The Warrior in Black looked quite distraught about, well, being caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He knew had blatantly gone against his boss' direct orders. Well, 'boss' wasn't exactly the right word. Captor, perhaps? Jailor? It didn't matter.

Of course she'd find out about anyone being present in her own realm. Especially his Bulma and his Trunks. The cold chill that ran down his spine when he heard her voice interrupt their little reunion wasn't unnoticed by Aeos, the Supreme Kai of Time who had taken him under her wing in exchange for a chance at saving those two loved ones. She knew he could see her judgment in her eyes. The door didn't even open, she just appeared. It was her realm, after all. She observed their reactions with a certain… cautious interest. Terror subsidized. For now.

The earthling woman was a curious creature, and was a representation of everything she fought against, and yet, it was just a mere mortal, a small flicker of frail and short life that had caused so much trouble. She was less elegant than expected, mostly due to her comfortable clothes and lack of jewels, but her long braided hair was this lovely aquamarine shade. Aeos did not think it was similar to her own, despite what her Warrior in Black had remarked so long ago, but she still found it appealing. Tights, or rather, 'Bulma', was terrified and tried moving, but with nowhere to go she wasn't running, not without her daughter, and the Kai saw in her glances shared with her Warrior in Black just how important she was to him— how important those three were to each other. She, and the one held in his arm, wrapped in a bedsheet. He'd grabbed onto his student, his friend, his hope, and tried standing. Doing, the bed sheet covering the unconscious 'Trunks' slid off and revealed a bare shoulder. A hand gesture stopped him and forced him down before the girl ended up fully nude.

"Get her dressed," she instructed with a jaded look.

Aeos crossed her arms and observed as the two morals in front of her realized what was said. Then they had this silly discussion about getting 'Trunks' to release her man-plushie to actually put a proper top on her again. Their scrambling almost had the jaded Kai smile. As they were discussing strategies to get the girl's hands off of her worker, Aeos glanced aside, noticing the tatters that were once her top. They had been removed, probably to tend to her wounds. Thankfully her pants had stayed on.

Eventually, they managed to cheat the sleeping Saiyan instincts of not letting go, or rather, they managed to work around it. Tora wasn't releasing the Warrior in Black, so instead they transferred his shirt over her. Aeos found it kind of… cute? A hint of a smile even appeared on the corner of her lips.

Now that was done, she uncrossed her arms and let her eyes express her disapproval.

"I can expl—" she heard him start, once the unconscious girl had a shirt on.

"No need," the Kai interrupted him, her eyes moving slightly towards Tights, whose fists closed under the overbearing tension. Her eyes widened just an instant, and a blink and a gasp later, Tights was gone.

"Bulma-san!" the Warrior cried out for her, eyes wide, before turning to Aeos, knowing it was her doing.

"I just sent her home, do not fear. As for this one…" Aeos saw her companion's grip tighten. "The longer she stays, the worse it'll get. Let Chronoa take charge of her."

The Warrior's arm was suddenly empty, Tora had disappeared as well. Aeos saw how he looked down at his hand, and she approached to put a gloved hand on his shoulder. His clothes were fixed and his outfit was complete once more.

"Trust the process, 'Son Gohan'. They're on the move, we need to go."

"... Understood."

The Warrior in Black stood, ready to go, even if he hadn't fully recovered from his fights, he would push ahead as he always had. Aeos took notice once more how she was almost as tall as him when her hand slowly grabbed his. She gave a squeeze she hoped would convey some comfort, before letting out a short breath before they both disappeared.

.

.

By their first night in the Room of Spirit and time, Piccolo realized his... he wouldn't call it a mistake, rather a miscalculation. The two boys were asleep, they still had to get used to the brutal conditions of the Room (even if Trunks was already familiar with higher gravity), and the quick workout and attempts at transforming again drained them.

The initial two weeks they had in mind wouldn't be enough to enact their plan.

His miscalculations came from his experience with Tora and Gohan all those years ago. He knew Goten and Trunks were both better ki-users and had better bases in actual martial arts than the kid from the future, which is why he thought it would be faster. They were also very much in sync and had similar strengths, making them great training partners for each other.

