[Scroll to below the line to find spoilers for the beginning of the real Chapter 11! As with the last time, this chapter will be replaced once the real chapter is released.]

Hey all! This is just an update chapter to let you know this story is still a work in progress! I am working hard on getting the next bit of content out, but we are now getting into non-canon territory and a part in the series that gets complicated with time manipulation! It is going to be a while before the next chapter will be out as I have to reorganize the original so that it makes sense continuity wise! Things are happening out of order than they are supposed to be and it's important for me to get all my ducks in a row! (By Piccolo's words!)

Thanks for the reviews and follows everyone! This is one of my top stories to date and I just want to take a moment to personally thank ZoeyCares, DarkStorm98, Qinlonfei, Doomwritrr, and anyone else who have posted reviews telling me exactly what you think and what I'm doing right/wrong! I couldn't keep this up without you! Along with all 38 followers! Wow! That's second best for me so you guys are awesome!

Darkstorm98 wanted a little bit more clarity on Cell's timeline and I agree that it gets confusing so have a little bit of extra content in the interim while waiting for the next chapter!

Cell came from a timeline with a Future/King Vegeta! But, how? Wouldn't that mean Trunks would be strong enough to kill Cell? Well, yes. This is true, but allow me to explain my thought process with how I believe this could be possible:

From a timeline standpoint, things get dicey. We start with Trunks going back in time to defeat the androids with Goku and crew and coming back to his future and being surprise attacked by Cell. (The OG timeline. T1) Then Cell goes to a time further into the past and Trunks arrives in the past again to defeat Cell with Goku and crew and coming back to his future. (The timeline we know by canon. T2) But that's Future Vegeta's timeline, as he comes back in between Cell and Trunks. In this instance, Cell is indeed his normal and original version and is defeated to which Trunks and Future Vegeta come back to the future. (A timeline we don't know or see! This is the lost timeline. T3)

To best explain, we need to dive a little deeper into this lost timeline!

Trunks and Future Vegeta knew that Cell would come, but they were never warned for when. In our timeline, Bulma took the time machine to check. However, sometimes things can get missed. It would just so happen that Bulma would be so busy with everything else, she likely would have forgotten all about it! They just wouldn't know.

In Future Vegeta's timeline's version of Future Trunks (T2), Trunks lured Cell out with the time machine. But here in this version, they didn't lure Cell out. Cell wasn't a problem because they couldn't pinpoint where he was and figured the android would really be no problem. After all, both Future Vegeta and Trunks would be stronger than Cell after the battle against the Cell of the past.

There would be the issue of Cell absorbing people but Vegeta can sense when that would happen and wouldn't let it continue. This would mean that Cell would learn to absorb people cautiously and be more strategic about everything. He would have had a close call being almost found out. (It explains why our Cell is smarter than the Cell we are used to. He came into the past with the intention of remaining hidden until completion. It also explains how he'd recognize Trunks and Vegeta. He escaped the fight with Piccolo because of present Vegeta approaching and he knew Trunks was alive… But back to the future…)

But then Future Vegeta became ill and was dying. The android would take full advantage of that. Off the strongest warrior that could best Cell, only to deal with the other: Trunks. Vegeta and Bulma's deaths would have a very heavy mental toll on Trunks. He would be extremely emotional… Sure emotions would give Trunks a Zenkai boost and he'd be significantly stronger than Cell even without such a boost, but emotions cloud judgment. Cell would struggle, but he'd be able to outmaneuver Trunks in his raged state. He'd slowly drain Trunks of energy, stealing the power for himself so that Trunks grew tired and withered. This allows Cell to become Imperfect.

And so Imperfect Future Cell goes back in time. He has to regress into his larval form to travel and I'd imagine that would suck up a bunch of energy progression to do so, making him no longer Imperfect and have to go back to energy collecting once he fully reformed. So basically his power would be increased, but his progression would be different.

There is still one last loose end, however: what of the original timeline's Cell? Well, both Cell (T1) and Cell (T3) arrived in the past at the same time… Now there can be two possible theories to play off of this! Either a parallel rift in space time would erase the original Cell (kind of like Goku Black being sucked back to the future in Super), or Future Cell would simply destroy the other for being inferior. Cell is all about being the perfect artificial being and so he doesn't take a doppelganger well. He's smart so wouldn't want to risk insubordination from his lesser self.

Wow, you read all the way through! You're amazing! For anyone interested in Future Vegeta's original timeline, check out Dragon Ball AS. There isn't much there at the moment, but as Future Vegeta grows in this story it greatly helps my own understanding of his character growth from that timeline! (Like Dragon Ball GT's Super 17! Huh, never put that much thought into it until now because it was a meh arc… And power levels… Yeah, power makes no sense after the Cell saga so reconsidering that sort of thing is really interesting to look into! This story has made me reconsider a lot so thanks so much guys!)

