-Seventeen-

The wind howled as he dove through the skies, his hair trailing behind him as he stared forward. His gaze was unfocused and empty, his eyes two bored orbs resting in an emotionless face. How long had he been flying now? He couldn't say for certain.. He didn't know his destination either. He had no home to return to now, no place that he could call his own. He'd paused over a few houses in the past several days, studying them intently before eventually deciding to move on. Back then, it'd merely been a matter of choosing a home, slaughtering its residents with his sister by his side, and moving in.
Without her, he found himself hesitating. What if the neighbors noticed? Before, it hardly mattered whether or not people knew where they lived. No one existed that could rival their combined power. But now, if just one nosy maggot spotted him, they could leak the information to the news, which could then broadcast his whereabouts—or so he assumed.

Blondie could be on his doorstep in a matter of days.
A part of Seventeen felt he was just being paranoid. Another part of him, however, felt his fears were completely justified. Why wouldn't Blondie be trying to hunt him down now that he'd fallen off the radar?

It's what I would do if I were him.

He forced his mind to move on to other topics. He briefly thought about whether his little stunt in that damned lab had made headlines. He hadn't paid attention to what the humans were up to over the past...week? Had it really already been a week? The time had moved so fast, and yet, he'd done so little with it. He questioned how many times he'd circled the Earth already, only pausing for the briefest respites when he found himself hovering over a particularly isolated portion of forest.

He'd always had an affinity for the outdoors—towards nature. It was just so...peaceful. It relaxed him to be out where the trees and mountains were, away from the annoyance that was mankind. He'd always jumped at the chance to go camping, even before Dr. Gero had found him. Of course, Eighteen had always been just the opposite, loving the city's urban environment, loving shopping and other girly activities. Convincing her to join him on a camping trip had always been such a chore, so much so that he often resigned to simply go on his own when the urge seized him.
His uninterested gaze rested on the ground below, rushing past in a blur of rich greens and muddy browns. He realized that he'd finally passed the dry desert climate that had seemed to stretch on for ages, having reached what appeared to be some sort of dense woodlands.
Seventeen slowed to a stop, his eyes falling on a relatively thin stretch of river that extended past what the eye could see. The sounds of rushing water, its constant, docile tones soothed him as he listened. Eventually, the Android chose to lower himself to its banks, his feet crunching and sinking ever so slightly into the sand.
His eyes lingered on the river bank, thinking back to a time he'd watched Eighteen sit at a lip much like this one during one of the few times she'd actually agreed to join him out in nature. He pictured her there now, legs kicking into the water as she sat, body language expressing boredom—but he could always tell somewhere in her eyes an unspoken enjoyment. Even she must get tired of all the artificial city lights and intrusive vehicle noises.

"Eighteen…" He said the name in a voice no louder than a whisper.

Despite his decision to leave his sister, that didn't stop his thoughts from returning to the young woman constantly. She'd been—no—she still was his sister, even if he no longer felt that he could trust her.

I wonder if she's still with...him.

He scowled at the thought. Despite never directly stating that she'd formed some sort of relationship with the one-armed wonder, their final conversation had been confirmation enough for Seventeen.

"...I'm guessing that those little trips out to 'work out'...were with him?"

Her eyes snapped open, realizing the implication. "It's not like that! I promise that we're not—"
"Go away, Eighteen."

His eyes screwed shut as he recalled the memory.

Why? Why had she done it? What had made her so abruptly change sides? And if her and Blondie's relationship wasn't romantic as he'd immediately assumed, then what was it? A part of him wished he'd let her speak in those moments, let her explain herself so that he didn't have these burning questions in the back of his mind.

Was it me?

A part of Seventeen had found blame in himself. Had it been his fault for her abrupt betrayal? She had been acting...strange, just before what he liked to call 'the incident'.

He stole a glance at his missing arm.
He couldn't entirely dismiss the possibility, as much as he hated it. Had he really been so bad a brother that she chose to outright defy him in the worst way possible? He'd never seen it that way. He'd always thought their relationship was healthy—well,as healthy as two mass-murdering Androids could be.
He sighed, his gaze cast downward. He supposed it didn't matter, now. What was done was done. What more, he'd lost his final chance at returning to his past self days ago. When that bastard Challenger had managed to trash his plans entirely. Without Eighteen's help, there wasn't a chance in hell of returning to his old life.
"Can't do anything about it now." His voice said in a defeated tone. Turning, he found a nice tree to lean against, sliding down it as he pulled a single knee to his chest. His eyes scanned the currents as they raced past.

In a matter of minutes, or perhaps it had been hours—he couldn't tell anymore—a small, grey-colored rabbit hopped into view. Seventeen's head slowly tilted to the side, studying the creature. He watched as its eyes turned to examine him—deciding whether or not he was a threat—before it shifted and began to chew on some foliage alongside the opposite side of the river.

Seventeen thought about raising a hand and blasting the small critter, but eventually opted against the idea. He supposed he could allow the creature to live; if only because it provided something for him to look at aside from the dull trees and ever-shifting water. While it wasn't a rule he always followed, he generally left wildlife alone when he encountered it. Something about them not knowing he was a direct threat was pleasant to him. Every human in the world would turn away screaming the moment they recognized him, but not animals. No, they regarded him like any other person, and left him alone as long as he did the same.
Eventually, the small bunny moved out of view, and Seventeen's eyelids fell. The sun was beginning to set, and he found his willpower to stay awake slowly draining. While his body never truly tired, his mind sure could. A part of him just wanted to sleep, to wake up and realize that all of this had just been a bad dream. Maybe, just maybe, he could sleep so long that Gohan died of old age. Seventeen was immortal, wasn't he? At least, that had been his and his sister's running theory. Perhaps, if he went to sleep and stayed asleep, he could simply wait until this whole fiasco was over. His sister would still be alive, at least. That much was certain. He could rise, stretch, and things would go back to the way they were before all this; with the added bonus of Gohan being dead in the ground.
He felt his lips curve into a subtle smile.

The idea soothed the android into sleep.


-Cell-

Cell wished he could die.

He figured he had to expire at some point. No creature, regardless of its genetic makeup, could continue to survive in conditions like these, could it?

His body was mangled, torn and even severed from itself in some places. He could feel the weight of the entire mountain atop him, crushing him in a never ending torment. Sharp, jagged rocks dug into his flesh, one of the stones having ripped away his arm in the collapse when his skin had been seared off from Eighteen's blast. He could feel his limb attempting to regrow itself, only to have the stone impede its progress. He'd have to shift, find somewhere with space before he could attempt to restore the arm.
He wanted to scream out in pain, but his earthy tomb had long since ran out of oxygen. His lungs felt like they were coated in lava as they continued a futile attempt to take in air, only to be met with nothing.

With his remaining hand, he stretched out, attempting to pull himself towards where he believed 'up' to be. He heard the earth shift around him as he did. Suddenly, a shattered boulder slid, slamming into one of his legs as it flatted the limb with a sickeningly wet impact.

Cell grimaced as he processed the intense pain, unable to let out a scream.

So...weak…

His leg immediately went to regrowing itself, slowly this time, as his energy was so little he was uncertain if he would be able to regenerate the limb at all. How long had it been since he'd last eaten? How long had he been trapped beneath the surface of the earth? He had to assume several sunrises had come and gone, although without any light, it was hard to tell.

I need...food.

Without a timely victim to restore his energy, Cell didn't know how long he could last down here. He'd expected himself to perish long ago, but it seemed Dr. Gero's genius surpassed even his own expectations. He'd questioned if he would ever die, if Dr. Gero had actually managed to craft a truly immortal being, only for it to be trapped beneath the earth, never to be fully completed.

The concept terrified him. It motivated him to move even when he felt like giving up, because he couldn't give up. Giving up would mean spending an eternity down here, swallowed by the earth, his chest feeling like it was going to burst from the lack of oxygen, but never following through with the threat.
That fate was not for him. No, he refused to believe it.

With a sharp jerk, he tore his thigh free of the now useless and broken leg. He shuddered, feeling even more of his unnatural viridescent blood pour from the new wound. This process was absolute agony. Crawl a few inches, still with the immense weight of thousands of pounds of dirt resting on top of him, only for the stones to shift from the movement and collapse on a part of him that would eventually have to be torn away in order for him to continue.
And it was all because of...her.