However, unlike Tora, they did not have extensive experience with super Saiyan. Or any experience at all, they had only transformed that very same day for the first time. Of course they couldn't even transform at will, control their power, or manage their emotions. So he needed to find a solution to get them to master it…

And unlike Gohan—

"So what's the plan, Piccolo?" Eighteen's voice took him out of his deep thoughts.

"They need to master super Saiyan," he sighed. "I'm not exactly sure how."

Seventeen was snacking on some bread. Sure he didn't need to eat, but might as well enjoy his sister's cooking.. and tease her about it.

"Neither of us are Saiyans. Or kids," he observed.

His sister was ignoring his snide comments about her undercooked bread, but she still gave him the stink eye.

"Or Saiyan kids," Eighteen added.

Making bread from scratch with this strange flour was a whole ordeal, and that idiot was even less grateful than the two menaces that were her daughter's best friends. She threw a piece at him to express her displeasure with his attitude, even if their conversation was focused on what was truly at stake. It was second nature for the twins to be annoyances to each other.

"At least Trunks— well, 'Tora' was a little more talkative about his experience with it, as opposed to Son, so I guess I'll just repeat his words."

Piccolo had to admit it. Discussing an issue with people who had different experiences tended to help when it came to problem-solving. 'Put their heads together', as the saying went. Even if the two Cyborgs were as rowdy as the two children they were chaperoning. Regardless, his teamwork with Tenshinhan when it came to Tora's weaknesses as a fighter had helped them, so he had to put himself in that 'talking' situation again as it had proven its usefulness.

"Now I'm curious," Seventeen raised an eyebrow, impatient. "Oh come on, please spill the beans, don't make me beg, Green man!"

The raven-haired Cyborg was truly invested in the time traveler, and Piccolo remembered how he had asked him about dating advice when they faced each other for the second time, for some forsaken reason. And that memory was soon repressed.

"Ugh. As I said, Son said it took him a few months to harness it but he never talked about his past processes. However I overheard him and Trunks talking about it, and he explained that as a half-breed, super Saiyan was different. Which is why he explained it to Gohan and Son as well."

Piccolo kept digging into his memories concerning Tora and Goku's few spars when Tora had first shown up to warn them about the Cyborgs. The irony that he was relaying that discussion to said Cyborgs wasn't lost on him. That talk between the two super Saiyans confirmed what Gohan had told him a few years later, when he was pouring his heart out to him after Goku's death and Tora's departure.

Gohan hadn't wanted to transform ever again, but eventually he talked it all out (well, cried it all out) to Piccolo's cape and he made peace with it and eventually began using it again. Not to train, really, but to at least face Vegeta every now and then. Gohan had expressed wanting to heed Tora's advice about not letting super Saiyan consume him, after all.

Water being poured into his glass took him out of his deep thinking, so he continued after a vague grunt to express at least some degree of gratitude. Or at the very least acknowledgment of the mindful gesture.

"Gohan can get angry and pull immense strength for it, but for him, obtaining super Saiyan was about finding a deep desire to protect someone rather than destructive rage that Son and Vegeta rode. From what I saw, Trunks —the kid— transformed because he wished to protect Vegeta, while Goten got it because of Gohan's death."

"Pfft. Protecting Vegeta. Bad idea."

"Well big Trunks also wanted to protect him, right? From you , sis."

"Big Trunks?"

"Yeah, big, " Seventeen weighed his words and laid it out as thick as possible, which earned him a punch on the arm by his sister.

"If you want to ever leave this place in one piece, you'll stop going on about those details. Different Trunks, same idiocy, though."

Piccolo ignored once again the sibling banter. He was getting tired of the two pairs of 'kids', but he endured, thankful for Kami's patience, but this was getting a little out of hand as the two Cyborgs continued some other innuendos.

