PART THIRTY: BUDOKAI ROYALE 2 - SUPERSONIC BLAST

Chapter 150

Translated by npberryhill

As several of the ongoing battles in the arena came to a close, and still others continued, one particularly fierce confrontation was taking place. West Kaioshin was engaged in an intense mental effort to restrain one of Babidi’s most dangerous servants: the Mighty King Cold.

Her telekinetic abilities as a Kaioshin far exceeded even the most skilled mortals. She possessed a natural disposition to psychic mastery, much like how the Frost Demons themselves boasted talents within the psychokinetic arts. Yet even they had been unable to compete with the gods, at least in Universe 1 that is.

This King Cold had proven himself far superior to the one they had eliminated along with his sons. It was painfully clear to the goddess that not only did this Frost Emperor own several new transformations and an insanely high power level — but he was able to resist her psychic hold more fervently than she’d dared imagine. With each passing second her imprisonment technique faltered further, the paralyzation she’d banked everything on slipping away as quickly as their chances of winning.

In all her existence, only two beings from the lower realm had managed to evoke terror in the Kaioshin — The Legendary Super Saiyan, and Majin Buu, the very incarnation of evil. Although she never had to directly face the unsealed djinn, as her fellow gods had kept him sealed away as best they could, the power that emanated from his ball had been enough to traumatize the deity. And rightly so, for she had now witnessed firsthand the overwhelming abilities of Buu, not only of Universe 4 but even the one from Universe 11. She still felt the bruise of Buu’s fist from the previous day, like a lingering burn on her face.

Now, it seemed more and more mortals were scaling the heights of power previously only attained by the gods — and her former enemy, once upon a time leagues beneath her, was now far better than she. The semi-immobilized Frost Demon, struggling violently, was gradually advancing in her direction.

Each earned inch increased the pit in her stomach as the West Kaioshin solicited all her remaining energy. With that power, she sent forth a shock-burst that flung the titan against the arena wall. Cold’s voice rumbled with a scowling groan, tones of frustration and fury at the damned deity. She’d held him at bay for far too long, and even if he were to break free of the psychic hold, his pride had been wounded.

The goddess took hold of his left arm with her right hand, restraining the monster now both physically and mentally. Though exhausted, a quick glance around ignited a spark of hope in her. Many allies had emerged victorious, and the enemies numbers were waning. She turned back toward the Frost Titan and glared.

“Don’t look now, but it seems this coo is almost over! You’re going to lose, look how few men you have left!”

“Lose? Rally the troops?”

Cold’s answer struck her as strange, as did the voice he spoke with. The Kaioshin raised an eyebrow, wondering if the great Demon was crying. But King Cold instead sneered a wide grin behind his mask.

“Us lose? Really? Why, because my two weak sons have been defeated and that insufferable Dabra? Hah! The pawns were always meant to be sacrificed, fool! I have no further need of such fragile warriors. Not only do we still have several of the most powerful fighters still within our ranks, but I’m enough to rip you to shreds by myself. The time for me to shed this form’s restricted power has come... I will exterminate you Kai vermin for the glory of Master Babidi!!!”

Folding his arms, the monstrous majin unleashed his aura all around. Thin streaks of lightning danced around him, and with each passing second his ki grew exponentially. West felt her telekinetic hold nearly shatter, gritting her teeth from exertion. Cold’s power now utterly dwarfed Dabra.

North Kaioshin suddenly appeared behind her.

“Need a hand?” he asked, summoning his own aura.

The goddess couldn’t even respond, her mental efforts straining well beyond her limits to keep up whatever tiny cobwebs of paralyzation still remained in effect... only to have them ripped apart the next instant. Above them suddenly appeared a Jurassic silhouette, the majin plunging the two gods into the shadows below.

“...I... I’m okay...” she finally answered in an uncertain voice.

