The ocean was deceptively calm, a vast sheet of blue stretching to the horizon, broken only by the occasional ripple of a distant wave. Beneath the surface, everything seemed peaceful—until it wasn't.
Far below, in the dark, cold depths, the strange square anomaly that had silently sunk earlier began to stir. Its sharp, unnatural edges flickered, casting brief, eerie shadows. No sound escaped it, but the water around it pulsed with energy, growing stronger with every passing minute. Fish and other marine creatures were escaping from the anomaly as it started to pulse.
.
.
.
At Capsule Corp, Bulma paced back and forth in her lab, her eyes darting between screens filled with strange data. Her hands were clenched into fists, a rare show of unease for someone usually so composed. The numbers didn't make sense, and the anomaly's energy readings were spiking beyond anything she'd seen before.
"What the hell is this thing?" she muttered, shaking her head as another burst of data flooded in.
Her computer pinged with a new alert, and her frustration flared. "No, no, no—this isn't right." She quickly grabbed her phone, her fingers flying over the screen as she dialed Gohan's number.
The line clicked after only a couple of rings. "Hey, Bulma! What's up?" Gohan asked to her.
"Gohan! Is Goku and Vegeta there?" Bulma was desperate.
Gohan's voice shifted, the casual warmth replaced by focused concern. "No, they just left not too long ago. Why? What's going on?"
Bulma exhaled sharply, her fingers tapping restlessly on the edge of the console. "It's the anomaly I've been tracking. It's not just some random energy signature—it's starting to move and it's way more powerful than we initially thought. I need them back, now."
Gohan's voice tightened. "Okay, I'll find them. But if this thing is as bad as you say, we might need more than just Dad and Vegeta."
Bulma nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "I know. I'm sending you the coordinates of the anomaly. Meet me at Capsule Corp as soon as you can, and bring Piccolo. We're going to need all the help we can get."
Before Gohan could respond, the line crackled, and another alert blared from her computer. Bulma's eyes darted to the monitor, her heart pounding. The anomaly had started to move again, but this time it wasn't content staying in the deep. It was rising, heading for the surface.
"Bulma? Are you there?" Gohan's voice was edged with urgency.
"I'm here, Gohan," she replied, forcing herself to stay calm. "And whatever this thing is… it's coming up."
Out at sea, the sky above the vast ocean darkened as storm clouds gathered out of nowhere. The water churned violently, spirals of frothing waves rising and collapsing with an unnatural force. From the depths below, a deep hum resonated, low and bone-chilling, spreading across the water and shaking the nearby sea life into a frenzy.
Then, with an explosive burst, the dark, unnatural square shot up from the ocean, glistening as it hovered above the raging waves.