Thirteen: A New Crisis! The Timelines Begin to Rupture!

"I knew it was going to happen."

"Arame did get her Great Ape form under control, Lord Beerus," Whis observed as they watched the replay of events from three Earth days ago. "Our renegade Time Keeper didn't know what to expect. No Saiyan has ever achieved that level of control when transformed before."

Beerus watched the exchange closely. "I'm concerned about his meddling with the timestream. It may become unstable, and who knows what might happen. Timelines could begin to blend together and old threats could become new." He grimaced. Then he yawned. "Not that I care. But we should probably send word to the Supreme Kai just to be safe."

"I'll make sure he's notified," said Whis.

-Break-

Piccolo was out on the lookout when the Supreme Kai arrived. He came alone, and his expression told Piccolo that he had dire news.

"Supreme Kai!" Piccolo exclaimed.

"Greetings, Piccolo," replied Shin. "We have some important details to discuss. I've been informed of some strange occurrences here on Earth. Whis contacted me earlier with word of a renegade Time Keeper." He paused. "What he told me fills me with worry."

"It's another crisis," Piccolo replied. "We endure these far too often."

"So it would seem," said Shin. "Where is the Saiyan connected to Chronos. I need to speak with them."

"Hold on a moment," said Piccolo. He focused his will towards Goku. Goku! The Supreme Kai is here on the Lookout. He needs to speak with Arame at once.

The Supreme Kai is here? Goku replied. I'll get some others together too. Arame should be able to get there quick though.

I was contacting you so that you could bring her here with Instant Transmission.

Just get in touch with her, Piccolo. I'll round up the others.

Piccolo grunted and focused instead on Arame. Arame, this is Piccolo. I'm speaking directly into your mind. The Supreme Kai is here and he needs to speak with you as soon as possible.

I'll be there in a bit! Arame replied.

Wait, said Piccolo, you need Goku's Instant Transm-

Arame blinked into existence just two meters away from Piccolo, with two fingers planted firmly between her eyes. She lowered them and waved at Piccolo. "I know."

Piccolo was a bit shocked. "How did you learn that?"

Arame walked up to them and gave Piccolo a weird look. "I asked Kakarot to teach me. I don't know why the rest of you haven't asked him yet."

Piccolo turned his head. "Never mind. Not important."

The Supreme Kai stepped up to Arame. "So you're the Saiyan I've heard about. Whis didn't mention that you were female. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Who're you? The Supreme Kai?"

"Yes."

"I'm not really sure what that is."

Piccolo interjected with, "It means he's the head of all the Kais, otherwise known as the gods of creation of the universe. That makes him as important as Lord Beerus."

"Oh!" Arame perked up. "I apologize for my rudeness."

"No need for formality," said Shin. "I came here mainly to give you a warning."

Goku arrived with Bulma a moment later, as quickly as Arame had. "I couldn't get anyone else to come, except for Bulma. They're all too busy right now."

"Goku, you just popped up and said, 'Supreme Kai needs to talk to us' and then popped us out before I could say anything," Bulma told him. "When did you check with the others?"

"I checked everyone else before you," said Goku. "Good seeing you back and one-hundred percent, Arame."

"I've felt better," Arame replied.

Supreme Kai cleared his throat. "I bring news, everyone. You must make sure that everyone is prepared for what may come to pass. According to Whis and Beerus the Destroyer, Chronos's tampering with the timestream has left it wildly unstable. It's all stemming from him, even though he is currently unable to be located.

"We have identified several points that have become unstable. Age 737, age 753, and age 767. It is possible that Chronos is moving between these points in history and that his doing so is creating a warp in the continuum." Shin closed his eyes grimly. "I fear that history may become broken if something isn't done to fix the issue."

"Is there anything special about those particular dates?" Arame asked.

"There is," said Shin. "Two of them, particularly: age 753 was during the terror of King Piccolo, and age 767 was when Cell was active on the planet." He paused. "I'm not sure about age 737 though. It's fluctuations are certainly powerful enough to warrant caution. He may be attempting to alter the timelines at the source."