Eighteen…

He snarled as he pictured her face in his mind. He'd made several mental promises to exact revenge against the Android who'd done this to him. He didn't know what he could do to the woman to replicate the amount of pain he was going through. What plan could he possibly form to compare? Nothing came to mind.

I'll...have to think...of something.

His thoughts came slowly, likely a side effect of how often he was being forced to regenerate himself. The concept of seeking revenge against the blonde android had been as much a motivation to continue as the fear of being trapped down here forever.

Cell continued to move forward, tearing away limbs when he had to, opting to leave other limbs torn away as to conserve the little energy he had left.

With a trembling hand, he pulled himself into a patch of dirt. While not soft, as it was still hard packed and difficult to work through, it did mean that he didn't have to worry about one of his arms or legs being crushed by a shifted stone.
He tried to breathe a sigh of relief, failed, and then set to work trying to regrow an arm he'd lost minutes ago.

He frowned.

His body went rigid. Panic began to set in as he tried a second time...with no effect.

It appeared he'd finally reached his genetic limit. No matter how much he attempted to prompt his namekian healing factor, his body wouldn't comply. He no longer had the energy to regrow himself.

Cell ceased his progress when he realized this. Alongside his missing arm, he was also suffering from the lack of a leg on his right side.

If I continue...if I get stuck again…

If he were to come across another layer of stones like the last, it could spell the end for him. He would suffer the loss of his remaining arm, and then that would be it. He would be stuck, unable to free himself, lost beneath the land for all eternity.

Or...maybe not…

If his regeneration could be overwhelmed, who's to say how long it would take for him to finally starve to death? He knew that in his 'perfect' form, he would be able to recover from anything. His body would be able to last forever without any external means, but that was when he was complete. As he was now, he had no idea if his imperfect form had the same durability.

Cell's hesitation was short-lived as he began to slowly crawl once more. It wasn't as if he had many options. Either lose his final arm in the effort to free himself, or die down here without ever knowing true perfection.

The thought sickened him.

His arm plunged through the dirt, dragging the rest of his broken body upward before repeating the process, his entire from trembling from the effort. He forced his mind to think about all the terrible things he would do to Android Eighteen to distract himself from the exertion. It was a tricky prospect, as he knew that he still needed her in order to complete himself. That meant that whatever he did to her, would need to be careful not to damage her energy core, which was what truly mattered. Perhaps he could simply tear off all of her limbs. A fitting punishment for what he was suffering. He questioned if that would have some sort of inverse effect on her energy output-

His thoughts emptied. His hand had just surged forward in a practiced motion, expecting to grasp another handful of dirt to drag himself upward again.

Instead, he felt air.

Dr. Gero's final creation scrambled as he bent his arm, pushing down on the flat surface of the dirt before pulling the rest of himself up. His head erupted from the earth, spraying dirt everywhere as he took his first breath in ages. He gasped, taking long, greedy gulps of air.

Then, he let his head fall back and let out a primal, rage filled roar.


-Two Hours Later-

The sun slowly began to slip behind the horizon, its final beams of light cascading over the dense treeline.
Cell had finally found the strength to regrow his previously amputated limbs, able to crawl and move about as he pleased. The process had taken him far longer to accomplish than he'd have hoped. Unable to hunt as he normally did, he'd been forced to drag himself to a hidden spot within a set of bushes and wait for a suitable prey to approach.
Thankfully, it hadn't been long before a youthful sabertooth tiger had wandered into his sights. The meal had been just enough for Cell to restore his body to its normal state. However, his stores of energy were still pitifully low, and would require much, much more food for him to be fully replenished.

Damn android!

Cell kept himself low, his legs moving like a spider as he traversed the uneven terrain of the forest floor. He'd tried walking upright a number of times in the past, but the process felt unnatural to him. Crawling just seemed a much more efficient means of travel; at least until he figured out how to fly.

He could hear the sounds of a current ahead and immediately grew excited.

Water means animals.

A river was a natural meeting point for wildlife as he understood it. A water source always drew out those seeking to quench their thirst, not to mention the fish within its streams were often easily caught.

Despite his still weakened state, his motions grew faster, eager to discover what lay in wait for his hungry belly.

After a short sprint on all fours, he finally broke the tree line. His cat-like eyes immediately locked onto a small grey bunny attempting to retreat into a set of bushes to his right, likely frightened by his hurried movements.
His tail proved too swift for the small rabbit.

After absorbing the trivial meal into his being, Cell approached the source of water. His eyes began to dilate to compensate for the poor lighting. He squinted, searching the depths of the river for his next meal when a shape on the other side of the river caught his eye. Turning his head, he studied the figure curiously.

A human? All the way out here?

There, slumped against a large tree, was the undeniable shape of a person.

It was strange for Cell to find people this far out in the wilderness, but that didn't mean he was going to ignore such an easy meal. He'd found that people were often the best source of food in means of replenishing his reserves, not to mention the excitement of discovering something new about the world from the person he ingested.

He felt his stomach rumble before he quickly slipped into the water. The current was strong, but Cell's body easily adapted to the new terrain. His arms pinned to his sides, his tail moved to act like a fin as he began to snake through the water much like he'd seen fish do so many times before. In a matter of moments, he'd crossed the stream and pulled his massive, spindly form from the river bank.

He began to slowly creep towards the slumbering figure. As he did, his head tilted to the side, confused. Something about this individual appeared...familiar, although he was uncertain of just where he could have possibly seen them before.
It wasn't until he'd managed to close the distance between them to a mere ten feet that he realized just who he was looking at.

His entire body froze in its movement. He dared not even blink, less he do and the figure disappear, revealed to be no more than his hungry delusions at work.

Android Seventeen.

He couldn't believe it. What was Android Seventeen doing here of all places? What more, why had he chosen such a strange place to rest? Infact, did the androids even need rest to begin with? They were machines, weren't they?

Cell's shape stayed entirely motionless as he examined the resting android. He knew that androids Seventeen and Eighteen were of Dr. Gero's design, and likely had sensors far superior to that of a normal human. It was possible that just one subtle noise would be enough to wake the slumbering machine.

I have to be...careful…

He knew it to be true. In that moment, he was both in a highly opportunistic situation, as well as a dangerous one. If he roused the Android into wakefulness, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that Android Seventeen would seek to kill him much like his sibling had.

Where is Android Eighteen?

From what he understood, the two had been seemingly inseparable. They were twins, siblings from birth and, as far as he understood, vastly loyal to one and other. It made little sense that one would stray so far from the other, not to mention choosing to rest out in the middle of nowhere.

How...odd.

He'd thought it unusual when the two had visited the now decimated laboratory separately, but had chalked it up as little more than a fluke occurrence. It was possible for one to be away from the other for a time and still return later.

Now, in conjunction with Android Eighteen's peculiar new look, Cell was much less certain of what to think.
His eyes worked their way up and down the Android. Had his face been able to do so, he would have formed a frown.

His arm…it's gone.

The limb was completely severed at the shoulder. It was painfully clear that Android Seventeen had suffered a considerable wound. Had that been from a battle between the two androids? Was that the reason they were now traveling separately?

Cell found himself growing angry at the sleeping android. He didn't know the nature of the wound, but there was a possibility that such a significant injury could result in a less than perfect version of himself once he absorbed the young man. He found himself wishing Android Seventeen had taken better care of himself. Didn't he know that he was necessary for the ultimate lifeform?
No... he wouldn't.

Considering how clueless his sister had been when regarding himself, it seemed that neither of the siblings were aware of what they were truly destined to become. What more, Cell had quickly realized that he had the rare opportunity to accelerate Seventeen's destiny. Before, Cell had assumed that it would take years of carefully absorbing victim after victim. He'd have to be slow with his development, making sure to not draw any unwanted attention from either the androids, or Son Gohan who he suspected was still alive.

However, now he had the chance to forgo all that struggle, to take Seventeen here and now before the android even knew what was going on.

Cell could feel Dr. Gero's programmed instincts urging him to do it, to slowly creep up and absorb one of the two pieces he required to achieve perfection.

Another part of Cell was hesitant. What if he woke the dangerous android? What then? Would he even have a chance to escape?

Regardless of the dangers, Cell found his body beginning to creep towards the slumbering figure. It was true that he was very much risking his life by doing so, but the potential of gaining such a vital piece of his perfection years before he'd believed himself ready was too much to ignore.

