Chp. 3: Bad To The Bone
"Looks like it's just me vs you, runt." 18 said as she stared down Trunks.
Trunks sheathed his sword and powered down, returning to his normal Super Saiyan state. "Any last words?"
18 smirked, "That's funny, I was going to ask you the same thing."
"Poor choice of last words." Trunks rushed towards 18.
[=X=][=X=]
"Looks like I get the honor of putting you down." 17 said as he and Monty were having a standoff. "Although, I must warn you; I won't be holding back."
Monty didn't respond
"Say… why do you even wear that thing?" 17 asked as he pointed to his own face seemingly talking about the mask Monty was wearing.
The mask was still black, but it lacked the markings except one that was in the form of a red heart on the left cheek. Unlike the original mask, this one wasn't as contoured to look like a face, it was smooth and it had black tinted lenses to hide his eyes. The nose it had was now smaller and was just big enough to fit his face.
"I wear it so that I don't get your motor oil on my face." Monty stated.
"Is that right?" 17 frowned as he got into his fighting stance. "Let's put it to the test, shall we?"
17 rushed towards Monty and threw a punch which Monty counteracted with his own punch as their fists clashed. 17 followed up with a kick that was blocked by Monty's knee, Monty returned the kick, but instead of blocking it, 17 caught his leg.
"Careful now, I might just break your leg!" 17 shouted as he quickly raised his hand.
Monty raised his hand and blasted 17 in the face, freeing himself from the android's grasp. Monty then followed up and landed a barrage of punches on 17 before sending him flying with a kick.
17 rushed back to Monty after stopping himself from flying away. He threw a punch, but just before he hit Monty, he vanished and reappeared behind him. Monty quickly turned around and just barely blocked the blow, but even though he managed to block it, it still stung.
17 and Monty exchanged punches and kicks and both tried to get the upper hand. Although 17 was obviously faster and stronger, he wasn't adjusting well to this masked stranger's weird style of fighting. 17 had only fought a handful of people and they were relatively easy to take out. The only one who was this tricky was a giant green guy named 'Piccolo'.
"This is… intense." Monty thought to himself as he was barely dodging 17's onslaught of punches. The only reason he was even able to dodge the lightning fast attacks was because they were predictable, but just because they were predictable doesn't make them any easier to dodge as a few bone crushing hits landed.
Monty quickly launched a volley of energy blasts that 17 either swatted away or simply dodged. Monty then pulled his arms in and began to power up. His purple aura swirled around him violently as he pushed himself to his very limit. After his power up, Monty was breathing heavily as he stared down 17.
17 smirked. "Wow, you really are full of surprises. I'll give it to ya'; You're not half bad, but I'm still stronger and faster, so whatever you're calling this, isn't going to work."
No response was given as Monty just rushed towards 17 who blocked the punch that was thrown at him, but was a bit unsettled by how much faster and stronger the punch was. The punch was quickly followed by a flurry of other punches that were blocked, but it was a spin kick to the face that caught 17 off guard and sent him flying back once more.
17 held his cheek as he opened his eyes to look back at Monty, but the former was nowhere in sight. 17 looked around, but couldn't spot where he had gone.
"Ok, wow. That's annoying. Now I see what 18 was talking about." 17 thought to himself as he looked all around
Suddenly, Monty appeared behind 17, his arm was covered in purple-ish black Ki and his hand raised up as if he was about to backhand him. 17 spun around to just barely catch Monty's wrist. "Woah! Almost had me there for a second, nice job." 17 remarked with a chuckle "Too bad I'm-" 17 was cut off by the feeling of his hand seizing up. 17's hand was forced open as Monty removed himself from his grip.
"Wha-...what the hell is this?" 17 questioned "W-what did you do to me?". He was now covered in the same purple-ish black Ki that Monty had his arm covered in which was still there. The Ki that engulfed Monty's arm crept up and formed into a black ball that he launched at 17 which caused 17 to fall out of the sky.