Cold descended into the hollow, receiving the pair of defeated deities in two of his massive hands and lifting them high. His monstrous sixth form, the second of his augmentations, was now on full predatorial display. And with both himself and Cell now at their full power, no one remained that could possibly stop Babidi’s dominion!

Still laid out on the 18th veranda, Son Goten finally regained consciousness. Pulled back to reality by the pain of his burned and bruised form, he had almost no energy left. With what meager strength remained he managed to sit straight, back against the wall, wondering how he had managed to survive such an ordeal to begin with.

Upon first reawakening, he had seen Gohan panic and abandon his battle with Cell, who had then been intercepted by the Heloisian. His brother would’ve never left such an important fight without good reason, not with so much at stake. In fact, he could think of only one reason: Bra or Videl were under attack, and Nappa had caught up to them.

Goku’s youngest son cursed, feeling ashamed to be so helpless. He couldn’t do anything to protect them. He’d already promised to devote himself to training once he returned home, no matter what his mother or girlfriend thought. He never wanted to feel this helpless again, and more than that he never wanted his loved ones to know that pain — he had to at least reach Super Saiyan 2 in the future to better defend them. Trunks would probably complain at first, but he would come around as a training partner eventually. That would only further strengthen Gotenks in case a fusion was ever needed. They might never be able to reach the level of Zen Buu, who honestly seemed limitless at times, but enemies like Kakarotto would be well within his own power to handle. He glanced in disgust at the paternal counterpart he abhorred. The Saiyan’s charred torso, his glassy eyes... which shone with a sudden burst of hatred...

“What!?” Goten felt a shiver jolt him further awake.

Kakarotto’s eyes were wide open, and as mad and murderous as ever. No longer just a corpse, the Saiyan revealed his teeth through a crazy grin and got back to his feet. His cruel laugh was terrifying to Goten, who trembled in disbelief. This wasn’t possible! He was dead, the Heloite had made sure of it!

Kakarotto grabbed Son Goten by the neck and began to choke the remaining life out of him. The boy grimaced, unable to resist at all, whispering with the last of his breath.

“...How...?”

“You really pissed me off, bastard. But I told you before you couldn’t win, and now I’m gonna skin you alive — might even wear your face like a mask, hahaha!”

Universe 11 apartments...

The great wizard Babidi was accompanied by his faithful Majin Buu, as well as the prophetic Saiyan Baddack. The room they were in had been protected by a powerful incantation, one which phazed it between dimensions and made it unreachable to anyone on the outside. The yellow-skinned magician was no longer concerned with any threat being able to reach them, believing himself well-hidden. Assured, he had observed all the events so far from his magical bunker, cheering and sneering in excitement with each victory and frowning at every defeat.

Seeing the Frost Demon princes killed was quite troublesome, but Dabra’s death had even brought him cold sweats. When Cell had been caught up in the blast and sliced apart, his fear had been truly terrible. But not only had his prized bio-android returned in full force, but King Cold had now unleashed his true power — and Kakarotto had risen once again, more ferocious than ever. With the competitors having been killed off in the depths of space, and the strongest of his enemies showing signs of weakness, he was feeling more confidence than ever. And he still had a few of his best cards yet to play.

“Ha ha ha ha!” he erupted with a shrill laugh. “We’ve completely taken over! These fools will regret ever having opposed me!”

“It’s over.”

“Master, I’ve just had a vision,” Baddack interrupted, grasping his head still from the headache.

“Ah?” Babidi replied, surprised by the sudden prophecy. “Speak, what did you see?”

“The twin of the Saiyan that fought Cell, he’s here in our apartment, back in the other dimension. In a moment, he’s going to break through the barrier that separates our realities and kill you.”

“What!? That’s not possible!” Babidi exclaimed, frightened. “And you just sat back and watched?”

“Buu attacked, but even he couldn’t defeat the Saiyan. We only have a minute to prepare, and we don’t have the power to fight him off. But, you might be able to trap him somewhere and get rid of him for good. That would make one less strong opponent for us to deal with.”

