“Whoa!” Little Pan ducked, wincing as the energy ball exploded overhead. She retaliated, hurling a barrage of widespread energy beams. Much to her astonishment, Buu didn’t bother dodging, exploding into pink goo.

  “Heal from this!” Little Pan destroyed every bit of Buu's remains until nothing remained.

  “I won?” Little Pan thought. It seemed a little too easy.

  “Not bad,” a voice said. Little Pan turned to see another Buu emerge from the pulsating walls. Before she could even respond, the monstrous creature sprang at her.

  “You!” Little Pan winced as a fist drove into her chest. Her attacker paid for it—Buu’s head split in half as Little Pan slashed at him with her hand. But Buu only reformed seconds later, unharmed. Little Pan howled as a knee slammed into her face.

  Rage gathered within Little Pan—she’d had enough of Buu’s mocking smile. Her ki spiked to new heights, surprising even Buu. With an unexpected burst of speed, she unleashed a ki pulse that splattered Buu instantly. The creature’s distortion ability wasn’t helpful against such an attack. But her outburst only earned mocking laughter, the sound echoing through the chamber from every direction.

  “It doesn’t matter how many times you destroy me, little girl. You can’t kill Buu inside Buu!” The monster’s mocking laughter grew louder.

  “Dang it, he’s right,” Little Pan thought. Her eyes traced over the cocoons of Big Sis, Anpan, and Bardock. Her only shot was to weaken Buu by freeing the people she’d absorbed. She dashed towards Big Sis’s pod with a burst of sudden speed.

  But Buu saw her attack coming, growing out of the ground before Big Sis’s cocoon and punching her in the jaw hard enough to chip a tooth. A kick sent her flying clear across the chamber, away from her goal.

  Buu tapped a finger on his temple. “Thanks to Bardock, I saw this coming a long time ago. I knew you’d find yourself in this chamber. You can’t surprise me, girl. Nothing you do will ever surprise me.”

  “Oh, shoot.” What now? She’d underestimated Buu again, not realizing she could grow from the walls anywhere. And it made sense—everything around her was Buu. The only solace was that inner Buu didn’t seem as powerful as her real-life counterpart. But it didn’t matter when she was this outclassed.

  “It doesn’t matter!” Little Pan burst with power. “I’m saving Big Sis!” Now wasn’t the time to give up. She didn’t doubt for a second that her grandfather hadn’t given up the fight outside, so neither would she.

  “Foolish girl,” Buu said as Little Pan hurled herself at her, launching a barrage of fireballs as she did so.

  But it had only been a distraction—Little Pan hurled a single ki blast at the strand holding Big Sis’s cocoon. She enjoyed Buu’s expression as it sliced the cord, the cocoon toppling over. One more cord and Big Sis would be free from Buu.

  “No!” Buu cried in horror, appearing before Big Sis’s cocoon before Little Pan severed the final link.

  “How about this?” Little Pan targeted Bardock’s pod next, but Buu had already moved to intercept. This provided the perfect opportunity to shoot a cord on Anpan’s cocoon instead, which sat some distance away from the others.

  Little Pan beamed as she caught Buu’s frustrated expression. “Ha! You’re strong, but there’s only one of you! You can’t protect all three cocoons alone!” And once she freed one of them, it’d weaken Buu severely.

  “Can’t I?” Buu’s expression took on an expression Little Pan didn’t like. She gasped as dozens of Buus appeared from the walls and ceiling, growing like pink, demented weeds. Together, their distortions made them difficult to distinguish.

  “Me and my big mouth!” Little Pan said, before howling in pain as a knee connected with her chin. The mere contact sapped away her strength, weakening her so much that she almost didn’t dodge the punch from another Buu clone. She fled away to avoid the deadly blows, forcing her further away from her target.

  “Darn it.” Little Pan moved to turn around, but dozens of Buus blocked her. She unleashed a wave of destructive ki, but the destroyed Buus only reconstituted themselves moments later. “This isn’t fair!”

  Little Pan fought for her life as blows came from every direction, each blow sapping her already waning strength. She’d spent too long in Super Saiyan 2, and it had cost her. Buu’s body blocked any attempt to reach her targets. Finally, a punch to the sternum drained her last reserves, and she fell to her knees as her transformation failed.

  “Ick!” Blue goo clung to Little Pan’s legs, fastening her in place. Her heart raced with terror as dozens of Buus approached to finish the job. They had her helpless, drawing out the moment to savor her fear and hopelessness.

  “You’re dead, dead, dead!” The Buus said in unison, their tone jeering and mocking. “Fight and defeat Buu from the inside? Stupid!”

  But then, the Buus’ faces distorted with pain, the walls shaking with each quake. Was this her grandfather’s doing?

  “I get it. Grandpa’s kicking your sorry butt!” Little Pan said, her tone superior. “To fight me inside yourself, you need to put resources elsewhere. And Grandpa won’t go down easily.” It explained why Little Pan could fight her at all.

