Insertion

    Part 85

    It's the end of Jurai as we know
it...[and I feel fine.]

+++++++++++++++++++++++

    "Majin Buu?" said Tenchi in
confusion as he stared at Trunks for a
moment.

    The boy merely nodded as the group
glared at the pink thing in front of
them for a moment.

    "What's the big deal?" grumbled
Ryoko irritably as she tensed.

    "What indeed?" asked Buu calmly.
"Are you ready?"

    Trunks smirked. "You're not Buu.
You're just a pathetic fanboy copying
something he saw on Television. I'm not
worried at all."

    "Well, I'd like to think of myself
as more of a tribute, but if you
insist," replied the pink thing
cheerfully.

    Trunks nodded at Ryoko and Hotaru.

    "His power level has risen,"
commented Hotaru as she glanced at
Trunks.

    "I'd noticed that," replied the boy
with a smirk. "We shouldn't have too
much trouble with this loser though."

    Buu snorted and frowned at them. He
raised his palm over his head and a pink
light formed there. The group tensed as
thousands of tiny tendrils of energy
shot from his palm and into the air,
creating an umbrella of destruction that
rained down around them. "We'll see
about that won't we?"

    "Damn!" cried Ryoko as she realized
that there was too much for even them to
dodge coming down on them.

    Trunks merely smirked and crossed
his arms. "Well, I'm glad we've found a
use for you after all."

+++++++++++++++++++

    "No!" gasped Ayeka as the screen in
front of them was blocked out by a
bright pink light that was visible from
orbit. It spread out across the surface
of the planet, and the ground became a
bright orange in color.

    "And so Jurai falls," said Azusa
calmly as he hung his head.

    "All things come to an end, but
Jurai's time has not yet come," said
Yosho.

    "Eh?" said the Emperor as he glanced
up at him.

    "Watch," said Washuu with a smirk
forming on her face.

+++++++++++++++++++

    Pluto stared into the gates of time.
Horror was clear on her face as she
simply stared into the image that
assaulted her. The newly repaired staff
in her hand wavered as she almost lost
her grip on it. "No! How could this have
happened?"

    The Earth was ravaged, destruction
and anarchy was all she could see. The
last vestiges of humanity clinging to
life by a thread and it was growing
frayed. Soon the thread would break, and
darkness would lord over the universe
for an untold amount of time. The senshi
were alive, if you could call it that.
Usagi's imprisonment, the death of her
friends, and the struggles of their
children played out before her in
flashing images. It was a battle that
could not be won. Chibi-Usa's eventual
betrayal, everything that she loved and
fought for, all gone in a few short
years. It was all beginning now, and
there was nothing she could do to stop
it. Her power was far to low for her to
oppose this force; she would be
destroyed by it in the end, leaving her
daughter to fight on in her place. If
she survived long enough to be found
after floating in space for twenty
years.

    "What happened? Where did we go
wrong?" She growled angrily as she
realized it all at once. "I was right
about him all along. I should have
destroyed him...I should have..." She
fell to her knees and sobbed. Time went
on before her eyes, more suffering and
pain. She couldn't bear to watch any
longer. "What can I do?"

    The gates of time shimmered for the
briefest of moments; an image came
before her that she did not see long
enough to focus through her tears.

    Someone stepped through the gate and
stood over her. She slowly pulled her
head up to stare at the newcomer with
tear filled eyes.

    "Don't cry Puu, it's not as bad as
it seems," said an unfamiliar voice.

    "Who?" she muttered in confusion.

    The figure turned away from her his
back facing her as he walked towards the
door to the chamber. "Let's go.
Shouldn't take us too long to get there
from here. A day at most."

    "Right," commented another voice as
someone else stepped through the gates
of time and smirked at her.

    "Who are you?" she demanded as she
rose to her feet. Her grief and the
feeling of helplessness melted away,
having dulled her reaction up to this
point.

