The Lookout.
Mr. Popo paused mid-step as he repaired the entrance to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
Something was wrong.
He could sense them, the terrifying energy signatures of three beings rapidly approaching. Frieza… King Cold… and Cooler.
His body stiffened.
He still remembered vividly: seven years ago, Cooler had appeared on the Lookout without warning, demanding control of the sacred place. If not for Gohan and Vegeta arriving just in time, Popo doubted he would have survived the encounter.
And now… no one was here to stop them.
Only he and a young, untrained woman remained.
Panic rising, Mr. Popo rushed into the main hall.
His heart pounded as he locked eyes with Videl. She stood confused, sensing the urgency in his expression. He had long vowed to protect the Lookout with his life. But hers? He had no right to decide that.
"Miss Videl! You need to hide, now!"
"There are three incredibly dangerous beings headed this way!"
Videl froze. Her breath hitched. "W–What? But… isn't this the safest place in the world? How could anyone---"
She never finished her sentence as a cold pressure swept over the chamber like a tidal wave.
Then, as if summoned by that very fear, they appeared.
Three figures materialized without a sound.
One stood over two meters tall, towering with icy menace. The second was even larger. The third, shorter than Videl, stood between them, emanating a quiet but suffocating sense of dread.
Swish--
A shadow flashed between them and Videl. Mr. Popo stepped forward, arms spread, shielding her.
"What do you want?!" He shouted, his voice unwavering despite the odds against him.
Cooler stepped forward, the ground cracking slightly beneath each heavy footfall. His crimson eyes narrowed, locked on Mr. Popo with loathing.
This place… This was where he'd been humiliated by Vegeta. That memory burned hot in his mind, and his muscles twitched with rage.
"What do we want?" Cooler sneered. "You'll find out the moment you're dead."
He raised a finger, charging a blast of Ki. Death was mere seconds away.
"AHH!!" Videl screamed as the killing intent crashed over her like a tidal wave.
Terror rooted her to the spot. Her legs refused to move. Her voice trembled. Her body trembled. She wasn't a fighter, not yet. How could a normal human stand against three galactic tyrants?
But then, just before Cooler fired, a soft, smooth voice echoed behind him, calm and elegant:
"Oh ho ho... Miss, please don't be frightened. We're not here to hurt you."
Cooler blinked, momentarily stunned. He turned to see Frieza, who was smiling and speaking with a polite tone, which was utterly out of character for him.
What was this supposed to be?
This entire assault was his idea. He was the one who suggested coming to the Lookout, and now he was stopping him?
Cooler frowned. "Frieza... you'd better have a damn good explanation for this."
Frieza said nothing at first, and he calmly walked over to Cooler's side, rising slightly onto his toes and casually swatting down Cooler's outstretched finger.
The energy building at its tip instantly dissipated.
Then, Frieza leaned in and whispered coldly into his brother's ear, his voice low and venomous.
"Idiot."
Cooler's face twisted in fury. "What did you just say?!"
Frieza's smirk widened. "Tell me, dear brother, do you understand how Ki works?"
He tapped his temple with one clawed finger.
"Do you want Vegeta to sense us up here? Because if you kill them, he and Gohan will arrive faster than you can blink. And when they do…"
His meaning was clear. Cooler's eyes widened slightly as realization dawned. He ground his teeth in frustration but said nothing. Frieza gave a satisfied chuckle and gracefully turned toward Mr. Popo and Videl.
"Good day, sir… and Miss," He said in a genteel tone. "I'm Lord Frieza. A pleasure to meet you."
With a mockingly refined bow, Frieza extended a hand as though greeting royalty.
Everyone was stunned into silence. King Cold raised an eyebrow, watching his youngest son with something between amusement and confusion. Even Videl, half-paralyzed with fear, blinked in disbelief. Mr. Popo, meanwhile, stood frozen, deeply unsettled.
Frieza smiled politely. "Now then… would either of you happen to know about a certain magical chamber here?"
Mr. Popo's heart sank.
The Hyperbolic Time Chamber?!
That was their target?
He clenched his fists, trying to keep his composure. "What do you want with it?!"
Frieza gave a calm wave of the hand. "Nothing too dramatic. We simply wish to… stay there for a while. A short visit, then we'll be on our way."
Mr. Popo's face went pale. "I can't help you. I won't!"
But even as he refused, Frieza's gaze drifted across the Lookout. He tilted his head slightly, as if surveying his future vacation home.
"Please, don't be afraid," Frieza said smoothly. "We won't kill you."
And then, just as suddenly, he was in front of Videl. Before she could move, his tail whipped around and wrapped tightly around her neck.
