Potara slowly made her way back to the Extra-Dimensional Market. Her thoughts were still irritated, angry, and miserable, try as she might to banish them. There was really nothing that could be done about it, drowning in her own problems was something Pan would do, she had little desire to be stuck like that, weighed down by the past. She'd have to move on, besides, not that she needed it, but, an eternally young body did have a few advantages.

For one, she looked like a child, people would always be underestimating her. No one without firsthand experience would have any clue just how strong she actually was. Even without superspeed a child could slip into places unobserved, overhear conversations without being critiqued. A child could get favors and care just because people thought they were innocent or defenseless. Not to mention, there was the whole never dying of old age bit, but, that was somewhat of an afterthought at the moment, that wouldn't be an important factor for decades.

Potara started walking the market, keeping her eyes and ears open, listening and searching for anything of interest. At the moment all she could recall that might be a problem would be the Saiyans from the Terra dimension. She hadn't sighted any Saiyans in the market though. Aside from that, she had absolutely no clue about potential dangers from other dimensions. None of the other dimensions from the tournament had really given Pan that much of an impression. There were a few curious or unique abilities, but nothing that presented a clear threat. Even the Majin hadn't shown or hinted that much interest in other dimensions. The Arcosians, unlike Freeza, showed no conqueror interests that she had seen, just greedy money grubbing. It left her at a loss of what to be looking for.

She walked quietly, pausing at every third stand to fake-inspect what was there, just trying to listen in on conversations. Nothing of interest. People were just buying, selling, and conversing about their home dimensions. She kept moving, browsing stall after stall for hour after hour until she happened upon one stall in particular. One with humans manning it. Her first glance let her know they weren't from her home dimension. Their clothing was different, but, strangely enough, not unfamiliar. There were three people there. A young man, a young woman, and an older woman that almost looked like a body guard. It was the older woman who drew Pan's attention. She had a mix of black armor and white dress, her eyes were cold and unkind, her face calm and reserved. The woman tickled a memory...

"Is this the room?" came a loud shrill voice.

Pan winced at the sound and glanced at the door.

"Y-yes Lady Magistrate," came Abbot Sawa's voice.

The door opened, and in walked a lady clothed in a mix of black armor and a white dress. She had short hair like Bata's, her eyes were a hard, unfriendly blue, her face was calm, but not showing hints of being friendly either. She walked over, her chin up, looking down at Pan.

"So, this is her?" asked the Lady Magistrate.

"Y-yes Lady Magistrate," came Sawa's voice.

Pan glanced behind the Magistrate and saw both Saw and Bata standing at a firm, terrified, attention, not moving or budging a muscle. She didn't need to tap into her ki senses to detect how scared they were.

Potara's eyes went wide. The woman was a Magistrate. She was from Bata's world. The memory, that name, sent pain lacing through Potara's heart. Bata might have been Pan's friend and not hers, but, thinking of the dead girl still hurt. Potara hesitated for a moment, before she felt driven to approach. The Magistrate looked over her dismissively before returning to watching the coming and going of other, more threatening looking creatures.

The young woman at the stall smiled at Potara. "Hey there!"

Potara nodded curtly. "Hello."

The young woman looked behind her. "A bit young to be wandering around yourself, where's your parents?"

Potara resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The answer to that question was either: A) Back on Earth crying over their lost daughter and hating Potara, or B) Fused inside of her body. A mater of perspective she supposed.

"Around," was all Potara chose to say.

The young woman gave her a curious look. "Oh, well... anything you want?"

Potara made an uninterested look over the stand. "Not really, I... well... what's the name of your world?"

"Our world? Gaia," answered the young woman.

Gaia, Potara rolled the name over her tongue. It vaguely tickled some of Pan's lessons on other languages in her youth. Wasn't it another play on the word Earth? Or somewhat Earth related? She found it curious that of the three dimension's worlds she had been to that had humans, they all bore that kind of name. She gave a faint smile, finally having a name to put to Bata's world.

"I see," said Potara faintly.

Thinking of Bata also, in turn, made Potara think of Kojin, she frowned and turned to the Magistrate, unable to hold in her tongue, "So are the Magistrate's still kissing Kojin's ass even though he's dead?"

The Magistrate stiffened and turned her head to glare down at Potara. "I don't know who you are but you should mind your tongue child! Kojin was a deceiver, we serve a true god, er, goddess, now."

Potara resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Pan got one false god off their backs, and they threw themselves before another. "Really now? Who?"

"The Goddess Bata," said the Magistrate, her voice thin.

Potara went still, she went very still. The shock of the Magistrate's word's paralyzed her for a moment before she recovered and began to think rapidly.

