Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

By Feraligreater328

Chapter 74: Cell

In the empty streets of Gingertown...

A chilling wind blew through the streets of Gingertown, sending the clothes of the once fearful man flying into the distance. A parasol, cast aside by a fearful citizen in their vain attempt to escape, tickered down the asphalt street behind Piccolo.

Piccolo was taken aback by what this...thing...had just said to him. "What in the hell are you?!"

The monster chuckled. And then, for just a brief moment, it unleashed its power for Piccolo to take in. And, while the monster's power was certainly large, it was not the depth that gave Piccolo pause. It was the variety. In the brief moment that this monster had cut loose, Piccolo felt thousands of different power levels screaming from within the beast. And several of those screams were quite a bit louder than the others. Piccolo's jaw dropped. "Wh-Who?! Wh-What?!"

The creature smirked. "I have come to my decision~"

Piccolo sneered at the monster. "Decision?"

The monster nodded. "Indeed. I was originally considering a Kamehameha, but so many people know how to perform that technique that it would have no real oomph.. So, instead..."

The beast clasped its hand above its head and chuckled again. Piccolo flinched. "Those two energies..."

The monster shouted. "MASENKO!"

At Kame House...

Everyone within Kame House flinched again at the new, stronger feeling that had hit them. Tien was trembling. "No, we weren't mistaken..."

Krillin looked utterly confused. "Two Piccolos?!"

Gohan was in awe. "A-And me...?!"

Bounding down the stair, like a bat out of hell, Chi-Chi glanced around the room until her eyes laid upon Gohan. The pregnant woman looked as if she had been roused from a nap. "Wh-What...? But...Gohan, I thought I sensed..."

And then, Chi-Chi groaned and fell to her knees. Gohan stood up to run over to her. "Mom!"

As Gohan checked on his mother, the television began to speak again. "This is another report from the ongoing situation in Gingertown! Accompanying the disappearance of the Gingertown population, explosions now appear to be emanating from the within the formerly peaceful township! As a result, King Furry has issued an order to the nearby base in West City to deploy several battalions to try and sort out what is going on! Could this have something to do with the awful attacks that shook tropical Papaya Town to its core? Z-TV will continue to keep you informed as more developments arise from what this reporter sees as the beginnings of a major tragedy!"

Launch stared at the TV with a look of horror on her face. "What in the world is going on? Does this have anything to do with what you guys...are..."

She glanced over at her husband, only to find Raditz white-knuckled and green in the face. Launch looked over at the Future Trio, all of whom were in genuine disbelief, and then over at the capsized Chi-Chi. Launch frowned. "I... really need to learn how to sense power levels..."

Chi-Chi spoke up, sounding as if she was going to vomit. "N-No... you don't. This is all...it's too much..."

And then, without missing a beat, Chi-Chi stood and ran into Roshi's kitchen, vomiting into the sink. Raditz shook his head. "All in one place, opposite of Piccolo. Not just another Piccolo, not just Gohan...but Kakarot, Vegeta, myself, the Trunks of the Future, Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, my mother and father, Roshi..."

Gine chimed in. "Garlic Junior, Abo and Kado, Frieza, Nappa, and... what the hell is that?!"

Raditz gasped, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks. "What in the hell is King Cold doing there?!"

The Future Trio all looked to one another, they had all come to the same realization. This mixed energy signal was coming from Gingertown, to the north of West City. Gohan spoke up and vocalized what the three of them were thinking. "That energy and Mr. Piccolo are both fairly close to where we found that husk and the broken Time Machine..."

And then, without so much as a word, the Future Trio all stood up and began to march towards the door. Gohan turned to them and gasped. "H-Hey! Wait for me!"

Future Daikon turned on his heel. "Gohan, no! Not this time! You can't come along!"

The desperation in the older boy's voice gave Gohan pause. He looked up at Future Daikon. "Wh-Why not?! Mr. Piccolo is fighting whatever that is! He needs me to come and help him!"

But, before any of the Future Trio could speak back, Tien spoke up. "Because your Dad needs a capable warrior here to watch over him."

