[ OP: My First Story ‒ King and Ashley ]

Dina and Kora! To Struggle Against Nihilism!

"SKREEOOOONK!"

"BULLSHIT! YOU'RE THE ASSHOLE HERE, BIRDBRAIN! DON'T WANT TROUBLE? WATCH YOUR DAMN TAIL NEXT TIME!"

"KWRAAAAAICK!"

"HEH, YEAH RIGHT! I'D LOVE TO SEE YOU TRY! BRING IT WITH THOSE SHITTY LITTLE STUBS FOR ARMS YA GOT, I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!"

"GRAUGH!"

"AH SCREW YOU, 'HOW'S THE WEATHER DOWN THERE'! I'LL KNOCK OUT ALL 500'A THOSE PEARLY WHITES YOU'RE SO DAMN PROUD OF AND MAKE A NECKLACE TO PAWN, SNAGGY!"

"Hey."

Neoru snapped 'round.

"GET LOST, I'M TALKIN'NA SOME… Oh."

There stood Dina, eyes red in more ways than one with a bag of something slung behind her shoulder.

"Nrrrrrrgh?" His verbal adversary bellowed.

"... Uh, yeah, that'd be great."

The prehistoric student made some space.

"You understood that?" she asked, monotone.

"Nah, I just started shoutin' 'cus they did. So what's that?"

"The food I owe you."

"oh. Well that sucks 'cus I'm not even hungry today."

"... oh."

"... so, you're still here, huh?" Neoru noted.

"Yeah."

"... what does that mean?"

"That you were right."

Dina dropped the bag.

"Sorry. For all those times I hit you," she concluded, before carrying on. "They all meant nothing."

"Dina."

"?"

"... Anything I can do to help?"

"..."

She smiled.

"No."

Eventually, she stopped wandering aimlessly and sat on a bench. If she was gonna practice futility, she was gonna do it in one place.

It wasn't long before she was trapped alone with her own thoughts.

"I've never made this beverage before, so pardon me if it's not to your..."

"Oh, stop! It already smells heavenly!"

"..."

"You didn't have to do any of this. But you did. Thank you."

"I'm aware."

"...nn..."

"Was beginning to think I was dealing with a coma, there. Welcome back, princess."

"Ggh..."

"I just... need someone to talk to..."

Dina clutched her face.

"Want me to take you?"

"You'd do that?"

"Sure, why not."

"Why am I always... snf... fucking crying?"

She threw away what stray tears managed to escape her eyes.

"... I should at least try."

She picked herself up, further dried her face, and set off toward a certain structure.

"Just take the case higher. I haven't come this far just to give up!"

"Besides, of the one good outcome in all this, I've been left with nothing to lose!"

3 hard knocks rattled the door.

After a deafening period of silence, an audible click signaled its unlocking.

It promptly swung open.

Trunks briefly defended his stacks of paperwork from the oncoming gale.

"Well, that was needless," he sighed.

Dina's demand was simple.

"Take me back to my timeline."

Trunks's response was just as.

"Not possible."

" 'Course it is. All you have to do is plop me back where I came from."

"It's not that simple," Trunks elaborated. "Returning someone to a point in time beyond their final chronologic footprint dramatically changes history, and I can't and won't allow that."

"I've heard that spiel before."

"Then WHY are we even having this discussion?"

"Because it's bullshit. If you call yourselves decent people, you wouldn't just kidnap randoes without a method to return them if they so choose. The issue clearly isn't that I'm not strong enough, I've made sure of that in spades, so what's the hassle?"

"You'd call this kidnapping?" Trunks asked, surprised.

"Plucking folks from their homes and forcing them to work? What other name suits this operation, besides trafficking?"

The black-coat took visible offense. "How about a second chance? We're not plucking 'randoes,' you know, it's those we know can and want to do good, even after 'death'. I'm shocked as to how you could say that after the time you've spent here."

Dina gave a dry chuckle. "Shocked, oh that's rich. Yeah, all that 'time' I've spent since arrival has consisted of wasting time, taking the shit of others, and failure. Meanwhile, there's someone I know that may or may not be on a rampage, and people are dying. I'm through standing idly by, chasing ghosts and being lied to, and I want out. Now."

"... so that's what this is about..."

"Cut the cryptic speech and take me back! I'm no longer asking!"

As Dina's tone sharpened, Trunks's grew softer.

"I'm sorry, but... even if I wanted to, even for just a few minutes, the damage returning you would cause to spacetime makes it impossible."

Her ruby eyes suddenly took on a feral, desperate calm. Trunks was immediately put on guard.

"Yeah, that's it. You just don't want me to return badly enough. Maybe I need to give you a better reason."

"... you think you can?"

"I don't need to win. I just need to go wild enough to force a reaction."

