Kera:

Restless, Kera tapped her thumbnail against her front teeth. How could anyone do such a thing to their opponent? It was still a fun tournament after all. This wasn't about wiping out the earth.

A few minutes later, Gohan came back. He looked angry.

"What happened? How's Videl?" Kera touched him on the arm.

"I took her to a hospital room. Hercule then told me to leave." He clenched his fists.

Kera nodded. Hercule probably wouldn't tolerate anyone he didn't know near his daughter. "Tell us about the fight."

"Didn't you see any of it?"

"Sorry. We were distracted by Piccolo's ... fight."

"That Spopovich went at her recklessly. He just beat the crap out of her. She didn't have a second to catch her breath. I shouted at her to give up, the referee also advised her to give up, but she didn't want to. At some point she just lay there." He swallowed hard.

Kera opened her mouth to say something, but an incoming energy made her falter. Kakarrot was back.

"Gohan!" He threw three Senzu Beans at his son, which he deftly caught, immediately turned and ran back into the hallway.

Kakarrot looked to Kera and Piccolo. "Master Korin warned me that we should be careful. He suspects evil."

"Well, that's very helpful," Vegeta said sarcastically.

They were silent for several minutes until Gohan rejoined them.

"I gave Videl a bean. She is well again. And now I have to get in the ring."

The referee had already impatiently called out Gohan, or rather, The Great Saiyaman, for the second time. At a run, he trotted to the ring and faced Kibito, who was waiting for him. The fight was on.

Nothing happened. Kibito moved his mouth. Kera did not understand a word.

"What is he talking about?" she asked Piccolo.

"He wants Gohan to transform into a Super Saiyan."

"WHAT?!"

Piccolo ignored her reaction and nodded at Gohan, who had obviously been waiting for him to agree.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know what they're up to, but it's beyond my power to do anything about them," Piccolo said in a flat voice as they watched Gohan gather his powers and transform into a Super Saiyan.

"So who is he?" asked Vegeta indignantly.

"Shin is the Supreme Kai, the god of all Kais."

Disbelieving silence.

"Piccolo is right." Shin had stepped between them. "Something is about to happen and I ask you not to do anything about it."

No one had a chance to ask what he meant by that, for at that moment Yamu and Spopovich leapt forward and charged at Gohan. Gohan turned to fight back, but suddenly he stood stock-still and did not move.

Shin held his hands out in front of him and concentrated on what was happening in the ring. "Please don't do anything."

"Did you paralyse him?!" Kera took a step towards Shin. Piccolo held her back by the shoulder.

Kera had to watch helplessly as Spopovich pinned Gohan to the floor while Yamu rammed the tip of a device between his ribs, remotely resembling a bellows. Kibito did nothing either.

The crowd went wild. Kera thought she heard Chi-Chi screaming in the crowd. The referee tried to make himself heard, but no one looked his way.

"They're sucking the energy out of him," Kera whispered. Gohan's aura was weakening. She wanted to cry out. She couldn't just stand by and watch the boy lose his powers.

Piccolo:

It hurt to watch Gohan weaken little by little. He wanted so much to intervene, but with the Supreme Kai beside him, he didn't dare. He sensed Kera's despair. They all looked at the abstruse scene as if paralysed.

"That's a fair amount of energy," Piccolo heard the taller of the two say.

The other opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, a narrow beam of energy hissed right under his nose. He growled angrily and looked in the direction from which the beam had come. Piccolo followed his gaze into the audience aisles. There sat Chi-Chi and Bulma with Yamcha and the children. Menka and Reyak had joined them by now. Reyak had his arm outstretched. He had fired.

"We've got enough power, let's get out of here," the smaller of the two said, glancing at the device. They wasted no further second, leapt into the air and flew off.

"I will follow them. Who's coming with me?" Without waiting for an answer, the Supreme Kai also rose into the air.

"I will go with you!" Piccolo stepped forward.

"I'm coming with you." Kera didn't seem to care what was behind it. He could feel the Saiyan blood welling up inside her again. She probably sensed a real fight and would come along for that.

"I'm coming too!" Goku joined them.

"Not so fast, Kakarrot! What about our fight?"

Goku turned to Vegeta. "We'll fight all right, later. I promise. Don't you want to know what's going on too?"

Vegeta snorted snidely, but now seemed convinced to come along as well.

Piccolo rose into the air first. "Kibito!" The Supreme Kai's companion turned to him. "Can you take care of Gohan?"

Kibito nodded and knelt down to the unconscious man.

"Krillin, you too?" Piccolo was astonished when the little man joined them as well.

"Well, sure, that could be interesting. 18 will win the tournament for us."

Flying away, Piccolo could still hear the referee's whining, mourning the good fights.

They quickly closed in on the Supreme Kai. The latter smiled as if he knew they would all follow him.

