A Prince's Arrogance
I don't own Digimon or Dragonball Z
Everyone was in shock at what they had just seen; Vegeta had landed a hit on Cell. The formidable semi-perfect android coughed and gagged as he glared down at his foe, who wore a smirk of arrogance. "What's wrong Cell, I thought you were the strongest person on earth…oh wait I believe that title is mine now."
"You little brat, I'll crush you," Cell growled, stumbling back before he was sent flying into the air as Vegeta slammed his fist into his jaw. Vegeta jumped up, and as Cell came back down, slammed his knee into the android's gut before elbowing him in the neck and flipping in front of him. He began punching him in the face. Cell jumped back and charged with a right hook, but Vegeta dodged it and flew down, grabbing Cell's ankle along the way, before he threw the android back down into the ground.
Trunks watched the fight with a neutral expression, only flying out of the way as the ledge he stood on crumbled into the sea.
"I could barely follow Vegeta's movements, maybe he does have the power to defeat Cell," Android 18 said, watching the Saiyan float back to the ground, landing on a small pillar of rock in the sea as Cell got back to his feet.
"You insignificant pest, do not think that the little tricks you have learned are enough to defeat me," he told Vegeta. "I know you, your DNA is woven into my very being. You, Vegeta, are a part of me."
"And now I'm going to take you apart, how ironic," Vegeta replied.
"Clever to the end as always," Cell sneered.
"They're just standing there, why isn't Cell attacking? Is he actually afraid of Vegeta?" Android 18 asked Android 16 as the duo watched. Cell charged Vegeta who leaned his head to the side, avoiding the punch, and he did so again and again as Cell tried to land a blow on the prince, who flew towards Cell as he backed away each time Vegeta dodged.
"I can't believe the day is finally here, after all our training," Trunks thought as he began thinking back to his and Vegeta's time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. "The gravity was so intense I could barely walk, the air was so thick I could barely breath, and the temperature fluctuated wildly; some days it was a raging inferno, and other days it was a frozen wasteland. My father refused to train with me, so I was forced to endure the hazards of the chamber on my own. So many days of intense hardship followed by sleepless nights. But I knew just from how intense my father trained that he would accomplish his goal, that he would ascend beyond a Super Saiyan. I honoured his wishes to be left alone, but I would watch him train when I could, and I would learn all I could from him."
"One day I will stand alongside my father as his equal and show to him that all these dangers he faces alone, are ones he doesn't need to," he finished as he continued to watch his father dodge Cell's punches.
Vegeta charged through Cell's guard when he tried to hit Vegeta with another attack, and hit him with a punch, sending him flying into an island. He came out the other side and began skipping across the ocean like a stone before hitting another island, and he skipped across that island before coming to a stop in the ocean behind it.
"All too easy," Vegeta said, floating over to the island. Cell emerged from the ocean, growling angrily and glaring at the prince who came to a stop in the shallows.
"Hear me, Saiyan, this time you die! I am through humouring your petty games, so come and face me!" Vegeta smirked and ran towards Cell, intent on continuing the fight.
Meanwhile, fast approaching the battlefield was Krillin, who stopped in mid-flight as he sensed the battle ahead. "Incredible, I guess that huge power I was sensing was Vegeta after all. I don't believe this, he's even stronger then Cell now; that Hyperbolic Time Chamber must really work wonders." He looked down at the remote he held in his hand. "I can't worry about the fight now, I've got a mission to do. I need to find Android 18 and shut her down so Cell can't absorb her. If Vegeta is fighting Cell, then that means he's close to 18," he thought, flying off towards the battle.
Cell screamed as he was thrown out of the water before Vegeta hit him, sending him back underwater, and Vegeta dived under after him.
Back on Kami's Lookout, Daisuke and Piccolo stood on the edge as they sensed the battle. "Vegeta's pushing Cell back for now, but why do I get the feeling he's not going to win?" Daisuke asked as a nervous feeling began forming in her gut.
