After perhaps half an hour of flying as fast as they could without transforming, Future Vegeta and Goku landed simultaneously before a massive set of iron doors built into an otherwise inconspicuous mountain identical to the dozens of others which lined the outside of North City. As the rest of Earth's warriors fell into line behind them (with Nail having broken off from the group to protect the rest of his people should they fail), Future Vegeta was just about to blow the doors down with a ki blast when an aging voice coming from an intercom embedded somewhere in the rock addressed the group, briefly causing Future Vegeta to refrain in order to listen.
"Why, hello there, Prince Vegeta, Son Goku, and other assorted banes of my existence! I would introduce myself, but seeing as you have apparently found my lab, I would imagine that no introductions are necessary. However, perhaps it would be of use for you to know just why I am doing this: why I have gone to such incredible lengths and devoted the remainder of my life to this endeavor, just to kill you all? Well, it all began many years ago, with the fall of the Red Ribbon-"
"We already know your history, old man!" Future Vegeta interrupted angrily as he returned his attention towards the iron doors. "And it doesn't change anything; we're going to stop you and thwart your plans before they have any hope of reaching fruition!" At this, Dr. Gero sighed.
"Oh, fair enough, I suppose; I just needed time for my minions to get out of the lab through the back entrance." Future Vegeta looked up in surprise while the rest of Earth's warriors likewise glanced around them in search of the enemy.
"Wait, what back entrance-?" Future Vegeta began before being kicked backwards by a clawed green foot whose appearance was all-too familiar to the former prince. As he quickly managed to steady himself a handful of paces away from the creature, he and the other warriors were quick to note that they had now been surrounded by no less than a dozen of the wretched creatures that half of them had fought in their last battle for the fate of the world. Although these "Saiborgs," as they were apparently called according to Future Vegeta, didn't appear outwardly different from the Saibamen they fought before, the fact that none of the warriors assembled could sense their energy as a result of their augmentations gave the warriors pause. Taking advantage of their hesitation in order to monologue some more, Dr. Gero continued.
"Behold, fools, one of my most remarkable creations: the Saiborgs!" he cried out before cackling in a rather appropriate manner for a mad scientist such as himself. When nobody gave any outward reaction to the name other than mild annoyance, however, his laughter was replaced by indignation as he noted their curious lack of appreciation for his genius. "Ah, come now, surely at least one of you finds the name clever? Took me a whole night to come up with it, you know!"
"Tch. Somehow it's even stupider coming from their creator's mouth," Future Vegeta remarked, leaving Dr. Gero rather confused.
"Wait, who else would you have heard it from-oh, not important. Anyway!" he declared as the Saiborgs snickered in their inhuman way, ready to jump the Z-Fighters as soon as their creator gave the word. "After the failure of my two cyborg models, I had originally intended for your end to come at the hands of a purely artificial model, one that I had designed to be strong enough to eliminate you all based on the power levels you had displayed prior to the dear prince's failed invasion," Dr. Gero explained, somewhat taken aback by the fact that Future Vegeta seemed unaffected by the good doctor's blatant attack on his ego before he continued on regardless. "And yet, imagine my surprise when my monitoring drone gathered traces of alien DNA the likes of which I had never encountered. Surprise gave way to delight as I analyzed the remains I had gathered and realized that within them held the key to crafting more of these 'Saibamen' creatures for myself. An organic creature that was nonetheless wholly obedient to my commands, without the slightest chance of them ever deciding to destroy me...quite an enticing prospect, wouldn't you say?" The doctor's monologue was briefly interrupted by a serious coughing fit that he struggled in vain to cut short, not wanting to reveal his physical frailty to his hated enemies. "After such a gift was so generously dropped into my lap by the dear prince, my priorities naturally shifted more or less away from my artificial designs and towards building upon my earlier cybernetic research. These creatures you see before you are the results of my efforts: twelve cybernetic warriors that have all been specifically calibrated to match the highest level of power that you have displayed, Son Goku. Knowing that your companions are all much weaker than you...I'm afraid that whatever knowledge of my plans you may have gleaned through Vegeta's unexpected intervention will not save you now." With this, Dr. Gero was seconds away from giving the command for his Saiborgs to tear his enemies apart limb from limb, and yet...he was stopped by a rather unusual sight.
Son Goku was...snickering to himself.
