A/N: Hah, great to see you're really into the story man :D And no problem, I always try to answer my reviewers questions as I can.
As for Piccolo becoming evil again, it's been a fairly long time but I believe the original reasoning I had for it began with a slight change to canon- Piccolo was badly injured but never died against Nappa. He was left behind as the others went off to Namek and eventually sealed himself in the Room of Spirit and Time for a year or so.
A lot can change in that kind of time frame, and the evil that was slightly and slowly changing over from training Gohan returned as he dwelt on the thoughts of his defeat, the saiyans, and Goku in general. The knowledge that his foes had united together and now a so called 'god' had descended, over a hundred if not thousand time's more powerful than Piccolo himself was even after his intensive training just pushed him in the entirely wrong direction.
His pride rebelled at the thought and he began formulating how to undo these threats.
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Kaishin
Ascending into the air, Trunks briefly felt out his foes strength. '2 million? Are you kidding me?' he thought in disbelief. 'This guy has survived the tournament on a measly two million?' feeling a little deeper confirmed his doubts. 'He's holding back a lot of strength.' landing on the battered and bloody platform, he tensely waited for his foe to step up.
Broly himself didn't bother trying to feel the foes strength- in all honesty, he did not have a great understanding of the ability. Just enough basic control to feel the power that was fluctuating off of the others foolishly, those too weak to maximize their physical strength to it's upper limits and the skills that came with it like he himself had.
He knew precisely where his strength ended, and when coupled with his kan-kanwa fighting style, he had no need of falsely increasing his power beyond it's boundary like those around him had so far done. Stepping up onto the platform, he took his place on one end about a dozen feet away and crossed his arms.
He sighed as the others tail, agitated, flicked back and forth from behind him and managed to remind the full-blooded saiyan that his enemy was a brother of their all but extinct race. That changed the extent to which he would allow himself to be harmed before killing the other; simply shedding his regal blood would not earn the other saiyan that reward, no. Only a wound serious enough to limit his fighting capabilities, to push him close to dying himself would see the same treatment used in turn.
'The sooner he's defeated the sooner we are to fighting Cell.' in Trunks mind the other fighter was already unconscious on the ground, taken down within one or two hits. His own arrogance left him open and with his guard down, not even seeing Broly as a threat.
Broly himself could read the way his foe was reacting, the subtle changes in his posture and breathing. He frowned and arched one eyebrow. "You are not taking this seriously." he called over as they waited for the barriers to raise. Trunks remained silent for a moment before saying "I'm taking this more seriously than you could possibly know."
Broly shook his head and looked around them, throwing his arms out to the side. "I'm not talking about this tournament." he stated softly. Trunks scowled. A moment later and the barriers came to life around them. Before they had even fully formed Trunks kicked off from the platform and released a Burning Attack ahead of him, ignoring his foe's words.
Broly's body corkscrewed down and away from the ki blast to lay flat along the ground, allowing it to soar overhead and crash against the barrier. The speed with which he had moved surprised Trunks, as just as quickly he twisted his legs up above him and snapped back to his feet, a soft hint of green light radiating from around his finger tips.
By that point Trunks was nearly on him and the demi-saiyan reacted accordingly, slamming a knee beneath Broly's chin and throwing him up into the ceiling over head before shooting up after him. Once more the full-blooded saiyan relaxed his form before impact to absorb the energy behind the blow and managed to divert the momentum behind it away, allowing him to flip once and land with his feet against the top barrier.
'What the hell?' surprised at the reaction to his strike, Trunks hesitated a moment before narrowing his eyes and rushing forward again. His next strike slammed Broly up against the barrier, and despite the short distance the other saiyan still managed to negate the power and rotate around to retaliate. He wrapped his hands around Trunks arm, catching him between the joints, and twisted sharply away from the back.
A crack filled the air as white bone pierced the skin. Trunks shouted in pain as his arm was released and left hanging limply at his side, which didn't last as the other warrior suddenly thrust one leg out and kicked the bone back and out the other side. Trunks eyes screwed up in rage as a low howl escaped his lips.