"Now please enlighten us as to what we are up against," Piccolo prompted the Supreme Kai.

"Sure. I need your help. When the humans on this earth were just learning to walk, on the other side of the galaxy there was the mage Bibidi who created the demon Buu. The demon had no emotions and was therefore the perfect killing machine. He destroyed one planet after another."

"There's nothing special about that. We Saiyan destroyed planets too," Vegeta interrupted the narrative.

"Not like that, Vegeta. There were five Supreme Kais at that time. Each was so strong that he could have killed Frieza with just one blow. Buu killed four of the Supreme Kais. Bibidi got scared and sealed Buu in an egg. For countless years, the demon Buu has now been asleep. Kibito and I found out that Bibidi's son Babidi now wants to awaken the demon again. To do so, he needs a lot of energy. Knowing that the tournament would attract him because of that, Kibito and I signed up for it."

"Why don't you just destroy the egg?" asked Kera.

"That was too risky for us. What if the shocks had released the demon anyway? Babidi, by the way, is very weak physically, but has the gift of harnessing the evil in people's hearts, and thus controlling them."

"Doesn't sound like much of a walk," Piccolo remarked, grumbling.

"Hi guys!"

Gohan and Kibito appeared in their midst.

"Are you back in shape?" asked Goku of his son.

"Yep, Kibito healed me."

"You Saiyans have huge reserves of strength," Kibito spoke in a dark voice.

"What about Videl?", Kera wanted to know.

"She couldn't keep up with the pace. She'll let Mum and Bulma know where we are."

Kera:

"That's where we should land." The Supreme Kai pointed to a rock formation in front of them. "And suppress your auras."

They followed his advice, descended and landed. On their bellies, they scrambled forward to peer over the edge of the rock.

"What is that?"

"That's Babidi's spaceship, or at least the entrance to it. The rest must be underground," the Supreme Kai replied.

No sooner had he finished the sentence than the door opened and a tall, broad-shouldered being stepped out. His skin was dark red, his face elongated with a pointed black beard and two horns were visible on his head.

"Is that Babidi?"

The Supreme Kai gasped. "No," he returned haltingly. "That is Dabura, the Lord of the Demon Realm."

Behind Dabura, a small being came out of the spaceship. His skin was earth-coloured and wrinkled. He wore a wide cloak.

"This is Babidi," Kibito enlightened them.

"Supreme Kai, what is it?" asked Piccolo of the other, who was still staring transfixed at Dabura.

The one addressed shook his head. "Nothing. We have to be careful. Only one with a pure heart can fight Babidi, lest he be caught in his spell."

"Well, Piccolo, I wonder if you can fight him?" Krillin winked at him while Piccolo glared at him.

"That's history, you knucklehead."

Yamuh and Spopovich ended up with Dabura and Babidi and passed over the energy collector. They exchanged a few words that Kera could not understand. Babidi held out his hand. What was he going to do?

The next moment Spopovich's body went up in a glowing fireball. Babidi had blown him up without warning. Yamuh, who now recognised the threatening situation, tried to flee. He did not get far. With a beam of energy, Dabura killed Yamuh.

Shocked, they all stared at the scene below them.

"They're quite ..." Kera was at a loss for words.

Babidi said something else to Dabura and then entered the spaceship. Dabura looked up at them.

"Shit, they know we're here," Shin shouted.

In a split second, Dabura appeared in front of them, stretched his hands forward and pulverised Kibito. There was nothing left of him. The Supreme Kai cried out.

They had all jumped up, but no one really knew what to do when Dabura spat at Krillin. He struck him on the arm. Kera's face contorted in disgust, but only for a moment as Krillin began to scream in pain. A greyish colour spread on his arm. He looked at it in panic.

Piccolo leapt forward towards Dabura, but he spat again and hit Piccolo on his cape.

Before anyone could react, Dabura had disappeared into the spaceship.

Kera ran to Piccolo and reached out for him. Before she could touch him, the Supreme Kai held her back. The grey paint had by now spread almost everywhere on his body, only his face was still free.

'I love you,' he sent to her in his mind before the grey colour closed over his face, then all she heard was silence.

Kera cried out. Piccolo was no longer moving. His mouth was open, his eyes wide with shock, but not a muscle twitched on him. She could no longer feel his energy. Slowly she walked towards him and reached out.

"Stop! We can save Piccolo!" the Supreme Kai shouted as Kera was about to touch Piccolo.

"How?"

"He's petrified. If we defeat Dabura, he will come back to life."

Kera growled as she glanced briefly at the Supreme Kai and then turned back to Piccolo. Very slowly she raised her hand and gently stroked his cheek.

The Supreme Kai looked at Kakarrot in wonder. "Are those two ..." He paused for a moment, as if searching for the appropriate word, "... bonded?" Kakarrot nodded. "Piccolo used to be the god of Earth, after all. He bonded with an earthling?"