In fact, as the good doctor looked around at the several monitors in his lab which were connected to cameras placed throughout the rock face of the front entrance, he was left with a slight feeling of panic upon observing that, indeed, all of them appeared to be chuckling. It was as if they all were privy to some inside joke that he had been excluded from...or had some trick up their sleeves. Before he could demand what the meaning of their amusement was, Future Vegeta cut to the chase with an especially devilish smirk on his face, the most he had ever acted like his past self since he traveled back to the past.
"And tell me, doctor...just what is the highest level of power that Kakarot has displayed?" Future Vegeta asked, causing the doctor to gulp nervously before pulling up the data he had gathered just before Goku had left the planet a second time.
"Simple, my dear prince!" he retorted, trying to mask his slight dip in confidence. "Son Goku's maximum base power level is approximately five hundred thousand, which he can then increase to a power level of two million with the maximum level of his 'Kaio-ken' technique! To that end, each of my Saiborgs has been carefully calibrated with a power level of two million, which the infinite stamina afforded to them by their perpetual energy reactors allows them to maintain regardless of any damage they sustain or exertion they suffer over the course of battle. As such, it would be remarkably easy for even one of my Saiborgs to outlast him in a war of attrition, and against twelve...it will be a massacre." Over the course of his speech, Dr. Gero had almost regained the confidence he had lost before until Future Vegeta spoke again.
"And you believe that none of us have power levels even approaching Kakarot's own?" Future Vegeta asked, a part of him delighting in the mental image of Dr. Gero squirming with fear in the face of mounting doubts about his odds of success.
"O-of course!" Dr. Gero attempted to counter, trying not to let his uncertainty show. "After decades of monitoring your various engagements, it is clear that Son Goku is the most formidable warrior among you! None of you could ever hope to match his raw power!"
"Well, you've got that right," Future Vegeta remarked, surprising Dr. Gero and the others by how casually he admitted that he would never surpass Goku. "However, there's one thing that my time on this planet has taught me more than anything else I've learned in my travels throughout the universe, something that I imagine you know all too well." Dr. Gero scoffed as the former prince gave a discreet nod towards the warriors behind him, a signal the good doctor only dimly registered.
"And just what is that?" he asked angrily, partly afraid of what the answer would be. Vegeta smirked, now certain that Dr. Gero had no idea what horrible fate awaited him.
"Never underestimate humans," he said simply, ducking to the ground to reveal that Tien had moved such that he was standing a good distance behind him, his aura blazing red with the glow of the Kaio-ken kicked all the way up to Times Ten, and his finger pointed at one of the Saiborgs guarding the door to the good doctor's lair.
"DODONPA!" Tien cried out as a beam of yellow ki raced from his outstretched finger towards the Saiborg, giving it barely enough time to cry out in astonishment before the beam burned directly through its skull. The blast ended up burning a small circular hole into one of the iron doors as the Saiborg fell to the ground, having been killed instantly. Before Dr. Gero could utter more than a strangled gasp of shock, the rest of the humans assembled quickly followed Tien's lead, while the Saiborgs did their best to fight back against them in the absence of any orders from their creator.
"KAIO-KIENZAN!" Krillin called out as he unleashed the Kaio-ken Times Five before conjuring his signature technique much faster than he had been able to initially, sending a golden disc of ki flying towards the Saiborgs. The Saiborgs in its path were caught off guard by it and unable to dodge in time, leaving one of them beheaded, one of them bisected diagonally, and one of them cut straight down the middle before it dissipated with a snap of Krillin's fingers, preventing it from cutting into an adjacent mountain and potentially harming the innocent creatures that lived there. As Yamcha was in the middle of blowing up another Saiborg with a similarly refined version of the Spirit Ball Burst, he scoffed in playful irritation at Krillin's showboating.
"Show-off!" he called out teasingly as Piccolo dimly registered the exchange with frustration, noting how easily all of these humans handled the power of the Kaio-ken while he himself struggled to land a hit on the Saiborg he was facing without it. Although his base power was still greater than any of the humans', the difference in their ability to utilize the Kaio-ken still vexed him, and so it was only after a rather lengthy mental debate with Kami that he finally deigned to use it himself.
"KAIO-KEN TIMES FIVE!" he cried out, a part of him enjoying the Saiborg's look of surprise as its strike hit empty air before a fully powered blow from Piccolo succeeded in tearing through the Saiborg's chest and allowing him to crush its perpetual energy reactor in his fist, leaving it dead on the ground. Piccolo fell out of the Kaio-ken as quickly as he had entered into it, still surprised at how much even that brief usage of the technique had sapped away at his stamina. The Namekian warrior took stock of whether or not he could sustain the Kaio-ken Times Five long enough to take out the remaining six Saiborgs before he noticed Roshi managing to dodge every single hit that the Saiborg he was facing attempted to land on him, using only the Kaio-ken Times Two. Piccolo grimaced at the sight; even the old man whose students had eclipsed him could still utilize King Kai's greatest technique more efficiently than he could. Not wishing to spend too long wallowing in self pity, Piccolo gritted his teeth before powering up once more, slicing through one Saiborg and then another in order to let his anger out as best he could.