    "Me? Just a friend. Sorry we don't
have time to explain, but we've got work
to do," said the first boy as he smirked
at her from over his shoulder.

    Pluto blinked at this. The pair was
in their mid-teens, and the both of them
were walking about as if they owned the
place. She felt a spike of anger flow
through her body and leveled the staff
in her hands at them. "You two will
return at once!"

    The second boy spoke, brushing his
long bangs out of his face with an idle
gesture. He had brown hair that was tied
into a ponytail that went to the middle
of his back. His companion had short cut
black hair that was spiked up slightly.
"How much worse can it get lady?"

    With that, the pair walked out and
left her standing alone. She blinked and
rushed out the door glancing around the
hall in search of them. The pair was
gone. "AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!" She screamed
in frustration and began to run through
the halls, searching for them.
"Bastards! I'll get them for this!" She
fell down to her knees as a sharp pain
stabbed into her forehead. "What?
Again?" she muttered angrily as she
slowly rose to her feet after a moment.
"Damn it! I am the senshi of time! How
can I be surprised so much in such a
short amount of time?!" she snarled
angrily.

++++++++++++++++++++

    Tochi snarled as she reared back her
head and backed through the doorway to
the concert hall. A crystal  gorged on
power rested in her clawed hands as her
claws ripped up the carpet in her wake.
"Soon, our plan will be realized!" she
growled through her inhuman face as she
glared at the group standing in front of
her.

    Akane Tendo was breathing hard,
leaning against one of the seats with a
silver rifle of some kind in her hands.
She was winded and beaten, but alive.
Stones protruded from the ground, spikes
of rock with people impaled on them
littered the room in the aftermath of
the battle. "We did it."

    Ranma frowned as his transformation
powered down, his golden hair settling
back into black as he stared at the
doorway with an unreadable expression on
his face. "Yes, we did."

    Jadeite and Kunzite were sitting off
to the corner, nursing a few small
wounds as the calm after the battle
settled in. They were all scratched up,
but none of them was in any danger of
dying.

    "This one is worse than the one
before it," grumbled Kunzite angrily.
"We always manage to drive it off, but
are we really winning?"

    "I know we are," said Ranma with an
odd-looking smirk forming on his face.

    "Doesn't seem that clear to me,"
commented Kunzite irritably.

    Ranma chuckled. "Of course you're
losing," he thought to himself. "I am
not though, nor are my allies." He
turned away and walked out of the room,
leaving them sitting there to tend to
their own wounds.

    "Where are you going?" asked Akane.

    "I've got business to take care of,
I'll meet you back at the headquarters."

    Jadeite glanced at Kunzite and
frowned. "Something's up with him."

    "I know," said Kunzite irritably.

    "He's been doing this a lot lately,"
said Akane with a rough sounding snort
as she plopped herself against the wall
next to them. The rifle was slung across
her shoulder carelessly and she scowled.
"It's bothering the hell out of me."

    "No kidding," grumbled Kunzite. "We
should keep this to ourselves at the
moment though."

    "Nephrite suspects as well," said
Jadeite.

    "Zocite has expressed suspicions
with me also," agreed Kunzite. "We have
to do something about this."

    "What? He's all that's keeping us
alive right now," said Jadeite with his
frown deepening. "Without him, we are
helpless against them."

    "The senshi are still gone," said
Akane with her head hung low. "So is my
sister."

    "He seems confident that we're
winning. I wish I could share that
sentiment," said Jadeite as he stood up.
"We should go, it won't be long before
the police arrive. They can clean this
mess up."

    Akane sighed and nodded as she
allowed herself to be helped to her
feet. Kunzite did the same and they
walked out of the building together.

+++++++++++++++++++++

    "How long are you going to keep this
up?" said Tochi as she landed beside
Ranma. The pair was standing on top of a
rooftop overlooking Shinjuku. It was
silent and a cold wind blew through the
air.