Piccolo growled. "He's warping the timeline with my father. This won't be good."

"Worst case scenario," Shin told Piccolo, "is that he may be brought into this timeline with more power than ever before."

"WHAT?" Goku yelled. "I went through a lot of trouble the first time around with him."

"If he comes back," Piccolo seethed, "then I'll take him out personally. You have my word on that."

"And Cell," Goku mused. "If he were powered up beyond where he was before...it could be a real nightmare."

"So it's only going to get worse," said Arame. "We need to find Chronos and put an end to him."

"If he builds up enough power, he could alter timelines," said Shin, "instead of just merging them. You need to make sure that everyone is ready for this. Lord Beerus might not care much, but Whis is taking an interest. I'm supposed to keep him apprised of the situation as it develops, so I'll be staying in touch with Piccolo and Dende."

"Right," Dende said. He and Mr. Popo had been standing off to the side for some time, observing the conversation.

"Wait," Arame said. "If he's trying to alter the timelines at the source, and the oldest age you mentioned was age 737..." She thought. Then her eyes opened wide. "Oh no..."

"Did you figure something out?"

Arame grimaced. "Planet Vegeta."

They all watched her. "What do you mean?"

"That must be when my home planet was destroyed!" Arame exclaimed, realization dawning on her. "That could change the entire history of the universe!" She was drawing on everything she knew about the history of Earth since Kakarot's arrival. "Of all universes!"

"What do you mean?"

"If he destroys Planet Vegeta before Kakarot and Prince Vegeta leave..." Arame said. "The history of our universe will be changed. And he could do something worse...like leave the planet intact!"

Piccolo and Shin were surprised at that. "You think it'd be worse if he saves the planet?"

"Without question," Arame said. "Saiyans were usually bloodthirsty killers and conquerors. Reforming our society was out of the question, and those of us who didn't care for conquest and deadly battle were pushed out by the wayside. Like my mother and I. Not all of my people deserved to die...just most of them."

"That's...very deep," Shin replied. "It is a shame, and you're also absolutely right about everything. Without Goku, no one would stop Frieza."

Piccolo thought briefly about how Goku had also been the root cause of a lot of their problems, so the events may not have even come to pass that nearly led to the destruction of the planet on multiple occasions. However, those thoughts were pushed aside as Arame spoke up again.

"So what do we do then? Do we just wait?"

Goku sighed. "I guess that's all we can do. Piccolo, can you and Dende keep us informed? If you sense Cell, or anything else out of the ordinary, sound the alarm."

"It's about all I'm good for right now," Piccolo replied. "What are you going to do?"

"I guess I can keep training," said Arame. "I'm still not used to the whole Super Saiyan thing."

"I know a place where you can test it out."

Before she left with Goku, Shin spoke to Arame privately.

-Break-

"Alright," said Goku. "This field is far enough away from any towns or cities that we shouldn't make too much of an impact. When you first hit Super Saiyan, it was really weird. I've never seen that sort of power before."

Arame focused her Ki inwardly. "I'll try to replicate the circumstances." Her energy shrank to almost nothing, and then she let it flow as it did before, almost like an eruption. Yet she kept her energy pushed within.

She flared into Super Saiyan once more.

Goku stared in amazement. "Wow...usually there's an eruption of power. But I didn't even feel your power level rising. It's almost like a silent Super Saiyan." He watched her for a moment. "And your aura's a weird white-gold too. Normally it's only a sharp gold color."

Arame glanced down at herself. Outside of the heat of battle, she could clearly see the difference the transformation made. Her muscles had increased in size and mass by a slight margin, and yet she felt much lighter on her feet.

Her hair had turned gold, based on what she knew as she didn't have a mirror to look in, and looking down at her tail, she could see that its hair was gold as well.

"I wonder if my Great Ape form could be affected like this," she pondered.

"I hadn't even considered that," said Goku. "That kind of power could be unstoppable."

Arame sighed. "Probably shouldn't risk it then."