Her eyes bulged. She gasped for air.
"Don't move," Frieza said softly, his voice laced with menace. "Or this might get unpleasant."
His smile sharpened into something reptilian and cruel as he turned back to Mr. Popo.
"Now then, take us to the Time Chamber. Or I can't guarantee how long she'll last."
Mr. Popo's hands trembled. He glanced at Videl, then at the sealed entrance to the Chamber. After a moment of silent turmoil, he lowered his head. He had no choice.
"Fine. I'll take you."
Videl squirmed, kicking weakly. She could barely breathe. Her eyes, however, still burned with resistance. If these three go inside and gain power... Earth is doomed. And deep down, Mr. Popo was beginning to regret ever repairing the entrance to the Chamber.
Soon enough, they reached the massive door. Frieza's tail loosened slightly, and his voice was once again polite.
"Would you be so kind as to open the door, sir?"
"Not until you release her!" Mr. Popo snapped. "Let her go, or I won't do it!"
Cooler growled. "You think you're in a position to bargain? I can erase both of you with a flick of my finger!"
But just then, to everyone's surprise, Frieza released Videl. Cooler looked ready to argue, but Frieza raised a single finger to his lips.
"Shhh."
A long, silent moment passed as Videl gasped for air and stumbled back.
"Don't do it, Mr. Popo!" She cried, her voice shaking. "Don't let them in!"
"Run, Miss Videl!" Mr. Popo barked, not looking at her.
Videl hesitated, then turned and bolted from the hall, sprinting with all the strength her body could muster. Only after she disappeared into the distance did Mr. Popo exhale, just slightly, his shoulders relaxing.
He had already made up his mind.
When Mr. Popo opened the door to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, the three intruders, King Cold, Cooler, and Frieza, looked on with suspicion.
"You go in first," Frieza ordered, eyes narrowed.
To ease their doubt, Mr. Popo nodded and stepped inside calmly. "Come. There's nothing dangerous inside."
King Cold and Cooler followed closely behind, still cautious.
Then came Frieza's turn.
He paused at the threshold, a crooked smile forming on his face. He raised his hand and flicked his fingers casually.
Outside, near the main hall, a scream rang out.
A powerful burst of invisible force erupted, tearing a massive tree from its roots, exactly the same technique Frieza had once used to make Krillin explode back on Namek.
The tree came crashing down, its full weight slamming into Videl's thigh.
She didn't die, but her leg was crushed, completely immobilized.
Frieza smirked in satisfaction.
He wasn't interested in killing her outright. That would almost certainly alert Vegeta. All he needed was to ensure she couldn't escape or call for help. With his work done, he turned and stepped into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, fully content.
His next goal: neutralize Mr. Popo.
But just as he was settling in--
BOOM!
Mr. Popo suddenly launched a fierce energy blast, blowing the Time Chamber doors clean off their hinges. The explosion reverberated through the chamber, and the shocked trio, King Cold, Cooler, and Frieza, staggered back.
Frieza roared, "What did you just do?!"
Mr. Popo stood tall, his usually serene face filled with righteous resolve. "Now you're trapped here… forever."
The three tyrants froze.
"You won't be able to leave this place with your current strength," Mr. Popo declared. "Let me share a little secret: once I step inside the Time Chamber, my energy signature vanishes from the outside world. And when that happens, Vegeta will notice. He'll come. And when he does... it'll be the end of you all."
Frieza's face contorted with fury. Despite all his calculations, he hadn't anticipated this.
So this was why Popo had insisted on going in first. Without hesitation, Frieza attacked, firing a full-powered blast at Mr. Popo. To his surprise, Mr. Popo deflected it and countered with one of his own.
He wasn't as weak as they thought. But the next moment, all three, Frieza, Cooler, and King Cold, rushed him at once.
"Die!" Cooler snarled.
A storm of energy blasts filled the chamber, raining down like meteors. Mr. Popo dodged, blocked, countered, but he was one man against three interstellar warlords.
He couldn't hold out forever. As he was finally overwhelmed, his lips curled into a faint smile. From the moment he stepped inside, he had accepted this fate. Even if he hadn't said a word, Frieza would've figured it out eventually.
He had simply accelerated the inevitable, and bought precious time. Eyes softening, he closed them slowly and whispered: "Lord Kami... Mr. Popo is coming to find you."
…
Elsewhere, West City.
Vegeta's eyes shot open.
He was mid-conversation, trying to gather news about Kakarot's whereabouts, when a sudden chill rushed through his spine.
Mr. Popo's energy had vanished.
No trace. Just gone.
