Everybody was seated at a table covered with food Bulma had produced from her airplane. Lazuli was a notable absentee though, she had flown off to the lookout to get Marron; apparently she'd left her there with Mr. Popo after they were resurrected. Goten and Trunks were here, and eating like their life depended on it. Most others were also having their fair share of food. Videl hadn't eaten anything however.

'Aren't you hungry?' Erasa asked, turning to Videl.

'No, I'm oddly full.' Videl replied sheepishly. 'I feel like I'd get sick if I'd eat now, I don't know why.'

'Senzu will do that to ya.' Korin said. 'One of those is enough to fill you up for ten days.'

'I'd say that's impossible for such a tiny bean, but after seeing how much it healed you that doesn't even seem that strange anymore.' Erasa remarked.

Videl noticed that Dende also wasn't eating.

'Aren't you hungry?' Videl asked him. 'You didn't get a Senzu did you?'

'I do not need to eat. All I need is water.'

'So what actually happened?' Krillin said. 'I was sure we were losing to Buu, but then it lost power or something, it started slipping.'

'I don't know.' Gohan said. 'But I'm sure glad it happened.'

Videl and Korin glanced at each other, and Korin nodded to Videl.

'I hit it.' Videl stated.

Gohan and Krillin stared blankly to her.

'How could you possibly…?' Krillin started.

'While it was busy fighting you guys I hit it on that Kaio-Ken energy it still had inside itself.' Videl clarified. 'When it was fighting you all earlier and you kept on blasting it apart I'd noticed that it was inside its neck. After a while I started feeling it, every time you blew it apart.'

'Wow.' Gohan said stunned. 'I never felt that at all.'

'I reckon you were a bit too distracted by the fight, you never had the time to concentrate on that.' Korin said simply.

'But still, how would you hitting it have such an influence on Buu?' Krillin asked. 'No offence, but I don't think you're that strong compared to us.'

Videl still wasn't entirely sure of that herself, but she had a theory.

'I think Buu was a very fragile monster.' Videl said. 'Even when Goten was blasting it it kept on falling apart. Its regeneration was the only thing that kept it going. And I remembered that when the Kaio-Ken energy was triggered after Gohan's dad and Vegeta had fought that monster it was ripping that monster apart, I think North Kai even said that its regeneration couldn't keep up. So I thought that if we could trigger that state again, but while it couldn't focus on containing it as much because it was fighting you guys, it might work. And its body structure was so weak even my blast could pierce its skin to reach it.'

'So our blast together with its focus and regeneration being tampered by you triggering the Kaio-Ken energy was what ultimately killed it.' Krillin said. 'That's incredible, to think up that plan with everything that was going on. Especially considering how recently you've started learning about your ki.'

Videl turned back to Korin.

'But I still don't get why I suddenly heard your voice in my head when I was trying to aim.' Videl stated.

'Hey, I wouldn't be much of an old hermit master if I didn't know a little bit of telepathy now would I?' Korin simply said.

'Uhh, I don't know.' Videl said honestly. 'Do you know how to do that Gohan?'

'No, I never learned that.' Gohan replied.

'Gohan is not an old hermit master, he's still a young lad.' Korin said.

'What is telethingy?' Goten asked surprisingly audible with his mouth full.

'Goten! What did I tell you about speaking with food in your mouth?' Chi-Chi scolded. 'Don't forget you're still grounded mister.'

'But you're a cat. How old can you be?' Erasa wondered out loud.

'Don't you know it's rude to ask others their age?' Korin rebutted.

'Only if they're female.' Erasa said matter-of-factly.

'I really can't get a grip on your mind. Your thoughts are a chaotic mess.' Korin said. 'Anyway, if you must know, I'm eight-hundred-something. You lose count after a while, and they hadn't come up with our current calendar system yet when I was born.'

'No way!' Erasa exclaimed. 'Cats shouldn't become older than, like, twenty years old or something!'

'A bit more respect for your elders if you may.' Korin said. 'And really, after everything you've been through today you're sceptical to the eight-hundred-year-old talking hermit cat?'

'So, are you an alien too?' Erasa persisted.

Korin turned to Videl.

'Does she ever stop?'

'Nope.'