"... if you attack me, you won't go back to your timeline. Just a place we dump all 'defective recruits.' "

Dina called his bluff without second thought. "Anywhere's better than this shithole. I've already died once, if this is all there is to your 'second chance,' then just finish me now so at least I'm not living in constant futility. If nothing else, I'm trying 'till the end."

There wasn't really a Spartan myth-esque dumping ground, no. That just tended to work with those who weren't truly ready to risk their skin that much and were starting a spur-of-moment row. This situation was, tragically, different.

"As commander of the Time Patrol, I WILL have to throw you into isolation if you so much as lay a finger on-"

"I DON'T CARE! Kill me, isolate me, throw that horrid collar on me, do whatever the hell you want! As long as it changes SOMETHING, I don't care!"

Trunks sighed and stood.

"If you lay a finger on me, punishment will be severe. But I don't want that, and you don't need that."

His eyes sharpened. "That said, if this is what you want, then-"

A fist shot toward him, bolting through the sound barrier.

Trunks stayed just ahead of it, the attack phasing through his afterimage.

Dina desperately pursued, punch-after-punch missing as the lilac-haired commander effortlessly weaved through them.

"Your footwork's exceptional."

"SHUT UP!"

Her eyes whitened, as she became overwhelmed with a rage greater than she'd ever experienced beforehand.

"SHUT UP!" she roared, darting to the man's side and throwing more air-singeing punches, all growing in speed, all failing to meet the mark.

"SHUT UP!" she screamed, her hair beginning to flash. In that moment, that was all that changed.

Trunks maintained his stoic expression as everything superheated around him, Dina screaming profanities as she clawed at him like a cornered animal.

She paused, heaving behind her teeth before roaring, completing her transformation into a Super Saiyan.

Dina gave a look of genuine hatred toward the swordsman and resumed her pointless pursuit with another snarl.

It continued for over an hour. In that time, through all the anger-intoxicated snarls and screeches and erratic Super Saiyan punches, not a single piece of paper flew off Trunks's desk.

Dina's rage faded. All that kept her going now was desperation.

Even that was fading.

Her punches grew so slow, a toddler could keep pace.

One of them was stopped by a gloved palm.

"Had enough?" Trunks asked calmly.

Dina threw one slow, limp fist after another at the palm.

"No," Dina responded, tired.

"I think you've had enough."

"I don't care."

Trunks grabbed one fist, then the other, lowered her hands, and let go.

"I did it. Laid my fingers on you. Now what?"

He raised his hand toward her, Dina unprepared and uncaring for what came next.

FWACK!

Her head was violently knocked back. And slowly returned to rest.

[ BGM: Hiroyuki Sawano ‒ The Top of Oshu ]

The man's hand had just exited flick-position.

"I can't exactly let you get off scot-free, can I?" he smiled.

"... What was the point," Dina muttered as blood trickled down her forehead, "If you could've knocked me flat, all along?"

"Burning off that excess energy, for one. But more importantly, like I said, you don't need that."

Dina gave a weak glare.

"I can't say I know where you're coming from, or why you're feeling this. But if nothing else, I know the feeling."

"Of course you do. Now if you'll excuse me..."

"That need to change things. To try, no matter what the outcome, to make any sort of difference in a world that won't let you. To grow so desperate for it, you throw all caution to the wind to get it, recklessness be damned."

"..."

"I guess what I'm getting at is... this isn't that world. The past has come and gone, but you can still make a difference in the here-and-now. Even if it doesn't seem like it, you and everyone in Conton are the freest beings in the multiverse. Not even the future's certainty holds you anymore. Maybe not for your timeline, but change is sure to come from someone like you. You're still green, Dina... just give it time."

"... What does it matter if there's nothing left here for me to care about?"

Dina took her leave, Trunks glumly seeing her off.

At least she tried everything.

That was her only consolation. That she gave it her all.

Like giving it her all had gotten her anything as of late.

As she made her way to nowhere in particular, her bubbly friend tracked her down.

" 'Sup, bestie!"

Dina turned, eyes dead.

"I spent ALL. DAY. searching for you! So I'm COMPLETELY psyched up today, I just trained my butt off, and we've totally got bidness unfinished! Wanna go a few?"

Dina just looked at her, before slowly shaking her head.

"No."

"Wha!?" Devine exclaimed. "Oh, I get it, you're just feelin' sick or whatever, I guess you got that cold thingy humans get sometimes? OMG, you should, like, be in bed right now, dummy!"

"No, I just don't care anymore."

Devine's face contorted in confusion. "Huh?"

"Strength, fighting, anything and everything in this sodding town. It's all useless to me now. Even if we did go a round, I'd hardly put up a fight, and you'd squash me. Then you'll surpass me and whatnot, and the cycle continues. I'm hardly worth your time."

The airheaded full-blood put her thinking cap on. "... Oh my gawds, is this about the timeline crazy-talk from yesterday!? Come ON, it happened, it's in the past now, all you have to do is leave it there! You don't gotta go all grumpy on me, let's just forget about it n' fight already!"