  “A minor distraction!” Buu snarled, and dozens of Buus rejoined the walls, melting back into herself.

  “I can’t give up.” But what now? Her energy reserves had drained to basically nothing. Even standing proved difficult. Little Pan figured she might manage another transformation to Super Saiyan, but it would sap her remaining ki.

  “Play helpless. It’s my only chance.” If she surprised her opponent, she just might manage to free either Anpan or Big Sis—then it’d be up to Grandpa to save the day. What happened to her didn’t matter as long as they defeated Buu.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  But her defiance only seemed to amuse the monster. The Buus circled her like a pack of hungry wolves, and Little Pan was a helpless doe with a broken leg. She tensed, ready to strike when the moment presented itself, regardless of the risk.

  But the attack never arrived. Only instinct saved Little Pan as she leaped back when a sudden chill struck her. The Buus in front of her stood in a permanent expression of shock, frozen to ice statues. Whatever the chill had touched froze solid—including the once-pulsating flesh walls. If she’d been a split second slower, she would’ve suffered the same fate.

  “What the heck?” Wasn’t this Bra’s technique? But how? She’d been half-dead.

  “No!” The unfrozen Buus shrieked in panic. “Why didn’t I see this coming?! No! It can’t be!”

  “Well, Buu.” Little Pan flared golden as she turned Super Saiyan, and his confidence surged. “Seems the tables have turned!”

  ---

  Goku ducked as a fist flew past his face, just barely scratching his skin. He knew how fatal it’d be if Buu made any contact. After the explosion, he couldn’t count on Buu not fighting to kill. That had been a terrible misstep on his part, and it had cost Gohan his life.

  A pang stabbed at his heart for making such an error. Despite his blood being up, part of his heart dragged him down, a sadness he couldn’t completely shake. Somehow, the loss hurt more than he’d expected, even though he knew the Dragon Balls would restore his son. Goku used his anger and frustration with himself to fuel his attacks. Buu wouldn’t get away with this!

  The air thundered as Goku exchanged blows with his opponent, each strike sending ripples through Buu’s rubbery flesh. That made the creature an interesting opponent—she took damage differently than other opponents. Heck, Goku wasn’t even sure Buu felt pain at all.

  Despite the damage he inflicted, the creature only bounced back moments later. Still, from the slight decrease in reaction speed, Goku sensed he was wearing his opponent down.

  “You made a big mistake, Buu,” Goku said. “By killing everyone else, you can't leech any ki to rejuvenate yourself.”

  “Shut up!” Again, Goku’s comment triggered a childish tantrum, making his opponent act erratically. The creature sent wild energy balls at him with impressive, destructive force. He used Instant Transmission to teleport away. A shockwave shook the entire tournament planet as the ki blasts struck the surface. Phew. He’d been lucky to avoid those.

  Buu scowled, searching for her opponent. Goku avoided Buu’s line of sight—not to launch a sneak attack, but to draw out the fight. He needed to stall until Pan rescued her counterparts. He could go all out, but Goku doubted he possessed the firepower necessary to kill Buu.

  Still, he worried about his granddaughter. He remembered how Buu had sent a copy of herself to stop Vegeta and him from saving Gohan and the others. He prayed Buu couldn’t fight both him and Pan at the same time.

  “You!” Buu found him and charged recklessly, but Goku didn’t engage, dodging away and forcing his opponent to chase him.

  As the fight dragged on, Buu became even more erratic. Goku recalled her earlier comment about a certain person coming. She must be talking about his fused counterpart and the other tournament fighters. She needed to finish him first before confronting them.

  Vegito and the other tournament fighters didn’t know about Buu. If she killed him, it gave her the perfect opportunity to set a trap—but that plan would be foiled if Goku warned them. Still, despite reinforcements coming soon, he didn’t drop his guard. When cornered, Buu was even more dangerous.

  “Gah!” Goku howled as a fist connected with his face, and felt his ki draining away. But he was quick, leaping back before she stole anything else. Still, the blunder had cost him.

  His flight wavered as he struggled to stay afloat. Super Saiyan 3 was costing him, taking a terrible toll on his body. He had two minutes at most. Still, Goku hardened his resolve and engaged his foe head-on.

  “Come on, Pan. You can do it!” Goku thought as he exchanged blows with Buu. He could have Instant Transmissioned away and forced Buu to search for him, but he needed to keep her distracted—otherwise, she’d focus her attention on Pan invading her body. At least, he hoped that was true.

  “Gah!” Another sloppy dodge got him touched again, draining him to almost nothing. Goku felt his transformation slipping through his fingers like grains of sand.

  Seeing the futility of dodging any further, Goku used his remaining strength to give Buu something to think about. His aura flared as he gathered his remaining energy and charged. Buu’s eyes bulged as the blow struck her chest, and dust exploded everywhere as she crashed into the rubble of a nearby building.

