The Nightmare Continues!! Majin Buu is Still Alive

With his head thrown back, screaming, Vegeta hovers at the center of his still-expanding ki explosion. Majin Buu screams as he's disintegrated, but the attack doesn't let up. Piccolo, with the children under his arms, and Kuririn flee. Kuririn shouts as he turns back to watch after they've reached what they deem a safe distance. The sky is littered with all sorts of airborne debris. Kuririn and Piccolo watch in awe, helpless to do much more at this point. Kuririn, "V-Vegeta..." Suddenly, the blast begins expanding much more quickly. "Vegeta!" Piccolo shuts his eyes against the debris as he also calls out, "Vegeta!" He starts to fly back toward the blast, but Kuririn grabs his cape. "Piccolo! You're too late, he's already dead! Didn't you say it yourself!? Vegeta's finally decided to sacrifice his life to fight for something other than himself!" Piccolo watches the explosion with frustration and helplessness, making "kch" sounds, but not replying to Kuririn.

A Capsule plane travels over the ocean with random islands here and there. Yamucha sits at the controls. Beside him, an obviously troubled Bulma. In the back, Chichi and Videl sit side by side, staring straight ahead. Elsewhere, Muten Roshi, and a few feet away from him, Number 18. Marron lies in the seat between them, resting on her mother's leg, sleeping. Everyone is silent until a worried Chichi turns to Videl and asks, "Videl, are you sure that Gohan, Goten, and the others went to fight that Madoshi and his evil Majin Buu?" Without turning to her, Videl nods. "Yes." Chichi, "Gohan can take care of himself, but why didn't you stop Goten? You should have known enough to stop Goten and Trunks!" Videl closes her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I didn't think things would turn out like this." Yamucha smiles back at her. "Don't let it bother you too much, Videl. Those kids wouldn't have listened to you anyway. And Goku and the others are with them. Don't worry!" Videl manages an uneasy smile. "Right..." Yamucha, "They're this way, right?" Videl, "Yeah, much farther this way." Yamucha, "Alright! Let's speed up then!" And so the Capsule plane speeds up.

Bulma gazes blankly at the floor, one hand on her head and the other resting in front of her. "Why...? Why did Vegeta do that?" Majin Vegeta turns around. Goku, "Vegeta!" Vegeta holds out his arm and charges up a ki blast. He fires it at Goku, who throws his arms up to block, but after being pushed back several yards by it, is eventually forced to jump out of the way. The ki blast continues into the crowd, demolishing an entire portion of the stadium and killing hundreds of spectators, as well as leveling a good portion of the city beyond the wall. The Z Senshi watch in shock. Yamucha, "Unbelievable!" Bulma drops to her knees. "Impossible..." Majin Vegeta stands on the stage, glaring at Goku, red electricity running through his aura. Bulma, "This has to be some kind of mistake!" She faints, and Chichi catches her. Vegeta grins. Bulma (back to thinking in the plane instead of her immediate reaction in the flashback), "Why did Vegeta kill so many people?" Yamucha looks over at her, apparently just now noticing that she's not in the best of moods. "Hm?" He smiles. "Bulma, it'll be okay. Don't let it bother you. It's for times like this that we have the Dragon Balls! We'll be able to bring back all of the dead spectators." She jumps up angrily. "That's not the problem!" Surprised, Yamucha falls back out of his seat. With his hands still on the controls, his fall causes the plane to bank sharply while basically dropping out of the sky.

Muten Roshi and Gyuu Maou fall into the aisle and Marron almost goes. Chichi falls onto Videl. Number 18 manages to remain in place, holding Marron by the ankle. Marron cries, and Number 18 lifts her upside down by the ankle and yells, "Hey! Stop crying!" She turns to Yamucha. "Hey! Fly straight!" Yamucha begins to regain control of the plane. He smiles and waves. "Sorry." The plane levels out. Muten Roshi pulls himself back up. "But Vegeta was acting oddly... It looked like he was filled with the fierceness of his old self." Chichi, "You're right! He wasn't normal." Bulma chews on her thumbnail. "I wonder if he's changed back to how he was when he first came to Earth."

A bright light appears far off in the distance on the horizon directly ahead of the plane. It grows as clouds around the plane part. Yamucha stares straight ahead. Suddenly, the plane is lightly jolted. "Hm?" Several more jolts follow quickly thereafter and the dials begin malfunctioning. "Huh!?" Shockwaves fly out from around the light, hitting the plane with severe turbulence. Once again, people are jostled in their seats and screaming begins again. Muten Roshi falls back into the aisle, his staff falling on top of him. Number 18 turns to Yamucha. "Hey! I told you to fly straight!" Yamucha struggles with the yoke. "It's not my fault!" He and Bulma struggle to keep the plane level as it tries to bank. Yamucha, "What's going on!? The air's full of turbulence!" They fight against it for a few more seconds, and then it suddenly lets up.

