Woah, it's been a minute! My life was a mess (still is, I managed to catch covid again and 3 weeks later I'm still contagious), this section is so god damn HARD, buuuuut I managed this through, finally. I hope you'll like it!
I'm sorry it's a little shorter than usual, I might expand a little on it at a later date with the round of revisions, but I want to get through this section and get to the nitty gritty of it all soon and I won't let myself be stopped by writer's block ok ?!

I also have two pieces of news:
1. With a couple of friends and 32 artists, we're doing a Dragon Ball sexy men calendar! All proceeds go to Doctors without Borders. You'll find super famous names that donated their time and talent (Asura, Whirly, ConceptCat, Glenn, Sarul, Yumi, FSDB, Kotori, Hyde, Kah and so many more). Grab yours today!
Check the DBCALENDAR account on all social media to find out more (beware, preorders close on the 22nd of October)

2. "It was worth it" will get a Chapter 2 sometime soon-ish as well! Go check it out for fluff and comfort ;)


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Tights wasn't pleased with the turn of events. Seeing her daughter trapped like a wild animal struck her enough that she jumped off the bleachers to go help her, despite the dangers. No, she would never allow this to happen, Tora needed to be freed no matter what, and if Vegeta was not going to help their child, then Kami help her she would do it herself.

It was only then that her captor, that strange woman in white and gold, finally let Tora go, and Tora jumped to Tights, took the sword from her hands and was ready to defend. Not attack, not yet, but any gesture from any of the pointy eared woman or the other one who took care of Gohan, and Tights could bet Tora would pounce. It was her no-bark-only-bite tigress, after all.

The explanation these people gave about immobilizing Tora and Gohan like that being a necessity to track down a powerful enemy didn't sit well with Tights. It felt all sorts of wrong and she wanted to slap these strange pointy eared people with all her might. But she had to accept she had little agency in the matter, as usual. Goku was gone. It must have been a lot, to get him to drop the tournament altogether… Vegeta had left as soon as Tora was freed. Gohan was going to follow them now he had an explanation, and he had to go since his father had gone after the two men alongside this Supreme Kai person. Tora was certainly going to follow as well.

"No matter what—" Tights said, pressing her watch back into her daughter's hands.

"You won't lose me," Tora promised.

After securing the sword on her back and the watch on her wrist, Tora hugged her mother close. She saw Yamcha come down as well, and with a whisper, requested she stay with him, as she could trust him with her mother's life. Then she promptly took off after the others.

As Yamcha caught up and then took her back to the bleachers with deep apologies to Mik and the other monks in charge of the tournament, Tights was left wondering whether they would ever find peace, or if Earth was truly a trouble magnet.

Did this ever happen in their own world?

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Tora's eyes had been firmly kept on Gohan and Dabura until everything went pitch black and her ki-sensing was overwhelmed. She lost track of them, but it was only for an instant. Dabura, her target, the one she wanted to destroy as being the source of Videl's situation, the one who was fighting her friend Gohan, the one she wasn't allowed to fight, was nowhere to be seen nor sensed.

The Supreme Kai, Vegeta and Goku disappeared as well.

Only Gohan remained.

They were both left where everyone had been transported for Gohan's fight against the demon, but when Goku, Vegeta, the Supreme Kai and Dabura disappeared, so did the spaceship entrance.

"Tora-san, are you ok?"

"I should be the one asking that, Gohan-san, I haven't been fighting," she whispered, squeezing gently the hands that had grabbed hers and taking note of Gohan's state after his fight.

Gohan's clothes had suffered from the encounter against Dabura. The green outer layer had some serious scratches, the gloves had both been removed, and even the black jumpsuit underneath was showing some skin on his arms and legs from burns, cuts and other hits. He'd dropped super Saiyan as well, the enemy was gone so it was not needed anymore.

"I'm fine, it wasn't an easy fight but—"

Vegeta and Goku's ki soared somewhere on the other side of the planet, which interrupted Gohan reassuring his friend about his state.

"Dad.." Gohan let out a worried whisper.

Tora's ears rang. She tried to get a grip and get moving, decide to go towards those energies, but her ears kept ringing, distracting, overwhelming, the wave of unease was disturbing her to a point she could only focus on the only grounding thing still at her reach. Gohan's hand holding hers.

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The moment the prideful warrior let go of his 'shackles' only to focus on the one thing that mattered to him right that instant, that being fighting Kakarot, was a turning point… in Babidi's favor. What an unexpected turn of events, and how kind of that pesky Supreme Kai to bring him someone so powerful and with so much darkness in his heart for Babidi to manipulate? Truly excellent.

Even if Vegeta was a stubborn servant who refused to kill the Kai when ordered to, his fighting spirit would at the very least provide enough power to help Buu wake up from his slumber, so that was good enough. Babidi couldn't have it all on the first try, but that was only a postponement of the inevitable.

After some teleporting around that cursed Kai and those strong but strange Earthlings who had killed two of his strongest fighters, Babidi was quite satisfied with the outcome.

Plenty of deaths at that tournament place due to their bickering, giving Buu a little bit of energy. Excellent. Then, finally the two started to fight properly, wrapped in that intriguing golden form once the other one wearing orange had requested to be transported once more.

The only issue was that the Supreme Kai was witnessing it all, and could perhaps attempt to intervene and break the spell… It was best to take him elsewhere. And hit two birds with one stone.

It was time to reap what was sowed.

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Dabura had carefully joined Babidi back at the bottom of the ship, having distracted his opponent long enough to retreat without being followed.

