It didn't take long to find the androids. The three of them were casually wandering around a mall, Eighteen was looking for new clothes. Ichidou turned on his ki distorter, and landed a few hundred yards away. He walked into the mall, and casually stepped up to the androids. He turned the ki distorter back to Ichidou mode.

"Who are you?" Seventeen asked.

"I am a friend of Son Goku." Ichidou said. "I do not wish to fight." He said.

"Than what do you want?" Eighteen asked.

"There is an android who calls himself Cell." Ichidou said. "This android has set out to take the two of you into himself. He called it 'absorbing'. If he does this, not only will you not be around anymore, but it will make him so powerful that he may end up killing us all." He explained.

"Why should we care?" Eighteen asked. Knowing that the two of them hated Dr. Gero with a passion, Ichidou came up with the only answer he could think of.

"He's one of Gero's creations, and he likes the fact." Ichidou said.

"Where is he?" Seventeen asked, anger in his voice.

"Some of my allies are trying to kill him while we speak." Ichidou turned to Eighteen. "He's apparently going to absorb enough innocent civilians to make himself stronger than the two of you. Luckily, he can't sense you any better than any of us can, so you should be able to stay away from him until we kill him."

"Why are you helping us?" Seventeen said.

"Well…" Ichidou said. "You really haven't killed anyone, and the last thing we need is another evil being that's going to try to kill us all." He shrugged, and was about to leave.

"Thank you." Eighteen said. With that, Ichidou left. Seventeen gave her a look that would kill. "What, he may have just saved our lives."

"Whatever…" Seventeen said with a shrug.

Ichidou headed for Kami's lookout, to see Goku. As he was flying

"Hey, Ichidou!" Goku said.

"Hello, Goku." Ichidou looked over towards the Room of Spirit and Time. "Is Vegeta…"

"Yup, he's still in there…" Goku said with a shrug.

"Oh, well, I guess I'll just sit up here and wait with you." Ichidou said.

Elsewhere, Piccolo was meditating inside Master Roshi's house. He suddenly heard a knock at the door. He wasn't going to answer it, so Yamcha went to the door instead.

"Hello…OH CRAP!" Yamcha suddenly yelled. "P-Piccolo, it's the androids."

"What?" Piccolo said, walking towards the door.

"Hello, Piccolo." Seventeen said. "Where is Son Goku."

"I don't know." Piccolo said.

"Tell me…" Seventeen said, threateningly. "Or I will kill you."

"Come on, if you want to fight, let's go to a nearby island." Piccolo growled.

"Fine." Seventeen said.

They flew over to a deserted island. Tien and Yamcha came along, but not for any good reason. Seventeen readied himself for the battle.
Piccolo descended slowly, checking the surroundings. Upon landing, he removed his turban and cape, and allowed them to hit the ground with a thud. The two items slammed into the ground, and created a small crater. Seventeen's eyes widened, revealing a hint of fear for only a moment. Good, Piccolo thought, let them see how much weight I carry around.

"So, are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to fight me?" Piccolo said.

"Eighteen, stand back. I want to take on the green man myself."

"Fine, do what you want, Sixteen and I'll just stand back and watch."

Seventeen lunged towards Piccolo, death in his eyes.

Ichidou's head shot up. He concentrated for a moment.

"What?" Goku asked.

"Piccolo is fighting android Seventeen." Ichidou said.

"I see…" Goku said.

Seventeen recovered, but only fast enough to see Piccolo's fist slam into his face. He bounced back, recovered, and then charged at the namek. He zipped behind Piccolo, hoping to catch him off guard. Seventeen's foot only met with an after image.

"What?" He said. Suddenly, Piccolo was above him, and kicking him in the face. After bouncing around for a few seconds, Seventeen got up. He glared at Piccolo, who hadn't moved.

"Come on, boy." Piccolo said. "Or are you afraid?"

Seventeen charged, and kicked at Piccolo's head. Knowing that he wouldn't fall for the same trick twice, Piccolo brought his arm up to block. Piccolo only blocked an after image.

"What the?" Piccolo said. Suddenly, Seventeen kicked his feet out from underneath him. Piccolo bounced back, and stood up. Seventeen took to the air.

Piccolo charged again. Seventeen began to shoot small ki blasts, trying to hit him. Piccolo would not be denied, however, as he dodged each blast expertly. Piccolo leaped into the air, coming at Seventeen full force.

"Poor namek…" Seventeen chuckled, and fired a huge ki blast at Piccolo. "Too stupid and slow…" Suddenly, he was sent rocketing out of the air. He hit the ground, creating a small crater. "Argh…" he said, dragging himself to his feet.

"Poor android…" Piccolo smirked. Seventeen stood up, and glared at his foe. He took off, ready to attack Piccolo again. "Hellzone Grenade!" Piccolo shouted.

Suddenly, Seventeen stopped. He looked around, just in time to see dozens of ki blasts slam into him. He plummeted out of the air, wracked with pain, and slammed into the ground.

Piccolo landed. "Too stupid and slow…" he said with a smirk. "I know you're not dead…" He said. "Drag yourself out of that crater and let's continue our fight!"

"Holy Kami!" Yamcha said. "Piccolo's kicking his butt!"

"No, no he's not…" Tien said. "Piccolo may be stronger, and yes, he is the superior fighter. But Seventeen isn't running out of energy." He looked up at Piccolo. "Piccolo is, though."

"We've got to warn him…"

"He already knows." Tien said. "That's why he's trying to finish him off as fast as possible. Piccolo knows that if he kills Seventeen, than Cell cannot achieve his perfect form." He looked at Yamcha. "These androids may be stronger than the one's from Ichidou's time, but they don't seem to be any more dangerous."

Meanwhile, a certain insect shaped android was sneaking up behind Seventeen. "Seventeen, look out!" Piccolo shouted.

"What the?" Seventeen said, dodging. He turned to face Cell. "You must be Cell…" He said.

"What, I see you've heard of me." Cell said.

"Let's just say I was warned about you." Seventeen said.

"Whoever warned you is awfully smart." Cell said. "Why don't you just stand still, so I can put you to good use!" He said. Suddenly, Cell's tail began to dart around, trying to absorb Seventeen.

"Hey, Cell!" Piccolo shouted, running up to them. "Don't forget about me!" He said. Cell fired a ki blast at Piccolo, trying to destroy him. He realized his mistake when he felt a powerful ki blast coming from behind. Cell got up, and ran. He suppressed his ki, so they didn't know where he went.

"Why are you helping me?" Seventeen asked.

"I don't want him to get you anymore than you want to be gotten." Piccolo said. "Run."

"Please…" Seventeen said. "Step aside, so I can take care of him."

"Are you an idiot?" Piccolo said. "He's not going to fight you, he's going to absorb you!"

"Whatever…" Seventeen walked out into the open. "Come on out, Cell, I know you're still here!" He shouted.

"Of course I am!" Cell said, coming up from behind Seventeen. Seventeen was helpless, as he was soon absorbed. "Piccolo." He said, turning to the namek. "I suppose you want a rematch?" he said.

Piccolo knew that Cell was now too strong for him, but Eighteen needed to be able to escape. "You would be right." Piccolo said, going into a fighting stance.

"Hmm…" Cell said, chuckling. "I've gotten more powerful since our last fight." He said. "I'm going to enjoy killing you." With that, the battle began.

A/N Thanks for the reviews. Next chapter is where the action really heats up!