Super Dragon Ball: Paradise Hysteria

The Android-Shaped Elephant In The Room

Everyone working hard in the God Temple perked up and turned their attention to the palace entrance. Even Mr. Popo, who was tending to the palm trees, stood and straightened up, directing his emotionless glare to the entrance, where a bald man was slowly approaching the light from the shady interior, with Dende gently guiding him outside.

"Krillin!" Lazuli called out, dashing to her still wobbly and dazed husband and taking over tending to him from Dende. Looking the young Namekian in the eyes, Lazuli nodded in gratitude with a serious expression and helped guide Krillin outside.

"Lazuli, honestly... You're going to spoil me. I should be walking by myself," Krillin snickered and kept his expression in a state of a sublime grin.

"Nonsense, then what was all that stuff we swore to each other about?" Lazuli insisted.

"Yo, Krillin!" Goku greeted his recovered friend with a friendly index and middle finger salute. "Heard it got pretty rowdy out there."

"Yeah, this monster, Cell... He's a crazy guy, let me tell you what. Nothing like anyone we've faced before, or rather... It feels like he's a culmination of everything we've been through," Krillin sighed and gently shook himself off of Lazuli's grip to strut all on his own. Slower than usual and still uncertain of his strength, but he was walking on his own two feet, almost completely recovered, which, given the state he was in, felt like a miracle.

"You gave him hell though," Goku smiled. "We all felt it from way out here. It was crazy! Still, we've been working hard out here too."

"We'd have been working way harder if a certain someone didn't destroy the Room of Spirit and Time," Piccolo sneered to Chayote and Navy.

"T-The Room of Spirit and Time... Destroyed!?" Krillin blanked out, staggering back and making everyone worried he'd tip over and fall down, though the bald martial artist maintained his balance. "Jeez, I guess Goku wasn't kidding when he said you guys were working hard. You might just give Cell a beating..."

"You think so?" Goku wondered.

"Well... Who knows," Krillin relented, looking down with an oppressed look on his face. "It's not really Cell's strength that's the scary part. It's the fact that he keeps evolving much faster than you can even imagine being possible. Both in terms of its battle power and the abilities Cell has. By the time you think you have the handle on Cell's strength, it's moved on and left you behind, jumping to a whole new world of power."

"I see, so that's the kind of guy Cell is," Goku closed his eyes and took a deep breath before shooting them open and erupting into an energetic burst of warm-up exercises, as if he just couldn't stay in one place and contain all of his excitement. After expelling this jolt of energy, Goku punched his open hand with a brilliant smirk on his face and fist bumped his friend, congratulating him on his successful return and recovery.

"So... Cell can use Instant Transmission," Krillin spoke up, dropping all semblance of cheer from his voice. "Does that mean that it got to Yamcha?"

Before anyone could reply, sobbing distracted Krillin and the bald martial artist noticed a woman who wasn't a part of their usual pack having collapsed and begun sobbing on her knees. With an empathetic look on her face, Chi-Chi helped Pearl get up. Had Krillin met this woman out in the street during an ordinary stroll, he'd probably not have recognized her from the get-go. Yamcha simply had too many girlfriends over the years, however... Seeing her react this way at the mere mention of him... Yamcha must have burrowed much further into this one's heart than he did the rest.

"We don't yet know about what happened to Yamcha," Muten Roshi stepped out with Videl and Sharpner from both sides, slightly battle-worn and making it apparent that they've been going pretty hard for quite some time. Despite the sores all over, Krillin bowed out of respect to his old master. "Just like with Tenshinhan, Yamcha's Ki vanished. There doesn't seem to be a way to locate him anywhere, but... We haven't given up hope yet."