Meanwhile, the remaining Saiborgs, having gotten some idea of the power possessed by the others, attempted to rush Goku and Future Vegeta all at once, still believing their creator's claims that they could take the former in combat. Before they even realized just what they were dealing with, both of the Saiyan warriors elected to stop screwing around and show Dr. Gero just what they were capable of. With two heroic battle cries, the two Saiyans demonstrated their full strength by becoming Super Saiyans, releasing powerful golden kiais that shook the mountainous lair to its foundations...and tore the rest of the Saiborgs apart with ease. As all of the cameras monitoring the massacre cut out simultaneously, Dr. Gero took a shuddering breath as he fell back upon the only plan he had, as loathe as he was to make use of it.
"Computer...mark," he said, slumping into his chair with a look of complete and total dejection on his face. As he breathed out a silent apology to the only woman he had ever loved and the son that they had made together, the last thing that Dr. Gero ever heard was the whirring sound of Android 16's pod beginning to open...before Future Vegeta teleported behind him.
With Future Vegeta having briefly disappeared into the lower level of the structure, it fell to Goku to blast down the iron doors and allow the rest of his friends to enter the lab and scope it out for any potential threats. Finding none for the moment, the group was about to proceed down to where Vegeta had gone when two things happened simultaneously. The first: Piccolo's keen Namekian ears picking up on a faint whirring sound coming from the lower level of the structure. The second: Krillin and Gohan stumbling onto two pods labeled "17" and "18" which had been laid to rest along a wall, containing the slumbering forms of a young man and a young woman who appeared to be twins. As Piccolo briefly pondered what the whirring noise that he heard was, the rest of the group was promptly alerted to the pair's discovery, and had differing opinions on it.
"So, these are the androids that tried to kill us in the future that Vegeta came from, eh?" Roshi remarked, looking upon the sleeping form of Android 18 with a neutral expression that surprised his students, not that any of them were going to point it out for fear of being proven wrong on how little their master was attracted to this female cyborg.
"So it would seem," Tien replied, already readying a Dodonpa as he pointed towards the sleeping form of Android 17, only refraining from firing after Gohan and Krillin cried out.
"Whoa, hang on! Just because they were evil in the future doesn't mean they're evil now!" Gohan pointed out, with Krillin promptly backing him up.
"Yeah! Besides, Dr. Gero just described them as failures, and Vegeta said that the future Dr. Gero mentioned them rebelling against him! Maybe whatever he did to make them evil and obedient to him in the future hasn't happened by this point!" Goku and Gohan nodded along with him, but Tien remained unconvinced, his finger still trained on Android 17.
"Them rebelling against their creator doesn't necessarily mean they're good," he pointed out, to which Yamcha chuckled in agreement with him.
"Yeah, like, I get where Gohan's coming from on this, but Krillin, you don't have to make excuses for them just because the lady is hot," Yamcha remarked jokingly, jerking his finger towards the sleeping form of Android 18 while Roshi cackled in his signature way at Krillin's blushing face.
"T-That's not why I'm doing this!" he protested, to which Roshi put a hand on his shoulder.
"I know, I know. In true Turtle School fashion, you want to hold out hope that lost souls like these two can find redemption. It's a good instinct, as I imagine my other students might do well to remember," he said, pointedly looking towards the former desert bandit and the former assassin-in-training before turning to Goku. "Well, Goku, you're the one they're presumably after, so I say you ought to decide what we do about them." With that, Goku thought for a moment before making his decision on the androids' fate.
"We'll let 'em out," he decided. "If they turn out to be a problem, I can handle them, but until then...I say we give them the benefit of the doubt." As he spoke and the others nodded in varying degrees of agreement with his position, Piccolo's ears perked up even further as he picked up a much more notable noise than a mere whirring sound: the sound of a powerful kick slamming against cold, hard metal, and the sounds of a mechanical hand moving forward at great speed.