Cell's yellow eyes refused to leave Seventeen, refused to even blink as he crept closer to the sleeping man. His limbs all worked carefully, flattening the untamed grass as he tried to mitigate the sound of his approach. He mentally cursed the foliage for existing in this moment, producing tiny, crunching sounds that seemed so loud despite the rushing current only a few lengths away.

Finally, after several pain staking moments, he'd closed the distance between he and his piece of perfection.

He watched Seventeen's chest rise and fall, soft breaths of air slipping from the young man's nostrils. Did Seventeen even need to breathe? Or was that a natural habit from the time before Dr. Gero graciously took them to become something more? Cell had always had a strong understanding of the two androids. He reasoned that it was a design of Dr. Gero's, ensuring that Cell would have the strongest chance at hunting them down once he grew powerful enough to take them for himself.

He positioned his tail over his shoulder, still moving slowly lest he accidentally wake the man. Even now, he knew that his prize wasn't assured. He'd need to make his swallowing of the android a swift, and likely rushed movement. A shame, as he'd always envisioned the process as something he could savor, something to be enjoyed much like how people enjoyed normal food, or so he'd come to understand after swallowed an obese man who'd been walking around with one of those long barreled guns on his shoulder.

Cell reviled at the memory. He still hated those annoying contraptions.

He licked his lips. He imagined that he would no longer find them all that bothersome once Seventeen's power became his own.

The needle-like point of his tail began to slowly expand, becoming a large gaping mouth, larger in width than Seventeen's shoulders as it hovered over the android. Once again, he'd known instinctually that he was meant to absorb Dr. Gero's second most impressive creations this way. He could not swallow them with the same method he absorbed other lifeforms, as he needed to ensure that the internal mechanisms within Seventeen remained intact.

He slowly descended the tail, readying himself to slam the limb downward, enveloping the sleeping figure in one swift motion. He needed to ensure that Seventeen had absolutely no chance to retaliate. Hopefully, he would awaken confused, and lose the chance to struggle in his disorientated state.

Cell jumped as the sounds of a sharp rustling startled him. His head snapped to the side, his eyes locking onto a small racoon who'd climbed out of a large patch of bushes just a few feet away. Cell's eyes met its, and immediately the racoon tensed, its fur rising in an attempt to make itself appear larger. It bore its fangs towards Cell as it let out a sharp snarl, hastily retreating back into the bush.

Cell's head snapped back to Seventeen.

The android's body shifted, rousing from his slumber.

No!

He knew he was about to lose his chance. In a desperate motion, Cell's tail swiftly fell just as Seventeen's eyes snapped open, his brow furrowed in confusion. His upper torso disappeared a moment later, enveloped by Cell's snake-like tail. For a moment, Cell felt his victory assured, his limb moving quickly as it inched downward, swallowing even more of the android.

I have won!

The euphoria of the thought made Cell shiver in delight. It was only a matter of finding Android Eighteen now. Where would she-

His tail exploded.

The limb was blasted away in all directions as Cell was thrown back by the force. His momentum was halted by a tree that cracked as he hit it, his head slamming back in a violent motion that left him dazed as he slumped against the ground.

He took a few foggy moments to collect himself, his eyes narrowed as he processed the intense pain of first, losing his tail, and then the collective bruising across his back.

What just happened?

His mind felt muddled as he sat. Hadn't he won? He'd almost entirely swallowed the android, how had he failed?

Quickly, his thoughts cleared as his head snapped upward, eyes now wide as he turned towards the source of his pain.

He locked eyes with Android Seventeen. There was hatred in those eyes, a furious snarl consumed his features as he regarded Cell with a clenched fist.

Cell felt his body tremble in fear.


-Seventeen-

What the actual fuck is that?

The creature was shaped almost like a man, with spindly, lengthy limbs armored in a green carapace speckled with random black shapes. It's hands resembled a man's, although Its feet each only had three toes in total, seeming shaped to function more like fingers than standard toes. Its head was shaped in a disgusting, definitely unnatural v-shape that made Seventeen's head rear back in disgust. It even appeared to have two wings jutting out from its back on either side, almost like that of a beetle.

Overall, the creature was absolutely revolting to the android.

Whatever it was, it had just tried to swallow him, or at least, that what Seventeen had to assume was being done just before he'd been startled awake.

Seventeen immediately raised a hand, a golden ball of energy forming at the center of his palm.

He watched the monstrosity scramble to its feet, opening its hands towards him. "W-wait!"

It can speak?!

Yeah, fuck that.

Seventeen let loose the attack. He watched, satisfied as the energy blast tore through the monstrosity's torso, splattering it's viridescent innards against the tree behind it. The force of the attack sent the creature flying back for the second time before it collided with the strong wood.
He watched as it slumped over, its eyes still open as it grew still.

Seventeen slowly let his arm fall to his side, a disturbed frown resting on his lips as he assured himself that the threat was over. He stared at the dead body of...just what was that?

His head tilted to the side as he examined it. Curious, the android began to slowly approach. He crouched next to it, studying the dead body and studying its many intricacies with a morbid curiosity. He'd never seen anything like it before in his life despite considering himself a nature-buff, although he'd never actually admit that fact to anyone.

"Where did you come from…?" Seventeen asked no one in particular. It looked like a science experiment gone wrong, gone very, very wrong.
Seventeen's gaze shifted to the gaping hole he'd left in the it's chest. He cocked an eyebrow as he noticed the soupy fluids dribbling out from the wound.

Green blood?

How strange. His icy blue eyes watched as the liquid spilled out just as it would for a normal man, threatening to stain his already ruined footwear as it pooled in the grass. Seventeen took a nervous step back, not willing to risk letting this monster's blood touch him.

What if it's like, acid or something?

He'd seen that in a movie once. Was that even possible?
After prodding the blood with a stick and coming to the conclusion that no, it wasn't in fact acidic, Seventeen returned to a crouch at the dead creature's side. Was it an alien? It certainly looked hideous enough to be one. Seventeen frowned, his head tilting to the side thoughtfully as he examined the corpse. He recalled years ago when he and his sister had encountered a being sorta like this one, although far less horrendous in his opinion. It had bled blood of a strange color as well. Infact, if he was recalling correctly, he'd even seen it regrow its arm at one point of the fight.

His hand cautiously reached out, still not entirely comfortable with being so close to a potential alien, and touched the corpse's forearm. The texture was just how it had looked, grainy and hard, clearly a shell of some sort.
He pulled his hand back, his eyes moved to study the alien's face-!

He startled, scrambling to his feet in a hasty retreat.

It looked at me!

He stared down at it's vacant expression, not daring to blink as his chest rose and fell with nervousness. Once more, it appeared that it's eyes were staring out at nothing, just as dead as it'd been moments earlier. Seventeen's lips formed a thin line, not convinced he'd just imagined what he'd seen. It's eyes had been trained on him, even meeting his own gaze for a moment, he was sure of it!

His gaze shifted to examine the wound in the creature's chest once more. If it really had looked at him, how was it still alive with such a massive hole in its torso? There was no way something could survive such a wound, right? Perhaps he'd seen a nervous twitch, like a dead dog whose leg would tense or kick out involuntarily. The last sparks of life from a body that didn't know it was already dead. Seventeen felt the tension in his shoulder's ease as the idea formed.

But he still wasn't entirely convinced. A part of him wanted to make sure. To raise his hand and blast away every last shred of the creature's body and be done with it. The people in the movies always made the mistake of studying whatever alien was brought aboard, only to have it come back and kill them all in the end. He'd always been silently wishing that they'd done the sensible thing in those early scenes of the movie, killing the alien properly without all the fascination that came with a new life form.

Despite this line of reasoning, the android found himself hesitating.

"..."

Am I really going to make the same mistake as the guys in the movies?

Despite himself, he had to admit that the appearance of this seemingly random creature was something new, even if it had scared him half to death initially. Considering how little he'd had to occupy himself over the past week—hell, over the past month, this was definitely a break from the monotony. It felt a shame to destroy it after just discovering it. Besides, it was already dead...right?

His expression hardened as he raised his hand once more. Energy formed within his palm once more. "If you're still alive, you better get up now or else this next blast is going straight through your head!" He commanded in a vicious snarl.

He waited several seconds, expecting the corpse to suddenly spring to life, to make a wild leap at his form in a desperate act to save itself. Instead, the corpse remained still, unblinking, unmoving.