"Hmpf, let's not derail," he interrupted before it got too far into their mammal relationships situation. "At least Vegeta did right by him, this time, " he mumbled to himself, remembering how much of a scum Vegeta had been to the slightly younger version of Trunks from the future, then shook his head to forget all about that fiasco with Cell. "Regardless. Our focus will be to force the kids into a certain mindset to call upon super Saiyan and get them to control it and maintain it as long as possible. Trunks said it felt like an 'undying taste for blood and suffering', if I recall correctly."

He remembered those words so clearly because they were so different from Goku's 'wanting to beat up something '. At the time those words were exchanged between the two super Saiyans, Piccolo was training Gohan, which allowed him to eavesdrop on their conversation. Not only that, Tora had later opened up to him and to Tenshinhan during the few weeks they spent in this very room, so long ago. Well, Tora had only really opened up about his weaknesses as a fighter, when it came to being hot-blooded, stubborn, and lacking in terms of training and knowledge. Tora hadn't opened up about his feelings, doubts or his relation to others like Gohan usually did, he tended to enforce those boundaries with prejudice otherwise.

"Not sure how I feel about using the children as weapons ."

"Whether we like it or not, they will go fight. There's no stopping them. Better give them all we can so they don't get themselves killed."

"We'll get them ice-cream afterwards, sis. The good kind."

.

And so the excruciating pain of putting the children in harsh conditions enough to force them to transform regularly and control it took the best of a week. Despite their restless ways and their inability to be as good students as Gohan and Tora had been, Piccolo was pleasantly surprised by their malleability and natural talents. The kids were willing to practice the Fusion Technique in between sessions, and they were quite energetic about wanting to surpass their fathers and brother(s?). Mastery of super Saiyan came fairly simply all things considered, but it was not an easy task.

Gotenks —as the fused warrior decided to call himself— was born several times throughout their month-long stay. He said he was ready to avenge Gohan and Vegeta, but Piccolo knew better; Gotenks was too confident and too restless, despite being immensely powerful. Or rather, it was because he was so powerful. Even without transforming, the fused warrior had so much strength that Piccolo thought for an instant that maybe he could overpower Majin Buu. He knew however that overpowering their enemy wouldn't be enough.

Unlike Gohan, over ten years prior, Goten, Trunks, and their fusion Gotenks weren't exactly afraid of him or the Cyborgs, so they disobeyed often, and getting them to be patient and disciplined was hard because of their age and them being raised in a thriving and peaceful world. They knew how dire the situation was, but they lacked the harsh conditions that had forced both Gohan and Tora to be cautious.

The main issue was that the two children were, well, children, immature, undisciplined, whiny, entitled, and Gotenks also amplified those traits.

Self-control, observation skills, advanced ki conversion and power output, and anticipation. Those were Gotenks' weaknesses. At the very least, each of these elements were already mastered to a certain degree by either of the kids. The Fusion Technique seemed to not only fuse their power, but also part of their knowledge. The hardest part was making sure Gotenks would take from the kid who knew, and not from the kid who didn't know.

After a few tries, the three teachers noticed the Fusion Technique never lasted the exact same amount of time each time the kids used it. Eventually, the second half of their stay in the Room of Spirit and Time was spent making Gotenks last as long as possible, all while using as much power as possible, and keeping the childishness in check.

Eighteen, being more used to watching both children due to their frequent playdates with her lovely Marron, ended up being the harsh parent that focused on responsibility. It was hard being the 'no', unfun parental figure for those couple of weeks, but it was a role she took at heart due to the danger and the deaths already caused by the monster. With Gohan's and Vegeta's deaths, even if Gotenks got conceited due to not being able to measure whether he was strong enough or not, the fact that they had one and only one chance to fight their enemy, the children were taking their mission seriously.

.

"I need your help."

Tora hesitated.

Not about helping, that wasn't even on her radar, but about attacking her again. The ki blast her instincts had her throw at Lady T had done nothing, stopped by a sort of field of sorts. She was still guarded, fists up and tense. Her eyes narrowed, focused on the woman approaching her, open and visible hands, a slow uneven pace that confirmed Tora's belief that she was indeed wounded under those pristine white robes. Even her hair and jewelry seemed a little out of place. She could see the vulnerability and earnest nature of the request in Lady T's voice and body language. Not that it would stop Tora, she could attack, she wanted to, she needed to do it again.

