun. Just die already.”

Reaching out to them, Bra fired an energy wave that they narrowly managed to dodge. With a subtle nod to each other, the two Piccolos employed all of their combined years of knowledge and practice. They fired multiple lightning-fast Makankosappo in the direction of Babidi’s servant. They fully realized the futility of trying to actually win against her; their attacks were only intended to distract her from Son Gohan.

Son Bra quietly awaited the rain of incoming attacks. She felt untouchable, all-powerful. Her attention was now concentrated on humiliating the two Namekians to the utmost, shaming them however possible. She would dodge each of their special little beams one by one, moving with practiced ease between them like a spy avoiding lasers in a film. Against such pathetic attacks, this would be child’s play.

Bra’s idea, however, had failed to take Gohan into consideration. Seeing the two Piccolos desperate attempt, and taking advantage of his sister’s distraction, he threw himself on Bra’s legs, immobilizing her and holding on tight to prevent her escape. His younger sister huffed as she threw him an annoyed glance.

“Seriously, bro? Are you really that desperate?”

She could deal with him in a single blow. Gohan’s meager strength was barely enough to pin her to that spot. Bra knew she could free herself, kill Gohan, and dodge all the attacks in the blink of an eye — but that wouldn’t be any fun. She wanted to savor their suffering, break their spirits and crush their bones. For that, she would need to overwhelm them with her undeniable superiority. Dodging the wretched makankosappo blasts would be sheer cowardice. No, she would show them that nothing they could do would even phase her.

With a defiant grin, she stretched her arms out to each side and created an azure energy shield that covered her entire body. The Makankosappo came smashing against the barrier, some dissipating instantly and others deflecting off harmlessly. The two Piccolo, however, refused to give up and continued their assault while Gohan restrained Son Bra with all his might.

Bra smirked as she watched their attempts, reveling in the futility of it all.

“Too weak! You pathetic worms, you’ll never be able to do a single dam—”

She was interrupted by a sudden violent tremor shaking her shield, cracking it and striking her in the chest. Her eyes shot wide in panic as a much more intense Makankosappo pierced her armor, the girl instinctively throwing herself to the side a second before her shield completely gave out. Her arm had been severed just below the shoulder, causing her to cry out in agony. As the fragments of her shield fizzled out like flakes of ash, she searched for the person responsible for such a powerful attack. He wasn’t hard to find.

Just outside the corridor of Universe 18, Perfect Cell stood with his arm outstretched towards her, trying to catch his breath from the assault. Son Goten, hidden behind the partially destroyed wall, watched on with terrified eyes, knowing the perfect being had put all his strength into that blast. Cell’s smile was one wreaking with uncertainty. He had pulled off a successful surprise attack, using the combined Piccolo’s distraction as the opportunity he needed.

Indeed, Cell had played Babidi’s game like no other, fooling everyone as he even faced down Gohan, becoming much stronger as a result of their battle. His little ruse had paid off bigtime, but the desire to continue his evolution was still driving him forwards, and Son Bra was the ultimate challenge. But the fact remained she was much more powerful than him, even now, and he’d only ever planned to face her if he was certain he would survive. If worse came to worse, he planned to eliminate Babidi and neutralize the threat that way. Now that his surprise attack had failed to one-shot her, that was looking more and more like a viable option.

But with Bra having just lost an arm, he estimated there was still a chance of defeating her. That was quite the injury, one he planned to exploit to the fullest.

“Cell!” she laughed, wincing. “So, you’ve finally shown your true colors!”

The Majin Saiyan hadn’t expected to be hit with an energy blast of that level. Had she not dodged instinctively it definitely would’ve killed her, piercing her right through the chest. She had still taken serious damage by Cell’s surprise attack, though, and knew she couldn’t run the risk of treating this like fun any longer. Well, she’d have to balance work and play anyway — wipe out the wretches that dared resist and ensure her master’s victory, but without letting them die too quickly. Whatever it took to pull that off, regardless of fair play, she was willing to do...