Bata? As in... Pan's friend Bata? But... she had died, and the dragonballs had been made inert... there was no way it could be her...

Potara narrowed her eyes. "Bata, is she a roughly... fourteen year old girl by now with very short rigidly cut black hair, brown eyes, overly cheerful except when she gets mad and then she's super scary?"

The two people behind the stand snorted with undignified laughter, but, the Magistrate's eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. She was studying Potara seriously. There was a very brief nod, too quick for the other two to see, but no other confirmation.

Potara could hardly believe it, she... she had to confirm it for herself, "Where is the portal to your world?"

The Magistrate did not reply for a moment, now critically eying every inch of Potara. "What is your name child?"

Potara noticed there was expectation and very faint recognition in the Magistrates eyes, despite that they had never met she had a hunch and decided to go with it and somewhat lied, "I go by Potara now, but, you and Bata would know me as Son Pan."

The two vendors behind the stand went very still, looking at her in shock. "She's... the one who killed Kojin?!"

A thin, and very pleased smile briefly filed the Magistrate's face. "The Goddess was hopping we would eventually bump into you or someone who knows you, to think we would find you so quickly before we could even really start investigating other dimensions is a pleasant surprise. She's yearned for your presence for sometime now, Son Pan."

Potara pursed her lips. "It's Potara now."

The Magistrate shrugged. "As you wish then, Son Potara, let us be on our way. The Goddess awaits."

Potara decided to let the family name claim drop, especially since she didn't exactly mind the way it sounded. She followed the Magistrate wordlessly, weaving down hallways. She felt giddy and gleeful, so very happy, it was so overwhelming that it triggered a sense of wariness in her mind. It occurred to her suddenly that Pan's memories and feelings towards Bata were driving her. She had to throttle the memories and emotions, trying to go passive and remind herself that Bata, if it really was her, was Pan's friend, not hers. Though, she could honestly admit that she really hoped they could be friends, she could use one...

On that regard, what could she say to the girl? How in the world could she explain what had happened to Pan and who she was? How would Bata react to that? Potara suddenly felt unsure she wanted to go through with following the Magistrate back to Gaia. She stopped walking briefly, before resuming, deciding above all, Bata was Pan's friend, and she at least deserved to know Pan's fate, even if she wanted nothing to do with Potara afterwords, painful as the thought was. They continued walking down hallways and eventually up a flight of stairs and into a portal. The moment they passed through, Potara threw her senses wide open and probed in every direction. It did not take her long to find a faint presence, high in the air on the other side of the planet, that was familiar to Pan's memories. Potara couldn't help but crack a smile at that.

"Thanks for bringing me, see ya," said Potara to the Magistrate.

She focused on the presence and used Instantaneous Movement. She found herself on a lookout similar to Dende's. Before her stood a familiar teenage girl, clothed in the robes of a guardian with a red 'Kami' symbol on it. On her back she bore a purple cloak. In her left hand, a wooden staff. Her eyes a soft and kind brown. Her hair, to Potara's surprise, had grown out quiet a bit from the girl in Pan's memories. She was, without a doubt in her mind, Bata.

Bata stared at Potara for a moment, surprise on her face, before she squealed in delight, dropped her staff, and threw herself at Potara. "Pan!"

Bata wrapped her in a fierce hug, ignoring how Potara flinched at being called that. "Oh you don't know how much I've missed you!"

Potara's heart wrenched for a moment, feeling unsure of how to respond. She frowned for a moment and glanced up, sighting no halo above the girl's head.

"How are you alive?" Potara asked softly.

Bata gave her a scowl. "Questions later! Hugs first!"

Potara rolled her eyes and gave her a hug. "It's nice to meet you too Bata."

Bata scoffed. "Meet me? I haven't changed that much have I?"

Potara sighed and repeated her question. "How are you alive?"

Bata grumbled and separated from her. "Jeez, we meet again for the first time in years and you're all super serious!"

Potara crossed her arms, but did not reply.

Bata rolled her eyes. "Fine fine. Considering how much of a mess Gaia was in, and for my part in helping with the whole Kojin mess, I was revived by the gods on condition of taking over guardianship over Gaia."

Potara narrowed her eyes. "On condition of? Excuse me? Fucking gods, it figures."

Bata gave her a perplexed look. "Pan?"

Potara ground her teeth. "You ought to have been given back your life, free of restraints, to live as you wanted to, not as their little pet guardian."

Bata shrugged. "I don't mind it at all. I get to help a lot of people this way. Today alone by whispering into people's minds, or altering weather and that kind of stuff I've prevented ten suicides, twenty-eight murders, tons and tons of robberies and fights, and..."

