AN: Full disclosure, not entirely happy with this chapter. It was a bit of a slog and taking summer college classes certainly did not help matters. Rest assured, the next chapter is one I'm really looking forward to, and I hope to have it posted sometime next week. I hope you guys enjoy this. Thanks to all of my favs, watchers, and reviewers.

Chapter 6 – When It Began to Mend…

Months passed in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, as Towa called it, and Puddin had excelled in her training by leaps and bounds. Under the tutelage of her father, she was mastering the basics of the Majin fighting style and could use her stretchy arms to punch someone from over five meters away. She had started her training feeling squeezed by the times ten gravity outside the door, but now she could sprint in a times fifteen gravity zone for almost a quarter of an hour before she had stop and rest. She had also learned how to fly and how to throw energy blasts. Granted, the only stable energy blast she could currently make was about the size of a tennis ball, but progress was still progress.

Thankfully, Puddin had grown during those months. After eating enough food from the constantly refilling pantry, Puddin was shocked to wake up one day and find that she had grown exponentially overnight. She was now the size of an older teenager, and she was also surprised that she now had boobs! The new form she gained wasn't quite comfortable to fight in initially, but she soon adjusted to her new proportions. She had at first been mortified when none of her clothes would fit her anymore, but her parents helped her out with that. At the start, her mother made Puddin an outfit that looked exactly like her own, but it just made Dumplin uncomfortable. After a quick discussion, Puddin agreed and asked her daddy to make her some new outfits with his Clothes Beam. Her normal attire now consisted of bright yellow pants with a pink and green belt, neon green boots with pink trim, pink armbands, a dark red chest wrap, a neon green vest with the Time Patrol insignia on it, and a bright pink scarf tied around her neck. The outfit showed off Puddin's midriff, which she was perfectly fine with. She liked to show off the arrangement of steam holes that formed a heart on her stomach. To Puddin, it was the perfect outfit for training in.

The training she was going through was extensive and varied indeed. For the moment, however, Puddin was focused on a very unorthodox training exercise.

"Here it comes!" Dumplin said, tossing a ball into the air. A hundred yards away from him, Puddin crouched low to the ground like a sprinter waiting for the gun. Her eyes followed the baseball up into the air until it reached its peak before coming down. Her muscles clenched like a coiled spring. She was ready. The ball descended to her father's chest level. That was when he swung the bat he was holding.

The sound it made was less of a crack and more of an explosion, and that wasn't even counting the sonic boom that came as the baseball immediately accelerated past the speed of sound. Puddin took to the air the instant her father's bat and the ball made contact. Faster than the normal eye could see, she sped through the air to intercept the ball. Just as it was about to pass her, her hand snapped forward and the ball flew into her mitt with a satisfying thunk.

"Nice catch, Sweetheart!" Dumplin called.

"Nyaa~" Puddin said happily before tossing the ball back to him.

Ever since her daddy had first introduced her to the stickball sport, Puddin had adored it. The Time Patrol actually held a baseball championship every year, but the last one was before she was born. She was looking forward to playing in the coming championship. For a few months now, Dumplin had found many ways to turn baseball practice into a form of training for her.

"Here comes another," Dumplin called before hitting the ball again. Puddin did not move from her position, but instead stretched her mitt arm as quick as a snake to catch the ball. "Great one!" Dumplin called with a laugh.

Puddin smiled and tossed the ball back to her father. After a tough morning of high-gravity sprints and hand-to-hand practice, it was nice to unwind with a bit of fun.

However, when Puddin looked past her father back to the house, her mood dropped.

Next to the patio, her mother had set up a sort of makeshift lab. A bunch of tables were arranged in a rough circle and were covered with test tubes, Bunsen burners, and oddles of other sciency things, along with perhaps a half dozen in-progress experiments. Towa was there now, mixing some liquids and powders to make some sort of new rune paint. The demon woman had set up that lab on the second day in the Time Chamber and had gotten into the habit of spending most of her waking hours there.

Different environment, same old Mom, Puddin thought sadly.

Dumplin followed her gaze before she saw his eyes narrow.

"One second," he said, dropping the bat.

