xSonallyGirl129x: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it, and sorry for making you wait so long for the last chapter. And for this one. Goku and Raditz bonding is something I enjoyed doing, and it shows off their character development throughout the story. Kai being a sociopath is always funny, and the Death Note reference was something I felt like I just had to do. You're definitely right about Videl's fiery side and how Kai works so hard to bring it out, and it's because of her fiery side mixing with his so well that I think they work so well together. Goten and Ranch being sent off to track the Dragon Balls, I figured that I had to give them something to do during this saga, and Attack of the Saiyans is one of my personal favorite Dragon Ball games. I totally recommend you check it out for yourself, and TFS actually has a play through on their channel on YouTube, where you can do just that. I couldn't have Babidi kill Tao and Shen just yet, mainly becuase I do have some plans for them. Cooler and Raditz (though the latter is the only one that actually gets killed) being taken down so fast does serve a purpose, it gets the point across that the situation is just that serious. Plus it also gets the point across that this isn't just about Saiyans being the ones to save the day all the time, let the other races (particularly the humans, if this fic is any indication) get their chance to shine. All in all I'm glad to see you liked this chapter, and I hope you're satisfied with the next one.

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The situation had taken a turn for the worst.

"Well shit." Kai looked between the shattered remains of Raditz, the scorched spot where Kibito once stood, and the petrified form of Cooler "I think it's safe to say that shit just went sideways in the most colossal way since Deadpool."

"Dammit…" Goku knelt down in front of Raditz, or what was left of him, and gritted his teeth with anger as his hair flashed gold for a second "How could we let this happen?"

"I don't know, how the fuck do we ever? Anyway it doesn't really matter."

"You heard what the Supreme Kai said, if they get broken like Raditz was then they can't go back to their original forms."

"Unless we use the Dragon Balls to bring them back, you know like how we do for pretty much everything that happens around us."

"You say that like death doesn't have any consequences." 17 pointed out.

"It literally doesn't. For all we know, the Sonic the Hedgehog reject is probably waiting in line on the other side to get checked in, and then when he's done he's gonna end up getting a free sundae out of it."

"Actually you can only get a sundae after the third time." Scarlet told him "But getting back to seriousness, saying that touching them keeps them from returning to normal implies that there is still a chance to get them back to normal right?"

"Probably, so what do we have to do?"

"Well there is a way so long as they remain intact." Shin's expression turned hard "But I'm afraid that the only way to do that is to face Dabura in battle and kill him, and only then will Cooler be returned to normal. Raditz on the other hand…"

"So to make a long story short, we beat the crap out of him and problem solved. That's more or less the status quo of how things work with us."

"Then what are we waiting for? We should get going, whatever happens I doubt any of us came out here just to wait around and hide." Gohan glanced over at Kai, and the two of them shared a nod as they blasted off towards the ship.

"This isn't the ideal course of action…" Shin gritted his teeth "It feels as though we're playing right into Babidi's hands and doing what he wishes. Following Dabura into the ship is more than likely what he expects you to do."

"But in all fairness, they understand that sitting around out here is going to do a lot more harm than good in the grand scheme of things." Scarlet pointed out.

"Perhaps, but even so…"

"Besides, patience isn't exactly a trait with most warriors on this planet, and actions usually speak a great deal louder than words." on that note, Scarlet blasted off after Gohan and Kai, with Goku, Tarble, Tien and 17 all following behind her.

'This just became a great deal more problematic than I had intended…'

"You don't have to worry." Piccolo drew Shin's attention as the two of them took off after the rest of the group "These warriors, Gohan and Kai in particular, have been in their fair share of battles and struggles before, so this isn't any noteworthy exception. You were right to trust them with the knowledge of Majin Buu. The two of them have great potential, probably greater than the rest of us combined."

"As shameful as it is to admit, I would likely have never seen it myself if I hadn't been notified of such by Cooler. He contacted me long ago and informed me that his brother had been defeated in battle by a Saiyan, and that his comrades all had enormous potential. I went to investigate for myself, during which Earth was under siege by the Namekian warrior Slug, and then I found the two of them. I saw that Cooler was right, this world did have incredible potential. These beliefs were only strengthened when I learned of their victories against the likes of the creature Cell, and against Bojack. It was only after the victory against the monster Janemba that I saw that they truly did have the potential to defeat Majin Buu, and bring this nightmare to close, so I decided to take a chance and inform them of this monster's existence. They've had more than three years to prepare themselves for this coming conflict, and now we shall see if they will be able to live up to the expectations that I've set for them."

"They won't fail you. I've trained those boys before myself, and they never fail to meet, and they often surpass, the expectations set for them. They'll do so again, one way or another. You'll see for yourself soon enough. And on that note, they reached the entrance to the ship and leapt down into its depths in pursuit of the others.

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Meanwhile, with the young ones…

(Goten and Ranch defeated the octopus guarding the Dragon Ball from Attack of the Saiyans and claimed the Dragon Ball)

"And that's the end of that." Ranch let out a sigh as she powered down, with Goten doing the same as the two of them stared at the battered and broken octopus in front of them "So which of the Dragon Balls did we get?"

"I think we got the Five Star Ball." Goten held up the Dragon Ball in question, revealing all five stars shimmering in the light.

"Can… Can we talk about this?" the octopus let out a pained groan as it spat out a fair amount of blood "I totally wasn't going to eat you both or anything, I swear!"

"You know, when it's not trying to eat you or skin you or something, it's kind of sad."

"Yeah… You think our moms will let us keep it as a pet?" asked Goten.

"Yeah right, if anything they probably won't even let us eat it, and that would probably be a better use of it. Anyway we got the Dragon Ball, let's get out of here."

"Fine, but I get to fight the next one."

"If you want to fight then call dibs faster, and don't forget that you won the tournament so I should get to fight more."

"But why does that mean you get to fight more?"

"Because you won the prize money." and on that note, the two of them blasted off into the skies in search of the next Dragon Ball.

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Meanwhile, inside the ship…

"So this is his ship huh?" Kai and the others glanced around the interior of the ship, and to put it simply, none of them were particularly impressed "Uh huh… Well this sucks."

"I will say that it is pretty plain for a spaceship." Gohan looked around the interior until his eyes settled on a door in front of them "Looks to me like there's really only one door too."

"You thinking we should just blow it down and cut out the middle man? Makes sense to me, and just know that when it comes to blowing shit up, I almost always call dibs." and so Kai promptly began charging a Ki blast.