Anyway, we are getting into a more intimate part of the story. Bulma is going to have a much bigger role in this story than she did in the canon simply because canon focused more on the fights than on her accomplishments. (Looking at you Krillin… 48 hours of coffee overdose just for a remote smash!) Let's give the Capsule Heiress her dues!

Ch 11 - The Remote

Vegeta of the future remained locked away in his space craft for hours. His present self and his future son's energies recently disappeared meaning they had finally entered the Time Chamber. They were early to enter, but everything had been happening more rapidly than before.

He could also sense the progress, or lack thereof, with the Namek, Tien, and Krillin on their hunt for Cell. The creature was slippery, and it was obvious that the villain would remain that way until it found the androids. The androids were unpredictable. Seeing as Vegeta had no clue where they were, he couldn't use instant transmission to pin them down. He was in the dark just as the rest were. Not unless he wanted to meditate on the Lookout to search the whole Earth.

But that was no matter. They would show up sooner or later, and he would feel the rise in whoever's power that found them first. If Cell found them first, then the device Bulma was working diligently on would be exactly what they needed anyway. Things were looking… Right. Even with the changes that occurred.

That almost didn't sit well with the older saiyan. Something not going wrong for once? That was suspicious. Perhaps he was getting too comfortable? Yes, that was most likely it. Things could still go horribly wrong. Cell could become impossibly strong or Kakarot could fail to secure super saiyan two or something was going to happen that would mess everything up… Or maybe he was being paranoid?

"Uh, hey," a feminine voice came over the speaker system, halting Vegeta's katas. "We were just stopping for a food break. I just thought I'd let you know. You're welcome to join us if you want."

Bulma was surprised as she heard the telltale sound of the gravity simulation disengage in the spaceship. Saiyans and their desire for food, she guessed. The future man exited shortly after, pulling on a very stylish jacket and gloves. She'd only ever previously seen the man in yardratian or saiyan armor. This outfit seemed human. Casual. Not even Goku wore such clothes! Just imagining her long-time friend in a similar outfit made her stifle a chuckle. That would be so weird!

"Well? Are we getting food or are you just going to stare at me all day?" the saiyan insisted, bringing the woman out of her thoughts.

"Oh! Right," she awkwardly recovered, leading the man inside her mansion home towards the feast her mother had prepared.

Dinner was kind of normal. Which was strange as any time a saiyan joined the family for dinner it typically turned silent. The man was polite, despite a few warning glances towards Bulma's mother for saying outrageous things. Trunks, the baby, was very whiny but the man didn't seem to mind as much as he had previously shown from before. The kid was simply hungry and demanded his fill of food. Something the saiyan resonated with, Bulma guessed. He'd even asked how the device was coming along. Not as if in a rush, but rather just as conversation. If this future man was Vegeta, Bulma certainly couldn't believe it. Widows peak be damned.

As the meal concluded, Bulma found herself not wanting the saiyan to leave. She cursed herself for the feeling, so decided to keep it mostly business. At least until she could figure out if this truly was a version of the man she'd laid with before.

Bulma spoke as her mother took up the plates off the table, "Erm, King Vegeta. You have saiyan armor. Would it be possible if I could study it to create new ones for the team?"

"Hmph. Yes, I suppose that would be fine," the man responded simply, getting up from his chair. The bluenette quickly followed him out to the spaceship and anxiously joined him inside. It was far more spacious on the inside than the outside led her to believe. And the center console looked familiar… "Here. This set should do. This is the armor I lent to Kakarot on our travel here to Earth."

The saiyan handed Bulma a typical saiyan armor set that didn't seem much more special from the armor she'd seen Vegeta wear. She tested the material by knocking on it with her knuckles to find the material to be very sturdy. This was future armor? It didn't seem much different from what she'd seen on Namek.

"It's an upgrade, trust me," he assured. The man took the chest plate and stretched it out by his arms length to prove its elasticity. Then, he chucked it against the wall to prove its solid form. The armor could even withstand a small ki blast on its own!

"How come it looks the same? Does armor not get upgraded in the fashion department? You seem to have a good sense of style," Bulma joked.

"The point was to keep it classic. I have other sets, but this one is fit for this time. This suit's under armor is the same blue color that you know. We'd tried other colors, but besides black and gray, blue was the only color that stuck around. The other colors made it seem like a superhero suit."

"Oh? But that'd be cool!" Bulma chuckled, imagining Goku in a costume with a helmet over his signature hair and in a silly hero pose. Yeah, he'd be just as dorky and cute as he always was in his regular gi, that was for sure.