Hi it's me, I'm back. I hope you've read my Big Bang entry? It's another PoV from one of the Purpose Arc chapters, you might enjoy it :) Check out my profile for it!
In other news, life has been strange and horrible, but I'm not giving up on anything. Don't worry about being left on hiatus hell lol I know where I'll finish up in Arc 6 (the last arc of this series). Don't forget to keysmash, concrit, rave, throw wild theories around, I love that! :D
I've also planned two "side fics" for this series; one is an expansion of the School weeks with Gohan, Videl, Erasa and co, because I couldn't fit all of the slice of life shenanigans I wanted to, and the other is a twist on a Vegetasei AU situation... Let me know what you think of either idea ^^
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Through the holes they'd made in the costume they stole, Goten was rooting for his big brother, while Trunks, sitting on his shoulders and looking through the mask, was rooting for his 'cousin'.
The fight between Tora and Gohan had been the most exciting one to witness, after their own; the two teens had jumped in without flinching, but with a certain excitement. Goten was the most attentive to what was happening in greater detail, after all he was curious to see Tora actually fight, and how his big brother would win. Because of course, Gohan was going to win this.
The kids were bright enough not to cheer though, else they'd be found out as having entered the adult competition by taking out another contestant. They were quietly fighting about who would win between Tora and Gohan, until the combat was halted all of the sudden by the big guy from before attacking Gohan.
Goten suddenly got worried, but with none of the other fighters moving to intervene, he stayed put. Piccolo knew better, and so did his father, most certainly. Trunks was furious and considered jumping in as well, but he, too, trusted the adults not moving and letting it happen. Vegeta hadn't acted either, even if his anger and frustration could be felt easily. Trunks couldn't remember his father being anything but angry and frustrated, that was his usual state, this time it felt so much stronger…
Gohan eventually stood up after being healed by the bulky guy with white hair, pointy ears and red suit, and the kids were reassured, even if Tora was seemingly having none of it in the cage the pointy-eared woman was maintaining. Chained down like that, Tora was truly the embodiment of the expression 'tiger in a cage', and Trunks understood why 'tiger' was the nickname used for that version of.. himself? He pushed aside the story that this was him, but from the future, because even if he'd seen the school ID, he still wasn't fully convinced. The Brief family was weird, after all, it could be so much more, and clearly everyone treated them differently. No, Trunks was just a common name in the extended family, that had to be it, and his mother was pulling an elaborate prank on him to explain away their strange situation. Hell, Vegeta might be both their dads… Uh. Trunks chased away how his mind took him to weird places and got brought back to reality when Auntie Tights screamed his (his own!) name.
Goten heard Auntie Tights call for Trunks and saw her run down the bleachers to hop on the grassy patches and to the arena. It was strange because she called for Trunks, but went to Uncle Tora. There was a sense of panic from Tora's side, and as soon as he was freed from those weird silver chains, Goten saw him run to his mom, grab the sword and get ready to bear it against the pointy-eared people. Tora was ready to defend his mom against those strange people, and Goten and Trunks weren't surprised, they had seen him act like that before. The pointy-eared people said some things, all of them just.. left. Auntie Tights, after sharing a sweet moment with Tora, was joined by Yamcha who took her back to the bleachers.
The kids were baffled, but they couldn't just go and join them, could they? No, they'd be found out and be grounded. Goten was reassured about Gohan's state, he was really worried when he dropped and his ki was all weak and everything. Everything would be alright, the adults all knew what they were doing after all, even if the kids were beyond disappointed they would probably not be back for the rest of the matches. Auntie n°18 was the only fighter from their parents' circle of friends who stayed behind.
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Mr Satan was blown away by his daughter who rushed to meet that boy and his crew of delinquents who rudely messed up the current fight. He had to admit the kid wasn't all too bad, after all he did give the strange medicine that healed his precious daughter instantly… Nasty tricks, but his daughter was fine, that was the most important thing. He saw them talk, and that lavender-haired kid was armed now. That was bad news, but Mr Satan could recognize the value in his protective demeanor. That Tora kid (well, he was at least in his late twenties considering they met seven years prior, even if he passed for a teen, there was no other explanation!) had maneuvered both the lady who brought him the sword and Videl away from those strange fighters in robes. But sadly for him, Videl followed them and ignored his cries for her to stay back.
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Vegeta was a man of frustrations, and he was painfully aware of it, but sometimes the universe liked to bend him over and have its way with him. Out of nowhere an unexpected opportunity had risen to fight Kakarot once more, and that bastard blew him off in favor of following the small Kai. Vegeta was utterly offended by Kakarot's willingness to give him a chance at that rematch, then rip it off of his hands without even acknowledging his existence. No, he couldn't accept that. The moment his heir was freed and it was clear the other Kais started talking, he rushed after Kakarot and quickly caught up to him, his friend, the Namekian, and the Kai.