"Everyone, look out! We are not alone in-!" Piccolo began before the entire group was caught off guard by Future Vegeta's agonizing scream of pain, followed immediately by the sensation of his energy being rapidly drained away from his body at a speed that none of them had ever thought possible. Before they could figure out where to go in order to give him backup, the question was answered for them as a massive hulking figure burst through the floor and floated up to gaze impassively upon the group. The warriors were quick to notice the mechanical noises made with each of the figure's movements along with the lack of any ki that they could sense, suggesting that this was a purely mechanical creation of Dr. Gero's. Although the others registered the android's green jacket bearing the Red Ribbon Army logo, the orange hair which jutted out from the android's head in a flaming mohawk, and the two red spheres which were embedded in the palms of the android's hands, Goku noticed how the android looked at him in particular before it finally spoke in a voice which laid any lingering doubts to rest.
"Kill Son Goku," Android 16 said simply, robotically, as his sole programming caused him to immediately rush towards the aforementioned individual intent upon killing him. Seeking to prevent him from doing so, Krillin promptly powered up to the Kaio-ken Times Five and attempted to throw another "Kaio-Kienzan," as he had called it, in order to cut the robot apart. Before he could succeed in doing so, however, Android 16 noticed the attempted attack and grabbed Krillin by the head, draining him of his energy in a matter of seconds and causing the golden disc of ki to fizzle away into nothing as Krillin was unceremoniously dropped to the ground. "Kill Son Goku," Android 16 repeated before Yamcha and Tien each rushed towards him, the former attempting to stall him with a Kaio-ken powered Wolf Fang Fist while the latter grew two extra arms from his back and attempted a similar Kaio-ken enhanced barrage. When these warriors were likewise drained of their energy and rendered completely unable to fight, yet still very much alive, Roshi turned to Goku with a look of panic in his eyes.
"Get out of here now!" he commanded his pupil. "With all of the energy this thing has drained, I'm not certain whether you can destroy it anymore!" Goku wanted to protest, but as he watched Piccolo power up all the way to Kaio-ken Times Ten, only to be unable to do much more than push the android back with a mighty kick before he too was drained of his energy and left in agonizing pain after using the Kaio-ken to such a degree, Goku reluctantly took off into the sky as fast as he could. Roshi stood his ground, regretting the fact that this was the one time he didn't have the foresight to bring a capsule with a specially prepared rice cooker, only to look up with worry in his eyes as Android 16 completely disregarded him and took off after Goku at a somewhat faster speed. Roshi prepared to give chase when he noticed Gohan looking around at the scene in front of him and coming up with a wild, yet potentially life-saving hypothesis.
"Master Roshi, come quickly!" he called out, taking off through the hole left behind by Android 16 before the old man could respond. Wanting to see what his youngest pupil was thinking, Roshi reluctantly followed the young child down below, where they quickly came upon a drained Future Vegeta lying half-conscious in a mess of mangled electronics.
"I'm sorry," he croaked. "I tried to stop that thing, but it was too powerful...before I knew it, it was draining my energy and taking off towards-"
"Yeah, yeah, it's alright, now focus!" Gohan said, understandably irreverent considering that, redeemed or otherwise, this was still the same man who had nearly killed him once. "If one of us gives you our energy, do you think you can get my dad to that deserted planet you were talking about?" In response to the question, Future Vegeta cocked his head in confusion.
"Well, yes, but why would I do that; Kakarot's the only one who has any hope of-"
"Because he's the only one that that android is targeting!" Gohan interrupted. "Think about it: it would make more sense for the android to kill anyone that tried to stop it so that they wouldn't interfere in its mission again, right?" As Roshi and Future Vegeta nodded, Gohan pressed on. "And yet, what has it been doing since it was activated?"
"Draining each of us of our energy so that we couldn't interfere-" Future Vegeta began, his eyes widening as he caught on to what Gohan was suggesting.
"-without killing us," Roshi finished with a smile, proud of his youngest pupil's ingenuity.
"Exactly!" Gohan said with a smile, pleased to have cracked the case, as it were. "So, if we get my dad away from the planet, and presumably beyond this android's range of detection, he might stand down! After all, there's gotta be some reason why Dr. Gero never used an android this powerful if he had it in the future as well, right?" As Future Vegeta nodded along, Roshi knelt down to give the former prince as much of his energy as he could spare, allowing Future Vegeta to power back up to Super Saiyan, albeit heavily weakened.