“Mmh, indeed,” replied the wizard, thinking. “Do you know where exactly he will appear?”

“Yes, it will be right here,” Baddack answered, pointing.

Several ideas had already come to mind on how to deal with this, one of them most mischievous and brilliant. Babidi was impressed with himself, but had to act quickly to neutralize the immediate threat.

Near the Universe 9 apartments...

Sauza and Jeece had stalked out the hiding place of the ‘weakling’ humans, taking their time and torturing various spectators along their way. Now the time had come for them to wipe out one of the last bands of resistance to their cause, all for the glory of lord Babidi.

The two Commandos busted down the door with a violent kick and brashly stepped through it’s entrance. Instantly, they struck a pose and proclaimed their loyalties.

“Onward, for master Babidi!”

“For the great master Babidi!”

“Copycat,” Sauzu murmured irritably.

“Amateur,” Jeece retorted under his breath.

In front of them stood Tenshinhan, Kulilin, Yamcha, and Videl from Universe 9, the four instantly blocking them off from Trunks and Bulma — who stood silently in the corner. Also in the back were the two individuals caught up in a rather strange ritual. The apparently senile old man was dancing around one of the execrable Saiyans.

Kulilin sighed wearily upon seeing them. “So you’re it? I thought at the very least we would face Freeza... for a second there I thought we might be in danger...

“Oh you bastard!” Sauza exclaimed, his pride insulted. “How dare you talk to me like that, dwarf!? I’ll crush you!”

He launched himself ahead without thinking, leaving Jeece behind. The latter preferred to stay back and observe anyway, he wasn’t going to allow himself to be manipulated into a blind attack. Coola’s commando was a complete idiot for not using his brain, he thought to himself.

As Sauza’s fist was about to land on the turtle hermit, a fierce knee struck his back while he was almost parallel to the ground. The crunch of bones breaking echoed throughout the room as the Coola Commando spat a small trail of blood on the floor near Kulilin. Yamcha, the instigator of the knockout blow, raised a satisfied thumbs up.

“You’re great as bait, you know, buddy? Haha,” he said cheerfully.

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” Kulilin replied, vexed.

Still waiting and analyzing the situation, Jeece realized these Earthlings were attacking with precision and force. From what he could tell, they were keeping the two strange specimens behind them as if trying to protect them. That meant, his best move wouldn’t be to fight them at all but to blow up the entire apartment!

He struck his usual pose and formed a concentrated sphere of purple Ki above his palm. Immediately, the Earthlings understood the danger. Jeece was too weak to pose them any threat, but the collateral damage of his attack was a real problem. Their relatives and possibly even the Old Kaioshin might die.

“Not in here!” exclaimed Videl.

She moved so fast that Jeece didn’t even have time to make a gesture. Videl drove her knee hard into his chin and staggered him backwards — the energy attack falling out of his control. The red magma’s ki ball fell towards the center of the room, but was intercepted by Tenshinhan just in time. With a series of superfast and indistinguishable movements, the warrior managed to receive its momentum before taming it completely as his own. Then, with a sharp flick, he fired the purple sphere back at Jeece — whose defenses had been completely shattered by Videl’s previous attack.

la renvoya à l’expéditeur.

“That wasn’t even fun,” he said, pouting.

“You... infidels... you’re going... to regret that!”

Sauza had straightened back up. Babidi’s magic was rearing its head again, proving even broken bones were a mere trifle for his minions to overcome. The Coola Commando seemed to be hyping himself up as well — he was a member of one of the strongest commandos in the universe, and a proud warrior of the great wizard! These indignities would not go unpunished!

“I won’t let it end like this!”

As he screamed with hatred, Kulilin and Yamcha approached him, wearing exasperated looks. They’d already become bored of his maniacal rantings, seeing too many before him refuse to acknowledge irrefutable proof of their own inferiority.