Potara sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Of course you'd enjoy the position, figures."

Bata put a hand on her hip, frowning. "You know Pan, I'd thought you'd be a lot happier to see me alive."

Potara couldn't take it anymore. "I'm... not Pan..."

Bata blinked a few times. "Huh?"

Bata looked Pan over with confusion, top to bottom, pausing on her eyes. The girl frowned, uncertainty lacing her eyes and features. There was a faint glow in Bata's eyes, and Potara felt a shift in the girl's ki and detecting the girl probing her with senses. It felt almost like Dende's for a brief second, which really confused Potara and dredged up an interesting question. How exactly was Bata a guardian? Potara had only ever heard of Namekian's being guardians. Bata certainly had training, and her ki had changed. More meddling of the gods if Potara had to guess.

"You're... Pan, but you're not Pan," said Bata with confusion.

"My name is Potara," answered Potara.

"Like the earrings...? Oh..." asked and answered Bata, her eyes going completely wide.

"But... you look just like Pan... who did she choose to fuse with?" asked Bata with disbelief.

"A deceiver," whispered Potara sullenly, "And there was little choice in the matter."

Bata frowned intently, a disturbed look on her face. "Come sit over here and tell me what happened."

They moved to sit down at the edge of the lookout, feet hanging off the side. "How I was born or..."

"From the moment Pan left this dimension, if you would," asked Bata, "No, actually, the last dimension she was in to before coming here. She had said something about a Terra?"

For the next few hours, Potara confided in Bata everything that had happened to Pan, hiding nothing from her. She had expected, from what she remembered, for Bata to interrupt, or show emotion at what she heard. But, Bata was oddly silent, her face masked. The girl listened intently, not interrupting save for clarifications, processing everything that Potara told her, but choosing not to pass judgement early. The only thing the girl gave away was a growing sadness in her eyes. It occurred to Potara that Bata seemed to have changed a bit from the cheerful, but scarily Chi-Chi when mad like girl she had been. There was an air of maturity about her now that wasn't quite there before.

When she finished, Bata sat there, thinking for a time, before she merely shook her head, a tired look crossing her face. "Ah Pan..."

Bata rubbed her eyes tiredly. "What a mess."

Potara snorted. "You're telling me."

Bata turned to eye her and scolded, "Yeah actually, I am! Why in the world did you leave your home? You should have stayed and helped them work through that!"

Potara bristled. "Why the hell would I stay where I'm unwanted?"

"What makes you say you're unwanted huh?" demanded Bata.

"Oh I don't know, maybe the fact that moth-, that Videl was shaking me and screaming at me to go away and bring Pan back?" said Potara bitterly, aching horribly.

Bata crossed her arms. "She was hurting, you know that. And the way you said you were acting sure wasn't helping the matter."

Potara turned away. "Hmph. Do you blame me?"

Bata stood up. "Potara, stop being a dope and go home."

Potara bristled. "A dope?! Excuse me? I'm not going back somewhere where everyone hates me and..."

Bata knelt down behind her and gave her a hug. "Potara, they don't hate you and you know it."

Potara bowed her head. "They do... they..."

"Stop it," ordered Bata, raising her voice.

Potara went silent, sitting there miserably.

"Give them a chance Potara," said Bata.

"Why should I?" asked Potara bitterly.

"Because otherwise you're going to be alone," warned Bata, "And do you really want that?"

Potara did not reply.

Bata sighed. "You wont know what will happen unless you give it a try. The worse that can happen is that you're right, and if so, you can come back here and live with me, cuz I sure wont kick you out. But, I really don't think it'll come to that. At minimum your Grandfather wont turn his back on you, him you can trust."

"Pan would have begged to differ at one point," murmured Potara.

"Well, you're not Pan are you?" asked Bata sternly.

Potara gave a hint of a smile. "No, I'm not."

Bata hugged her again and moved to get her staff. "To me, you're kind of like Pan's kid, and I'd want you to be as happy as I'd have wanted Pan to be. Please, for me, give them a chance."

Potara brooded quietly to herself, feeling Bata's eyes on her back, she really wanted to believe that things could work out, but, she felt doubtful. "Even if they did accept me in. Would they see me as me? Or just as an echo of Pan?"

Bata sighed. "Give them some lee way. It might be rough for awhile, and might have some hiccups along the way, but, they're all you really have. Well, aside from me, you can come visit and stay whenever you want."

Potara gave her a brief smile. "Thanks."

Bata had a certain happy twinkle in her eyes. "No problem."

