A few notes:

1. Yes, I'm uploading this early, but there's a reason- Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 came out today, and I wanted to commemorate that somehow.

2. Someone asked a question, so I'm quickly gonna try and answer.

Q: Huh, I'm confused. Meadow thanked Locke because she said Goten and Trunks never did anything like help carry her. but not even a paragraph earlier it read Goten wanted to help Meadow carry her things and help her, but Locke and Trunks convinced him not to o.o

A: This was stated in the text, but Locke's schedule was much closer to Meadow's than Goten's or Trunks's. Trunks saw his point and agreed. Hope this answers; if not, tell me and I'd be willing to try again next time.

3. I'm still going to upload on Friday, so consider this an extra.

That's all for now, so enjoy.

Goten

It took a few weeks, but it became clear that Locke was here to stay. He said that his grandparents didn't want to take him away from his friends now that he finally had some, even though they still thought the curriculum could be better. He said that it was the first time in a while that he felt like he belonged somewhere.

On an unrelated note, it seemed that Meadow and Locke were spending a lot more time together than with us. Even though Trunks assured me many times that they just shared more interests together, I still worried. This was a girl I'd spent over a year working up the courage to ask out. Hell, that was the whole reason we let her in on our secret. If he ended up beating me to it...

"Goten!" my mom snapped. I bolted back to reality, realizing that my toast was burning. I grabbed it and took off out the door, ignoring the foul taste of burnt bread.

I made it just before the first bell and dropped into my seat. Only then did I notice that Locke was missing. "Hey, where's Locke?" I asked.

Meadow surprised me by having the answer. "He told me last night that he to go out of town today. He wouldn't say anything else, but it sounded important."

"Wait, you and him talked last night?!" I asked, fearing the extreme despite my better judgement.

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, we like to talk on the phone. Isn't that normal for friends?" I sighed in relief.

The day went on as normal, though Meadow was a lot quieter at lunch. She said she could talk about more with Locke than us, so our martial arts and business topics had become kinda stale. This fact made me worry yet again.

Locke

I sighed in relief. I'm not sure how, but for some reason, everywhere I thought to look, there was a Dragon Ball. The wierdest part: the places I looked were in the strangest and most inaccessable places I could find. But why I found them so fast didn't matter; in front of me sat all seven of the orange spheres.

"What are you going to wish for?" Mom asked.

I smiled. "Someone to train me to fight." Before anything else could be said, I called out to the balls. "Shenron, appear and grant my wish!" The balls glew brightly, then floated into the air. A shape started to form around them, and in seconds, a colossal green dragon floated in the air before us.

"I am the Eternal Dragon," it boomed. "I will grant you three wishes; speak your first."

I gulped, intimidated by the giant serpent. "I... I want to know if there's anyone who can train me to my full potential."

Shenron was silent for a few seconds, then answered. "There is one who can mentor you to your greatest."

I grinned. "Awesome! Now, can you bring him here so I can ask him?"

"That I cannot do." My smile faded. "The one you seek was killed many years ago. I cannot bring the dead to Earth without first ressurecting them."

I sighed in dissapointment, then the obvious conclusion occurred to me. "Well then, bring him back to life, then bring him here!"

"That I can do." His eyes gleamed red. "But I shall warn you: he may not accept your request, as I am ressurecting him from the depths of Hell."

"Wha-?! Why didn't you tell me that?!"
"You did not ask." A bright light appeared, and a shape started to form in front of us. "Your wishes have been granted. Farewell." He vanished into light, and the Dragon Balls floated into the air, shooting off in all directions.

The light faded, and the shape became clear. Mom gasped, and I could only stare; the person, or creature, that appeared was one I recognized.

He looked around curiously. "It seems that I have returned to life," he observed. "But who would do such a thing? I doubt a person on Earth wouldn't know me." He turned his head, violet eyes resting on us. "Would you be the ones who brought me back? If so, I must express my thanks."

I took a step back, terror flooding my body. "No way... Cell?!"

The humanoid monster turned fully to face us. "Now tell me, why did you revive me? You clearly know who I am."

I gulped and forced myself to answer. "I-I asked the dragon for someone who could teach me to my full potential, and, well... here you are."

Cell's menacing glare turned to one of interest. "Is that right?" He looked down at his hand and flexed his fingers. "While I'd normally be opposed to such a thing, if Shenron has that much faith in you that he'd choose me as your ideal mentor, then you may prove to be worth my time; I do need a good sparring partner to prepare for my vengence." He crossed his arms. "Very well. I'll teach you."

