Guided by Gohan, everyone headed straight for the far north.
The wind here cut like knives.
Ice fields stretched to the horizon—glaciers everywhere.
"Ghh—so cold…" Krillin shivered so hard his teeth almost clicked. A gust hit him and he jolted again. "Gohan… are you sure the lab is in a place like this?"
Future Gohan nodded. "Yes. The Androids appeared on that island first, but Dr. Gero's lab isn't near there. It's beneath these ice fields."
He paused, frowning. "I only know the general area, though. We'll have to search."
Goku looked around calmly. "A thousand miles of ice with no landmarks… knowing the general area is already impressive."
"With this many people, finding a hidden cave shouldn't be hard."
Krillin forced himself to nod. "Yeah. Goku's right. Finding a cave shouldn't be a problem. Let's split up and search."
Piccolo crossed his arms. "If anyone finds it, don't rush in. Raise your ki sharply as a signal."
"The moment we sense a spike, everyone converges."
"Understood!" the group answered.
They scattered in different directions.
Krillin and Tien drew the short straw—both were among the weakest here, and Tien was still shirtless.
They were freezing.
Krillin hugged himself. "Hey, Tien… you bring money?"
"I think I saw a small town not far from here. I wanna buy a coat. This is brutal…"
Tien exhaled through his nose. "I'm freezing too, but I didn't bring money. Endure it."
Krillin sighed. "Fine… Let's drop lower. The wind up here is killing me."
"Alright."
They descended to the ground and started searching on foot.
Krillin's eyes lit up after a minute. "Oh, this is way better. The mountains block the wind—without it blasting straight through you, it's not nearly as bad."
Tien nodded. "Yeah."
Then Krillin stopped.
"T—Tien! Look!"
Tien followed his finger—
And saw it.
A hidden cave.
Two massive steel doors embedded deep inside it.
Tien's expression sharpened. "That's it."
"Even if Gero was a genius, he was still human. Before he turned himself into an Android, he'd have to buy supplies from somewhere."
"So he likely used that nearby town… and kept the real base hidden here."
Krillin nodded quickly. "No time to analyze—signal everyone!"
"Right!"
Both of them erupted their ki at the same time.
Two distinct spikes surged into the sky like flares.
Across the ice fields, everyone immediately felt it.
"That's Krillin's ki—Tien's too!"
"They found something!"
Within minutes, the others arrived one after another, landing around the cave mouth.
"Already?! That was fast!"
"Nice one, Krillin!"
Krillin and Tien tried forcing the doors open.
Nothing.
The steel didn't even tremble.
Krillin grimaced. "No good—these doors are insanely reinforced!"
Piccolo raised his hand. "Move. I'll blast them open."
Krillin and Tien jumped back.
Vegeta's voice cut in like a blade. "Listen carefully, Piccolo."
"If you damage the Androids, I won't let you off."
Piccolo turned slowly, unimpressed. Then stepped aside. "Then you do it."
Vegeta smirked. "Gladly."
He lifted one hand, finger pointed forward—
And fired a single ki blast.
BOOM!
The doors didn't vaporize. They bent, warped, then tore free with a heavy crash, slamming onto the ground and kicking up dust.
Goku blinked in surprise. "Not bad, Vegeta."
"All these years didn't just raise your power—your control's gotten way more precise too."
Vegeta snorted. "Hmph. Kakarot—don't tell me you spent these years on your mountain just playing house and babysitting."
Goku's eyebrow twitched. "What do you mean 'playing'? I've been busy training the kids!"
Krillin leaned into the opening and shouted, "Guys—look! The Androids… they're still dormant!"
Everyone crowded in.
Inside, three large stasis pods were lined up at an angle.
Two were sealed.
One was open—and empty.
The sealed pods were clearly marked:
No. 17.
No. 18.
A transparent dome at the upper center of each pod revealed their faces.
On the left: a black-haired teenage boy—eyes closed, but undeniably handsome.
In the middle: a blonde girl with pale skin and a cold, elegant face—small earrings catching the light.
Krillin froze for a second, then blurted, "Dr. Gero's Androids are… kinda pretty."
He turned to Future Gohan. "Gohan—are these the ones?"
Future Gohan's voice shook, rage strangled tight in his throat. "Yes…"
"It's them."
"These two nearly destroyed my world."
