AN: Dragon Ball Multiverse has proven two things to me, both recently and in general. The first being that shock value is the sugar of writing; a quick, intense burst but leaving nothing of substance behind and will be entirely to your own detriment if you rely on it heavily. The second thing is that it is always possible to protect a character to the point of ruining the rest of the story, whether it's a character from the property itself or an OC.

Especially if it's an OC.

Especially if it's an OC who just beat/killed pretty much everyone else of value to the story and was only stopped after receiving a stern talking to.

I don't have the largest platform to stand on in this matter, clearly, but I will say that I'm suddenly feeling quite peachy about my own stories now. Make of that what you will.

30

In the middle of an ocean, on a lonely little island that was mostly beach, inside a small, pink house, Roshi shuffled across the wood floor, shaking his shoulders and bobbing his head to the pop music playing over the radio. Humming a beat behind, the old hermit went to open the refrigerator, peering inside for a second before pulling out a canned beverage and closing the door with a bump of his hip.

Moving into the main room, he walked past Oolong as the pig lounged on the futon and idly read a International Cartographer magazine. He'd read it before, probably several times by now, but they hadn't made a supply run to the mainland in several weeks so he just had to make do rereading articles about an endangered strain of yellow flowers that were being subsumed by a more dominant, more yellow flower that looked exactly the same.

The Turtle Hermit moseyed up to the boom box and picked it up by the handle and relocated it next to the open front window. Taking his drink out with him, he sidled up to his beach chair in the shade of an umbrella so worn and sun bleached that it was stark white from top to bottom. Stretching his legs out before crossing one over the other, he popped the tab of his drink and took a big gulp while the carbonation was at its strongest.

It may have been his routine near every single day, but he rarely tired of living on his little paradise. The female population was always lower than he'd like, but he had privacy, he had sun, and he had no responsibilities in the world to stress over. There really wasn't much more he could ask for.

Still though, something was niggling at the back of his mind; a tiny little alarm clock that was trying to remind him of something. He didn't think he'd forgotten anything, but he'd check the calendar just in case.

He took another sip of his drink.

Well, whatever it was, it could wait until after his little siesta. And maybe a nap.

Kibito hadn't beaten Adonis so much as he had made him DQ himself. Trunks figured that as the attendant to the highest level of Kai, he probably had a tremendous amount of strength and didn't want to engage with a mortal below his notice. Well, the Supreme Kai had said Kibito was strong, though Trunks couldn't quite get a sense of either of their ki signatures. It was strange, but he supposed it was just something that the gods had going for them.

The crowd's energy had seriously waned after that match, many of them talking to each other instead of even watching the finish, so when Gohan KO'd the tiger-man Kapho in a single second in the next round only a couple even saw what happened. There were jeers of a thrown fight and a couple of drinks were thrown at the arena. Gohan glowered at the display as he marched back to the group, crossing his arms and tilting his head back.

"They really are all idiots," he surmised.

"There's probably a lot of speculation that the tournament is rigged after what happened before." Piccolo didn't add that it actually was rigged, - just not by the officials and without a clear winner in mind – but he had seen similar scandals crop up in some of the racing circuits he followed. Given even a whiff of tampering, fans were more than likely to grab onto the issue and not let go, like an attack dog.

"Well what can we do about it?" Yamcha threw his hands up in a shrug. "Not like we can help it that we outclass everyone by a thousand miles."

"Best we can do is to just continue on as we've been doing," Piccolo instructed, fists tightening under his cape. He'd wanted a rematch with Goku, not some overblown drama that they needed to tiptoe and dance around.

His gaze flitted to Kibito who was once again standing like a statue by himself. If what he'd overheard from Bulma's conversation with the smaller, elvish man was true, then their problems would probably be getting much worse before they got better. (One benefit of a sparser crowd was that it was much less of a hassle for the namekian to single out a conversation amid the spectators.)

He hadn't shared the information with everyone yet because he had to believe that the Supreme Kai knew what he was doing in only approaching Bulma and the rest. If he had needed immediate action then surely he would have contacted Goku or Gohan instead.

Surely.

Chioutzu's match was as much a farce as the others had been, but he at least let it play out for a minute. Returning to the group, he rubbed his temple with the knuckles of one fist.

