PART TWENTY-FOUR: BUU’S ESCAPADES

Chapter 116

Translated by npberryhill

Before we begin the simulated nighttime,” continued the Varga, “we’d like to make a very exciting announcement. With the permission of the Kaiôshins, we will be starting an entirely new parallel tournament, open to any eliminated competitors as well as interested spectators! This tournament will begin during the third round of the main tournament, each battle functioning as an interlude. That’s not all though, these will be double battles — meaning you all will get to see double the fighting and double the excitement!”

Many across the arena were instantly excited at the idea of a second chance to fight, not to mention participate in a double battle! Over in the Universe 8 balcony, the members of the Ginyu commando were ecstatic.

“It’s time we made our way back center stage!” exclaimed Recoome. “Now we’ll show Lord Freeza why we’re his number one force!”

“Too bad it’ll just be the weaker competitors this time around,” Butta added. “But I guess they’ll be enough to prove our superiority! The Ginyu’s will not lose!” he concluded.

“I suppose I’ll enter as well,” Coola said, interrupting them from nearby and sending a chill down their spines. “I need to let off some steam, and I suppose your little team would suffice as punching bags...”

“Ehem,” a voice coughed from nearby. “I think I’ll participate this time as well.”

They all turned, the faces turning pale as they realized it was the Kaioshin of the West who’d spoken. She glanced at Butta with particular amusement. The soldier, still feeling the sting of the blow the goddess had given him earlier, almost fainted.

After a few moments, the Varga resumed. “To all those interested, please make your way to the balcony of Universe 1 to register with my colleague.

For the next fifteen minutes or so, fighters hurried to the indicated location, keeping the responsible Vargas busy processing entries. It took the intervention of the Nameks to establish a calm and orderly waiting line. Seen waiting were warriors such as Piccolo Daimao, needing to distract himself from Gast’s words earlier, as well as Dabra and Raditz. There was also Goten and Trunks of the 16th, as well as Butta and Jeece, who entered to fight together. Once all the names had been taken, a Varga read from the final list.

“We are no longer accepting applicants. The following competitors have been registered:

“Kaiôshin of the West, Universe 1!

“Piccolo Daimao and Baddack, Universe 3!

“Sauza, Butta, Reecome, Coola, and Jeece, Universe 8!

“Trunks, Tenshinhan, Videl, and Yamcha, Universe 9!

“Dabra, Universe 11!

“Android 16 and Trunks, Universe 12!

“Raditz, Universe 13!

“Cyborg 17, Universe 14!

“Trunks, Goten, Gotenks, Pan, and Piccolo, Universe 16!

“Cell Junior, Universe 17!

“Pan and Piccolo, Universe 18!

“And lastly, Naurb, Tidar, and Xeniloum, Universe 19!”

Those listening to the announcement began thinking through all those listed, considering their earlier battles, as well as speculating about those who had not yet fought. As they did so, a certain discomfort began to run through the audience as they realized a certain name missing from the list. They dared not speak of the warrior, recalling his rage at being eliminated. Suddenly, a voice interrupted the silence.

“YAAAAAWN!” he breathed, mouth wide. “Whew, nice nap, I ate too much!” the fused warrior then realized everyone was looking at him. “What? Why’s everyone so quiet?”

Vegetto had napped through the entire announcement, exhausted from his accumulated boredom during the second round. Bra, shutting her eyes in rage, shook her head and began to berate her father.

“Are you fucking kidding me!? You idiot! You missed your one and only chance to enter the secondary tournament! I just can’t deal with you!”

While the fused warrior didn’t quite understand what she was talking about, and all of Universe 16 felt embarrassed for him, the rest of the competitors began to celebrate. They’d almost forgotten about him having been eliminated, thinking this tournament wouldn’t consist of any top tier competitors — but now it seemed the monster of power wouldn’t compete after all. For Goten and Trunks of the 16th, Vegetto having fallen asleep was quite the unexpected boon! Without him, Gotenks would be the most powerful competitor by far!