"He's arrogant, he probably will let Cell absorb Android 18 so he can have a better fight," Piccolo replied, gritting his teeth. "He could have beat Cell ten times over, he's toying with him to satisfy his own selfish pride," he added roaring in anger. "Vegeta!"
"Well that's just great," Azumi mumbled as she held baby Terra in her arms to give Bulma a break, with Pan beside her. "Your papa is an idiot, isn't he?" she asked, cooing as Terra babbled and chewed her hair which made Pan giggle.
"I wonder how Goku and Gohan are doing in the Time Chamber," Pan thought, glancing over at the building where inside Goku was watching Gohan increasing his power level until he flared it outwards with a roar, and fell to his knees, exhausted.
"Gohan, I've told you this before. Becoming a Super Saiyan isn't achieved by just increasing your power level, it's a response to a need, not a desire," Goku told him.
"But you turned into a Super Saiyan on Namek, didn't you desire to kill Frieza?" Gohan asked.
"Yes, I did. But I also needed to get stronger so that I could protect all of you as well," Goku answered. "You need to use the pain of loss."
"But I've not lost anything," Gohan replied, and Goku was about to say something before he blinked and scratched his cheek.
"Huh, good point," he mumbled, making his son hang his head with a sweatdrop. "Maybe imagine Cell hurting me and everyone else you care about," he suggested.
"I've never seen Cell before though," Gohan replied and Goku slapped his forehead.
"Oh yeah, um, well, think back to when Frieza was fighting all of us on Namek," he said, and Gohan nodded as memories began flashing in his mind of every moment of the battle with Frieza, of when he killed Dende to stop him from healing everyone, so they could keep fighting, to when he hit Daisuke with a death beam, nearly killing her as well, and he roared loudly as his aura and hair flashed golden for a brief second before he collapsed to his knees.
"How was that?" he asked his father before passing out from the strain.
"You did good son, rest now. We'll continue later," Goku said gently, picking his son up and carrying him back into the chamber for his son to rest.
Back outside the chamber, at the battlefield, several geysers of water rose into the air before Vegeta rose into the air, followed shortly by Cell who tried to stab the prince with his tail. Vegeta avoided it and, using the tail, pulled Cell towards him to land a devastating punch to his stomach.
"So tell me, Cell is this your true power I am sensing now?" Vegeta asked, punching Cell several times as the bio-android covered up. "I have to say, you take a punch well."
"Vegeta, you still don't see it," Cell said, revealing his face before he fired an energy wave from his mouth at Vegeta, who covered himself with his arms before vanishing as the blast hit him, and appearing where he was before as the blast hit the ocean. He looked up and was met with Cell's fist, and he went falling to the ocean below. Cell fired another energy blast from his mouth at Vegeta, and he laughed when the blast exploded.
"Take that Saiyan, you cannot defeat me!" he boasted before he noticed Trunks was unfazed and looking up at Cell which unnerved him. "What's he looking at?" he thought.
"Cell!" he heard Vegeta roar as the Saiyan crashed into him, driving him down to the island Android 18 and Android 16 were hiding on.
"Splendid, but I am sad to say that I'm not done yet Vegeta," Cell said, chuckling to himself, as Vegeta landed near him.
"You must be a glutton for punishment." Cell got to his feet and roared as he began raising his energy level, causing the ground beneath the two fighters to form into a crater. "So, you can raise your own power level as well, but it still won't do anything to help you," Vegeta commented before Cell shot towards him and slammed his fist into his jaw and the prince stumbled back before he chuckled softly. It turned into full blown laughter as he wiped the blood from his lip. "That was your one and only free shot."
"You truly have changed Vegeta," Cell whispered as a sick smirk formed on his face. "But I know your one weakness, your arrogance will be your downfall."
"Father has him against the ropes, he's won the game," Trunks whispered as he continued to watch his father fight.