"Wait no don't!" this was when Shin and Piccolo dropped down onto the scene "Committing to such a course of action could turn this situation from bad to catastrophic." it was then that they noticed the hatch they came through suddenly close itself "And that only further proves the point I'm making. We have to approach the situation with caution, or else it may prevent any of us from ever seeing the light of day again. I hope you know what you're getting yourselves into, because now we have to subdue Babidi if we want to have any chance of leaving the ship."

"Huh. Well at least we know what we have to do right?" Goku shared a look with 17, and the two of them shrugged.

"You're incredibly calm about this."

"To be fair, stuff like this is basically a Tuesday for us." Kai held up the Ki blast that he had been charging "Just say the word and I'll blow the ship to hell and the imp's pet along with it, kill two birds with one stone."

"No you can't, a strong enough jolt to the structure of this ship might end up freeing Majin Buu from his imprisonment!"

"I'm just gonna say it, you're taking this way too seriously." 17 told him.

"More like none of you are taking this seriously enough, and believe me when I tell you that this threat cannot be taken seriously enough. If Majin Buu were to be revied with only a fraction of his true power, this entire planet would be reduced to dust in a matter of moments, and I fear that not even any of you would be able to stop them."

"That's why you bothered to tell us about this thing to begin with." Gohan pointed out "You did it to make sure that we were ready to fight it when the time came. And I've been training hard myself over the past few years, so no matter how powerful this monster might be, I can assure you that none of us are going down without a fight."

"Yes of course, but to be so reckless in the face of this threat…"

"They're not reckless Supreme Kai, they're just eager. They would never do anything to put this world or any others in danger." Scarlet assured him, then frowned in thought as she took a few glances around "I will say that it is pretty unassuming of a domain for a wizard if you think about it, but that's all the more reason why we shouldn't let our guard down."

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Meanwhile, with the wizard in question…

"Well now, isn't this just delightful?" Babidi's expression turned into twisted glee as he watched the scene unfolding through his crystal ball "Not only this group of warriors that I've heard so much about from the likes of Shen and Tao, but even the Supreme Kai himself. This couldn't be any better!"

"I'm ready for what lies ahead my master, please tell me that it's time!"

"Sounds to me like someone is rather eager to get started."

"Eager to do you quite proud sir. After all, I can't remember the last time I was able to get a taste of real combat."

"Well I know just how patience you've been all this time Pui Pui, so I say you can go right ahead and collect all of their energy like a good little boy."

"Right, just leave it to me!" and then the communication shut out.

"Good heavens, where has my mind gone all these years?" Babidi glanced down at the energy canister in his hand "To think that I'm idly away over here when I should be putting this energy to good use." he then placed the crystal ball on a nearby pedestal and started walking away, only to suddenly find himself joined by Shen and Tao "I take it we don't need to watch the battle to know how it's going to turn out?"

"Pui Pui is as good as dead." Shen told him flatly "Even the weakest of that band of fools would be able to annihilate him with a single strike if they so wished."

"Well if that is the case, then at least they energy they emit can be put to use revising Majin Buu, and if he succeeds then he collects their energy and Majin Buu will be revived that much sooner, so either way our plans progress."

"And per our agreement?"

"When everything is said and done, the triclops will be yours. Now come with me, we have work to do." and so he left, Shen and Tao following close behind him.

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Meanwhile, with the Z Fighters…

"Well, since we've probably got a minute until the big bad comes out…" Kai took a look at the door, then shot a quick glance over at Gohan "Okay we've got a minute, so give some input on an idea I've been working on for awhile."

"What sort of idea?" Gohan shot him a raised eyebrow.

"So when I attack with the Dragon Fist, I use one hand right?"

"Yeah?"

"What if instead of that, I used two hands?"

"...Didn't you say something about trying that with the Nail Gun before?"

"Yeah and before you say anything, no it's NOT like the Kamehameha, because that one isn't a giant golden fucking dragon summoned from my spirit, and there's gonna be a cold day in the depths of hell before I let your dad get his hands on it. The last thing anyone competent needs or wants is for him to steal someone else's techniques."

"Hey come on we've been over this, I don't steal techniques!" Goku protested.

"Actually Goku, and I think we've stated this in at least a few occasions, yeah you totally do steal them." Piccolo told him.

"What? What about the Kamehameha?"

"I'm pretty sure that one came from the old perv that taught you." 17 pointed out.

"The Solar Flare?"

"You stole that one from me thanks." Tien told him dryly.

"The Spirit Bomb?"

"Wasn't that one of the techniques created by the North Kai?" Shin pointed out.

"Oh yeah King Kai, I totally forgot about him! Hey that reminds me, I learned the Kaioken on my own didn't I?"

"...Isn't his actual name incorporated into the technique?"

"Yeah but in all fairness, he hasn't been relevant since Frieza." Kai noted dryly.

"Are… Are all of you like this?"

"To be absolutely honest, yes." Gohan breathed a sigh, but then his gaze hardened when he and the others heard the door opening "I think this little discussion is gonna have to be put on hold for the time being, because we've got company."

"We don't know what to expect, so all of you had better get ready." Piccolo cracked his neck as he readied himself for a fight.

The door in front of them opened, and then Pui Pui stepped out to confront them, a confident smirk plastered across his face "Well now, it's so good of all of you to come. Allow me the honor of welcoming all of you to the first stage of this little game we have set up."

"...Is that the guy we're supposed to be fighting? I'm kind of offended by his lips, am I allowed to be offended by his lips?"

"The hell if I know, are you offended by Mr Popo's lips?" Kai gave a shrug.

"Wait a second, can we even talk about that?"

"Deal with that later. Anyway, Popo Lips over there said something about a first stage?"

"That is what I said if you bothered to listen." Pui Pui's smirk grew wider "Master Babidi is waiting for all of you on the bottom floor of this ship, but between here and there is a number of stages that you have to pass through, with each one of them being more harrowing than the one that came before it. Naturally enough of this is just the first stage, but that doesn't mean that you should let yourself be fooled by the designation. If you expect to pass through this stage then that means you'll have to get through me, but I can assure you that's not going to happen, so you might as well bow before me and beg for your worthless lives."

"...Okay then, he's clearly talking out his ass." Kai then turned back to the others "So how are we gonna decide who's gonna rip him a new asshole?"

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Meanwhile, with the wizard imp…

"Now to put this energy to good use, and ensure that my father's ambitions come that much closer to fruition." Babidi let out a chuckle as he injected the energy canister into the sealed ball in front of him, and he watched as the meter in front of him shot up "What in the- How in the name of- Just one injection and the meter is almost halfway full? Could we really already have so much of the energy that we need?"