Before Puddin could say a word, he was stomping off in the direction of Towa's makeshift lab. Despite herself, Puddin found herself flying closer to watch and listen. Dumplin squeezed between two tables and stood behind Towa with his hands planted on his hips. Towa was dividing her attentions between a mixture and an open journal she was scribbling notes in.

"I don't understand why you are bothering me, dear," Towa said without turning, gently swirling the mixture in a flask. "I have work that I'm trying to do."

"You always have work to do, Towa," Dumplin said. "Why don't you take a break? Play some baseball with us? It's fun."

Towa glanced over her shoulder at him before turning back to her mixture.

"There are literally hundreds of better uses of my time than hitting a ball back and forth. Go play with your daughter. She seems to be enjoying it."

"She's your daughter too, y'know," said Dumplin. Towa stilled at hearing that. Following her father's example, Puddin landed next to him in Towa's area.

"Please, Mom," Puddin begged. "Baseball's so much fun, you'll see. We just want to spend some quality time with you. Please don't avoid us."

Void… void… void…

Towa glanced at Puddin. That was her undoing. She snapped her eyes back to the mixture in her hands, but it was too late. She had witnessed the most powerful weapon in Puddin's arsenal.

The Puddin Pout.

Her eyes had become huge and glistening. Her lower lip trembled, as if on the verge of tears.

Most beings could not resist its power. Towa desperately wanted to believe she was not most beings.

"This is very important," she said, but her resolve was weakening. "I need to… to make sure it reaches the right thickness."

"Please~?" Puddin whined. "Please please please please pleeeeeeeeaaase?"

Towa broke.

"Okay! Alright!" she snapped, placing the flask on the table with a little more force than necessary. "If it will keep the two of you quiet for five minutes, then fine."

"Nyaa~" Puddin cheered, jumping over Towa's lab table to stride proudly back to where Dumplin had left his bat. The Demon God himself followed at a more sedate pace, keeping alongside Towa, who just sighed and moved forward like she were going to her execution.

"It's not that bad, honey," Dumplin said, patting her arm. "It's just a little bit of family fun. We'll play a few games and then you can get back to your science."

"Very well," Towa said as they reached their Puddin, who was bouncing up and down in excitement.

"So babe," Dumplin said, picking up the bat, "how you wanna play this?" As soon as he finished, Towa snatched the bat out of his hands.

"I think I'll be at bat first. You two better ready yourselves." She grinned evilly at the determined Puddin. "I won't be as nice as your father was."

"Bring it," Puddin said with a big smile.

And like that, it seemed the family was beginning to tighten their bonds. When Puddin and Dumplin were playing baseball, throwing water balloons, or doing some other fun activity as a means of training, they would pester Towa until she agreed to join them. As the months passed and the time of their exit grew closer, Towa required less and less convincing every time they asked. She even smiled as they played together.

One day, as he was doing some training of his own, Dumplin spied Towa giving Puddin a lesson on the timeline and multiverse theory. Towa was obviously enjoying having a student and Puddin was listening to her with rapt attention. Dumplin turned away and smiled.

It had worked. His family was whole again.

Conton City

Paata sat against the wall of the Time Patrol training hall, mindlessly scraping a whetstone down the edge of his sword. It was a mindless task meant to distract himself as he waited and also a means to keep his Saiyan urges in check.

Punohsa had told him yesterday about how the instructors had denied Puddin the chance to train, and he had immediately marched over to their cottage to volunteer as her tutor, even if he was still a cadet. When he arrived, however, the house was completely lifeless. Their neighbor, a pink Majin named Cupcake, could only tell him that they had left on a day trip, but she had no idea where they had gone. In fact, nobody had an idea where they had gone. Even Trunks didn't have a clue as to his partner's whereabouts. After hours of fruitless searching, he gave up and decided to wait until Dumplin and Puddin arrived.

So there he was, sharpening his sword and trying very hard not to glare at the other instructors, who were clustered in a group and whispering to each other. Doubtless they were trying to think up some way to keep Puddin from being trained, and therefore from becoming a Time Patroller.

