Rhode let out a long, quiet sigh as he observed the desolate landscape. His initial plan had relied on Goku. He had hoped to use Goku's accidental Super Saiyan mimicry as the final catalyst for his own transformation, a feat he'd nearly achieved at a fraction of his current power. Now, with his battle power soaring well over one hundred million, he stood at the true precipice; the slightest nudge would have allowed him to ascend effortlessly.
Fate, however, had proven uncooperative. Despite Rhode's guidance, Goku had been unable to re-enter that unique state in their two short days together. With the window closed and his time in this world elapsed, there was no reason to linger.
"Everyone, I've troubled you greatly these past two days," Rhode announced, his tone carrying a note of finality. "I must take my leave now. I hope fate allows us to meet again."
"Ah, leaving already?" Goku's face immediately fell with genuine disappointment. Though Rhode's clone hadn't been a sparring partner, his insights had been invaluable to Goku's training. This sudden departure left a palpable sense of loss.
Offering a silent, understanding smile to Goku's wistful expression, Rhode waved to the rest of the group on Mount Paozu. "Until we meet again!" With those words, his form vanished, leaving the assembled friends feeling oddly adrift.
The moment he departed, Rhode focused intently. His perception, honed and specific, swept outwards until it locked onto a faint, swirling anomaly in space-time—a node. I hope this leads back to the main world this time, he thought, reaching out to touch the shimmering distortion. The world dissolved around him.
His arrival in the next was immediate and disappointing. "Not again," he muttered, a frown etching his features as his senses scanned the unfamiliar Earth. Relying on these chaotic, node-to-node jumps was untenable; he needed a reliable method, a true navigation system for the multiverse.
As he pondered this, a subtle shift within him demanded attention. Carefully, he assessed his own body. The consecutive crossings had left a mark; his control over spacetime energy felt more responsive, slightly more attuned. On a whim, he stirred his mind.
"Whoosh~"
Time Stop.
The ruined world froze. He counted the stillness. It was brief—barely a second—but it was a marked improvement over the fleeting fractions he'd managed before. Not only had his temporal hold strengthened, but his sensitivity to the spatial fractures around him seemed sharper as well. There was another sensation, vague and almost illusory: a slowing, a thickening of his own lifespan under the constant wash of spacetime forces.
"Hoo…"
He exhaled deeply. This was progress. If this trend continued, each jump would bring him greater control. Eventually, he would master the path home. The question was, how many worlds lay between eventually and now? By the time he found the correct lane, how much time would have been lost in the main world he sought to return to?
Such worries were a luxury he couldn't afford. Survival and forward momentum were all that mattered. He pushed the thought aside and took stock of his new, grim surroundings. He stood in the skeleton of a city, a graveyard of shattered concrete and twisted metal under a perpetually gloomy, oppressive sky. Vegetation was scarce; silence, until this moment, had been complete.
Boom! BOOM BOOM!
The silence shattered. A chain of violent explosions erupted in the distance, rhythmic and destructive, like methodical demolition.
Bang!
A surge of air pressure heralded their approach. The sources of the destruction had detected him. Two figures descended in quick succession, landing on a higher pile of rubble nearby. They looked down, their eyes cold and empty of anything resembling empathy.
"Heh. Didn't expect to find anyone dumb enough to be out in the open," the golden-haired beauty said, her voice devoid of warmth. A smirk touched her lips, devoid of humor. "What do you think, 17? A reckless idiot?"
The black-haired youth beside her, Android 17, cast his equally dispassionate gaze over Rhode. "Don't obliterate him too quickly," he stated, as if discussing the weather. "If Gohan continues to hide, we'll need something to pass the time."
"Has my opinion truly not crossed your minds for even a second?"
A look of utter exasperation crossed Rhode's face as he listened to Androids 17 and 18 casually debate his fate as if he were a piece of furniture. Internally, he sighed. Their appearance confirmed his suspicion—this was a dark mirror of the world he knew, specifically the grim timeline Future Trunks had come from. These were the unshackled, merciless killing machines.
Yet, something felt off in his broader perception of this world's energy, a subtle dissonance he couldn't immediately place.
"Who goes first?" 18 asked, a predator's glee in her voice.
"Your call," 17 replied with a cold shrug. "Just keep him breathing."
"Then he's mine!"
With a playful chuckle, 18 hopped down from the rubble, landing lightly a short distance from Rhode. She studied his unflinching composure, her head tilting with amused curiosity.
"How interesting," she cooed, her voice a sweet melody laced with malice. "I do wonder if that calm mask will crack once I start removing limbs."
Rhode couldn't help but let out a soft, derisive snort. A flicker of genuine amusement touched his eyes. If only you knew, he thought. His memory served him well; these future-model androids, while formidable in their own right, operated on a scale far below what he now possessed. With his base power exceeding one hundred million, they were hardly an existential threat. The Great Ape's latent power thrummed within him, a ten-fold multiplier waiting to be unleashed, and the Kaio-ken promised an even greater, if riskier, surge.
His gaze swept over 18's youthful, cruel features. A true waste, he mused inwardly. Such potential, twisted into pure nihilism.
Pop!
Without further warning, 18 raised a hand and fired a casual, yet potent, ki blast straight at his right knee. It was a test, a cruel opening move designed to shatter bone and spirit simultaneously. She anticipated the scream, the crumpling form, the delicious flood of fear.
Bang!
The energy dissipated against his leg with a dull thud. No burst of blood. No buckling knee. Not even a flinch. Rhode stood exactly as he had, his calm expression unchanged, his clothes barely ruffled by the concussive force.
"Oh? Oooh!!"
Instead of anger, Android 18's face lit up with pure, unadulterated delight. She let out a thrilled gasp, clapping her hands together once like a child who'd found a splendid new toy. The fragility of humans had long bored her. But this? This was promising! A plaything that wouldn't break immediately—one that could provide a real challenge, much like that persistent Gohan. The prospect of prolonged entertainment sent a thrill through her circuits.
From his perch, Android 17's impassive expression finally shifted, his cold eyes narrowing with a spark of analytical interest as he observed the untouched stranger.