After half a minute or so of ‘correcting’ his mindset, which involved breaking several fingers of the ex-Coola soldier, as well as shattering both kneecaps, Sauza was thrown out in the hallway unceremoniously where he landed on the body of his comrade and the two other Freeza soldiers. Tenshinhan, rubbing his hands, was glad to be done with the two ridiculous clowns.

“Well, that’s that...” he said, turning back to the apartment.

But as he spoke, a tiny bluish figure suddenly appeared behind him, right at head-level. This creature had crisscrossed the halls of the arena at full speed searching since the beginning of the assault. The Junior was enraged and boosted by adrenaline, having sensed the action taking place in the Universe 9 apartments. The little majin would destroy everything, guided by his new master, and obedient to his father — he had even come to terms with his unjust death at the hands of his own parent. His love for Papa Cell was unconditional, even when he had been replaced with a stronger Cell Junior, but now that he was controlled by Babidi his desire for murder and blood had been sent into overdrive. He was about to strike the bald Earthling with all his might, ready to unleash all his anger on this weak universe.

“Look out!” Kulilin cried, noticing the overpowered midget’s attack.

Reacting to the old master's warning at the last minute, Tenshinhan caught the movement of the creature that had appeared behind his back. He quickly parried its attack with his left arm, feeling his bones crack a little. He gritted his teeth. He had been able to concentrate all his attention on defense, but the force of the blow had still managed to moderately injure him.

The Cell Junior let out a small laugh, then appeared in front of the three-eyed cyclops in a split second. He kicked him to gain momentum and throw himself across the room. The Junior had no specific strategy. He simply wanted to massacre everyone, without distinction. He was acting blindly, guided by his desire to impress his father and his master.

He rushed straight towards Videl, who couldn't get into position in time. She was dealt a violent headbutt which made her fall backwards, half stunned. Yamcha intervened by lunging straight at him, but the Cell Junior jumped into the air and blocked all of his attacks. The creature brought out its aura at maximum power, making Yamcha step back and shield himself with his arms. The cyborg glanced worriedly to his left, which Cell Junior did not fail to notice. At the back of the room, an old man in a blue outfit was dancing around one of those stupid primate Saiyans.

A subtle thought came to Cell Junior's mind. The Kaioshins were the sworn enemies of his master Babidi. The wizard had ordered Dabra to deal with the organizers, but he had forgotten the presence of the one from Universe 9. To impress him, and show that he too could do a good job, he would bring back this old Kaioshin’s smoking carcass.

“Destroy the Kaiôshins, yes, master! Ki hee hee!”, he sneered.

Without wasting a moment, he fired a powerful Kikoha towards the elder, whose face suddenly panicked. However, it wasn’t one of terror, because he was surrounded by protectors ready to intercept an attack at any time. Like now.

Using all his reactivity and speed, old Kulilin intervened between the Kikoha and its target. His back turned towards the attack, he took the full force of the explosion on his shell of Katchin, the hardest metal in the universe. The violence of the shock was enough to make him stagger and fall to one knee. His protection was barely damaged, but his body had difficulty standing up to the power of the monster. Now he could barely stand up. Angered by his resistance, Cell Junior rushed at him and delivered a powerful blow to his face, sending him flying to the other side of the apartment.

Just as the monster was about to pounce on the Kaiôshin and carve him alive, Tenshinhan and Yamcha blocked his path, their gaze menacing. They were no match for this over-boosted gnome, but they could hold him off. If they all worked together, maybe they could take him down. This Cell Junior had no strategy or combative thoughts. He just swung blindly to try and knock others down. He was completely on the offensive, which left him many openings to attack. It was now a matter of exploiting one without facing a backlash. Their first assault was decisive, trying to eliminate him.

But Cell Junior had had enough. The warriors kept getting in the way of his objective, and he just couldn't wait to impress his lord. These microbes were a nuisance to his reign, and he could kill all these birds with one stone. Sneering, he crossed his arms and concentrated all his energy around his body, which began to tremble. Yamcha immediately understood his intention, and cried out as he rushed:

“No! He's going to blow up the apartment!”

