A/N: Long yap sesh chapter.
The abandoned streets of Gingertown were eerily quiet, save for the wind blowing discarded clothes across the pavement.
Piccolo landed lightly in the center of the deserted square. Having merged with Kami to become a Super Namekian, his senses were sharper than ever. He narrowed his eyes, catching the faint silhouette moving through the shadows between the buildings.
Emerging into the daylight was a grotesque, bio-mechanical nightmare. The creature stood tall, covered in a speckled green carapace, holding a rich man's empty clothes in one hand while its stinger-tipped tail twitched behind it.
"So... you've finally shown yourself, monster," Piccolo said, his voice carrying the calm, overwhelming weight of his newly unified power.
A creature turned slowly, his slit-like pink eyes locking onto the Namekian. A sinister, raspy chuckle escaped his throat as he dropped the clothes onto the pavement. The air between them grew thick with pressure as two monstrous ki signatures locked onto each other.
"Now that those vermin are out of the way, you're next, Piccolo," the creature hissed, its raspy voice cutting through the dead silence of the town.
Cell widened his stance and began to unleash his ki. The sky darkened as a sickly, jagged aura burst around him, sending violent shockwaves tearing through the empty streets. The sheer force of the energy blew parked cars off the pavement, flipping them into the air, while every glass window in the surrounding skyscrapers shattered into a rain of glittering shards.
Piccolo crossed his arms against the roaring gale, his jaw tight as he felt the horrifying mixture of familiar signatures churning within the beast's power. "What...? How do you know my name?!" he demanded, the shock breaking through his calm demeanor.
Cell settled his aura, letting out a deep, echoing laugh that vibrated off the ruined concrete.
"How do I know?" The monster tilted his head, his pink eyes gleaming with dark amusement. "Why wouldn't I? In a manner of speaking... one might even call us brothers."
Across the globe, the sudden surge of energy from Gingertown sent a terrifying jolt through every warrior trained in sensing Ki.
Up in the air, miles away, Trunks and Gohan froze mid-flight, their auras wavering. Gohan's eyes widened in sheer disbelief as his jaw dropped. "N-No way... That's Piccolo! But... how is his power that huge?! And-wait!" Gohan gasped, clutching his head as the signal scrambled. "I feel Dad... Vegeta... Frieza?! Even King Cold and Escallion?! What is that thing?!"
Trunks grit his teeth, sweat instantly rolling down his temple. "It's all mixed together... like a nightmare mashup of everyone we've ever fought! We have to move, Gohan!"
At capsule corp, Krillin nearly dropped the tray he was carrying, staggering backward against the wall. "What in the world is going on out there?!" he yelled, staring off in the direction of Gingertown, his face pale as chalk. "Piccolo's ki is off the charts, but who is he standing in front of?! I'm sensing Goku, Vegeta... even Frieza's cold, disgusting energy!"
Far off in the desolate wasteland, Escallion snapped his head toward the horizon, his black and yellow-rimmed teal eyes narrowing. He dropped his stance instantly, feeling the twisted, amalgamation of energies rippling through the atmosphere.
"Frieza... King Cold... Kakarot..." Escallion muttered, his brow furrowing as a cold chill ran down his spine. "And my own signature? What kind of monster is Piccolo standing against?"
Piccolo narrowed his eyes, staring down the creature with absolute calm.
"Now then, if you think you've finished showing off... I want answers. Who are you?" Piccolo demanded, his voice steady.
Cell chuckled raspily, his pink eyes narrowing. "Silly Piccolo. My secrets will not be unlocked so easily. See, you are about to become my meal."
Piccolo's expression hardened. "No matter. I'll still destroy you, whoever you are."
"You're even more amusing than I imagined!" Cell taunted, leaning forward. "Such a fighter's spirit. I will enjoy absorbing you, Piccolo."
A faint, confident smirk broke across Piccolo's face. "You keep using that name. It seems you've mistaken me for someone else... so allow me to introduce myself."
Piccolo dropped into a low, heavy stance.
BOOM!
A blinding column of golden-white Ki exploded from Piccolo's frame. The shockwave tore apart the pavement around him, shattering stone pillars and sending giant boulders flying into the air as Cell braced himself against the howling winds.
As the dust began to clear and the blinding light subsided, Piccolo stood enveloped in a thick, radiating aura. He looked straight at Cell with a cold, terrifying smile.