"Are you alright?" Goku quietly asked. He seemed to be increasingly more aware of the silent tension that was filling the air around them and was becoming more on edge. It was starkly different from how the Goku of just ten years ago would have acted, but then again none of them were the same as they had been then.

"I've been trying to read Kibito's mind, but he keeps pushing me out and it's giving me a headache. I don't think I've ever felt psychic powers on that level before, it's almost inhuman how it works. I'll keep trying, but it won't be quick."

"Alright, do what you feel you need to but don't overdo it; we don't actually know if he's a threat or not so save you strength." Chioutzu nodded in agreement and went to the back of the ensemble where he could concentrate without distraction.

It was two matches before Goku's own fight, so he took the opportunity to head back into the main building to find a water fountain or something. There were a lot of closed off areas he hadn't noticed before, keeping him from going down any of the side hallways. A few of the eliminated participants were still milling about, nursing bruises and egos. A singular TV was set up in the locker room for them to watch the ongoing fights.

On the wall next to the bathrooms was a water fountain that looked to have a bit of a mineral stain problem, but it worked fine and the water was clean enough for a country boy like Goku, though the metallic zing was hard to miss. He took a large drink and stood back up, mind elsewhere for a moment. Something just felt...off about today, but it was like he was running through a fog and knowing there was a wall somewhere but being totally unable to see it coming. He really didn't like this ominous sensation that had taken hold of his gut, but he couldn't do a thing about it without information to act on.

He hated it. The last time he'd felt something like this he'd also practically been a completely different person. How he'd acted, how he'd thought, it had all been so strange and unusual for him that he was still unsettled by it to this day. Nothing had affected him like that before, so what had been so different? What had turned the world upside down for him like that?

Well, Goku wasn't a head doctor or anything, and he couldn't really give himself an explanation or reason behind it, but he could make himself a promise: no matter what came next in his life, no matter what danger or pain he faced, no matter how much he felt like everything was slipping away again, he would never again hurt those he cared for. Even when he was fighting for himself and his desire to face the strongest opponent he could, he wouldn't let the others get hurt because of it. Even if he had to die to make sure of that.

Resolve returned, Goku pushed away from the fountain and headed back to the arena, stretching his shoulder in preparation.

"Lord Supreme Kai, uh, sir-"

"Please," the kai held up a hand to pause Krillin, "for the sake of time you may all refer to me simply as Shin; I was tempted to enter the tournament under that pseudonym."

"Aaaaaalright." Krillin looked sidelong at Bulma, who could only shrug with a 'the hell can I say to that' expression. "Shin, forgive me for asking, but are you really banking everything on finding your guys here? It seems like a bit of a risky move, eh, to me, at least."

"The one responsible would not make his presence known unless his plans were already fulfilled. He is a cautious sorcerer who delights in manipulating and deceiving others to do his bidding. Were he here then I assure there would be pandemonium and chaos reigning on the planet. No, for the moment he must rely on underlings to exact his plans, and using a local agent is his best chance at avoiding detection from myself. Unfortunately for him, I was made aware that this tournament was taking place and would be the perfect target – generating the energies of powerful fighters for him to siphon."

Krillin opened his mouth to say something, but a thought occurred to him. "Who...told you that there was going to be a tournament like this here? I didn't think someone like you would even have noticed Earth on a normal day."

Shin nodded sagely. "You are correct that this would normally escape my notice, but it was King Kai who informed us, as he periodically looks in on the Earth's goings on to make sure that all is well. In fact, after the events seven years ago, Earth has been something of a point of interest for most kais. They involved themselves in your matters, so naturally they would maintain an interest."

"Not creepy at all," Krillin made a pop with his lips as he turned away, looking at his friends by the arena. Even from here, he could see that they were on edge, tensed up. "You make it sound so ominous, but with all of us here we should be able to handle any trouble that comes our way. It's kinda what we do."

"True, you have a remarkable capacity for overcoming tremendous odds," Shin consented, "but I have failed to accurately explain what it is we are facing now. Honestly, I don't think I even could explain it fully if I were to try. To say that the universe is in danger would be completely understating it, to put it mildly."