He and Tenshinhan rushed towards Cell Junior with the intention of interrupting his attack. But they would need half a second to reach it. It was more than enough for the offspring of Cell, who was already enjoying his future carnage.

Trunks and Bulma were huddled in the back of the room, their eyes shut so as not to watch their demise. Raditz was tense, while the old Kaioshin felt deep fear. Was he going to die, even though he had only just emerged from the divine sword?

Kulilin was stunned in the back of the room, unable to react. Sensing the magnitude of the danger, Videl—standing up—knew she had no choice. Her companions weren’t fast enough. She instinctively unleashed her maximum Kaiôken in a flash and rushed Cell Junior without wasting a moment. The latter didn't even see her coming, her speed was so high. She had crossed the distance between them in a split second, leaving her companions speechless.

Cell Junior received a powerful punch which launched him towards the entrance of the apartment. But he hadn't even gone two meters when Videl was already behind him. The Kaiôken was a technique that multiplied the abilities of its user without regard for their body, going beyond its limits. And just like a certain former student of the turtle school in several different universes, she was pushing her power to the extreme, even if it meant destroying her body.

She would not hesitate to sacrifice her life to save her loved ones. Concentrating all of her strength, she delivered a brutal knee strike to Cell Junior's neck, sending him flying towards the ceiling. Videl suddenly felt intense cramps all over her muscles, and her aura wavered. In a few seconds, her joints abandoned her and made her suffer like a martyr. It was the first time she had used the Max Kaioken so suddenly, and her body couldn't handle it. But she didn't care about the pain.

In a few hundredths of a second, she moved above Cell Junior. The creature didn't understand what was happening. His thoughts were still stuck on the preparations for his explosion. He felt the violence of the blows he was receiving, but he was unable to understand why he was suddenly being roughed up. Videl did not give him a single moment of respite to pull himself together, since letting him come to his senses would mean the doom of them all.

Letting out a curse under the effect of suffering, the Earthling struck the monster with a monumental kick which sent it straight towards a wall of the apartment. Videl's body suddenly began to convulse, and she found herself paralyzed, unable to continue her furious assault. She closed one eye, but held her Kaioken for a kamikaze attack.

Taking advantage of this unexpected breath, Cell Junior suddenly recovered and saw the wall approaching dangerously. He spun around and landed on his feet instead of crashing. His body had been badly beaten, his head and muscles had dents. But his power was intact, and his rage immense. He looked at Videl a little further away. This time he was going to tear her to shreds. She had taken advantage of her surprise effect, now she was going to regret it.

But he had greatly underestimated the responsiveness and teamwork of Universe 9. Thanks to her intervention, Videl had allowed her companions to seize this opportunity to finish him off. Tenshinhan and Yamcha, reacting in sync, had already lunged at him before he even landed. With all their strength, they jointly hit the offspring's body at specific points, dazing it summarily, and depriving its muscles of adrenaline. Vital points had been struck, and although it was temporary, his body could no longer react.

Videl mobilized her remaining strength and threw herself at him, while the Cell Junior let a stream of drool flow from his lips, paralyzed. She clasped her hands above her and brought them down relentlessly on Junior's head, which exploded, his brains splashing onto the floor.

The warrior canceled her Kaiôken while contemplating with disgust the corpse of the monster she had just slain, before being overcome by intense pain throughout her body, she collapsed to her knees, her muscles convulsing. She had tears in her eyes.

She who had not cried for years, standing proudly against all their enemies and fighting to the end, she was suffering far greater than anything she had known. She had already used the Kaiôken excessively, pushing it to its limits, but she had just used it in a much shorter time, and to the maximum. Miraculously, her body had not broken, thanks to her intensive training. But the pain remained very real, and incredibly great.