    "Heh. It amuses me. Let me enjoy my
game."

    "It's dangerous," said Tochi.

    "These fools will never become
strong enough to defeat us, anyone with
that ability is on Jurai. Ekitai is
doing away with  them as we speak.
There's nothing to worry about," replied
the pigtailed boy calmly. "Everything is
going according to my plan."

    "You sound doubtful of that," said
Tochi as she placed her hand on his
shoulder.

    Ranma growled as he looked up at the
sky. "It should be me out there doing
this. I should kill them myself.
Ekitai..."

    "He is superior to you in power,"
said Tochi calmly as she smirked a
little.

    "He will fail. They will return
stronger than ever," replied Ranma
coldly.

    "You worry too much," said Tochi as
she squeezed his shoulder a little.

    "We should have sent me with him, or
Chibi-Usa..."

    "To do what?"

    "Make sure everything goes smoothly!
Kuroi should have taken care of this
himself. They are the biggest danger to
our plans!" snapped Ranma as she jerked
away from her grip. "Knowing that fool
is out there, failing miserably is
eating me alive."

    "Ekitai is the second strongest of
our kind. Only Kuroi surpasses him, you
should relax," commented the Youma as
she smirked at his reaction a little.

    "That's why he should have gone!
Ekitai will not return to us!"

    "Then, we'll just have to blow them
out of the sky, and leave them to the
void when they try to return," said
Tochi as she moved closer to his side.

    "Heh, you make it sound so easy,"
replied the boy as he glanced at her for
a moment.

    "Who says it isn't?" asked Tochi as
she leaned in and kissed him on the
cheek.

    Ranma snorted and wiped the side of
his face with the back of his hand.
"That doesn't mean I'm not going to take
precautions. Does Kuroi have what I
need?"

    "The room is as you asked for."

    "Good, get me the spore. We're going
now then," said Ranma calmly.

    "What about your game?" asked Tochi
with a surprised blink.

    "Do what you want with them. I will
not fail," said Ranma angrily as he
clenched his fist at his side.

    "Very well," said the woman with her
grin growing inhuman. Her teeth
protruded over her lips and she
chuckled.

    "Heh. For a moment, I almost found
you attractive," he said in reaction to
this.

    "Would you have done anything about
it?" she said playfully. "All this
training, it's making you boring. It's
all you do these days."

    "I'll be interesting enough once
those fools on Jurai are dealt with,"
said Ranma coldly.

    "We'll see then," she replied as she
turned away. She pulled out a small
round object that looked somewhat like a
compact. "Spore."

    Chibi-Usa's face appeared on the
tiny screen inside of the communicator.
"I've told you about that."

    "Your father wants you," said Tochi.

    "About what?" snorted the woman on
the other side.

    "Well, for one thing, you should
still be a child. It's dangerous to go
around like that at the moment," said
Tochi with a slightly amused frown.

    "That's my business," replied the
Black Lady coldly. "What does that old
fool want?"

    "What do you think?" snorted Tochi.

    "Again? He is too paranoid! I'm
proof enough of the outcome of this,"
said Chibi-Usa coldly.

    Ranma snatched the device from Tochi
and glared at the screen for a moment.
"Humor me then. I might decide that
you're usefulness is at an end after
you've ensured my future you know."

    Chibi-Usa growled at this and glared
at him. "I'll be there."

    "Good, because if I decided that you
were boring, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't
be too worried about losing you. Make
sure an old man has a little bit of a
challenge in his daughter." He closed
the communication down and snorted.

    "Offspring should be dealt with
harshly. It makes them stronger," said
Tochi as she accepted the device from
him as he shoved it into her palm.

    Ranma glanced at her for a moment
without a single word, and flew into the
sky leaving her there on the roof.

    "Well, played," said Tochi. "Exactly
the kind of man I'd want for my own
nest."

+++++++++++++++++++++

    Tatewaki Kuno walked along the
sidewalk in the middle of the night. He
had a contemplative frown on his face as
the sky grew more and more angry.