"To be fair, we did mention that these were not warriors to underestimate." Shen told him, and then his grin widened "Even if they are fools in every sense of the word, they still have their uses in the grand scheme of things. What works even better is that we only needed to drain one of them to get this much. It's astounding really."

"Apparently. I will admit this though, clearly I underestimate what the two of you were talking about before, and the work ethic the two of you share. If they were able to gather such a great amount of energy in such a short amount of time, then clearly I made the right choice in not dismissing them as soon as I originally intended. Good thing I thought that through and didn't act so hasty. If what they say is true, then the remaining 9 fighting Pui Pui right now should turn out to be quite the windfall as well. I may not even have to drain all of them in order to achieve my goal, at least not if they're all as bountiful in energy as this first batch. For all we know, I might even be able to see Majin Buu fully restored by this time tomorrow! Imagine how genius it was for me to have that lot of fools ensnared wasn't it? Indeed, why don't we look in on those valued guests of ours and see how they've been fairing against the likes of Pui Pui yet?"

"Knowing what those arrogant wretches can be like, there's a very sizable chance they haven't even started fighting yet."

"Oh please, you must be exaggerating. Come then you two, let's have a look and observe the progress." on that note, Babidi took a look into his crystal ball, only to be taken aback by what he was seeing "What in the hell is this nonsense? They should be fighting and getting beaten within an inch of their insignificant lives!"

"They're playing Rock Paper Scissors aren't they?"

"No, it looks like they're… Wait hold on."

"Should we do Rock Paper Scissors?"

"Nah, there's too many people."

"...Do we draw straws then?"

"Works for me."

"Are… Are they drawing straws?!" Babidi could only gawk at the sight "What in the hell do these fools think they're playing that? Are they so arrogant or are they just that stupid?"

"In the case of at least a few of them, it's very likely both." Shen and Tao shared a look "But even if they are fools, do not underestimate them."

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Meanwhile, with the Z Fighters…

"Huh, how about that." Scarlet held up the longest straw of the bunch, with 17 getting the second one, Tien getting the third and Tarble getting the fourth "I guess that means I'm the one that has to fight first."

"Well shit." Kai let out a groan as he put the remaining straws away "Oh well, if someone has to do it then it might as well be her."

"We might as well get this over with, keeping in mind that I only have one day in the world of the living and I want to make the most of it."

"You can't be serious." Pui Pui let out a loud scoff "You don't seriously expect to take me on by yourself, do you woman?"

"That's why I'm stepping up, and keep in mind that I drew the longest straw." Scarlet was met with a barking laugh, which caused her eyes to narrow.

"Is that so? It's hard to believe that on the way up here I was starting to get a bit worried that all nine of you would end up giving me a run for my money. This is going to be so easy that I'm liable to just get bored."

'This fool suspects nothing, but then again the arrogant never do. Your master shouldn't have sent you here alone if he wanted you to win, but then again I guess I can't really blame him for being so arrogant. How could he know that the strongest beings in the universe are sitting right in front of him without him even realizing it?"

"I'm supposed to believe that you're the strongest warrior in the universe? Get real you wench, it's going to take a lot more than that to psyche me out! You shouldn't underestimate me, or any of the others that serve Master Babidi! His taste in those that serve him is impeccable, he gathers only the true strongest warriors in the universe and bends their will to his own."

"Yet you let yourself be manipulated into serving someone like him, and you call that a show of your strength?"

"Silence! You might as well abandon any and all hope of escape! Every single one of my attacks that hits home on you, and that's more than likely going to be all of them, where it's going to end up being channelled straight into the hermetic sphere that contains Majin Buu, bringing him ever closer to being revived."

"So to put it simple terms, all of the damage we take gets converted into energy for your cause, but that should also mean that if we don't take any damage, then you don't get anything out of this as a result."

"Oh you're going to take damage without a doubt you wench. I don't know what kind of trash it is that you're used to fighting, but I can guarantee that you've never had to go into battle with an opponent as powerful as I am!"

"I can tell you now that's only partially true. Stop talking and start fighting so we can get this over with, I did say before that I only have one day here and I want to spend it with my family and my friends. Whenever you're ready, I will be too."

"Ever the cocky one aren't you? Clearly you don't have any idea what you're going to be in for with me, so you can go ahead and just die!" and so he charged at Scarlet and aimed a spin kick at her head.

"Well there's just one thing about that." Scarlet blocked Pui Pui's kick with ease, as well as the fist that followed "You should probably know that I'm already dead, but even that doesn't stop a true warrior from improving themselves as much as they can."

"What the-" Pui Pui retreated back a short distance and composed himself "You're stronger than I gave you credit for I have to admit, but you're still not nearly strong enough to come even close to defeating the likes of me!" and so he charged forward again and began launching a rapid barrage of punches and kicks.

"I think we'll see about that in a minute." Scarlet dodged and weaved around every attack with ease, and eventually she just grabbed Pui Pui by the ankle and dealt him a sharp kick to the chest, sending him crashing into the wall behind him and leaving him to fall to the ground "You have to keep in mind that arrogance is the greatest danger to any warrior. They get so confident in their skills and power that it gives them a false sense of superiority, and the minute they let their guard down they're as good as dead."

"Dammit… You little…" Pui Pui let out a snarl as he charged at Scarlet, only to be met with an elbow to the face that sent him hurtling into the air, but he rebounded off the ceiling of the room and landed back on the ground, only to turn around and find that Scarlet had disappeared from his sight "Where the hell did she-"

"You shouldn't let your guard down."

Pui Pui whipped around just in time for Scarlet to deal him a knifehand attack to the face that sent him crashing back to the ground.

"Stuff like this is why you were stupid to worry." Kai spared a glance over at Shin, then turned his attention back to the fight "My mom is even stronger than I am and has years of experience, and if she really went all out then I know for a fact that she'd be the strongest of any of us, and that includes any of the Super Saiyan bullshit."

"You sound… incredibly distasteful of the Saiyans." Shin's tone was wary.

"I wouldn't say that, my best friend is half-Saiyan." Kai jerked a thumb at Gohan "But their biology is fucking broken in every sense of the word. They literally get stronger every time they get a hole blasted through their gut, and do you have any idea how unfair that is for the ones that actually have to work for the strength they have, as in people who strive to be the best and that makes it that much harder? I mean yeah training is what I love and all that, but it's also frustrating in every way possible."

