A swift black form darted from the body of 24 and toward the rocks as well, sliding through the cracks in the rocks and finding the fallen 21. Bending over silently, the figure reached down a hand, sending energy clashing and cascading oddly off the rocks. A short while later a silver blast shot up from the rocks, and then it expanded, reducing the rocky area around to dust. Without ceasing motion, the figure blasted off toward the two kis on the horizon.



Finding the ki beneath him, Goku grabbed the nearest boulder and hurled it off. Moving through the rubble, he gradually worked his way closer to where Cell appeared to be. Eventually finding the green monster, stunned but not significantly harmed, Goku helped him to his feet.

"We still have a score to settle," Goku told him, "but for now, I think we have a bigger problem on our hands."

Turning to look down at the lab doors below, Goku sighed. "I wonder what other horrors Gero has in store for us down there?"

His sad expression in his eyes widened to a mixture of shock and pain as he felt Cell's tail stab through him. Falling down swiftly, Goku hit the dust far below. Smirking and thanking himself that Goku was a trusting fool, Cell gazed around the area briefly and saw nothing, but just then the horizon lit up silver.

Cell glimpsed a small black form charging toward him before the silver energy bit into him, propelling him backward. Goku was barely out of the fight and already another fighter was here? Grimacing, Cell fired a series of energy blasts, which the figure calmly batted aside. When the energy cleared, Cell got a better view.

Android 23 looked at both him and Goku's body coldly, then attacked once again. Narrowly avoiding his fist, Cell was caught by the end of his hair, now a pure silver, which tightened around him. Being whipped around by the strand of hair, Cell plummeted toward the ground. Making it to his feet, he glanced up, impressed.

"How did you survive? And how did you get so powerful?"

As if in answer to his question, 23 seemed to glide forward, but delivered a kick with such speed that Cell found himself defenseless. Hitting a rock face, Cell bounded off it and clipped 23 on the side of the face, sending him whirling as well. They faced off in the air.



Below them, unnoticed, Goku slowly crawled, making his way inch by inch to his destination. Reaching the edge of a rock face, he merely fell over the side, then returned to his slow, painful crawl. The lab doors stood open, from all who had flown through them, and it was through them that Goku crawled.

Gripping a computer face, Goku climbed up to his knees. Gasping he collapsed against it, and seemed to lose consciousness. The blood that dripped from his chest fell slower, and then suddenly the next drop was a pure golden color. His eyes unseeing but glowing a solid gold, Goku moved on, pulling strength from some unknown source.

At the computer, Goku typed a few keys, not even glancing at what he was doing. His hands moved seemingly of their own accord as his subconscious took over. Unable to take any more strain, his eyes faded and he dropped to the ground.



Firing his Kamehameha, Cell found his beam slicing down 23's, who's face sweated as he attempted to push it back. Blasted backward, 23 was unable to defend himself against Cell's onslaught, ending with a bashing move that sent him plummeting into the ground. As Cell flew down to finish him off, he was caught off guard by a beam that flashed out from the hole 23 was buried in.

Momentarily off balance, Cell opened his eyes again to see 23 get up, unharmed.

"How is that possible?" he gasped. "That should have finished you off!"

23 merely smirked. "You overestimate your own strength."

Attacking again, 23 struck at Cell faster than he was capable of defending against. Failing to deflect one punch, Cell was blasted backward and into the side of a cliff, where 23 pounded on him repeatedly. Lashing with his tail, Cell made a nasty gash on 23's face and knocked him backward.

Remaining on his feet, 23 smiled as tiny nano-probes moved into the cut on his cheek, repairing it. Within seconds, he was whole once again. Cell gaped, and fired a large energy orb, but 23 merely deflected it out of the way, then stepped back, charging up.

"I should be stronger than you!" Cell roared. "How can this be?"

"Idiot." 23's voice was patronizing, even as he powered up. "I simply allowed you to believe you were winning. It's one of the oldest tricks in my subroutines, and I'm not impressed you fell for it."

Firing a shot, 23 unleashed the energy that he had been charging up. Cell put up a shield and was surprised as the energy blast splattered off without doing any real damage. The next instant, one instant too late, he realized the true nature of the attack as 23 dove forward, surrounded by energy, and pierced his shield, driving Cell backward.

Catching a hold of his tail, 23 ripped it from its socket and vaporized it. Smirking, Cell instantly regrew it, and sliced toward the android just as 23 fired a blast at him; they both struck, then flew backward and rammed into the ground opposite each other. Both got up and grimaced at the other before attacking once again.



Mechanical claws reached down and gripped Goku's fallen body, lifting him into the air. Following the program he had inputted into them, they carried him to the other part of the lab. With a few small clinks, the machinery began its unknown work. For quite some time it continued to tinker as the battle above raged on between the two fighters.

A mass of wires and cords was lowered down toward Goku's limp form, and suddenly his hand snapped up, grabbing the mass in the center. Goku's golden glowing eyes had returned. The metal seemed to snake away, slowly disappearing. His hand fell, and Goku opened his eyes.