Chuckling inwards at Erasa's insanity, Videl glanced at Gohan, who looked a bit downtrodden, but before Videl had a chance to wonder about him, her phone started ringing. Glancing at the screen, she saw it was her father calling. She immediately felt angry again. Did he still not understand she didn't want anything to do with him any more? Should she even answer it?

'Courageous enough to fight Buu, but scared of your own father?' Korin's voice suddenly wondered in her mind.

When Videl quickly looked at Korin all she saw was him trying to deal with Erasa asking him how he learned to talk. Weird. But maybe Korin was right. Videl pressed the green button on her screen to answer the call.

'Hello?'

'Videl!' Mr. Satan immediately called out. 'How are you doing? Are you alright?'

'I'm fine.' Videl said curtly. 'We're just having dinner now.'

'What about that monster, the one you guys were trying to fight?'

'Buu is gone, it's dead.'

'That's amazing Videl!' Mr. Satan said relieved. 'So what exactly happened? It's been crazy here, it was like we all died, but then we were all back again, and apparently West City is suddenly all new again. Nobody understands what's going on, the press has been hounding me for answers.'

'What story did you tell them?' Videl asked in suspicion.

'I didn't tell them anything!' Mr. Satan immediately replied defensively. 'I didn't have a clue what was going on. And I didn't want to make the same mistake I made seven years ago…'

Videl was silent for a moment. She didn't know what to tell him. How would she even begin to explain what had really happened? That the Earth had actually been destroyed by Majin Buu, but they'd escaped through a different forbidden dimension, used a magical wish-granting dragon to bring everything back, eventually killed Buu, and revived all the victims using the same magical wish-granting dragon? It was an insane story. Who'd ever believe that?

'It's a long story.' Videl said.

'I can't just tell the press that!' Mr. Satan exclaimed. 'They'll never settle with "It's a long story", that'll just make them more persistent.'

Videl glanced at Gohan again, who still looked downtrodden while he ate, a bit isolated emotionally from the rest. Gohan had saved the world. Sure, she'd helped, but all she'd done was give Gohan a Senzu when he was down and shoot Buu from behind. Gohan's power had been vital, without his power Buu wouldn't have died, it'd just have gone out of control like before. Videl remembered the anger she'd felt earlier that day when she found out Gohan had lied to her about Cell. With her anger subdued now, Videl realised that Gohan never wanted the attention. Videl's father always received loads of attention from the media for the supposed killing of Cell. Gohan wasn't the kind of person to appreciate the attention that came from the press. He still should have told her though. But she found it difficult to stay angry with him.

That still left the issue of what to tell her dad. Should he take the credit to spare Gohan from all that attention? Videl felt like vomiting at the idea. Her father didn't deserve all the wealth and fame that came from that. But saying Gohan saved the world would cause the press to hound him. It'd be like betraying his trust. She'd promised him she'd keep his powers a secret. Well, now that she thought about it, she didn't promise exactly that. She promised that she'd keep his Saiyaman identity secret. But that was just semantics, it'd still break the spirit of her promise, and that was just as bad.

Wait a minute. His Saiyaman identity! That's the answer!

'Tell them…' Videl started. 'That I, alongside a couple of other fighters that prefer to stay anonymous, helped the Great Saiyaman to save the world by destroying Majin Buu.'

'The Great what?' Mr. Satan stumbled.

'The Great Saiyaman.' Videl repeated. 'He also entered the tournament, I fought him in my second match.'

'Wasn't that the boy who also killed Cell?' Mr. Satan asked. 'What was his name again, Go-something?'

'Gohan!' Videl exclaimed annoyed, causing Gohan to look at her wondering why she was calling him. 'And yes, he was. But don't tell his real name to the press. Only call him the Great Saiyaman.'

'All right, I'll tell them that.' Mr. Satan said. 'So you, the Great Saiyaman, and a couple of other fighters defeated the monster together. I'm guessing those other fighters are the other people that disappeared at the Tournament.'

Videl groaned. Of course even if they didn't mention the name of Krillin and Tenshinhan and the others the press wouldn't have any problem connecting the dots, they all left the Tournament together.

'Yes…'

'Don't worry about it.' Krillin said to Videl. 'We'll manage somehow.'

'And what about when everybody died and came back?' Mr. Satan asked.