'Now you wi-' Broly never got the chance to finish his thoughts before a hand was wrapped around his throat tightly, clenching with all the power it could, and a burning aura swept around and tinted Trunks hairline. Through tightly clenched teeth he hissed, eyes narrowed to thin slits.
He wasn't often one to take pleasure in his more destructive saiyan side, but at times when he has been pushed to the limit of his emotional control it just felt to damn good to hold it back and think rationally.
Drawing the other warrior back from the barrier, Trunks slammed him up against it again, three times in rapid succession.
'Fool.' Broly thought with the the first hint of anger showing through as the barrier burnt the back of his skin and he was unable to fully negate the energy behind the other saiyans blows. His own eyes thinned as he slammed one knee up into the remaining elbow. The weight behind the blow rocked the entire arm, but Trunks grip only wavered a second before squeezing tighter again as ki began to gather to it. He intended to finish this enemy like he had Dr. Gero so long ago to him. All the events of the day and the last several years were building to a breaking point within the demi-saiyan.
Ignoring his lungs starting to demand air, the full blooded saiyan grasped Trunks good arm with the wound left fighting Gohan and applied pressure to it at a certain point, just enough to loosen the others grip for the following blow as he snapped his knee against the elbow again. Another crack filled the air and the tight grip around his throat went entirely slack as Broly used his own hand wrapped over Trunks arm and one foot to spin and slam him into the barrier, effectively reversing their positions.
The pain managed to pierce through the blinding rage and allow him to see things with a degree of clarity again. '****!' reeling to the side to dodge the next blow Trunks managed to fall away from the barrier and drop down to the platform again, landing on his feet and staring down at both broken arms numbly through his frustration.
It made no sense to him how this could have happened. He was leagues beyond the other enemies strength! Broly dropped down to land on the platform with a dull thud resounding from the impact. "You are finally realizing the difference between us." he said. "You are stronger, but I have the greater skill, the perfect form of fighting." he added.
Trunks head snapped up to stare and growled at him. "You will never surpass me in melee attacks." Broly finished, raising his arms out to the side as the green glow became a pair of orbs. "This won't eradicate you as my previous foe, but you will not be fighting any further in this tournament. Goodbye." shooting forward with a sudden burst of speed that left behind several after images, Broly brought the two orbs down against Trunks shoulders.
To his surprise his hands passed right through the after image and slammed together, causing a low explosion that burned his skin a deep red. Trunks voice grunted from behind him as a small and narrow wave of ki pierced his back and shot out the other side in-between two of his right ribs.
Grunting in turn and rotating around Broly saw his enemies tail finish glowing. "I underestimated you too often- my mistakes. They won't be happening again." Trunks stated sharply, gathering ki to his fingertips. It burned and he had little control in spite of his years of use with the path leading to them so damaged, but the blade of ki that formed in his good hand was gripped as tightly as it could be.
Broly eyed the ki-sword before looking up at his opponent. Green energy began to not only glow, but radiate from his hands. "Ki will not be my defeat." he stated. Trunks didn't bother answering, swinging with his shoulder to bring the blade into the air and crash into Broly's wrist.
The speed allowed it to cut cleanly through the limb, dropping to the ground with a splatter of blood. "Up until now I've been trying to beat you with my own sheer power..." he paused as the after image before Broly faded away. "...Now I'm going to kill you with speed and ki together." came from slightly beside and above him.
It was too late for Broly's downward corkscrew to fully avoid as the blade descended down through a fraction of his right shoulder and came out his stomach. A section of his arm was shaved off to the bone in the process.
His eyes widened and the simple fact of pain finally began adjusting his outlook on this battle. He could see it in his enemies eyes, the calm resolve to finish him off. It felt... good. Here was a foe determined to kill him and quite sure they would succeed no matter what!
