*(Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or Dragon Ball GT. All characters and places associated with the Dragon Ball series belong to their own respected creators and I have not used them to make any profit in any shape or form.)
Jason9000: Well Happy 2013 everyone. Looks like the whole Mayan thing was a bust it seems. But hey now we just have to wait for the next doomsday by either some radical guy or another ancient civilization that may have only a half-finished calendar. Alright let's get cracking*
The Briefs' and the one Android touched down on Kame house. Bra got off of Mirai's shoulders and ran to the door in front of Trunks who still had her bags. She knocked on the door excitedly and waited.
Footsteps were heard and Krillin appeared opening the door. He was wearing his red shirt and some cargo shorts.
"Hey Trunks what's up?" He asked and then looked down at Bra with a confused expression.
"Oh yeah that's right. I almost forgot Bra's coming over tonight," Krillin said smacking his forehead. "I guess I must be getting old," He said laughing.
"No argument there!" Master Roshi's voice called from inside the house.
"Hey who else is behind you, Trunks?" Krillin asked able to see an outline of a person.
"Oh him? He's nobody important, just some dweeb from the future," Trunks said grinning.
"Excuse me, dweeb from the future?! If it weren't for this "dweeb", you'd be living my life right now! You should be on your knees thanking me!" The person called out behind him.
Krillin only stared at Trunks for a moment looking confused. He could have sworn he heard his voice, but his lips didn't move.
"Hey…uh Trunks why are you talking to yourself? Did you accidentally get hit in the head the wrong way while fighting with Vegeta?" Krillin asked blinking in a confused way.
"No, I just like messing with my older bro because it's fun for me," Trunks said still blocking the way with Bra's bags.
"I swear to Dende…if you don't move I am going to dye your hair hot pink and then sell the photo's to the press!" The person said.
Finally Trunks stepped inside with Bra and Krillin finally noticed another Trunks behind him.
"Hey it's Trunks…or the Trunks from the future!" Krillin exclaimed.
"Just call me Mirai, Krillin. It's better than addressing me as Trunks and not being able to differentiate us," Mirai said holding his hand out for a handshake.
Krillin shook his old friend's hand and laughed.
"What are you doing here anyway? I thought after Bojack you told us there wasn't enough energy to make any more trips. Did something happen that you need to warn us about?" Krillin asked
"No actually thanks to the reconstruction I was able to return here for a while," Mirai told him.
"Sweet that's awesome!" Krillin exclaimed.
"Hey where's Eighteen?" Trunks asked after putting Bra's bags down.
"She's upstairs with Marron. She needed help with her hair or something," Krillin said shrugging his shoulders.
"Well then bring her down here. There's another person whom I believe she will be glad to meet," Trunks said.
Krillin finally noticed the tall Android standing at the doorway.
"Wait…is that you Sixteen?!" Krillin cried out.
"Hello, you must be Krillin. It is a pleasure to meet you in person," Sixteen said holding his hand out.
"Meet me in person? Don't you remember fighting Cell all those years ago?" Krillin asked confused.
"You must have me mistaken for my counterpart here. I come from the same timeline as Mirai," Sixteen said.
"Oh…well I'm sure Eighteen will be glad to meet you none the less," Krillin responded before walking toward the stairs. "Hey Marron, Bra is here! Eighteen get down here; there is someone that wants to see you," The ex-monk called up the stairs.
Suddenly footsteps could be hard racing down the stairs and suddenly Marron was seen coming downstairs.
"Bra!" Marron exclaimed running to hug her friend.
"Marron, could it have killed you to wait one more minute so I could finish with your hair?" A female's voice called coming down the stairs.
Android Eighteen came down the stairs and into everyone's view. She was wearing black jeans with a white t-shirt. Her hair was down as it was in the old days when she was with her brother Android Seventeen.
"Ah good to see you, Trunks. Thanks again for bringing Bra over for us," Android Eighteen told said nodding at him.
"No problem at all. I'm just glad she was able to come over. By the way I've got two people…well one person that will be glad to meet you," Trunks said.
Eighteen noticed that there was a second Trunks standing by the doorway.
"Oh please don't tell me Bulma cloned you…one of you is bad enough," Eighteen said shaking her head.
"Very funny, Android Eighteen. At least you still retained your sense of humor after all these years," Mirai said glaring at her.
"Judging by his attitude towards me and his glare this must be the Trunks I fought with Seventeen all those years ago," Eighteen said smirking.