Videl sits up in her seat. "What was that?" Muten Roshi peers out one of the windows. "It looks like there was an enormous explosion somewhere far off." Bulma gasps and puts her hand to her chest. "Why do I have this premonition...?" She looks up. "Is Vegeta...?" She's snapped back to reality by Yamucha's alarmed shout. "It looks like that turbulence caused some engine problems!" As he works with the controls, the plane doesn't respond. "I can't regain control!" Chichi pops up between him and Bulma. "What!?" From outside, we see puffs of black smoke shooting out one of the engines. Finally, the engine explodes. More screaming inside the plane follows, of course, and the plane begins a nose dive. Chichi, "Cut it out! I don't like this!" Yamucha pushes the yoke back and forth with no results. "Damn it!" The plane races toward the ground below. Yamucha, "It's no good!" Number 18 turns to Videl and hands her Marron. "Take care of her!" Videl, "What...?" As the plane nears the ground, Number 18 opens the door next to Bulma. Bulma, "Huh?" Number 18 jumps out and flies back up under the plane. She pushes up on it and after a few seconds, gains control. She slows the fall and levels it out. Yamucha, who had been sitting with his arms crossed defensively in front of himself, looks up. "What happened?" Outside, Number 18 carries the plane as she looks back over her shoulder for a suitable landing place. She slowly begins to set the plane down, and when it hits the ground, a collective sigh of relief goes up in the plane. Bulma, "Vegeta..." Number 18 steps out from under the plane.

A rather shallow but incredibly wide crater scars the Earth. Lightning strikes around it as the roar of thunder fills the sky. Against a dark sky and cracks of lighting, a stone Vegeta hovers in the sky. His body is hunched over with his hands at his sides, his face sporting his final pained expression. Bursts of lightning cast shadows over the statue from different angles. After several moments, the statue begins to fall. Small flakes of stone are torn off as it falls. It crashes into the center of the crater, throwing up a cloud of dust. As a strong breeze quickly disperses the dust, the shattered statue comes back into view. Aside from the storm, the entire area is still.

Kuririn and Piccolo remain in the sky, a pretty good distance away from the now-silent battlefield. In place of a giant ki explosion is now a dark storm cloud and occasional lightning strikes. Wind blows at Piccolo's clothing. "Vegeta's ki has completely disappeared." Kuririn lowers his head, closes his eyes, and clenches his teeth. "Kuririn, take these two back to the house. I'll go see what happened." Kuririn turns to him. "I want to go with you." Piccolo doesn't respond, but after a few seconds, Kuririn realizes exactly what he might see. "I guess you're right. There's nothing I could do." He manages a weak smile and flies over to Piccolo to take the unconscious kids. Piccolo hands them over, and Kuririn takes one under each arm. Kuririn, "Take care." Piccolo slowly approaches the silent crater without responding. However, after a couple yards, he stops. Kuririn, "Huh?" Looking back over his shoulder, Piccolo says, "Kuririn, I don't think you should keep quiet about this. You'll have to tell his family about this." Kuririn, "What do you want me to say...?" Piccolo, "I don't know what's happened to Goku, but Gohan..." He narrows his eyes. "Gohan was killed by Majin Buu." Kuririn, "Huh!? That's not true, is it!?" Piccolo, "I heard Vegeta mention it." Kuririn's eyes go wide. Piccolo, "I'm counting on you." He continues again toward the crater, ignoring Kuririn's cry of, "H-hey!" As Piccolo disappears in the distance, Kuririn lowers his head. "That's...that's...not Gohan too... How can I tell them?"

--COMMERCIAL--

Back at the almost-crash site, everyone has piled out of the Capsule Plane while Yamucha works on it from underneath. Having lost most of his suit now, Yamucha, now with blotches of oil all over himself, tinkers with something using a screwdriver. Bulma sits on the back ramp, her head resting in her hands, gazing blankly into the sky. Roshi, "Yamucha, what do you think caused that explosion?" Yamucha, "I don't know, but wasn't that an incredible explosion?" Chichi smiles. "But thanks to Number 18-san, we're saved." Number 18 smiles, while Bulma remains alone, staring blankly at the sky.

Piccolo narrows his eyes as he nears the crater. Finally, he stops and surveys the damage, his eyes twitching. "This is incredible!" He looks down into it for several seconds before saying, "Vegeta..." After landing, he walks through the new crater, looking around. He simply walks in silence for a while. Eventually, he stops. "Hm?" He focuses on what's directly ahead of him -- Majin Buu. But, Majin Buu in many, many tiny pieces. "I see. If you only hurt Majin Buu a little, he'll regenerate. He blew Buu up so completely that he wouldn't be able to do that. Vegeta sacrificed his life. The first time he fought for anyone else, he died. I hope he destroyed Majin Buu. I'd hate to see this go to waste." His cape, which had been billowing out behind him, changes direction and blows forward instead, half-wrapping around Piccolo. He shuts his eyes. "But it was a spectacular end to Vegeta's life." Suddenly, he hears a voice cry out. His eyes shoot open. "Hm?" He looks over and sees a small hole in the middle of the crater. He walks over toward it as the voice groans. In the smaller hole, Babidi (or well, Babidi's upper half) clenches his teeth. "D-damn..." Piccolo stops over the hole. "Babidi. Hmph. So you're still alive. You're pretty obnoxious for someone so weak. It looks like you protected yourself with a barrier." Babidi lies in his hole with his eyes shut. "Majin Buu!" Piccolo, "I'm going to blow you to pieces and finish you off."