Goku readied his battle stance. "Alright, let's do this!"

They sparred, going back and forth for several minutes, neither one giving any ground.

"You're definitely not a normal Super Saiyan, that's for sure," Goku said during a lull.

Arame charged Goku again. "No worse than you'd expect, Kakarot!"

Goku vanished with Instant Transmission and appeared behind Arame, grabbing her tail.

Suddenly, her power froze. She started getting weaker, and even her Super aura was flickering out. Arame twirled and kicked, but she was already back to her base form, and Goku beat her back with ease.

Arame crashed into a plateau. She shook her head to clear it and dashed back out. She was still back in her base form.

"What the heck was that?" She demanded.

"You weren't covering your tail," Goku retorted. "It's a weakness that can be easily exploited by your enemies if you're not careful."

Arame's eyes widened in realization. He's right! It doesn't matter how much power I accumulate. If someone grabs my furry appendage, it's lights out. I could protect it the normal way, by making it a belt...but maybe...

"I know what my next challenge is, Kakarot!" Arame called out to him. "You just helped me realize my greatest flaw. It's time to turn it into a strength, but I need some time. Can we meet here for regular training starting tomorrow? At about this time?"

Goku powered down. "Yeah, sure! But, uh...how do you plan on overcoming this issue?"

"You'll see," Arame replied. "It's endurance training."

-Break-

"There," said Bulma, applying the clip to Arame's tail. It was designed to replicate a grip as much as possible, and the effects were instantaneous.

"Yeah," Arame groaned. "That'll do it."

"You seriously want to train like this?" Bulma asked her incredulously.

Arame nodded. "You got it." She tried to focus her energy. "My tail can't come off, so I have to overcome this weakness."

A little bit later, she prepared to square up with Trunks.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," replied Arame, already exerting herself. "Let's do this!"

Their sparring session didn't last long. Arame got fatigued much faster with her tail in a vice, and too many of Trunks's blows were penetrating her guard. Even after he knocked her down, she got right back up and they went at it again.

And again.

And again.

Arame refused to stay down, even when she was pouring sweat and barely able to stand.

"I think you need a break, Arame," said Trunks.

In between gasps of air, Arame replied, "...No..." She readied herself shakily. "If I quit...now...I'm never...going to beat...this..." She charged her Ki.

Her growl became a yell, and her yell became a roar of fury. She exploded into Super Saiyan in a shower of gold and white, causing the ground to shake and the air to spark. It took more effort than before.

Trunks went to Super Saiyan as well.

They charged each other again. Arame refused to surrender. And as she fought, she felt the weakness lessening. Yet this wasn't something she could beat in a day. It would take perseverance. And Kakarot was going to help her with it too.

Some distance away, on CC's balcony, Vegeta watched the sparring session with his usual expression.

"She's got a lot of fire," Bulma observed from nearby. "I think she can overcome this weakness."

"I haven't seen a drive like that in a long time," Vegeta replied. "She may be one of the best of us." He looked at his wife sharply. "But don't tell her I said that!"

Bulma laughed. "And spoil the fun? Never."

-Break-

"A lot of people died in South City," said Piccolo.

Dende nodded. "Yeah. Way more than we can let slide I think."

"Then we need to get in touch with the others," Piccolo went on to say. He looked upward and reached out telepathically. "Bulma! I need to speak with you!"

"Piccolo?" Bulma replied, still watching Arame sparring with Trunks. "What is it?"

"The attack on South City needs to be rectified," Piccolo told her. "You know what to do."

"Right. Dragon Radar."

A little bit later, as Arame was guzzling a bottle of water, she saw Bulma talking with Trunks about something. She approached them, interested in their conversation.

"You are in charge of that, alright?" Bulma was saying to him. "We have five of them already. The last two shouldn't be too hard to find."

"Unless they're on the ice continent, right?" said Trunks with a laugh.

"What are you guys talking about?" Arame asked as she came to a halt near their position.

Bulma looked at her. "Trunks is going to head out and track down the rest of the dragon balls so we can revive South City."