By now, Bulma had heard enough and stood up. She'd kept mostly quiet while the god of gods gave vague allusions to big bad evil things and space wizards coming to Earth for no damn reason, but now it was time to get information instead of being drip-fed it by a deity with a mohawk half his height. "Okay, buster, time to talk business. You came to us. You knew precisely who we were and made the judgment that we were the ones you needed help from. I can't sense energies or whatever, but I'm willing to bet that that means you need the muscle, but you also came to me instead of Goku, so that means you need a plan, and preferably one a deal better than 'wait to see what happens.' So are you going to give us the full rundown, Mr. High and Mighty, or are we just going to keep sitting here and sucking our thumbs waiting for the bad guys to come to us and kill who knows how many people caught in the way?"

The Z-Fighters, kids and Chi-Chi all gawked at the heiress as she bluntly and directly cut to the chase with the Supreme Kai. Most of them expected a reprisal, maybe a show of power to reassert dominance in the situation. But Shin...after his own moment of wide-eyed shock, started to chuckle and smile knowingly

"Yes, now I see it. I wasn't so sure why he insisted that I contact you above all others before, but you just made it obvious why he'd place his faith in you." He chuckled a little more, lifting the back of his hand to cover his mouth politely. "Please, allow me to apologize for my actions, or the lack thereof. I did not mean to keep you all ignorant but I suppose that is exactly what I was doing."

Bulma put her hands on her hips and glowered a bit more. "And just who is this 'he' that seems to know me so well?"

Shin met her eye. "The same man who brought the Earth back to my attention after all these millennia when he escaped Hell to make demands of Heaven: Prince Vegeta."

If he'd wanted their attention before, he might have been better off starting with that because they had all gone completely silent and were staring at him with large eyes. Bulma and the older Trunks in particular seemed to be stunned in place, her mouth opening and closing slightly to try and make words and his eyes seeming to look back at something that had long since happened.

It was Goten that broke the spell. "I know who that is! He's the angry guy my dad talks about a lot when he tells us stories! Trunks' dad!"

Shin nodded, giving the boy a smile. "Very much so. It was his...'advice' that lead me to you, and I now understand that I should heed his advice in the face of our situation. All of you, please listen closely because we may not have much time to spare." He took a breath to steady himself, a far more grim expression setting upon his face. "The evil that Babidi is trying to reawaken is named Majin Buu, and he is the singular most destructive, chaotic and evil force this universe has ever seen."

Goku's match came and went with nothing extraordinary coming out of it. He did his best, but it still probably looked like he wasn't taking things seriously at all. It probably hadn't helped when he'd started giving pointers mid bout.

With that out of the way, it was only a couple more fights until the first round was over and they could move on to the pre-semi-finals-qualifiers, which was entirely too many words to say second out of five.

The saiyan took a breath and closed his eyes for a moment. That tension from before was building, escalating. He began to feel that rush of heat in his blood that he often got before a fight that really challenged him. It was the call of his ancestral instincts, and he'd only felt it long before a fight just once, when he was on his way to Planet Namek and King Kai was furiously warning him off of fighting against Frieza. That had been the fight of his life, so what was his instincts trying to tell him this time?

He stood next to his son, who had been on edge all day it seemed. Gohan was almost as tall as he was, no longer the little boy who had hidden behind his legs. Goku smiled to himself, letting himself feel a bloom a pride before he spoke.

"I think maybe I should drop out of the tournament."

Gohan whipped his head around to look at him, and Piccolo's ear visibly twitched. "What are you talking about? It's barely even begun!"

Goku held up his hand. "I know, I know! It's just a feeling I've got. Something bad might happen, and if it does I want to be ready and not be stuck here."

This didn't really put Gohan at ease, though he didn't question this feeling that Goku had. "And what about the rest of us? It's alright if we're stuck here?" He turned fully to face his father. "If anything happens then we'll all handle it, not just you." The hardness in his eyes made Goku take a step back and chuckle a bit sheepishly.

"I didn't mean it like that, really! I just figured that if something does happen then I'll be able-"

Gohan cut him off with a sharp wave. "Don't forget that Trunks, Krillin and the others are just over there. If anything goes wrong, they can react faster than we probably could. You don't need to be the one rushing into things alone every time, that's what a team is for."

Goku didn't really know what to say about that. Gohan had a point, and what's more there was yet to actually be a tangible danger, just a gut feeling. He decided that he'd listen for now and stay in the tournament, but he wouldn't be letting his guard down.

"Next to the ring, contestants Yamu and Briller!"