Quickly, with her good arm, Bra snatched her severed limb and reached just inside the lip of the glove. A handful of senzu beans fell out, to the horror of her enemies, which she caught in her mouth and began to greedily chew. Instantly, her arm grew back, reforming in its entirety in mere seconds. She was now without a single trace of injury, other than the old severed arm that had fallen to the ground. Bra twisted and stretched her new limb with a malicious smile, addressing the flabbergasted bio-android.

“This is perfect! I definitely would’ve been disappointed if we didn’t get to fight, Cell, you’re the strongest one left! Lucky for me you’re a filthy traitor... oh I’m gonna crush you!”

Before Cell could properly react, she had already teleported behind him and threw a devastating punch — which he instinctively dodged. The training against Hildegarn had definitely paid off; he was noticeably quicker on the defensive, more reactive. But, Son Bra was still far faster than him, and much more dangerous. It took only a few more well-placed attacks before Cell was overwhelmed and launched by a virulent attack across the entire arena.

Son Bra darted after him, but Universe 16 Gohan interrupted her, hands raised and palms open. He fired a powerful surging energy blast at his half-sister. Bra merely sneered as she kicked the wave off into space then dealt her brother a crippling backhand that slammed him back into the ground where he collapsed.

But Cell suddenly reappeared above Son Bra using instant transmission, landing a powerful elbow strike to the girl’s cranium. She stooped from the impact, but just as hope kindled that he’d made progress Cell was suddenly struck by both Son Bra’s feet. She had used the shock as momentum, slammed her hands against the ground, and then pushed off, kicking Cell in a double pirouette. Vanishing once again, the Saiyan girl maneuvered behind him and, with clasped hands, hammered him hard in the back. The bio-android careened towards the arena floor, crashing with a large thud.

Son Bra landed lightly next to the disoriented Cell and then slammed her foot into his back, provoking a yell of pain from Gero’s perfect creation. She then stretched her arms out horizontally, forming an energy ball in each hand. Cell’s face went cold, realizing how much stronger these blasts were than even Gohan’s surging energy wave from earlier. This really was the end for him.

“Try and regenerate from this!” she taunted.

“Yessss! That’s it!” cried Babidi, his shrill voice cheering on the deathblow. “Kill that filthy traitor, kill all of them, every single wretched—”

A terrified yelp of panic cut off his words, startling Son Bra. She spun towards her master, sensing a formidable ki behind him. Gohan of Universe 18 had just appeared, drawing all of his remaining strength into a raised fist, ready to shatter Babidi’s shield and put an end to the coo.

Bra realized in that fraction of a second why Gohan hadn’t joined the others in attacking her. She remembered thinking her first attack was too weak to knock him out, but she had been too focused on the other Gohan, followed by Cell’s interruption. Her scheming little brother had concealed his energy to snuck around her and now, in his cowardice, was threatening to kill her master!

“NO!” she yelled, teleporting away as fast as she could.

Arriving in between Babidi and Gohan, the youthful Majin intercepted her brother’s fist using one of the energy balls she had been charging. It detonated upon impact in an extraordinarily powerful explosion which encompassed a good portion of the arena. The shockwave reverberated to every corner of the tournament grounds, sending spectators, alive and dead, flying against the walls of corridors and bleachers. Son Goten and Bra of Universe 18 managed to shield themselves against it, one using the back wall of the Universe 18 balcony and the other using the low divider wall.

Both Piccolos leapt into the air, bracing their arms in a crossed pattern, a stance also mirrored by Cell — who had managed to stand back up and put some distance between himself and the explosion. The wizard Babidi, shaking with terror, maintained his energy barrier as best he could. In truth, Son Bra shielded him from the lion’s share of the blast impact.

The entire asteroid trembled and shook for a few seconds. The apartments were not spared from its effects either. Inside the premises of Universe 9, Yamcha grabbed onto one of the walls to stay standing, while Bulma and Trunks hurried to try and help the Elder Kai, who was struggling not to fall down.