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The story of Majin Buu and its dangers was told. An ancient evil, locked away, in need of tremendous amounts of energy to be revived and bring doom to the entire universe, was brought from planet to planet by Babidi, Bibidi's descendant. Babidi and his minions worked slowly, as there weren't many inhabited planets with ki they could siphon, and the Supreme Kai and Kibito had the hardest time localizing them.. Until they managed to catch wind of his presence on Earth.
"Of course they came to Earth," Tora spoke the words her mother would have, if she had heard the story.
"Earth is one of the planets with the most buzzing life, with quite a few life forces to siphon," Kibito explained matter-of-factly.
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"Of course they chose Earth, but at least they didn't come because of you, Goku," Krillin attempted to joke with Goku, as the Supreme Kai explained the same story that Kibito was explaining further back.
"This planet is a trouble magnet," Piccolo added.
He had started to believe indeed the planet had a knack for having all of the Galaxy's weird things thrown at it, and fully included himself in the equation. Well, not himself, but his parent, a few hundred years ago. And then the planet had Goku land on it, which brought Raditz, Vegeta and Nappa, and then Frieza and Cold. And somehow, the music box containing Minoshia also landed on Earth. And now this.
Vegeta huffed. He knew it was all witness bias, and plenty of other planets had all sorts of horrors landing on them, but he kept it all to himself.
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The situation with Hirudegarn a few weeks prior caught the Kais' attention, and so the Supreme Kai decided to directly investigate, alongside his aid Kibito. They landed on the planet and started monitoring Babidi's actions as closely as possible, trying to find Buu's egg and snatch it from under him… Then they found out about the Tenkaichi Budokai. Surely that would be a place where Babidi would send his minions to collect energy. And they were right. This would lead them to the egg that kept evading them.
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"And what about you?"
Videl eventually had to question Lady T. This woman looked like Kibito, who had just told them the situation they were flying towards, and she also looked like the Supreme Kai who was flying ahead with Goku and Krillin (and whom Vegeta and Piccolo had certainly caught up to).
The half-breed Saiyans agreed with the question. Gohan in particular felt how uneasy his close friend was about the whole situation. Tora kept between him and Lady T, as a way to intervene and strike her should she hint at being a foe, and had no qualms with being distrustful of these strange aliens.
The woman in white and gold smiled at Videl, but not without meeting Tora's and Gohan's eyes with her gaze as Videl was the furthest away.
"You mean, my interest in any of this?"
"I guess, yes?" Videl was uncertain. Unlike Kibito, and the Supreme Kai earlier, Lady T seemed quite relaxed.. detached even.
"I am interested in helping out Shin, he's my dearest colleague after all," the Kai gave a non-answer.
"We appreciate your help in the matter, Supreme Kai!"
Kibito was quick to show the proper reverence this other Kai deserved, ignoring the familiarity in which Lady T talked about the other Supreme Kai. He'd strangle anyone else using 'Shin' to talk about the lord of lords, of course!
Everyone else's suspicions weren't put at ease, but they couldn't feel any malice or deception.
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By the time the Supreme Kai had given the same story to Goku, Krillin, Vegeta and Piccolo, Goku told Krillin to go back and make sure the people at the Tournament were safe. He wouldn't say it, but he was worried about the kids and about his wife, about the Bulmas, and about everyone else.
The truth was, and they both knew it, Goku didn't want Krillin to put his life on the line, especially as he had a family to care for. This situation was certainly above his pay grade.
Piccolo silently agreed, and by this point, he knew avoiding direct confrontation with such monsters was the best choice. He also knew that with Saiyans involved, avoiding direct conflict was likely to fail, so he started working on plan B.
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Back on Papaya Island, Mik was baffled by the turn of events, and so were the tournament organizers. They all waited for a while, in case they returned, to decide what to do next, but they didn't come back for over an hour and the audience was getting impatient. It took them a little while to discuss what to do with the brackets that such a high portion of the combatants had de facto forfeited by leaving the premises. What a disappointment. A solution was eventually found, but it needed to be properly presented to the audience.
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By the time Spopovich and Yamu slowed down to land, Krillin had made a U-turn, and met with Lady T, Kibito, Videl, Gohan and Tora. Krillin noted how Tora was now armed, and how Lady T was in on it all. A brief exchange of words confirmed they all got the information he'd been just told as well, and he resumed his journey back to Papaya Island, promising to keep those at the Tournament safe from other strange people, should they show up hunting for more energy.
Tora saw Krillin leave, trusting his kindness and his promise to keep her mother safe. She silently thanked him for it.