"The Piccolo that you know is gone," he declared, his voice echoing with the unified power of Kami and himself. "I am 'The Namek'. And as for you... well, you're history."
Streaking across the bright afternoon sky, several distinct Ki trails cut toward Gingertown at breakneck speed.
Trunks and Gohan flew shoulder-to-shoulder in the lead, their faces tight with concern. "Hang on, Piccolo!" Gohan muttered under his breath, pushing his speed even higher, his aura flaring brightly behind him.
"We're almost there!" Trunks shouted over the roaring wind. "Whatever that monstrosity is, its energy is still spiking, but Piccolo's power is holding firm!"
Behind them, Tien pushed themselves to their absolute limits to keep up, their expressions pale with cold sweat. "I don't know what's waiting for us over that horizon," Tien yelled, adjusting his flight path, "but feeling Frieza and Goku's energy in the exact same place is giving me a terrible feeling about this!"
High above them all, trailing the pack in his base form with effortless velocity, Escallion glided through the clouds. His dark eyes were locked dead ahead, his hair blowing back in the wind. He didn't speak, but his fists were clenched tight at his sides.
Without a second thought, Piccolo thrust his palm forward, firing a dense, crackling Ki blast straight at the monster. The beam tore through the air, scorching the ruined pavement beneath it.
Cell's pink eyes flicked up instantly. Bringing his forearms together, he crossed them in a tight X in front of his face, taking the impact head-on.
BOOM!
The explosion engulfed the center of the square in a blinding flash, kicking up a massive cloud of smoke and debris that sent shattered stone scattering across the empty streets
As the dust from the initial clash settled, Piccolo didn't give The creature a single second to recover. He threw his arm out, sweeping a massive golden shockwave straight through the ruins that blew it back into the rubble.
The creature pushed itself up from the rocks, growling as it charged forward, but Piccolo met it mid-air. The two trade a flurry of violent blows, high-speed kicks, and heavy strikes as they tear across the Gingertown skyline. Every blow from Piccolo carried overwhelming weight, gradually forcing the bio-android backward.
Desperate to turn the tide, The creature leaped back, brought two fingers to its forehead, and gathered a sparkling, golden energy signature. He fired off a sharp Special Beam Cannon, Piccolo's signature attack, straight at the Namekian. Piccolo deflected the spiraling beam with a single wave of his arm, completely unscathed.
Before it could react, Piccolo closed the distance instantly, unleashing a devastating strike that sent the monster crashing hard into the earth, leaving it picking itself out of the smoking crater as Piccolo stood above him, electricity crackling across his shoulders.
"It seems humans alone aren't enough," the creature hissed, rising from the crater while wiping a streak of dark fluid from its jaw. "Absorbing the people of this town gave me a taste, but it is far from my full power."
Piccolo's brow furrowed, his eyes narrowing in sheer disgust as he glared down at the insectoid nightmare.
"You're a sick monster," Piccolo spat, his voice heavy with contempt. "Draining innocent people dry... and for what? Who built that time machine? Who could have possibly created a freak like you and sent you back to this time?"
The creature's chest heaved with a low, wet laugh that quickly turned into a raspy cackle.
"Sent me back?" the creature taunted, its pink eyes glinting with twisted arrogance. "Nobody sent me, Piccolo. I came here on my own accord! Though... the journey was far from comfortable. You see, the time capsule was far too small for me to fit in my current state. To make the trip, I had to regress into my larval form, shedding my true power and hiding away in an egg for four long years."
Piccolo's jaw tightened, his mind racing to connect the pieces as the creature stepped forward.
Without another word, the creature lowered its stance. It drew its arms back to its right side, cupping its hands slowly as a soft, familiar blue light began to flicker in the space between its palms.
"Kaaaa..."
The air around Gingertown grew unnaturally still as the iconic, surging Ki began to gather.
"Meeee..."
Piccolo's eyes widened in sheer shock, his teeth gritting together as he recognized the stance instantly. "No... that's—!"
"HAaa... MEee..."
"HAAA!"
The creature thrust its hands forward, unleashing a thick blue beam of energy straight at Piccolo. The blast tore through the ruined street, but Piccolo braced himself, sweeping his arm up to deflect the attack. The redirected Kamehameha smashed into a skyscraper behind him, detonating in a massive explosion that filled the square with a thick, blinding screen of dust and smoke.
Piccolo narrowed his eyes, searching the haze, only for the creature to burst through the smoke completely undetected.