    "Ranma Saotome," he muttered under
his breath. The target of his hatred,
the one who dared keep his one true love
away from his arms by some unknown
magic... hadn't been seen on the school
grounds for weeks.

    He cocked his head in irritation as
he mulled over this. He had gone to the
Tendo home a few times to face his
rival. The coward was hardly ever there,
running from his prowess no doubt. It
was understandable, there were few who
would not wet themselves at just the
sight of his mighty sword.

    Still, it was irritating. He wished
to face the fool in battle, and prove to
him that he was the best man to hold
Akane Tendo's heart. Both to the coward
Ranma, and to Akane herself. Surely she
would rush into his arms after he
defeated such an enemy. On the few
occasions he did find him, he was held
back from his full potential by unknown
magic. Something was staying his hand,
and preventing his strikes from
connecting. Oddly enough, the strange
magic had almost cost him his life
several times. Surely is sheer prowess
had stayed the curse from being
completed.

    Well, that and the young child who
had become enamored with his purity and
grace. She seemed to have tamed the
savage lowborn fool enough to force him
to stay his hand at the end of a battle.
Something about 'needing him in the
future or something'. No doubt an
innocent wish to become his wife in the
future. He would hate to break the young
maiden's heart when he wed Akane Tendo,
but it had to be done.

    His musings were cut short when he
heard something unusual. The hour was
late and he was returning home from a
full day of meditation, or rather,
walking around in the hope of running
into Ranma Saotome on the street.

    Whatever it was, it was somewhat
muffled. He was near to a small park in
one of the residential areas. He was
pretty sure he was still in Nerima, but
not completely so. He'd been walking all
day, and may have wandered into a nearby
ward.

    The sight that greeted him was
definitely not what he was expecting.

It was a man with a green face wearing a
trench coat. He was clutching his head
as if in pain, and was making a rather
painful sounding grunting noise. "What
magic is..." His eyes went wide as the
man started to pull his face off.

    "GAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" cried Hikaru
Gosunkugi as he finally freed himself of
the mask. His eyes were wide and horror
filled as he tossed it to the ground at
his feet. He glared at it in horror and
gasped for breath. He put his hands up
in front of his face, they were covered
in blood.

    He had just raided a local drug
house. Not all that unusual in itself,
but this time he had lost it completely.
"My god. What have I done?" he muttered
under his breath as tears filled his
eyes. Images flooded his mind, not
clouded as they usually were after such
an episode. Images of his hands ripping
out a man's spinal chord through his
mouth. Images of himself shoving a
plunger through a woman's head. Worst of
all, an image of himself tearing of
someone's head, and taking the time to
shit down their neck. "It's getting
worse!" he muttered to himself in
horror. "I'm growing more and more
violent! What's happening to me?"

    Unfortunately, he didn't notice the
silent figure standing nearby, watching
him intently. A voice brought him out of
his stupor.

    "What magic is this?"

    Hikaru Gosunkugi's head shot up and
his eyes went wide. "Kuno?" he muttered
as recognition set in. "I..."

    Tatewaki Kuno knelt down beside him
and stared at him for a moment. "I'm..."
he stammered. It didn't take him long to
realize that the boy was on his feet
again a moment later. "What?"

    The mask wasn't on the ground
anymore, it was sitting in Kuno's hands
as the boy stared at it.

    "What? No! You can't! That..."

    Kuno snorted and thwacked the boy
over his head with the bokken in his
hand and sent him to the ground in a
heap. "Lowborn fool! You shall not stay
me from my path! At last I have
discovered a way to rid myself of the
foul and cowardly sorcerer known as
Ranma Saotome!" He blinked and seemed to
realize what he was doing as he looked
at the unconscious boy for a moment. He
was basically robbing him. "I...No doubt
he would see the need of my person of
such magics, and gladly donate this to
my cause!" He slipped the mask into his
shirt and continued on his way.