"Wha- Really?!" This was the last thing I'd expected; the monster that nearly destroyed the Earth around the time I was born was agreeing to train me.

He nodded. "Though I do have a few demands; my presence must be kept a secret. At my present Power Level, I would stand no chance against the one who killed me before."

"Is Mr. Satan really that strong?" I asked, wondering if there was more to the afro'd celebrity than met the eye.

He groaned. "Oh my green god, please tell me he isn't taking credit for it?"

"H-he didn't kill you?"

"No, you idiot," he scolded. "How could a simple human ever stand up to me? The one who killed me was a Saiyan."

My breath caught. "Hang on, are you talking about Goku or Vegeta?"

He shook his head. "No; it was Goku's son, Gohan. I had everyone on the ropes, but when he transcended the Super Saiyan level, I didn't stand a chance."

I couldn't believe my ears. "Goten's brother... killed you?"

"Goten?" Cell commented. "When I met Goku in the Otherworld, he mentioned that his wife had given birth to another child a few months after his death. Do you, perhaps, know him?"

Before I could think better of it, I responded. "I'm friends with him." Dammit! I cursed myself.

"Intriguing." He rolled his shoulders, causing a few pops and snaps, before continuing. "You needn't worry for your friend; I only seek revenge towards Vegeta and Gohan." He started to walk closer, and I resisted the urge to back away. "I will train you, but in return, when I take my vengence against them, you will keep anyone else from interfering. You don't have to kill anyone; just let us fight two-on-one."

I gulped, but nodded. "Alright."

Cell smirked, then looked closer. "Now tell me, why do you seem familiar? I feel like I've seen someone with your features before."

"Huh?" I didn't have an answer. "I don't really know. I mean, I never met my dad, but I'm pretty sure all I got from him was my eye color."

Cell still looked suspiscious. "Well, what is your name?"

"Locke Brangwen."

"Locke..." He ran it over his tongue. "Brangwen... I feel like I know your last name." He looked over at my mom. "Perhaps your sister can provide more answers."

Mom cowered under his gaze, but managed a response. "Actually... I'm his mother."

Cell's menacing gaze turned confused. "Mother? But you look so young." To my surprise, Mom stopped cowering and actually blushed slightly. "So who was his father?"

"I... don't remember," she said. "When I was a teenager, I took a really bad hit to the head during a softball game. I kept most of my memories, but I always felt like I was forgetting a close friend. A few days later, I found out I was pregnant, and I knew it was his."

Cell mulled it over in his head. "I've never heard of amnesia being so specific. It's strange, but this mystery bothers me." He suddenly looked up into the sky. "We should go. I wasn't suppressing my Power Level when I revived, so they may have detected me already." He looked over at the nearby car. "Is that your's?" Mom nodded. "Get in. Tell me where you live, and I'll fly you there."

Trunks

The sudden emergence of a high Power Level led everyone to the same spot on the coast. When we got there, though, there was nothing.

"I know I sensed something familiar," Gohan assured us.

Piccolo grunted. "They must be hiding their energy. Well, it doesn't matter. They didn't feel strong enough to pose a real threat."

"I guess your right," Gohan agreed. "But I still feel worried."

Everyone started to leave, but then I felt something familiar. "Is that...?" Just before I could determine who it was, the energy signature vanished. "This is weird..." I followed everyone back home.

Locke

Under the cover of darkness, Cell set our car in the driveway and we hurried inside.

"That was close," Cell sighed. "If I hadn't taught you how to hide your presence, your friends would have found us." I flexed my fingers, then picked up a coin from a table. Following Cell's earlier instructions, my strength lowered, and I found that the metal didn't bend. "Now, I assume that a house of this size has a guest room?"

Mom nodded. My grandparents being the third richest people in the world, a few tens-of-thousands behind Mr. Satan, they paid for our decently-sized house that Mom's job could never pay for. "Down the hall. There's a sign, so you can't miss it."

Cell nodded. "Training begins tomorrow when you get home, Locke. Get prepared." I nodded slowly as Cell walked toward the room, taking down the sign and walking inside.

"Am I dreaming?" I asked no one in particular. "There's no way that this is happening."

"You'd better believe it's happening," Mom said, equally stunned. "But are we sure this is the same Cell from all those years ago? He doesn't really seem that bad."

I nodded. "Yeah." Then an extremely far-fetched thought came to mind. "Maybe he's trying to change. You know, so he doesn't have to go back to Hell when he dies."

"I don't know about that..." Nonetheless, she didn't offer anything else and went to get ready for bed.