"Someone give the lady a prize," Mirai said sarcastically.
Everyone snickered for a moment at his remark. Mirai didn't take his eyes off of Eighteen. Despite the fact that this was a different Android Eighteen from his timeline he was still uneasy around her. It was almost like she was back from the dead and about to make his life a living Hell.
Eighteen turned from him and found another person standing quietly near the TV. Her face presented the utmost shock and she visibly paled.
"Six…Sixteen is that you?" She asked doubting her own words.
The tall giant smiled. "In a manner of speaking yes; however, I am not the Sixteen you knew. I come from Mirai's timeline. I asked to come with him to the past to see both you and Android Seventeen," He held his hand for a handshake.
"I would like to know the both of you, if that is okay. I know I will never replace the Sixteen that you knew, nor do I want to, but I do hope that we can become good friends," Sixteen said.
Eighteen was taken aback for a moment. She wasn't expecting to see Android Sixteen ever again. After she left the Lookout she went to look for Sixteen and Seventeen. She found Seventeen near the island where he was last absorbed. He didn't know how he returned to the land of the living after being absorbed by Cell. He asked what happened and she explained what she found out at the Lookout. He was shocked that Gohan had beat Cell, but was glad the insect looking android was finally beaten. When he asked where Sixteen was she didn't know. She proposed of going to where Cell was defeated. As they flew in silence the events of the last few days played in their minds. They were unsure of what to do next. They didn't know where to go now. Goku was dead so the idea of getting revenge was gone. In fact the idea of killing him was boring anyway. When they arrived at the battlefield it was mostly destroyed from the combined might of Cell and Gohan's struggle. For half an hour they searched for any sign. Finally Seventeen found what looked like mechanical parts to a machine. It wasn't until they found a microchip that had the Red Ribbon logo on it. At this they knew that Android 16 was destroyed in the struggle. They both decided to take the chip and bury it near the battlefield.
They were silent as they placed the chip in the earth. Neither of them said anything and only felt sorrow for the loss of the quiet, yet giant Android. Though Sixteen never spoke much he was always had the aura that he would do anything to make sure both of the Androids survived, even if it meant his own destruction. Android Eighteen silently wept for Sixteen's death and Seventeen held his sister close. Both of them hated this feeling of sadness. Why anyone would wish this upon anyone was beyond them. Trunks did once mention that their future counterparts almost destroyed the entire world. The idea had crossed their mind, but thanks to the events that happened these last few days everything changed.
After standing in front of the grave for ten minutes the Android pair flew off into the sky unsure of what to do next.
Eighteen was taken from her thoughts and shook his hand. She smiled looking up at the massive Android and decided not to give this version of Sixteen a chance.
'It's what the Sixteen I knew would say if he were here,' She thought to herself.
Sixteen smiled and then went to the door.
"Mirai I am going to go and locate Android Seventeen. Do not wait up for me," The giant paused for a moment and then asked Eighteen. "Would you like to accompany me?" He asked her.
Eighteen wasn't sure since she was supposed to look after Bra and Marron with Krillin. She looked at her husband who only smiled and nodded.
"Go ahead Eighteen. I'll watch these two till you get back. Besides I'm sure Seventeen would like a family reunion. You haven't seen him in a really long time so I think it's time you visited your brother. Give him and Marron our regards," Krillin said.
Eighteen kissed her husband on the head and then walked out the door with Sixteen and then flew off into the night sky.
"Well with that settled let's head on home. I'm sure father is only minutes away from flying over here himself," Mirai said.
"All right let's get going then. We'll see you later Krillin. Be good you hear Bra? I don't want you to cause Krillin trouble." Trunks said.
"Bye Trunks. I'll see you later," Bra said before disappearing upstairs with Marron.
With that both of the Brief men walked outside and flew back to Capsule Corporation.
King Piccolo stepped through the door and onto the sacred world of the Kai's. He was the first demon to step foot on this place and the sight sickened him.
"Bah, this place is much too peaceful for two glorified hypocrites that are supposed to be the main guardians of the Universe," The Demon King said.
He walked out a bit and waited for the others to follow suit. Everyone was suppressing their power as low as they could. For Frieza this was most difficult since he finally was able to figure out how to sense other's ki energy. Bojack had once asked why Frieza never bothered to ask anyone on how to sense power levels and Cooler's reply was as always a shot to his brother.
