Age 526, Planet Sadala, Universe 7

Peparia chased her daughter through the halls of her family home. Getting this little girl to go to bed was always a chore; Celes' ki control was so high that she could fly at high speeds down the hallways, up and down the stairs, and all around the grounds. Peparia shook her head, wondering if she or Tarble had given their parents this much trouble getting them to bed.

But it was important to get Celes to bed soon tonight; it was the full moon. She was still a year away from her own training, so getting this girl to bed before the moon came out was paramount. Because if they didn't…

Thankfully, Arugu had felt his daughter's ki spike, and had been coordinated with Peparia to catch her from the other side. Arugu caught the little girl midair and scooped her into his arms. The little girl laughed happily and squealed as she tried to escape her father's grasp.

"Now come on, honey," Arugu said as Peparia approached, holding their daughter tightly. "It's time to head to sleepy time junction."

Celes simply giggled and started chanting "Sleepy time junction! Sleepy time junction!" as they walked the girl to her room. They helped her into her pajamas, brushed her hair and teeth, and tucked her into her bed.

"Well, mommy, do you want to start us off?" Arugu said, smiling softly to Celes.

Peparia sighed. Singing was not a talent of hers, but she did her best for her daughter. "Somebody's taking a train to sleepy time junction," she sang softly. "Somebody is so tired she can barely function. So she's hopping 'board that train to sleepy time junction!"

Peparia watched as Celes pulled up her covers, started to close her eyes as her father took over for the next verse. "'All aboard!' Cried the engineer. 'Sleepy time junction is so near!'" Arugu sand, just as softly as Peparia had.

"Somebody's taking a train to sleepy time junction," Peparia sang, watching as her daughter closed her eyes completely. "Somebody is so tired, she can barely function." She leaned over and kissed her daughter on her forehead. "Goodnight, Celes. See you in the morning."

After closing the door, a wave of exhaustion hit Peparia hard. "I can't believe that song works."

"Hey, my mom and dad sang that song to me and my brothers, and it always put us to sleep," Arugu said, leading Peparia away from their daughter's room so they could speak freely. "And on a night like tonight? All the more important to put her down."

"I know," Peparia sighed. "Believe me, I know."

"So, what where your plans for tonight?" Arugu asked. "Because I was going to go use the gravity room. Your family's gravity room is far better than mine, and I want to get some training in."

"Well, I was planning on going to see Lottus, but I'm so tired that…" Peparia said, trailing off before she heard a rumbling in the distance. Then, she felt the impact tremor. "Oh, no."

"Is that…" Arugu said, more of statement than a question, because he knew right away what it was.

"Call the Full Moon Patrol," Peparia said. "Tell them one of their kids escaped and is heading for House Dakkon. I'll head outside and see if I can lure them away."

"You be careful, okay? The last thing we need is for Celes to grow up without a mother," Arugu said, grabbing ahold of Peparia's arm.

Peparia jerked her arm out of Arugu's grasp and glared at him slightly. "I'm stronger than any of the kids in this class, even in their transformed state. I'm more worried about the damage they'll cause if they get too close," she said, and darted off.

Once outside, Peparia saw the Great Ape stomping their way through the city, knocking down power lines and stomping on any building that got in its way. It was headed toward House Dakkon, almost as of it had an agenda. That couldn't be true, of course, since there's no way a 6-year-old's thoughts would be that coherent.

Peparia powered up as best she could through her exhaustion and flew toward the child, ramming directly into its stomach. The child was stunned momentarily but managed to recover quickly and grab Peparia. She was just about to break free of the child's grasp when it threw away, where she crashed through a building. Standing quickly, she took to the air once again, again storming forward to the advancing Great Ape.

Peparia rushed forward, mind racing. There weren't many ways to stop a rampaging Great Ape this strong; he'd managed to match an adult in terms of durability and raw power. So Peparia did the only thing she could think of and grabbed the child's tail.

But the child was not hurt. He wasn't even slowing down. In fact, he started running as he used his tail to fling Peparia away, once again tossing her into a building.

As Peparia recovered, she saw the child pull back a punch, and watched in horror as he punched through a window. Celes' window.

"Mommy!" the little girl screamed as the Great Ape grabbed her, pulling her out of the house. And Peparia watched in horror as the Great Ape threw her daughter to the ground and began stomping on her.

Peparia didn't know what to do. The child was too strong, too durable, and she was far too tired to gather the ki she needed to overpower it. She couldn't hurt it, no matter what she tried. So, she did the only thing there was left to do; shame the child to save her daughter. She'd have to cut off its tail, force the child back out of the Great Ape, even though she'd technically be overstepping her authority as an instructor.

Peparia charged her ki into a disc, hoping against hope that this child couldn't ki sense in this form. She threw the disc, hoping her aim was true. And as the ki disc sailed through the air, Peparia held her breath.

She released it when the ki disc connected, sailing through the tail of the child, severing it. And as the ki disc embedded itself into the ground and then dissipate, Peparia rushed in and scooped up her daughter, and rushed toward the hospital. She hoped they could save her.

Author's Note: If you want to hear how "Sleepy Time Junction" sounds for yourself, check out the EileMonty's version of it on Youtube.