Videl didn't know how to explain that one. And Bulma also made a gesture to her that Videl interpreted as "let's keep that between us".

'I don't know how to explain…' Videl said eventually. 'And it'd probably be best if people didn't know. Can't you just chalk it up to a miracle?'

'Okay, I'll see what I can do.' Mr. Satan replied. He then paused for a moment before hesitatingly continuing. 'Now that the world is safe again, when are you coming home? Should I send a plane to pick you up or do you have your own plane with you?'

The nerve! She was already giving him way more than he deserved by having this conversation with him, and now he was expecting everything to be fine again between them?

'I can fly myself now.' Videl said stubbornly. 'And didn't I tell you I don't want to see you again?'

'I… I know.' Mr. Satan replied hesitantly. 'I just hoped, maybe that you'd cooled down a bit by now…'

'You lied to me for years!' Videl called out angrily, before hanging up her phone and turning it off in fury.

Everybody at the table was silent as the atmosphere was filled with awkward tension. Nobody knew how to respond to that. Except Goten and Trunks, who were still eating like crazy and appeared to have missed her episode entirely. Eventually Erasa spoke up.

'So, what're you going to do? If you can't live with your dad any more.'

'I don't know.' Videl admitted. 'Can I stay at your place till I think of something better?'

'I guess. Just don't take too long or my parents will get upset. They're fond of you but you're not family.'

Videl didn't want to think about the future at that point. She was tired, she'd been through enough that day. Even though the Senzu had restored her body, she was still exhausted mentally.

'You know…' Chi-Chi spoke up, quickly glancing at Gohan. 'You're always welcome at our place Videl.'

'Thank you for the offer Chi-Chi.' Videl replied. 'But I think I'd rather stay at Erasa's house. It's closer to school and I know her better.'

Chi-Chi looked disappointed at her answer and glanced at Gohan again, who looked a bit downtrodden. Videl suddenly realised something, and she poked Erasa next to her.

'What's up?' Erasa asked.

'Do you think Gohan's mom was trying to set me up with Gohan?' Videl whispered.

'You only now realised it?' Erasa whispered back. 'Geez Videl, she's been trying to hook us both up with him since lunch. Didn't you realise she insisted we sat with them while they didn't even lunch together with their friends? And then when she started bragging about Gohan beating Cell?'

Videl thought for a moment. What Erasa said made sense. Videl glanced at Gohan again. He looked a bit absent, he wasn't talking to anyone, just silently eating his food.

'You think Gohan asked her to?' Videl whispered to Erasa. Maybe her refusal was what bothered him. Did Gohan actually have feelings for her? She didn't really know, she was terrible at reading these things.

'Don't think so.' Erasa whispered. 'Gohan wouldn't dare. I'm sure it's all his mom's doing.'

'But look at him.' Videl whispered. 'He looks upset, you think he wanted me to come live with him?'

'I don't know, he was already a bit off before this came up.' Erasa whispered, before continuing in a silent teasing tone. 'That doesn't mean he doesn't like you though. I can ask him if you want.'

'Stop it, don't you dare.' Videl whispered in a small panic, while Korin started sniggering.

'Stop eavesdropping on private conversations!' Videl scolded at the cat, who quickly continued eating as if nothing happened.

'Huh, what happened?' Krillin asked.

'What's up Gohan?' Erasa asked loudly, obviously trying to shift attention away from their earlier conversation. 'Aren't you happy that Buu monster's gone?'

'It's not that.' Gohan replied solemnly. 'It's what it took. My father lost his body, and Piccolo is still gone.'

'Oh.' Erasa said quietly. 'Why didn't your dad come back with the wish like you?'

Gohan shook his head.

'The dragon can't revive people that were revived before. He was already revived once.'

'Oh, uhh, I'm sorry.' Erasa said awkwardly. 'You can uhh always talk to me about it if you want.'

Gohan smiled faintly at Erasa, but didn't reply.

Videl didn't know what to say either. What do you say to someone who just lost their father? And to make matters more complicated, a father who had already been dead before today, but came back somehow while dead and then died again and lost his body?

'Maybe we need a bit of a distraction.' Bulma said. She took out a button and pressed it, causing a screen to descend from the ceiling.