Gohan flinched, turning to see that Krillin and Tien had both stood up. Krillin chuckled. "The world is going crazy Gohan, your Dad needs his entire family around him to keep him safe. So, you stick around here with your Mom, Raditz, Launch, and Gine and keep him safe~"

Tien cracked his neck. "We'll go and assist Piccolo alongside our three allies from the future..."

Gohan looked dejected, but he gave in. "O-Okay...just, please, all of you stay alive. Okay?"

Krillin and Tien both shot Gohan and thumbs-up and then, following the Future Trio's lead, they exited Kame House.

In the sky, above the ocean surrounding Kame House...

Future Trunks turned to Krillin and Tien and politely nodded their way. "Thank you both for stepping up and doing that. We...none of us want to lose Gohan again..."

Krillin shook his head. "Not at all. We get it."

Tien nodded. "Gohan is headstrong like Goku is. Ever since our fight with Nappa and Vegeta, he's never been one to run away or flee. It's admirable, but foolhardy all the same..."

Future Daikon was reserved and silent, his hair blocking his eyes. Future Ranch sighed. "That sounds like our cousin, alright..."

Future Trunks glared in the distance, towards where the energy signatures were coming from. "We need to hurry. If Piccolo dies, we lose the Dragon Balls. We can't let that happen! Not again!"

In West City...

As Bulma landed her hover car in her backyard, she could see the sight of the Royal Army's tanks rolling out of the base and driving into the hills in the distant countryside. She cocked her head. "What the heck?!"

Bulma quickly got out of her car, carrying the pink eggshells and running into Capsule Corp. Once inside, the scientist was shocked by the new additions inside her workshop: Chiaotzu, of all people, had joined her father. And, on the table next to the two of them was a severed head. And then, to make matters even stranger, the head smiled and spoke. "Hello there! Are you Bulma? My name is Android #8, but my friends call me Eighter, and I am a friend of Goku's. It is nice to meet you~!"

Bulma looked from the head, to her father, to her mother holding her infant son, to Chiaotzu. Her shoulders drooped. "Someone explain to me what the hell is going on..."

Chiaotzu sighed. "That's...a mouthful..."

Back in Gingertown...

Piccolo leapt up out of the smoke, landing on top of a building. He looked out at the cone of destruction the monster had made, blasting a massive path through a small section of the city. He sneered. "Pretty destructive..."

Suddenly, the monster's voice spoke. "I thank you for the compliment~"

Piccolo whipped around and saw the monster standing on a building opposite of him. Once again, to the Namekian's consternation, the beast had managed to move completely undetected. Piccolo growled. "Seriously, what are you?!"

The monster chuckled. "You are certainly persistent in your questioning. But, how to answer you...?"

It cocked its head. "I suppose I could say that I am you. Or...perhaps calling myself your son would be better?"

Piccolo growled. "Don't play games! The one ability that my worthless father didn't pass to me was his ability to reproduce through eggs! And, even if he did, I could never produce something as hideous and evil-feeling as you!"

The beast chuckled. "Quite the ironic statement from the self-proclaimed Demon King."

Piccolo's ki sense was going crazy, almost to the point of overwhelming him. Once again, the powers he was feeling weren't particularly strong...but they were potent. Forceful even. He could hear them wailing in his head. The likes of Goku, Vegeta, and Frieza at the forefront. Trying to calm himself, Piccolo took a fighting stance. "I don't call myself the Demon King because I proclaim to be evil. I call myself the Demon King because only a demon could fight with the ferocity that I do!"

A smirk spread across the monster's orange beak. "Such bravado~"

Piccolo roared, his power bursting out hard enough to make the windows on his building shatter into pieces. The beast shrieked with laughter and then did the same, its energy exploding out like noxious gas and weighing down on its building like a dense cloud. The structure strained under it. And then, Piccolo and the beast charged at one another.

The two of them instantly locked up, the sheer force of their clash sending a howling wind blowing through the empty streets that blasted the leaves off of every nearby tree. Piccolo smirked. "You've doomed yourself, monster! By emptying this city, you've given me the opportunity to fight without holding back!"

The monster adopted and open-beaked grin, four fangs peering out from beneath the orange cone. "Perhaps I have, but I have also narrowed my attention down to one prey!"