“This is seriously starting to get annoying!” exclaimed Raditz, having already expended all his patience. “Is there no way for us to see what’s going on?”

“Oh quit your whining and calm down, you whippersnapper!” the deity snapped back in typical fashion, resuming his stance. “Remember I told you to sit still. The mess outside will sort itself out soon enough.”

“With all due respect, master,” Tenshinhan interrupted. “Babidi might as well be about to take over the entire tournament for all we know... we have no idea what’s going on and sitting here doing nothing is unbearable!”

The ancient Kai sighed, summoning a crystal ball into the palm of his hand suddenly. He tossed it nonchalantly to the three-eyed martial artist, who caught it and set it on the table. Pictured on the curved glass was a depiction of what was actually happening in the arena. Everyone, including Raditz, was appalled at the scale of the destruction and death.

“It’s almost over,” the Kai commented, resuming his awkward dance. “Hmm, yeah! There’s just one enemy left, the Saiyan Son Bra, ya!”

“Vegetto’s daughter?” Kulilin reacted. “But if she’s really being manipulated by Babidi... we have to help, to do something!”

“Nope,” the Supreme Kai insisted. “You’d just die for nothing. This crisis will soon come to an end, one way or another, you’ll see. Stay here where it’s safe.”

The Earthlings stared at each other in disbelief, frustrated and anxious. Yamcha knelt beside Videl, whose pains had flared back up with the shaking. The elder was right, they all knew it, this fight was way out of their league. Trying to attack Babidi with Son Bra as his body guard was suicide. But just sitting there waiting was so frustrating...

The residents of Universe 9 weren’t the only ones unsettled by the tremors. Within the whitish apartment walls of Universe 5, a dark form carefully observed the events through a crystal ball of his own. It had no intention of intervening, and despite being bored from waiting, was content to let things play out and see whether or not this Majinized Saiyan would be neutralized or not. The shadowy figure wasn’t the slightest bit concerned, its intervention wouldn’t be needed, of that it was certain. Next to the crystal ball displaying the arena was a second sphere, this one attuned to the location of all the participants and competitors that had been teleported deep into space, all very much alive...

As for those that had been teleported into exile, there was utter silence under the small luminous globe that allowed them to breathe. Each warrior wore an intense focus, directing a careful scouring of interstellar space as they hoped to detect some small trace of energy — possibly one of the Gohans, Cell, or Son Bra. It seemed an impossible task, even to Vegetto, who despite being considered a supreme entity had only covered part of the area he was assigned to search. He was infuriated and annoyed too, not out of fear of the bloodbath that might be taking place without them, but that he wasn’t there to take part in the melee himself and let off a little steam.

There was one being present, however, who’d been enjoying every second of the various clashes in the battle arena — Buu from Universe 4.

It had been years since the near-omnipotent entity had had this much fun. Few things were able to satiate his thirst for distraction — only the most chaotic events, with stakes and emotions on the line were adequate to fill Buu’s appetite. Most of the time, he himself had to stage such events, and for once he was really getting his money’s worth. This majin takeover had resulted in an indescribable series of melees, a true delicacy for one who only had fragile toys left to play with in his own universe.

Buu inwardly congratulated himself for having planted the idea in Babidi’s head to teleport the most powerful fighters far away. Thanks to his intervention, both sides were pretty much equal. Well, until he decided to finally put everything back in order. He definitely planned for the tournament to continue, but first he wanted to see who would win.

Babidi, a mere insect that thought way too highly of himself, would’ve never made it this far without Buu’s help and foresight. The worm had been blindly increasing his ranks for hours, but had no real long-term plan. What a moron — to think that sending all the strongest warriors to a toxic planet would be enough! Even with the fighters and spectators he had control of, he had no concept of Vegetto’s true power — that either he or Buu could literally sweep away all their enemies with the flick of a finger! Even Gast Carcolh, Son Goku, or Vegeta could’ve handled most of Babidi’s army effortlessly.