I'm being silly. It's dead.

His arm slowly fell to his side, the energy dissipating a moment later. His logic had been: if it could speak, and could plead for Seventeen to not tear a massive hole through its chest, then maybe he could simply threaten the creature into revealing itself.

...Unless it can also survive without its head…

The thought came slowly to him. It was ridiculous, and a part of Seventeen knew that he was thinking waaay too much about this...thing, but it was also the first piece of excitement in his life ever since his sister's betrayal. Besides, it wasn't as if there were anyone around to judge him for over speculating after seeing something as hideous as this thing was.
He thought back to moments earlier, to the glimpse of movement he'd caught in the creature's eyes. Had he imagined it?

...No.

His mind, enhanced by the computer engineering implanted by Dr. Gero, could return to any part of his memory with crisp accuracy.

He'd definitely seen it's gaze lock onto him, if only for the briefest of moments.

But, if it really was alive, then how could he make it reveal itself once more? Should he just keep firing blast after blast into it until it was unable to ignore him? What's more, why did Seventeen even want to rouse the creature into wakefulness? Wasn't this the part of the movie where the scientists were all attacked and killed for being idiots?

Seventeen scoffed. Ofcourse, none of those scientists had been a nigh-immortal being capable of leveling an entire city block at the flick of their wrist. Whatever this thing had been hadn't put up much of a fight. Even if it did rise, he doubted he would be in any real danger.

It even seemed scared of me…

Just before he'd fired the beam into its chest, he'd seen true fear in the creature's eyes. It was a look he was all too familiar with, one he'd seen written across hundreds of thousands of his victims over the past decade.

Intent on either forcing the disturbing looking alien to rise or destroying it, Seventeen raised his hand once more. He prepared himself to unleash a small barrage of beams, before another idea came to him.

He grinned.


-Cell-

This is bad.

Cell could feel the warm liquid of his innards spilling out, coating the ground in a sickly green.
This is really bad.

Why was Android Seventeen just standing there like that? He needed desperately to restore the massive chunks of himself that had been blown away in the attack. It was all he could do to remain still, playing dead as he denied his healing factor from kicking in. How long could he stay like this? At some point, he would have to heal himself, regardless of whether or not Seventeen was watching him. He could not continue to bear such a mortal wound forever...or at least, he was pretty sure he couldn't. The agony from doing so was absolute misery. He realized however, that the pain was far more tolerable compared to what he'd been through mere hours ago.

I shouldn't have tried this.

Cell internally scolded himself for attempting something so foolish! He should have known that, at his current strength, there was no way for him to successfully absorb the android. The opportunity had just presented itself so perfectly, he hadn't been able to stop himself!

Not daring to shift his gaze as he'd so stupidly done moments ago, he could see out of the corner of his eye that Seventeen was leveling his hand to fire even more blasts of energy into him. Cell pushed down his urge to flee. His only hope was that Seventeen would give him an opportunity to escape. Perhaps the android would blast him far enough away for him to make a hasty retreat? Ofcourse, there was the possibility that Seventeen was planning to simply blow all of him away in a single, massive blast. Cell knew that the android was certainly capable of such a feat.

Should I run?

He didn't know. He would need time to both heal himself and then to get away. If the android chose to take chase...he doubted there was much he could do to escape such a powerful being.

Stupid!

He told himself again as he prepared for the worse.

Then, in a blink of the eye, Android Seventeen was gone.

...What?

Cell waited several seconds before daring to shift his gaze. His eyes moved back and forth searching for the dark-haired adolescent. He found nothing. Had the android lost interest in his corpse after studying him for so long? It seemed odd to Cell, so much so that he chose to wait several additional excruciating seconds in order to assure he was truly, finally alone.

Cell let out a gasp as the hole in his chest finally closed itself, his internal organs reforming in a matter of moments. He pushed himself to his hands and knees, letting out a grunt as a tail erupted from what was a stump moments before. The new limb glistening with green blood from the effort.

He let out several, ragad gasps of air as he remained there. He couldn't believe that had gone so poorly. Despite this, a part of him still felt his attempt could have been successful had things gone differently.

Cell growled, his fingers digging into the grass and dirt in frustration. He'd been so close! After a short time, he let out a sigh, closing his eyes. There was nothing he could do about it now. At the very least, he'd managed to survive the encounter. That was something, right?

"Huh, so you really can heal yourself. Neat."

Cell sucked in a sharp breath. His head snapped up towards the voice. His eyes bulged as he saw Seventeen hanging in the sky, looking down on him with a satisfied grin. How had he not seen him before? Had the Android been hiding?!

Run!

Cell scrambled to his feet, dashing on all fours as fast as his still exhausted body could manage. He started towards the treeline. Maybe if he found a hiding place, a large bush or a crevice in the ground to crawl into he could-

He felt a foot hit the center of his back. His head cracked as he slammed down, his body forming a small crater from the impact. He felt Seventeen standing atop him now, pinning him to the ground with so much pressure he could feel his newly reformed backplate beginning to crack.

Not good!

"Now, where do you think you're going, Bug-boy?"

Cell grunted, struggling to draw breath as the foot sunk deeper into his back. He let out a gasp of pain. He began to panic. He couldn't see any way to escape! He couldn't die like this, not after how hard he'd fought to climb to the surface, could he?

"That was a clever trick you pulled, playing dead and all. Got me thinking." Seventeen's foot sank even deeper, and Cell could hear his spine threatening to snap. "Just how much damage can I do before you stop healing? I've never had someone who could just pop back up like you did, not after taking a hit like that. I'm curious what I'll have to do to really put you down."

Think!

Cell's face was twisted to the side, one eye able to look up and over his shoulder at Seventeen. He could see the android's dark grin, an evil enjoyment at the prospect of having a victim that could reform themself over and over again.

Well, until he couldn't anymore. Cell had discovered his limits just earlier in the day, and he'd yet to fully restore his energy supply since then. He imagined it wouldn't take long for Seventeen to reach that limit again.

His gaze darted back and forth, searching in a panic for anything he could use to forge an escape attempt. First, he looked behind the android, hoping there was something in the forest that might be the key to his rescue. He quickly determined that the river and fish wouldn't be assisting him anytime soon.

Seventeen raised a hand, a now familiar sphere of energy forming before his palm. Cell stared, terrified at the ball of ki, before the raised arm made him notice something. His gaze shifted, focusing on the android's right side, on his missing arm.

Could he use that?

Cell's mind raced, searching for something, anything to prevent his demise.

"Wait!" He hissed out.

"Is that the only word you know, Bug-boy?" Seventeen snickered, his arm still posed to blast. "I think I'll start with...your legs."

"Your arm!" he called out frantically.

He watched as Seventeen wavered, frowning as his eyes darted to the missing limb. "What? What about it? You only just noticed it was gone?"

"No!" Cell stammered, his mind scrambling to form ideas. Seventeen had been back at Dr. Gero's lab, searching for 'blueprints' as he called it. Was it possible that he'd been searching for them so that he could fix himself?

It made sense to Cell. The papers had been rather detailed in regards to the inner workings of their design. Even if he hadn't been able to read the words, he had been able to surmise the nature of the document from the detailed pictures. He'd assumed that android Eighteen had taken them for the same purpose, but for whatever reason, the two were separate, and Seventeen was still broken. Was it possible that the two were no longer working together? Had Eighteen not brought the blueprints back to her brother?

What if…

"If-" Cell swallowed nervously. "If you...let me go…" The words came out slowly. Speech wasn't something Cell had been given a lot of chances to practice. "I can...fix...your arm."

He watched the android suddenly grow still, his eyes widening in shock. Finally, he sneered. "Liar. You're just trying to save your own skin. I bet you'd say anything to get me to lift my foot and give you a second chance to run away."

The android's hand leveled towards Cell's legs once more.

"Not true!" Cell shouted hastily. "I-I…" He trailed off. How could he convince him? It had been a lie. What could he possibly say that would suggest he was telling the truth? "I was made… by Dr. Gero...like you."

He saw Seventeen freeze at the mention of that name. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "So you know the doctor's name, that's cute. How come I don't remember seeing any disgusting bug creatures in Gero's lab then?"

"Hidden…basement." He felt the words were right. "Born...there. He kept me...secret."