Despite it all, she still remembered that short-lived sensation. That warmth, that touch, being held by Gohan, hearing his voice and her mother's.

It wasn't a dream, she knew it. She was even wearing his gi-shirt, it was far too big and sliding off her shoulder. And she was nude underneath. She fastened it a little closer, those vague memories still lingering. So she had to voice her questions instead of attacking again, even if her voice betrayed her fears.

"My mother. Gohan-san. My world.. and everyone in 774. What happened?"

"You.. were overtaken, I believe. Your mother and your Gohan are also fine. The place you call 774 suffered a targeted attack, but it's fine, for now. That's why I need your help."

Tora closed her fists, she was quick to realize this Lady T woman hadn't answered about her world. That, or she was that great of a manipulator, but her eyes had that bright glow, that trusting look, and that hint of sorrow she often saw in the mirror. She was truly showing her honest and bare fears to Tora, and Tora had to believe her help was necessary, but she felt tired, tired of fighting, tired of holding herself, tired of arguing, tired of even thinking.

"Why me? I don't even know you. And… I'm just… a spare. No one."

"You aren't, you're Trunks, the one who fixed the tear in the scroll. I followed your traces… You're the only one who can fix it again."

"The scroll? My traces?"

The ground shook before she got her answers, her senses began shutting down and she felt herself trying to grasp onto her consciousness.

"Don't panic, I've got you. This isn't a place for you, not in your current state," Lady T's voice whispered in her mind, warm and comforting, hurt and with a sense of urgency. "I will explain all I can with the limited time we have. I've followed your traces since your travel with your mother and saw your work with the Konatsians. My name is Chronoa, and I'm a Supreme Kai of Time."

.

By the time Goku made it through the line and then the 'paperwork' with Uranai Baba, he had seen just how many Earthlings had perished under Buu's rampage. The queue was long and boring and had delayed things for a little while . The cloud-souls were chatty and loud, and Goku knew he was an exception by being able to keep his body in the afterlife.

He knew that provoking Buu was a gamble, but at least he wasn't driven by an evil-doer in his actions anymore. Just pure chaos that may or may not calm down at some point, a tempest they could wait out. Buu had expressed interest in 'playing' with another strong fighter, so at the very least the menace was going to be contained while looking forward to it.

Baba scoffed and grumbled, and decided she'd stay in Otherworld until things calmed down. For once she couldn't really blame Goku for it.

"Aww granny Baba, don't be like that! Look, err… Piccolo Daimao wasn't my fault!" he had to laugh. "I wasn't even born back then!"

"You sure weren't!" Baba had to admit he was right and tried laughing with him, he was so carefree and it was contagious.

When he reached the station for his return, Goku boldly asked Enma about the whereabouts of his son. He was elated to find out Gohan had not died.

"Don't be so hopeful. I said he did not come here. That doesn't mean he's not dead."

"What's that mean?" Goku frowned, not liking the implications.

"Majin Buu's origins are what they are, so those he murders… some of their souls never arrive here."

Enma wasn't looking forward to the destruction that was surely to come.

Those killed by Demons never reached peace, he was told long ago. Goku felt immense sadness wash over him, but he still knew Gohan had never died, so the Earth's Dragon Balls could revive him. With Bulma they had already planned to gather them as soon as they were active to revive everyone killed since Hirudegarn, so Gohan would be included without a doubt. It was a matter of surviving until they became active again, only a few weeks. Goku trusted Shenron, even with the threat of their souls having been lost, because something similar had happened to Krillin and almost all other Tenkaichi Budokai participants had been killed by the demonic side of Piccolo and his minions. And they were all brought back to life.

Goku tried lingering a little longer but Enma's patience had run out with the amount of work he generally had and his dislike of curious noisy souls, so he was escorted out back to Otherworld. As he joined Kaio and his lovely pet Bubbles, the dead Saiyan thought about his fight with that Buu-guy. He had to trust his friends on Earth and let them handle it, but he still felt restless. Fighting Buu had been so exciting, after all…

.