+++++++++++++++++++++

    Majin Buu smirked at the area around
him, it was little more than a molten
pit. He floated above the lava and
chuckled to himself. "Well, I am
impressed."

    Trunks, Hotaru, Ryoko, and Tenchi
were floating nearby. Tenchi had his
hands in the air over their heads
generating a shield of power to cover
them. There was also a patch of ground
just under them, unmolested by the
assault.

    Trunks snorted and floated forward.
"Are we supposed to be impressed by
that? Any one of us could do what you
just did without much effort."

    "The fun is just starting," chimed
Buu cheerfully.

    "That it is," said Trunks as he
moved into a combat stance.

    "We should help him," said Ryoko.

    "He'll be angry if you try," said
Hotaru calmly. "Just wait. He's testing
the waters so to speak. This is for our
benefit as much as his."

    "What?" said Tenchi dumbly.

    "Even if he doesn't manage to
destroy him, we'll have some idea of how
he fights, and what to expect. I suspect
that our young friend already knows what
he's up against."

    Ryoko nodded silently at this and
seemed to calm visibly.

    "We shouldn't help then?" asked
Tenchi.

    "I didn't say that, just be ready,"
replied Hotaru.

    Trunks glanced back at them and
Hotaru nodded to him. He focused his
attention on Buu after that, not
worrying that one of the others would
try to rush him head on.

    "Trying to take me on all alone?"
said Buu with a small disgusted snort.

    "Don't look so disappointed,"
commented Trunks as he started to raise
his power levels.

+++++++++++++++++

    "What's going on?" growled a stoic
looking Juraian as he sat in the command
chair of one of the warships that
circled above the planet in wait.

    "I'm not certain sir!" said one of
the officers. "They appear to still be
talking."

    "How did they survive that blast?"
said the Captain as he glanced at the
man.

    "I'm not certain sir. The ship that
rescued the Emperor has not yet reached
the fleet, but it is definitely off the
surface."

    Trunks could be seen on the screen
from an overhead view that looked to be
about twenty feet above the fight. A
field of power started to form around
his body that was visible on the screen.

    "Energy reading sir!" exclaimed one
of the men.

    "I can see that!" snapped the
Captain. "What about that thing?"

    "Still nothing sir, we're not
getting a reading from it at all," said
the man as he glanced at his console.
His eyes went wide and he stood up from
his seat. "Impossible."

    "Eh?" said the Captain as he glanced
at him.

    "Sir! That man is generating enough
power..."

    "What is it! Spit it out!" snapped
the Captain impatiently.

    "He's generating enough power to run
this ship for six months," said the man
as he looked up at his Captain.

    "Pardon?" asked the man with a
disbelieving snort.

    Unfortunately for the poor man,
Trunks achieved his Super Saiyan form at
that very moment.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

    "Well, that is impressive. I'm sure
Takibi was outclassed." Buu chuckled to
himself as he eyed the golden warrior in
front of him for a moment.

    "Match boy never saw this form,"
said Trunks confidently. "I'm a real
Super Saiyan now."

    "Bah!" snorted Buu as he waited
patiently.

    Trunks snorted and blasted forward
in a blaze of light. Buu smirked as the
boy slammed into him fist first at full
force.

    The boy gasped as he felt the blow
connect. Buu was shot back and Trunks
pressed the advantage, chasing his
target down and overtaking it easily. He
seemed to appear behind it and kicked it
upwards, repeating the process as he
shot skyward and moved in front of the
pink thing once again. He kicked it
downward and paused.

    For the briefest of moments he had
seen Buu's face before he was sent
careening towards the lava below. The
thing was grinning at him. "What the?"

    Buu never hit the ground. He stopped
his decent and folded his arms over his
chest. "My, how interesting this is."

    "What?" gasped Tenchi.

    "No way!" growled Ryoko angrily, her
aura started to burn.