He could see a thoughtful expression on Seventeen's face, clearly trying to work out if his words were true. "So...you really are a science experiment gone wrong." He let out a dark laugh, his hand falling to his side. "But that still doesn't explain how you'd be able to fix me. What, did Dr. Gero program you with knowledge on how to fix robot arms?" He shook his head, scoffing. "Sounds too good to be true. If you really are another creation of that monster, then all you've done is given me another reason to kill you." Seventeen's hand began to glow.

"I've seen the blueprints!" Cell shouted frantically.

This drew a pause.
"Where?" the android asked eagerly. Cell felt a noticeable amount of weight lift off of his back, although the foot still pinned him to the ground.

"Back...at Dr. Gero's...lab." Cell noted that his tail was still free. Perhaps if he coiled it behind Seventeen, he could possibly…

No, bad idea.

He'd already tried that, and that had been with while Seventeen had been asleep. Trying now would be a death sentence. It was just Dr. Gero's hard wired instincts trying to get him to attempt once more.

"Impossible." Seventeen scowled. "I checked everywhere in that damn lab."

"You did not...check...the basement." Cell said with a slight coyness to his voice.

He caught Seventeen's eyes growing wide at the revelation. His face lit with a smile a moment later.

I have him.


-Seventeen-

Was it really possible? Seventeen could feel his bottom lip trembling, the words still ringing in his ears.

The blueprints! My ticket to my old life, it's still there!

With those, it wouldn't matter who he chose to fix his arm. They'd have a format to follow, like the instructions to a lego set, he figured. All he would have to do was find a competent enough scientist he could bully—one with a family preferably—and bam, he'd have his arm back!

The young man sucked in a sharp, excited breath of air. He could still fix this!

"You know where they are?" He asked, unable to mask the urgency in his voice.

He watched the creature hesitate, it seemed to be contemplating something.

"...No."

What? But he'd just said-

"Why not?!" He demanded, pressing back down.

It gasped in pain. It was certainly durable, whatever it was. "They were...taken. By Android...Eighteen."

Seventeen's jaw went slack. His sister had them? How? When? Why hadn't she tried to reach out to him if she really did have such valuable documents? Didn't she know that she held the key to his old self's revival?

He blinked. His eyes narrowed on the deformed humanoid beneath him. "When did this happen?"

"I…" A pause. Despite it's bug-like features, Seventeen could just vaguely read confusion on the monster's face. "I'm not...sure."

Not sure? Did it not know what days were? Had it been more than that? Had it been weeks since Eighteen had taken the blueprints?

"Well, you better start thinking real hard about it." He stomped down harder. There was a loud snapping sound as he felt his foot sink into the creature's torso. "Because I'm pretty sure your life depends on it." he hissed.

It let out a pained, gurgling sound before screeching out. "A week ago!" Seventeen eased the pressure off it's back. "I think…it's been a week. She destroyed the lab...with me inside. I only just…climbed out…of the rubble."

Seventeen cocked an eyebrow at that part. This thing had survived his sister's attack? Had she and it fought? She must have if she'd found the blueprints within whatever this secret basement had been.

Damn, this thing is pretty durable if it managed to survive sis.

His curiosity to discover just how much damage he could do to it until it actually died grew. Seventeen smirked, shaking his head. Foolish monster, it likely thought it had saved its life by telling him this news. Now that he knew that his sister had the blueprints, it was merely a matter of finding a phone and calling her. It occurred to him that the reason she hadn't reached out to him yet, was that she didn't have a means to. His phone had been destroyed in the conflict between him and that scum Blondie. He'd yet to find another one, and even if he had, she wouldn't have known the number to call. She'd likely gone to investigate Dr. Gero's lab herself, hoping to find a way to restore him after feeling guilty about turning against him, as she should! A part of Seventeen was still angry at her about the fact she'd betrayed him, but he supposed he could let that anger die since she'd actually found the blueprints.

Good job, sis.

He regarded the likely paralyzed being beneath his foot. He'd heard cracks like that before from humans, a broken spine. He didn't need it now. He could just blow it away with a blast of energy and be rid of it.

He leveled a hand at the creature's back.

"W-wait!" It pleaded once more. Seriously, he was getting tired of its raspy, gravely voice. "I said-"

"I know what you said." He scoffed. "You shouldn't have told me Eighteen took the blueprints. If she has them, then I don't need you."

He saw that look of confusion cross it's features once more, before it closed its eyes reverently. "I thought...that you two…were not connected...anymore. I was...wrong."

Seventeen paused at that comment. He blinked, frowning. Despite its clear lack of knowledge on the situation, it did have a point.

Is sis still on my side?

He'd assumed immediately that Eighteen would hand over the blueprints, but would she? He couldn't imagine another reason for her to search them out other than to help him, but what if she hadn't been doing that? What if…

What if she took them to make sure that I wouldn't find them?

The thought was jarring, and one that he couldn't accept despite his sister's betrayal. A part of Seventeen still instinctively trusted her, even if he knew that he shouldn't. If Eighteen truly was on the side of Blondie—the mere thought made Seventeen snarl in disgust—then that meant the only chance he had at repairing his arm was this thing beneath his foot.

Assuming it's telling the truth.

This could all just be a weave of lies he realized, one it'd fabricated in a desperate attempt to save itself. Either way, Seventeen found himself unwilling to risk it.

"Lucky day, Creepy, you're not dying today." He withdrew his foot, taking a step back and watching as its eyes snapped open in surprise. He needed to find a phone and talk to his sister. If she told him that she was planning to help him as she should, then he could dispose of this vile creature. If not…

Seventeen scowled. He didn't like picturing the image of this thing working on his arm.

"Heal yourself already." He demanded, noticing that he had been correct in his assessment of the creature's spine. There was a long pause before it sucked in air, a loud pop sounding from it's back before it began to slowly rise to its feet.

It met Seventeen's gaze, a nervous look in its eyes.

"C'mon." He beckoned, stepping past the monstrosity. He shot it a dangerous glare. "You're coming with me."


-Cell-

What changed?

Had it been something he said? Moments ago, Seventeen had seemed intent on killing him. Now it appeared, he wanted him to tag along?

"Can you fly?" Seventeen asked, looking over his shoulder at Cell.

Cell swallowed nervously. He could see death in those eyes. "No." He answered flatly. The skill had evaded him so far. He imagined it would come to him in due time, once he'd acquired enough strength from his victims to figure it out.

Seventeen scowled at the information, his eyes scanning the forest surrounding them. "Guess we have to do this the old fashion way…"

The android began to march, his hand balled into a fist. It seemed he was aggravated at being forced to walk to whatever their destination was.

Speaking of which…

"Where… are we...going?" Cell asked hesitantly as he began to hastily crawl alongside Seventeen, keeping pace.

"To find a phone." Seventeen answered coldly before shooting a deprecatory look at Cell. "Can you not walk on your feet?"

"I…" Cell paused, considering the question. "It is...easier for me… this way."

"Walk normal, Fuck-face. You're creeping me out."

Cell growled in annoyance but obeyed the command. Slowly, he pushed himself until he was balancing on his two legs in a hunched over fashion. Far less efficient this way of walking was. He much preferred scuttling on the ground. It allowed him to travel faster, as well as keep a low profile whenever he hunted.

He struggled to keep up with Seventeen's eager pace as they traveled, often stumbling and prompting mocking remarks from the android. Cell mumbled to himself each time, but kept his annoyed comments to himself, now knowing the android's temper all too well.

Cell's eyes darted towards the forest life surrounding them. Should he attempt to escape? He knew that the androids did not have a means to track life energy, a deliberate flaw Dr. Gero had designed in them. If he managed to break line of sight, he did have a chance at escaping.

Cell caught a sideways glance from Seventeen, one of many throughout their duration together. No, it would be a poor choice to try and escape now, when Seventeen was the most focused on his new prisoner. He knew by those looks that the android was keeping a sharp eye on him, and was likely paying attention to his every move via the enhanced senses the great Dr. Gero had granted him.

I'll have to wait for a moment…

He'd get one, he knew it to be true. Perhaps if he built up enough rapport with the android he'd gain a chance to flee, building the idea that Seventeen didn't have to watch him so closely. Cell decided to follow behind dutifully, waiting for his moment to escape.

He could not tell exactly how much time had passed in silence. The sun had finally fallen behind the horizon, coating the duo in darkness as the moon took its place in the sky.