For a second he was disoriented, trying to remember what had happened. He felt incredibly dizzy, and his body seemed to churn with something horrible. After a moment of feeling sick, he could concentrate once again. It all came back to him in a rush, making his way to the lab, using skills he knew he didn't have to implement this program. Something, whatever it was, had awakened inside him, and now the program had done exactly what he had hoped it would. Already he felt the metal inside him reorganizing. Thinking about it now made his head hurt, he wasn't quite sure what he had done.

Glancing down at himself, Goku realized his wound was healed completely. Somehow, completely impossibly, from what he knew, he was absorbing the metal into himself. What was going on here? Shaking his head, Goku swung his legs over the side of the table he was sitting on, allowing his body to reorder itself. Slowly, the sick feeling was subsiding. This was strange in the extreme.

Whatever happened, he was grateful it had worked. What had possessed him to try and fuse technology into himself? It should never have worked, but somehow, it had. Regardless of what he had done, it had taken the last of the lab's energy to do, so the machinery lay lifeless. Why would that have happened? Flexing his hand, Goku dropped to his feet and smiled slightly. Paradoxes could wait. He had a job to do.



Being slammed into a stone wall, Cell kicked 23 off him, but the android merely flipped back from the hit and struck him with a knife hand to the neck. Collapsing, Cell barely jumped in time to avoid 23's next kick. For a few seconds it seemed like he could win, as he attacked with such ferocity that 23 was forced only to defend. The next instant reality struck in as 23's palm slipped past his own and hammered him in the chest, sending him falling backward. Cell looked up with dread in his eyes.

From the side a dark purple flare of energy blasted 23 away, and Cell turned toward the source, only to see Goku standing there, looking completely rejuvenated.

"Goku, you've returned!" Cell smiled at him. The smile quickly faded when Goku turned and looked at him coldly.

"I've had enough of you," was all he said. Then 23 flew at him again. Goku ducked the punch and launched an upward kick that sent him reeling. Cell took this opportunity to slam into him again, but Goku fired a blast that sent him into the ground with 23. Both got up and fired at Goku, who deflected the shots, but 23 also kicked sideways, knocking Cell away from him. All three faced each other briefly, then fell into a confusing mass of flying arms and legs.

Emerging a short time later, all glanced at the other two. Before any of them attacked again, Goku threw back his head and energy flowed around him. His hair became golden and stuck upward. As his head came down to face them again, his face had a slight smirk.

"So what?" 23 asked. "You got a cameo change. Big deal."

The next thing any of them knew, Goku slammed into 23, knocking him back, where he fell to an uppercut. Flying into the air, 23 glanced up in shock to see Goku above him, firing. Bashed into the ground, 23 leaped up to fight him again, but Goku avoided the punch and kicked him further. Righting himself in the air, 23 looked around and failed to find Goku until the saiyan slammed him from behind.

As he fell, 23 suddenly saw Goku beside him for one brief instant, then the energy blast flew into him, sending him down into a heap. Goku landed beside him a short while later, unharmed.

"I like cameo changes."

Cell gritted his teeth. "He was weak. You can't fight me!"

Holding out a hand, Goku stared at him silently. Just as it began to unnerve Cell, he saw what his opponent was doing. Goku's fingers seemed to split into multiple metallic cords that whipped forward and wrapped around Cell's limbs. Immobilized, Cell could only struggle as Goku flew forward kicked him in the head, then lashed the cords back, jerking him violently.

Regaining his balance, Cell took another hard punch. Slicing with his tail, Cell was surprised to see Goku kick and knock the tail away, then extend his arm. The fingers again changed, becoming claws, and they raked across Cell. He fell backward.

If not for the four scratches across his chest, Cell wouldn't have believe it had happened. Goku had changed somehow. This golden transformation increased his power to far greater than his, but now he was also using abilities that he had no right to have. Before he could figure out what was going on, Cell saw 23 rise from the rubble.

The blast that launched from 23's hands narrowly grazed Goku, who dodged to the side a second too late. Cell avoided the blast and took the opportunity to slam Goku into the ground. Before he could attack him further, Goku vanished from beneath him and Cell was left positioned over the ground. He looked up in time to see Goku's foot move toward him. The kick to his face flipped him entirely over, where he landed hard, sending shock waves across the ground.

23 tried to crush him further, but Cell rolled out of the way. Goku attacked 23, who deflected his strike, sending him off again, but Cell kicked him while he was turned. All three flew away from the others briefly, then 23 made the first move, holding a hand toward both of them and launching a multitude of blasts. Cell powered up and sent his force field around himself, sending the blasts backward, where 23 barely deflected them. Dodging from side to side, Goku was also untouched.

Firing a blast, Goku knocked 23 away, and by chance out of Cell's blast. Flying to the side, Goku rammed Cell, who pushed off the ground and kicked him away. Turning in midair, Goku slammed him away, then hit the ground, flying into the air instantly to avoid 23's blast. Catching Cell's punch, Goku fought with him briefly, parting only when 23's tried to hit both of them.