[=X=][=X=]
"MASAKO!" Trunks shouted as a beam of golden energy flew towards 18 who deflected it.
18 launched a volley of energy blasts at Trunks while charging at him. Trunks deflected the blasts but was punched in the face. 18 unleashed a barrage of kicks that were enhanced by blue condensed ki that surrounded her legs, she ended her assault with a high kick that sent Trunks flying up.
"INFINITY BULLET" 18 yelled as a beam of pink ki raced towards Trunks.
Trunks spun around and blocked the beam. After the explosion, Trunks flew out of the smoke and landed a devistanting gut punch to 18, then he delivered a roundhouse kick that sent her smashing into the ground.
"Dammit! Why don't you just die?!" 18 spat as she rose to a kneeling position.
Trunks stared down 18 with a slight scowl "It's a shame that things had to turn out like this. I've seen what you two could have been. Sure, not completely good, but certainly not evil."
"If you miss 'em so much, then maybe you should go back." 18 shouted.
Just then, 17 came crashing down on the ground a few feet away. He was shaken up and rose to a kneeling position as he looked up to the sky with a confused look.
"The hell was that?!" 17 yelled in confusion as the purple-ish black aura that surrounded him began to fade.
Trunks looked over to 17 and then looked up at Monty who floated down, and landed down next to him.
"He… got stronger or maybe he's just using his full power?" Trunks thought as he looked at Monty.
"So, shall we end this?" Monty asked as he crossed his arms. Trunks paused for a second before nodding in agreement.
They both began to charged up a ball of energy preparing to finish off the androids who looked up at them with fear in their eyes when all of a sudden, a spike of Ki caught their attention and cause them to turn their head simultaneously:
"HAAAAAAA!" a loud voice shouted. Their attention was focused on a large beam of blue energy that quickly approached them, unfortunately it connected and blasted them both away. Trunks took the brunt of the blast since he was in front of Monty from the beam's perspective yet it still carried them both away all the same.
17 &18 were left shocked as they sat on the ground with dumbfounded expressions at what just happened. Their heads quickly turned towards where the blast had come from and to their horror, a giant green bug thing stood there lowering his hands as it started to look towards them. A sense of dread filled their stomachs as the monster floated towards them and then spoke.
"My dear brother and sister. There is no need to worry any longer. Let us merge and become the perfect creation."
"What the hell are you?" 17 asked in a horrified tone.
"Allow me to explain, brother." The creature said as what would be considered its mouth twisted into a grin of sorts. "You see, my name is Cell, I was created by our father, Dr. Gero, with the single purpose of finding and absorbing both C-17 and C-18 to become the perfect being. That would be you-17 and our sister, 18." Cell explained while chuckling maniacally. "But now that you two are here we can become one! Merge with me and let us become one!"
"Oh hell no. We aren't 'merging' with anyone, you sick freak." 17 said as he stammered to his feet.
"And, you and Gero's 'perfect creation' plan, can go fuck yourselves." 18 said as she staggered to her feet.
Cell's facial features turned into something resembling a scowl. "You reject my offer? That's too bad. I was hoping we could do this the easy way. Oh well." Cell bitterly said as he rushed towards them.
17 managed to dodge the punch thrown at him but was instead punched hard in the gut and then launched upwards by Cell who charged a ball of Ki on his stomach that exploded him upwards. Cell quickly turned to 18 and blasted her away, even though she blocked the attack, the force behind it was still felt. Cell quickly rushed at 18 through the smoke and unleashed a flurry of punches on her, all she could do was block and dodge, but soon enough Cell sped up and proceeded to lay into her.
Cell grabbed a hold of one of 18's wrists and unleashed a hail of punches on her which she tried to block with her free hand, but she couldn't keep up as the blows started to land.
"You should have just accepted my offer and joined me. I would have been more... gentle ." Cell said as he stopped hitting 18.
18 felt her skin crawl "Go fuck yourself." she tried to punch him, but failed as he just dodged.
Cell scowled as he quickly let go of her arm, but he quickly tucked his knees in towards his chest and then kicked her in the side of a building they were in front of.