“Now that the entrants have been set, we will dim the lighting in the arena to night mode for about ten hours,” the Varga began to conclude. “Everyone is welcome to rest and enjoy the comforts of their apartments. I wish you all a good night’s recovery to prepare you for tomorrow’s matches!”

Up in the control room, the Vargas began lowering the artificial light. Spectators gradually began leaving the grandstands as well as the fighters below, who retired to their private rooms. As per the previous night, Cell remained standing still in the balcony of Universe 17, his juniors still chasing one another and playing around. His eyes remained fixed on the corridor of Universe 3, towards his future opponent. Tapion was no real threat to him, but the creature living inside him was actually quite intriguing. The way he avoided physical attacks by evaporating into smoke had caught Cell’s attention, though he expected he’d crush the creature without difficulty. While it had been vastly stronger and faster than the old Kulilin, he needed to treat this upcoming battle as a chance to sharpen his reflexes. Killing the puppetmaster in one blow, before he could ever unleash the gargantuan beast, would’ve been simple enough, but why waste an opportunity? By his best guess, he’d be facing Vegeta in the next round — as according to what he’d seen, Kakarotto of the 13th couldn’t go beyond ordinary Super Saiyan and Vegeta had displayed far more power than that earlier when resisting the Djinn’s pink onslaught. Even so, Cell believed Vegeta was holding back a great deal even then. He grinned at the thought of facing his former enemy, the Saiyan prince, once again. Their future confrontation promised to be most entertaining. So, he would face Tapion’s monster in its full force, using the battle to improve again and again, until he was the strongest in the whole tournament. In time, he would show them all that he — Cell — was truly the most perfect being to exist in any universe.

Joining him outside were both Piccolos, who sat with legs crossed and eyes closed. They could be easily mistaken as having fallen asleep, but in reality they were communicating telepathically with one another. They discussed their common concerns about the events of the day, including Buu of Universe 4’s behavior. His actions had indeed been violent and irrational, but strangely, they’d also lacked the evil intent they had sensed from prior versions of Buu — evil they could still sense within Babidi, the Universe 13 Saiyans, and the Frost Demons. As the Djinn had stated himself, he was now made up of millions of personalities, and the ancient deities of the Earth had clearly perceived the Saiyan influences on his speech and actions. What seemed to motivate him now was a taste for a spectacle, a good show, a true challenge. Although he could at times appear docile and even friendly, they knew to be wary of him. He was unstable, as attested to by his reaction earlier in the day.

Their conversation also focused on the infamous XXI, who had not only intrigued them but all present. For a magician to defeat Vegetto, the most powerful entity to ever exist, using a simple magical spell, was troubling. Other than his talent for witchcraft, they knew next to nothing about him. Even Babidi had shuddered at his appearance, realizing the old wizard’s abilities outclassed his own by far. There was still so much unknown about him, but surely it would all come to light as the tournament continued.

In the Universe 18 apartments, the z fighters and their families were readying themselves for bed. Trunks and Goten were giddy as they discussed their upcoming fight against Universe 4 Buu the next day.

“So, what do you think about Buu? Think Gotenks has a good chance of winning? He looks pretty unbeatable!”

“Honestly, I don’t know enough to say, but we’ve got a trump card now that Vegetto showed us the technique that can destroy Buu. It shouldn’t be that hard to learn. The trouble is gonna be making sure our fusion lasts the whole fight. We’ll have to give him everything we’ve got straight from the beginning, full power charge, and use that new technique to destroy him!”

“Or maybe just find a way to make him disappear for thirty seconds, if he turns out to be too strong. Hey, we could lock him up, like that one time...remember? It still makes me laugh, imagining Piccolo’s head passing us!”

“That was hilarious!”

They both burst out laughing, and little by little their confidence returned. Defeating Buu wasn’t impossible, and there were certainly ways to give themselves the advantage.

“You just gotta believe in Gotenks,” Trunks said. “It’s gonna be one hell of a fight!”