Yamcha rushed over to her and helped her up slowly, carrying her to a nearby couch. Tenshinhan approached them, old Kulilin near him. He had gone to check on him, but the turtle master, persistent as he was, was only dazed.

The cyborg slowly placed his comrade on the couch, telling her gently:

“Rest, Videl, you deserve it.”

“You were great, Videl!” Trunks exclaimed as he approached, Bulma by his side. “You saved all of our lives!”

“It was nothing…” she said before adding, grimacing and tensing up: “Argh!”

“Don’t talk,” Tenshinhan told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You've gone way too far. Even though it allowed us to take him down, you are no longer able to move, let alone fight. We're taking over now.”

“…Thank you,” she said before slowly resting her head on the armrest, a small smile on her face.

“Great teamwork! Yeah!” old Kaiôshin exclaimed, cheerful and reassured. “You all have impressive abilities! But it would have been much easier if you had allowed me to increase your potential! Even half of your technique would have been too much for vermin like him!”

“And that I accept your condition? You can go screw yourself… OLD SENILE PERVERT!” Videl yelled, making an obscene gesture.

She was once again struck by a flash of pain and let out a death rattle. Not that she was dying, but she was angry, and it frustrated her that she couldn't move.

Meanwhile, Raditz was... unimpressed. They had just come close to death, and now these Earthlings were acting naturally again. They were far too relaxed for his liking. Kakarotto had really done well to slaughter them back on Earth. However, one detail caught his attention:

“What was this ‘condition’? Who was she asked to kill?” he asked.

In their Universe, it was common cause to assassinate a target in return for something. It was widespread during Freeza's reign, and Vegeta did not hesitate to imitate it. In this sense, Son Gohan's deal sounded advantageous, as they simply had to be respectful and deserving towards the old Kaiôshin. But the well-known delicacy of the Saiyans had earned them an outright refusal. In his opinion, for the divinity to agree to grant such great power, it was necessary to defeat an important enemy. He himself had just agreed to eliminate Vegeta with this power.

“Her dignity, I think!” Yamcha replied, smiling, miming a strange gesture with both hands.

Videl stared at him angrily, while the old Kaiôshin looked away, uncomfortable.

“Okay, silence! It's only the beginning, so the rest of you take out anyone who tries to attack us, while I unlock Raditz's potential.”

The latter frowned, perplexed. He had not understood this Earthling's allusion, and the fact of waiting several more hours plunged him into deeper dismay. As he heaved a sigh of weariness, the Kaiôshin was inwardly delighted:

"It worked! He was so focused on the action that he didn't feel anything! With this blockage that I was able to insert into his mind, he is now completely at my mercy! I'm going to take advantage of the ritual to refine it, and make sure things go smoothly..."

Meanwhile, in the stands of the arena, Videl of Universe 16 fought fiercely against Babidi's puppets. She managed to spot those who were not within her reach, just as she managed to sense their overall strengths. Unfortunately, she could do nothing against them, and therefore preferred to fall back on the enemies she could fight, in order to save as many lives as possible on her scale.

She summarily knocked out a spectator, and felt a hostile presence behind her. Not feeling his energy, she expected she was dealing with another weak opponent and turned around, delivering a powerful kick to her opponent's face. But very quickly, her ferocity gave way to fear when she saw the grin of #17, who stared at her with his cruel little android eyes.

“Enough killing aliens,” he whispered in a soft voice. “Finally, I’ll get to kill a good old-fashioned human being again!”

Videl quickly regained her composure, refusing to let herself be done-in like this. She gave a wide kick with her free leg, which the cyborg avoided by tilting his head a little. The Earthling tried the same blow again, and again it swung through the void. Amused, #17 released her with a nonchalant gesture. He found a twisted delight in contemplating the vain resistance of his prey. By her gaze alone, he could tell that she wouldn’t run away, she would fight until the end. He would soon revel in seeing her face twisted in despair.