17 had stopped himself from flying up and looked down to a building that just collapsed due to Cell and his sister's fight. He gritted his teeth and flew down towards the battle.
"You're gonna pay for that!" He yelled as he dropped on Cell, hammering him over the head with both his fists closed together tightly, causing him to crash into the ground creating a small crater. Cell didn't stay down for long as he quickly flew up out of the hole.
"Not bad, but struggling will only make it worse. So just give up, and join me." Cell said as he stretched his arms out as if expecting a hug.
"Ugh , like I said before, we aren't 'merging' with you, Nessie. So you and Dr. Gero's plan-" 17 said but was cut off.
"can go fuck yourselves!" 18 finished 17's sentence while kicking Cell in the gut causing him to spit up, she then followed up with another kick that knocked him away.
When Cell looked up he was met by 18 who was rushing towards him, he prepared to attack, but just before she reached him she flipped over him. Cell scowled as she settled behind him, he turned around to kick her, but missed when she dodged it. He then was hit in the back by 17 and then by 18 in the face. 17&18 quickly unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks before 18 landed a devastating split kick that sent Cell into the air. The duo appeared above Cell and dropped down on him with a double drop kick sending him crashing into the ground below. They both unleashed a hail of ki blasts towards the bug.
The two were breathing heavily as they looked down towards the destroyed streets.
"Think we… got em'?" 17 asked between pants
"Don't know… But we better prepare, in case he comes back."
"Alright, but you might want to take a back seat role. You're not looking so tough right now." 17 said
"Screw that! And you're in no better shape than I am." She refused with fire. She was pumping with adradial so her injuries hadn't settled yet.
"Ok, but still, let me take the lead, you attack when he's focused on me and then you strike from behind." 17 suggested while looking over his shoulder at her, with a slightly worried face upon seeing her condition. 18 nodded as they turned towards Cell just in time to see him charging at them.
Cell rushed 17 & 18, and just as predicted he turned his attention to 17 and unleashed a hail of punches and kicks. 17 dodged the lot of them, but was still hit by the ones that were too fast for him to see. Cell landed a hard punch to 17's gut, stunning him and then Cell engulfed 17 in a close ranged ki blast sending him flying backwards, but he held back just enough to hurt him, but not kill him.
Cell turned towards 18 who was already midway through a punch, Cell dodged 18's attack and kneed her in the gut, then he attempted to blast her, but was met by a green sphere of energy that protected her. Cell's face twisted into a scowl as he looked over to 17 who was clutching his stomach with one hand and holding out his other hand, his face twisted with pain and anger. His clothes were ravaged and he was now bleeding profusely from his stomach and chest where the blast from earlier mainly hit.
"I wonder how long you can keep it up this barrier in that condition." Cell chuckled. "And I also wonder who's gonna protect you." he finished as he rushed towards 17.
"Ah shit!" 17 shouted inwardly as Cell flew towards him. In one swift motion 17 dropped the shield to counter Cell. Just as Cell reached him, he threw a punch at 17's head which he dodged, surprising Cell and catching him off guard. 17 quickly countered up with a punch of his own that was surprisingly devastating to Cell. In fact, it was so destructive that 17's hand was logged deep into Cell's head. Thinking quickly, 17 quickly gathered Ki while his hand was inside Cell's head.
"Go to hell! POWER BLITZ!" 17 yelled as he blasted Cell's head off as well as turning part of his torso into pieces, sending purple blood and chunks in every direction.
Cell's headless charred body fell limply down and crashed into the ground leaving 17&18 hovering in the air, both breathing heavily. They both landed on the ground next to each other and then 17 exhaled heavily. "Damn, my stomach hurts like hell and my head feels like shit!"
"Same here… But, at least that monster is dealt with. Gonna be honest, I didn't think we could do it." 18 responded as she dropped to her knees. "I can't stand, anymore. Do me a favor… carry me out of this place. I want out of these clothes."