"The pompous princess doesn't accept help from others. I once tried to give him advice on how to stay in his final form without destroying something by accident, but he just snapped at me and told me to screw off." He told him before a glare from his father told him to stop talking and not start a massive argument.
King Piccolo walked forward a bit more and stopped. His eyes were moving around the planet as if he can see through them with no problem.
He turned to his allies and whispered silently.
"Okay Cell I want you to instant transmit yourself and Bojack to the younger Kai; when I give the signal you two will rush him and try to hold him off long enough for the wizards and myself to get close. After you leave Cooler will instant transmit the rest of us to the elder Kai."
Bojack begrudgingly put his arm on Cell's shoulder while Cell concentrated for a moment. Everyone else did the same thing with Cooler. Normally Cooler didn't like being in crowded areas, but this was far more important than some issue about breathing space.
"Is everyone ready?" King Piccolo asked.
Everyone gave a formative nod with nothing, but determination in their eyes.
"Good. Cell, go now!" King Piccolo ordered.
Cell was gone and one second later Cooler focused on where the younger Kai's ki signature was and took them away.
King Piccolo saw the younger Kai flying back after being hit and then slammed to the ground by Bojack that stood on top of his back. The elder Kai looked in shock trying to figure out what was going on.
Kibito Kai lifted up his head a bit and saw others behind Old Kai.
"Sir, look out behind you!" Kibito Kai cried.
Old Kai didn't even have time to react when the wizards began the spell.
Old Kai looked around and found he couldn't move. He tried moving his muscles, but nothing he could would result in breaking the spell.
King Piccolo walked forward slowly. He kept an eye on the younger Kai just in case Cell or Bojack needed some help. He mockingly bowed to the elder Kai.
"Good day to you both honorable Supreme Kais. I'm sorry for dropping in unannounced. If I were able to I would have arranged an appointment with the both of you," King Piccolo said mockingly.
"Piccolo? What are you doing? Why are you with Babadi and the other dead warriors of Hell?" Kibito Kai asked struggling to get up.
"Oh my apologies, I haven't introduced myself to you properly. You aren't the first person to mistake me with my son, nor do I expect you to be the last," King Piccolo said turning his head slightly to the younger Kai. "My name is Piccolo Daimaō, but you can call me King Piccolo the new ruler of the Demon Realm," He told them.
"Wait…you're the one that replaced Dabura? How is that possible? It normally takes a long time for the Demon Realm to crown a new ruler? Yet you did it in the span of eleven years!" Old Kai asked confused.
"Well let's just say thanks to my body no longer feeling true fatigue since I was dead; I was able to train nonstop for almost sixteen years and I discovered some ancient rituals of the Demons of old that further increased my strength," King Piccolo said grinning. "I challenged the steward Dabura left behind the moment Majin Buu was unleashed. With everyone in the mortal Universe and Otherworld distracted I was able to do it almost quietly and it took a long time for you all to notice. That was just an added bonus," The Demon King finished.
"Ancient rituals of the Demons of old? Are you saying that you forcibly took the power of a dead soul and added its strength to yours?!" Old Kai asked with his eyes looking shocked.
"Bingo, as astute as ever. Don't worry old one, I only took the ones that weren't going to be missed. Most of them were glad since I was ending their eternity of torture. The fact that they went willingly made the transition of their power and knowledge to me much easier," King Piccolo said.
"That would explain why you're not currently insane from all of those souls fighting for dominion inside your body…if they willingly gave you their soul, then you have complete and total control. That doesn't explain what you want with us," Old Kai said.
"Oh it's quite simple really. It's just a small thing from you old one. You see despite all the power I and my associates have gained while training in Hell, it still isn't enough to take on the warriors of Earth. My spies have told me that you have the ability to unlock someone's potential far beyond that from any Namekian or these wizards could do. I want to know the secret of how you do it," King Piccolo told him.
"What if I refuse?" Old Kai stubbornly asked.
"We'll torture the young Kai in front of you till you either submit to our demands or we'll just force it from your mind. I'd prefer you do this willingly since I need your mind intact and not broken. It's quite hard to go through someone's head that has snapped from insanity. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to learn how to open that damn door your ancestors created from Dabura's steward, after I personally tortured him to insanity," King Piccolo answered.
"Sir…please don't listen to them, I'll be alright. Don't let him get what he wants. If he learns of your ability then the entire Universe is going to die!" Kibito Kai cried in pain before Bojack and now Cell stepped on his back even more.