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Piccolo glanced back at the others when they caught up. He quickly surveyed the situation to judge their forces.
Three Kais, one Namekian, two Saiyans (albeit one was dead, but that wasn't going to stop Son from anything), two half-breeds, and one human. Shin clearly doubted they had enough strength to defeat the monster he remembered, after all, all other supreme Kais were killed by Buu back then… But perhaps they were strong enough to kill Babidi and prevent his return. Piccolo was somewhat surprised to realize Shin believed they were all Earthlings.
"I'll inform Dende and prepare a seal," Piccolo announced, and when he caught Gohan and Tora's eyes that showed they knew what he was talking about, he went on his way.
"A seal?" Lady T had to ask, positively intrigued.
"A containment technique, it might come in handy to have options," Gohan approved of his mentor's quick thinking.
"Magic with magic," Shin pondered. "It was the technique used for Hirudegarn, wasn't it? Was it by any of you?"
Perhaps it was a good idea, but Shin had fought Buu before and none of the Supreme Kais could do anything about him.
Tora tensed and glanced, then nodded to confirm. Yes, preparing for the Mafuba was something she approved of, but it had taken a lot of teamwork and a very still target to work. Truth was it was unreliable, and while she was able to use it without risking her life, she was completely drained and vulnerable afterwards. Glass cannon situation.
"It was my doing, yes. I would rather destroy the thing before it hatches from its egg instead of hoping for it to work as intended," she explained with a hint of aggression in her voice.
"That's indeed preferable," Kibito agreed.
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They all hid behind rock formations and observed as the two Majin servants finished their journey and landed, then waited by a tiny building of sorts. Shin realized that's where Babidi had buried his spaceship, and that was why he and Kibito hadn't found it during the weeks they were searching for it.
The little village that used to be there had been wiped out, and Gohan looked at the remains horrified. Tora had also noticed, this only infuriated her, it felt far too similar to what had happened in her own world so many times, and she was ready to pounce, redirecting her aggression to the right people, but they needed to keep a low profile, so they hid their kis.
A tall demon-looking man dressed in blue came out of the spaceship alongside a small old being in robes. The second one reminded Tora and Gohan of the wizards who had freed Hirudegarn, but the tall one looked much more dangerous. Lady T's demeanor changed suddenly, this was bad news.
"Dabura," she whispered, recognizing a powerful foe.
"That's Dabura? The King of the Demon Realm?!" Kibito whisper-shouted, wide-eyed.
"If Babidi took control of him, this is going to be so much harder.. Dabura is the most powerful demon of the demon realm," Shin explained, just as worried as Lady T.
With her watch, Tora checked the coordinates of their location; near Parsley City. She then took a minute to send that information with a message to her own phone, which she knew her mother still had, to indicate where she was, but that the place was dangerous and that Krillin was coming back to keep everyone safe, and to stay by Yamcha and the children.
"Videl-san, perhaps it would be best if you head back," Gohan heeded the worries.
He knew Videl wanted to see and participate for herself, especially as her eyes were on the man who had brutalized her in the ring just a couple of hours prior, but Gohan also knew the red demon dressed in blue was extremely dangerous. More so than Spopovich and Yamu.
Babidi promptly disposed of his henchmen before going back to the spaceship. The poor men were used and blown up to pieces, literally, and that was disgusting and sickening. Videl barely held it in, her stomach disagreeing with what little she could actually see from their rocky formations. Tora and Vegeta didn't seem fazed at all, but the others looked disgusted as well. Videl wasn't sure how to fly back without spilling her guts, but she was starting to feel fear. She had to listen to Gohan, his serious glance was only confirming it all.
"Perhaps, yes," Videl agreed weakly.
"He didn't go back in.." Lady T whispered, observing with squinted eyes how Dabura had stayed put.
A slight movement on his part caught Vegeta's eye, he instantly understood what was going on.
"Shit we've been found out—!"
Dabura phased right to them. Sure he hadn't been able to sense them all, but he knew, and his surprise attack was successful. Shin's warning about his spit turning people into stone came in too late, and Videl, Kibito and Lady T were frozen in place. They had barely taken the time to notice the mark on his forehead, his red skin, his murderous eyes, and his sinister smile, before he promptly disappeared in the ship once more.
"Videl-san!"
Gohan was distraught, he hadn't been quick enough to protect her, and now the poor teenager was frozen in place with an expression of utter terror engraved on her face. The expression she bore when the stone took over the flesh.
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And that was how the trap opened for them. They had to kill Dabura to free Videl, Lady T and Kibito. So Gohan went after Dabura the moment Shin revealed that information. Tora followed suit, cursing about their own recklessness, and then Goku and Vegeta, despite Shin's protests. It was a trap, no doubt about it.