"Well think of it like you said, it's a reason to train that much harder in order to make sure you can keep up with them" Scarlet called out to him "And besides, if you can't win through power, then you may have to win with some creativity instead."

"Speaking of creativity, sneak attack!" Pui Pui suddenly rebound, blitzed behind Scarlet and tried to land an attack to the back of her head, only to be met with a foot to the face and an elbow to the neck that sent him hurtling to the ground once more.

"For the record, sneak attacks don't work if you yell them out loud." Scarlet was about to make her way towards Pui Pui and finish it, only to stop when she noticed that the surrounding room had suddenly changed "Okay, this is… interesting. What's going on?"

"This is one of the spells that comes from Babidi's magic." Shin told her "He's transported the entire interior of this room, and there's no doubt that he did so with the intent of taking us to a new location to give an advantage to his servant."

"Well I guess that's only fair." Goku shared a look with the others.

"But the purpose is to make it unfair."

"Yeah, but who's it gonna be unfair for?"

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Just check it, you'll see soon enough."

"That you will." Pui Pui let out a chuckle as he pulled himself to his feet and turned his attention back to Scarlet "I take it you like the view? Well you had better not get used to it, seeing how it's not gonna be that long you're here for."

"So I take it you know where we are?" Scarlet shot him a raised eyebrow.

"You could say that. This miserable rock is known as my Homeworld Planet Zoon. I don't know about you or the rest of your friends, but the gravity here, ten times that of your worthless planet, makes me feel right at home. You still think you can keep up with me?" he started laughing in a maniacal fashion, but it was quickly cut short.

"I don't expect you to know this, but that actually is the standard gravity of most of the planets in Other World, and I've been training there for the better part of 15 years. After spending that much time training in that condition, I can barely even feel it anymore, and frankly I doubt that my son or any of the others back there can feel it either."

"We don't." was Kai's blunt input.

"Thank you sweetie."

"...Well fuck." Pui Pui froze, then suddenly started laughing again "If that is the case then why the hell aren't you moving? You're bluffing, you have to be!"

"If you really think that, then why don't you go ahead and come at me."

"Gladly!" and so Pui Pui charged forward at full speed and tried to deal Scarlet a rapid barrage of punches and kicks.

"Just remember that actions speak a lot louder than words." Scarlet dodged, blocked and weaved around every attack with ease, then buried a fist in Pui Pui's gut, then landed a kick to the chest that sent him crashing into a nearby plateau "Don't make bold claims when you don't have the physical capability to back them up. Also, I think I've made the point pretty clear by now that I'm not bluffing."

"You little… Damn you to hell you wench!" Pui Pui rebounded and charged towards Scarlet in a blind rage, only for her to phase out and blitz right in front of him, red-colored Ki gathering in the palm of her hand "What?!"

"You can't say I didn't warn you. Wolf Fang Cannon!" in one swift movement, Scarlet unleashed a Wolf Fang Cannon that engulfed Pui Pui and vaporized him before he even had enough time to scream, causing the the room to revert back to normal and a hatch to open up in the center of the floor "Like I said, he suspected nothing but the arrogant never do."

"Yeah, they think they're invincible and then the day comes when they meet someone that ends up handing their ass to them on a silver platter. Or a green platter as the case may be." 17 cringed at the thought, earning a few raised eyebrows "I'm talking about when Cell absorbed me."

"Ah. Well you had a chance to learn from that mistake, and I think it's safe to say that you did, and it paid off."

"Speaking of pay offs, it looks like they gave us the go ahead." Goku gestured to the hatch as it opened up "Looks like we'll get to see what they set up for is in the next stage." and so he dove down into the next level, with Tarble and most of the others following behind him.

Gohan was about to join them, only to stop when he noticed how unsettled Shin looked "Are you alright Supreme Kai?"

"Yes I'm fine, just… a bit unsettled." Shin snapped out of his stupor and turned towards him "It's rather baffling, and also a bit unnerving, that some of your friends know what's at stake, and yet they appear to be enjoying this."

"You tend to get used to it. My dad has always been like that, it's more or less a Saiyan trait to make them enjoy the thrill of a fight."

"What about Kai?"

"He's… a bit more complicated than that, as in I don't have a real explanation for it. But you don't have to worry about him, because I've known Kai for years and he always comes through when it really counts. But as for them enjoying it when the stakes are so high… you get used to it after awhile."

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Meanwhile, with the evil imp and his henchmen…

"Well that was a complete and utter waste of time." Babidi scowled as he watched current events unfold through his crystal ball, then glanced over at the likes of Shen and Tao "Evidently the two of you were right when you said that I underestimated them, I had just hoped that Pui Pui would be able to siphon at least some of their energy. You never mentioned that there was a woman that powerful among them though."

"That one is entirely new, neither of us have seen her before today." Shen and Tao shared a glance with each other "But in any case, they still have three more stages to clear before they can get down here, and even if they manage to make it all the way down here, they still have us to deal with, not to mention Dabura."

"Hm. A fair point."

"Speaking of which, who do you intend to send out to fight in the second stage?" asked Tao "Or you can just say the world and we'll take out the whole lot of them."

"...Let's not be hasty just yet. Why don't we sent Yakon."

"That hideous beast? I thought you just said not to be too hasty."

"I made the mistake of underestimating these fools once, and I never intend to repeat myself, and certainly not in this case. This time I intend to take out a fighter that I'm certain will gather the energy that we need."

"Of course there is one concern with that." Shen pointed out.

"Yes yes I know, you're concerned that Yakon is going to crush all of them so completely that you won't get the chance to torture them yourselves."

"More like that gluttonous beast is going to take all of their energy for himself and not leave any for your plans." Tao told him.

"...Oh yes, good point. Well then again, there are nine of them and even he shouldn't be able to devour that much of their energy."

"Are you going to have Dabura send some soldiers to fetch the beast?"

"Not after that one weekend on Arlia. I'll just send the message to him through the crystal ball and be done with it." so with that in mind, Babidi turned back to his crystal ball "Yakon listen and listen well, because I have some good news. I have a fresh feast prepared for you, and it's waiting for you in the second stage. Go ahead and eat as much as you like!"

"Yes… Babidi…"

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Meanwhile, with the Z Fighters…

"Well how about that." the group reached the second floor as the hatch shut behind them, and as they looked around 17 was the one to voice his opinion "A big empty room exactly like the one were just in. What a freaking letdown."