'Is there anything this airplane doesn't have?' Videl wondered out loud.

Bulma chuckled.

'There's always stuff you're still missing, even when you've got capsulized hospitals on board.' Bulma said simply, before continuing when seeing Videl's crazed face. 'Oh right, you weren't there with us for that.'

Bulma turned on the screen. The news was showing.

'We still have no explanation for the mysterious events that have happened today.' The man in the studio was saying. 'For those of you who have been living under a rock the size of a mountain, earlier today an extreme explosion was measured in the western continent. Later on, West City was reportedly under attack by a strange pink creature which killed a lot of its residents. However, those claims are now being refuted. We here at ZTV have confirmed that West City is still intact and its residents are breathing and living, although most of them are convinced that they were in fact attacked and killed by the mysterious pink creature. We also have all experienced a strange sensation as if dying, but then waking up. Some claim it was a worldwide state of hypnosis, caused by mysterious technology or even aliens, new weapons that are being tested. What weapons these could be is still anybody's guess however.'

Bulma sighed at their weird theory, while the news reporter continued.

'We also have reports of people being mysteriously missing after the incident. Specifically, large portions of the population of Ginger Town, Nicky Town, and several cities and towns within that area have gone missing, as well as a significant portion of the population of Central City. We do not have any official estimation as to how many people are missing. We will keep you updated.'

'Wait a minute…' Bulma said slowly. 'Ginger Town, Nicky Town…'

The names were also familiar to Videl, although she couldn't recall exactly where she heard that combination before.

'Weren't those the places Cell attacked?' Bulma realised. 'Oh no…'

'What do you mean?' Erasa shrieked. 'Cell can't be back right?!'

'No, Cell isn't back.' Bulma said solemnly. 'But after Cell was destroyed, the Dragon Balls were used to bring back all the people it killed. But when Majin Buu destroyed the Earth, everybody on the planet died.'

'But we brought back everybody with the wish right?' Erasa cried out. 'I told the dragon to bring back everyone killed by that Buu-monster!'

'Shenlong can't bring back people resurrected before.' Bulma said sadly. 'So everybody who was killed by Cell back then, none of those people were revived today, because they were already revived back then.'

'But Central City was never attacked by Cell!' Videl realised. 'What's going on there?'

'King Piccolo.' Tenshinhan said quietly. 'I remember King Piccolo destroyed a lot of Central City back when we fought him. Well, it was mostly Goku fighting him. And Piccolo's victims were wished back too.'

'Isn't there anything we can do?!' Videl called out.

'I'm afraid not.' Dende said. 'It's just the way the Dragon Balls work here. All we can do is mourn and move on. It is part of life to eventually pass away. You can't postpone that forever.'

They were interrupted again by the news program.

'In a recent development, we have apparently obtained some answers from public figure and destroyer of Cell Mr. Satan.'

The screen switched to footage of Mr. Satan standing outside his house, being interviewed.

'Mr. Satan, do you have any answers to what has been happening today?'

'I just had contact with my daughter.' Mr. Satan replied. 'And according to her the world was attacked by an evil monster, even stronger than Cell.'

'An evil monster stronger than Cell?!' The interviewer exclaimed. 'What kind of monster? Where did it come from?'

'I'm not sure, but you don't need to worry.' Mr. Satan said quickly. 'As you know, my daughter is immensely strong. She, together with that new hero, the Great Saiyaman, managed to defeat that monster. The world is safe again.'

'Was this the same monster that allegedly attacked West City?'

'Yes, from what I understand it was.'

'Why didn't you go and help out to fight that monster Mr. Satan?'

'Well uhmm, I wasn't really aware of what was going on. And I'm getting quite old. Videl is getting so strong, I didn't stand a chance against her today at the Tournament. I think it was probably for the best that she was there instead of me.'

Videl grumbled. She wasn't really sure what she expected. At least he was telling the media what she told him to tell instead of taking credit himself. Although he'd made it seem as if she did most of the fighting, which didn't feel fair to Gohan.

'Why weren't you aware while your daughter was Mr. Satan?'

'I uhmmm, I don't really know. You'd have to ask Videl.'

'Well, we would, but we have no idea where your daughter is right now Mr. Satan, she's been missing since she left the Tournament.' The interviewer said. 'Do you know where she is?'