He takes a step forward when, by his foot, a small chunk of Buu begins moving around. "Hm?" He looks to see two separate pieces quivering. "What's this!?" A low humming fills the area as all of the little chunks of Buu begin moving. "The pieces of Majin Buu...!" Piccolo watches in alarm as separate Majin Buu's begin to develop from each piece. "Wh-what!?" Piccolo watches in shock as Buu's of varying sizes spring up all around him. Each one flies into the air above the crater toward a few points where they all converge. Piccolo is aghast as he watches the growing pink masses in the sky. His mouth hangs open and his eyes are about as wide as Piccolo's eyes can get. "I-impossible!!" Five Buu-shaped shadows appear around on the ground around Piccolo (the Buu's would be above the 'camera' that looks down on Piccolo). Piccolo stares up in horror at five fully developed Majin Buu's. The one in the center raises his arm. "Buu!" The other four fly toward him and a single Majin Buu once again forms. Piccolo takes a few steps back. Terrified, he watches Buu take shape. He turns and begins running away, jumping into the air and rocketing away from the crater, not waiting to see the finished product. "That means... Majin Buu is still alive!"

Once again completed, Buu throws out his arms in all directions and yells, "Buu!" He drops back to the ground and begins doing a little half-stretch, half-dance while doing his obligatory humming. He finishes and holds his stomach, laughing. "B-Buu!" Buu, "Huh?" He looks back to see Babidi struggling to rise in his mini-crater. "Majin Buu...!" Buu walks over to him. "Were you waiting for me?" Babidi smashes his remaining fist on the ground. "No, you're wrong!" Buu scratches his cheek. "Ah, what happened to your legs?" Babidi, "That doesn't matter! Hurry up, hurry up!" Buu spins around on one leg with his hands out. "I think you're a lot neater this way!" Babidi, "H-hey, hurry and fix me!" Buu begins swaying back and forth from one foot to the other. "Back to normal..." Babidi, "You should be able to! Hurry! Hurry and do it! I'll die!" Buu does his dance nonchalantly. "But that wouldn't be neat." Babidi, "What are you doing!? Do it already!" Buu, "I guess I could..." Babidi, "Do you want to be sealed up again!?" Buu abruptly stops his dance. He turns around, smiles, and rubs the back of his head. "Hurry and do it!!" Buu points his head thing at Babidi and fires, but instead of a pink beam, this time he shoots a blue/green one. It envelops Babidi for several seconds, and then suddenly, his missing body parts appear. He climbs up out of his hole. "Thanks, Majin Buu." Buu smiles, bowing. "But you still messed up by allowing them to hurt me." He shuts his eyes, clenching his fists. After a few seconds, he opens his eyes again. "That green guy and those two brats will pay. We won't destroy this world, we will cause it great pain! We'll teach them to fear Babidi-sama and Majin Buu!"

Kuririn continues his flight away from the crater. In the background, we can see Piccolo quickly gaining on him. Kuririn finally notices him. "Huh?" He looks back and stops. Piccolo stops a few feet away from Kuririn. "The Earth is too dangerous! Take these kids to God's Palace!" Kuririn, "Piccolo, what are you talking about? What happened to Vegeta? What about Majin Buu?" Piccolo looks away toward the ground. "Piccolo, don't tell me..." Piccolo, "Majin Buu is still alive." Kuririn, "I-impossible! What about Vegeta!?" Piccolo, "There was no trace of him." Kuririn, "Vegeta's death was for nothing!?" Piccolo finally looks back up at Kuririn again. "We'll take these kids to God's Palace." Kuririn, "Right..." He hands them back over to Piccolo. He looks down at Goten. "These are the world's only hope... As slight a hope as it is..." He looks over to Trunks. Kuririn says nothing, and they simply sit in silence.

Majin Buu passes through the clouds with Babidi riding on his back as they approach a city. "We're going to change this planet into Hell, Majin Buu! Until they show up, we'll kill people here, there, and everywhere!"

In a rocky area, a shadow appears. Kaioushin staggers out from behind a rock wall, bloody and beaten. "Gohan-san... Be alive... Please be alive..." He slowly stumbles toward the forest in the distance where Gohan still lies either unconscious or dead, a trail of blood running from his mouth.