"Yeah but to be fair, they can use magic to change the location, so there's no telling what sort of tricks they have up their sleeves." Piccolo pointed out "Don't let your guard down, I doubt you want a repeat of what happened with Cell."

"You're not gonna let that go are you? Well in any case I'm the one that's fighting next, so you'll get to see first hand how much I've changed over the past 7 years. Oh and just to be clear, the rest of you stay the hell out of it."

"You picked the straw and now you gotta reap what you sew." Kai told him flatly.

"So who do you think they're gonna send out? I'm just hoping it's gonna be someone than the jackass that your mother fought."

"They more than likely will be stronger." Scarlet pointed out "By this point they've more than likely been studying us, so whatever the case your fight won't be as easy as mine."

"I figured as much. Well I'm ready whenever these idiots are, so either they send out a fighter or we could just blast our way down to the bottom."

"That is NOT an option." Shin told him firmly "I told you before, any sudden jolt to the ship may be enough to free Majin Buu! Even if he isn't at full power, the results could be catastrophic, and it's not a risk worth taking! We need to work through this careful without letting our personal pride guide our actions!"

"...You don't have any idea how we operate do you?"

"Well in any case, you've already witnessed the power of Dabura, what he did to your friends and to Kibito, so you understand that you shouldn't underestimate Babidi's forces."

"We already saw it, and yeah he's pretty tough, but I think you should know that we've already faced about half a dozen enemies way more powerful than that." Kai told him dryly "Cell, Bojack and freaking Janemba for that matter. We saw the way he moved and his raw power, so as long as we don't let him spit on us I'm pretty sure anyone here except for the Terminator reject over there (referring to 17) could take him out no problem. He caught the others off guard, but it's not gonna happen with the rest of us, especially not me, my mom or Gohan."

"And… the rest of you share this opinion?"

"Due respect Supreme Kai, I think he has a point." Gohan told him "Dabura is more or less around the same level as the likes of Cell or Bojack. We managed to defeat him then, and we've only gotten that much stronger since then. All we have to do is make sure that we don't let down our guard."

"...So be it then, I'll respect your opinions on this matter, so long as you're careful. After all, given the feats that you and Kai have accomplished, as well as Cooler's testimony, I do know first hand just how powerful you both truly are and the potential you possess."

"You don't have to worry Supreme Kai. I promise you, we're going to stop Majin Buu before this gets too out of hand."

"Yeah yeah giving him piece of mind, I'm still waiting for my fight over here." 17 jerked a thumb at the doorway, and clearly he was running out of patience "Seriously, are we going to do this or not? Just hurry up and get out here already."

Sure enough, the door opened and Yakon emerged, that being a hideous green beast with large claws on each hand, drooling all the while "At last…"

"...Well isn't this just fucking typical, I always get the ugly ones don't I?"

"No, this can't be happening!" Shin let out a horrified gasp.

"He a friend of yours?"

"Let us begin…" Yakon let out a chuckle "Which one of you is ready to be eaten first?"

"Great, this isn't gonna last too long. This one seems big and all, but he's drooling like a freaking animal and he's way too slow and bulky to actually make this an interesting fight."

"This isn't an opponent you should treat so casually." Shin told him firmly "This creature is one that I know all too well."

"Okay so give me some details, who and what the hell is he?"

"He's known as Yakon, the legendary space beasted and one of the most feared monsters in the entire universe. The battle that lies ahead will not be an easy one, which is worse because we know that the more damage any of us take, the more energy will go towards Majin Buu being revived."

"Yeah well, I wouldn't hold my breath for that one."

"Yes… Now I'll devour you first!" Yakon wiped away some of his drool and promptly swept one of his giant claws.

"Nope." 17 leapt over the sweep of claws and started dodging the barrage of attaches that followed it, albeit receiving a shallow slash across his chest that tore his shirt "Hey come on man, this was a new shirt. Great, now I'm gonna have to get a new one. Still though, apparently the big guy is a lot faster than he looks. I guess this means I'll have to start taking him seriously, and be a lot more careful.'

"So you got a lucky dodge in, but that lucky streak is only going to be able to save you for so long, and when that luck runs out I'll devour you!"

'On the other hand those claws were pretty unexpected, but they're also cool as all hell. Kind of like the way 16 used that Rocket Punch on Cell, now that was cool. I wonder what the big guy is doing in the afterlife right now. Probably just chilling under a tree with some birds or something, he did always like birds after all. And all animals really. You know that reminds me, I never really did get around to that whole idea about being a park ranger did I? Maybe I'll try and take that up again when this is over, but for now, working on the ugly beast. Alright big guy, might as well get started on the second round."

"Listen to me Yakon, and listen well." the voice of Babidi rang through the air "I have to say that you are doing quite well, beautifully in fact. Leave the Supreme Kai and the Triclops alone for the time being, but you can go ahead and devour the rest of these imbeciles. Just make sure to chew them slowly, we want to make sure to grind every last big of energy out of them, so that we can use it to revive Majin Buu. And since I know just how much you love the dark, I'll go ahead and transport you to Planet Ankoku, so that you can enjoy your meal without all of these pesky lights getting in the way. I mean granted you probably don't need such an advantage to claim victory in a situation such as this, but I do think it's for the best to air on the side of caution. Besides, if you decide to start playing rough then we don't want you rattling the ship and waking Majin Buu up prematurely now do we? After all of the trouble we've gone through to revive him, it would be such a shame to revive him at anything less than full power. So then, off you go to the Planet Ankoku, where you can feast and play to your heart's content! Paparapapa!" and on that note, the room suddenly changed to a pitch black setting.

"And apparently the imp just moved us again because of course he did."

"That he did!" Yakon barked out a laugh as he leapt back onto the roof of a cave and retracted his claws "This is Planet of Ankoku, the world of darkness! You can't see me, but I have the ability to see you all too well! You're cracking your neck right now aren't you?"

"Yeah so, what's your point? What's with this planet anyway?"

"This planet serves as Yakon's homeworld." Shin told him "It lies on the distance edge of the universe where no light is able to reach it, and thus it's known as the world of darkness."

"Figures."

"Enough waiting, it's time for me to enjoy my meal!" Yakon pounced at 17, slobbering all the while as he did so.

"Great, now I can't see anything in here because it's so dark, and I don't have the ability to sense energy. Seriously, what the hell was Gero thinking in not giving us that ability? Seems like an intentional design flaw if you asked me." 17 easily leapt over Yakon's attack and brought a foot down on his head.