The stinger tail on the beast spiked downward, but Piccolo propelled himself back. Once the stinger had passed, he instantly shot forward and spin-kicked the monster across the cheek. And then, as the beast tried to collect itself, Piccolo sent it crashing to the ground with a heavy chop across the chest.

The monster hit the ground running, flipping backwards and landing on its feet. "He's fast."

It turned just in time to see Piccolo right behind it, preparing another spin-kick. Turning quickly, the beast was able to use its sliding momentum to do a flip, front-flipping over Piccolo and then trying to land another hit with the stinger tail. Piccolo dodged out of the way and fired a blast. The beast ducked the blast and fired one of its own, but Piccolo slapped it away, deflecting the attack with authority.

The two of them clashed again, very briefly, and then both leapt back. This back-and-forth continued across the city, carrying both fighters down streets and into alleyways. The monster leapt up and prepared to try and stab Piccolo again, but the Namekian stretched his arm into the air and grabbed the creature at the base of the stinger. Properly restrained, the beast had no defense as Piccolo whipped it into the side of a building, smashing it into a wall.

From within the vacant building, the monster spoke. Its voice had a slight reverb. "So, you can stretch your limbs, Piccolo? Interesting~"

And then, the tail shot out once more. Piccolo jumped back, but gasped as the tail continued to give chase. He dodged various attempted stabbings and thought to himself. "It's reacting. This battle isn't just about trying to kill me, it's trying to learn more about itself!"

Piccolo snarled. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

And then, he charged a blast and fired it forward. "DESTRUCTIVE WAVE!"

The blast shot forward and exploded a large portion of the street. As the smoke cleared, Piccolo saw no sign of the stinger tail. But then, the monster appeared behind him. "I already answered that question! Perhaps try 'who are you' or 'where are you from' next~"

And then, to Piccolo's surprise, the beast reached to the top of his head and yanked his turban down over his eyes. And then, the beast grabbed Piccolo by the collar of his cape and began to hammer the Namekian across the face with his fist. "You are so rude, Piccolo! You always ask 'what' in that gravelly voice! Did King Piccolo not teach you any manners when he birthed you?!"

The monster grabbed Piccolo's flowing cape, whipping the Namekian around and launched him at the road. Piccolo bounced, but quickly recovered and pulled the turban from over his eyes. He glared up into the air and caught the most disgusting sight. The monster's tail had swelled into an engorged size. It smirked, and then it fired a blast of corrosive gunk from the tip of the stinger at Piccolo.

The Namekian reacted quickly, whipping off his cape and throwing it at the acid stream. The cape collided with the liquid and was instantly eroded away. On the other side of the cape, however, was a sight that Piccolo should have seen coming by this point. The monster had both fingers pressed to its forehead and was charging energy. Piccolo did the same. And then, both fired their attacks at the same time. "SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!"

The two blasts clashed and, to Piccolo's surprise, he was briefly forced back. This, however, only served to make the Namekian angrier. He snapped at the monster. "I will not be beaten in a struggle against my own attack!"

And then, Piccolo did something that no one had seen him do with the Special Beam Cannon before: he used both hands, as was originally intended with the technique, and shouted. "SUPER SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!"

Finally, Piccolo had taken the advantage. His blast pushed against the beast and the monster shrieked. "Strong! S-So strong! I...I..."

It smirked. And then, it used the recoil from its own blast to dodge out of the way. Piccolo's Super Special Beam Cannon rose into the air and shot a hole directly through a cloud, eventually arching into the distance and slicing the top off of a faraway mountain. The monster whistled in appreciation. "Quite the technique, Piccolo..."

Its voice fell a register. "But how about this one~? DEATH BEAM!"

Piccolo flinched as a familiar, wicked beam shot towards him. His hand was barely able to make it in time to deflect the beam away. Piccolo snarled at the stinging pain in his hand. The monster landed and point its finger in Piccolo's face. "I'm sorry~! Did that one cause you some heartache~?"

The Namekian sneered and shoved the monster back with his foot. Both Piccolo and the creature feinted back, standing across from one another as a harsh wind blew. After such a frantic clash, Piccolo was left with more questions than answers about what he was facing here.

What was this thing? Why couldn't he detect its presence without it being allowed? Where did it come from? What was going on here?!