"So…" Seventeen began, clearly bored by their slow progress. "You got a name, Ugly?"

"Cell." he responded flatly.

"Cell?" Seventeen repeated with a frown. "Kinda a boring name dontcha think? I thought you'd be called something creepier, y'know, given how hideous you are."

Cell grumbled but did not respond to the comment.

Eventually, Seventeen's voice rose again. "So, what's your deal, Bug-boy?"

"My...deal?" Cell cocked his head. Was he asking to form a deal with him? He hadn't thought he had any say in this arrangement.
"Y'know," Seventeen motioned with his hand. "Like, what are you? You said Dr. Gero made you, right? Why? And like…" he frowned, cocking his head. "Just how did Dr. Gero make you? If I'm remembering right, I'm pretty sure I spiked his head into the wall back at the lab like, a decade ago."

"I…" Cell paused. Should he withhold this information? Was it dangerous to share this knowledge with what was still very much his enemy, even if they'd come to a truce he still didn't fully understand?

Talking could give me a chance to escape.

Perhaps if Seventeen grew comfortable enough in their conversation, he'd stop watching so carefully and allow Cell to slip away.

The idea was as good as any.

"I am Dr. Gero's...ultimate creation." Cell began, "I am...the combination...of all the strongest people...that once lived."

Seventeen snorted. "And you came out looking like that?" He raised an eyebrow, surveying Cell up and down. "Guess it must be like when you mix all the colors together and you come out with shit-brown, because damn. You're one ugly fuck, you know that, right?"

Cell grumbled, his hands tightening to fists at the mockery.

"Besides," Seventeen continued, "for being the doc's 'ultimate creation' you sure are weak. I kicked your ass in like, two seconds flat. I still remember you wailing like a baby for me not to kill you." The android let out a laugh, his head falling back as he did. "I'm guessing whatever Gero was going for, he failed when he came out with you."

Cell angrily hissed back. "I am not yet complete!" He was boiling with rage, both at the fact that he was being mocked, and the fact that he could physically do nothing to stop it. "I need to...grow, consume until...I become perfect."

"Huh," Seventeen's voice grew less derisive as he shot a sideways glance over his shoulder. His eyes scanned the long tail trailing behind Cell. "I'm guessing by the fact that you tried to swallow me earlier, that's how you 'consume' people?" He gestured towards the appendage.

Cell slowly nodded in response. He didn't like revealing his nature to what was so clearly a threat to his survival. Unfortunately, he imagined that if he were to try to withhold this information, it would result in a less than pleasant response from the temperamental android.

"So, I get the what, but I still don't understand the how." He cocked an eyebrow at Cell. "How'd Dr. Gero make you? Y'know, with him being dead and all."

"I was made before his death...beneath the lab. Grown slowly...in a tube for years, I think. I broke free...when I awoke." The words were getting easier for him now. The practice he realized was good for his voice, if not a little taxing.

So...hungry.

He'd been doing his best to keep up with the never waving pace of the android, but his stamina was wearing thin. After having to survive Seventeen's lethal attacks, his already drained energy supply had dwindled to almost nothing.

He had to keep his mind off it. Looking for something to distract himself, his gaze fell on the missing portion of Seventeen's arm.

"...How did you...lose your arm?"

He saw a flash of anger cross Seventeen's face in response. Cell found himself panicking as the android shot him a dangerous look . "That's none of your business, Shit-stain."

Cell quickly nodded before the pair fell into silence once more.

"So, how do you plan on fixing my arm without the blueprints my sis has?" Seventeen asked, the jovial tone from before now gone.

Cell paused. The lie had come to him in a panic, now he had to authenticate it...somehow.

"I memorized...them." He answered plainly.

Seventeen stopped, his frown deepening as he turned to Cell. "You what?"

Cell froze, his eyes wide as he stared down the glare from the android. "I...stared at both...for a long time. I remember them...completely." It was the truth. He had examined the depictions of androids Seventeen and Eighteen when they had been pinned to his wall back at the lab. He'd stared at them, fantasizing about the day he'd be able to finally absorb each of his components into himself and achieve perfection.

"You're telling me you remember every single part? You can recall with picture perfect accuracy how to put me back together? Because I'm not feeling very reassured about someone trying to fix me over a memory."

Cell felt himself growing nervous from the intensity of Seventeen's glare. How could he convey to the android that he had memorized each picture, even if he still didn't quite know what the strange symbols written on them meant. Despite that fact, he could still remember exactly how the symbols looked and the order they'd been in. Dr. Gero had given him a perfect mind as well as the promise of one day achieving a perfect form. He could lock away memories at a single glance, let alone an image of something he'd been staring at longingly for years. He pictured he'd even be able to recreate it if given something to draw with. Although, he realized doing so would mean that Seventeen would no longer need him after the fact, and decided to not share this truth.

"Dr. Gero...gave me perfect...memory. I can even see it now...if I try."

Seventeen paused, mulling the words over for a time before nodding and accepting the answer. He turned, and the two fell into step once more.

Suddenly, Seventeen stopped, his eyebrows furrowing before shooting a hostile glance towards Cell.

Cell froze in response.

"What exactly do you like to eat with that tail of yours?"

Cell's eyebrows furrowed. Why did it matter?

"living...things."

"Just living things? You don't eat metal or something?"

Cell shook his head.

"So riddle me this, Cell. You told me that you've memorized pics of me and my sis, so you know we're part machine, right?"

Cell, frowning—or rather, doing his best impression of a frown, slowly nodded.

"So," Seventeen continued with a narrowed gaze. "Why'd you try and eat me back there if you knew who I was, Bug-boy? Shouldn't you have known I've got a shit-ton of metal bits inside me? "

Cell's amber eyes grew wide as he realized the implication. Seventeen was drawing dangerously close to stumbling upon his true purpose in the grand scheme of things. Drawing upon the experience he'd had with Eighteen, he knew that revealing the truth could quite possibly lead to his death.

I must lie.

"I had only just...recovered...from Eighteen's attack on me." He swallowed, choosing his next words carefully. "I need food in order to...think. My head was...foggy, when I saw you. I could not...remember...your face...at the time."

He lowered his gaze. He quietly prayed that his lie was enough for Seventeen to overlook this discrepancy.

"Hmm…" He could feel the heat of the android's glare on him. "Alright, I guess that makes more sense. You still haven't eaten anything, so you're saying right now you're kinda stupid?"

Cell frowned at the insult, but nodded.

"Is that why you're talking all slow-like?"

Another nod. It wasn't exactly the truth, but close enough.

"Hmmm."

Seventeen turned his back, seemingly ending their conversation as he continued down their unmarked path. Cell followed shortly behind.

Another hour passed before illumination ahead indicated they'd finally reached a proper city.

"Hmm…" Seventeen squented at the sight before shooting a glance towards Cell, who immediately flinched from the gaze.

"You can't go invisible or something, can you?"

Cell cocked his head. Why would he be able to turn invisible? How ridiculous. He shook his head.

Seventeen let out an annoyed sigh, tapping his foot in thought.

Finally, he spun, facing Cell with a deep, hateful glare. Cell scrambled back, terrified that he'd somehow prompted the android's wrath once more.

"I can't bring you with me inside the city." Seventeen began, "You're too hideous to hide, and if someone saw you it'd cause a panic." There was a pause. "I...I don't want attention being drawn to me right now." Cell's eyes narrowed. He could tell there was something going unsaid there. What was it? "So, you're gonna stay here, got it?"

Cell's eyes widened. His opening! He'd been right to be patient. He'd finally be able to escape!

"And, before you start getting any 'bright ideas', I want you to know that you, unfortunately, are possibly my only chance at fixing my arm. Which means that if you do try and run away, which I have no doubt you're thinking about doing the moment I fly off, then I will hunt. You. Down." He said the final words with a sharpness to his tone that made Cell shudder. "Keep in mind Bug-boy, I don't need to sleep if I don't want to. I can spend literally every waking moment hunting down your failed science-experiment-looking ass. I promise, I'll eventually find you, and if you make me do that, you'll be in for far, far worse than what I did to you back there by the river."

Seventeen stepped forward. His hand snapped out and seized Cell by the neck before raising him. Immediately, Cell felt pressure on his windpipe. Despite being over a head taller than the android, Cell found his feet lifting off the ground a moment later. "Do I make myself clear."