The relaxed saiyan instincts began burning within him as Broly constructed a thin barrier of ki around his skin to deter the blade any further- and halt the bleeding in it's tracks. Kick-flipping back to his feet, Broly put a bit of distance between the two of them. In his remaining hand a yellow orb of ki appeared. "Do you recognize this?" he called over in a slightly more eager tone. Trunks eyes narrowed.
"The power-ball." he stated, and Broly thrust his hand behind him and out into the sky, where it soared around and above the over head barrier into the sky. With out even needing to say the command, he clenched his fingers tightly into a fist and waited, glancing up only once before back down to his foe.
Trunks felt a tug to look up and transform. He resisted, having no idea why his enemy would use such a tactic when it was clear that even if both of them became oozaru's- if the other saiyan even had a tail, which he had yet to see- the advantage would still remain with Trunks.
But then he recalled that his range of attack would be far more limited in this enclosed space, not to mention with two broken arms it was entirely likely he would not be able to overcome the other like this. His time to decide was cut off as the changes began manifesting in his opponent.
'This is a trick somehow.' Trunks thought, as his eyes began glancing over head. 'It's been too long since I transformed... my instincts are drawing me toward it again, damn it.' with a grunt he tore his eyes away from the sky before it was too late as something occurred to him. 'If I transform now the katchin clothing will destroy me.' he realized as the enemy saiyan grew, his height pushing against the barriers around them.
The shield of ki keeping him from bleeding to death remained in place, though it narrowed only to the areas already battered and open- and his tail, looped through his massive belt and expanded pants. Trunks eyed the giant ape and readied his energy- this would not be simple, nor easy.
Broly opened his jaws wide, reddish-eyes staring down at the small foe, and released an instantly charged beam of ki. The heat scorched the air and the size filled up the remaining one-third of the platform not covered by the oozaru's feet and shadow.
Channeling all of the anger burning in his system, as well as his flat-out determination to win, a sharp aura burned into life around the demi-saiyan and forced his hair to sweep upwards several degrees, his eyes seeming to vanish altogether. The single sword in his battered hand gained a burst of red lightning rolling over it's surface and grew by an inch and a half all around, jutting out of the seeming-barrier nature of his aura.
Swinging with all his might and speed upward, Trunks cleaved the beam in twain and pivoted on his feet, bringing the sword back around and thrusting it at Broly's chest- the heart, his face screwed up in pain- in rage- and determination, as his fingers released.
The explosion and smoke that rose up around Trunks form obscured the sword the fraction of a second it took to drive through the air and through the oozaru's body. The momentum behind it carried the tip through his flesh and drilled a hole straight through the bone, piercing the heart, to finish just outside the enemies back.
If the oozaru had viewable pupils in the massive depths of his eyes, they would have been seen to enlarge before narrowing to a burning fury as his blood rushed out the opening like the edge of a waterfall. He collapsed to his knees as the fluid of life washed over the platform in it's entirety, soaking into the flawed cracks in the material and running out the open fourth barrier to the ground outside even as it pooled against the other edges.
Trunks stepped heavily through, soaking up to lower-calf on each step, only to have it run off his katchin jeans to be grabbed at again. He stepped past or over the foes form as he needed until he reached the outside, a look of weary exhaustion on his face, the aura of pSSJ and Kaioken intermixing together powerfully. Each in turn faded as he stopped beside his father, Piccolo, and the unconscious Kaioshin.
To everyone's surprise, the body vanished with a terrible slurping sound, taking Trunks ki blade with it and leaving the remaining conscious fighters staring at the empty space in disbelief. A sharp tsk carried over the field just before a low explosion brought their attention to the sky in time to catch the remnants of the false moon raining down around the field.
Cell did not applaud the match as he hadn't the Frieza versus Babidi match for the same reasons. He simply brought the barrier down and motioned sharply for the next two to walk up to the platform with an ugly gleam in his eyes. 'I will find out where these lower lifeforms have fled and utterly annihilate them for it when I do.' Cell swore to himself.
The blood was still hot as changeling and namekian ascended onto the platform. All the dents and breaks in the katchin surface were testament to the strength being thrown around by the fighters to survive into the semi-finals and beyond.