"There is no way you acquired this amount of power in such a short time, how did you get so strong?" Cell questioned, slamming his tail down in anger.
"I do plenty of sit ups and push ups, and I also drink plenty of juice." Vegeta replied which only angered Cell further.
"Listen here, I come from the future where you were destroyed by Android 17, now I have absorbed him so his powers are all mine to use as I see fit," He told Vegeta.
"Are you still boasting about your power?" Vegeta asked before he turned his back to Cell. "Let's make this easy for you, my back is turned; take your best shot." Cell growled before he jumped back onto a small ledge and took a familiar stance.
"My father's Galick Gun," Trunks whispered as Cell began powering up the attack.
"Some of your cells make up my being, Vegeta, meaning I can use your attacks just as well as you," Cell told Vegeta who turned back around to face him. "Take this!" he roared, firing the attack at Vegeta who stood firm against the attack.
"Father!" Trunks whispered in worry as the attack hit Vegeta and everyone else covered their eyes from the intense light until it died down. Cell chuckled to himself before the smoke cleared to reveal Vegeta unharmed.
"Was that all you had? I must say this is a joke. I was expecting some sort of challenge, I can't believe we were worried about you," he mocked.
"You can't be stronger than me, it's not possible!" Cell roared, charging Vegeta who flipped over him quickly and kicked Cell in the face, sending him skidding across the island before Vegeta appeared in front of him and kicked him into the air. He then flashed above him and slamming his elbow into Cell, sending him crashing down into the island.
"This is insane, Vegeta is kicking Cell's butt, it almost seems pointless to use this remote," Krillin thought, looking at the remote in his hand.
Back on the lookout, Daisuke and Piccolo continued to watch the battle. "Let's hope Vegeta uses his brain for once and finishes Cell off before he gets a chance to absorb Android 18," Daisuke said, and Piccolo nodded as Daisuke looked back at the time chamber. "Goku, Gohan, you two better be training your butts off in there."
Inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Gohan sat up in his bed and panted. "I almost had it…is dad training me in my dreams?" Gohan whispered as he remembered the dream and how it felt so real to him. He got out of the bed and saw Goku's bed was empty and before he could begin searching for his father he saw the outside of the time chamber covered in ice and he spotted Goku nearby powering up.
"Kamehameha!" he cried, firing a blue energy wave at a giant wall of ice that rose up in front of him. It slowly cracked before more ice began building up in front of the energy wave, and ice also began growing along Goku's legs and arms. He added more power to the attack and destroyed the walls of ice, though the remnants buried him.
"Dad!" Gohan cried, running out to his father who burst out from the debris as a Super Saiyan before he powered down and looked at his son.
"What's up?" he asked, noticing the concerned expression on his face. "Sorry if I scared you," he said.
"Dad I almost had it, the dream I had felt so real. I could feel myself transforming. Please dad, keep training me, I need to get stronger, so I can help you and the others fight Cell. I'm tired of being useless and just watching from the sidelines, I'm sure Azumi feels the same way," Gohan said dejectedly, and Goku smiled gently.
"It's alright son, you and Azumi are a lot stronger than your mother and I when we were your age. It'll all come in time. If Daisuke was here, she'd make you rest until you were fully recovered, but since she isn't here, it's my call. So, let's train," he said with a grin, and Gohan nodded.
"Right. Don't hold back on me just because I am your son," he said, and his father nodded before kicking his son in the chest, sending him skidding back.
"Some light sparring first, let's see if you can land a hit on your old man," Goku said with a smirk, and Gohan smirked back as the two blurred off and began to spar.
Back on the battlefield, Cell pulled himself out of the ground on his hands and knees and panted, exhausted from the beating he had been taking from Vegeta. "How could this be? It makes no sense that he is this much stronger than me. I've tried everything on him," he thought, stumbling to his feet. He looked up and saw Vegeta looking down at him from a cliff nearby, a smirk of arrogance on his face. Cell staggered forwards. "Hear me Vegeta? You won't get away with this. I am Cell, do you hear me!?" he roared before he dived into the ground and emerged behind Vegeta, ready to throw another punch, but Vegeta caught his arm without looking, and he threw Cell away.