Cell nodded eagerly, unable to draw enough breath to form a verbal response.

"Good."

Seventeen's hand released Cell, causing him to fall several feet to the ground. Cell coughed, looking up and realizing Seventeen had lifted into the air during their exchange.

"Now stay put."

Turning, Seventeen blasted towards the lights of the city.


-Seventeen-

The android slowly landed within a darkened alleyway in the center of what he thought was East City. He was still wearing the clothes he'd been wearing during his visit to that idiot : a simply dark-colored hoodie paired with some ripped jeans. He realized as he pulled the hood over his head that his forearm and knees were still stained with the doctor's blood, although it had turned a nasty brown since then. He supposed it didn't matter all that much.

The streets were empty as he stepped out under the tall street lamps. The only other source of light was the moon, resting comfortably within the night sky.

His eyes scanned the sidewalk ahead before turning to look the opposite way. He needed a payphone, or he supposed he could rob someone for their phone instead. The only problem was there was absolutely no one on the streets right now. Just how late was it?

Pay phone it is.

He began to quickly walk down the road, eyeing both sides of the street for a gas station, or any other structure that would have the device. He knew he needed to be quick about this. He didn't trust Cell to remain where he was, despite his threat. He expected he would need to hunt down the Horror-show once he was done with this call. That meant he had to make sure Cell didn't have too much of a head start...assuming things went poorly with his sister.

They won't.

He had to reassure himself. He found that he wasn't entirely convinced.

He noticed a slumped over figure on the side of the road, a cardboard sign that read 'anything helps' in black marker just behind a large mug . It was clear the man had passed out from intoxication, judging by the half empty liquor bottle sitting next to him.

Perfect.

Seventeen nimbly swooped down, snatching the cup which rattled with coins inside. He emptied the zeni into his hand before tossing the mug away.

Finally, his eyes landed on a payphone jutting out from the brick wall of a gas station with a glowing 'closed' sign hanging on its window. Seventeen hasted over to it, running at a sprint before pulling out a handful of coins from his pocket.

He punched in the numbers carefully. He didn't want to mess up and accidentally call the wrong person.

He slowly raised the old style phone to his ear, listened as the phone rang.

Please pick up.

He felt himself growing nervous. What should he say? It'd already been over a month since they'd last spoke, since they'd fought.

'Hey, sis! Long time no see, eh?'

No, that sounded stupid.

'Betcha didn't expect to hear from me, huh? I know, I know, you missed me, right?'

No, too arrogant.

He frowned, slowly shaking his head. Nothing seemed right to him as he listened to the phone ring once, then twice, then-

"Hello?"

He sucked in a sharp breath.

Eighteen.

"Hellooooooo?" She repeated in a sing-song voice. She sounded...nicer, somehow. He'd always heard her tone as sharper, more cold and apathetic. Somehow, it sounded more...human, then he last remembered. "If someone doesn't start talking I'm gonna hang up-"

"Wait!" He suddenly stammered out, clutching the phone tightly in his hand. "It's…" He sighed, closing his eyes. "It's me."

There was silence on the other end.

"Hey…Seventeen." Her previously light-hearted tone disappeared. What to say first? He felt like there were a thousand things they should discuss. Should he apologize? Should ask how she'd been doing without him? Any new hobbies? Damn! He realized as he stood there awkwardly that he should have planned this conversation out before he'd called.

"How have you been?" He could hear a genuine concern in her words as she spoke.

"I've been fine." He swallowed, before adding. "And yourself?"

"I'm...good."

Seventeen felt a smile pull at his lips. "I'm glad to hear that. What are you doing up so late?"

"Don't have to sleep, remember?" He could picture her shooting him a coy look from the hitch in her voice, one that said 'you're a dumbass' in that way she always did.

"Right." He let out a soft chuckle. "So, what are you up to now?"

"Eh, just trying out a new outfit. I think it looks pretty good on me."

Seventeen snorted. "Shoulda known you'd be spending all your time trying on clothes."

"Hey, a woman has got to accessorize. I bet you're in some raggedy looking jeans and a hoodie or something."

Seventeen glanced down at his clothes, raising his eyebrows at her accuracy. "Touché."

He heard the woman laugh lightly on the other end, before eventually falling to silence. Seventeen found himself unable to speak as well. There was so much to be said, emotions that had yet to be expressed.

"What made you call me, Seventeen?"

Straight to the point. Seventeen appreciated that about his sister.

"I…" he trailed off, a part of him feeling guilty that he hadn't called sooner, to make up, to check on her like a good brother ought to. Another part of him was curious why she hadn't mentioned the blueprints yet.

"I know you have my blueprints, Eighteen."

Silence.

"What?"

"The blueprints from the lab. I know you got them, and I wanted to know where I could meet you to get them."

"How do you…?" he could sense confusion from her tone. She clearly didn't understand how he'd come to know this information.

Seventeen drew a breath to tell her, but then thought otherwise. Should he reveal the existence of Cell? Could he even trust her at this point? He still didn't have an answer to that question.

"It doesn't matter. I know you have them. I just want to have my arm fixed, Eighteen."

"...I…" The woman fell silent.

Seventeen frowned. Why hadn't she offered them already? What was causing her to wait? He found himself growing nervous at her hesitation.

"I deserve those blueprints." He demanded. "You are the reason I lost my arm, Eighteen. It's only right you give me my chance at getting it back."

"I know, and I'm sorry for what happened, but-"

"But?!" Seventeen's voice began to rise. "There is no 'but'! You broke my arm, now you gotta fix it."

" I don't 'got' to do anything, Seventeen!" She snapped back.

He blinked, recognizing the venom in her words. What was he doing?! She held the key to his repairs and he was yelling at her?

I need to go about this differently.

"Eighteen," He began much softer this time. "I'm your brother. I love you, more than anything else in this world. It's always been you and me against the world. I always got your back, no matter what. I'm…" He sighed, letting his forehead rest against the wall before him. "I'm sorry. I know I broke my promise before. I just-I just lost my temper. You know me, I blow my top sometimes, but, that doesn't mean you aren't my sister. I still care for you, even if I was mad at you before." He tried to make his words as genuine as possible, even if he didn't wholly believe it should be he who was apologizing right now. "I promise that after we put this behind us, after we fix my arm, that everything that happened will just be water under the bridge. Things will go back to normal again, just you and me, being awesome like we've always been." He smiled. "I miss you, Eighteen."

He could hear silence on the other end.

"I miss you too, bro." she finally said.

His smile broadened.

"But I'm not giving you the blueprints."

His face fell.

"What?!" he growled.

"You'll just go back to the old you. You'll try and attack the city again, and Gohan will-"

"Gohan." He hissed the name as he cut her off. "So, that's what this is all really about. Let me guess, you and him are still going strong?" he spoke mockingly.

He heard her growl on the other end. "It's not like that, Seventeen!"

"Then tell me what it is like!" he spat. "Explain to me what exactly is going on to make you act this way!"

"I-" Her voice caught in her throat. After a few seconds, she continued. "It's complicated."

Seventeen let out a dark laugh. "Oh, I'm sure it is." he said in an incredulous tone. "Why are you being like this, Eighteen?! What is wrong with you?! Everything was so perfect before! Everything was exactly how it should be, how it's always been. Then, all of a sudden you spin around and start-"

"I don't want to destroy anymore, Seventeen!" Eighteen suddenly shouted back.

Seventeen's voice caught in his throat.

"I'm tired of it! We've spent years killing, destroying, tearing the world apart just for the fun of it. When did we get this way, Seventeen? We didn't start out like this, not at first. Do you ever think about that? The man you used to be back then?"

"We weren't Mr and -two-shoes before Dr. Gero changed us, Eighteen." He hissed.

"But we weren't murderers either!" she exclaimed. "Yeah, we stole things, we beat people up sometimes. Hell, we were really cruel to some people, but never like this." She let out a sigh. "We got so wrapped up in doing anything we could, that we never stopped to think if we should."

"You're acting ridiculous, Eighteen." He scoffed. "The world can't stop us if we work together. The world belongs to us, it's our right to do with it as we please."

"I don't think that's true." She answered in a quieter tone. "I...I can't see things like that anymore."

"...Why?" Seventeen asked slowly, dumbfounded by his sister's response. How? How could she be saying these words? Who was this person who'd stolen his sister's voice?