Dina couldn't be bothered to get angry. That was just the way her loopy friend was, after all.

"Things would be simpler, If only I could live like you."

A half-hearted smile inched up a corner of her lips.

"But I couldn't live like you if I tried, dolt."

She turned and continued down her path.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? YOU-UGH! YOU KNOW WHAT, FINE! I'LL JUST BUG YOU AGAIN WHEN YOU AREN'T ACTING LIKE A MUDSTICK OR WHATEVER! GODS, THIS IS SO LIKE YOU!"

The girl just kept walking.

"OH COME ON, IT'S NOT THAT SERIOUS! YOU'RE ACTING LIKE IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD BECAUSE OF ONE STUPID HICCUP!? LIKE, GET A GRIP, DRAMA QUEEN!"

The girl just kept walking.

"... ONE ROUND? WE CAN'T GO ONE ROUND? YOU KNOW, YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD ME YOU WERE SUCH A QUITTER WHEN WE FIRST MET!"

The girl just kept walking.

"YOU... You won't know until you try, you know… Dina?"

Out of options, she made the decision to go to the place which she apparently lived at and rot away there. Dina was about a block from her apartment before yet another past acquaintance decided to drop on by, as if the city was mocking her.

"Hey, shithead!" Kazikum shouted, a few meters in her path.

Head still down, her eyes widened.

The roadstop-pottymouth's 24/7 angry eyes weren't as sharp as usual.

"Where the fuck have you been all this time!?"

She hadn't thought about it. But as she raised her head, the realization smacked her.

"Huh!? Cat got your tongue!?"

If the fact she was stuck here had hit her this hard... what would it do to HIM?

She began welling up, much to Kazikum's confusion.

"You're still living a lie, too, aren't you?"

"TCH! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, YOU WHINY, CRINKLE-FACED SHIT-FOR-BRAINS!?"

"... Oh, you miserable idiot..." she softly choked up, eyes dried.

Unable to bare even the thought of his one-track mind being ripped apart, she ran in the opposite direction.

"HEY, HOLD IT!" Kaz yelled after her, only to lose her in the late-day crowd.

"MOVE IT, YOU MAGGOT-DICK'D PESTS!" he roared, acting out on sporadic emotion and flinging several poor citizens cross-city before the pain around his neck reached a point of unignorability; several patrollers shook from the amount of volts coursing through the collar baying him as he was pinned down. All the while, he glared dull daggers in the general direction of the girl he'd just missed.

"I ran…" she thought as she slowed.

"I could've told him then-and-there… but I choked up and ran."

Her hands shook, no dignity left to ball up, and she felt sick to her stomach.

"I'm just as much a coward as her. No… at least she never bloody RAN from me."

She looked to the side.

The exact same bench from earlier, the one that she'd so adamantly rose from to change something, stared back.

"... Heh… h-heheheheh…"

Dina plopped down and chuckled dryly as people gave passing looks. Some asked if she was alright, some offered a hand. None got to her, all of them appearing like blurs.

"Heheheheheheh…."

If she still had tears, they'd be streaming. But she didn't.

So, tired and emotionally decrepit, she laughed back at the sky.

The half-blood had blinked once. Her eyes reopened, and night had fallen.

She rubbed her sore eyes.

"Huh."

The sky's pseudo-sundown indigos and violets, ever-shifting and mixing, were beautiful as always. That, she could still say with confidence.

"This is life, now. Least there's this, I guess."

She blankly stared for a while, putting things into perspective.

"Well, the few bonds I had left died in a burning plane crash," she thought with post-nap apathy. " 'Cept for the Neo boy. Then again, we never really had one, now, did we? Spacetime apparently hates me, so I'm no longer able to return to my past. Nothing I do matters, and I'm here until the day I die. Therefore..."

She asked herself the big question.

"Now what?"

With a large heave, Dina shrugged.

"Who cares."

Dina turned, headed for her flat, and encountered someone who cared.

[ BGM: Hiroyuki Sawano ‒ X-BT2 ]

To surpass a Super Saiyan.

The phrase itself, one she'd've laughed off as a child, now drove Kora far beyond herself.

The image of Dina's indifference, as if to say that she was forever above her because of that unearned state, also drove Kora. Up a wall, but drove her nonetheless.

The red-skied desert planet, on which she'd borderline lived with her comrade and master for the past 4 months, made her force forth every ounce of will she had every day in order to not fall and die. A constant 40Gs, combined with the ripping sandstorm winds and a sweltering heat under 4 suns, made it ideal for saiyan training.