"Then let's blow up the entire thing and be done with it!"
Vegeta was ready to deal with it 'the Saiyan way', but Shin also disapproved of that idea, and Gohan wanted to get to Dabura.
"We can't, if we do that Buu might wake up," Shin warned.
"Also the planet might…" Goku was realistic about the dangers of such output of power. Vegeta rolled his eyes and tssked, but didn't insist.
Gohan had heard, agreed, and still went in further in the ship, rushing after Dabura. Tora had followed in a heartbeat, and then so did Goku and Vegeta, even if Shin was still hesitant. Babidi had a personal vendetta against him, it was reckless. But then again... what could they do other than that?
There wasn't much of a choice, Shin hated it, but he had to follow them, after apologizing to the statues and hoping for the best.
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The subsequent fights inside the spaceship only served to fulfill the purpose of giving more energy to Buu's egg. Babidi released minions one by one, and Goku and Vegeta both had a turn at impressing Shin with their power and their ability to finish the fights fast, without sustaining damage. Even when they were transported to different worlds, Puipui was destroyed by one of Vegeta's point blank blasts in his 10G world, and Yakon, in his world of pure darkness, absorbed far too much of Goku's super Saiyan aura and basically killed himself.
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Eventually after Vegeta expressed more than a little frustration with the situation, Tora agreed; it would be best to force their way through instead of playing their game. Strike fast, don't let them prepare anything.
"We can't do that, it could wake up Buu!" Shin protested again.
"Your monster will wake up regardless, so might as well force him out under our own terms instead of wasting our time and energy. We are being stalled, can't you see?" Tora hissed.
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They thought there would be more, but the third opponent was Dabura himself, and Gohan decided to fight him himself; it was a matter of principle. They were first transported to just outside the ship. It was strange, because clearly Babidi didn't want people fighting inside the spaceship, but the passage on the ground followed them.
The new place was incredibly similar to Earth, Goku and Vegeta had overheard Dabura request a world similar to Earth to 'not get an unfair advantage' of sorts; he was confident Gohan was no threat.
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"See, your brat slacked off," Vegeta growled at Goku. "That Dabura-guy looks to be about as strong as Cell, it should be easy."
"He's not losing though, so it'll be alright…"
Goku wasn't worried because Gohan could push through and tap into his inner strength again as needed. He had to. He still observed with attention.
Shin was observing it all baffled, he couldn't believe how strong these people were, to be able to match Dabura, all while Vegeta and Goku were both implying Gohan was disappointing.
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Tora was ready to jump in and help her friend, but Goku put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from doing so. Tora frowned and glared at the deceased Saiyan, but stayed put. At least for now. Gohan hadn't fully summoned Ascended super Saiyan, perhaps he hadn't been healed in full? Tora's desire to fight itched; she hadn't fought anyone yet, but most importantly, she didn't like this whole one vs one situation Vegeta and Goku forced on them, but clearly both men were also looking forward to a better challenge than the ones they had until then. Vegeta had been pestering Goku about their fight, too, 'and just because we ditched the stupid tournament doesn't mean you're off the hook, Kakarot!' he even stated.
Tora ignored their banter, she knew her father only wanted one thing and nothing would deprive him of it. She hoped he'd wait until they resolved this situation for these stupid Kais and the issues they couldn't solve themselves properly despite being literal gods.
It was only because her friends and family could be in danger from this enemy that she tagged along, but she hadn't really agreed to help this Shin and Kibito guys, let alone this Lady T woman. As Tora thought things over, her eyes firmly locked on Gohan and Dabura's fight, she clenched her fists and jaw. Whatever Lady T did to her to force her to let Gohan's energy be siphoned, it left a sour taste in her mouth and she couldn't fully place it.
'Perhaps they haven't forsaken my world but Kami, are these people useless.'
Her target was Dabura now, he was the one who trapped Videl in that horrible situation. Everything else was secondary, and freeing Videl was her priority. That and her other targets, the ones who attacked her and Gohan, were dead already. Well, Babidi was also a valid target, as the one who ordered it to happen, so if she got to him, he was a dead man. A dead wizard. He reminded her of Hoi due to his stature and affinity for magic. In the end it would be helping the Kais, but she wasn't doing it for that reason.
"We should just kill him off." Tora huffed to herself. "All of them," she added, glancing briefly at the doorway on the floor near them that would lead them to the next floor of the spaceship.
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Out of nowhere, Dabura's sinister laugh reached Tora's ears. All her senses shut down, drowned by that laugh, Vegeta's feral screams and Goku's commands for self-control. She blacked out, unable to feel anything but her fast heartbeat and the dreadful sensation of drowning in pitch darkness.