    Hotaru merely frowned at it and
narrowed her eyes. "Interesting."

    "Not ready to join us yet?" asked
Buu as he turned to look at her for a
moment.

    "We'll see," said Hotaru calmly as
she held her position.

    Trunks floated nearby and watched
the pink thing for a moment as it seemed
to ignore him. "What's going on? I know
there's no way he's that strong! He had
to feel it at least!" His mind searched
for an explanation and he growled in
frustration.

    "Ready to try again?" asked Buu
calmly.

    "Ka-me-ha-me-HA!" snapped Trunks as
he thrust his hands forward. A beam of
power shot towards Buu and the thing
merely smiled at him malevolently.
Trunks simply stood there with his mouth
hanging open as the beam seemed to pass
right through the center of the thing's
chest. "No way!"

    "Your power is pathetic," said Buu
coldly.

    "I'm not getting anything from him!"
thought Trunks in frustration. "Not even
a glimmer of power! Is he an illusion?"
He grit his teeth in frustration. "Is
that it? He's not real?"

    "Trying to figure this out?" asked
Buu calmly.

    Trunks looked at his hands, he had
felt himself connect, he knew that he
had felt his fists hit something solid.
"This is some kind of trick. I know it,"
he growled angrily.

    "Hmmm, where have I heard that
before?" said Buu playfully.

    Trunks blushed despite himself. "I'm
really starting to hate Dragon Ball," he
grumbled under his breath. He blasted
forward and attacked Buu again, raining
blows into the thing and feeling every
one of them connect solidly. He jumped
back and growled as the thing stood
there smirking at him and seemingly
unharmed despite everything he had
thrown at it. "Damn!"

    "Ha! You're a weak and pathetic
fighter! I haven't even felt a single
blow! I'm growing tired of this!" Buu
grinned at him and pointed with his
finger in a mocking gesture.

    "What am I missing here?" growled
Trunks.

    "If you haven't figured it out yet,
too bad. Playtime is over. I've got a
job to do, and when I'm finished, the
entire Universe is mine for the taking!"

    Trunks tensed himself and crouched
slightly as he prepared.

    "I'm getting kind of hungry," said
Buu as he glanced over at the group that
was watching the battle. "How about
you?"

    Trunks growled.

    "I know, I'll make you a cookie!"

    He pointed his finger at Ryoko and
grinned.

    "What?" said the woman dumbly.

    A strange transparent energy formed
around her body, distorting the air
slightly. Ryoko screamed painfully and
jerked suddenly with her eyes wide with
fear and pain. She fell forward and
gasped as it stopped suddenly and she
almost fell into the boiling lake of
lava below them. Tenchi managed to catch
her and hold her in the air.

    Trunks had attacked Buu in the
middle of his assault. The thing was
glaring at him irritably. "Hmm, takes a
long time to work if you're still
strong. I guess I'll have to wear you
out a bit if I want to eat."

    The boy moved back into a combat
stance and stared at it hatefully.
"Bring it on."

    "As you wish!" said Buu as it
charged for the first time, in the one
on one battle, it was on the assault.

    Trunks reeled as blow after blow
slammed into his body. The thing was too
fast for him to follow, it was almost as
if it was punching through his blocks.
He cried out in pain and struggled to
stay aloft despite the battle. "Damn
it!"

    Buu chuckled as he kicked his
opponent across the sky. Trunks sailed
back through the air and actually
cleared the huge lava crater that Buu's
first assault had caused. He slammed
into the ground and dug a long rift into
the soil. Finally he stopped and looked
up at the sky painfully. "Ouch."

    "Did that hurt? Don't worry, it will
be over soon," said Buu as he floated
just overhead with a smirk on his face.

    "Damn," growled Trunks as he rose to
his feet. "I'm gonna have to go all
out!"

    "Eh?" said Buu dumbly.