"Pfft, 'we'? I did most of the heavy lifting, but don't worry, I won't pester you about it. I'm just glad it's over too. Probably should have thanked him before I turned his head into paste, he did take care of Trunks and that other brat." 17 said as he walked over to 18 who looked up at him while leaning against a lamppost.
"It's too late now… Lets g-..." 18 said, yet she cut herself off. Her face became twisted with horror and her eyes were extremely wide. One of 17's eyebrows raised up in confusion and just as he was about to ask her what was wrong until-
"Yeeessss…." A deep and raspy voice beckoned. 17 slowly looked up and behind him to see Cell looming over him, with his tail now expanded wide. 17 eyes widened.
"The fuck?!" 17 yelled in shock "Eighteen ru-!" was the last thing 17 said before being engulfed by Cell's tail. 18 could barely stand as she just watched in absolute horror, she fought against her body trying to help him but she could barely even lift her arms. Her brother was absorbed by this monster and all she could do was watch as his tail sucked him up.
"Seven-...teen." she thought to herself as she felt tears beginning to swell and fall.
After 17 had been absorbed, Cell's body began to convulse and morph. His body began to glow as light seeped through the cracks of the shells that covered most of his body. A final, brilliant light burst around Cell as his new form made an appearance. 18's eyes widened at his new form, he was much taller than before, more muscular, and much uglier, less buggy and creepy but much uglier. She eyed him as he gave himself a look over, he was beaming with glee as he approached the battered 18.
The tears flowed like a waterfall down 18's face, something that has never happened to her. "My… my face… my eyes. Are these…tears?" 18 was aware that human's cried when they were about to die, but she never anticipated that she could also cry. She then felt the tears slide to her chin then one hit her collarbone which triggered her to take notice of something else. "My chest… this pounding… and my breathing. This feeling, what is this?" 18 questioned as she felt her body subtly shaking. She was becoming more and more aware of her own mortality as she stared down Cell.
"Oh that?" Cell questioned upon seeing her face. "That's called fear my dear sister, it's a normal response to the end. Now then, it's time to receive perfection, come to me 18, let us become one an-'' Cell was cut off by the feeling of something piercing his body. Looking down he saw Trunks whose clothes were now in tatters, his tank top was now blown off. The strap to his sword was damaged but was still able to stay together.
Trunks moved quickly as he removed the sword and sliced into Cell multiple times, cutting off some of his fingers, taking chunks out of his hardened shell that acted as skin before making a few movements with his hand and blasting him away.
"No way… He can't be that brat from before." 18 thought as she stared down Trunks. His hair spiked up in gold and his eyes were filled with a shine of determination and anger as he stared off towards Cell. Bruises, cuts and gashes littered his toned figure. "How is he even alive?" she thought as she looked back up to his face. She couldn't sense Ki so she couldn't tell that he had actually survived Cell's earlier attack and Cell was so focused on her and 17, that he didn't pay Trunks any mind which is why he was caught off guard.
Through narrowed eyes Trunks began to speak "I'll be back for you later" he said as he pointed his sword at her, he didn't even bother looking her way. 18 eyes widened as she gulped. Trunks suddenly rushed off towards Cell.
[=X=][=X=]
Regaining consciousness and stuck in the side of a building was Monty. His mask was once again broken and one of his eyes was exposed as the blood from his forehead dripped down over his eyebrow. His shirt was blown off, say for the part that was tucked into his pants.
"My mask… not again." Monty thought. Something caught his attention as he felt a Ki that was almost as strong as Trunks', but it felt off as if it had malicious intent. So he pulled himself out of the wall and slowly made his way over to see what was happening.
When Monty arrived at the battlefield, he saw Trunks going toe-to-toe with a green monster thing. Monty was preparing to go and help, but then something pulled his attention. 18. She was leaning against a lamppost and was even more banged up than before and it seemed she was watching the fight. Monty strolled over and stopped right in front of her.