Arame blinked a few times. Then her eyes went wide. "Um...the dragon's what?"

Bulma put her hands on her hips. "Oh, right, you don't know about that yet. The dragon balls are a set of seven magical wish granting orbs. Gather them together and you speak a certain phrase to summon a dragon that grants you a single wish."

"Wow, incredible," Arame replied. "At least it would be if I could believe that. But I can't really take something like that at face value."

"Fair enough," said Trunks. "Why don't you come with us?"

"To do what?"

"Find the dragon balls, of course!"

Arame raised an eyebrow. "Where are we gonna find them? Between the dragon's legs?"

"Oh man," Bulma sighed. "Trunks, show her how the dragon radar works. Then you make the wish."

"Got it," Trunks replied. He clicked on the Dragon Radar, which immediately started beeping. "Well, it's picking up the five we have in the backpack here, and there's another one a few miles to the north."

"Twist the radial," Bulma said in a dull tone.

Trunks twisted the radial and looked at the radar again. "Yeah, there's one about...oh...sixty miles to the north. Probably in the mountains."

"Uh huh," said Bulma. "Take the plane when you two head out. It's less conspicuous."

-Break-

"We can fly faster than this thing," Arame noted. Trunks was piloting the craft and Arame had her left hand on the back of Trunks's seat while she observed his careful handling of the controls.

"Mom was insistent," Trunks replied. "And I learned a long time ago not to argue with her."

"Can't fault you for that," Arame said with a sigh. "She'd give anyone pause." Arame walked over the the window and looked out at the passing landscape, which had once been farmland but was now replaced with foothills and was gradually transitioning to rugged mountains. "I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around this whole 'wish granting dragon' nonsense."

"It's not nonsense, Arame," Trunks remarked. "Did you know that that's what drew Frieza to Namek in the first place. Their dragon balls, which grant three wishes. Kami was the one who first gave us dragon balls...a long time ago. And he modeled his on the Namekian balls."

"Well these dragon's balls things still sound really far fetched to me," Arame replied. "Look at it from my perspective."

"Most people don't know they exist, so it's better to show you." Trunks handed her the Dragon Radar. "You keep a hold on that. It'll guide us right to the dragon ball. I asked Goten to meet us here too."

Arame flushed. "Oh...right, Goten! Greeeat..."

Trunks looked at her. "Something wrong?"

"No, not really, it's just...well," Arame swallowed. "The other night, when I went crazy and got transformed...you were unconscious after I turned back, but Goten...got an eyeful."

Trunks watched her for a moment, thinking. Then he flushed as well. "Oh! Well...this might help clear the air."

The plane touched down on a rocky outcropping above the treeline. According to the radar, the dragon ball wasn't too far away, and a little ways to the northeast.

"Looks like it's about...a mile away?" Arame looked at Trunks. "You sure you couldn't have gotten closer?"

"There was nowhere safe enough to land," Trunks replied. "And since mom forced us to bring the plane, I need to keep it in good condition."

Arame scanned the area in their immediate vicinity. "Wonder how long it'll take us to find this thing?"

"Not really," Trunks said.

Up in the sky, not too far away, they heard a rushing noise. In the next moment, Goten landed near them and waved. "Hey Trunks," he said. He looked at Arame, blushed, and looked away. "Arame. Hi..."

"Hey, Goten," Arame said. "How've you been?"

Goten shook his head. "I'm good. Better for the company now though."

"Aww, I appreciate it," Arame replied.

"Alright, we're all here," said Trunks. "Let's get searching for that dragon ball."

-Break-

Trunks held up the glimmering orb for Goten and Arame to see. It possessed a sharp orange color, and embedded within were what looked to be six star symbols.

"Alright!" Exclaimed Trunks. "The six-star dragon ball! All we're missing is the four star ball and we've got them all."

Arame raised an eyebrow. "They're marked by stars?"

"Wait, you already had five of the dragon balls?" Goten asked Trunks.

"Yeah, mom collects them now for some reason," Trunsk told him. "She won't say why though."