Turning to face one another they floated up into the air to avoid any more of the thick blood from coating them. The two aliens watched one another with what could be considered curiosity intermingled with determination. Piccolo had last seen his foe as a limbless torso, barely clinging to his survival and toted about like a trophy. Frieza had only ever known Piccolo as a weakling namekian bearing a vindictive streak- not counting future knowledge, of course.
Both were nearly equal in ki after the events of the tournament so far, each sensing out the moment to strike. For nearly a minute they were locked in silence before the black-silver gleam of light off the changelings metallic limbs warped and he made the first move, releasing a swiftly formed Death Kamehameha at Piccolos chest.
Piccolo teleported through it and slammed a knee into the side of Frieza's head. The changeling managed to roll with it and flip, driving one foot into Piccolos chin. The weight knocked the namekian backwards and briefly rattled him, not expecting such a blow, and it gave Frieza the time to gather more power to his hands in preparation.
"Death Volley!" thrusting both hands away from his chest and toward the side, fingers splayed out, a multitude of death beams erupted along each metallic joint. Piccolo shook his head to clear it and teleported to the side, thrusting out his own hands and filling the air with dozens of white spheres. He didn't even need to utter the name to finish the move off as his hands clenched together and, rather than zoom inward on the foes location, simply detonated in mid-air where they had reached.
Sharp and acrid smoke filled the air as Frieza was engulfed, his eyes widening some just before he was consumed in the blasts. Piccolo knew better than to rely solely on his sight and reached out to feel his enemies ki. 'I knew it. He wouldn't be Frieza if he could succumb so easily.'
The smoke quite literally exploded as a swirling black and violent purple wave washed over it, a briefly charged Death Kamehameha homing in on Piccolos location. The namekian simply teleported out of it's way, but found the beams speed suddenly increased as it changed direction and rushed forward at him. "Nngh!" thrusting his head and shoulders backward Piccolo narrowly avoided death and managed to keep the damage itself lower, gathering ki to his hand and slamming it outward to capture the wave and halt it's progress.
"Masenko... ha!" raising his other hand to his forehead and then driving it downward through the wave, Piccolo destroyed the Death Kamehameha and spun in place, throwing out his other arm and elongating it rapidly across the distance between himself and Frieza.
The changeling had barely a second before the slightly scorched palm was on him and radiating with power. It wrapped around his throat and drove him down into the bloody platform below, squeezing tightly to choke him. 'Fool!' hissing silently Frieza reached up and slashed through the arm, the Kaioken coming and going in brief instances as he snapped back to his feet.
Purple blood mixed with the dark red coating Friezas body, but the limb wasn't gone for long before it had been regrown with a snkit and flash of white light and slime. In that hand a materialized morning star formed and slammed into Friezas briefly surprised chest, driving the threesome of spikes deeply into the flesh.
Frieza choked up blood as he was knocked back into another pillar by the force of the blow and Piccolo teleported forward to continue with the motion, vanishing the summoned object to let the gaping holes in the changeling's body gush blood out. With another summoned weapon, this time a pair of spears, Piccolo crucified Frieza through what was left of his shoulders to the pillar at his back.
Frieza ground his teeth together to keep from growling and thrust his legs up to wrap around Piccolos chest and arms and clamp down with enough force to keep the namekians arms at his side, the tail swinging around to wrap around his throat and begin strangling him. Unlike Frieza, Piccolo did require air, and he elongated both of his arms enough to reach around and pry Friezas legs open, allowing him to twist up and wrap around Friezas tail.
With a forward twist and yank powered by Kaioken, Piccolo tore Friezas body through the spears and slammed him down into the katchin platform again. This time the changeling did let out a low howl of pain and rage, but he hardly had any time to do so before he was in the air and then coming back down at the platform again.
This time he got his legs beneath him and braced for impact, driving his hardened katchin feet into the slightly weaker katchin platform beneath them. Piccolo paused in surprise and his grip loosened enough for Frieza to yank it free and backhand him across the face with it.