A good ten days after they started training, the debrief sessions between the Cyborgs and Piccolo became a routine.

"It's fascinating," Eighteen observed while Seventeen cooked their dinner. "Vegeta's blasts were something, but they don't compare to Tora's or Gohan's. And Gotenks is far stronger. Why?"

"What's more fascinating is how Green man here has clothes-making powers and we somehow didn't know!" Seventeen had to point out the obvious, making a big deal of being offended at not having been made aware of such a thing, else he would have certainly abused that power.

Piccolo had just created the kids' new outfits, leaving them out for the kids to find when they were out of the bath.

Piccolo's patience was still being tested, but thankfully Kami in him had given him the wisdom to just ignore the bait most of the time. One change of outfit per person per day, anything else would be ignored. Eighteen took advantage of it whenever her clothes needed changing, but she also planned on having him redo a few of her outfits due to the colors being 'tacky'.

"Saiyans can't convert ki like Earthlings," Piccolo explained, ignoring the irrelevant topic. "They have a larger reserve so they seem to just default to using raw energy. Both Trunkses, Gohan and Goten are half-breeds, so their reserves are smaller, but they can use it more efficiently if they learn to use it the Earthling way. Goten's skill is far superior in that regard because he had formal training. Seems Trunks picked it up because they spent so much time together."

Gohan had learnt basic ki control from him, but the truth was that it was Krillin who had taught him proper ki conversion when they were on their way to Namek.

Tora, on the other hand, had learnt it from Tenshinhan, probably the most skilled and efficient at it that Piccolo knew.

However Goku was never able to learn it, at least not for regular ki-usage, which is why he usually relied on martial arts ki gestures to output more power when necessary. He couldn't convert ki under normal circumstances, he was just extremely good at using his deeper reserves when needed. He could force it with some Earthling techniques such as the Kamehameha, but it wasn't as efficient and he could only do so many before it exhausted him. Piccolo had realized all of that when they were training to fight the Cyborgs, and had also realized how malleable Gohan's ki had been in comparison. No wonder he was able to destroy Cell with that final blast.

"So the pair of Trunks and the pair of Sons got the best of both worlds?"

"Ugh, that pun, Seventeen."

"Seems so. If Vegeta had been a half-breed and been able to convert ki, he would've destroyed Buu without a doubt," Piccolo concluded his observations.

Seventeen and Eighteen were not ki users (since their energy was not ki) so they weren't really privy to any of those details, but they had general knowledge of such things, fed by Gero's spying bots during their creation. They could manipulate their own energy source, which was limitless, but their output was limited by just how much their bodies could let out.

No matter how much water is in the tank, the size of the pipe would limit the output. They could only influence the pressure, and that still had an unbreakable, laws-of-science ceiling. At least it was what Dr Brief told them when doing their maintenance, and it was what they repeated to Piccolo when he had inquired about their ki usage.

It was a great thing that Goten and Trunks were both already decent at ki conversion due to their regular play-fighting and Chichi's training. They just needed to become conscious of it and use it as Gotenks. And not get conceited with their power.

.
.

In another realm, Kibito was left drained from saving this mortal who had immense reserves (a second time), and the Supreme Kai himself. They had been both in critical condition when he found them. They wouldn't be able to return to the mortal realms for a little while because of that.

Gohan agreed to train in the meantime, appreciating being given new clothes, albeit the style felt off. He was grateful he wasn't given earrings similar to the Kai ones, mostly because they seemed distracting, but Kibito scoffed and scolded him for it.

"How rude are you to insult our attire! The potara are sacred to the Core People!"

"It's alright, Kibito."

"Core People?"

"Us," Shin gestured to Kibito and himself.

"Ah, so your… species?" Gohan hesitated, he didn't want to offend his hosts and saviors.

"Yes, our kind does not originate from the Mortal Realms, but you needn't worry about that. These earrings are earned through our position and accomplishments," Shin briefly explained. "All Kais come from the same tree," he added with a smile.