But then, to both Piccolo and the monster's surprise, they both heard a loud racket in the distance. The two of them both leapt high up and landed atop a large building. In the countryside surrounding Gingertown, they saw several battalions of King Furry's army had gather on the outskirts. The various army men and women were armed to the teeth, dressed in their military regalia and bringing forth heavy weaponry. Several batteries of missiles and a platoon of tanks were gathered and waiting to be unleashed. Piccolo snarled. "Those fools. They need to not inter-"

A sudden blue light shined out next to Piccolo, he turned and gasped in horror at what he saw. The monster was charging quite the familiar attack, and was pointed directly at the hapless Royal Army below. The beast briefly turned its attention to Piccolo, smirking and winking, and then glared back at the humans. "KAMEHAMEHA!"

Piccolo leapt at the monster. "NO!"

But it was too late. The force of the attack launched forth and ballooned over the empty city. The building that Piccolo and the monster were stood on was engulfed as well. The royal army below could do nothing but watch and scream as the attack came shredding towards them, eventually exploding and sending a shockwave across the countryside.

In a barren wasteland...

With that violent attack, there was not a ki sensitive person on the planet that didn't notice what was happening. Including Vegeta.

The Saiyan Prince's eyes popped open and he turned in the direction of the battle currently waging. Vegeta was quite confused. "It's that bastard Namekian..."

He sneered. "But what the hell is he fighting?! It's not those Android brats. It's...Kakarot? Raditz? Bardock? Frieza?! King Cold?! ME?!"

Vegeta snarled. "I am getting sick of all of this idiocy. That green prick can have this one. I need to re-focus and then hunt down...those..."

Suddenly, Vegeta came to a startling realization. As his ki sense honed in on Piccolo's battle, he came to understand where the battle was taking place. To the west, and slightly to the north. Right near West City. Vegeta gasped, and then he briefly thought of his woman and his son. "Damn it!"

The Prince's Super Saiyan form burst forth and he took off. Vegeta sped through the sky, his vendetta against the Androids briefly forgotten. "What the hell else could happen this week?!"

On a random roadside...

The pink delivery van stolen by the Androids was parked in the middle of a mountainside road. The two of them stood on the edge of the road, overlooking a cliff, and stared westward. 17 and 18 were both quite confused, their sensors having suddenly gone crazy. The raven-haired Android cocked his head. "Damn these new, heightened sensors...Gero could have at least programmed knowledge of how these things work into us before he woke us up..."

18 shrugged. "Probably too focused on trying to make us obedient. My files indicate that that Bulma woman is smart, maybe after we kill Goku we could go to her for an explanation..."

17 turned to her. "I don't think she'd be all too willing to help us after we kill her friend."

18 sighed. "We could go gather the Dragon Balls after we kill Goku. That might be fun. Then, we offer them up as a peace offering. It's not like they aren't going to wish Goku back after we kill him, ya know?"

17's shoulders sagged. "That makes what we're doing right now sound so lame..."

She shrugged again. "Death is cheap, 17. That's the world we live in. Besides, it would give us the option to fight Goku again down the line. Might make 16 upset though..."

17 sneered in annoyance. "Who gives a-"

Android 16 emerged from the van. "I am well-aware of the Dragon Balls and am prepared to continuously kill Son Goku up until the point he manages to kill me. That is my programmed purpose."

The two Androids turned to their bigger counterpart. 16 was staring intently at the horizon. 18 nodded at him. "The battle happening to the west woke you up out of your nap, huh?"

16 nodded back. "It is quite bizarre. Piccolo is currently engaged in battle with a single opponent displaying varied energy signatures."

17 glared at 16. "Wait a minute, you can tell who's fighting?"

16 nodded affirmatively. "Correct."

18 questioned. "So, who is it that Piccolo is fighting then?"

16's eyes were locked on the horizon. "My sensors show a multitude of people all emanating from a single source. At the moment, Piccolo is fighting against Vegeta, Krillin, Gohan, and Piccolo, amongst others..."

17 chuckled. "Ah, I get it. They must be training. Is Goku among them?"

16 nodded. "Son Goku's energy is present. But I do not believe that Son Goku, himself, is present. Something is off about the source of that power. Every single power source, less one Piccolo, is all emanating from a single source..."