    Trunks screamed as his aura blasted
outward again. His hair and body grew
slightly larger and his eyes became an
ever-deeper shade of blue. "I was hoping
to save this form for Ranma, but I
suppose I really should try it out
first."

    Buu sneered. "It won't matter how
strong you become, you'll never defeat
me," said the thing calmly.

    Trunks shot into the sky again,
attacking full force. Buu returned every
blow he was given with an unnatural
skill that Trunks knew he shouldn't
have.

    "Growing tired yet?" said Buu
playfully.

    Trunks snarled in frustration and
anger. "This isn't possible!" Buu
actually felt harder now, he couldn't
figure out what was wrong.

    "Get out of my way weakling," said
the pink thing calmly as he kicked
Trunks across his face with a spinning
blow.

    The boy sailed through the air once
again and landed hard on the ground. His
impact shot up a huge cloud of dust that
enveloped almost a full square mile of
the planet's surface. Buu chuckled and
waited patiently for his opponent to
return.

++++++++++++++++

    "This shouldn't be!" said Washuu as
she stared at the scene that played in
front of them.

    "No! Get away!" gasped Ayeka. "We
have to contact them! Tell them to run!"

    Yosho looked at her for a moment and
frowned. "Even if we could, I doubt they
would listen."

    Nabiki glanced back at him and then
looked at the screen. "That thing isn't
that skilled."

    "What?" muttered Usagi as she looked
at the girl next to her in shock. She
had been silent for the entire fight up
to this point.

    "Something is wrong, Ranma should be
wiping the floor with that thing," said
Nabiki calmly. "I don't think it's that
strong."

    "You noticed that as well?" asked
Yosho calmly as he continued to stare at
the screen. "I do not believe that this
creature is as strong as it is
pretending to be. I can only hope that
they find an answer soon."

    "What?" muttered Rei dumbly.

    "Not that powerful?" gasped Azusa.

    Washuu glanced at Ami and the girl
nodded.

    "It seems that this thing, is not as
powerful as it claims. The reason you
failed Azusa, is because you were trying
to fight off the power of your own
planet."

    "What?" gasped the Emperor in shock.

    "Yes, I agree," said Ami. "I believe
that this enemy has its strength in
deception, not power. It doesn't matter
how hard Trunks punches it, it will not
be defeated that way."

    Washuu blinked at this. "I was
referring to the fact that it's powering
itself with Jurai itself."

    "Really?" said Ami in confusion.
"That makes it even more dangerous
then."

    "Then why did Lord Tenchi's
shield..." muttered Ayeka.

    "Because Tenchi is using the power
within himself, and not the power of
Tsunami," replied Yosho calmly.

    "What?" gasped Ayeka.

    "Tsunami can be copied," replied
Washuu. "However, even if I were to
clone you, there would still be subtle
differences between the real you, and
the clone you."

    "You mean...Lord Tenchi?"

    "It's because he's half human,"
replied Washuu.

    Everyone looked at her for a moment.

    "Something about human blood causes
an odd mutation when mixed with certain
species. It enables them to become
stronger than the original species. It's
one of the great mysteries of the
universe. They are a relatively weak
species on their own, but combined with
the right genes..." She turned and
smirked at Azusa. "Of course, that was
no accident, was it?"

++++++++++++++++++++++

    "Still not enough," growled Trunks
painfully as he waited for the cloud of
dust around him to clear away a bit. He
was coughing violently as he said this
and tried to breath in the dust.

    "Shit! What the hell am I gonna do
now?" he thought as he glared at the
ground. "I'm at my maximum and I can't
even scratch him! My beam passed through
him like he wasn't even there!"

    He glanced up and saw the pink thing
floating on the other side of the slowly
fading haze above him. "More power?
Maybe if I get strong enough..." His
eyes turned to where his friends were
standing. They wouldn't move to attack
unless he said too, or died. He knew
that as they were now, they wouldn't
stand a chance.