Gohan's wife landed a little further away, taken aback. She didn't know what to do. She could try fleeing, but it was not a sure thing that she could escape his vigilance. She had become his target. And, if by some miracle she managed to escape his sight, he would attack other spectators. She had no choice, she would fight him as best she could.

She tore off a metal bar belonging to the railing of a stand, and set off to attack her opponent. Videl pounded multiple blows on her foe with great fluidity, but #17 blocked each attack with a single finger. He could have taken them without any problem, but it was much funnier to show her that she couldn't even reach him.

After about ten seconds, he started to get bored, and disarmed her with a sharp blow, before quickly grabbing her neck. He lifted her into the air and tightened his grip, running his tongue over his lips as his victim's legs wiggled in the air. You could barely hear her whisper:

— Go... han...

#17 smirked contemptuously, before someone bestially screamed “Counter-attack!” a few meters away. He barely had time to turn his eyes to see an elite Coola soldier firing a burst of energy at him. The metal bar had flown away and landed right on his head, and he considered its origin to be an enemy source. #17 was hit by the energy ball just like Videl. The latter took the blast head on. Her clothes were charred, and her skin badly blackened.

As she fell to the ground, slipping into unconsciousness, #17 shook his face to compose himself, angry. He shouted angrily towards the one who had attacked him:

“Can’t you watch who you’re shooting at, idiot!?”

But his aggression quickly gave way to surprise. In the space of a second, the Coola warrior found himself lying on the ground, a trickle of blood flowing from his open mouth, his eyes rolling back. A violent death.

“But, who…” #17 wondered, before taking a powerful punch in the stomach.

His body distorted in a strange way, as he was thrown backwards by the power of the attack. Unfortunately for him, Videl's weak words had been heard by the Piccolo of her Universe. He and his double had ended up choosing to fight the spectators. Cold was out of their reach, but they had seen him being pushed back and paralyzed by the three Kaiôshins. They wouldn't be able to hurt him. You might as well fight against the army invading the arena while waiting for the return of one of the two Son Gohans to the battlefield.

Without missing a beat, Piccolo set off in a sequence of rare brutality. He put his maximum strength into each furiously delivered blow. This was in spite of the fact that the cyborgs of his Universe had regained their humanity, even becoming their companions — at least for #18, the #17 he had in front of him was an abominable torturer who had neither regret nor compassion. Seventeen was much more vicious than the one he had met the first time, in Doctor Gero's laboratory. He was also much weaker.

“It’s time to pay for your crimes!”, Piccolo exclaimed, delivering a final blow to #17's face.

The latter displayed a terrified expression, and his last thought was surprisingly not his imminent end, but the memory of his sister's face after having collapsed in front of the sorcerer, as well as Yamcha's words. A final regret took possession of him before suffering the wrath of the Namek, who literally exploded his head. His brain and circuitry splattered all over the ground, while his body crashed in a heap next to them. Piccolo had in no way spared his opponent, whom he considered no better than a common heartless robot, compared to the cyborgs he knew. But he had seen the last spark in his eyes, and Kami, who was inside him, made him feel a tiny bit of remorse for the angry puppet.

However, he didn’t waste time thinking about this enemy whose bloody end he absolutely did not regret. He rushed towards Videl who was lying on the ground. Piccolo gently took her in his arms, kneeling on the ground, and checked her condition. Miraculously, she was still alive, but she was dying. He took a Senzu from the pouch on his belt and brought it to Gohan's wife's mouth.

“Take this, Videl”, he said in a panicked voice. “Otherwise Son Gohan will kill me.”

The crunch that followed reassured his panicked heart. The Earthling opened her eyes wide in shock and sat up suddenly. She remembered immense pain before losing consciousness, and looked at her body. She suddenly blushed when she discovered herself half-naked, her clothes reduced to shreds. Piccolo understood the message without needing to hear it, and held out his hand. A purple light surrounded Videl and changed her outfit. Piccolo already had some idea about what to dress her with.