"TYAAAAH!" she roared, her opponent responding with his own proud call. Clashing with Archi's fists, they exchanged punches before a snap kick into the head discombobulated the brawny boy. Kora capitalized with a punch to his gut, knocking him back and sending sweat all over the sizzling and smoking sand beneath the pair while one pursued the other. Archi recuperated and grabbed the imminent fist with an arm that bulged with muscle under the force's stress and threatened to crush the hand entirely, dodging a leg from below that cut his chin and preparing payback with his own. But Kora's recovery axe kick stopped his shin in its tracks, rattling the bone beneath and setting him up for yet another roundhouse kick, this one successfully knocking him into the sand beneath. She dove in, cupping two fists for a whack-a-mole sledgehammer, only for her attack to meet hot rock.

The rapid distilling of sand behind her gave the answer before she asked, Kora narrowly sidestepping her partner's ambush kick before noticing the curious way he outstretched his ha-

She was sent flying by the sudden ki blast, its heat amped by the scorching day above and sending her nerves writhing. Somersaulting through the air and sticking the landing, she shrank to all fours; Archi had grown predictable with how he responded to mere hints of an opening. Violently yanking his leg with her tail, she disrupted his fist-led flight and dragged just above her a moment long enough to jump back on two hands and rocket into his core leg-first, ki supporting her instantaneous ascent instead of the sifty material below. Smoke from the oncoming saliva gush onto the sand put a prideful, devilish smile on her face, her opponent's wind sufficiently knocked out.

To her dismay, the winds around them had grown fast enough to cause a sandstorm.

"Now, seriously!?" she hissed, the specks of sand already beginning to superheat and flay the saiyan; a single grain alone dwarfed any earthborne weapon in density, and with the planet's sound-dwarfing wind speeds, it could chew through just about anything. She concentrated on hardening herself, remembered Archi, and promptly broke concentration.

"Wait, no!"

She dove in after him, barely maintaining her thin barrier, and grabbed him while he held on to consciousness. Now giving her all to maintain a barrier large and strong enough for both of them, she sweltered even as the outer rays itself began to dull from the sheer volume of razor-sharp hell pellets, and the heat began to swell to plasma-trouncing degrees.

"Gh...GH…!"

It began feeling like she was being held underwater. Bits of sand began breaking through, whizzing past her skin and leaving wet, red streaks as her breathing grew heavier and heavier.

And she summoned forth her reason for this hell.

The need to surpass a Super Saiyan.

And with that, the last reserves of strength she had.

"Ha…. aaAAAAAAH!"

The barrier resolidified against the battering grains, the storm beginning to die out.

She started falling unconscious, into an outstretched arm.

"Nice," Archi grinned, dispelling the last of the divine sandstorm with a full power kiai not far from a lion's roar.

With labored breaths and raw skin, he looked over his peacefully-resting buddy.

"She's pushed herself so far these past few months… and with how strong she's gotten, I'm starting to fall for her all over again…"

He looked over the red giants casting an unending, oven-like day over the forsaken timespace, one setting uselessly over the horizon.

"It really is something, how far a rival can take you."

3 of the 4 stars proceeded to explode, one-by-one.

The spectacle was blinding.

And deafening.

To the highest literal senses conceivably imaginable.

"AH…AH..."

Archi had yet to mentally adapt to his mentor's elaborate method of ending the day.

[ BGM: Hiroyuki Sawano ‒ Fist From the Worthy Tiger with Love~ ]

Before his eyes could completely melt, a small, blazing orb of light shot toward the pair from the sky, booming with a proud, girlish laughter all the way across the rapidly-dimming terrain.

"PLACING THE BONDS YOU SHARE BEFORE YOUR OWN GRACES, ATTAINING STRENGTH SURPASSING YOUR LIMITS FOR THE SAKE OF A COMRADE…! THE BLOOD WITHIN THIS HEART OF HEARTS SIMMERS WITH PRIDE!" The light, morphing into a sharp-toothed silhouette, and then into Tarubei, bellowed. Covered in wet and dry blood alike, either she'd endured her own brutal training or, if there was life on this planet, she'd thoroughly checked through its food chain and made a slight last-minute revision to its tippy-top.

"A MAGNIFICENT SHOWING, MY PUPILS! YOUR RESOUNDING WILLS HAVE MOVED ME BEYOND WORDS!"

The boy in the red chassis broke free of his awe long enough to stammer a response.

"H-hold your horses, Captain!" he hastily protested to his bite-sized star system atomizer of a mentor. "I only pulled a last-minute save! It was Kora who did most of the work!"

"EVEN SO, TO IGNORE YOUR GRIT ENTIRELY WOULD BE A VILLAINOUS ACT! THOU OUGHT STAND HIGHER, MY BOY!"

She refocused attention to Kora's resting figure.

"Yet still, a personal congratulations is due, my proud cub."

The brief, soft respite lowered the guard off Archi's recovering eardrums.

"WITH ALL PLEASANTRIES CARRIED OUT, YOU PAIR HAVE EARNED THIS NIGHTFALL, IF NOT FIVE! REST EASY, FOR TOMORROW IS YET ANOTHER SAVAGE DAY!"

"Yes!" Archi shouted with diligence, bleeding canals regardless.