The fight against that boy had brought Buu very little, and he didn't need to stay involved anymore as he had caused enough discord to clear up the path for his master to find who might be of service.

"I wonder if the boy is going to protect that cursed Kai…" Babidi snickered. Regardless, it would work in his favor.

Dabura wondered as well as he saw what Babidi was observing through the translucent ball in his hands. Since Vegeta hadn't killed the Supreme Kai, then perhaps...

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Goku and Vegeta were fighting with what looked to be their all, where their energy could be properly siphoned for Buu's egg in hopes of bringing him back and start conquering the entire universe. Shin shouted at the two to stop, even despite his previous attempts at having them both listen to reason, but it was pointless.

The Saiyans (because they weren't Earthlings, they were Saiyans!) wanted to fight, and nothing, not even the Supreme Kai, could stand in their way. That was a problem. A serious problem. A miscalculation, even. Saiyans, really?

Suddenly, he and the entrance to the next level of the spaceship were brought back to his new challenge and probable death.

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Gohan was baffled to see the Supreme Kai back to their desolate era, so he went to check on him.

"Is everything alright? What happened to Vegeta-san and my father?"

"Gohan! They're fighting, Babidi took control, but…"

Tora looked, unease settling in her heart. Gohan had let go of her hands.

As her eyes were focused on the Supreme Kai and on her friend, she didn't hear their discussion. Her mind never registered the discussion they were having about Vegeta killing hundreds back at the Tournament, about wanting to fight Kakarot no matter what, about how Goku also gave in to the sirens, about how the Kai had tried to get them to listen to reason and not fall in Babidi's trap.

Tora was lost in her own inner voices, listening instead to something nagging in the back of her mind. The Kais, they existed in her world, too, right? They had a mission to watch over the universe, right?

Then why and how did they allow any of what happened to Earth? Kaio-sama, the North Kai in charge of the quadrant in which Earth was in, was asleep when the Cyborgs struck… both this world, and her own world. How infuriating.

'That's right, they're incompetent! The Kais, they are toddlers. They watch and enjoy it all, when they even pay attention at all, using you as disposable playthings...'

Tora remembered how Gohan had been frozen in place when Spopovich had jumped him and his accomplice had siphoned his energy. She loathed that. She tried to jump in, defend him. It was her role, it was her duty, she was not helpless and powerless anymore, was she? She was not a liability, they had each other's back...

She then saw how it was the Supreme Kai who had been the source of Gohan's shackles, how it was by his request that Goku, Vegeta and Piccolo didn't intervene. They didn't help their friend. He didn't help his son. They had turned their backs on Gohan. Unacceptable.

And she saw once more exactly how it was the other Kai, that Lady T woman, who had chained her down. Those chains keeping her from defending her friend since no one else was going to do it. Nobody was jumping in for him. Nobody was jumping in for her.

'They're using you for their own entertainment, discarding you, and they don't care… You aren't even at the level of being pawns for their games. Paper tissues at best. And you… You don't even belong here.'

It was true. Tora and her mother were intruders in these events, in this world. It was sinful, wasn't it? And yet.. The Kais were overseers, in control of the universe, weren't they? Going against them was.. unthinkable.

But then again, why did they abandon her and her mother? And her Earth?

"I don't care for any punishment, I'll fight for you, because it's the right thing to do."

"If you are wronged and you don't deal with its cause, the grudge will destroy you from within."

Gohan and Vegeta were right, all those months (or years) ago. She needed to stop it all.

Tora needed to act.

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Tora's ki spike caught Gohan's attention but he was too slow to react. He could only witness with horror how his friend had charged against the Supreme Kai, murder intents present without a doubt both in Tora's fists and eyes, even if super Saiyan hadn't taken over. Yet. That ki felt all sorts of wrong, even more so than over the past few weeks, the restlessness, the frustrations...

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Shin gasped at the sudden change of situation, but he was prompt and a decent fighter himself. Of course Babidi would move him to a place where another minion of his would attack him. He should have expected it.

He was quick to get out of the way of the initial strike. Tora's powerful punch left a crater where Shin stood just a moment prior, and he soon realized Babidi was pulling more strings than he thought. Vegeta first, and now this one as well?

The mark on Tora's forehead burnt and glowed, Shin didn't miss it even at the incredible speeds they were moving at. He had to think quickly, else he would be done for. So he tried talking to Tora before things fully settled, hoping for the best.

"Don't listen to him, he's lying to you, whatever he's telling you is false! Tora, you're better than this! Don't give in!"

Shin tried to reason, to convince, to convey the truth in between hits and blocks, thankfully he had his own strengths he could rely on.

What Tora had in strength and raw power was outclassed by a lack of technique and a tactical mind blurred by hatred. And yet, there was no use to keep this fight going, it was hopeless, he wouldn't last long under these circumstances, especially as he saw that strange transformation Vegeta had displayed as well, those blue eyes turning that strange teal color.

There was little hope for survival against someone whose deepest desires were his death.

Why… Why couldn't he read Tora's heart?

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The Supreme Kai kept on the defensive, trying to talk. Tora wasn't even worth fighting against? This infuriated her even more. She cursed and spewed all of her hatred, her sorrow, and her tears, as the whispers in her mind encouraged her to get revenge for her world, for her mother, for Gohan.

Tora couldn't hear Gohan's pleas to stop, nor the attempts at reason. Or perhaps she did not want to.


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Come on you knew it was going to happen, didn't you? Thanks for reading!