18 looked up at Monty with a strange expression. She had tears streaming down her face that mixed with the blood and sweat. Her clothes were in tatters and she was bleeding from nearly every injury. She looked like a scared little girl who got caught up in a warzone. Monty gritted his teeth upon seeing it.
18 studied the figure in front of her before realizing who it was. "I-…you… survived." Her voice. It was low and raspy. There was no sarcasm, no malicious undertone… no nothing. It was almost as if she didn't mean to say it, but the words came out.
Monty wrecked his brain to find a response, the last thing he wanted to do was feel sorry for this machine. "A-and you're still alive… How unfortunate." Monty spoke, but tripped over his wording.
For a moment 18 just stared at him with an almost blank expression before turning back to the fight that was happening between Trunks and the green monster. It's almost like she was in another world.
Monty wanted to say something else, but seeing her in such a state started to make him question what exactly she was. "I'll be back for you later." Monty said which caused 18 to jolt a bit before turning to watch him take off towards the fight.
[=X=][=X=]
Trunks surrounded his blade in Ki once more as he rushed towards Cell. He took multiple swings at Cell who dodged a few of them, but was still hit by more than he dodged. Trunks slowly started to transform into grade 2 of Super Saiyan as he felt himself being overpowered a little.
Suddenly, Monty dropped out of the sky and punched Cell atop of his head, sending him flying towards the ground. Monty's arm became covered in a purple-ish black Ki that quickly rose up to his hand and formed into a ball that he launched at Cell while yelling "GRAVITY WIELD!". Cell stopped himself from flying down as he looked up. The black ball the Monty launched towards him wasn't fairly small, but Cell wasn't taking any chances so he attempted to swat it away only for it to quickly expand and cover his hand, then his body. Cell felt his body seize up as he suddenly felt heavy and he was forced towards the ground.
"What is that thing?" Monty quickly asked.
"It's name is Cell and it wants to absorb the androids. Unfortunately, he got 17 and is now going after 18. And if it gets her... then we're all doomed." Trunks replied "And thanks for the assistance, but you should probably get to safety. In this form, he's stronger than I am right now. But I should be able to beat him if I power up." Trunks said
"Nah, I'm here to support and help in any way I can. I might not be as strong as you two are, but I have just as much fight." Monty said
Trunks' eyes widened with shock, but it was quickly overtaken by a smirk "Right. But, if you feel like you're getting overwhelmed, feel free to back out, you're strong, but this thing is a monster. Quite literally." Trunks replied as they both flew towards Cell.
"I'll take my chances." Monty answered.
[=X=][=X=]
"Alright, so that was unexpected. Thought they'd be dead after that beam earlier. Minor setback. All I have to do is kill the brats, find 18 and achieve perfection." Cell coolly thought to himself as he started to get up the crater he was engraved in. As he was getting up he suddenly felt a surge of power. His eyes widened as he looked up to the sky. Just as he looked up, Trunks and Monty rushed towards Cell and unleashed a flurry of barrages of punches, kicks and swords slashes. Cell was struggling to dodge as he body started to get pummeled.
Trunks blasted Cell backwards, sending him sliding across the ground. As Cell struggled to get up, his face was wrecked with a scowl.
Monty had landed a few meters away to let Trunks take over.
"How?! This makes no sense! You shouldn't even be able to stand! I hit you two with all my strength earlier, you should be dead!" Cells raged as his tail slammed against the ground and kicked chunks up.
"I wouldn't worry about that when you're about to meet your maker in hell." Trunks said as he held up his hand and charged a ball of Ki.
Cell's eyes widened "W-WAIT!" he yelled desperately "Aren't you the least bit curious about my perfect form? Wouldn't you like to challenge your power? It'll be the Perfect Challenge. All I need is android 18… And we both know you wouldn't mind seeing her struggle." Cell said as if he pulled his triumph card as a smile crept along his face. He knew Saiyans couldn't resist a fight and he played it to his advantage.
Trunks thought for a second. "Sure, go right ahead, I'll send her to hell along with you… and then you can absorb her there." Trunks' voice was laced with spite as the ball of Ki grew larger.