And had Badidi somehow managed to win, just what did he plan to do next? Conquer the other universes? The universes that were actually infinite in number? You would have to want to waste your life, and actually have an eternity to attempt such a mathematically humorous farse. And with what brilliant mind did he plan on learning and understanding the Varga’s technology, much of which he had just destroyed in the battle?

Thus, Buu was proud he had secretly improved the wizard’s plan. If he hadn’t, Universe 18 Vegeta might have obliterated him before he even launched the attack. Or, he could’ve been slaughtered so fast there wouldn’t have even been anything to tell. But now, oh what a sight to see! What violence! What chaos!

Even now, Buu couldn’t tell for sure which side was going to win. Whenever one seemed to get the upper hand, the other side would dig deep and find a way to turn the tables. Each side still had resources in reserve, playable in a single move, with Buu like a chess master ordering pieces around the board — though in this case he wasn’t playing the game, merely throwing new pieces into play and reveling in the chaos. The game was intense, with pawns having been sacrificed against one or more foes, while others were patiently waiting for their turn to attack, until the other side was eradicated.

Not knowing was a sensation Buu greatly desired, one he hadn’t felt in years. Having acquired so much knowledge and skill that nothing could amuse him, he had truly become like a god in his world. Absorbing the Saiyan from Universe 3 with the gift of prophecy might come in handy, but he knew it might also doom him to always know everything that could happen in his existence and rob all the fun.

This time, he hadn’t known when the dice would be cast, or at what moment Babidi would decide to play his hand. The fact that he acted hastily and fearfully was most appreciable, since that meant the doom was sealed for those who had been teleported away and those who remained. Who would be in the apartments when Babidi cast his spell? And which fighters weren’t? What a fun lottery it had been! The result had been very much to his liking, all except for one disappointment. XXI was still not among them; Babidi had been unable to draw him out of his lair.

Still, Buu was ecstatic, though stoic on the outside of course. Inwardly he was quivering with excitement. His main physical body was busy pretending to scan the vacuum of space like a good little team-mate.

He and Gotenks had actually claimed almost half of the area that needed to be searched between the two of them. Of course, the others had finished their areas and overlapped into some of the deep space claimed by the duo. Now, the djinn and the fusion were left with just a small sliver of space — the very angle in which the arena was actually located. And the good-for-nothing Gotenks, Buu knew, would never manage to find it, he wouldn’t even realize he’d missed it.

Buu had chosen the perfect partner, knowing he himself was considered the least trustworthy. Vegetto, perhaps the most suspicious, might even look over his shoulder to spy that he wasn’t playing any tricks on them — and if he were to do so, he would no doubt realize what Buu had done. It wasn’t a complicated spell to spot. But with Gotenks at his side, whom everyone trusted implicitly — the epitome of overconfidence and immaturity, but a dependable superhero all the same — he was in the clear! Gotenks would never hide his discovery.

Casting an amused glance towards the fused youngsters on his right, Buu flashed a devious smile that caused Gotenks to flinch — clearly uncomfortable with his proximity to the djinn. Buu then went back to whistling inside his head, returning his attention to the final confrontation that would put an end to this interlude he had discreetly masterminded. It had been a pleasant surprise when Son Bra had been revealed on Babidi’s side. The good guys had almost no chance of winning. Unless they could somehow catch her off guard with something powerful enough, like Cell had with his Makankosappo, they would never make headway. Buu just automatically gave the victory to Son Bra. But he deeply hoped there were still more surprises to come. Would they be able to overcome her? How would they manage to stop her?

He had no idea who would be able to put a stop to her murderous madness, and he wanted the most unexpected ending possible.

Back at the arena...

A dense smoke cloud of debris and ash remained after the explosion, and it had taken several moments to gradually clear. Shaken, Babidi kept his thin arms crossed in front of his head. Slowly, he opened his eyes to reveal a most surprising scene to say the least. He was sitting on a single miraculous column of ground, surrounded on all sides by a massive chasm. Somehow, to his delight, his shield had remained intact.