"Lady T, too?"

"Yes."

"Why isn't she here?"

"We are both Supreme Kais, but we do not share a realm, so she probably returned to her own to recover. And considering Kibito's safety, your friend was probably also freed from the spell."

Shin anticipated Gohan's question about Videl, which seemed to reassure him. Dabura's death had freed Kibito, so he had no reason to believe Chronoa and Videl weren't freed as well. He guessed she had retreated like he and Kibito had, and hoped for the best.

They got to know a little more about each other while training in the strange world, and Kibito's hostility ended up fading little by little. While Shin wasn't a particularly strong fighter, especially without his magic due to his diminished state, he still had techniques that made him a formidable adversary for Gohan to face. Kibito had disapproved of it all, but as long as they couldn't teleport back due to the two of them being drained and Gohan's energy levels still being low, there was no reason not to use that time. Gohan learnt about Kachin, the unbreakable heavy material, and soon learnt to fight against blocks made out of it; deviating, soaking them or sending them back.

After a few hours, Gohan was able to pull the Z sword out of its Kachin stone it had been lodged into long ago. Kibito was baffled, nobody had been able to even nudge the weapon, it had been many generations since that sword had appeared in their realm and the power it radiated…

The weapon reminded Gohan of Perseverance due to its length and hilt shape, but it was far, far heavier than Tora's precious weapon. He started training with it as well as against the Supreme Kai's magic.

"What about my friends and family? Do you know if they're ok?" Gohan had to ask during one of his breaks after a few days. His worries were distracting him.

"I am sorry," Shin had a long sigh, he just didn't know. "We are still unable to travel back and peek. Once our capacities are done regenerating, we return, we will assess the damage and act accordingly. Now, how about we try how good you've become with it?"

A new block of Kachin appeared above Shin and after Gohan approved, he launched it towards the young half-breed.

Kibito couldn't put into words the emotion that overtook him when the sword broke.

.
.

The chaotic creature that was Gotenks was the impatient kind, but with the Cyborgs' limitless energy, they could outlast him, and as such, outsmart him. They did not need to worry about outsmarting Majin Buu, as the creature seemed pretty simple in terms of combat sense, so Piccolo had decided their time could be used more efficiently, but they still tested Gotenks' quick thinking skills. He also quickly learned to summon super Saiyan, even when Goten and Trunks did not fuse as super Saiyans themselves. The whole was truly better than the sum of its part in that regard. Piccolo figured that perhaps, if he could control his energy better, he could stay fused longer or use more energy in one go.

That last part was the true goal. Vegeta could have destroyed Majin Buu if he had been able to convert energy. The kids were capable of it. It was necessary to be able to destroy the regenerative monster. Both Goten and Trunks were highly motivated, and Gotenks was confident he was able to output more ki than Vegeta had thrown when he sacrificed his life.

Vegeta had the largest energy well of them all and Piccolo shivered at the thought of what his raw power outburst would have been able to accomplish if he had been able to convert it like an Earthling.

No matter dwelling on ifs and whatabouts, Vegeta and Gohan were dead, Tora had disappeared and Goku was gone.

Gotenks was made aware of that piece of information, and he was impatient.

They had to focus on keeping Goten and Trunks in the Room of Spirit and Time as long as possible so Gotenks would be the strongest. The kids were even more impatient when they were fused, claiming they were ready to avenge their loved ones, and the three adults did not outpower the fusion, they only outsmarted him. That wouldn't last for long, and soon enough they couldn't hold the menace any longer.

They promised to leave after a long night of rest and food, so Gotenks would have all the possible strength available for the confrontation.

When they came out, however, the world was in a much different state than they left it a couple of hours prior.

It wasn't that Majin Buu had decided to disobey Mr Satan's requests in a childish tantrum as Piccolo feared, it was worse.

.
.

"I can't find your other-self person nor your friend Tora," the Supreme Kai informed Gohan with a solemn face. He had recovered some of his power with enough rest, and had accepted prying on the mortal realms. "The others— the children, your mother, your friend Videl… I wasn't able to have a good feel of their energy so I can't be sure."

