Perfection
Prologue: A Mysterious Tie
Ginger Town was in complete ruin. The entire metropolis was blown up and had crumbled to the ground. Only gigantic blocks of concrete and plaster were the only reminders that a proud city was once standing over the barren wasteland. Only four people were left in the city: two humans named Krillin and Trunks, the Namekian warrior Piccolo, and a horrific monster named Cell.
Cell was the reason the city of Ginger was destroyed. He was a fearsome beast, resembling a terrible cross between a lizard, a bug, and a human. An enormous headcrest rested on the top of his head, crowning his temples and giving him a much larger size than he was. His eyes were pink and looked like a snake's slitted pair, and his mouth and nose were connected into a beak of orange mussels. Every inch of his massive body was muscular, his long powerful arms, his three fingered hands, his bulky chest and flexible waist, his legs and his three toed feet even had mussels. Attached to his back were two huge scarab wings, and in-between them was a long, thick tail that snaked out to at least six feet, and ended in a sharp stinger. Not only was he hideous and strong, but a feeling of evil seemed to radiate off him, like light.
"Hey Piccolo," Krillin turned to the Namek, "is this guy responsible for everything that happened in Ginger Town?"
"Yeah, that's him." Piccolo confirmed. "Keep your guard up at all times, and steer clear of that tail…" As if on cue, Cell's tail wavered a couple of times, drawing attention to his stinger. It was incredibly sharp, and could kill anything with one stab. Piccolo wasn't kidding, extreme caution was needed. Trunks looked at the monster in fearful awe. He had never seen anything like it. He could sense the presence of the world's strongest fighters and warriors in that strange being named Cell. However, its skin pattern bothered him. He had seen it before…
"What is up with this thing?" Krillin wondered. "I can sense that Goku and Tien are here…"
"I'll explain everything later…" Piccolo promised, not taking his eyes off the monster, "…right after we kill this thing."
Cell quickly glanced up over his shoulder at the sun above him, then fixed his gaze at Trunks. So much hatred welled up in him…but he decided to set it aside for now. He spoke.
"So, you think you can defeat me?!" he dared, chuckling. "Don't flatter yourself." He took one step to the right, and the humans flinched.
"Oh my God, he's a freak!" Krillin exclaimed, growing extremely nervous.
"Don't worry." Piccolo assured with a small smirk. "The three of us together can take him down, and he knows it."
Cell snarled at him. He would never forgive the Namek for tricking him. He was still upset for how easily he played into Piccolo's hands.
"Namek, if only I had my full powers, you wouldn't be so cocky!"
Piccolo growled back through his fangs.
"Face it!" he shouted at the monster as Cell took one more step to the right. "You're outnumbered and outmatched! And you're in really big trouble if the Kamehameha Wave is the best you can do!"
Krillin looked at Piccolo in amazement.
"The Kamehameha?! But he can only learn that from Master Roshi!"
Cell smiled, purring through his beak.
"Not only do I know the Kamehameha, Krillin, but I also know another technique called the Genki Dama."
Trunks and Krillin tensed.
"He knows the Genki Dama?!" Trunks cried.
"He knows my name?!" Krillin cried as well. "Oh man, this is getting freakier and freakier by the minute! How could he know Goku's attacks?!"
"So how is Goku doing?" Cell wondered, still smiling.
"You'll see soon enough!" Krillin shouted at him. Cell stopped smiling.
"He's alive?"
How strange…Goku's alive! This timeline is different from the one that I know…
He glanced back up at the sun just over his shoulder.
I'll deal with him later…first I must attend to the no-count…
He looked back at the three warriors before him. His eyes locked with Trunks again. The anger deep in his heart kicked up again, seeing that face. So young, so handsome, any female human would find him attractive. Cell hated him.
That murderer…that wretch…I'll see him dead one of these days…again.
He had previously killed Trunks in his timeline, in the future. He took great pleasure in it, snapping the boy's neck through his tail like it was a twig. He had taken revenge for the android's death, and…for her. But now, in the timeline he was in, the androids were alive and…she wasn't born yet. He came back to the here and now, and smiled once again.
"You must be honored," he said to the three, but specifically to Trunks, "soon, you will become part of the perfect being." Then, he rose into the air, towards the sun. "But even so, you'll just have to be patient. You see, I have an appointment with a couple of androids, and it would be very rude of me to make them wait. But here's a parting gift!" He held his hands to his face, fingers parted, preparing to attack.
Suddenly, it hit Trunks hard, dawning on him finally.
That skin pattern…green with black spots! I have seen that before!
"TAIOKEN!" Cell yelled, and a blinding flash filled the air. The light of the sun intensified the flash greatly, blinding Piccolo, Krillin and Trunks instantly. Cell quickly took the time to fly away, the wind buzzing under his wings. At the speed of a jet plane, Cell escaped to the far horizon.
"Dammit!" Piccolo cursed as his eyes tried to readjust after the flash disappeared. "I couldn't cover my eyes quick enough."
"He escaped!" Trunks cried, trying to look for him. It hurt to open his eyes and look, and his vision was blurred. Krillin just kept his eyes covered, cowering and shivering all over as his brain seemed to burn.
"Oh, I could really used Master Roshi's sunglasses right about now…" he muttered. As soon as Piccolo and Trunks somewhat regained their vision, they hovered up into the air, trying to spot the fleeing monster. Even if they could see, Cell was a long ways away already.
"That coward…" Piccolo growled. "We've got to find him quickly, or more innocent people are going to die!"
"Piccolo!" Trunks shouted to the Namek. "Tell me everything you can about that monster." Piccolo and Trunks landed on the ground before the Namek said anything.
"The others are arriving…" he noticed, feeling the rest of the Special Forces heading into the area. "I want to wait for them to get here so that I won't repeat myself."
"No!" Trunks demanded. "Tell me now!"
"Trunks?" Krillin wondered. "What's wrong?"
"Why do you need to know so badly?" Piccolo asked.
"You must tell me everything about that monster." Trunks urged. "Her life may depend on it."
" 'Her?' Trunks, that monster is male."
"No, I mean this girl I knew…from the future. She had hair in the color of that monster's skin."
Piccolo and Krillin blinked at Trunks.
"No kidding?" Krillin wondered.
"That very shade of green, with black spots. I'm certain that was the same color as her hair."
"What does that have to do with Cell?" Piccolo wondered forcefully.
"Now that I think about it, the girl has plenty in common with Cell. Her name was Hananoki, and we've been friends for a long time. See, her mother was a famous scientist, and Hananoki was an experiment of hers to create the world's strongest fighter."
A shiver ran down Piccolo's spine.
"Is that all?"
"Her mother was a rival to Dr. Gero. She was striving to find a way to defeat the androids using her daughter. I think…Cell might have something to do with Hananoki…she too could use our powers. She mimicked my Burning Attack just by watching me."
"Whoa." Krillin gasped. "Weird."
"Tell us everything about this girl." Piccolo requested. "Let's try to find a defenant tie. What was her name again?"
"Her real name was Naru Wheelo. But her mother called her Hananoki…"
To Be Continued