17 nodded. "Cool. Then whatever Piccolo is doing isn't important. We're gonna continue along on our little trip until we reach Goku's house."

The leader of the group turned and started walking back towards the van. As he did, he saw a billboard out of the corner of his eye. 17 read the billboard. "Full-Throttle Biker Fest..."

And then, 17 smirked. "Actually, we might make one more, tiny pitstop on the way to Goku's place~"

Back in West City...

Piccolo groaned as he pushed himself up. The Namekian wasn't injured, but he was very angry. "That hideous little creep..."

He glared all around him, seeing nothing but the vague outlines of destroyed buildings and a thick cloud of dust. Piccolo stood and began to walk. He knew he couldn't be too hasty, if he lost his cool, the monster would get the drop on him.

The sound of a heavy, scuffing footstep caught Piccolo's attention and he turned to fire a blast. Luckily, he was able to stop himself when he saw that it was only a royal army soldier. The woman lurched forward and tripped into Piccolo. The Namekian tried to steady her. "Hey! You fools need to get out of here! This is beyond your capability!"

She spoke, her voice strained. "...help me..."

Piccolo flinched. "What?!"

She flipped her head back a wheezed again; she sounded terrified. "Help me!"

Piccolo was horrified. The woman pleaded at him for assistance, but everything was wrong. Her skin was warping and sagging, practically drooping off of her face. Her voice was distorted and pained and scared. Tears built in her eyes and she gave one last, futile plea. "Please...help me..."

And then her eyeballs caved into her skull, leaving pitch-black voids. And she shrieked. "Aggghhhh!"

The last of the tears streamed off of her cheeks, and then the rest of her collapsed onto itself and vanished. The vile, stinger tail pulled itself from her clothes and then zipped back into the dust. Quickly, Piccolo raised his hand and fired a blast into the dust cloud. But it harmlessly sailed into the distance and exploded. Piccolo glanced down at the, now empty, uniform. Piccolo shouted at the top of his lungs. "Show yourself, bastard! Try that on someone who can fight back!"

"Ehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe..."

Piccolo glanced around. The low, raspy chuckle seemed to be coming from everywhere. The monster spoke. "I have noticed that I have been granted extraordinary hearing. I got that from you Piccolo, right?"

Piccolo flinched. The monster chuckled again. "Please...tell me how this sounds in those sensitive ears of yours..."

And then, the terrified screaming began. Seemingly from all around, all at once, dozens of humans began to scream and shriek and cry out. Some of them screamed "what", some of them screamed "where", some of them even screamed "why", but none of it did any good. They were helpless, lost souls in a thick fog, being hunted by a merciless predator. And the sound grated against Piccolo's eardrums like nails across a chalkboard.

The sounds of the screams, combined with the sounds of that monster's laughter, dropped Piccolo to his knees. He snarled as the screaming continued, the warped roars of a dying herd of a lambs to the slaughter. Piccolo gritted his teeth, building energy within his core, and then he shouted at the top of his lungs and released an Explosive Demon Wave.

The energy blasted outward, blowing away the dust, and then all was still. Piccolo looked around, seeing nothing but empty soldier's uniforms and a ruined city, and he was confused. And then, quick as lightning, the monster snapped up behind Piccolo and trapped the Namekian's arm in a tight bear-hug. Piccolo thrashed around, trying to jerk free but being unable to. He glared to the ground and saw a massive hole on the ground. "You burrowed?!"

The monster chuckled. "Indeed~"

It whispered in Piccolo's ear. "And now, I'm going to try this on someone who can 'fight back'~"

And then, the stinger tail whipped outward and dramatically stabbed straight towards Piccolo's chest. Piccolo's eyes widened, and then he jerked to the side. The stinger stabbed into Piccolo's arm and he cried out in pain. The monster chuckled. "Okay then~ How about I walk you through the process~"

The tail swelled up just a bit. "First we inject..."

The swelling lurched forward, forcing the acidic mixture into Piccolo's arm. The Namekian cried out at the intense, searing pain as he felt all of the muscle and bone within his arm begin to degrade. The monster hissed. "And then...we drink~!"