Gohan nodded quietly, but didn't reply, instead focusing on the old man that walked around him.

"Babidi wished to rule over the universe through terror, so he might ask Buu to destroy the planet as soon as he finds a spaceship to replace his own."

Kibito had seen the spaceship's remains, it had been destroyed during one of the multiple battles that happened while he was turned into stone.

"That gives the planet respite, as Babidi will certainly search for a new ship."

None of them knew Babidi had been disposed of. After all, they had to investigate his whereabouts because his energy couldn't be felt or traced by the Kais.

The force that shook the galaxy when the dark energies of the new Buu burst caught a lot of attention. Despite their still weakened state and the distance, even Shin and Kibito noticed. They still couldn't go back, and Gohan was not at ease with it at all, and loathed how powerless he was, being unable to act, to intervene, to help. No doubt about it, Buu had unleashed more of his power, becoming the galaxy-level threats Shin knew of.

Especially as Gohan was forced to sit still through it all. This strange old Kai was now sitting in front of him and ignoring the discussions around him— but he had scolded Gohan for interrupting the very important ritual he was gifting him as a thank you for freeing him from the sword by breaking it. When he expressed his anger and impatience, and his power went far beyond what he could normally do in base, Gohan understood it was no joke. So he sat back down, apologized and hoped his protest did not caused too much of a setback. The old Kai scolded him again, and forbade him from letting his power out.

So Gohan couldn't express his frustration, his worries, nor ask anything else to the Supreme Kai and Kibito.

Talk about having all agency taken from him. He hoped to make it in time to save something, anything.

That same force also shook Otherworld, and a sudden new large batch of souls arrived all at once. Clearly Buu— or whatever had replaced him had caused many deaths. And Enma could only guess how many souls didn't make the line.

It had been about a week (according to the Earthling calendar) since Son Goku had left for his 24 hours (which were reduced to about half of that because he overexerted his dead body in the Realm of the Living, because of course he had), and Enma was getting a headache. He had to nip it in the bud, especially with all the incessant yapping around him and especially the panic that took over the ogres that had heard stories of Majin Buu's previous actions. So he sent one of them to fetch that one sorry soul in the waiting line for reincarnation. It was the strongest warrior in Otherworld, and while his attempt had failed, there was still hope.

Baba wasn't too happy to go back to Earth considering the dangers, and she was even less happy about taking Vegeta, with a brand new body complete with his missing limb, but alas they were out of options and truth be told, the Prince of all three half-breeds (plus a visiting one) was probably the universe's last line of defense. They all hoped he wouldn't be needed, that Piccolo's plan would work, but with Saiyans involved in any problem, Plan A never worked.

Even if Goku had a trouble-magnet reputation, the truth was that the Saiyans coming to Earth hadn't caused too many casualties on their planet. Freeza was disposed of before he and his army touched anyone. Only the Cyborg-Android situation had caused quite a large number of deaths, but it was a matter of a couple of weeks before they were restored to life. But Hirudegarn, and Buu? Hoi and Babidi weren't drawn to the planet because of Goku. Perhaps it was Earth itself, but then again, Baba wasn't that knowledgeable of other planets so.. confirmation bias, was it?

"A worthless ruffian is the best you've got, uh?"

Vegeta had almost forgotten how it was to have all five limbs, but his muscle memory kicked in easily, and his tail wrapped itself around his waist.

"You better be more grateful you punk!" Enma scolded. "I would have taken anyone else if I had the choice."

"Hmpf," Vegeta wasn't the kind to express gratitude, but he was willing to embrace this second chance at making things right when his first attempt failed. And ignore that the giant red ogre probably wanted Kakarot, but for some reason he couldn't anymore. Or wouldn't, that—

"Your tainted soul made it here because you killed yourself, not Majin Buu," Baba did not hide her displeasure with the ordeal.

"Don't worry old hag, once this is over, I'll return to the purification line." 'if I make it back.'