"You have one minute to decide old man. Tick tock, till the clock stops," King Piccolo said folding his arms.
Elder Kai stood there running as many scenarios in his head as he could. If he did give this new Demon King his knowledge of how he could unlock someone's hidden potential the results could be disastrous. Not only could he unlock everyone standing around him, but he could pass it on to others that have the magical skill to do this. There was no telling what the two wizards could do with this kind of power. Not only could they use it for themselves, but maybe add something of their own magic into it and thus make someone even powerful than Old Kai could himself. If only he could contact someone for help, mostly the Z warriors on Earth.
Finally the Elder Kai sighed.
"If you promise to let the boy go unharmed I'll teach you how," The Elder Kai said wearingly.
"You have my word," King Piccolo said.
"Sir, please don't! I'm not worth the fate of the-" Kibito Kai began before being cut off by screaming as Cell and Bojack kicked him in the back creating a small crater.
"Shut it Kai! You're really starting to annoy me," Cell said dangerously.
"I can't trust your word Demon. I know of all the tricks and lies your kind do. I'm far older than any of you could possibly imagine. I witnessed the final days of the Demon-Kai war. While I was too young and inexperienced to partake in the fight; I helped by making sure the other Kais' didn't die from their injuries. So I want you to swear on your soul using the language of your kind under total eradication of your existence that you, your associates here, or any of your followers will not physically harm Kibito Kai," Old Kai said.
King Piccolo looked surprised for a moment and then grinned.
"Well played Old Kai. I expected nothing less from you. Very well I accept the terms only adding two additional clauses. The terms of his well being will only be for one galactic standard day. After the day the contract is over. Also he is not to run off while we conduct our business here. Do we have a deal?" King Piccolo asked holding his hand out to the old Kai.
Old Kai took a minute till he took the Demon King's hand and King Piccolo then started saying something in a harsh sounding language. At first Cell thought he was speaking Namekian, but he couldn't translate a single word. Suddenly a golden looking rope appeared above their hands that slowly started tying itself together. When King Piccolo finished speaking the golden rope was tied into a firm knot and then it slowly disappeared.
"With that out of the way I want you to show myself and the two wizards here how to do this step by step. After that you will use it on all of us," King Piccolo said.
"Very well; however, I cannot use it on the two Androids since they are not biological beings anymore," Old Kai told him.
Dr. Gero and Android 19 only looked a bit frustrated, but then relaxed after taking a deep breath.
"I had expected as much since our bodies are made of metal and not flesh. I will remain here and watch the process. Perhaps I will learn something here that may be of use on my joint project with the wizards," Dr. Gero said.
"Very well how long will this take Kai?" King Piccolo asked.
"With all of you at once? I've never done more than one person. Hm…I'm not sure. Give me a moment to walk around and I'll be able to tell," The Elder Kai said.
King Piccolo nodded at the two wizards who then allowed the Kai to walk around a full circle of everyone.
After walking around and looking at everyone for two minutes he walked back to King Piccolo.
"Judging by everyone here it would take around 30 hours give or take an hour. I've never done this on a mass scale so it could be longer or shorter," Elder Kai said.
"Very well I expected as much since you took almost 25 hours on Son Gohan," King Piccolo said.
"Alright now I want everyone to sit around everyone in a circle facing away from each other," Elder Kai said.
"Hold your horses' old man. First you are to transmit the knowledge of how you do this to myself and the wizards," King Piccolo said in a warning tone.
"Ugh fine. I don't see why the order of how we do this matters," Old Kai grumbled before closing his eyes and opening it up to King Piccolo and the wizards.
For the next few minutes everyone was silent. No one said a word till Old Kai opened his eyes along with the other three.
"There, that's all I know of how to unlock someone's potential," Elder Kai said.
King Piccolo remained silent and only looked at the ground in contemplation while the two wizards looked almost annoyed.
"Is that dance really necessary? That looked more like you were entertaining yourself around that boy," Bibidi asked.
"If you don't like it then you can all be off. If you don't like how this is done than you've all wasted your time! Ungrateful the lot of you! The youth these days, so disrespectful toward their elders it's ridiculous!" Old Kai shouted at the two wizards.
King Piccolo finally took a deep sigh and rubbed his temples.
"Whatever let's just get this over with then…" He grumbled walking toward the others that were in the circle.