    "This is it. All my power, a single
strike!" he floated into the air slowly,
facing off against Buu.

    "Back again are you? Haven't you
given up yet?"

    "Rrrrrrrr..." was the only reply the
thing got.

    Buu opened his mouth slightly and
stared at the Saiyan for a moment as it
started to glow again. "This again?
Really..."

    "You won't be laughing when I'm
through with you," growled Trunks.

    Buu shifted his stance and watched
the boy warily. "What? What's he doing?"
Without thinking he dashed forward in an
attack.

    Trunks dodged by shooting backwards
suddenly and stopping about two hundred
yards away. His aura grew brighter and
he looked down at the ground. He started
to descend as his aura continued to
glow. Occasionally Buu would take
another halfhearted swipe at him and
he'd move out of the way. He always
faced the thing though and it grew more
and more confused.

    "What are you doing? " snarled Buu.

    Trunks smirked as he glanced down at
his friends. They looked to be just as
confused as Buu was. He appeared to be
doing nothing more than taunting the
thing with his battle aura raised.
"It's time," he said quietly as he eyed
the pink thing that was starting to grow
more impatient by the moment.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

    "What's he doing?" muttered Ryoko in
confusion. "He's charging for something,
but I don't see..."

    "Too much power!" gasped Tenchi.

    Hotaru was as silent as ever as she
watched the battle. "What is he doing?
All that power?" She glanced back at
Tenchi and Ryoko. "Get ready to fight."

    "What?" said the boy in shock.

    "If this doesn't work, Trunks will
be unable to continue," said Hotaru
calmly.

    Tenchi glared at the boy as he put
his hands together. "No! What's he
doing! He's gonna blow up the whole
planet!"

    "What?" gasped Ryoko. That was when
she realized that Tenchi was right. "You
crazy bastard! Stop that!" She started
to float up to stop him, but Hotaru
managed to catch her ankle and slammed
her into the ground.  "Are you nuts?
We're gonna die!"

    "Watch," said Hotaru as she nodded.

    Trunks's face contorted into a mask
of rage, and he dropped down slightly in
the air. "Final Flash!" he cried aloud
as the energy beam rocketed from his
hands towards Buu.

    The thing's eyes went wide as it saw
the power shooting towards it. The
golden energy seemed to slam into its
body all at once.

    Trunks hit the ground hard, he
bounced and lay there still.  Balls of
pink goo splattered across the ground
messily all around the area where Buu
had been destroyed.

    Hotaru narrowed her eyes as she
watched the beam continue to sail into
the sky. It vanished from sight and she
grimaced as several smaller secondary
explosions could be seen in space. "You
dope. All the Juraians are above us!"

    Trunks was out cold though and heard
nothing.

+++++++++++++++++++++

    "GAAAAAAHHHHHH! That idiot!" cried
Ayeka as she watched the beam sail out
into space a few miles in the distance.
No less than four cruisers had been
destroyed in its passing.

    "A small price to pay, for the
safety of our planet," said Azusa with a
heavy sigh. "It seems we are in the debt
of that boy."

    Yosho nodded. "So it would seem."

    Washuu heaved a sigh of relief and
sat down. "Well, I'm glad that's over
with."

    "It's over?" asked Usagi with a wide
smile growing on her face.

    Makoto laughed and grabbed Rei in a
rather rough hug. The others inside the
ship quickly followed, even Nabiki pat
Usagi on the back with a smile on her
face. It was easy to tell everyone was
relieved to say the least.

    Everyone that is, but Ami Mizuno.

    Ami Mizuno was sitting down with her
laptop on her knees. Her eyes were wide
and she simply stared at the screen in
front of her in what could have been
horror. A screen that showed Majin Buu
with a huge grin on his face, exploding,
while the beam was still ten feet in
front of him.

    She raised her head and spoke three
words that silenced everyone with a
surprising quietness. "It's not over."

++++++++++++++++++++

    TBC...

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