Kora awoke early that night. The incessant overnight rumblings and explosions in the distance, byproduct of her restless master's training, played a part, though small.

"Gh… my head…" she moaned, rubbing her forehead. Yesterday's stunt was still taking its toll.

But her mind wouldn't permit a good night's rest.

Inching closer toward her new ambition, Kora's conscience saw fit to hound her with a troubled youth; this instance was no different.

A much-younger Kora stood over the KO'd bodies of 2 tailed and armorclad boys, bleeding and panting all the while. A tall, scarred and imposing man, possessing the same two features as the children albeit a thicker plating, looked down upon her, while she gazed upward. She almost smiled, the mountainous figure's face obstructed by draped shadow.

"Pathetic. The both of you, beaten by your little sister of all things."

Her expression dropped.

"Not one of you will ever be worthy of it at this rate," he spoke, thudding off in disgust.

"... father?"

The small girl was beginning to see blobs, the cost of the prior royale taking effect.

He stopped momentarily.

"I… won…" she desperately muttered at him, shaky tone begging for any sort of acknowledgement at the fact.

All she got was clenched fists, as he continued walking away.

Stronger.

She needed to be stronger.

Kora looked to the left; Archi snored when he slept.

And she wanted strength, not death. It was suicide to join Tarubei's training in the state she was in.

Vetoing sleep as an option, she threw forth a gate. She'd need fuel if she wanted to return to maximum output.

Kora first ate through her entire refrigerator, then Archi's refrigerator, then her reserves throughout her apartment. Nearing full tank ‒ a saiyan's fridge stocked enough calories to feed every man, woman, child, cow, and occasional wolfpack in a village for 3 days ‒ but still ravenously hungry, she prepared to make a go at a local food vendor under the Conton City night.

Kora looked at you.

"I'm gonna pay them back, gosh."

Her insolence was punished via elaborate, classified anti-saiyan security systems. Wandering oni and sneaky tigers had resulted in the tech used being upped significantly.

Dejected, coated in gunpowder, and pretty much full anyway, she shook it off and took a walk to clear her mind.

For reference, Kora had no idea how to clear her mind.

All she could think of, as of late, were reasons.

The upcoming tournament, of course one such.

The way her "brothers" would go out of their way to make life a Darwinistic struggle, more so than it already was for a denizen of Planet Vegeta: At best, food theft if she was too slow. At worst, beatdowns whenever she had the nerve to lower her guard.

The way her father looked at her as if she weren't there, sparing bare essentials and nothing else as he spent every waking moment available to beat a legendary warrior out of her siblings.

The way her mother would envelop herself and Kora in the promise of a savior that'd solve the plights of the poor, defenseless warrior race and take them to the summit of the universal hierarchy, all while casually dismissing her ambitions to reach such a state.

The "plight" itself, a tyrant that toyed with the race for fun and used them all as pawns, with no threat of retaliation due only to sheer strength difference.

And latest of all, that which struck the largest nerve she didn't know she possessed, who took that form and flaunted it like jewelry, all while having not an ounce of the will or strength to rightfully wield it, who threw away a rivalry in the making off the arrogance of having that damned form…

…

…

Her?

There she walked, as if on cue; Kora took a double take, to ensure this wasn't late-night delirium.

No, there walked Dina Spaurk. In the flesh.

But this time, she wouldn't let her just arrogantly walk away.

"If you think that crutch of yours will carry you to victory this tournament, sorry to say, you're mistaken."

She stopped in her tracks.

"I don't care how far you think the Super Saiyan transformation puts you ahead of me, no matter what, I won't lose to you. Because believe it or not, I'm confident that I'll defeat you, even AS a Super Sai-"

"Take it."

Of all the things Dina could've said with that stupid accent, Kora hadn't thought for a moment she'd say THAT.

"... what?"

"The title. 'Super Saiyan.' Just take it."

"What the hell are you saying? You can't just hand something like that off!"

"Why the bloody hell not? If it's so important to you, take it, I don't care anymore."

Confusion strangled her.

"What's gotten into you? You'd never say something so prideless to me!"

"Well it goes to show how little you know about me, yeah? Here's another bombshell, for good measure. You're my better, alright? If anything, YOU'RE the Super Saiyan, I'm just a sad mook who can change her hair color and that's all. Isn't that what you want to hear?"

"No! That doesn't mean anything to me! I can't take something so hollow-"

"Oh, is that it? I'm just your pawn, too, yeah? You're not satisfied until you beat me again yourself, right? Fuckin' hell, you are just insufferable, you know that!?"

"WHAT DID YOU-"

"Oh what, are you surprised at the notion? I give you what you want upfront, no questions asked, no strings attached, and yet you're still unhappy because it wasn't YOUR way. 'Cus that's all I am to you people. A puppet."

Dina weakly outstretched her arms.

"But if you're that hellbent on pummeling me until I BEG mercy, have at me. I won't fight back. Not like it'd matter. Nothing I do matters."