[Mr. Popo's energy… it's disappeared! Something happened at the Lookout. Damn it, what's going on with this cursed planet?!]
Vegeta turned abruptly to Bulla with a stern look on his face.
"Bulla. I'm counting on you. You and those little Cells, protect your mother."
Without waiting for a reply, Vegeta blasted into the sky, racing toward the Lookout like a thunderbolt.
Bulla nodded without hesitation, her eyes resolute. The five miniature Cell clones straightened up, taking defensive positions as they followed Vegeta's orders without question.
As Vegeta vanished into the distance, a tension settled over the courtyard.
Something was wrong. Everyone could feel it. The five little Cells remained on high alert. Then, one of them shuddered violently.
"Guys… did you feel that too?" He asked, voice tight.
The others froze. Their faces changed in an instant, as if they had all been struck by the same realization.
A pressure, cold, heavy, and ancient, was washing over them.
The kind of pressure that came from the depths of their DNA.
The energy didn't just register. It suppressed them, down to their very bloodline.
Their father had returned.
...
Somewhere beneath the Earth, in a forgotten lab cloaked in darkness.
This was Dr. Gero's hidden research facility. Unlike Androids 17 and 18, who had wandered off to unleash destruction, Dr. Gero hadn't returned from the afterlife to collect trophies or terrorize civilians.
Instead, he came straight back to where it all began, his lab.
His hands flew over the ancient control panel, fingers tapping in a feverish rhythm. Lights flickered. Machines rumbled to life.
Then, suddenly, he stopped, threw his head back, and laughed maniacally.
He hurled a worn notebook behind him, the same one he'd brought back from Hell.
"SUCCESS!!"
His eyes locked onto a large stasis chamber built next to his supercomputer. Inside floated a developing young Cell, a version native to this timeline.
Back when Gohan and Vegeta had destroyed the adult Cell from the other timeline, they'd never discovered Gero's hidden lab. This Cell, incomplete and still incubating, had quietly continued to grow.
Dr. Gero's lips curled with pride.
When the original Cell was obliterated and sent to Hell, Gero had been there waiting. And for years in the underworld, he had obsessively theorized how to push Cell's power beyond its limits.
Today, those theories would become reality.
He turned to another chamber, this one containing the fully developed adult Cell, restored through Gero's latest twisted science.
Now began the final phase of his experiment. He had reengineered the adult Cell to regain his absorption ability, specifically so he could consume his younger counterpart.
If successful, the fusion of both Cells would birth a monster beyond anything the world had ever seen.
Gero's fingers trembled with excitement as he pressed the final command.
Whirrrrrr!
The lab hummed as both pods activated. From the adult Cell's back, a long, dormant tail slithered back into existence, extending like a spear toward the younger Cell's chamber.
SHLUNK!
With a sickening squelch, the tail pierced through the containment glass, latching onto the helpless younger Cell. What followed was grotesque, a process far more gruesome than his earlier absorptions. Energy and biomass funneled through the tail, twisting and merging.
Gero watched in awe.
A few seconds passed. Then, the adult Cell's body shuddered violently.
BOOM.
His eyes snapped open. His skin had darkened, tinted a deep, royal purple. His form had grown more defined, more monstrous.
Muscles rippled. Power surged as a new evolution was born.
Gero stepped forward, beaming with fatherly pride.
"Welcome back to consciousness, my child," He said softly.
Cell remained silent, eyes scanning his new form. The energy coursing through him was unreal.
Dr. Gero couldn't contain himself. "Now, go. Obey my orders. Conquer the world."
Cell finally looked at him and smirked.
"Oh? Is that so… Father?"
Gero's heart skipped a beat.
Something was wrong. No, something was very, very wrong.
"That's… impossible. I programmed you to obey me. Your first command, your very first command, was loyalty!"
Cell's grin widened. What Gero failed to understand was that with this new evolution, Cell's consciousness had changed. He had grown, not just in power, but in will.
ZAP!
Twin beams of energy shot from Cell's eyes, and Gero didn't even have time to scream before his head hit the floor and rolled away.
CRUNCH.
Cell crushed it underfoot without hesitation.
He stood in silence. His mind was clear. There was only one thing he desired now: revenge.
"Vegeta. Gohan. You'll regret ever crossing me."
Raising two fingers to his forehead, he focused his energy.
Whoosh,!
He vanished.
A moment later, Cell reappeared above the clouds, lowering his hand. His eyes locked onto a distant figure in the sky, powerful, familiar, and radiating fury.
A smirk played on Cell's lips.
"Long time no see, Vegeta."
(End Of This Chapter)
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