'Sorry, I don't. But I'm sure you'll find her around Satan City eventually. Now that I think 'bout it, maybe we should call it Videl City now that she's taken over as the world saviour whahaha.'

'She has saved a lot of people over the years in your city indeed.' The interviewer agreed. 'I am supposed to be impartial but I would say that she totally earns that honour, especially after saving the entire world today. Also, has Videl said anything about everybody in the world having the strange sensation of dying and then waking up again?'

'No she didn't. From what it sounded like that was just as much a miracle to her as it was to us.' Mr. Satan stumbled hesitantly, before continuing more confidently. 'But does it really matter? That monster is gone now! What's important is that the world is safe again.'

The interviewer turned back to the camera.

'There you have it ladies and gentlemen. From Mr. Satan himself. Our world was attacked by an evil monster, but Earth's new generation of heroes: Videl and the Great Saiyaman, managed to defeat this evil monster and save us all. We still have a lot of questions to ask our young new heroes, and we will continue to search for them, nobody seems to know where they are right now. Rest assured that we will update you immediately once we do.'

'Geez, you're in for a lot of harassment from the press.' Erasa said to Videl after a brief moment of silence. 'Think they'll really rename the city?'

'Gohan did more than I did.' Videl said harshly. 'He actually fought Buu for all that time. All I did was shoot it from behind.'

'Yeah, Gohan's up for a lot of harassment from the press too.' Erasa said thoughtfully. 'He's lucky that the press doesn't know where the Great Saiyaman lives.'

Videl turned to Gohan, who'd also followed the news report. He still looked upset.

'Hey Gohan…' Videl tried softly. 'The important thing is we got that monster in the end right? I know we couldn't save everyone, but the rest of us is still here right? And without you we'd all be dead, there wouldn't be anything left.'

'Videl is right.' Krillin said. 'Even before you were born we used the Dragon Balls to bring people back. Heck, I was brought back before you were even around. Their resurrection powers running out eventually isn't your fault.'

'You've grown a lot.' Korin added. 'The way you controlled your power and fought Majin Buu was incredible.'

'I know…' Gohan said solemnly. 'I'm really grateful to you guys. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. Without Master Korin helping me understand, without Krillin helping me train, without Videl figuring out Buu's weakness. It just doesn't feel like victory like this.'

The news report wasn't over yet. The man in the studio was still talking about Videl and the Great Saiyaman saving the world and what Mr. Satan had said.

'We now go live to Larry in Satan City and ask the people in the streets what they think of Mr. Satan's story!'

The footage shifted to what Videl recognised as one of the busy streets in the centre of Satan City, where a news crew approached an old man.

'Excuse me mister, but have you heard about what happened today?'

'I sure did!' The man called out happily. 'Videl and the Great Saiyaman defeated this evil monster that attacked us all. I dunno yet what kind of monster it was, but I'm sure they'll tell us once they're back!'

'So you believe this story about an evil monster attacking the world?' The news reporter asked him.

'Well, I was watching the Tournament footage on TV and when they said that both Videl and the Great Saiyaman had left the Tournament without notice I already figured they had to do heroic things. I'll have you know, those two, they're true heroes. I'll have you know my neighbour was in the Satan City Hotel a couple of weeks ago, when the fire broke out, and he was saved by the Great Saiyaman! The Great Saiyaman just carried him out, and by flying! And this lady at the end of the street where I live, she works at the bank and she was saved by Videl a couple of months ago when these crooks were trying to rob it! I reckon everybody here in Satan City knows at least one person who was saved by Videl or the Great Saiyaman once.'

'I remember that.' Gohan said surprised. 'It was the first time I became Saiyaman to save people.'

The news crew thanked the old man for his contribution and walked over to a young lady who looked to be in her late twenties.

'Excuse me ma'am.'

'Oh my, a camera, how lovely!'

'Yes, you're on live TV right now with ZTV here ma'am. Could I ask you a few questions?'

'Oh, sure dear.' The lady said.

'Have you heard about Videl and the Great Saiyaman saving the world today from an evil monster even stronger than Cell?'

