From the shadows of the ruined city, Cell crouched low on all fours, his long tail dragging behind him like a viper ready to strike. His first form was grotesque, an insectoid nightmare. His green carapace glistened under the dim sun, mottled with black spots. His face, a hideous blend of humanoid and beast, was half-hidden beneath his crown-like head. His wings buzzed faintly, more like the rustle of a carrion fly than anything graceful.
He had slithered here with purpose.
Moments ago, he had felt it: titanic ki signatures colliding. The kind of power that could level mountains. He had come salivating at the thought of feeding. A wounded fighter, a dying android—perhaps fortune had finally graced him. With 17 and 18, his perfection was assured.
But what he saw made his stomach knot in rage.
Android 17 lay broken, his body pierced and vaporized by the hands of a boy. Not even a man, but a golden-haired teenager. Then, before Cell could even blink, his sister—his ticket to perfection—was swarmed, beaten, and erased by the combined might of two Super Saiyans.
Cell's claws dug into his own flesh. His vision blurred red. "No… no, no, NO!"
The truth sank in. He would never reach perfection now. His destiny stolen, ripped from his grasp before he could even seize it. His tail lashed violently, shattering a stone wall. Rage poured out of him, boiling, uncontrollable. His ki flared—a seething, malevolent blaze that tore cracks in the earth beneath him.
He had always believed himself patient, cunning. But in that moment, rage overtook him, and he let his energy bleed.
And that mistake was all it took.
From across the city, Gohan and Trunks felt it.
The ki was vile, twisted. It wasn't just powerful—it was wrong. Like a swarm of insects crawling beneath the skin.
Trunks turned to Gohan, eyes narrowing. "What the hell is that?"
He knew what it was.
Gohan's jaw tightened. He didn't hesitate, not for a second. He was no longer the soft-hearted boy who once spared enemies. He had lived in a graveyard of humanity for too long. Mercy had no place in this world anymore.
"Doesn't matter," Gohan said flatly. "We end it."
Trunks nodded once. Together, they shot off into the sky, golden streaks ripping through the ruined horizon.
They descended upon the source of the energy—and froze.
The creature standing below looked like something from a nightmare: a green, bug-like humanoid with sharp claws, piercing eyes, and a tail twitching hungrily behind him. His face twisted into something resembling a snarl and a grin all at once.
With that, they attacked.
Jumping Cell.
Cell barely had time to register their movement before Gohan was on him, fist slamming into his gut. The blow made his body convulse, bile rising in his throat. Before he could recover, Trunks' boot smashed into his temple, snapping his head sideways with a crack.
Cell's head snapped toward them. "You—Saiyans…" He sneered. "Where is your warrior's pride? You just jump your prey like cowards?"
Gohan's aura roared to life, a blinding sun of gold. "Honor doesn't matter," he growled. "Survival does."
The two darted around him like wolves tearing into prey. Gohan's knee drove into his chest, forcing him back into Trunks' spinning heel kick. His carapace cracked under the relentless blows, black ichor spilling.
"Stop—!" Cell roared, swinging his tail like a spear. Gohan caught it mid-strike, twisting, and slammed him headfirst into the ground. The impact made the city block shake.
Cell scrambled up, hissing. "Fools! You don't understand what you're throwing away! I am perfection incarn—"
He didn't finish. Trunks appeared at his back, elbow smashing into the base of his skull. Gohan followed with a downward axe-kick that cratered the earth beneath Cell's broken body.
The bio-android wheezed, coughing green blood. His pride screamed louder than his injuries, but his body betrayed him—he was being dismantled. There was no duel, no honor, just raw extermination.
Cell staggered out of the crater Gohan had kicked him into, wings buzzing angrily. His body was cracked, ichor dripping down his green carapace, but his eyes burned with hate.
"You wretches think you can just erase me? I carry the power of warriors greater than you!"
(A/N: He's referring to Goku; he thinks Goku is still the strongest. In this timeline he never fought Piccolo or Androids to understand their powers.)
He thrust out his hand, two fingers pressed together. The air shrieked as a spiraling beam of energy tore forward.
"Special Beam Cannon!"
Trunks dodged before it him.
Trunks was surprised. "That was Piccolo's—"
Cell's grin split wide. "Correct. And there's more."
He raised his palm high, a thin golden disc forming, spinning so fast it screeched.
"Destructo Disc!" he shouted, hurling it at Trunks.
The boy barely ducked as the disc sliced clean through a building behind him, the top half sliding off before exploding. Sweat prickled his brow. One mistake and he would've been bisected.
But before Cell could gloat, Gohan was already there, his fist hammering into Cell's jaw. Teeth shattered. Blood sprayed.
"You've got their techniques," Gohan snarled, "but you're nothing like them."
He thrust his fist into Cell, forcibly denting its stomach backwards. His fist remained lodged in Cell's abdomen. With a deep breath, Cell struggled to step backwards, clearly straining under the impact.
Trunks backed away, his aura burning hotter as his hands rose into the familiar stance taught by his mentor. His fingers moved faster than he could adjust to the required position.
His fingers spread wide, his palms angled. His breath came sharp and steady, golden sparks dancing across his frame.
"Masenko…" he muttered, ki spiraling into a concentrated blaze between his palms.
Cell's eyes widened. "You—dare!?" He tried to move, but Gohan pinned him down with a crushing ki blast to the chest, aura blazing.
Trunks' voice rose into a roar, the ground trembling beneath him. "MASENKO—HAAAA!"
The golden wave burst forth, swallowing Cell in a storm of light. The bio-android screamed, his form disintegrating under the sheer force of the blast. His limbs tore away first, then his torso, until his head was consumed in fire.
When the light faded, nothing remained but a smoking crater.
Trunks lowered his hands, chest heaving. His golden aura flickered, then stabilized. Gohan stepped back, silent, eyes scanning the crater for any trace of their foe. There was none.
"Good," Gohan said at last, voice cold. "We don't give nightmares second chances."
Trunks didn't answer. He just stared at his trembling hands, the afterimage of Cell's death still burned into his mind.
He made sure no amount of Cell's body was left behind.