The air was thin up on the mountainside, crisp and clean, far from any city noise. All that surrounded them was sky, stone, and the quiet hum of energy sparking through the wind.
Goku twisted in midair, blocking a punch with a wide grin. "You're holding back again, come on, you're never going to get stronger like this," he said, effortlessly parrying Gohan's strike.
"I'm trying to be nice," Gohan replied with a faint laugh, already moving into his next attack.
Goku didn't answer. He ducked low, slid behind him, and flicked him on the forehead, hard enough to send him spinning, but still light enough to be considered playful.
From below, another voice rang out.
"Dad! Me too! Watch this!"
Goten's energy flared bright, and the little half-Saiyan launched upward like a bullet. His tiny fists were raised, face full of determination. Goku caught him mid-flight with a grin, spun once, and dropped both of them into the grass with a dramatic tumble.
"Nice form!" Goku said with a laugh as Goten crashed into him, both of them tumbling into the grass. The boy landed on his chest, beaming with pride.
"I've been practising with Trunks!" Goten announced, his eyes sparkling.
"That's awesome!" Goku grinned, ruffling his son's spiky hair. "At this rate, you're gonna catch up to your brother soon, especially since someone has been slacking off lately."
He tilted his head toward Gohan with a teasing smirk.
"Hey!" Gohan called from above, arms crossed. "I'm not slacking! I'm training again, aren't I?"
Goku shrugged playfully. "You are. But you know how it is, if you're not training constantly, your power starts to slip. You've gotta keep that momentum going. Like after cell."
Gohan floated down and landed beside them, brushing some dust from his sleeve. "I get it, Dad. But I've also got a job now. I'm not a student anymore, and y'know... I am married."
He smiled softly. "I want to be there for Videl, too. I can't just vanish to go spar every day."
Goku blinked, then nodded with a chuckle. "Yeah... yeah, you're right. Balance is important. You're doing great, Gohan. Better than I ever did" (because you vanished for years on end.)
Gohan just gave him a look. a part didn't need to be said. but was heard loud and clear.
For a moment, the world felt still. No words, no energy blasts, just three Saiyans in a clearing, sun overhead and wind through the trees.
Then Goten broke the calm like a thrown rock in a pond, puffing out his chest with a dramatic pose. "I'm gonna be stronger than both of you! Just watch!"
Goku laughed and sat up. "Oh yeah? Then we'd better keep training. I'm not gonna be shown up by my own kid!"
"Daaaad!" Goten whined, cheeks puffing out, before launching at him again with a grin.
Goku grinned widely and caught the strike with ease.
Goku caught the strike easily, grinning. "Bring it on, champ."
Goten leapt back, ready to fire a ki blast, but then suddenly froze. His eyes flicked toward the horizon, alert.
Gohan and Goku both turned, sensing it too, though Goten had noticed first.
They all could sense it, far across the planet, a twisted, malevolent ki; it wasn't just evil ki, it was a mix of many fighters they knew. It was not just powerful, but also wrong.
Gohan's stomach clenched, and for a moment, his mind was dragged back years, back to the terror of Cell.
"Could it be...?" he whispered, his voice low but steady.
Goku shook his head, brow furrowed. "No way. Cell was destroyed, completely. We haven't sensed anything like this since. And this energy... It's different. More chaotic, atleast. Plus, even if he somehow survived, why would he stay hidden for so long?"
Gohan narrowed his eyes, thoughts racing. "But what else could it be? The energies are too similar not to be connected. It can't be the Cell we destroyed, especially not the one from this timeline. The lab's been wiped out. But maybe... another Cell? One from a different timeline?"
His gaze sharpened. "Or worse, what if Trunks lost, and Cell got his hands on the time machine? If that happened... well, that's bad. Very bad."
Goku crossed his arms, his usual grin absent. "Doesn't matter who it is—we're stronger now. No matter what, we can handle it. But we still need to be careful. We don't want to walk into a trap."
He glanced at Goten, who was watching them wide-eyed. "Goten, you stay here. Keep training and stay close to home. This might get serious."
Goten frowned but nodded, trusting his father. Even if he really, really wanted to come... he's learned from Buu, and he promised his mom too.