Before Piccolo could raise a guard, the monster wrapped its thick, green arms tightly around his torso, pinning his body in a vice grip. Piccolo gasped, struggling against the crush, but then a sharp, wet thud rang out.
The creature's stinger-tipped tail jabbed deep into Piccolo's left arm.
Piccolo threw his head back in an agonizing scream as the stinger began to pulse violently. Right before his eyes, his left arm began to shrivel, the muscle and skin draining rapidly into a pale, husk-like shell as the creature greedily siphoned his life force away.
Before the creature could fully drain the rest of Piccolo's power, a heavy rumble shook the surrounding streets. A convoy of military tanks roared into the square, their turrets pivoting toward the two monsters.
The creature scoffed in annoyance. Without even letting go of Piccolo, its slit-like pink eyes flashed a harsh, golden light. Twin laser-like beams erupted from its eyes, tearing through the armored line in a fraction of a second. The tanks detonated instantly, engulfing the street in a chain reaction of fiery explosions and thick smoke.
The sudden flash of fire provided just the distraction Piccolo needed. Gritting his teeth through the excruciating pain in his shriveled left arm, Piccolo snapped his head back and threw it forward, driving a heavy, brutal headbutt right into the creature's nose.
CRACK!
The creature gasped, its grip loosening for a split second as it stumbled back. Piccolo seized the opening, kicking off the pavement and vaulting away into the billowing smoke, putting distance between himself and the monster.
Piccolo landed heavily atop a piece of shattered concrete, clutching his shriveled, lifeless left arm to his chest. Panting heavily through his teeth, he kept his sharp gaze locked on the clearing smoke.
Across the burning avenue, the creature wiped a trace of purple blood from its snout where the headbutt had struck. It stepped through the wreckage of the destroyed tanks, its stinger-tipped tail twitching behind it like an impatient predator.
"Running away so soon, Namekian?" the creature rasped, a sickening grin stretching across its face. "You've only delayed the inevitable. That little taste of your life force... it was exquisite."
Standing in the burning rubble, Piccolo clutched his shriveled left arm, his breathing heavy as he looked at the creature.
"Then honoring a dead man's final request... tell me, who are you?" Piccolo asked, his voice steady despite the pain. "Why can I sense Goku's energy in you... and Frieza's... and Vegeta's?"
The creature let out a low, satisfied chuckle. "Very well. Since you're literally dying to know, I suppose there's no harm in telling you. My name is Cell... and I am an android."
"An android?!" Piccolo gasped.
"I am the single greatest achievement of my creator, Dr. Gero," Cell declared proudly. "In his efforts to create a supreme fighting organism, Dr. Gero devised a means by which he could fuse the cells of the world's greatest fighters into one, and cultivate that cell into a singular, invincible entity."
Cell stepped forward, gesturing to himself as he continued. "Unfortunately for the good doctor, he soon realized that his project was far too complex to be completed during his lifetime. As such, he diverted his attention to more immediate pursuits... but only after he had tasked his supercomputer to finish the enormous project he had begun. The computer worked tirelessly to complete the fusion of cells gathered from the mightiest warriors ever to walk the Earth, warriors such as Nappa, Vegeta, Escallion, the young but powerful Gohan, and of course, cells were gathered from you, Piccolo, so that your great strength and intelligence might also be harnessed."
Cell grinned wickedly. "Most notably, perhaps, the cells of Goku were incorporated into the design, as were those of the mighty Saiyan prince, Vegeta. Ultimately, the cells from these sources and others were formed into one. Although the traits of some were chosen by the computer to be more dominant than others in the final design, at least some element of each was retained."
Piccolo narrowed his eyes, putting the pieces together. "Now I understand... You learned the Kamehameha wave when you inherited Goku's cells."
"Precisely," Cell replied.
"And what about Frieza?" Piccolo pressed. "How did you manage to get his?"
"Although it seemed he was mostly machine at the time, it was possible to extract a few of his remaining cells before he finally met his end at the hands of Trunks," Cell explained smoothly. "Trunks' cells would have been collected as well, but Dr. Gero's computer had determined that there was already a sufficient collection of Saiyan powers within my makeup."
"So tell me this," Piccolo said, glancing around the ruined street. "How did Dr. Gero get the cells? I don't recall seeing him or anyone suspicious around during those fights."
"There is a simple explanation," Cell said, gesturing into the sky. "By now, you must have learned of Dr. Gero's tracking device. The tracking device is very small, insect-like, comparable to a common housefly. It observed your battles and collected the genetic material necessary without any of you ever noticing."