"Father, I know you are strong, but don't let this all go to your head," Trunks thought, worried that his father would let his arrogance cloud his judgement. Cell came rushing back towards his father who flew into the air, and he fired an energy blast at Cell, sending his foe crashing down into the ocean. Vegeta began hurling energy blasts down at Cell, hitting him each time before he charged a powerful energy blast and fired it down at the android, who took the hit and a nearby chunk of the island was destroyed with the blast.
"Now, where did he go?" Vegeta asked, floating back down and standing on a rock, looking around for Cell. He didn't have to wait long as Cell emerged from the ocean and grabbed Vegeta's legs when he tried to jump away, and smirked.
"Now let's see you get out of this," Cell said as he held Vegeta by his legs and tried to stab him with his tail. At the last second, Vegeta dodged and trapped Cell's tail with his arm. Cell growled as he tried to free his tail, and Vegeta chuckled before he let Cell's tail go and elbowed him in his stomach, causing him to release Vegeta's legs, and as he slumped forward, Vegeta stopped him with his hand.
"What's wrong? You had me," he mocked before flipping around and punching Cell, sending him skipping across the ocean once again until he hit a rock and fell into the water.
"Father, don't let this all go to your head, you don't know what else Cell might have planned," Trunks thought as Vegeta waited for Cell to resurface, which he did moments later.
"I will find a way to destroy you!" Cell roared, which only made Vegeta smirk.
"Was that what you were doing down there for so long, I had thought you were hiding because you didn't want this beating to continue. Face it, Cell, you were dealt a bad hand." Cell snarled and charged him only for the prince to go into the ocean with Cell following him.
"Why did you go and do that?" Krillin asked. Cell landed on the ocean floor and looked around for Vegeta before he began firing energy blasts everywhere to try and draw Vegeta out. After a few moments of doing so, he stopped and looked around for any sign of the Saiyan.
"Come out!" he shouted when suddenly something began heading towards him under the seafloor. He stood his ground, which was a mistake as Vegeta's hand burst out from behind and grabbed his ankle, pulling him off balance and allowing the prince to slam his fist into his gut before kicking him in the neck, sending him rolling across the ground. Vegeta's aura flared around him, and he charged two orbs of Ki, one in each hand, before he fired a golden energy blast, hitting Cell in his chest and sending him back out of the ocean. He came down with a splash while Vegeta flew out of the water and landed on a cliff.
Cell jumped out of the water and landed on the ground below the cliff, and Vegeta looked down on him with a smirk. "Do you realise how fruitless this is, Cell? You stand no chance against me, and did you want to know one little fact?" Vegeta asked before looking at Trunks. "My son, Trunks, is almost as strong as me; he is a true Saiyan Warrior," he said almost with a hint of pride in his voice, making Cell look at the time traveller in shock.
"No…that can't be…" he whispered.
"Face it Cell, you took a gamble, and you lost. Had by some miracle you managed to defeat me, Trunks would have wiped the floor with you," Vegeta continued, which angered Cell. "You started this little game, but now because you are losing, it's no longer fair. Poor, pathetic Cell."
"Don't talk to me that way!" Cell roared in anger, the ground beneath him began cracking and shaking. "You would not be so confident if I had completed my evolution and become perfect. I would surely defeat you then," he told Vegeta. "What do you say? As a Saiyan, you should love the idea of fighting me at my strongest."
"Father no, he's deceiving you!" Trunks warned his father who glanced at him.
"You still sound like a whiny baby who is about to be given a time out," he told Cell, who growled and flared his Ki before he roared, creating a giant dome of energy that destroyed the chunk of island he and Vegeta were on, but Vegeta simply covered his face with his arm to block the blast. When the smoke cleared however, he realised he had been given the slip.