“We’ll pull out all the stops,” Goten agreed. “He’ll know what it’s like to face the full force of the mighty Gotenks!”

“Umm,” Pan interrupted them sweetly, having listened in. “Weren’t you guys almost beaten by a cat though?”

The two young men’s laughs stopped instantly, and Goten quickly grabbed a pillow and threw it at the little girl — who avoided it by turning Super Saiyan and dodging her head. She then grabbed the pillow and launched it back at her uncle even faster than before. Goten was struck face first by the cushiony white object, but it nonetheless caused him to collapse on the floor. Goku and Uub had busted out laughing as Trunks transformed as well and began a golden haired pillow fight with Pan.

Vegeta, without a word, shut his eyes and entered his own room, hiding his smile from the others. The little girl’s feistiness always seemed to bring a grin to his face, and deep down he was quite happy to live in a peaceful era where such happiness was always present. Still, a single goal remained in his mind: he would go head to head with Goku in this tournament, and in an awesome display, he would defeat his rival using all his new power. He felt almost certain he would win this time — while Goku still employed the wasteful level 3, he himself was reserving quite the surprise. Neither Kakarotto nor Cell would be able to stop him.

While a relaxed and pleasant mood prevailed among Son Goku and his companions, those of Universe 1 by contrast were quite tense. North Kaioshin entered the room silently, closing the door behind him and seating himself at a table opposite the East Kaioshin. Both looked grave.

“Thank you for meeting with me privately,” the Supreme Kai began, whispering.

“Ah, so it was you who beckoned me,” his comrade replied, also softly. “Quite discreet, I wasn’t certain I’d heard the message correctly.”

“Well, secrecy was of the utmost importance,” East Kaioshin explained. “No one need suspect a meeting between the two of us ever took place. What is said must remain between me, you, and Gast Carcolh.”

Surprised, the North Kaioshin looked around, expecting the great Namek to appear from a shadowy corner of the room.

“Uh... Gast of Universe 7? Is he here, I don’t see him?”

“His presence was not necessary,” the other Kaioshin replied. “I questioned him in private before the simulated evening began, and now I must relay to you information of the utmost importance.” He breathed deeply. “First things first, then. Have you begun to suspect that our Grand Kaiô Shin has been behaving strangely?”

“Indeed I have,” the other replied. “For him to forgive Buu as he did, and even take full responsibility for his imprisonment. We have never placed ourselves in such unnecessary risk, always favoring a safer approach, and yet he does the exact opposite!”

“Exactly. Personally, I believe he’s being manipulated, possibly even controlled by Buu!”

“I had begun to suspect the same thing. So quietly, I kept a close watch on his mind, his words and actions, seeing if he possessed his usual ticks. My findings, strangely enough, seem to indicate he's still himself. There are no signs of mental manipulation or faulty reasoning, I’m certain.”

“I’d hoped you had done so,” the East Kaioshin said. “While your findings were normal, there may be types of control that would’ve evaded your vigilant efforts. And that is not all... When I spoke with Gast, he warned me that his technique could not be so easily copied. While respectful of our abilities as Kaiôshin masters, he was shocked that our leader succeeded in a true duplication.”

“I see.”

“Naturally, I was greatly concerned by this. I asked the great Namek if he could detect whether or not the Grand Kaioshin was currently using the technique at all, and he replied that the ability was undetectable. There was no way to know for sure if he was merely simulating the effects, or if it was indeed being used properly.”

“So...you suspect that Buu is not really our captive at the moment, and that our Great Kaioshin is in league with him?” the North Kaioshin asked. “Why would he do such a thing? I’m certain he’s not being manipulated!”

“I don’t like it any more than you do,” his companion conceded. “And even now I'm uncertain, but there is more than enough reasonable doubt... as long as we have no insurance, we must remain ever vigilant.”

Thus, the two gods were locked in deep thought, spending the night in great concern.