"Plan B." Cell quickly thought. He shot a Ki blast into the ground that sent chucks of the Earth everywhere, this small act caused Trunks to get distracted and dispersed the Ki. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Cell, with all the strength in his body, rocketed into the sky with Trunks following suit. Monty had also decided to take off to get back involved by taking off after Cell as well, but before either of them could reach him, Cell stopped and spun around facing them with a menacing smile.
" Shit…" was Trunks thoughts as he tried to shield his eyes but wasn't quick enough.
"SOLAR FLARE!" Cell shouted.
"GAAHHH!" Both Trunks and Monty cried out as they were blinded by an incredibly bright flash of light.
Cell started to laugh like a mad man and then he suddenly stopped as his eyes landed on something or rather…someone. "Looks like things are looking up!" Chell shouted as he blazed towards the person lying in the streets.
[=X=][=X=]
18 was crawling away from the fight while her body protested against her movements. That's when a bright light came from behind her and when she turned around, she was instantly blinded by it. 18 shut her eyes in pain.
She sat for a few seconds while painfully rubbing her eyes.
"Hello, sister…" a deep tone suddenly said which scared the life out of her.
"S-st-stay back. G-get away from me!" She shouted as she weakly raised her hand in a futile attempt at defense. Her eyes were still shut with pain while she slowly tried to backaway.
Cell chuckled a bit "No… me and you are going to be perfect together… Staying away isn't an option."
The footsteps grew closer and 18's heart raced and her breathing became sharper. "No...p-please, I don't want to die… I'm sorry!" 18 loudly whispered as her voice cracked.
"Sorry?" Cell chuckled, "Don't worry, all of your troubles will soon be over."
18 felt herself be surrounded by a harsh embrace and all she could do was weakly squirm against it while pleading. Cell started to laugh as 18 was being sucked up into his tail.
"This is it! Perfection! We will be unstoppab-" Cell was cut off by a sharp pain. "Wha-...what?!" His tail was just cut into. Cell's eyes widened as he watched his tail split apart and was halfway to being cut off.
Cell's eyes moved quickly as they landed on the masked stranger. The mask he was wearing prevented total blindness as one his eyes were protected by the remaining lense. The one that was shown due the mask being broken, was tightly shut. It seems he had borrowed Trunks' sword which was now stuck in Cell's tail while he was still trying to push it through.
"You brat!". Cell rushed forward and punched Monty in the face, both knocking his mask off and sending him sliding across the ground.
Cell removed the sword as his tail regenerated. After the process of his tail healing, he began to absorb 18. "I'll admit, your attempt to stop me almost worked! But you failed, and now you get to witness perfection, first hand!" Cell shouted as he started to laugh.
Monty struggled to get up as he turned his attention towards Cell, who was starting to convulse and shrink down in size while light shined through the cracks in his hardened shell. In a final burst of light, Cell was soon revealed through the smoke that had begun to settle. He was smaller in stature and he looked completely different. He was more humanoid than before although he had some features of the previous form, namely his crown, the color of some parts of his body and the tail that suddenly retracted leaving on the stinger at the end. And the power… it was unfathomable.
Cell stood with his eyelids closed before opening them to reveal his purple colored eyes that were previously blue. With a devilish smirk, Cell chuckled as he looked at Monty's expression and simply said "Hello."
[END+++++END+++++END]
Trunks: Threat Level; 11
-Super Saiyan: 55
-Super Trunks: 66
-Grade 3: 88
Android 18: Threat Level; 28
-Maximum Output: 28
Android 17: Threat Level; 30
-Maximum Output: 30
Monty/Masked Stranger: Threat Level: 4
-Inhuman Power: 8
Cell (Human Absorptions): 32
Imperfect Cell: Threat Level: 62
Perfect Cell: 90
(A/N: I hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving. If you don't Celebrate Thanksgiving, then I hope you had just as good of a day. I hope you enjoyed.)
Song name: Bad To The Bone By George Thorogood And The Destroyers