Without hesitation, Goku pulled out his Instant Transmission technique, vanishing from the clearing in an instant, taking Gohan with.
An instant later, they reappeared. hovering a little closer to the source of that ominous ki, eyes scanning the horizon with a calm but vigilant focus.
Gohan followed, floating up beside him. "We'll find out soon enough what's causing this."
---
Goku and Gohan hovered just beyond the treeline, eyes narrowed, brows furrowed. They were close now, too close not to be sure, and unmistakably at the site of Dr. Gero's old lab. But something was off. The mountain itself, the massive structure that had once housed the dreaded android research, was gone. Nothing remained but a flattened stretch of earth and scattered debris.
Gohan exchanged a puzzled glance with his father. "The mountain's completely... gone."
"Yeah," Goku murmured, frowning deeper. "No way it just disappeared like that."
They both sharpened their senses, bracing themselves. That chaotic, overwhelming energy - twisted, mixed and strange, like Cell's - was still here. But this time, it wasn't what they expected.
The source wasn't a towering monster or a mechanical threat.
It was a woman.
She sat casually at a wooden table on a simple chair, legs crossed and posture relaxed. Long auburn hair tumbled over her shoulders, catching the sunlight. She wore a lab coat, but there was none of the cold mechanical menace they'd associate with a bio-android like Cell.
And yet, the energy rolling off her was sharp and unmistakably dangerous. definitely stronger than their base.
What caught them off guard even more was the scene itself. The table was covered in food, mostly sweets, cakes, pastries, colourful candies, all arranged in an almost playful manner.
Goku glanced at Gohan. "That energy that's coming from her... it definitely feels like Cell... but she doesn't look like she's about to destroy the world. or absorb anyone."
"Yeah," Gohan whispered back, lowering his voice. "We should keep low and watch. Could be another android... but if she's like Cell... she's not acting like it."
They stayed hidden, observing quietly as the woman finished off one plate. When she reached the bottom, she didn't panic or get angry; she stood and walked over to a nearby tree, effortlessly uprooting it in one smooth motion.
"Eh?" Goku muttered, confused at what a tree would do to help.
Gohan leaned in as she carried the tree back to the table. With precise, almost casual movements, she sliced the trunk into neat sections in an instant.
And then it happened.
The chopped wood began to shimmer and pulse with a strange light, the pieces transforming before their eyes into a variety of foods, fresh fruits, meats, pastries, and more sugary treats. The table soon overflowed again.
"T-that's... the candy beam!" Goku whispered, barely containing his surprise. After all, he would vividly remember it, considering he was once turned into candy... and his wife, and his friends, and I think you get the point.
Gohan nodded slowly, "And we couldn't sense ki either... meaning it was magic like Piccolo does... meaning she must have the cells of Majin Buu as well." That should have been alarming but considering her current actions. Maybe it doesn't have to be.
The woman sat back down and resumed eating, seemingly unfazed by their presence, or maybe just unaware, or perhaps she doesn't care. They couldn't tell.
Goku exchanged a look with Gohan. "This isn't what I expected."
"Me too," Gohan admitted. "But whatever she is, she's not behaving like a threat. Maybe she is a bio-android like Cell, but with fat Buu's cells instead."
Goku blinked, his head turning slowly back to the woman. "...That actually makes a lot of sense! The food obsession. The energy. And if she destroyed Gero's lab, maybe she's not on his side at all!"
Then, without warning, he began walking towards her with a prep in his step. "I'm gonna go talk to her!"
Gohan's eyes widened. "Wai- Dad, what if she's dan-"
But he was already gone, floating casually across the field, like this was just another day and not an encounter with something that might wipe out a city.
Gohan stayed where he was, half-crouched in the trees. He sighed. Of course, his dad was doing this. his carefree confidence and endless optimism... It had worked on Piccolo. Even on Vegeta, eventually.
So he stayed back, letting Goku do what Goku did best.
Still.
"...Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?"
A/N hope you enjoyed
Please comment if I made any mistakes or anything. I love comments.
(omg, please tell me if I mischaracterised Goku or Gohan. I need to know.)
See ya!