"Alright, Gohan, let's hope your plan works," he said, using Instant Transmission to transport himself and Gohan to Goku's current location, where they both were rather dismayed to see him fighting for his life against the relentless redheaded robot. Without another word, the pair leapt into action, with Gohan tapping into that long-dormant wellspring of rage within him in order to kick Android 16 hard enough to send him flying away from Goku and into a mountain. Taking advantage of the momentary interruption, Future Vegeta teleported Goku away without a word, intent upon returning to the deserted planet where he had stored his time machine. With his father out of danger, Gohan anxiously floated towards the crater that Android 16 had left upon impact, bracing himself for the possibility of needing to fight him some more if his assumption had been incorrect. Android 16 jerked out of the crater and back onto his own two feet, swiveling his head back and forth around the vicinity in a way that made it clear to Gohan that he was searching for his dad's ki signature and finding nothing.
"Current location of Son Goku: unknown," he said robotically before something unidentifiable seemed to fade away from his eyes, and he looked up at Gohan with...a smile. "Greetings, small child. What is your designation?"
Gohan chuckled in a mixture of amusement and relief at the android's friendliness as he prepared to reply in kind. "My name's Son Gohan! It's nice to meet you, Mister...?" The android paused for a moment, almost as if dimly trying to remember some other name and some other time and place. Having failed to do so, he gave the only answer that he could give to the half-Saiyan child.
"16. Android 16."
With Goku having been left on the deserted planet for his own safety, Future Vegeta used Instant Transmission to return to Gohan's side, whereupon he found a somewhat nervous Bulma leading Android 16 into a nearby Capsule Corporation helicopter, no doubt intent upon finding a way to reprogram the android so that Goku could return without fear. Although he was tempted to stay by Bulma's side in case Android 16 turned on her, Gohan volunteered to go with Bulma in his place, seeing as he had already established a rapport with the android. With that, Future Vegeta was left with the task of monitoring Androids 17 and 18 as he, with great reluctance on his part, allowed Krillin to release them one at a time after Dende had healed everyone, starting with releasing Android 17 from the left-most chamber in the room.
"You better be right about them," Future Vegeta warned Krillin as the pod hissed open and Android 17 blearily opened his eyes for the first time in years.
"Trust me, I've got a good feeling about-whoa, hey!" Krillin began before stepping back in surprise as Android 17 turned to look at him with a dispassionate gaze. Before Krillin could say anything else, the android suddenly took a few more steps forward with his arms outstretched, almost in imitation of a classic 1950s sci-fi robot with a voice to match.
"Humanoid life form detected! Destroy! Destroy! Destroy!" Android 17 said as he lumbered towards Krillin, prompting Future Vegeta to charge up a ki blast at full power.
"Okay, that's it, killing them both!" he announced, prompting Android 17 to immediately drop the act and hold up his hands in surrender as he turned towards the former prince.
"Whoa, hey, easy there, Goldilocks! I was joking!" the android protested as he looked towards the assembled warriors with alarm that he tried and failed to mask. "You are aware of what a joke is, aren't you, Space Man? I'll give you a hint: it's under two meters tall and rhymes loosely with 'Fajita.'" At this, the others felt Future Vegeta's ki as it grew even stronger.
"Don't test me, android," Future Vegeta countered. "I've heard all about the destruction you nearly caused in the future I come from. I'm not about to let that happen here!" At this, the young man cocked his head in confusion at what the former prince was saying.
"Dude, what are you talking about? Me and my sister have been stuck in here for, like, three years, ever since that old bastard shut us down! We haven't done anything!" Although Krillin and the others were moved to sympathy, Future Vegeta scoffed.
"And why should I believe that you won't cause any trouble with such immense power at your disposal? You don't strike me as someone who's particularly responsible," he countered, only to be interrupted by a cough from none other than Master Roshi.
"He's telling the truth," he interjected, to which everyone looked at him in astonishment while he simply chuckled in the sense of an old dog having learned a new trick. "Oh, believe me, I wasn't certain I could read their minds either, but evidently Dr. Gero hadn't accounted for that little trick." As the others were left uncertain about what to do next, Android 17 became noticeably more embarrassed as he considered the implications of what Roshi was saying.
"Wait, so if you can read my mind, does that mean you know about-?" he began, to which Roshi nodded with a coy smirk. "And about the time I-?" he started again, to which Roshi nodded once more as Android 17 was filled with dread. "And even when-?" he whispered, to which Roshi nodded one more time before Android 17 gulped nervously. "Remind me never to piss you off."
"Kindly refrain from killing anybody, and I think you'll manage that just fine," Roshi quipped, prompting the young android to awkwardly laugh before turning to the other pod.