"Why you little-" Yakon burst back out of the ground in a rage, only to find that 17 had suddenly disappeared "Where did you go-"

"Right here." 17 blized behind Yakon and dealt him a smash attack to the head, sending him crashing into a nearby lake.

Yakon swam to shore and blitzed around in order to land an attack on 17 from behind, only to be met with a foot to the face that sent him crashing to the ground.

"So, we done yet?"

"This… This shouldn't be possible. How is it that you're able to see me!"

"That's because I can't, and frankly I don't really need to either. Even if I can't pick up on your energy itself, it's not that hard to pick up on your movements through the vibrations in the air, and I can sure as hell smell you worse than that crappy cologne 18 gave me for my birthday."

"I thought you said you didn't use stuff like that." Piccolo shot him a raised eyebrow, or would've if he had eyebrows.

"I don't, I just use it to kill ants around the house."

"Hm. Fair enough."

"But in any case, if I wanted to see this big ugly bastard, then I could just do this." on that note, 17 promptly spiked his aura, which was more than enough to light up the area around him.

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Meanwhile, with Babidi…

"Well now, this is definitely unexpected." Tao glanced over at Shen, then took another look into the crystal ball "I thought this brat looked familiar, he's one of Gero's Androids. Though I have to say, he's definitely an improvement over the likes of that last lug from Muscle Tower or that fool with the trucker hat."

"Does that mean he's one of those energy absorption models?" asked Shen.

"No no, Gero only did that with the fat clown he was working on last we saw him."

"That was real? I thought that was just him punking us."

"Gero didn't punk people, but if I had to guess then I'd say that this is one of the infinite energy models. We'll have to be careful with that one."

"Enough you two, I'm sick of your prattling!" Babidi snapped at them, then turned to one of his nameless soldiers "You, go now and fetch me an energy meter so that I can gauge this, the biggest one that you can find, and make it snappy!"

"Yes sir!" the soldier ran out of the room, then came back with a meter in hand and pointed it at the crystal ball, and he showed the results to Babidi "There you are sir."

"What the- This says that earthling is at 1,400 kilis! How could any earthling be able to generate that much energy!"

"I'm assuming that kilis is how you rate the level of power creatures put out?" Shen shot him a raised eyebrow.

"300 kilis in themselves are enough to destroy an entire planet, but to think that a human can possess that kind of power? It's absurd, the only explanation has to be that the wretched meter must be broken."

"But what if it's actually functioning properly?"

"Yakon himself is only able to generate around 800 kilis of energy, so if this rating is accurate, then he won't stand a chance!"

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Meanwhile, with the Z Fighters…

"But in any case, if I wanted to see this big ugly bastard, then I could just do this." on that note, 17 promptly spiked his aura, which was more than enough to light up the area around him.

"Like I thought, he has gotten stronger." Piccolo gave a smirk, but then he frowned 'The only thing is, without being able to sense his Ki I can't tell how much. Still though, I wouldn't mind trying to get a rematch with him at some point.'

"The dark has never scared me, or any of the rest of these idiots for that matter. We can make our own light whenever the hell we want."

"Is that right?" Yakon let out a chuckle "That's good, that's very good. I always like to enjoy a little bit of a snack before my actual meals."

"Okay, that's not the reaction that I was expecting."

"Yes, this will be absolutely delicious!" on that note, Yakon opened his mouth wide and somehow began sucking 17's white aura, causing his own body to glow white, prompting 17 to power down after a moment.

"Okay, so that happened I guess. Not sure what the hell it was though."

"I have to thank ou earthling, because that was one of the most brilliant meals I've eaten in the past hundred years!"

"Um… what now?"

"I should've seen this coming." Shin's expression turned grave "Yakon is a type of creature that's known for feeding on light energy, which means that the aura that 17 puts out is something that he would find to be most nourishing."

"So to put it in simple terms, you mean that it's a form of energy absorption?"

"Essentially yes."

"Which means that the more I power up, the stronger he'll become as a result. Huh."

"Oh you don't have to mind me." Yakon let out a chuckle "Go ahead and power up again as much as you like. I could feast on that delicious energy you're radiating all day long."

"So you're that much of a glutton. Alright fine, I'll go ahead and oblige you, but don't say that I didn't warn you big guy."

"17 what are you doing?" Tarble called out to him "If you power up then you're only going to make him stronger, we should fight him together so that you don't have to go all out!"

"Just pipe down and stand back, this fight is all mine." on that note, 17 spike his energy as the milky white aura radiated around his body.

"This is perfect, don't hold any of it back. I want all of it, every single ounce of energy that you can give me!" Yakon's grin grew wider as he began sucking in the light, causing his body to glow white and his stomach to expand slightly, and continue expanding by the second.

"Like I said ugly, go ahead and take in as much as you can, but like I said, you were already given a warning. Yeah, they say that you can absorb light to make you more powerful, but I have no limits on my energy reserves and your gut can only get so big, so the question is, how long are you gonna be able to hold out? Plus all this talk about inflicting damage means that if he doen't even hurt me, then nothing happens to help this Majin Buu get brought back out, so that's a win on both fronts. I wonder if any of the others figured it out yet. Yeah that's right ugly, keep sucking all of it into your greedy gut. I can literally keep this up all day, but can you?" and then he unleashed one final burst of energy, sending it hurtling into Yakon's mouth and causing him to explode, which prompted 17 to let out a sigh as he powered down, and the room returned to normal as the hatch opened in front of them And that's the end of that. Truth be told, I was half expecting him to spray his guts all over me when that happened. Anyway the floor opened, come on so we can get this over with."

"Right." Goku and most of the others prepared to follow 17 down the hatch into the third floor, though a few of them lagged behind for a moment.

Piccolo glanced back to see Shin staring in disbelief "Are you alright?"

"Yes yes, I'm just… genuinely shocked." Shin took a moment to find his voice "To think that the likes of Yakon could be defeated so easily."

"That was part of 17's plan. I don't know if you were ever told about this, but 17 is an Android created by a scientist here on Earth."

"The term is cyborgs!" 17 called back to him from within the hatch.

"We always called them Androids."

"Well good for you Big Green, you're still wrong!"

"Uh huh. Anyway…" Piccolo turned back to Shin "My point is that 17 has limitless reserves of energy at his disposal, and that's one of the main reasons why when opponents like that monster show up, he's the perfect person to take them on."

"...I see." Shin breathed a sigh "I knew that this world had capable warriors, but evidently I've made the mistake of underestimating what all of you are truly capable of."