Potara kicked her legs out sheepishly, determined to give at least some defiance. "I don't wanna go back right now though. Maybe in a few days."

Bata shrugged. "Sure, you're welcome to stay as long as you need."

Bata moved to stand next to her, staff thumping on the ground. She looked down over the lookout, her eyes searching. Potara had a brief flash of memory, remembering through Pan a number of times she had seen Dende in such a position, watching over the world below. She smiled faintly at the sight, Gaia was lucky to have Bata as its guardian, she'd do them right.

Potara faced forward and looked down at the clouds, thinking quietly to herself, before a memory surfaced. "Hey Bata..."

Bata turned her head. "Yeah?"

Potara gave her a mischievous smile. "I seem to remember Gohan telling Pan you'd get the Turtle Hermit and Zeroes back on Pan's behalf."

Bata giggled a little, a redness entering her face. "Maaaaybe."

"Do tell," teased Potara.

"I *might* have shaved the turtle hermit's mustache off with a bit of ki," said Bata sheepishly.

Potara let out a mix between a snort, a hiccup, and a laugh. "Seriously?! Does hair even grow back in the afterlife?"

Bata shrugged. "Hee hee, I dunno. I wasn't there for much longer. I got Zeroes with a permanent marker, I don't think I should tell you half the things I drew on him. Heee heeee."

Potara brought an arm up to cut off her own laughter, shaking her head, feeling a bit pleased with that, before she lowered it. "They had it coming."

"You want a bit of payback of your own eh?" asked Bata with a devious look on her face, "Could teleport us to the check-in station. They wouldn't know what hit em."

Potara rolled her eyes. "Mmm I dunno..."

Bata winked and put a hand on her arm. "C'mon."

Potara shook her head. "I don't..."

Before she could finish, they had teleported outside the check-in station. Potara had a VERY uncomfortable sensation of deja-vu, sighting inside the station at a giant demon passing judgement on the dead. It had only been a few years since Pan had been there... she... really didn't want to be here, in the land of the dead, unless she absolutely had to be, ESPECIALLY this afterlife that Pan had already been in. It was an uncomfortable reminder of one's own mortality, and how close she had probably been when trying to kill the Omni-King. If she had tried, she wouldn't have even ended up at a check-in station. She... would have just been gone, completely wiped away...

"Can we just go back?" asked Potara quietly.

Bata looked as if she wanted to protest for a moment before she glanced at Potara's face. "Oh, um, okay."

Bata teleported them back to the lookout and looked a bit bashful. "Sorry... just wanted to have a bit of fun."

Potara gave her a weak smile. "You're awful eager to cause trouble for a so called 'goddess'."

Bata smirked. "What can I say? Being an obedient little girl most of my life made me hunger for a bit of mischief."

Bata rolled her eyes. "And please, Goddess? Don't you start that too. I can't even get the Magistrates to stop calling me that, don't need it spreading."

Potara raised an eyebrow and pointed at the 'Kami' symbol on Bata's clothes.

Bata bristled. "Hey! I don't choose the job outfit!"

They shared a brief laugh before going quiet.

Potara eyed Bata briefly. "You go to the Otherworld often? You went there instantly, I don't think that was Instantaneous Movement."

Bata shrugged. "Trick of the trade. Its actually really easy to do. You feel for the link between this world and the next and just follow it. Part of the perk of being made a guardian, the Kai's showed me how to do it since they can do it as well."

Potara pondered that for a moment. If a Kai could do that, then a Kaioshin God Construct could as well, not that she saw a real reason to. She knew Grandpa could Instant Transmission to Otherworld, but that was because of how often he went there and back, he knew the feel of the place like the back of his hand. If she could figure out how to go to Otherworlds without needing to have been there first then it was a useful little trick to pick up from one of Pan's old friends. She was about to dismiss and store the thought away for later before something stuck in her mind...

One of Pan's old friends...

Potara's face twisted in a half grimace half smile. She had never even considered it before, but... there was another 'old friend' of Pan's in the Terra dimension that Potara suddenly had the urge to go and track down. One that she'd need Bata's little trick to be able to find.

"Could you show me how to do it? Then I'll be out of your hair for awhile," asked Potara, forcing her voice to go plain.

Bata gave her a curious look and shrugged. "Sure, but I don't mind you being here. You are my friend, you're free to stay and visit however long or whenever you want. Gets lonely up here sometimes."

Potara felt a pang of pity at that, then quite happy of being accepted as a friend, and offered a hand, "Well, teach me this, and I'll promise to visit every so often. Maybe once a month or so?"

Bata smiled intently and took the hand. "Deal."