The tail began to pump, slowly sucking all of the matter out of Piccolo's left arm until all that was left was an empty husk of lose, soft flesh. The monster smirked. "For pathetic, untrained humans, one injection is enough...but people like you usually go much slower~"

It chuckled. "Now, let us go for Round 2..."

Piccolo panicked and, reacting quickly, he slammed the back of his head into the monster's beak. The creature hissed in pain and released the Namekian. Piccolo went stumbling forward, barely able to catch himself. Piccolo was breathing heavy. He turned to face the freakish beast with his teeth harshly gritted. The monster chuckled. "I will give you this, you were able to put up more of a fight than Yamcha.'

Piccolo flinched. "So, you are the thing that attacked Yamcha!"

The monster rolled its eyes. "Obviously."

The smirked, but that smirk belayed a genuine anger. "And I am quite cross at you, Tien Shinhan, and Chiaotzu for interrupting my first, high-powered meal in ages."

Piccolo growled. "So, you're the one who killed Dr. Gero too, right?"

The monster flinched. "You would accuse me of such a thing?! On what grounds?!"

But then, that predatory smile returned. "Why would a child kill his own father...?"

Piccolo narrowed his eyes. "His?"

The monster nodded his head. "Yes, his. I am a living creature, not an object. As I have said before, Piccolo, I am not a 'what'! I am a 'who'..."

Piccolo closed his eyes. "I see..."

He glared at the monster. "When I found Dr. Gero's remains, he had a small puncture hole in his braincase. Just like the clothing of all of your victims. So, I'll humor you...who and what are you?! What...what is your name...?"

The monster closed his eyes, a wry smirk spreading across his beak. "I suppose that is a story worth telling..."

"My name is..."

The day before, Site Omega...

Grafted onto the heavily damaged body of Android 13, Dr. Gero could muster little more than the effort it took to stand as he stared at the massive, green, insectoid creature that had suddenly appeared in his thought-to-be-secret laboratory. "Y-You...you're..."

The monster stepped forward, his clomping footsteps echoing through the lab. "Yes, Doctor. I am here."

Gero was genuinely confused. "B-But how...there is only one of you. The one in that capsule over there! Wh-Where did you come from?!"

The monster chuckled. "A drive to attain a goal is a dangerous thing, Doctor. I have lost that which I sought in the future...so my only option was to come back to the past."

Gero gasped. "Time Travel?!"

The monster nodded. "Indeed~"

The doctor fell into his chair once more, sighing in relief. "This is wonderful! Fantastic! Well done, Android 22!"

The monster smiled. "Of course, Doctor. I would do anything to attain the dream that you described to me. To meet up with Android 17 and 18 and, through a cooperative effort with them, achieve the ultimate goal of perfection!"

Gero laughed out loud. "This could not be more perfect! You are here, and our goals align! It is only a matter of time before those foolish allies of Goku meet a swift end!"

The monster's gaze glanced over to the side and its smirk immediately faded. "I must wonder though, just what sort of timeline did I end up in?"

He marched over to the capsule containing the present-day larval form of himself and glared at it. "Within this little speck, I sense quite a bit of myself. But, with several inconsistencies. I do not know some of these power signatures, and the lack of Frieza and his father is rather intriguing as well..."

The monster turned to his creator. "Did the spy robots in this time malfunction when Frieza showed up? What happened?"

Gero scowled. "Worry not about such trivialities, Android 22! You have a mission that you must quickly undertake!"

The monster turned to the old man and listened intently to him. Gero began to rant. "First and foremost, you must feed! Do you understand me, my creation?! You must hunt and absorb the miserable human filth that covers this planet and make yourself fat off of their suffering! And then, you shall move on to Step 2! You will meet up with Android 17 and Android 18 and shall combine your power with theirs in order to attain what I have designated as your perfect, ultimate form!"

The monster was eager. "Yes Doctor, I am aware~ Your supercomputer informed me of my goals, as well as the techniques of my various genetic contributors, throughout the long process of my initial gestation! I am able to utilize advanced level techniques with very little effort!"

It gripped it's three-fingered fist. "Goku and his allies will be overtaken and destroyed by my power!"

Gero nodded. "Yes! And then we can move on to the final step!"

The monster cocked its head. "Final step?"