'Oh my, really? I hadn't heard yet. But it doesn't surprise me at all. Those two are wonderful heroes! You know, the Great Saiyaman once helped me when my cat climbed into a tree and was too scared to get down. The Great Saiyaman was flying over, yes he was really flying, and spotted me in distress, my poor kitty was so scared! And he flew down and when I told him about my kitty he flew up the tree and carried it back down. And I'll have you know, he was such a gentleman about it too, even though his outfit was very goofy! And it's not just the Great Saiyaman, Videl's wonderful too. My grandmother was being mugged, maybe two months ago, and Videl saved her and all those muggers are now spending their deserved time in jail.' The lady concluded.

The news crew continued to ask people on the streets of Satan City, and everybody had at least one story about them knowing someone who was helped by Videl, and some also had stories about the Great Saiyaman. Even though Videl knew she did a lot for the city, it was still heart-warming to see all these people so grateful for it. Nobody seemed to have any doubts about the story that Videl and the Great Saiyaman joined forces to successfully fight a very evil monster.

'I never knew…' Gohan stated blankly.

'You never knew what?' Erasa asked.

'That so many people felt about me, I mean, about Videl and me. Like, they all like us for fighting a bit of crime and getting cats out of trees.'

Videl rolled her eyes. Leave it to Gohan to not notice his increasing popularity over the last few weeks due to living in the middle of nowhere.

'Well of course you're popular!' Chi-Chi exclaimed. 'You're a wonderful boy. Oh, seeing all those people so proud of you makes me proud as well.'

'Thanks mother.' Gohan said embarrassed, before straightening out and smiling.

'You guys are right. We saved all those people today. And I'll continue being the Great Saiyaman and helping people out, if it can help people's lives like that.'

'But the Great Saiyaman won't be alone.' Videl said matter-of-factly. 'I will be there right by his side. After all, he still has a lot more things to teach me. And I still have a lot of things to teach him about city life.'

Author's note: That's it. The end. It's somewhat of a dark ending as they couldn't bring everybody back. But I didn't want to end it on that note, so I also wanted to focus on the people that were saved.

It's been a long time writing this, and overall I'm satisfied with how it turned out. There are some things that I wish I could've done better, there are some plotholes here and there (how many of you realised that Gohan's grandfather Ox-King magically appears at the Tournament after the lunch?), but overall I think I managed to write a consistent story. I started writing this as I thought about how much potential was wasted in the original Buu arc, with many elements like fusion, Old Kai's power boost, Super Saiyan 3, Dabura and his Demon Realm, and so on, not really leading into anything or being fully explored. And while writing this I gained new appreciation for the original Buu arc. I still think it's structurally a mess, but it does a lot of things right too. Fusion is still immensely popular, the attacks of Gotenks are awesome, Super Saiyan 3 has its own unique appeal, and Vegeta's sacrifice and redemption is one of the most iconic moments in all of Dragon Ball. And it was too bad I couldn't incorporate those things in this story. I chose to keep focus on Gohan, and his journey. He defeated Cell, but I never felt like that could be the end of his growth into a hero. I think the Great Saiyaman, aside from being a joke, is also a way for Gohan to being a hero like his dad. I wanted to let Gohan grow in his own way, rather than getting power-ups from old Kais and staying in his father's shadow by continuing to wear his Turtle outfit. And the Great Saiyaman is Gohan's way, because Gohan is a dork who wants to do the right thing, but also likes a bit of peace and quiet.

You may notice there are still some open threads in this story. Goten still doesn't have his hero costume for instance, and Videl's father issues aren't resolved yet. When writing this for a large portion I was keeping a potential sequel in mind. And I've got a lot of ideas, but whether they will come to fruition I don't know yet. I've been a bit bummed out from Dragon Ball lately, with the Broly movie not really sparking my interest and the Tournament of Power just taking too long and being a bit too predictable in its power-up timing. Also important, I've got a lot of ideas for directions to take this, but not so much end points to such a sequel yet, and I do want a certain end-point to work towards in the story first. I would place such a sequel in a separate story on this account as it'd be quite different in tone to this "end of the world" thing. More humorous and light-hearted, more slice-of-life. And this story was called the Dabuura arc, named after a combination of Buu and Dabura, and both of those threats are now dealt with. Their story is over.

Anyway, that's all from me. Let me know what you thought of this story in the reviews.