"Do you remember that time at the diner? Back when we were human? They were playing on the news how most of East City had just been destroyed by those two aliens."

Seventeen blinked, his cybernetically enhanced mind recalling the memory immediately. Where was she going with this?

"Yeah…? What about it?"

"You remember how they were gone in just a day? One day we had this worldwide threat, and then poof, it went away."

Seventeen raised an eyebrow. He had remembered being confused by what had seemed like an Earth shattering event, only for it to disappear immediately thereafter.

"What about it?"

"It was Goku and his friends who saved us from those two, Seventeen." Her voice was solemn. "The same men we killed."

"So…?"

"So, we had a choice to make back then, before we became the people we are today. We could have chosen to become like them. Instead…" She trailed off before letting out a soft sigh. "We chose to become monsters."

"...You wish we could have been like them? Dumb heroes that never did anything with their powers but risk their lives and get zero reward for it? They were fools, Eighteen. They could have claimed the world for themselves long ago, but they didn't. That's their loss."

"Or...maybe it's ours."

"...What?" Seventeen shook his head. That made no sense!

"I came to the realization a while back that this life we live...it has no future. All we do is destroy, Seventeen. Eventually, there will stop being things for us to destroy. Eventually, all we'll have left is each other, and a desolate, devastated world. What then, Seventeen? What do you think we'll do when we are all that's left?"

"I…" His voice died in his throat. He didn't know. He'd never given it any thought.

"I'm pretty sure we'll just destroy ourselves at that point, Seventeen. We'll probably blow up the planet out of boredom, and ourselves with it. That's where this is all leading towards, I'm sure of it."

"...You asked me to take a break...is this why?"

"It is, and once I stopped destroying, once I started to look around and see the world around me as more than just a...play thing…I realized that I didn't want to keep destroying. I couldn't, not anymore. Not with the knowledge that one day, brother, I'd end up killing you, or you killing me." He could hear a tremble to her voice. Was she crying? "So, I'm sorry. No, I can't give you back your arm. I can't go back to the way things were. I love you, but I just can't."

And with that, he heard a beep as the call ended.

He kept the phone to his ear, listening to the subtle hum of the dead line as he stared dumbfounded at the wall before him. His jaw was slack, his vision unfocused as he slowly pulled the phone away and set it back on its hitch with a click.

He felt...empty. He felt like his whole world had been flipped upside down, again. A part of him had been certain she'd hand the blueprints over. He'd been certain that she'd come to meet him, that she'd want to help fix him like a good sister should.

Instead, she'd betrayed him...again.

His fingers closed into a fist. His entire body trembled as his teeth clenched, his face twisting into a vicious snarl.

No!

He slammed his fist forward, smashing it into the brick wall before him. The wall gave out immediately, crashing inward and sending a cloud of dust up in a flash.

Fine then! If she doesn't want to help me, if she wants to turn her back on me like this, I'll find my own way!

He slowly rose into the air, twisting until he was facing back the way he'd come. He already had his own way.

He flew off. He didn't care about what she'd said. It was all foolishness. Nonsense that Blondie had somehow gotten into her head. Once he was dead and gone, things would go back to normal.

He frowned.

They had to.


-Cell-

Cell sat quietly beneath the vastness of stars resting overhead. His stomach no longer rumbled, as he'd managed to catch an unfortunate hound which had stumbled too close to his resting place. He appreciated the meal, as his mind always felt clearest directly following a victim. His immediate instinct upon Seventeen's departure had been to flee. He'd even started towards the underbrush the moment the android had turned his back.

But something had made him hesitate. Seventeen's threat had been a very real one. The android didn't have to sleep. He could search tirelessly for however many days or weeks or even years it took him to find Cell.

I'm not getting stronger fast enough…

If Seventeen did discover him again against all odds, Cell knew he wouldn't be powerful enough to confront the android. Sure, he may have some new tricks by then, but he didn't have even a delusional thought that he would be able to get away a second time. It would take him many, many years before he had absorbed enough victims to challenge the android. He knew this to be fact, especially with how low the human population was due to the siblings rampage.

Despite this knowledge, he'd still rationalized that fleeing was his best option. Even if Seventeen would be searching for him, it was unlikely he would actually find him, especially if he were being careful.

Yet, he remained.

No, it wasn't Seventeen's threat which led Cell to stay.

It was the tantalizing, teasing possibility that this relationship between he and Seventeen could lead to his ascendance.

He shivered in delight at the thought. Perhaps, in due time, he could lower Seventeen's guard around him. He already thought that Cell couldn't properly digest him, didn't he? He'd have no fear of betrayal, even if he'd made it abundantly clear how little he thought of Cell's… looks.

What about his arm?

He'd initially lied about being able to restore the man's limb. However, the more Cell thought about it, the more he began to question if it really was a lie. Dr. Gero had granted him a powerful, super-human brain that could rationalize and mediate far faster than any human could. It had gotten him this far, hadn't it? He imagined that, with enough victims to swallow, he could theoretically learn enough to begin work on Seventeen's arm. He predicted Seventeen wouldn't be happy about that fact. He would be expecting them to begin work on his missing limb immediately. Explaining to the easily angered android that he would need several additional victims to further his mind would likely result in a brutal retaliation from Seventeen. He doubted the android would attempt to kill him, however. The android needed him after all, didn't he?

He hadn't been lying when he told Seventeen that he remembered every miniscule detail in regards to the two posters—no—blueprints which had hung on his wall for all that time. Besides, he actually wanted Seventeen's arm repaired. He wanted to assure that when it did finally come time to consume the android, Cell wasn't absorbing a potentially weaker version, and subsequently becoming a weaker version of his own perfection. He needed Seventeen to be complete, in order to assure his own completion.

Cell jumped as something impacted with the ground before him. He frowned, cocking his head at what appeared to be...a person? An old man, with dirtied, worn and stained clothing. He stunk, reeking of the same substance he'd found on that unconscious man he'd absorbed weeks prior.

His neck was broken.

"I need you to be smart if you're gonna work on my arm." Seventeen's voice called out from above. Cell looked up, meeting his gaze. He looked livid, staring down on Cell with the coldest glare he'd ever seen.

"Eat."


Author's notes:

Welcome back all! I'm sorry for such a long wait this time around. I didn't intend for it, honestly. Truthfully, the break was due to issues I'm having with my other story, The Nobody of Remnant. My passion for writing the project has declined with the recent installments of the canon franchises, and the attempt to force myself led to my motivation to write at all dying entirely. After weeks of getting nothing done with that story, I finally decided to return to this project, and wouldn't you know it, the spark to write returned almost immediately.

That being said, I plan to focus more intently on this story for the time being. I plan to let The nobody of Remnant sit, at least until the passion to return to that project returns as it no doubt will. This story is simply too fascinating to let rest, and I find myself planning for its future constantly (I already have chapter 18 mapped out in my head. As well as 19...and 20...and 21…).

I digress.

This installment was an interesting one to write. I wanted to devote the chapter to our villains, especially given how much of an impact the newly forged relationship between Seventeen and Cell will have in the future. While I felt this chapter focused more so on Seventeen, Cell was extremely interesting to write from. I wanted to convey that while ignorant, he is by no means stupid in this youthful stage of his life. He is meant to be the 'perfect' being, and that to me suggests being extremely intelligent.

The conversation between Eighteen and Seventeen I think was very much the high point of the chapter. It was tricky trying to determine just how these two characters would talk to each other after so long apart, but I think I did a half-decent job (hopefully). It's ironic really, the whole reason Eighteen doesn't want to go back to the life they had before is to save her brother's life. At the same time, she refuses to help fix him, knowing he's too dangerous to be trusted.

The next chapter we'll be returning to our protagonists as I'm eager to write from Gohan and Eighteen's perspectives once more. Hopefully, you guys are still looking forward to it ;).

And again, this chapter wouldn't read nearly as clean as it does without the help of Ben Thryss, who went back and picked out the spots where yours truly got a little lazy with their grammar (Thanks Ben!)

As always, I'll do my best to answer reviews via pm, although it may take some time to reach you. Seriously, you guys blew it out of the water with the last chapter, and I couldn't be happier lol. This chapter isn't quite as long, but I think 28 pages is still pretty sizable. Hopefully, the reviews will be mostly positive this time as well.

Until next time!