"Well, if you're satisfied that we won't blow up the world, could you let out my sister?" he asked, pointedly looking towards Future Vegeta before he eventually sighed in acceptance.
"Very well, but I'm keeping an eye on you two for as long as I'm here," Future Vegeta warned him, to which the young android scoffed as Krillin went to release Android 18.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Android 17 remarked, glancing towards his sister's pod as it whirred open and Krillin suddenly found himself face to face with the very same woman he had been too embarrassed to admit he was attracted to earlier. Left even more tongue-tied than he had been with her brother, Krillin was unable to speak before Android 18 said a very familiar line in a robotic tone.
"Humanoid life form detected! Destroy! Destroy-!"
"I already did it!" Android 17 called out to his sister, prompting her to turn towards him with righteous indignation in her eyes.
"Ugh, you jerk! We were supposed to do it together!" she snapped, causing him to chuckle.
"I know, but I couldn't help myself," he countered. Android 18 simply scoffed.
"Whatever. What's going on here?" she asked, nodding along as Android 17 and Roshi worked together to give her a brief summary of everything that had happened since Earth's warriors had arrived and battled against Dr. Gero. After breathing a sigh of relief knowing that her horrible abductor was dead, Android 18 was caught by surprise when Krillin walked up to her nervously, and cocked her head in confusion at what his purpose was. "Yeah? What's up...Krillin, was it?" she asked, only causing him to become even more nervous.
"Um! I, uh, what I mean to say is, agh, I-!"
"Dude, spit it out," Android 18 interrupted, growing somewhat annoyed with the shorter man before what he blurted out next caught her off guard.
"I like your hair!" Krillin said quickly, red in the face and so worried he had just made an absolute fool of himself that he failed to notice Android 18 lightly blushing in turn.
"I, ah...huh?" she asked, having been too thrown for a loop to say much else.
"Your hair, it's, um...it's really pretty," Krillin said, finding words a bit easier now, while Android 18 was left speechless for a moment before smiling softly.
"Thanks," she remarked, and the two looked at each other for a moment before a random thought occurred to her, prompting her to turn towards her brother. "So, uh, where are we gonna-?"
"You two can both stay at Kame House if you'd like!" Roshi interrupted, catching everyone in the group off guard as the twin androids turned to him with curiosity in their eyes.
"'Kame House?' That's that island house some of you live at, right?" Android 17 asked, drawing on some of the knowledge of the Z-Fighters implanted into his memories by Dr. Gero. Before Tien could raise the objection that had entered his mind as soon as Roshi spoke, he piled on.
"Oh, yeah, it's a lovely place! Peace and quiet, beachfront view, close to nature, no cops around: you'll love it, I assure you!" Tien attempted once more to object, but was interrupted again.
"Well, I do love a place that's close to nature," Android 17 remarked.
"And considering the petty theft we were doing before Gero kidnapped us...no cops sounds good too," Android 18 added, wincing as she reflected on her last memories before the horrible experiments that she and her brother had been subjected to by the revenge-obsessed scientist. At this point, Tien decided to forego a verbal reprimand in favor of a mental one.
"Master, if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, I swear to Dende-!"
"Relax, Tien, this isn't about me; this is about Krillin."
"Krillin? But how-?" Tien began before Roshi pointed in the direction of Krillin and Android 18, the former of whom in the midst of talking up Kame House to the latter.
"Think about it; when's the last time I invited a beautiful woman to stay with us somewhere, huh?" Roshi asked telepathically, relishing in the blush that encompassed the entirety of Tien's face as he realized just what his second master was alluding to. "Exactly. Trust me; setting up my pupils with beautiful women who like them as much as they do is kind of my thing." Tien simply rolled all three eyes at Roshi's smirk.
"Alright, fine, but if you try something and this android lady kills you, we are not bringing you back," Tien conceded grumpily, even more annoyed by the old man's laughter in his mind.
"Fair enough!" Roshi replied before turning to the twins. "Well, what do you say?" he asked them, lighting up slightly as both of the androids nodded.
"Seems like the best place to be for the moment, at least until we settle back into living a...well, somewhat normal life, considering," Android 17 remarked as Krillin and Android 18 snuck furtive glances while the other wasn't looking. Roshi chuckled at the sight before bringing his hands together and glancing towards Future Vegeta, who nodded as he addressed them all.
"Feel free to depart; I will dispose of all this," he said, gesturing to the ruins of Dr. Gero's laboratory equipment and the faint ki signature that all of them could sense in the lower level. Having been given the go ahead to leave, Roshi ushered Krillin and the androids out.