He had been made aware of Kakarot's power surge to fend off Majin Buu in hopes of helping Bulma grab the Dragon Radar. His resentment grew because that bastard hadn't respected him enough to give it his all against him, but that grudge that would vanish alongside his own existence so he forced himself to let it go. He was also made aware that if he died on Earth now, he would be truly lost forever, as his soul wouldn't be able to be recovered.

Not that it mattered to him anymore, he had given his farewells and was only willing to be used to give his family a chance to thrive. He was not going to abandon his child and mate in a desolate world, not again, not anymore, he had promised his heir and fully intended on keeping that promise even if his first attempt had failed spectacularly.

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By the time Baba and Vegeta crossed the path between Otherworld and Earth, the Lookout was half-destroyed. Baba wished him good luck and promptly disappeared. Vegeta didn't care for her cowardice, she was not a fighter and she would most likely get in the way. Her death would serve no purpose so it was whatever.

In his blood Vegeta could feel his mate was alive somewhere, but he didn't seek her lest he'd endanger her again. His tail unwrapped from his waist, there was at least some relief knowing she hadn't been killed by the fat monster.

He had a mission, and that mission was to find Buu and destroy him. It was time to make sure round fucking two would be the end of it all, and he was not going to get hot-blooded about it. He was quick to find Buu's energy, notice it was in combat, so he went towards it all while keeping his ki as masked as possible, in order to be able to surprise his target.

On the way to the monster, he spotted the young Namek that was in charge of the Dragon Balls, he was hiding alongside a couple of Earthlings he didn't care to pay attention to, but he failed to find Piccolo, and most importantly, he failed to find Kakarot's second brat and his own two brats. There would be hell to pay if anything had happened to them. That damn Piccolo had one job. He'd find him in Otherworld and give him a piece of his mind.

What he found instead of the fat pink blob was a laughing maniacal leaner and taller humanoid-shaped candy with a much longer.. headpiece? antenna? Didn't matter. This strange new Buu was fighting against the blonde Cyborg; or rather, he was chasing after her and she was giving her best at avoiding and dodging his attacks. Vegeta fully recognized a predator playing with prey, the wench stood no chance, no doubt about it, it was probably a trap. Regardless it gave him more time to assess what the fuck had happened to the pink blob because he was much stronger than before and even his energy felt all sorts of… weird.

He considered intervening directly in that strange chase to gather detailed intel from the blonde Cyborg, but he spotted the black-haired one that looked half knocked out in some debris. He was moving, so he wasn't dead. So he went to him instead, as the new Buu was distracted by his sick game and if Eighteen was going to die to give him a few extra minutes of intel, well, it was a worthy sacrifice and she could be brought back anyway.

Hopefully his plan would work with the right information, as clearly Plan A had to be thrown out because this Buu wasn't the Buu he faced a few days ago.

The more information he had, the better Plan B had a chance at working.

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So obviously my Kai lore stuff is from DBO, but I'm soooooo glad it's being reused/deepened in DAIMA!
Hope you like Daima as much as me!

I got one little com and two gifts I want to show you, if you'd like!
Kah (TruTen Majesty) drew the MurderGirl out of nowhere and I was like "ohmygod?" because yes she can destroy me and I'll die happily (after finishing the fic!)
And Lidoshka gave us a wonderful peaceful moment with Teen Gohan, and oh my god I'm so so so sorry they've not really had those nice moments together through the~Solitude~ Arc lol (But I DO INTEND to write a whole "school slice of life" side fic for those weeks between Tora's enrollment and the Tournament, because damn there's so much I had to cut down for flow...)
They both look so bright and happy and wonderful and comfortable and I will HUG THEM. Thank you so much Lidoshka, made my entire month! I'm so so so T_T moved.
And I got PPICCO to draw some Tora and 17 (as in the Dares chapter): They did such a wonderful job to express 17's unstoppable menace energy and Tora just enjoying his presence :o
You can see them all in my "my trunks" tag on my tumblr (secretsofdbz).

Much love and thank you so much for reading this longer chapter!
Next chapter is the last of the Buu arc, and then onwards to Arc 6 ;)