Namekien crashed to the surface in a pool of blood, rolling a few times before vanishing from sight. Frieza felt for his ki as he looked around, earning a splash of blood into his face and partially blinding him for a few seconds as Piccolo reappeared overhead and opened his cupped hand.
Taking the initiative back, Piccolo raised two fingers before him and concentrated his ki into them, a vibrant white-yellow glow radiating around them and illuminating his face and chest. "Damn you!" Frieza growled, still locked onto the others ki signature, preparing to respond in kind to his foe.
"Special Beam Cannon... times three!" Piccolo yelled, the aura of the kaioken vanishing from the majority of his body to concentrate on his hand and finger tips. The strain was incredible, and veins bulged out across the arm and upper side of his body, but he duplicated the final move of Vegetto all but perfectly. Teleporting straight down with half an inch of space between them, he thrust his fingers straight down into Friezas skull.
The tips of his nails dug into and tore apart the changelings left eyelid and shredded the pupil, earning another howl of pain and fury, before the flow of ki spiraled down into into it... or tried to. Frieza managed to throw himself to the ground and raise both feet to catch it, as his arms were currently all but worthless.
Piccolo growled and pushed harder against the changeling, knowing he didn't have anything left in the tank to pull off this kind of move again if it failed. Frieza locked his legs into place, completely nullifying the the ki attack against his hard katchin limb set, using his tail and upper body to help keep his balance at the current angle.
'I'll lose over half it's potency... rrgh!" thought turned voice, Piccolo pulled off one more teleport as his arms muscles had locked up in position and he honestly didn't think he could swing it around or any other part of his body right then. He came out just past the waist and sank to his knees in exhaustion as the final edges of the spiraling beam drilled down into Friezas actual flesh.
It struggled to pierce the surface due to Friezas own kaioken times three being activated in the split-second the namekian was gone. "x4!" Piccolo snarled, feeling something in side of himself cracking. Two seconds later his flesh erupted into flame as the ki flowing through his body began to combust, and he released it's hold before the kaioken could do any further damage to his body.
The flames still burned and began to spread, his ki violently unstable. His problem was taken care of, however, as a single katchin leg managed to cut through his neck and tear the head from the body, sending the object rolling through Broly's blood to rest face up against the edge of a flickering barrier.
Eyes half-lidded, gaping hole in his stomach where vital organs could be seen to be shredded, Frieza snarled as he pushed himself to rise and rush toward the namekians head. He got three feet as his dark purple blood flooded out and left a trail behind him before his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and his will alone was no longer enough to remain conscious
Across from him a loud if drawn out snkit filled the air as Piccolos body regenerated covered in white slime. It was exceedingly pale and weak looking, and he struggled to rise to his feet. He swayed viciously as he stared down at the fallen changeling before sinking to his own knees in sheer exhaustion.
A moment later and the barriers fell and with them Kuriza-Trunks and his demi-saiyan half-brother shot toward each fighter. Cell watched them with ill-concealed disdain and slowly clapped his hands, rising in number and pitch at the skill they had demonstrated.
"Well done. Son Trunks of the Northern Galaxy versus Piccolo Daimou of the Northern Galaxy." Cell's voice rang out before his hands paused in mid motion. He leaned down to be sure as the hole in Friezas torso rapidly filled in with new flesh and the organs weaved together again, blood replenishing.
Swallowing the proffered senzu only moments later Piccolo's skin took on a more naturally dark shade and the muscles filled out again as well. Each was returned to their full strength and a little extra.
Anger burned to life in his eyes Cell warped straight down onto the platform and wrapped a hand around Trunks clothing. Or tried to, as the hard katchin shirt resisted. Trunks turned to face him fully with a vindictive smile playing across his face- his own power had not risen. There were too few beans for that course of action, and Cell was infuriated that he had been denied the chance to fight the demi-saiyan at the fullest strength.
Piccolo lightly tapped the Trunks on the back of the head after standing up, knocking him out and catching him once he fell, then tossing him over to Kuriza-Trunks and his father without looking. When he spoke his voice was a sharp hiss. "He has been defeated. You are in the field. Prepare your self for annihilation, usurper!"