On the other side of the arena, spared by the energy released, the Grand Supreme Kai was deeply upset by the horror and desolation he had just witnessed. He could no longer sense the vital signs of any of the beings that had fled inside the hallways or hidden in the bleachers. Only a few fighters remained, those strong enough to withstand such power... as well as Babidi.

‘The spectators are all dead now...’ he thought in dismay.

He then heard the smooth voice of his friend, speaking into his head.

‘Seems so... what are you planning to do now?’

‘Buu!’ the Daikaioh furiously retorted. ‘Step in and end this madness now! Son Bra is too great a threat to be left alone, she’ll kill everyone!’

‘Maybe. Maybe not... I’m still curious to learn if she’ll actually win, or if her opponents will find a way to neutralize her. If I was a betting djinn, my money would be on her, but there’s still a chance something might surprise us.’

‘I’m only keen to see one more surprise, Buu: you putting an end to all this! This suffering, this violence, it’s pointless. I can’t allow it to continue!’

‘Tell me about it!’ the Djinn exclaimed ironically with a laugh. ‘In that case, oh great Supreme Kai, ruler of all the gods and the universe, I can’t wait to see how you plan to save everyone and remedy the situation...’

With his verbal taunt, Buu ended their communication, leaving the lord of lords confused and frustrated. As much as he hated to admit it, Buu was right. This was a situation in which he had no real power or authority, he was helpless. Son Bra’s mind had been truly twisted to become Babidi’s puppet — and he himself had no disposition for combat. His role was that of a guardian, someone who managed things from the shadows and observed. Even if he involved himself for the first time in his life, he had no power to defeat her with, or even to disturb her. His only hope was that they could somehow eliminate the wizard manipulating her, but yet again, he himself couldn’t. He had to rely on the young warriors who fought against her.

The two Piccolos had been thrown against the grandstands, despite their distance from the blast and their formidable defenses. Stunned, they managed to spot Gohan from Universe 16, lying against a low wall on the other side of the battle enclosure. He was badly injured and looked completely exhausted.

Gritting his teeth, Piccolo called out to his counterpart from Universe 18, speaking Namekian. Using telepathy was far too dangerous, he decided, Son Bra was more than capable of picking up their words.

“Both Gohans are at the end of their rope!”

“We’ve got to get to them Senzu beans somehow!”

“Yes! Where are Cell and Son Bra?”

“Cell is across from us on the other side. He was hurt by the blast wave too. As for Son Bra...”

They broke off, hearing a voice shout through the smoke with annoyance.

“Shit, no more backup!”

It seemed that the Saiyan girl had lost her own Senzu beans in the explosion. With that new advantage, and the girl unable to pull any more untimely recoveries, they could finally wear her down — she would take their onslaught with more and more difficulty. They had to be discreet though, yet they couldn’t hesitate for a second or give her any respite.

That’s when Bra suddenly located the energy of Gohan from Universe 18, lying in the center of the arena. His body had taken the full brunt of the explosion and was now covered in blood and battle damage. But that wasn’t her problem. This bastard hadn’t played fair, sneaking around when they were all distracting her. Fine, she wouldn’t bother with fighting them the old fashioned way any longer. It was time to kill each of them, and seal her master’s victory.

Unleashing her energy around her, she rushed at Gohan, the half-Saiyan barely managing to push himself up to his knees. Flabbergasted, he raised his block in a last-ditch defensive effort.

“If you’re not gonna play by the rules...” she exclaimed, raising her fist.. “then neither will I!!”

The moment her fist met Gohan’s forearm, she suddenly teleported him to a location deep out in space, far from the arena. Gohan could feel the effects of being transported somewhere and then being propelled backwards from the impact of her blow — he was suddenly choking, there was no air to breathe. Oxygen deprived and freezing cold in space, Gohan tried to hold his remaining breath.

‘Damn, she got me with the same trick she used against that fighter with the ultra armor!’ he thought with dread.

‘Goodbye,’ Son Bra said telepathically, grinning as she disappeared again.

And so, Son Gohan of Universe 18 was left in the cold, dark void of space. The Saiyan’s mind began to panic. Was this how he would die?