Goten looked at the ball. "So where does it say the last one is?"

"Ask Arame. She has the Radar."

Arame blinked. "Oh, right!" She clicked it back on.

It registered the ones they had, but nothing else.

"I'm not getting a blip like before," she said. "It's showing the balls we have, I think...but there are only six dots here."

"What?" Trunks said. He looked at the Radar.

Sure enough, only six blips.

"That's not right," Trunks went on to say. He dialed the radius out to cover as wide a space as the radar could. There was still nothing.

"Hey, do you guys feel that?" Goten asked, looking around.

Arame paused for a moment. "The air does feel kind of weird." Suddenly there was a spike of energy. She turned around to see someone floating just a few meters away and above them, looking down on them with a self-righteous sneer.

He was a greenish black color, and he resembled a bug of some sort. What's more, he had a massive power signature, but it didn't feel right. It was almost as though it was fluctuating. And it certainly didn't feel natural.

Goten and Trunks turned to face him and their faces froze in horror.

"It...can't be...!" Trunks sputtered.

The insect-humanoid laughed, his voice deep and menacing. "I thought I sensed power over here."

Fourteen: The Return of Cell! Arame's Secret Weapon!

"It's...it's Cell," Trunks gasped. "How?"

"How?" Cell asked. "I don't even know myself. I could've sworn I destroyed this miserable ball of dirt some time ago. A flash of light and a twist of reality and I'm back here again." He shrugged. "Ah well, I guess I can see how things went on in a different timeline. Might give me some more fun."

Arame bared her teeth. "Chronos. His meddling with the time stream caused this."

"I don't recognize any of you, however," Cell said. His eyes fell on Arame. "Oh, but this is interesting. A tail? That makes you a Saiyan." He paused, staring at her. "Eh, you'll do." He vanished.

In the next instant, Arame was struck by an incredible force which sent her soaring through three trees and into the side of a mountain.

She shakily climbed out of the crater. "What the...heck hit me?"

"Come now, that was just a flick of my wrist!" Cell yelled out from a great distance away. Arame had been blown back over a hundred yards it seemed. "Don't tell me you're the runt of the litter!"

Cell stared at the spot where he'd knocked the girl. For a moment, there was silence. Then there was an eruption of gold, and the girl came flying back at him with venom in her eyes, now a Super Saiyan. They clashed with great force.

"Ah, there we go," Cell said as he glared at her with exuberant malice. "There's the fury I was hoping for from your warrior race. You'd give the prince a run for his money."

Arame stared up at that perfect jawline with fury. So this is Cell? He's tough, but I'm tougher.

They started trading blows, going back and forth with ferocious energy. Every punch created a vibration in the air. Dust and dirt swirled about them. Despite the intensity with which Arame was fighting, she could tell that Cell wasn't even trying.

When he started putting in some basic effort, Arame was put on the defensive.

How? Even at Super Saiyan level he's this strong?

Cell sent her flying with a sudden kick that came way too fast for Arame to see. He caught her in the back with an elbow, stopping her flat. Her eyes went wide in pain and shock. Then Cell sent her into the air with an uppercut. He followed up with a sledgehammer that sent Arame into the dirt, creating a rather large crater.

"Oho, this is fun," he said with a chuckle. "I'd forgotten how much fun it was using an ape for a punching bag." He looked upward. "The last time was with the prince, even though he turned out to be a waste." He looked back down at where Trunks stood. Then his eyes widened a bit. "Oh, I remember you now! You're the prince's brat, aren't you? You made some half-assed attempt at stopping me with time travel, I think. Between that and Goku's barely passable attempt at fighting, the Cell Games were an all around bore."

Arame launched herself at Cell with intensity. He blocked her strike and sent her flying away without even looking at her. "Although, there was that one who showed some promise...Goku's brat. If only he'd unlocked his special power."

Goten rushed over to Arame. She was in the dirt, but she still had the aura of a Super Saiyan so she still had some fight left in her. Yet even as he watched, the glow left her. Arame sat up, grimacing in pain.