“... Oh! Awesome!” Videl exclaimed while contemplating her savior's purple outfit. “This is perfect! Thanks, Piccolo!”

“You’re welcome” the Namekian answered while smiling at her. “Lightweight and ultra-resistant.”

“Uh…” she said, looking at Piccolo's torn clothes.

“Let’s just say, it’ll resist attacks from the likes of Freeza’s soldiers at least,” he justified himself. “An energy blast from Gohan not so much.”

Videl chuckled with pride before following Piccolo into the general melee. The fight was far from over.

A few minutes earlier...

The Great Kaioshin had remained with the young East Kaioshin, while observing the battle spin out of control. The deaths were becoming more and more numerous. His allies were fighting ferociously with all their psychic powers to keep one of the greatest threats at bay, King Cold. The two of them were barely able to push him away, because his power exceeded their telekinetic grip. He was partially restrained, but at this rate he was going to have them in range, and he would kill them without hesitation.

East Kaioshin opened his eyes with difficulty and freed himself from the support of the Great Kaioshin, who was surprised. The young god had recovered some strength, and he intended to help his companions, if only to immobilize Cold, even if they couldn’t kill him.

“Hold on!” cried his leader as the young Kaioshin flew away.

“I’m going to help them, they need reinforcements!” he replied over his shoulder.

The Grand Kaiôshin clenched his fists. His frustration was matched only by his sadness as he saw all these brave warriors fighting against their loved ones and against waves of relentless enemies. Even his companions found themselves seriously injured, yet they still persevered to save everyone. This time he couldn't stand it anymore.

“Buu!” he cried mentally. “You’re here, aren’t you? You must intervene now, this has gone on for too long! Babidi is causing an absolute massacre! Stop this chaos!”

A short silence followed his call.

“...No way, my friend.” replied the subtle voice. “What’s happening is way too interesting.”

“What are you saying?” mentally exclaimed the god of gods. “Don’t you hate Babidi, though? Didn't you want the tournament to continue?”

“It will continue, have no doubts about that. But I won't bring anyone back until victory belongs to one of the two sides. And there remains unknown data that I want to see with my own eyes. Whatever happens, Babidi will never win. That imbecile is distressingly stupid.”

“Maybe” replied the Grand Kaiôshin, annoyed. “But for your selfish pleasure, people suffer. I cannot allow it. I appeal to your kindness, Buu. Save everyone, and you will be the hero of the tournament. But stop these senseless killings.”

New silence.

“Buu?” insisted the deity.

“People suffer all the time. It is an immutable truth. This chaos is a multi-faceted spectacle that has many subtleties. The dead will return, and the situation will get better. But not before the final fight.”

“Buu…”

“If XXI intervenes in any way, I promise to respond. This is one of the desired effects. But without that, I will enjoy this entertainment until the end. Be patient.

This interruption creates many incredible events. From chaos comes inventiveness and renewal. I've already seen jumbles: a spontaneous synchronization technique between two identical Gohans; the courage of a Goten who had never tried to fight; a battle of nanotechnology against the salivary magic of Dabra; a corrupting love revealed; the spectators who discover what is really inside them: terrified sheep hiding under their seats, or resisting the executioner; an Ultra soldier learns to respect the strength of civilian fighters; birds know how to whistle; Cell who finally has his second fight against his ultimate enemy; Piccolo who avenges his frustration from his unfinished fight against C-17; Videl who displayed the greatest power of her life; what else will I learn?”

“But…”

Buu suddenly interrupted the mental connection. The Great Kaioshin heaved a sigh of discouragement. The Djinn only thought of his own interests above all. He took pleasure in seeing the fighters kill each other, simply from the desire to see who would win. This was the tournament he wanted to see during his nervous breakdown. And he wasn't wrong. XXI could manifest. With worried thoughts, the god turned his attention to the war unfolding before his eyes, sincerely hoping that it would all end as quickly as possible.