Cell paused a moment at the threat and implied insult. Then he did something unexpected; he laughed. It rumbled up through his stomach to his chest and amplified before rising from his throat across the area. Piccolo barely scowled. He took the time to power up to the limits of his natural strength and prepare his techniques.
A white aura of power burned around him, and Cells eyes only narrowed a fraction at the notion that this namekian could possibly believe any one could defeat the self-appointed Supreme Kai.
His mirth at the idea evaporated as Piccolo vanished out of sight, not even leaving behind an after image. 'Teleportation, th-' his thought was interrupted as he felt the namekians ki reappear and swing at him, and with a narrow smirk one hand shot around and captured Piccolos fist behind his left shoulder. Pain lanced through his fingers however as dark purple blood dripped down to the platform beneath them.
'What?" thought turned word at his surprise, Cell was unprepared for Piccolo to bring one glowing hand up and slice through his own arm at mid length to teleport away, completely abandoning the caught limb in the process. Cell felt his ki reappear a short distance away and suddenly grow. Releasing the bleeding arm to the ground below Cell teleported out of the way before the next attack could reach him- the blood there exploded into the sky, releasing a cloud of smoke from the basic ki blast- and reappeared in the air across from the namekian.
The white aura had grown erratic, jumping and shifting as though it were alive. Both hands were held wide open as far as they could go at Piccolos sides, the muscles taunt and veins showing as his head slowly swiveled around to lock eyes with Cell. The wounds from where the spiked knuckles materialized over Piccolos discarded hand had cut into Cells hand remained in place and continued to drip down to mix with Broly's blood below, something Cell was barely aware of as he shifted into a more battle-ready mood.
The barriers formed in place around them, and a battle aura erupted to life around the amalgamation of fighters. Cell took the initiative by thrusting both hands out to the side, two different colored spheres of ki growing to life in the palms, the heat scorching the cuts closed. Piccolo remained in place with his wildly alive aura.
"Big Bang Kamehameha!" Cell ordered, bringing his hands together and warping. He reformed before Piccolo and thrust forward. The namekian had no time to evade, but his aura flowed forward like a shield and caught the beam at point blank range. The heat radiating off it burned through to Piccolos skin, but he growled in defiance and twisted his hands in place.
Sections of his aura broke off as he teleported, and those that remained opened up to allow the beam through before rushing forward and detonating. A swiftly activated Kaioken ensured the damage was minimal, his skin slightly scratched, but otherwise fine. Turning back toward the flow of ki he thrust several fingers outward and released Death Beams.
The speed apparently grew far beyond the strength, as even through the beams made contact with Piccolos skin before the aura could be filled in again, they held less of a blow than expected, used mostly as a distraction and to disorient the namekian as he was flipped around.
Cell appeared inside his flank and slammed one hand to his throat. What his fingers actually gripped down on was the burning aura of the threefold Kaioken as Piccolo raised his strength and reactionary time during the spin. Wrapping one hand around Cells left wrist, Piccolo spun and drove a knee into the others back as he initiated a teleport, inverting their forms on the rebound and driving his other foot into the back of Cells head.
His face was crushed into the blood and katchin beneath it, shattering then nose in the process, as Piccolo wrapped his other hand around beneath the left arms elbow and twisted sharply in the wrong direction.
The pain fully processed and Cells head snapped back, howling in rage. This was a pain he had not felt. It went a step further into agony as, even subconsciously raising a two fold Kaioken, his strength was not enough to break free and Piccolo brought down a Special Beam Cannon.
Two more followed it up at alternate angles and areas. A threefold Kaioken brought Cell to his feet and overtook Piccolos, driving the namekian backwards and against the barrier on instinct. The feeling from his left arm wiped all others off the grid, narrowing his emotional range down to all-but-blind instinct-fueled rage. Piccolo teleported away, but Cell followed, catching his ki and reappearing a step away.