The Supreme Kai spoke softly, yet she heard his words. Eyes glittering with anger, Kera wheeled around to the him.

"You want to be a Supreme Kai? I am not an earthling!" Kera grew louder at each word. Her whole body shook with anger. Her eyes flashed green. Her hair turned blonde and black again.

The Supreme Kai took a step back and raised his hands defensively. "I didn't mean ..." That was as far as he got.

"Vegeta, Kakarrot and I are Saiyans! We landed on this planet by accident because our planet was destroyed. Piccolo was not only God of Earth but also King of Demons. You have no idea at all!"

"Kera!" Kakarrot spoke her name warningly. She was surrounded by a golden glow, her hair was blonde and her eyes green. Her anger was palpable to all present.

Vegeta stood between Kera and the Supreme Kai and looked over at him. "I have to agree with my sister on that one. It does not inspire confidence when you do not know where we come from or what we are."

The Supreme Kai opened his mouth to reply. He was interrupted by Kera, who fell to the ground as if all her energy had been drained from her all at once.

She gasped in pain. Immediately Kakarrot was beside her, supporting her. "What's wrong?"

"P ... i ... cc ..." She did not manage to speak. The pain in her chest was too strong, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

"We'll be able to wake him up," she tried to reassure Kakarott.

Desperately, she looked at Vegeta. She tried to pat her chest. Then understanding flared in his eyes.

"Supreme Kai! My sister and Piccolo are bonded in spirit. Can you take away her pain?"

"Huh?" went Kakarrot.

The Supreme Kai looked irritated. "A soul bond? That's rare."

"Don't babble here, do something!", Vegeta barked at the Supreme Kai and took a threatening step towards him.

Hastily, the Supreme Kai nodded and knelt beside Kera. He put his hands to her temples. They were cool and soothing. He murmured something and slowly the pressure released from her chest. She could breathe freely again.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"You're welcome. I have shielded the connection. It still exists, but should not cause pain. The soul connection can also be dangerous."

"We know that," Kera replied snappishly.

"We have to go after this Dabura!" Kakarrot had already risen into the air.

"We should strategise first ..." The Supreme Kai couldn't finish the sentence. Vegeta and Kera had already flown after Kakarrot. She could still hear Gohan saying apologetically to the Supreme Kai that patience was not the strongest of the Saiyan trait.

Shin accompanied her and they entered the spaceship together. Beyond the door was only a small room. Astonished, they looked around. A hiss sounded. A hatch had opened in the floor.

"Looks like they were expecting us." Kera grinned. She would avenge Piccolo and get him back. Without hesitation, she jumped through the hatch. Kakarrot, Gohan, Vegeta and Shin were right behind her.

The following room was a lot bigger and brightly lit. The ceiling was about eight steps above them. There was another hatch in the floor, probably leading to another level below them. Two doors led out of the room on opposite sides.

"What kind of room is this? There's nothing in here," Vegeta remarked, looking around carefully. Then one of the doors opened. An alien stood in the doorway. On his head he wore a kind of helmet that tapered upwards, on his shoulders were horns and his eyes glowed green.

"Greetings. I am Pui Pui."

"We're not interested," she interrupted the newcomer. "Where is Dabura?"

Pui Pui seemed momentarily thrown off his stride and answered only after a second's delay.

"In the lowest level. But you'll have to get past me first." He stepped forward, the door closing behind him. "By the way, every time you hurt yourselves, the energy is drained and channelled into the reawakening of the demon Boo."

No one paid him any mind. Kera, Gohan, Kakarrot and Vegeta had turned to each other, each thrusting a fist forward.

"Rock, scissors, paper!"

"What are you doing?" Shin paced nervously between them.

"We're drawing lots to see which one of us will fight," Kera enlightened him.

"Why? You can just fight him together ..."

Collective growls were the answer. "We're Saiyans!" said Vegeta, as if that explained everything.

"Yes!" Triumphantly, Kera jerked her fist upwards. Sullenly, the other three crossed their arms in front of their chests.

"Are you done now?" asked Pui Pui indignantly, attacking Kera without another word.

Kera found his blows so slow that she could block him with ease. She laughed. She would finish this wretch off very quickly and then awaken Piccolo again.

Suddenly the environment changed. It was getting dark and gravity had increased significantly. She turned around. The others were here too, looking around in equal irritation.

"Thank you, Master Babidi! This is my home planet. Here I can fight under ideal conditions."

"I'm tired of this crap," Kera replied coldly, reaching out a hand and firing a beam of energy at Pui Pui. The beam hit him so hard that he was thrown backwards and lay motionless. Instantly, the surroundings of Pui Pui's home planet disappeared. The floor hatch opened and they were able to go down a level.

"So, it's my turn," said Kakarrot and was the first to jump through the hatch.