After the pathetic sentiment, Kora could hardly summon the rage to throw a punch.

"Who… who ARE you?"

And a new rage began taking hold.

"What happened to that spirit? What happened to that pompous grin, what… WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT PROMISE?"

"What does it matter to you!?" Dina shouted back in response. "I can't keep up with you, simple as that! All I have is this stupid ability that's done NOTHING for me ever since I've got it except earn me ire! I can't hold onto anything, I can't change the past, I can't even go back to my own FUCKING PLACE IN TIME! IT'S USELESS TO ME, SO BY ALL MEANS, TAKE IT AND LET ME ROT IN PEACE!"

"Your… timeline?"

Dina brought back down her arms. "You know what, you prick? You had your chance, just leave me."

She attempted to pass Kora.

Who blocked the path with an arm.

[ BGM: Hiroyuki Sawano ft. Gemie ‒ Call of Silence ]

"You aren't the only one… with a past they can't change…" she softly spoke.

"Oh, come on…" Dina croaked, her voice shaking. "Of course I'm not, I don't need to know how much worse off you are than me. Now let me go."

"No."

"What the hell, I said let go!"

"I won't let someone like you-"

"Piss off! I am NOT your problem anymore, I am NO ONE's problem anymore, now cut it out, you pretentious shit!" The half-blood snarled, tone of desperation rising with every word.

Suddenly, her saiyan nature snapped.

"... or WHAT?"

"JUST MOVE ALREADY!" Dina screamed, aggressively bashing Kora's arm aside, to no avail.

"YOU THINK I'LL MOVE BECAUSE SOME WEAKLING TELLS ME TO!?" Kora screamed, arm unrelenting.

"MOVE, YOU BASTARD!"

"MAKE ME, YOU PATHETIC WORM!"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"

"I'M SICK OF HEARING THAT WHINY VOICE, THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG!"

"THEN LET ME GO!"

"I SAID MAKE ME!"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

"MOVE ME YOURSELF!"

!

.

.

Before they knew it, they'd each thrown a punch.

Of course she was seeing blobs.

Of course it was by-far the worst punch she'd ever taken.

Dina slowly rose, nose coated in blood.

"There… satisfied?"

She couldn't even find it in her to transform, stress from the recent and lengthy metamorphosis still taking its toll. No doubt, transforming would've been the only way her punch would've done anything, if that.

"Now, if you'll excuse me…" she muttered, tears dripping.

Koa slowly approached her.

"What? Come to get a good look? Proud of yourself?"

She stared upward, and gasped.

Kora stared downward, blood trickling down her mouth with a dazed, befuddled look plastered across her face.

"... nice… punch…"

She hurt her.

Without transforming.

"... ngh… g-g-GH-"

She crumbled then and there, ugly-crying her heart out louder than she thought possible.

Kora, for whatever reason, felt compelled to kneel and comfort her, a stupefied look accompanying her the entire time.

"She didn't even transform… and yet…"

Dina took a trembly sigh.

"So, yeah."

Still taking in everything that'd happened the past 2 hours ‒ since she'd woken up until now, of course ‒ Kora sat aside her on a bench.

"That's… that's all pretty heavy."

"Yep."

She slumped back. "Never thought I'd say this outside sarcasm, but I had no idea how much I needed that decking back there. Even if it's a teeny, tiny bit of it… it feels nice, knowing that something's changed for me."

Kora's Saiyan Pride couldn't help but burn at the statement. She wasn't given much time to get very angry at its truth for long, however.

"Say… why'd you go through all that?"

"I, er… I just wanted to gloat."

"Classy, that."

"Still, I wasn't kidding when I said you weren't the only one that'd gone through these motions. It sucks… and you never completely get over it. It's like losing someone."

"Losing everyone including yourself, mind."

"You could say that. And seeing you… YOU… look and sound so pathetic over it… pushed me over the edge."

"...Wonder if this is what souls on the other side experience once they find out they're dead. If there is an afterlife, that is."

"There is."

"YOU'RE KIDD... " Dina stopped herself with a groan. "Oh, bloody hell, what am I saying. Of course there's one, 'd be the least bizarre aspect of this ever-loopier universe I've heard so far."

Kora couldn't contain her chuckle. "Oh, you're gonna have a blast moving forward!"

"Oh, color me excited!" They both shared a light laugh, reveling in this new/familiar world's many quirks.

The tailed young woman pulled herself back down to earth.

"Speaking of, it can't be a coincidence that you're the pupil of Captain's rival."

"Whaddoya mean?"

"Ayeva, of course!"

Dina stopped her laughter.

"... was."

"Oh. I-I'm sorry-"

"No, don't be," she assured. "What a colossal fuckup, that was. She was the closest thing to a mother I've ever had, and I… GOD, I'm a moron."

"I mean…" Kora began to suggest, "These things happen, don't they? It's not too late to fess up faults."