"It's no use," she moaned. "He's too powerful. Is the time stream making him stronger, or am I still weak?"

"You're not weak," Goten told her. "You just don't know how to read Cell yet. We might need to call in some help."

There was a yell from Trunks as he burst into Super Saiyan form. He launched himself at Cell this time, and he was actually able to force the creature back.

Arame watched in awe. "He's holding his own? Awesome."

Goten looked at her. "He won't last for long. Is there anything else we can do?"

Trunks was kicked back. Goten watched that happen, then powered to Super Saiyan himself and charged Cell on his own.

"Goten!" Yelled Arame. She took off right after him, and the two of them combined their assault against Cell.

At first, it seemed like the two Super Saiyans had an advantage, but it didn't last long. Arame aimed a sharp kick, which Cell deflected. Before he could retaliate, Goten struck at him with a sweeping fist. Cell countered that and sent Goten back a few feet.

Arame and Goten launched a tirade of attacks, their strikes nothing but a blurred flurry. Cell dodged or deflected everything they gave him.

"You're boring me!" Cell readied a Ki blast and fired it right at Goten.

"Goten!" Arame yelled. She rushed up and pushed him out of the way. The blast took Arame across the back and sent both of them flying into the dirt.

Cell watched with disinterest. "Well, that's cute."

Trunks came at Cell again suddenly, hoping to catch him off guard.

Goten struggled to his feet. "He's too strong for any of us. I don't know what's happening here. The air feels weird and I don't feel right myself." He rolled his right arm. "I think our only hope is fusion."

Cell finished with Trunks rather swiftly then, and the crash was audible.

Goten and Arame had to shield their eyes from the resultant wave of dirt that rolled over them. "Trunks!" Goten yelled.

Arame was sitting and staring, thinking.

Her mind returned to the Supreme Kai. Earlier, when he'd pulled her aside...

'Arame, do you mind if I speak with you?' asked Kaio-Shin.

Arame shook her head. 'Of course not, Supreme Kai. What do you need?'

'I feel that the battles you're going to face in the coming days will be great tests of endurance,' said Shin. 'They will be fraught with peril, and the only way you'll overcome is with the aid of your friends. So here...' Shin put something into her hand. They looked like two very tiny objects, but they were unidentifiable to her.

'What are they?'

Shin explained.

'Unbelievable!' Arame gasped.

'Use them if you have no other option.'

Arame fished the two objects out of her belt pouch. Two earrings. 'Potara' was what Shin had called them. She put one of the yellow earrings on her left ear. "Goten!"

Goten turned to face her.

She held out the Potara. "Put this on your right ear!"

"What is it?"

"It's a Potara," Arame explained. "Supreme Kai gave them to me. They allow for a more perfect fusion for a short time."

"That seems a little out there," Goten replied.

"You said fusion is all we have, right?"

"But will it work right? And you want to fuse with me?"

"I trust you, Goten." She paused. "And I don't know if it will work, but I just know what Shin promised. Just do it."

Goten thought for a moment, looked up at Cell (who was barely paying attention at the moment), and then back at Arame. Then he took the Potara from her and said, "Right ear?"

"Yeah."

He put the Potara on his right ear quickly. "I hope this wor-" He stared. "Yours is glowing, Arame."

Arame stared back. "Yours too."

Suddenly they were pulled toward each other with a harsh force. The energy felt warm for Arame for a moment, and then her consciousness ceased to be.

"Is no one on this rock still able to give me a halfway decent challenge?" Cell mused. "The pink haired brat is unconscious, the Saiyan with the tail is out of commission, and the other one is...well, it's not even worth calling him a fighter."

There was a flash of energy from down below suddenly, and a mild eruption.

"What's this?" Cell asked. Then he got a proper look. "Oh? Here comes a new challenger, I see."

Where once there had been two, there was now only one. A single hand emerged over the lip of a small crater, followed by another. Next came a head that bore a wash of spiky black hair that extended to their waist. An azure gi, mixed with tints of sunset orange, was their outfit. Their eyes were dark, and their body...strangely proportioned. And they still had Arame's tail too.