"Alrighty then, let's get to it! Have fun explaining the last four months to your fans, Yamcha!" he called out to the scarred warrior before taking off, who grumbled slightly in response.
"Don't remind me," he said, taking off in the direction of West City and already dreading the inevitable Taitans press conference. As Dende likewise teleported back to the Lookout and both Tien and Piccolo took off in the direction of Goku's house, only Future Vegeta was left in the laboratory. Wasting no more time, he flew down the hole that Android 16 created and swiftly found himself standing before the earliest developmental stage of his hated foe.
In his present state, he very closely resembled a humanoid baby after several months of development, evidently not about to become anything more threatening for quite some time. Another man might have balked at the prospect of harming something so young and seemingly innocent, but Future Vegeta knew what this creature would eventually become...and what he would take from the woman that he had come to love. Thus, there was truly only one thing for him to do:
He killed Cell without a second thought.
Welp, that was quick. Astonishing how quickly the Android Saga ends when a little of Bulma's good ol' common sense is applied. ;)
Not much to say here, other than that it should be clear why I rebranded this saga to not name the androids, seeing as they don't really end up as being much of a threat this time around. Sorry, Dr. Gero, but there's only so much you can do when your enemy knows your entire strategy. xD
Anywho, time for responses to the few reviews left on the update post!
Zeon Paralysis Crystal says: "Nice to see that your back and able. And I'd forgotten about that review." Appreciate it, and I can't really blame you for forgetting given how long that last hiatus was, lol.
Slayer of the Abyss says: "I think cooler was made immortal in one of the movies but he had no regeneration and was left and a sentient face." Ah, yeah, that whole duology. Needless to say, Cooler probably isn't coming back, especially not with the aid of a random space robot fusing with his brain. How even half his face survived getting tossed into the sun is beyond me.
Crinightnight says: "I love future Vegeta, you did justice to a great character!" Thanks, glad you like him! I was worried I rushed his redemption a tad, even though it technically took place over a nearly two decade period filled with soul-searching, but it seems to have worked somewhat well, considering.
And finally, saving the longest for last, The Rocha says many things that I'll kinda split up to respond to bits and pieces, like so:
"Wow, Hermit is back! Been a LONG while since I saw this tale! So long I decided to re-read it - last chapter I read was the end of the Frost Demon arc. I find it ironic that NOT dying in this universe left Tien weaker than dying. In DBZ, dying makes you swole."
Well, perhaps, but on the other hand, not dying gave him access to the gravity chamber and picking up the Kaio-ken third-hand, so all in all...just give him time. ;)
"Saiborgs is a genius name. Also, chad Future Nail. I hope we get some future payout from Jamba (who is a pretty cool OC btw, kinda sad about him tbh) and the Kuriza foreshadowing."
Yeah, Kuriza foreshadowing probably won't come into play for a bit, seeing as he's still too young to do much. I do have a few rough ideas as to where Jamba's plans are going from here, and I've been going back and forth on whether or not I want to showcase some of that in this "Old Foes" arc, seeing as he is kind of an "old foe." Ultimately, he's probably not gonna play much of a role in this arc or the subsequent Cell Saga, but as for further beyond...well, we'll get there eventually. xD
"A very interesting tale, Future Vegeta has. Its a very...Vegeta tale. There's someone kinda decent-ish inside Vegeta, you just have to beat out all the SAIYAN PRIDE out of him first."
Yeah, it's definitely interesting to look at the two versions of Vegeta in this story: one who got a whole two decades to work out his issues, and another who very much did not get any time to really work on his issues. Their different storylines are gonna be a fun ride, I can tell you that much.
"One thing I like about your writing is how you put all sorts of different characters who barely interact with each other, interacting together, which results in new interesting situations. Like Chaotzu and Gohan, or Vegeta and Launch."
I'm glad you like that about this fic! That's something I feel is integral to the fic, especially seeing as its advertised focus on Roshi ended up...shifting...a bit.