A blonde man wearing shoes, pants and a vest all made out of a shiny silver material took three running steps before leaping through the air and flipping onto the arena, striking a pose when he landed. The crowd cheered at the spectacle, some recognizing him from fitness programs on TV and others from his stint as a triathlete in the global games a few years back.

Comparatively, his near sickly looking opponent quietly strode from his corner and into the middle of the ring, eyeing Briller with clear dismissal. He didn't look any less unusual than before, but now he wasn't keeping a low profile anymore. He couldn't care any less what was thought of him.

Except, in the seats, someone very important pointed him out. "That man, Yamu, bears the mark of the majin, which puts him under the control of Babidi." Supreme Kai spoke quietly, but the others were now on either side of him so not a word was lost. "Kibito entered the tournament to keep a close eye on him and to act if necessary."

"So what does he want?" Bulma queried. "You know, besides some Vitamin D and to lay off the protein."

"As I said, Babidi desires the energy of strong warriors. To that end he sent Yamu here to collect as much as he could. He has been observing all of the fights looking for the strongest among them. He likely knows that he will only have one chance to steal somebody's energy before Kibito and I are 'alerted', so he will make it count."

Krillin shuffled a bit in his seat and ran a hand over his hair. "Well that probably means he'll go after Piccolo. Goku and Gohan are definitely the strongest, but only after they transform and I don't think they're gonna do that right now."

"No, Piccolo has been eyeing Yamu all day, he's not about to slip up around him," Tien spoke, surprising Shin a little. The former assassin had been keeping quiet this whole time, but he hadn't been idle. He knew how to watch without giving himself away, and he could recognize when others were doing exactly the same. "That, and he's probably been listening to us as well."

Krillin was the only one who didn't blink in surprise at that, instead looking into the sky and rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Oh yeeaahh, I'd totally forgotten about his hearing."

"If that is the case, then I strongly urge Piccolo not to stop Yamu when he makes his move. He may be the only lead we have to where Babidi is hiding."

"About that," Bulma interjected, looking down at an electronic device she had been checking every so often, "I think I might actually have an idea of my own about that."

Now they were all looking at her and waiting for her to continue. She smirked, and held the device out so they could see the screen. "When you mentioned that Babidi flew to Earth, I figured that unless he has some kind of cloaking technology or bull crap spell then he might have been picked up by some astronomer or something. I asked down the grapevine if anyone had records of anything anomalous entering the atmosphere in the past couple of days and I got a couple of hits. Most of these were comets that just burned up in a second, buuut..." She tapped on one of the icons on her mobile communicator and a geographical map popped up, not unlike what was on the Dragon Radar. "Something that they thought was a misread not only made it through the atmosphere, but it also slowed to a stop before disappearing."

"That is quite the deduction, but does it say exactly where the anomaly vanished?" Shin was leaned in the closest, rather interested in the little device.

Bulma nodded confidently. "Not too far from here by plane, actually. It's called the Southwest Forrest, because nobody had great imaginations back then."

Trunks stood up. "Some of us should go there and search for the ship if we're certain about this information. If at all possible, we need to be proactive against this threat. Gohan and the others can watch Yamu and, with luck, we'll find the ship before he even tries to steal someone's energy."

Bulma looked up at her son, seeing the protector he had become and smiling to herself. She pulled a spare communicator from her bag and keyed up the information before handing it to the time-traveler. "It's worth a look. Be careful out there, and don't try to be a hero and take them on by yourself, you hear?"

Trunks gave her a small grin and nodded. He started towards the exit, Krillin and Tien getting up to follow. Goten and Trunks also jumped to their feet, but Chi Chi had them by the shirt collars in an instant. "Oh no you don't! I'm not letting you anywhere near ancient evil wizards, not in a million years!" The two boys squirmed and whined fruitlessly, and Shin stood up to go with the others.

"Thank you, Ms. Briefs. I cannot understate how much I appreciate your help with this matter."

Bulma met his stare with a flinty one of her own. "You just make sure that none of my friends or my son get hurt while dealing with your problem. They will all put themselves in harms way to save the world, so it's your job to make sure they don't have to. I want your word on that."

Shin held a hand to his chest and bowed. "You have my solemn vow as the Supreme Kai that I will do all in my power to keep everyone safe and to not violate the trust you have shown me." He straightened. "With any luck, we won't have to fight at all and Babidi can be subdued."

"Yeah, well," Bulma glanced away, "you clearly don't know what our luck is like."