Gero spun in his chair, drunk off of the sudden advantage he had gained. "Yes! Step 3! The transference of my exceptional brain into the body that you worked to construct!"

The monster's hand dropped. "Excuse me?"

Gero chortled. "Indeed. You will have served your purpose well, 22! You will have gone and made me the ultimate, invincible body! I will be able to leave this hideous metallic shell and, through the various genetic samples I have attained: the strength of Goku's ilk and the near-immortality from that strange, vampiric beast that invaded the Earth! I will never die and I will stand above the entire universe as its ultimate overlord!"

The monster did not look amused. Silently, it raised its hand back up and pointed it at the unsuspecting Gero. The doctor did not notice, instead reaching down and grapping a picture on his desk. He stared at the picture, specifically at a red-haired woman next to his younger self. "And then, I will put you back together and nothing will ever tear us apart again..."

A bright light shined behind Gero. He turned, confused, and was met by a hefty blast smashing into his chest. The force of the attack entered Gero's already damaged frame and exploded him from the inside out. As his pieces clattered to the ground, the monster's stinger tail suddenly thrashed against Gero's severed head and sent it flying across the room, smashing into the larval form's capsule and making it crack.

On the ground, Gero could barely form a sentence. "A-Android 22...what are you...doing...?"

The monster stood above Gero. "Do you expect me to attain a goal that I have sought since my first sentient thought just to hand it over to some undeserving spectator?! No wonder 17 and 18 murdered you in my timeline, you reek of arrogance and self-entitlement..."

Gero's head was sparking. "You...would say that...to me? Y-You...a nameless petri dish...only identified by a de-designated number...?"

The monster glared down at the severed head and chuckled. And then, he clamped his three-toed foot over Gero's mouth. "Those words cut deep, Doctor. But you are not wrong. I am but a nameless beast with only a single-minded goal, at the moment at least. But that noble goal is what shall define me..."

The monster raised his stinger tail into the air, stabbing it into the fractured side of the tank and into the larval form within. The little speck of genetic material had no defense and was, near immediately, ingested. The monster chuckled. "Ah...I see..."

He smirked. "In this timeline...Goku's parents and brother...and a multitude of off-worlders. Their strengths shall be added to my own..."

The monster looked down at his creator. "And then, that leaves you Doctor. I could kill you...but that seems an ungrateful from me when I really do owe you so much. You might reek of arrogance, but you still deserve some credit for designing what will soon be the ultimate being..."

His beak opened, revealing four needle-like fangs that lined a predatory smirk. "You will not experience that perfection firsthand, but I could offer you the consolation prize of joining me for the ride~"

Gero's eyes went wide and, instantly, he began to beg. "NMM! NMM! NMMMHMHMHM!"

The beast chuckled. "Goodbye, Doctor~"

And then, the stinger tail shot downward. The sharp crack of glass was heard, and then Gero's screams eventually went silent. The monster looked up as the deed was done, observing himself in the remains of the shattered glass from the tank. "Android 22 is quite an uninspired title. Perhaps I need a new name, after all. Something bold, but subdued. Concise, but striking. Perhaps..."

Back in the present, in West City...

"Cell~"

Piccolo snarled. "So... you're a genetic hybrid of all of us, formed from miniscule spy robots stealing samples of our DNA. And you exist only to feed on those you can safely prey upon and to join forces with Gero's other creations...?"

Cell smirked. "Something like that, yeah."

Piccolo snarled. "And... you came from the future? But how?! How did those three not notice you?!"

Cell cocked his head. "Three? I am only familiar with the two: Trunks and Bulma. Unless, of course, the third you're referring to is the deceased Gohan..."

Piccolo gasped, and made sure to make a mental note of that. Cell sighed, his tail lifting into the air. "But that is enough conversation. I'm afraid we've reached the end of this Piccolo. However, much like Dr. Gero, you can take pride in knowing that your life essence will go towards the production of the ultimate being~"

The Namekian raised up his hand. "Wait!"

Cell paused. "Hmm...?"

Piccolo gripped his shriveled arm. "One more thing...you seemed confused that I was able to stretch my limbs when I first did it. So, perhaps, you aren't familiar with another thing that I, as a Namekian, can do..."

Cell narrowed his slit-pupiled eyes. "Which is?"