"He's gone!" Trunks shouted, looking around for the monster in a panic. Krillin also was nervous before he flew off over the remainder of the island looking for Android 18.
"I need to find her before Cell does, I'll use this remote, and when she's inactive, I'll blast her." he thought, holding the remote tightly in both hands.
"Yes, little fool, lead me to Android 18," Cell thought as he followed Krillin from the forest on the island below, making sure to keep his energy suppressed. It had worked once before, it will work this time, or so he hoped.
"Damn, from the sounds of things Cell got away. He's probably heading this way," Android 18 said, looking at Android 16. "We need to go."
"Hold on, if we leave now, we will be leading Cell directly to us. He has not discovered our location for this long, it stands to reason he will not find us if we stay put," Android 16 advised her.
"I guess, Vegeta is stronger than him. Was he always like this?" she asked.
"No. You were stronger when you two fought, but now he is the strongest," Android 16 replied.
"But to obtain that much strength in that amount of time is impossible," Android 18 said. Unknown to the two Androids, Krillin was flying near their location when he caught sight of the beautiful Android and frozen in his tracks.
"Oh man…it's her…this is bad," he whimpered with a light flush on his cheeks. "Don't those two have brains, Cell is probably nearby at this very moment and they're still here?" he asked himself in disbelief, looking at the remote. "Oh Bulma, why did you have to be so smart and make this thing?" He floated down to the ground and landed behind a tree.
He peeked around the tree and gulped as he took in Android 18's beauty once again, her blonde hair framing her face perfectly, her blue eyes that held warmth, her curvy figure, his eyes trailed down to her chest before he shook his head and slapped his cheek hard. "Bad Krillin, bad Krillin," he scolded himself a bit too loudly, making the two Androids look over.
"Hey!" Android 18 shouted, making him jump out from behind the tree and her eyes widened at the sight of the remote in his hands. "No…the remote…" she whispered, remembering Dr Gero using a similar remote once to shut her and her brother down when they tried to escape one time.
"Uh, hi," Krillin said sheepishly before he heard something nearby. "You two need to get out of here, Cell's coming for you, we both know what'll happen if he gets his hands on you," he told her, tossing the remote aside. "I'll try to hold him off, get moving now," he urged her.
"Too late," Android 16 said, suddenly making the two look at him, "he is here." Cell emerged from the forest cackling madly.
"You're mine!" he screamed.
"No!" Krillin shouted as he quickly launched a Kamehameha at Cell, only for it to harmlessly bounce off his body.
"It's too late, perfection is mine!" he screamed joyously, his tail lunging for Android 18, and before she could react, it had already covered half her body, and she screamed and struggled as she was slowly sucked down the tail into Cell's body.
"No!" Trunks shouted as he and his father finally arrived on the scene. Trunks fired Ki blasts at Cell to try and stop him, but an energy barrier appeared around his body, blocking the blasts.
"I'm afraid you won't be stopping me this time. You've lost," Cell said, cackling as his body glowed brightly and underwent another transformation with the energy barrier still around him to make sure nobody would be able to harm him before he was done.
His body became much more humanoid, complete with a fully formed nose and mouth. His tail retracted to his tailbone, he now was roughly the height of Piccolo, though he still towered over Vegeta. His wings had grown back, but were now shaded black, his exoskeleton including his abdominal area, and arms were now light green with dark green spots with black plates on his shoulders and chest. His ankles and groin section were also shaded black.
He retained his boot-like feet and the shape of his head. The two protrusions from his head, his face, neck and hands were white, he had purple lines on both sides of his cheeks, and his ears were now yellow.
"Finally. My dream has been realised, I am perfection incarnate," Cell whispered, looking at his hands before chuckling in triumph. "And it was all thanks to the beautiful Android 18. Let it be known that she played a part in a just cause," he said egotistically before turning to Vegeta. "And now Saiyan, prepare for my revenge."
The end of the chapter
Read and review