Bojack and Cell took their feet off of Kibito Kai and walked toward the others. Kibito Kai struggled to his feet before he felt two hands on him. Dr. Gero and Android Nineteen held him firm and he suddenly felt weaker. Eventually it got to a point where all he could was just sit there.
"There that should hold him for a while. Thank you for the energy Supreme Kai. It will help Android Nineteen and I should you try to escape," Dr. Gero said standing next to him.
Old Kai looked outraged for a moment and Gero answered him before he opened his mouth.
"Technically we didn't harm him. You were talking of physical injuries. All we did was drain him of some of his energy. We never broke your vow."
"Oh before I forget if any of the Cold family has a preferred form they want, I suggest they change into it now. After this there won't be any need," King Piccolo said.
"What are you talking about?" Frieza asked.
"You won't gain power by transforming anymore. You may as well just stay in your final form because otherwise you'd be wasting precious time if you get into a fight with someone down the road," King Piccolo said shrugging his shoulders.
"So you're saying that we should just stay in the form we like best?" Cooler asked him.
"Basically yes, because otherwise you're just wasting your time like I said," King Piccolo responded.
"Very well then." Cooler said walking out of the circle. "Give me a minute to transform."
Cooler focused on his transformation and concentrated for a moment. Slowly but surely his body grew a couple more inches. He had spikes protruding from his shoulders, his eyes had turned a blood red, and a bone mask seemed to cover his face. His power rose so that it was far beyond his younger brother. Frieza looked annoyed at his brother's over the top display of his transformation.
"Impressive Cooler, out of all your family you look the most intimidating of them all," Bojack joked.
"Anyone else have a final form to turn into?" King Piccolo asked.
"Give me a couple of minutes. I haven't transformed in many, many years." King Cold said walking next to his son.
"Oh? I was unaware that you could transform. I just thought you only had this stage," Cell said.
"I would have transformed when I was dealing with that Saiyan brat if I wasn't so awestruck by his power. That and my age prohibited me from transforming as the stress was becoming too much. I assure you I would have been able to defeat him with no problem if I could transform. However, I believe that I will be able to handle the transformations now with my entire potential being unlocked," King Cold responded.
For a few minutes King Cold was silent as he was focusing. It had been many long years since he was past his second form. Suddenly his power skyrocketed as he prepared to jump to his final stage. Everybody watched as he transformed and no one said a word. Eventually a massive energy sphere blocked everyone's view of him. His sons started to look a bit nervous since they thought they were getting closer to their father's level of power. Finally after waiting five minutes the energy sphere slowly dissipated. The dust cloud was slowly removed and people saw King Cold in his true form.
For the most part he looked exactly like Frieza. The only difference was his skin tone was more of the purple that was around his face in his second form than Frieza's white. The top of his head was more of a bluish gray along with the top of his shoulders and wrists. The rest of him was white which mostly was around his chest. He had too had spikes protruding from his wrists and legs similar to Cooler's fifth form.
He cracked his neck for a moment before heaving a deep sigh.
"Ah, that is much better. Now shall we begin?" King Cold asked.
Cell actually started to clap for a moment.
"Bravo Cold. I dare say that you might have been a match for me in my Imperfect form before I absorbed Android Seventeen."
"Thank you Cell. I've always tried to be the best. My sons still have much to learn considering they constantly had thoughts of overthrowing me one day," King Cold said smiling at his two sons.
Frieza and Cooler were only silent and just stared at their father. Cooler was the only one of them had seen Cold in his final form. He barely had any memory of it, because he was so young. He looked just as terrifying as he remembered. And yet people wondered why Frieza or Cooler tried to challenge Cold for supremacy.
King Cold walked into his place and waited. Bojack was already in his transformed state so there wasn't anyone else to wait. Old Kai stood at the beginning of the circle and began doing a strange dance that had everyone looking confused.
"Well there's nothing more to do now then to wait…" King Piccolo said in a bored tone.
*Jason9000: I'll end it right there. Honestly I'm not proud of this chapter. I find it lacking and it was hard for me to do. The first part with the interaction between Android Eighteen and Sixteen was hard for me to do. Well on the bright side you all know how King Piccolo increased his power over the years. Don't worry we'll delve into that later. With Elder Kai now using his unlock ability on everyone, it's not looking so good for the Z warriors. And yes I did base King Cold's fourth form off of Dragon Ball Multiverse's version of him. Unfortunately I go back to college tomorrow so updates will be slower. R&R pleases*