Cell's grin widened as he pointed a long, green claw straight at a tiny, metallic bug hovering silently near a jagged piece of concrete.
"There," Cell chuckled, his voice dripping with twisted pride. "Do you see it now? That little fly went unnoticed by all of you for years. It followed your fights, gathered every sample, and fed the data directly into the computer."
Piccolo stared at the micro-drone, his teeth clenching tightly. The tiny machine buzzed softly, its lens reflecting the burning ruins around them before it hovered back into the shadow of the fallen buildings.
Without hesitation, Piccolo raised his good hand, flicking a sharp beam of Ki straight at the tiny machine. The blast vaporized the micro-drone instantly, leaving nothing but a faint puff of smoke in the air.
Cell only let out a raspy, booming laugh at the display.
"Futile," Cell sneered, shaking his head with dark amusement. "Destroying that toy changes nothing, Piccolo. Dr. Gero's computer has long since gathered every strand of DNA and piece of battle data it could ever need to construct me. My creation is already complete.
"You're wrong," Piccolo snapped, his dark eyes locking onto Cell. "We found Gero's underground laboratory and wiped it off the face of the Earth. The computer, the data, your entire legacy, it's all been reduced to ash!"
Cell's pink eyes flickered with cruel amusement, a low, guttural laugh rumbling in his chest.
"You destroyed the main lab above ground, yes..." Cell purred, taking a slow step forward. "But tell me, Namekian... did you bother to look beneath it? Did you find the deep sub-bunker hidden far below the bedrock?"
Piccolo's heart sank, his gaze sharpening as Cell sneered.
"That is where the computer spent decades undisturbed, working tirelessly in the dark to bring me to life," Cell taunted. "You may have destroyed Gero's visible work, but my true womb remained entirely untouched."
Cell scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest with an air of absolute superiority. "Enough talk. I tire of these explanations, Piccolo. It's time to end this and claim what's left of your life force."
"Not yet," Piccolo demanded, keeping his stance firm despite his shriveled arm. "If you came from the future, why are you here? Why come to this timeline?"
Cell paused, shaking his head with a raspy laugh. "My, my... you truly are full of questions, aren't you? But since you're about to be consumed anyway, I suppose I can humor you one last time."
Cell took a slow step forward, his pink eyes gleaming with dark ambition. "I require energy to grow stronger, yes, hence the feast I've made of this pathetic town. But mere human life force can only take me so far. More to the point... to achieve my ultimate, perfect form, I need Androids 17 and 18. Their energy, their very bodies, must be absorbed into mine."
"In my timeline," Cell continued, his voice dripping with spite, "those wretched androids were nowhere to be found. Somehow, that brat Trunks managed to destroy them both before I could ever reach them. But as luck would have it, I discovered he possessed something far more valuable... a time capsule."
Cell's face twisted into a grotesque, triumphant grin. "So, I ambushed him from behind, ended his life, and commandeered the machine for myself."
Piccolo's eyes widened in horror. "You killed Trunks... But why come to this exact era? Why target this specific point in history?"
"Simple," Cell chuckled, tapping his temple with a long claw. "I didn't have to choose a destination at all. The coordinates were already preset in the machine's console! Trunks had already prepared everything. All I had to do... was press one button."
Piccolo let out a cold, sharp laugh, his right hand suddenly reaching up to grab his own shriveled left arm.
"I've heard more than enough," Piccolo spat.
With a sickening CRACK, Piccolo ripped the withered, husk-like limb straight from his socket, tossing the dead arm onto the ruined pavement below. He gritted his teeth, his jaw tensing as a surge of light flooded his left side.
SCHLICK!
With a fresh spray of purple fluid, a brand-new, fully restored arm burst forth from his shoulder. Piccolo flexed his green fingers, testing his grip as the veins pulsed with newfound Ki. He locked his fiery gaze onto Cell, a dangerous smirk breaking across his face.
"Now then..." Piccolo growled, cracking his knuckles as his golden-white aura exploded back to life with terrifying force. "I believe I'll be taking your arm as payback."
Cell's pink eyes widened in sudden surprise, taking a step back as the raw weight of Piccolo's true power washed over the ruins.
High above, several shadows suddenly broke through the cloud cover. Trunks, Gohan, Tien, and Escallion descended upon the Gingertown skyline, their eyes locking onto the two massive power signatures standing face-to-face amid the burning rubble below.