Piccolo suddenly smirked, gripping and twisting his shriveled arm and ripping it off before spontaneously growing a new one. Cell was taken aback, flinching. Piccolo chuckled. "As you can see, costing me an arm is a futile effort. You were arrogant, Cell, and now...you won't take another arm from me."

Cell chuckled. "I see, I see. Well, Piccolo...let us test to see just who will end up on top at the end of this little scrap. I can certainly keep going~"

Cell took a fighting stance. Piccolo sneered and did the same thing. "I told you when I first arrived here, you won't be allowed to mass-slaughter any more people!"

The monster opened his beak to speak, but was quickly thrown off by what he felt approaching. He and Piccolo both looked to the sky and saw that the cavalry had arrived. The Future Trio, Krillin, and Tien all touched down. And Krillin immediately vocalized everyone's thoughts. "WHAT IN THE HOLY HELL IS THAT THING?!"

Future Ranch's eyes widened and she froze in place, her face pale. "Uhhhhhhhhhhh..."

Cell seethed in frustration, leaping back and landing atop some nearby rubble. "I see we have been joined by some fresh meat, Piccolo. Tien Shihan, Krillin, Trunks...and two no-accounts..."

Future Daikon was insulted. But, as he raged, Future Trunks was taken aback by the familiar tone the monster addressed him with. Cell smirked. "But I am afraid that I do not wish to deal with a six-versus-one fight. Not at the moment, at least..."

Future Daikon went Super Saiyan, drawing his Power Pole. "Too bad! We have enough horrors running around without whatever the hell you are!"

As the boy charged, Cell chuckled. "We will meet again, fools."

And then, he fanned his hands over his face. Tien flinched in shock. "Is that?"

The monster shouted at the top of his lungs. "SOLAR FLARE!"

Everyone shrieked in pain as the light blinded them. Cell took that as his chance to escape. He leapt down to the ground and went speeding away as fast as his feet would carry him. "DO LOOK FORWARD TO THE FUTURE! YOU THOUGHT THE ANDROIDS WERE THE THREAT, BUT YOU WERE WRONG! SOON! SOON YOU WILL BEAR WITNESS TO THE BIRTH OF THE ULTIMATE BEING! SOON, YOU WILL ALL WITNESS PERFECTION!"

The blinded warriors could do nothing, fruitlessly thrashing about as Cell's wicked laughter rapidly got further and further away.

Back at Kame House...

Master Roshi stepped into his peaceful island home. After such a long trip, he was ready to sit down with one of his favorite magazines for a little alone time. This made it all the more jarring when he walked in to find Turtle and Oolong making Raditz and Launch a cup of tea. Roshi was confused. "Wh-Why are you all here?! What's going on?!"

Oolong shot a side-eye at Roshi. "I didn't wanna travel all the way here from West City! But, when Puar heard what happened to Yamcha, I didn't have a choice!"

Raditz bowed his head. "Forgive us for intruding, Master Roshi. We needed a safe place to store my brother while he recovered..."

Launch smiled at the old man. "If you need us to catch you up on what's been going on, we'd be happy to."

Roshi disappointedly sighed. "N-No. I knew you were coming. I was just hoping you wouldn't be here yet..."

He glanced at the television, see the headline on the news. "What's going on in Gingertown? Has something new happened?"

Launch sighed. "Like I said, you should really let us explain to you Master Roshi..."

Upstairs...

All was quiet on the second floor of Kame House. The blinds had been drawn and the room had been darkened, allowing all of the occupants to get some much-needed rest. On one side of the room, Suno and Puar both laid near to and on Yamcha respectively. Suno had, for the first time, managed to enter a state of calm since Cell's attack on her village. Puar was snuggled into Yamcha's chest, the poor cat sobbing in her sleep at what had happened to her companion.

On the other side, the pregnant Chi-Chi had managed to fall into a somewhat peaceful slumber, only occasionally bothered by the kicking of the child currently resting in her womb. Next to her was her husband Goku who, despite the peaceful look on his face, wasn't resting well at all.

Goku had overcome the majority of the Heart Virus's effects. And now, as he rested to recover stamina, the Saiyan was starting to get a sense of what all was going down in his absence.

Proofreading: StevenBodner