Meanwhile, in the apartments of Universe 3, Tapion sat around the living room table drinking a cup of tea while Raichi sat nearby on his crystal ball. Before going to sleep, Tapion began expressing his anxiety to his old friend.

“Today was quite a trying day, but tomorrow is likely to be even moreso. I watched this Cell during his fight, and he appears to be very strong. Do you have any advice on what I should do try and win?”

The Tsuful didn’t say anything for nearly twenty seconds, lost in his reflections. He then drank a sip of tea.

“You are your own greatest weakness. This Cell is indeed extremely powerful. When his offspring was added to my ranks, he became by far the most powerful warrior under my command. As for the adult version, I do not know if Hildegan will be able to defeat him. In any case, you must give thought to protecting yourself. Surely you noticed it during your first battle, you yourself are most vulnerable. Take advantage of these hours of rest, reflect on what you’re going to do. If you don’t come up with a solution, you’ll have no choice but to give up, or to go fight with little hope of victory.”

The warrior nodded gravely. After finishing his cup of tea, he got up, bowing in respect to the old doctor, and went to his bed in the adjoining room. Perhaps sleeping on it would be the best thing and he’d have an idea in the morning. For Raichi, it was another story. His fight would be against the giant Namek. He had nothing against the Namekian people — far from it, they were a peaceful and respectable people. Unfortunately, he had to win the tournament, otherwise his rage would torment him eternally at the realization that Saiyans yet lived in some distant universe out there, perpetuating their atrocities. Exterminating those of his own universe simply wasn’t enough, nor was it enough to destroy those primitive Saiyans of the 10th. While the Saiyans of Universes 16 and 18 seemed agreeable on the surface, his inextinguishable hatred simply couldn’t allow even one of the primates to live. He slowly turned towards Baddack’s door, staring at it, eyes filled with anger. He could kill him, here and now, and since he’d lost to Cold no one would even notice.

On the other side of the door, Goku’s father from an alternate world was also sitting on the edge of his bed, staring, ready to defend himself at any second. He knew full well Raichi's hatred of him placed him in constant danger here, but his thoughts were also distracted by the vision’s he’d had the past few days.

When the Namek had imprisoned the pink demon, it seemed a confirmation that the rest of his vision would soon transpire as well. The greatest danger was Vegetto, a being whose power had subjugated him to the point of fear and trembling. If he were to turn against everyone, no one would be able to stop him. But what could Baddack do? He could try explaining his vision to the Kaioshin of Universe 1, as well as telling them how it was indeed possible to change the future. However, now that he had been defeated, the tournament held little interest for him and he was no longer concerned with what happened. If he stayed, it was for two reasons: first, to see his sons from different universes fight. As he suspected, Radtiz had never been, and never would be a great fighter, no matter what dimension he came from. On the other hand, his younger son had attracted all his attention. While Kakarotto of the 13th was a potential psychopath, his other son of the 18th intrigued him very much. In spite of his calm and pleasant demeanor, so unlike a Saiyan, he possessed an extraordinary battle power. When Cold had launched him towards those of Universe 18, Son Goku had immediately transformed into the long-haired lightning-enveloped form that Vegetto and Vegeta had used — and succeeded in completely neutralizing the explosion of energy from Cold’s imprisonment ball. In the next round, he was set to fight Freeza. Baddack could hardly wait to see his son crush the foul lizard, humiliating him once and for all. The other reason he’d stay was to witness the defeats of Cold and Raichi. Indeed, even though he hadn’t been the one to defeat the Frost Demon King, he had no doubt his vision would still come true. Vegetto’s daughter, who was potentially just as devastating, might be the author, and he was curious as to how it would transpire. As for Raichi, he’d have to eliminate him with his own hands, now that his chance of getting a wish from the Dragon Balls was gone. He would get his vengeance, one way or another. He was also quite curious how the Tsuful would manage to deal with an opponent of the magnitude of Gast. The Saiyan himself knew he certainly wouldn’t be up to the task.

Everyone was lost in their thoughts, and eventually the two sworn enemies plunged into a deep sleep...