Bathed in the soft halo, Levos made out several familiar figures.
Frieza, Cooler, Trankon, Truhan, Piccolo, Majin Buu, and, a little apart, Vados and Champa.
Vados alone retained her poise. The rest looked battered and grim.
Everyone turned to Champa in confusion.
Covered in soot and dust, Champa hardly looked like a God of Destruction at all.
"Lord Champa, what did you mean by 'one more chance to change the result'?" Trankon asked.
Levos' thoughts raced.
He already understood what was coming.
This time he had to be ready. No openings left for the enemy.
"Mr. Buu, please heal me."
"Okay." Buu answered without hesitation.
A warm, soothing light washed over Levos, knitting flesh and bone, filling his body with strength.
"Lord Cooler," Levos said, turning, "I need to absorb you to complete another evolution route. Please do not resist."
Cooler's expression tightened, but he did not refuse. "You may."
He paused, then said coldly, "On one condition. You accept my proposal. From now on, we cooperate. Together, we strike against the green-haired legion of the Saiyan Empire."
"The green-haired legion of the Saiyan Empire?"
The phrase stirred something in Levos. He rolled the words over in his mind.
If even Cooler and the mechanical planet behind him could not handle them and needed Levos' help, how terrifying was that force?
This was not the time to dwell on it.
The situation here was far more urgent.
"I will consider it," Levos replied evenly. "But you have no leverage to negotiate right now."
Cooler's face chilled. "Do not make me threaten Earth, Lord Levos…"
Before he could finish, Levos' tail, hidden behind his back, snapped wide and swallowed him whole.
"I usually do not waste breath on people who try to threaten me," Levos said, tossing a glance at the Emperor.
Gulp.
Frieza's pupils shrank. He unconsciously shuffled half a step back.
Buu's healing had fully restored Levos, stamina and all.
With Cooler absorbed, Levos shifted into his Mechanical Form at once.
By Cooler's own admission, this copy possessed one percent of the original's strength. In transformation, his color dulled from bright gold to a deeper, dark-gold hue.
Frieza, after a relentless gauntlet of battles, had climbed to the same general tier.
Levos felt the contours of his Mechanical Form refine and streamline.
The silver-white metal no longer blazed with blinding glare. It had the muted sheen of brushed alloy.
Gone was the mirror-bright finish that felt like light pollution.
He was pleased. This was a Mechanical Form that matched his low-key nature.
After all, one truth runs through the Dragon Ball world: do not strut. Keep your head down.
The day he crossed over, he swore he would never eat dirt again.
"Compared to Perfect Cell Max, Ultimate Cell Max is a qualitative leap. My base combat power has risen a hundredfold at least."
"If I push into overdraft, I can drive Kaioken to one thousand. If I do not overdraw, I can hold about seven hundred."
"After absorbing Dark-Gold Cooler, the buff from Mechanical Form has climbed from three hundredfold to five hundredfold."
"The Mechanical multiplier stacks like Kaioken. Both scale from Ultimate Cell Max's base power."
"One thousand-fold Kaioken or five hundred-fold Mechanical. Which is better against Rose Broly?"
His victory over Rose Broly had been pyrrhic.
The fight was razor-close. For much of it he was on the back foot and could have died at any moment.
Frieza's sigh cut across his thoughts.
"Mr. Levos, perhaps we should discuss the problem right in front of us."
Champa came back to himself and looked toward Vados. "Vados, doing this will not cause trouble, will it?"
Vados narrowed her eyes slightly and ignored Champa's worry for the moment. Instead she addressed the group.
"I can rewind time by three minutes and let events run again."
"Rewind time? Run it again?" Trankon asked.
Vados smiled lightly. "Yes. You will pass through what just happened one more time."
"Of course, if you do not want to change the result, we can leave it be."
"Remember, it took great effort to destroy the three Dark Warriors. If we rewind, the enemies who died will live again."
"That means you will have to face them all over, which introduces many variables."
Everyone looked stunned.
"Wait. The Elder Kai and the others who died… they will return as well?"
Vados blinked and answered calmly. "Correct. But the window is about to pass. You must decide now."
"And if we use that time point, you will have no preparation time at all."
"Even if it costs my life, I will save everyone," Trankon said without a flicker of doubt. "I vote to rewind."
"The Dragon Balls are on cooldown. If we want to save our friends, this is the only option," Piccolo agreed with a nod.
"I am fine with it," Levos said, muscles tensing as he shifted into a fighting stance. "I am ready. Please start it over, Lady Vados."
Vados' eyes gleamed. A peculiar stream of ki unfurled from her body.
She tapped the angelic staff in her hand.
A gentle circle of light fanned out from the tip, wrapping each person present.
The instant it touched him, Levos felt a force he could not name.
"So this is the power of time."
Even prepared, he felt a flicker of surprise.
An angel was truly choosing to intervene in mortal affairs.
For Levos, it was the best possible turn.
He had to push for the best outcome.
Out in the vastness of space, dust condensed into clumps.
The Sacred World of the Kais reassembled, like blocks sliding back into place.
Before long the planet stood again as it had before its destruction.
Wrapped in the power of time, everyone arrived at the battlefield in a single heartbeat.
Within the halo, faces registered shock.
Before their eyes, the whole scene looked paused.
Fused Zamasu had merged with the heavens, and the vortex poised to pollute the world hung still.
Above the temple, his clones were frozen in midair.
Nearby, Rose Vegito, just healed by one of the clones, was basking in the joy of newfound strength.
Rose Gogeta and Rose Broly were set at their earlier positions.
The still frame began to move.
"Are you ready?" Vados asked.
Champa rolled his shoulders, eyes landing on Levos. "Kid, do not let me down."
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