"I TOLD HER TO EAT SHIT AND DIE." Dina squeezed her stupid, stupid head. "I can't just approach her after something so horrid. Even if I could, she's either too busy, or she's hold-up in her pocket space, and I punted the bloody gate GOD-KNOWS where, so bollocks to that 's well, thanks to Super Genius Extraordinaire Dina's brilliant hissyfit!"

"Gods-know, but sure."

"Not right now, yeah?"

"... So if you had the gate…"

"It's useless. If it's not half-past the sodding moon, it's hidden in some obscure bush on the far side of this massive damn-near peninsula of a city. I'd never find it at this rate."

"... Dina."

Kora stood.

"Right now, if I give it my all, I can circle a mass double the size of Earth in about a minute or two."

Dina stared.

"... Kora, your boundless modesty in these trying times is appreciated, but how the apparently-existent hell does that solve-"

"I'M NOT JUST GLOATING!"

She regained composure.

"What I'm saying is, if you're anywhere as strong as I am, and you… a-a-aA-ARE…. Then you're in my range of speed, as well."

"blimey, nearly had a stroke on that one-"

"MEANING!" Kora dramatically threw her fist skyward, tail unbounding around her waist and flaring. "Even IF it's somewhere in a crevice far-side of the mountain-range, we'll find it before sunrise if we're convicted enough!"

"... we?"

[ BGM: Hideki Naganuma ‒ Chain (Underwater Mix) ]

A warm smile spread across Dina's face against her will.

"You mean, you'll…"

"Sure, why not. It'll be one more accolade for Captain to rub in her rival's face if I beat her pupil… uh…"

Dina hastily rubbed away the last few tears she had in stock and jumped up.

"U-UM, Sure, yeah, whatever, do what you will," she coughed out, clearing her throat because she felt like it.

"(You damn crybaby…) Alright, then…"

"FIRSTONEWHOFINDSITWINS!" the halfling shouted before zooming off.

"A-WHY YOU…!"

And so, they were off. Two bolts raced around the gigantic expanse, circling roving city streets, tight alleyways, desert plains, thick forest groves, jungles rife with bamboo, mountainous regions piercing clouds, deep crevices, and oh-so much more.

Again.

And again.

And again.

And- I feel like you're getting the idea.

After hundreds upon hundreds of runs, long enough for the sun to peak its head and brighten the violet skies with shades of blue, Dina came heaving to a stop.

"Drat…" she gasped in-between heavy breaths, "still… nothing…"

She forcefully hammered the pillar she leaned upon with the side of her fist.

"Shoot… it's gone now… damn it…"

Footsteps gradually came to a stop behind her.

"That's everywhere…." Kora panted. "I'm sorry it had to end like this, Dina."

"Don't be…" She gulped one last time, closure coming over her. "I'm just thankful you pitched in."

The full-blooded saiyan lowered her head in defeat.

And spotted something.

"Hey, Dina."

"?"

"Your shoe's untied."

"Well, that won't do, will it?" she apathetically stated, going down to tend to her…

"... Heh. Hehehe, Hehehehehehe…"

Her eyes lit up.

There the pink-goldish capsule lay, shaken down from its hiding place.

"HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!"

Kora lightly giggled to herself as Dina rolled across the ground, clutching her precious valuable for dear life with all the joy in the world.

Suddenly, as her guard was down, Dina sprang toward her.

'WHA-"

"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU-"

Dina snapped out of it and turned red, promptly releasing Kora from her fiendish sneak attack.

"Ah… uh… yeah… thanks."

"You said that already," Kora assured, just as red if-not redder.

"... I mean it. This meant a lot to me… all of it."

"Just get going, dumbass. C.D. opens soon, and someone like your master's likely to be one of the first there."

"Right."

She prepared the gate, when…

"And..."

"Huh? What now?"

The armored warrioress aimed her fist at the tomboy.

"8 months from now, when the tournament begins, I'll be at least 50x stronger than I am now. If you don't want to be left behind, then you'd better spend every waking second you have available in preparation."

Her ebony eyes intensified.

"As of now, I recognize you as my rival. Upon the pride forged by my family, upon my pride as a Saiyan, I usher challenge and swear victory!"

Dina's resulting scowl wasn't one of hatred.

In fact, as a canine-ridden smile presented itself, she directed a fist back.

[ BGM: Hiruyuki Sawano ‒ aLIEz (Instrumental) (3:23) ]

"COUNT ON IT!"

With that gesture and oath set in stone, Dina, with all the resolve and conviction she could muster, cast forth the gate leading to the first person who she'd ever trusted in Conton City, in order to valiantly reseal the bond she and her maternal figure had forged together. Her blazing ruby eyes glared into the swirling, rippling energies leading her to Ayeva and-

"so… like…" Dina looked back sheepishly, "what should i say?"

Kora had had it.