  Goku lowered to the ground, his hair returning to black. He panted, knowing he’d lost everything in that final desperate attack. He hoped Pan would be okay inside Buu—he hadn’t a clue how the world inside that creature worked.

  But as he’d feared, Buu was already back on her feet, royally ticked off. Without ki attacks, blows were basically futile against her. Still, Goku entered a fighting stance, ready to engage his opponent even without any Super Saiyan transformation.

  “You’re spent,” Buu said, her grin widening. She took sadistic glee in the discrepancy of their power. She would enjoy hurting him. Still, if it bought Pan more time, he’d take it.

  And the blow came, Goku coughing blood as a fist to the ribs punctured his lung. He fought on, regardless, making Buu work for her torture session. But with their difference in strength, he might as well be fighting smoke. Blow after blow sent Goku to his knees, and Buu lifted him by the head, enjoying how helpless he was against her.

  “Now you die!” Buu said with an evil glint in her eye. But then she paused. “No… you must suffer some more. No one has hurt me like you have.”

  But Goku didn’t buy this logic. Something inside Buu made her hesitate to kill him. His guess about Pan restraining Buu’s deadlier instincts had been correct. His mind focused on something else as his opponent ravaged him, distracting him from the pain. But then he gasped as Buu suddenly dropped him.

  He also sensed what had caught the monster’s attention. The power was incredible.

  “No… it can’t be. I should have seen this coming!” Fear flashed across Buu’s face as an unfamiliar figure came into view.

  No, that wasn’t right. There was something familiar about her, but Goku couldn’t quite place it—until he noticed the earrings in the young girl’s ears. Bra? But who had she fused with? He marveled at her power. And she hadn’t even gone Super Saiyan yet!

  The fused warrior’s features were strong and angular. Her wild hair extended down her back, dark purple with bluish highlights. She wore a Supreme Kai uniform. Instead of red, however, it was a striking hot pink. Her expression was serene, yet it only put Goku further on guard.

  “You killed my brother, Buu. I saw the explosion consume him until he was nothing but ash.” The newcomer’s voice was level, but Goku heard the simmering fury beneath her words. “Even Frieza, Cell, and their murderous ilk have some reason behind their crimes, petty as they are. But you? Your entire existence is destruction. You are an abomination, Buu.”

  Before Buu could respond, the fused warrior struck. Even Buu was caught off guard by her speed. She extended a hand, pressing it against Buu’s chest. The monster shrieked in terror as ice spread over her entire torso, freezing it solid. With a single swipe of her hand, the frozen mass shattered. But the warrior didn’t stop there—she extended her power again, instantly freezing Buu’s lower half.

  Goku’s eyes widened. That was the technique Bra had used against King Cold—or rather, Captain Ginyu. But this was beyond anything she’d used before.

  Buu, eyes wide in terror, crawled away, her torso a frozen stump of her torso. The ice interfered with her regeneration? How interesting. He needed to learn this technique. Buu’s rubbery body had turned brittle and fragile under the freezing effect.

  The technique, however, burned a considerable amount of ki. Goku worried the fused warrior had pushed herself too far. Much to his relief, he didn’t sense any drop in the warrior’s impressive ki. He briefly wondered if the Vargas would allow her to fight in the tournament. She'd be an impressive foe to fight.

  “Wait! Pan’s still in there!” Goku blurted out. “She’s trying to free the other Pans!”

  “Sorry, but this must be done. We’ll just wish them back,” the warrior said, her tone cold and uncompromising. “This abominable creature must be erased.”

  Goku frowned, his mind racing. That attitude. Then it clicked. He knew who Bra had fused with. It explained everything.

  “You’re the West Supreme Kai, aren’t you?” he asked. “Fused with Bra.”

  “Yes. Call me Libra.” The fused Kai gave a slight smile. “A fitting name for a hero. I’m sorry about your granddaughter, but we must destroy this monster before it causes further harm.”

  Buu was still dragging herself away, her expression desperate. Then her eyes glazed over, and Goku tensed. She was seeing into the future again.

  “No! I’ve lost! Buu has lost!” Her voice trembled with despair. “There’s no escape for Buu! No! I won’t accept this!”

  An icicle of fear stabbed into Goku’s chest as he caught the manic grin spreading across Buu’s nightmare face.

  “Buu will not accept this!” she shrieked. “If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me! I’m taking this entire galaxy!”

  Her skin glowed red, her body pulsing as she gathered every last ounce of her energy into one final, devastating explosion. It wasn’t about winning anymore. If she couldn’t win—

  —she’d kill them all.

  ---

  Author’s note:

  Next chapter will restart the tournament proper, I promise. Buu is a surprisingly difficult foe to beat.

  Next time: Buu’s final stand! Will the galaxy survive her desperate gambit? Tournament cleanup. Who the heck is going to pay for this mess? Vegeta vs Pan? A new form? SSJ Zero?