They stretched their back, and then thrust forward quickly. "Whoa!" They yelled, the voices of Goten and Arame overlapping in synchronicity. "What a RUSH!" They looked at their hands. "So...first things first...am I male or female?" They opened the front of their gi. "Those are still there." Then they checked elsewhere. "Oh okay...I'm still female."

She looked up at Cell. "Hey! Cell!"

"There were two of you a moment ago," Cell called back. "Now there's one! Who the hell are you?"

The fused Saiyan punched her left palm. "That...is a good question." She got lost in thought for a moment. "We're the fusion of Goten and Arame so maybe...Araten? No, that's stupid." Beat. "Goro...ten? No, no! Gorome [pron: Go-roh-may]?" Her eyes clicked. "That's it, we are Gorome! We are your next opponent Cell, so ready yourself!"

Cell watched her for a moment. "Fusion, huh? Well, this should be interesting. Then give me everything you've got, you two!"

Gorome charged Cell with every ounce of force they had and struck his guard. For the first time, Cell shook a bit.

"Gotcha!" Gorome growled.

Cell smirked.

Vegeta could sense it. The power to the north was incredible. He'd felt something like it before, but it had been years. If it was who he thought it was, then today was about to get a lot more interesting.

Gorome powered herself up to Super Saiyan grade two and slammed into Cell hard enough to send him flying. She then sent a barrage of Ki blasts right after him. They hit home, but Cell recovered and doubled back to hammer her with his own Ki assault.

Gorome dodged with Instant Transmission, coming up behind Cell and slamming him with a crashing series of strikes that had him flying into the ground.

Staring down at him with a smirk of her own, Gorome said, "Shoe's on the other foot, Cell!"

Cell came up and slammed into her, knocking her off balance. "I'll admit you've surprised me with your tenacity. But this is where that surprise ends. You may have been able to break through my guard, but I've seen this kind of power before."

Gorome charged Cell again, but this time she wasn't able to get past his defense. He was better able to read her attacks now. He'd been studying her.

Despite her inability to get inside his guard, he was able to penetrate hers. Cell found an opening and landed a triple series of strikes on Gorome that sent her flying toward the ground.

She righted herself, incensed. Gorome growled in anger. Then she let out a roar and powered herself to Super Saiyan grade three.

That gave Cell momentary pause. "What the-?"

Gorome flew into Cell and hammered him with a relentless assault.

This, Cell couldn't counter in time. Gorome's assault kept hitting home until Cell was knocked back a few dozen feet, dazed and astounded at the power Gorome had.

Gorome readied her Ki, letting it flow around her body as it built up to immense levels. Then she launched herself high and let that aura envelop her. She expelled her Ki in projectile form, all aimed at Cell, and then took off after them.

"Final Rain!"

The Ki blasts struck Cell all at once, shattering him almost completely. But then, Gorome's physical strike split what was left of him into three pieces. leaving his broken body on the ground.

Gorome came to a halt on the ground in a crouch.

Suddenly, her Super Saiyan power flared out. The potara flashed again, Gorome's body glowed, and she split back into Goten and Arame.

Arame lay on the ground for a moment. But as she rose, she felt a sense of elation. "These potara really work in a pinch." She pulled the earring from her ear and pocketed it. "Need to remember that."

Goten sat up and sighed. "That was a rush." He took off his own potara and handed it to Arame. "But it did the job."

"Did it now?"

Arame and Goten froze in shock. They turned to see where the voice had come from and found Cell standing there staring at them, as complete as ever.

"Namekian cells are a marvel, aren't they?" He asked with a pleased sigh. "And with my Saiyan cells, I get a zenkai boost to boot."

"Zenkai?" Arame gasped. Her eyes widened. "Oh no..." She looked at Goten. "We're in trouble."

"No kidding," replied Goten.

Cell cracked his knuckles. "Our fun is only just starting."

-End of Part Ten-