Despite his reputation as the hero who kept Toki Toki City from being destroyed, Dumplin had many detractors within the ranks of the Time Patrol. Apparently, some people didn't feel comfortable with a warrior who had absorbed a Demon God that even Chronoa could not vanquish. They were likewise very uncomfortable with the thought of what his daughter might do if given the chance.

Blind fools.

Paata took a few calming breaths and sheathed his sword. He respected Dumplin. He was a powerful and skilled warrior, one Paata would be happy to fight alongside. He was also a man who loved and cherished his family. That was all Paata needed to know.

Bong! went a nearby clock. Paata glanced at it before turning his gaze back to the entryway. Punohsa was leaning against the wall next to him, also watching the entrance to the training hall. She was just as eager to see Puddin return as he was.

"You think they'll be here?" he asked her. She gave a snort of laughter.

"I've known Dumplin for longer than you, kid," she said. "If he said they'll be here, they'll be here." The instant she said that, she suddenly straightened in surprise. "Speak of the Demon," she said. Paata spun to face the door to the training hall, but it didn't open. When he strained his ears, however, he could hear a quiet conversation on the other side of the door.

"Okay," he heard Dumplin say, "this is the song you wanted, right?"

"Yup. That's the one." That sounded so much like Puddin, but something seemed… off about it.

"I still don't understand why we're doing this," drawled a more mature voice. Paata blinked in shock. That was Towa. Towa hardly ever left the house unless she was collecting samples for her experiments.

"I have to make the perfect entrance, Mom. Alright, on three. One… Two… Three!"

The doors suddenly flew open just a song started playing.

Don't you dare stare, you better move

Don't ever compare

Me to the rest that'll all get sliced and diced

Competition's payin' the price

I'm gonna knock you out

Mama said knock you out

I'm gonna knock you out

Mama said knock you out

Paata had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing things correctly. Dumplin was standing in the entryway, there was no mistaking him, and he was holding a boom box over his head. Next to him was Towa, still dressed in her curve-hugging bodysuit and leaning on her staff. She also wore a backpack.

Standing in front of them was a teenage grey Majin girl. She was dressed in a midriff-bearing outfit with the most neon color imaginable. She had Puddin's tendril-style, Puddin's bright blue eyes, Puddin's cat-like mouth, Puddin's-

That's Puddin, his mind finally deduced. That's actually Puddin.

She stood confidently in the entranceway, hands on her hips and smiling at the group of now-silent instructors. Paata was blinking rapidly, struggling to match up the young woman before him with the little girl he had seen mere days ago. Puddin's eyes turned to him and her face split into a huge, happy, completely-Puddin-like smile.

"Paata!" she cried happily, seeming to teleport to his side. Before Paata could even voice his surprise, she had snatched him up in a bone-crushing hug, swinging him for side to side. "Ohmygosh it's been so long and I missed you cause it's been a whole year but I'm so much stronger now so we can have awesome spars and I really want to watch more cartoons with you cause it's been so long and just-just-just NYAH I missed you!"

"Puddin," gasped Paata. "Ribs. Crushing the ribs."

"Oops," she said before gently setting him down. As he rubbed his likely-bruised torso, Puddin was still practically bouncing in place. "Sorry Paata, it's just been so long since I've seen you."

"Um, it's been like two days," he said in confusion.

"Maybe for you," she said with a smile. "For me it's felt like a year."

"Um… okay then," said Paata, now hopelessly confused. Puddin just gave him another, more gentle hug and turned to Punohsa.

"Hey Punohsa," she said with a wave. "Hope you're ready to train. You and I have a lot of catching up to do."

"Looking forward to it, Puddin," she said with a smile.

"Um, we're still here," said another voice. "Stop ignoring us."

Everyone turned to look at the group of instructors, who were staring at Puddin with disbelief. One of the teachers, a Namekian named Kurimiga, stepped forward.

"We want to know what is going on here," he said, "but first, what happened to you? You've grown exponentially, and not just in size. What happened?"

"Daddy and I trained for a whole year yesterday," Puddin said with a smile. The other instructors all blinked in unison.

"…Anyway," Kurimiga said slowly, "If you want to train here, you'll need to prove you can control your strength. Can you do this?"