Above them, 23 had gathered a significant amount of energy, and now he launched part of it, in a red, blazing sphere of energy. Cell dodged out of the way, but the blast curved in the air and struck him. When 23 launched the next blast, Goku was ready for its homing effects. Ducking under it and speeding off, he avoided the first swoop, then spun in a circle as it neared him again, making it bounce off. When the blast came for him again, Goku grabbed it head on with both hands. 23 shook his head, as he could have sworn one of Goku's hands was metal for a while. He watched as Goku was encompassed by the blast.



Still smoking from the attack, Cell got to his feet and coughed. Leaping into the air, he ran from the battle. He wasn't sure, but maybe 23 and Goku were evenly matched and he could get away. If only he could absorb 18, he would be complete, and then no one could stop him. It wouldn't take him long to figure out Gero's blue lightning, and then he could easily take out any of the androids. With luck, 23 would kill Goku.



It was not a lucky day for Cell. 23 gaped as his energy sphere grew smaller and eventually was absorbed into Goku's hands. Flying across the field, using every ounce of speed in his body, 23 crossed the distance nearly instantly, swiping toward Goku's head. Leaning back, Goku would have avoided the attack had not a thin metal blade emerged from the back of 23's hand, slicing him on the cheek.

"I drew first blood!" 23 laughed. "You will not defeat me!"

Wiping the blood off his cheek, his eyes narrowing, Goku whisked forward, slamming 23 with his elbow, following up with a series of attacks that knocked the air out of 23. The android was incapable of bleeding, but he felt as if he should have as Goku struck him repeatedly. A final uppercut sent circuitry flying to the side, and 23 fell back, wounded.

They attacked again, clashing with an explosion of force. Ducking a swipe that nearly took his head off, 23 lashed out, but found his attack blocked. Before he could straighten, a foot hit him from above, sending him down once again. Falling, 23 wondered how this saiyan could be so powerful. In theory, there shouldn't have been anyone on the planet at his level, much less superior to him.

Further thoughts were cut short as Goku appeared beneath him, hammering him upward. Catching himself in the air, 23 desperately fired every attack he had toward Goku, dust hissing up around the saiyan as he planted his feet on the ground and held his hands to one side as he charged.

The dust cleared just in time for 23 to see Goku finish charging.

"Ha!" the energy beam swept up toward him faster than he had thought possible, striking him dead on. Blown backward by the attack, 23 seemed to shatter into hundreds of metallic particles. Goku stopped the blast and watched carefully as the specks of silver hit the ground. The portal the android had came through opened, and the remains of 23 were sucked into it, and then it was gone.

Shaking his head as he dropped out of Super Saiyan, Goku looked and felt around for Cell, only to find him far away. He could guess what he was doing. Bringing two fingers to his head, Goku warped there, only hoping he wasn't too late.



As he arrived he saw that he was. Cell's tail, monstrous and circular, enveloped 18. Groaning, Goku fired a blast, but Cell didn't even turn, merely batting it away with one hand. Then 18 was gone and a blue sphere of power surrounded Cell, knocking Goku backward. It grew larger and larger as his power grew. Shaking off both the energy and the shock, Goku charged forward, but the sphere repelled him again.

Firing a blast toward it, the energy splintered off it and crackled into the air. Seeing the uselessness of his attacks, Goku stopped and merely charged up energy. When the sphere faded, Cell stood below him, transformed and gazing at his hands in wonder. The prongs on his head had tightened until they stood directly up, and he had thinned slightly. Feeling his power, Goku realized it was astronomical.

Launching all his energy in a series of blasts, Goku hoped he could take out a good portion of Cell's power, because directly fighting him, he didn't stand a chance. Putting up a shield without even glancing up, Cell was unharmed as all the blasts deflected off. Grabbing a nearby pillar of stone, Goku hurled it toward Cell, where it splintered harmlessly against his shield. Meaning to comment on the worthless attack, Cell raised his eyes to find a newly Super Saiyan Goku staring at him, energy collecting in his hands.

The next attack rocked the ground around the impact location, but dashed itself against Cell's shield as well. Goku sensed that his attacks had chipped away at Cell's energy, but he remained unharmed.

"Now that I have absorbed 18," Cell's voice was calmer and smoother, "I have reached my perfect form. I am all that you could ever have become and more. All your potential is within me now. Now, I truly have no limits."

Smirking at him, Cell continued. "Right now, however, neither of us is in top fighting form. I could still crush you like a bug, but I say that we make this fight a simple clean one, where I can prove I am far your superior. In three days I will announce my tournament. I hope you arrive, because I don't expect much out of this pathetic planet." Before Goku could even say anything, Cell rose into the air and flew off. He was too weak to try and follow him, so Goku dropped out of Super Saiyan and began flying back to his make-shift home. It was obvious he needed more power somehow, of that he was certain. But how could he become strong enough to defeat Cell, if he was really perfect? Deep within him, his old spirit rose up to the front again; while he didn't know how, he'd have to try.