'What?' Disbelief etched his voice and Piccolo warped again. Just as swiftly his enemy repeated the motion, this time connecting a blow with his right hand to Piccolos chest that pushed the bones inward. "GYAH!" Over the shout, blood rushed past his lips to blind Cell. The unexpected distraction brought his mind back into working territories, and he felt the burn of Kaioken eating through his ki slowly.
Instantly he cut it back to a twofold and warped a fair distance away and brought his good hand up to wipe his eyes clean, but the fire in his left arm remained in place even after his Kaioken was lowered. Something simply wasn't right. He realized with a glance of disbelief that his limb was not healing. It was not regenerating. 'It won't regenera-... !' Another bloody spray filled his eyes as something took the limb off at the wrist, the elbow, and finally the shoulder.
All in rapid succession. As the pain from one rushed up to his brain, the other was right behind it, and it rocked his head backward as though a fourth blow had landed. Across from him, and panting from the damage to his own chest, Piccolo lowered his outstretched right arm and two fingers.
Around them a barrier flickered sharply and vanished.
There was an inherent flaw within Kaioshins form of teleportation, and it was beginning to make itself well known now: The user could only perform it so many times in one day before it began consuming ki, and Piccolo had been using it a fair amount of times over the last twenty-four hours.
The senzu bean and of course his regenerative nature were very helpful in restoring whatever energy the teleportation tapped, but it was still beginning to eat his ki with each use. '... I must draw this up far shorter than I would have wanted. Cell has not yet suffered for his arrogance, this affront to Kaioshin and his divine order. Awaken further, Piccolo Daimous rage, and fuel the power of Kami and Gurus justice!'
Something in the namekians eyes changed. A slightly sickly yellow glow suffused them and they grew bloodshot, yet flatter, colder. His muscles shrunk inward a degree, and he reached up to tear his cape and shoulder weighted clothing off. He couldn't fully recall summoning it in the first place, but it was just slowing him down right now.
Cell growled and looked down on Piccolo, unable to process how come his arm hadn't healed, hadn't come back to him. Not so much of a twinge of regeneration. He bared his teeth and launched at the namekian, unleashing a storm of kiai's against him.
Piccolo ducked his head and twisted his waist to the side, bringing one arm radically behind his back and nearly dislodging the shoulder in the process, flinging his head to the side and elongating his lower form out of the way, throwing his feet closer with each movement he made, slowly crossing the distance between them as he weaved in and out of each kiai.
The end result saw Piccolo kick from the platform and appear in the sky, energy gathering at his finger tips. "Masenko..." his voice had deepened, grown rougher. Cell growled again and warped behind him. As he reformed a flickering aura of red and white drove through his left ribcage and disintegrated bone and muscle, barely missing vital organs in the process, to come out the other side.
A split-second later and his body was falling, gaining speed, and then crashing to the ground hard enough to shake the earth beneath them all. Another barrier flickered vibrantly and faded. Something, probably the other side of his ribcage or perhaps his spine, cracked loudly.
Cells mind cut off. He was pushed beyond rational understanding yet again by the agony. His heart pumped faster and his blood gushed out of the open hole in his left side, and somehow he found it in him to teleport back onto his feet and gather his ki together.
Piccolo let out a snort of derision and dropped down, summoning a spear to one hand as he did, and with an slash thrust it through Cells body, only it pierced thin air. Cells blood began to boil in his veins from the threefold Kaioken, but so much was already leaving his system it hardly mattered.
His flesh smoking, on the other hand, as it prepared to ignite was another matter all together. He slammed his remaining elbow into the back of Piccolos skull and rocked the Namekian forward, nearly blacking out from the sucker punch. His vision returned after he was laying on the platform a moment later and Cell was falling toward him with one arm raised toward the sky.
"Nnrgh." grunting, he twisted and warped the spears length, slamming the angled hilt against the platform beneath and setting the tip to drive right on through the Supreme Kai's lungs. The last barrier flickered and went out, leaving the platform fully open. Cells mouth hung open as he struggled on the spear, sliding down it's length to his knees, and then good hand, before slumping flat.