"SAY WHAT YOU NEED TO, MORON!" she roared, kicking her through. A screech was briefly cut off by the portal's closing, leaving Kora shaking her fists.

"I can't let myself lose to an idiot like that…"

Something came to mind that made her smile.

"Come to think of it… this is how the prince once felt… isn't it?"

The thin, human whitecoat gazed upon the document-clad fortress before him

Awe. Horror. He had vague idea of the feeling that overtook him, the downpour-like sound of rapid fire holokey presses and chainsaw-ish whirrs of a lightning-fast pen tormenting his ears.

"Has she… has she stopped since she arrived?" A smaller, feminine-voiced musai whispered in fear.

"It's been a full day, since she's been like this," the man responded. "I tried to get to work on my report, but she just… ripped my blank sheets out of hand. I'm gonna be doing FIELD LABOR if this keeps up…"

The musai picked up and analyzed one of the completed documents. A brief aneurysm ensued.

"What in Chronoa's name…!" they sputtered, blood leaking out their nose. "These are NOVELS of equations, condensed into one page!"

The man gulped.

"... You're right, she needs to be stopped."

"But I never said any-"

The small, spiky researcher saw their cohort's agonized, pleading expression, and replaced their words with two motivational thumbs up.

What followed behind the white wall was a not-at-all lengthy discussion involving the illogic nature of stopping her work, as well as how if he failed to leave, she'd constrain his neck until he was no longer a threat to her productivity.

"You… you get that?" The human squeaked, wet in the corners of his eyes.

"I think we need to take this to Upper Management…"

It's not every day when a workaholic is forced by their place of work to take a day off.

But Ayeva was no mere workaholic.

Ayeva had transcended workaholism.

Even within her space, she endlessly worked away on problem after problem, chart after chart, simulation after simulation without pause.

But eventually, as day turned into night turned into an early morning, she got bored.

And she began thinking about things unrelated to work.

Which led her to the gravity chamber.

She sullenly overlooked the lonesome room from behind the clear fibers guarding it.

"I haven't used this place in years."

Training felt gross. And she hated battle; too many uncontrollable variables. But still…

Ayeva cranked the G-Matter output to something that suited a weaker patroller elite like herself.

She decided on 700 Gs. Enough to make her struggle.

Entering, and flipping a switch on D.I.A.N.A, she put up a stance, cleared her mind, and prepared to train the pain away. Unbeknownst to her, however...

"aaAH-"

Dina just barely landed on her feet.

"Phew, stuck it!"

Initially moving toward her workroom, she paused and redirected herself upon hearing the sounds of effort within the gravity chamber.

"Oh my… No way…"

There she saw it. Occasional glints of Ayeva and D.I.A.N.A. moving at downright impossible speeds.

"Incredible... " she muttered, before remembering her mission, ducking under the transparent panel.

"Wait-drat! How'm I supposed to talk to her if she's busy training? Yeah, it's impossible, right? Should just bugger off for now and… no, no, it has to happen now. May never get a chance like this again. Besides, now I know we both like training. I'll just hop in, apologize, and we'll bond over a sparring sesh! Even though she'll need to hold back…"

She repeeked.

"... Exponentially… screw it."

Dina collected her nerve, entered in the password, and entered the room.

"HEY, MS. AY-"

Her bones snapped.

Her eyes rolled back.

Her blood gushed outward.

Her heart stopped.

Her ears popped.

Her mind faded.

"Eh?"

Dina awoke in sweats on a bed. One different than usual. Both less comfortable and… somehow more.

"Mother of… what WAS that?"

"... wait…"

She felt fine, despite… all of that.

The room was all red, but nothing like the hostile tint of the gravity chamber. Dim, dark-blue light shined through a draped window right beside her, and birds chirped outside.

She slowly got to her feet, which touched down upon blue carpeting. A dresser as tall as her stood to her right, adorned with a lamp, miscellaneous supplies, and a saber-toothed tiger plushie she hadn't touched in years.

For a moment, she stood there.

Then, she spoke.

"I'm home."

[つづく]

Yo! OP here!

( 6/3/2022 PATCH NOTES: Changed Kora's brother count to 2; they're actually important enough to her to matter outside of vague mentions, now. Added elaboration: "Transforming would've been the only way her punch would've done anything, if that.")

So, uh, college sucks.

It's been 'bout 5 weekies since last upload, that also sucks.

First things first: bad news and good news.

Bad News: It'll be one more chapter before Dina's arc is resolved.

Good News: It's up. Yeah. One Month Wait still means a double-upload for now, but things may change in the future due to real-life shizz. Doesn't mean I ever intend on giving up, mind. In all honesty, startin' to question if I even want that graphic design degree; keeping it as a hobby while doing a job that pays enough to keep lights on and leaves me with, like, a hundred or-so to blow at the end of each pay day seems ideal.

Regardless, I'm gonna keep pushing through. Hopefully, you all are, too!

That's about it. See ya.