He raised his hand, ki gathering into a bright, lethal sphere. "Before they wake up—"
"Stop."
The command snapped through the room.
Future Gohan stiffened.
Vegeta stepped up to the pods, eyes gleaming with provocation. "You said they're strong, right?"
"Then what a waste it would be to destroy them without fighting."
And with that, Vegeta reached for the control panel.
Future Gohan's eyes widened. "Stop, Vegeta! You don't understand how dangerous they are!"
"In my world, they killed everyone. Earth became hell!"
"You forgot what I told you—you died fighting them. You blew yourself up!"
"Shut up!" Vegeta roared.
"That was your world."
"The me in this world won't lose to them!"
Future Gohan's ki surged violently.
Vegeta turned, eyes narrowing. "What—are you going to fight me?"
Future Gohan's voice went hoarse. "If I have to."
"Even if it means fighting you… I can't let you do this."
Vegeta lifted his chin, sneering. "Hmph. A half-breed thinks he can stop me?"
"We'll see." Future Gohan's muscles tensed like a drawn bowstring.
Then—
A hand landed on his shoulder.
Goku.
"Don't worry, Gohan," Goku said quietly. "Trust us."
"Three years ago, with your warning, we could've tried to eliminate them early."
"But we didn't."
"We trained for this—so we could face them head-on today."
Future Gohan's fists clenched. "Dad… you don't know how many people they killed. You can't give them a chance!"
Goku glanced at the blonde girl in the pod, then looked back at Future Gohan with calm eyes. "This world is already different from yours."
"Maybe… even they are different."
"If they weren't brainwashed—if they haven't become villains—killing them now would mean killing innocent people."
Future Gohan shook his head hard. "No… impossible. They're monsters."
Vegeta had clearly had enough. He tapped the console impatiently, found a large red button—
And slammed it.
The pods hissed.
Locks released.
Both stasis chambers opened.
Android 17's eyes snapped open first. He rolled his neck slowly. "So… this is what freedom feels like."
Android 18 opened her eyes next. She didn't speak—only scanned the room, sharp and unreadable.
Both of them stood.
No Dr. Gero in sight.
Instead—
Goku. Vegeta. Krillin. Piccolo. Everyone.
They paused, genuinely surprised.
Android 17 tilted his head. "Huh?"
"Why are you here?"
"Where's Dr. Gero?"
Goku answered simply. "He's dead."
"Dead?" 17 repeated.
"Yeah," Goku said. "Just died not long ago."
18's gaze drifted to Goku, and her lips curled into a faint, amused smile. "Son Goku…"
"You look tougher than you do in the photos."
Before Goku could even respond—
Vegeta stepped in front of him like a guard dog.
He glared at Goku first. "Kakarot! You already killed two Androids."
"These two are mine."
Then he turned to 17 and 18, lifted his thumb toward himself with that same arrogant gesture, and grinned.
"So you two puppets are supposed to be strong, huh?"
"I've been waiting a long time for this."
"Which one comes first? You? Or you?"
"Or do you both want to jump me together?"
"And let's be clear—don't expect me to go easy just because you look like a woman."
He stared at 18 with open disdain. "Not that you're a 'woman' anyway."
"You're just a doll."
18 raised an eyebrow. "You're Vegeta… the Saiyan prince?"
Vegeta smirked. "So you've heard of me."
"Then how about it—still want to fight?"
18 brushed her bangs aside, smiling with pure contempt. "You sure?"
Vegeta snapped, already in stance. "Enough talking!"
"Let me see how good Dr. Gero's 'masterpiece' really is!"
18 sighed, then beckoned him with a casual curl of her finger. "Fine."
"Come on."
17 lifted a hand. "Wait."
"This place is too cramped, and it's surrounded by snow mountains. If we go too hard, we could trigger an avalanche."
"There's a town and forests nearby. If an avalanche buries them, that's on us."
"Let's move somewhere open so we can fight properly. Agreed?"
Vegeta clicked his tongue. "Hmph. It's all the same to me."
"But if you insist—fine."
A strange silence spread through the group.
These two… were they really the irredeemable monsters Future Gohan described?
They were worrying about towns.
Forests.
Civilians.
Animals.
Goku listened, then nodded—his suspicion turning into something closer to certainty.
"Alright," he said. "Then let's go."
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