"You're not wrong to think that Gohan and Kai are the best of us though. They do have the highest level of potential, but they're not alone."

"Indeed. I'll be sure to remember that going forward."

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Meanwhile, with the evil imp…

"How… How could this happen?" Babidi was left in a horrified disbelief at what he was seeing in his crystal ball "What in the hell did that brat with the long hair do to my Yakon?!"

"It was nothing that Yakon didn't do to himself?" this was when Dabura made his way into the room and scowled "He was so overcome by his own gluttony that he let himself take in far more energy than his body was able to handle."

"Yes but how, Yakon's appetite was legendary, so there's no feasible way a mere earthling could make a predator of his calliber burst like an overinflated balloon!"

"Perhaps, but keep in mind that the boy has limitless energy reserves." Tao pointed out "In any case, we did say that those warriors are stronger than you gave them credit for."

"Yes well, that didn't stop you from luring those fools onto my ship!"

"If you're still left unsettled by this turn of events, allow us to put your minds at ease in the name of our alliance." Shen gave a wicked grin "Myself and my brother here are going to take the chance to settle an old score, and at the same time gather the energy you need for your plans. That ball will be filled with all the energy you desire, and then we will finally have our revenge on our so-called former student and the rest of those pitiful weaklings."

'Hm, those wretched fools. Even with the powers I've given them they're still only somewhat above the level of Yakon. But then again I won't be completely defenseless if these two fall. After all, I'll still have Dabura. Are you two absolutely certain that you're going to win against them?"

"With the powers that you've granted us, we'll be unstoppable. It's time to show those pieces of trash the true might of the Crane School, and all of them will fall before us and beg for the mercy that they will never receive before we finish with them."

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Meanwhile, with the Z Fighters…

"Looks like I'm going to be up next." Tien took off his shirt as he started stretching, readying himself for what would come "I can't help but wonder what sort of enemies we're going to be facing next."

"Well whatever it is, I bet you can handle it." Goku gave him the classic Son grin, only to notice him grimacing "You okay?"

"I'm fine, it's just… Shen and Tao are somewhere on this ship too. You know that we're going to have to deal with them eventually."

"Hey come on man, don't let yourself get so stressed out over it. We both know that you alone are more than strong enough to stop them in their tracks."

"I know Goku, I don't need a reminder of what happened the last time they showed themselves to us." he placed a hand over the scar on his chest "I still have a permanent reminder of that. I just wish it didn't have to come to this, but I know it will eventually." it was then that Tien's attention was directed towards where the door was opening, and his gaze hardened 'This Ki signature… No wait, there's two of them… Don't tell me, I'm facing them already?'

Sure enough, the door opened and both Shen and Tao stepped out, the M symbols on their foreheads pulsating with dark energy as their wicked smirks began widening "I can't tell you how long the two of us have been waiting for this Tien."

"I can't say the same unfortunately Master Shen, Tao. As I remember it, the last time I met the two of you, during the 23rd tournament, I defeated you and asked the two of you to never show your faces around me again."

"And as I recall, I swore vengeance on you for the humiliations you dealt us and we swore that you wouldn't die peacefully." Tao let out a snarl.

"I knew that you would never rest so long as I was alive, and for awhile I was okay with that, especially given there were other things that had to be dealt with. But I never thought that you two would go so far as to sell out your own race. You wouldn't do that with King Piccolo, but now this wizard comes along and you just turn your backs on your own planet? How could you stoop that low?"

"How do you think, we did it to get even with you!" Shen spat at him "You made it painfully clear that you had become too strong at the last tournament, if your humiliating defeat of my dear brother here was any indication. You took away the pride of the Crane School, and you tore it to shreds right before our very eyes!"

"...Are you actually talking to me about pride?" Tien's gaze hardened with anger "You don't know anything about pride. All you cared about was winning and proving your superiority, you ignored anything relating to basic human decency. Neither of you ever had any pride to begin with. You both are a disgrace to the good name of martial arts."

"And that right there is exactly what he's talking about." Tao's smirk widened "It's taken 17 years of tireless training and honing our skills, as well as bargaining with that little imp, but it's the time has finally come for us to shut that high and mighty mouth of yours once and for all!"

"So you sold out your own planet, your own race, just to get even with me?"

"Well that and the fact that the injury you gave me at the last tournament was beyond any normal recovery! I was dying because of you!"

"...Huh." Kai took this moment to share a quick glance with Gohan "It's times like this that I'm reminded that not everyone has access to Senzu Beans. Lucky me I keep a secret stash with me, though I probably do have to refill it when this is over."

"It was only thanks to that imp and his magic that I was saved from a slow death, but even that is a mercy you won't receive."

"I… I didn't know I had caused you that much suffering…" Tien was left staring at the ground for a moment, but then his gaze snapped back up "So you're telling me that after everything, the two of you would actually sell out your own planet and race? You're both a disgrace to whatever good there is in the name of the Crane School, and as a former student of the both of you, I'm going to take responsibility for your sins, and put a stop to them here and now."

"I've heard more than enough of your prattling." Shen let out a chuckle as he dropped into a combat stance, with Tao doing the same, dark energy surrounding their bodies "You're going to suffer for your arrogance and conceit along with the rest of your friends, because they're going to follow once we're done with you. Prepare yourself for what comes next Tien."

"You're really going to try and kill the rest of my friends just because of a grudge you have against me?"

"Goku deserves to pay for his past transgressions." Tao gestured to his face, then glanced over at the others "As for the rest of them, their deaths will be a favor, whereas yours is going to be a long overdue triumph!" and so the two of them charged forward.

'I will accept your sins, and as I atoned for mine, I'll make sure that the two of you will do the same.' with a deep breath, Tien dealt Tao a sharp kick to the side that sent him hurtling straight towards Shen, sending both of them crashing into a wall, and he glanced over at the others 'I may have ended up exactly in the same place that you are now, but I met these people and they showed me a different way. The right way.'

"You should be focused on the fight at hand! Dodon Ray!" Shen blitzed in front of Tien and tried to hit him with a Dodon Ray at point-blank range.

"Kaioken." Tien dispelled the Dodon Ray with a quick burst of the Kaioken and grabbed Shen by that same hand 'I never wanted to do this, I had hoped at one point that I could help to redeem you two, just as Goku and the others helped to redeem me. But after all this time, seeing the lengths that the two of you would go… I see now that I have no choice in the matter.' with a deep breath, he held a finger towards Shen's chest "Forgive me for what I have to do, and may you both find peace and atonement in the next world."