Through Roshi's greater role in the story, one could argue that the ripple effects of his inclusion did help facilitate the greater sense of connection experienced with the main cast in this fic (even if that was mostly fueled by me not vibing with how these supposed lifelong friends barely hang out when the world isn't about to blow up soon). Through him, Launch remained close with the rest of the Z-Fighters on the Lookout, culminating in a very fulfilling relationship with Tien and an adorable found family relationship with her and Chiaotzu. The aftermath of the battle with the Saiyans led to the Z-Fighter girls becoming better friends, culminating in all of the girls having more things to do than just supporting their respective guys and other friends. And, of course, this leads to Gohan having a much larger support network for when he's dealing with all of these terrible things for a child to be dealing with, culminating in the lovely moment with Chiaotzu comforting him. I don't mean to toot my own horn too much here, but I 100% agree that stuff like this, even though it deviates from what some may expect of a fic about a Shonen manga centered primarily around people fighting each other, definitely makes this a better story than it would be otherwise, and it makes me happy to see people enjoying that.
"Question: Did you abort the Frost Demon arc with that ending, or was it always meant to end that way?"
Yeah, it does kinda feel a bit abrupt, huh? But yep, it was always the intention for the arc to end that way, with the Cooler and King Cold fight effectively taking the place of the Cyborg Frieza and King Cold fight from canon with respect to being the point where time travel becomes a thing. It was also my intention to have Goku kinda speed through the whole heart virus thing due to his prolonged use of the Super Saiyan form over several months, as that whole plot point is just something I didn't want to bother with for longer than necessary. In hindsight, it maybe left a few too many hanging threads, but those are gonna get snipped eventually, I swear.
Anywho, with the reviews done, I suppose I may as well also continue doing power levels. We've got a bunch of new ones, but I'll also go ahead and include some of the old ones just to give everyone a refresher since it's been a long while since I posted some of them last.
Goku (post-rejuvenation): 400 million as a Super Saiyan; he got kinda wrecked from that last fight he was in, but at this point in his life, he's probably stretching the limits of how many times he can get much stronger through just a Zenkai boost.
Future Vegeta: 350 million as a Super Saiyan; I didn't write it out, but it's fair to assume Dende probably healed his recent injuries once it was clear he was an ally.
Gohan: 12 million; he's been doing light training with Piccolo and Tien for the last few months, just kinda sparring under standard gravity for an hour a day.
Piccolo: 1.25 million, up to 6.25 million with the Kaio-ken Times Five. Could go potentially much further with a number of techniques, such as briefly going Times Ten or using that shapeshifting Max Power trick, but the latter takes him a while to set up and he can't really do the former without wrecking himself even more.
Tien: 300,000, or up to 3 million with the Kaio-ken Times Ten; he's been steadily catching up to Piccolo through their months of training, and with him being able to use the Kaio-ken more effectively, he's gotten to the point where he can match and surpass Piccolo in his base form for brief periods.
Krillin: 500,000, or 2.5 million with the Kaio-ken Times Five; Tien's got a lot of advantages when it comes to training, but having access to several sparring partners and two masters offering advice on further refining their respective techniques definitely helped Krillin and the others out. Being able to power up the Kienzan also goes a long way towards making him more effective in combat against much stronger foes.
Yamcha: 450,000, or 2.25 million with the Kaio-ken Times Five; Yamcha tends to end up being weaker than Krillin under similar training, but he's still managed to remain pretty close in terms of power, especially now that he's refined his techniques to be even more powerful.
Master Roshi: 450,000, or 900,000 with the Kaio-ken Times Two; Master Roshi tends to wind up weaker than his students, but he also had extra time to pass King Kai's trials and the advantage of his martial arts knowledge allowing him to grasp the Kaio-ken more quickly. As for how he's able to dodge the Saiborg even at less than half of its strength, keep in mind his centuries of combat experience allows him to anticipate enemy attacks just like he did with Vegeta the first time around.
Nail: 1 million in base; King Kai was able to warn him that the Kaio-ken probably wouldn't work too well, so he focused on increasing his base power and learning Master Roshi's Max Power technique, enabling him to potentially use that in order to increase his power much further.
Saiborgs: 2 million, which clearly wasn't anywhere near enough.
Dr. Gero: 1. He never ended up transferring his brain to an Android, so he's still a squishy old man in the Hermit timeline.
Android 16: 300 million at base, but able to go much higher than that using the energy absorbers built into his palms. It's not exactly a one to one conversion (i.e., he didn't get up to 650 million by absorbing the energy of Future Vegeta), but it still made it so that Goku beating Android 16 after he took the others out wasn't doable.
Androids 17 and 18: 75 million, just like their future selves; the only modification Dr. Gero made in that alternate future was the conditioning to make them evil, so nothing about their actual level of power has changed between timelines.
Well, with all that said, thank you all for reading, let me know what you think, stay safe, wash your hands, wear a mask and get vaccinated if possible, have yourselves a fantastic night, and take care.