"You bet I do," Puddin said with a grin. "I'm gonna knock your socks off."

"If you say so," Kurimiga said as he crossed his arms. He did not look like he believed her, but Puddin just smiled and turned to her family.

"Mom, the plates."

Towa smiled before pulling the backpack off of her shoulders. She reached in and grabbed something before tossing it to Puddin, almost faster than Paata could see. Regardless, Puddin caught it easily, and he saw it was a blue and white china bowl. Within seconds, Towa was tossing more and more china pieces at her daughter and Puddin began to juggle the various plates and bowls. She would toss them up before deftly plucking them out of the air and passing them back and forth between her hands, sometimes behind her back as well. Paata just stood there blinking. The Puddin he had seen a few days ago would not have been capable of something like this.

"Uh…" Kurimiga said, looking uncomfortable, "where exactly did you find that china?"

"Oh, your place," Puddin said offhandedly as she continued to juggle. The Namekian suddenly looked like as if he were trying to pass an entire marble bag of kidney stones. Paata had to work hard to stifle his laughter.

Puddin's routine ended with her flinging the plates and bowls into the air in such a way that they came down to form a perfect stack in the palm of her hand. She took a moment to admire her work before offering it to Kurimiga with a smile.

"Impressed?" she asked. Kurimiga just silently took the china from her, his stunned expression mirroring those of the other instructors. The silence was broken by the sound of a slow clap.

"Very well done, Puddin," a female voice said. Everyone turned to face the new arrival, and the sight of who it was made Paata and all of the instructors snap to attention.

"Supreme Kai of Time!" they all said at once, bowing in respect. Kurimiga just barely managed to keep the china from spilling out of his hands.

"Sup, Chronoa?" Dumplin said with a half-nod, drawing a few glares from the instructors. Chronoa just shook her head and gave him a look.

"Hello Dumplin. I suppose that there's no real point in asking if Puddin's spontaneous growth spurt is at all connected to where you've been the last twenty-four hours?"

"You could say that," Dumplin answered with a smile.

"And where have you been?"

"Are you sure you want to know the answer?"

Chronoa shot him a small glare.

"I don't usually ask questions I don't want to know the answers to."

"This is one of those questions," Dumplin said. "Trust me on this."

After a few moments of glaring at Dumplin, Chronoa seemed to decide that she wouldn't get anything out of him. She turned to Puddin and smiled.

"Good to see you back, Puddin," she said with a smile. "I was on my way over to sort out this little disagreement, but I see you have everything well in hand." She sent a powerful look at the instructors, who were each looking a shade paler. Punohsa couldn't stop grinning. "I think we're all reasonably impressed with Puddin's abilities, correct?"

"Yes," they all said.

"And there is no problem with her continuing her training to join the Time Patrol, correct?"

"Correct," they all said, looking like Christmas and Halloween had just been canceled. Paata smirked.

"In that case," Chronoa said with a smile, "I see no problems here. Puddin will be given a spot in the training roster and she'll start her Academy lessons when the winter holiday is over."

"Nyah~!" cheered Puddin, hopping with joy. Dumplin was smiling proudly while Towa's smile, though smaller, was still present. Punohsa looked absolutely smug as the other instructors slunk off in dejected silence.

That is, until they all heard the sound of breaking china, swiftly followed by Kurimiga's cry of anguish.

"So," Punohsa said, "ready to get started? I need to test you again to figure out where you stand."

"In a little bit," Puddin said. "First, Paata's taking me to get ice cream."

"I am?" he asked.

"You are," she said.

"Okay," he said with a grin. They said their farewells to the others and went on their way. "So…" Paata began, "how did you really get as big as you are now? To be honest, I'm kinda missing the cute little goo girl who was running around the city a few days ago."

Puddin smiled.

"Well, as a girl gets older, she'll start to see some dramatic changes in her body. These can include-"

"Stop stop stop! Nevermind! I get it!" Paata said, waving his arms as if to brush away her words. Puddin laughed. Paata found himself laughing too.

It was good to have her home.

PS: Puddin's current outfit is her starting gear in DBXenoverse 2. All of Puddin's future outfits are featured in the TFS Let's Play, so those can be used for reference.