"What do… You won't hear me beg for mercy you wretch! My brother and I are here only for one reason, and that's to kill you! You and all of the other Turtle School failures, none of them deserve to live before our-"

"Neo Dodon Ray." with a single movement, Tien unleashed a more powerful variant of the Dodon Ray straight through Shen's heart, causing his lifeless body to drop to the ground in a heap, leaving Tien to sigh as he powered down his Kaioken.

"What… What the hell is this?!" Tao recovered in time to see Shen's corpse lying on the ground in front of Tien, but his shock quickly turned into rage and denial "There's no way in hell that a pathetic traitor like you could be powerful enough to kill my brother! I'll make you suffer for your transgressions against the Crane School!"

"I think I've made it clear before, I'm not the same man that once followed every order you gave to the letter. I'm a changed man, and I have the two of you a chance to change as well, but you both spat on it, and you've sealed your fates as a result." on that note, Tien blitzed forward far too fast for Tao to react and dealt him a swift yet brutally powerful blow to the stomach, causing him to let out a cry of agony before he too collapsed to the ground in a pool of his own blood. With the battle over as quickly as it had begun, Tien breathed a sigh as he powered down, and then glanced over to see the hatch open up "It's over, we should be able to go through to the next level. You guys go ahead, I'll… I'll be there in a moment."

"...Very well then. Come on, we have to stop Babidi as soon as possible." Shin was the first one to go through the hatch, with most of the others following behind him, albeit with an uneasy silence looming over all of them.

Goku on the other hand, he stayed behind and made his way over to Tien "Are you gonna be alright?"

"I'll manage. I just didn't think it was wise to drag this out or make it any longer than it really needed to be." Tien glanced in between the bodies of Shen and Tao "Once we stop Babidi, I want to come back for them. Despite everything, they deserve a proper burial at the very least. I owe them that much."

"Yeah, you're right about that. So then…"

"It's alright Goku, you don't have to say anything." Tien turned to face him "I only have one true master, and that's Master Roshi."

"Yeah. It's just kind of a shame though. No matter how many times you tried to show the two of them how wrong they were, they just refused to learn. It's kind of like with Frieza." Goku then breathed a sigh himself.

"That's rather melancholy for you."

"I'm just thinking about that, and something I learned from Cooler after he saved me from Namek exploding. He told me that I couldn't save everyone, and not everybody wants to be saved. I didn't want to believe that, but I did figure it out pretty clearly after I fought Turles. But that doesn't mean we don't try to save them. And we can do better too."

"Yes… we do better." Tien's expression grew more lighthearted "And I can use that when I take my next step."

"What's that gonna be?"

"To become a master in my own right. I'm going to rebuild the Crane School, to restore honor to a school of martial arts to a clan that Shen and Tao had poisoned for so many years. They started out well enough, to teach their fighting style and spread their wisdom, but then it got to the point where they were just using the Crane School, tarnishing the name of what they had created for the sake of their own glory and superiority. The Crane School deserves to have a noble destiny, one with true honor, one that can spread the right message and do genuine good for the world. That's why I'll rebuild the Crane School, and I could use your help."

"...I'm with you Tien, and so are the rest of us." Goku clasped hands with Tien as he gave his typical Son grin "And who knows, once you got your first batch of students, maybe I can fight them and see for myself what they can do."

"Believe me Goku, I look forward to when that day comes." and on that note, Tien and Goku leapt down the hatch to join the others.

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Meanwhile, with the half-Saiyan duo…

"Oh man, it's so hot…" Goten let out a whine as he took off the long-sleeve shirt he wore under his gi, and he looked around at their surroundings, which just so happened to be a scorching hot desert "Are you sure the Dragon Ball is around here?"

"That's what the radar says." Ranch pulled out the Dragon Radar "I think it says that it's around there somewhere." she pointed at the giant bird's nest in front of them "But I think we have another problem."

"What do you mean?" Goten was met with a loud squawk, to which the two of them looked up and saw a large bird hovering above them and looking pissed "Oh."

"That's a sand eagle right?"

"Yep."

"...What is it that Gohan always says, crabaskets?"

"I think that's it."

"Well whatever, it's coming here and I think it wants to peck our eyes out!" and so the two of them braced themselves as the sand eagle swooped down towards them.

A/N:

Now (in a chapter that is incredibly overdue) with the debut of the man behind the curtain in the form of Babidi, the battle really begins as the Z Fighters try their damndest to stop Babidi from freeing Majin Buu and unleashing him on the world. Of course, nothing ever goes as easily as the original plan, and things eventually take a turn for the worst.

So just to recap, the ones fighting against Babidi's henchmen are, in order: Scarlet fighting Pui Pui, because I wanted to show her fighting style and just how powerful she really is when she puts her mind to it. After that is 17 fighting Yakon, along with a crap load of TFS references in the midst of it, and using his limitless energy reserves to his advantage, a plot point I actually recycled from a previous Dragon Ball story I wrote a few years ago, but the point still stands. Besides, fights like this give me the chance to show what the non-Saiyan characters are capable of, and I'm trying to balance out giving as many characters a moment in the spotlight as I can.

Next is Tien vs Shen and Tao, which might be the most important of them, since it gives us Tien standing against his former mentors and finally putting an end to them once and for all, though it's clear that it's not an easy task for him. I know it might seem a bit premature to get rid of them this early into the arc, but I never intended for them to be really major players in the grand scheme of things. Their presence does accomplish three things: One, it wraps up their arc from the original Dragon Ball series that never really got a proper conclusion. Two, it gives a unique spin on the events of the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament. Three, it gives Tien a chance to shine in the series, which is especially important when you recall how he had been shafted for most of the Majin Buu arc. As an added bonus, it gives him some more character development, and a chance for him and Goku to reflect on just how far he had come since his first appearance.

Power levels:

Kai: 1 billion

Scarlet: 1.8 billion

Gohan: 4 billion

Goku: 3.8 billion

Tarble: 3.4 billion

Super Saiyan Tarble: 23.8 billion

Tien: 200 million

Tien (Kaioken): 400 million

Android 17: 2 billion

Weighted Piccolo: 60 billion

Videl: 7.5 million

Mr Satan: 25

Pui Pui: 14,000

Yakon: 1.15 billion

Majin Mercenary Tao: 20 million

Majin Mercenary Tao (full power): 50 million

Majin Shen: 20 million

Majin Shen (full power): 50 million

Dabura: 15 billion