His head turned minutely to look at Piccolo with a dull rage, and he coughed up his dark blood before getting out "I... sought... peace. I... attain.. ed... perfection..." his final words were only heard by the namekian, who grunted again and rolled out from under Cell, letting the spear collapse to the ground.
Pushing up to his feet, the darker aspects of his form began to recede and Piccolo felt a wave of exhaustion sweep through his body. So much damage had been caused by a single entity baring the greatest warriors of the cosmos strength, and now it was all but finished.
It would take another minute, perhaps, for the faint beat of Cells heart to futilely pump murky blood through his system and his soul to arrive at the Check-in Station. Time enough to awaken the true Supreme Kai and Kaioshin.
As Piccolo descended the platform, Trunks approached him and walked right by. "I haven't done this for awhile, but he can't die. Future Kaioshin said he's needed against Buu." he murmured out of the corner of his mouth as they passed. Piccolo halted in mid-stride. "Repeat yourself." he questioned sharply. Trunks didn't stop, but motioned him back.
"I don't know if that spear will work, but it's better than adding another sword to the mix. Now please shut up." he said wearily, stopping before the dying Cell. He had seconds to perform this act in the hope that it would succeed. With a focused grunt, he thrust both arms out to his side and uttered the name of a technique not meant to be spoken by mortals, roughly translated by Future Kaioshin for his benefit, "Eternal Barrier!" and slammed his hands together before his body, slightly altering the angle they met at.
In a split second twain half-domes formed around Cells body and collided together in the middle, uniting. Cells form and the thick dome flared and vanished down into the bloody spear. Piccolo and the others conscious watched the act with mixed reactions, as the demi-saiyan leaned over and panted. It was a truly tasking action and with all he had already endured today, he was close to fainting as he had the last time he used this technique.
Piccolo blinked rapidly then shook his head, Guru's memories of another Piccolo Daimou trickled to the surface and the event that had been required to seal him away suddenly came to mind. He came to a snap decision and pulled off two final teleports for the day, vanishing for several seconds before returning and grunting in pain lowly.
Frieza eyeballed the halfling with a look of intermingled surprise and reluctant respect. Such a technique could destroy him just as easily as their last foe, and while so far it would seem Son Trunks had adapted to having the changeling in his life, Frieza suspected he had never forgiven that one walk-in that led to Kurizas birth.
Kuriza-Trunks himself was annoyed. His half-brother had stolen the lime-light again. "Always seeking attention." he muttered softly, shaking his head. He turned to his father. "What now?" he questioned. Frieza looked down at him. "I do not yet know." he responded softly.
Narrator: And at last, the Cell saga has come to a close! The Tenbatsu Budokai Champion, Piccolo! But while one imminent threat has been defeated, he is hardly obedient. How will Kaioshin react to this news? How will Vegetto? And what yet lays ahead for the cosmic jurisdiction of the Kaios? Not even I know! Read on for a brief preview of the events to come...
"The position of North Kaio will no longer be held. The one known as King Kai has left an irreplaceable mark behind in his duties to see the overlord defeated, sacrificing the ultimate position of his very existence. Let it not be said that such an event shall come to pass again." Grand Kai's voice was grim and saddened as he spoke to the gathered figures.
Kaioshin stared at the two figures across from him in surprise. He blinked twice, then glanced around. Resting at his back was the Time Machine, and in front of him sat... himself? No, the facial expression was softer, the eyes not so lined and angry. And the ancient looking one beside him, could that truly be another of their ni-extinct race?
"Soon, my troops, we march upon the land of the sealed beast. Our sacred heart yet flares it's burning blood across the heavens in a journey long-since waited upon. We land in three years time at the housing junction for my revenge!" the voice was a dull roar, stretching outward from a shadow that paced along the ground of it's own accord with no body to cast it. The gathered aliens yelled out their loyalty, save two. The taller simply shook his head, disregarding the many weaklings as liabilities. The other simply grimaced.
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