Dragon Ball Z: The Catalyst

by Drakthul

Catalyst: a person or thing that precipitates an event or change. A traditional encounter is changed, and begins a series of events which will alter the fate of millions. From the beginning of the Saiyan Saga forward. Rated T for violence and themes.

109. Chapter 109: Synthetica

Disclaimer, in case it wasn't obvious. I don't own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or really any other property. Thank you.

The Cataylst

Act VI

Chapter 109: Synthetica

Android 22:

Destruction. All she could see for countless kilometres was the destruction of nature and infrastructure. Random pockets of blasts having gone astray dotted the landscape as well. Atmospheric sensors had picked up the size of the attacks being exchanged, and there had been at least a few which had been of substantial size. There had been more identified combatants as well. Even if she'd not been able to detect specific power levels, the number of impacts had been drawn down over the course of her flight, decreasing from 6 unique signatures, to 3 unique signatures. Half of the targets on-site had been eliminated.

The world was a blur of images for her optics to capture, each still frame processed by her micro-processors as they adapted the information and guided her on her path. No longer bound by her programming, there were no objectives on screen for her, the only thing guiding her throughout all of this were… her feelings. Sixteen, 17, and 18 were her comrades, they were her friends. They'd stuck their necks out to save her after all, and there was no program designed internally for that either. It was a far cry from her body's instincts, which seemed preprogrammed to abandon, or kill allies as needed.

The main abnormality outside of her desire to save her… friends… was that all indications seemed to point out that the Namekian was nowhere on her sensory range. In fact, Son Goku had been, but was no longer as well. As a gigantic crater came into view, her eyes locked in on four targets. Seventeen, 18, Son-, no, Turles, and… something. Files looked to access who this target was, but it came back as a blank. A memory, hidden beneath the rewritten data onboard Chip-24 seemed to whisper to her. The tower… the tower that had been attacked by the unit 24 in Spiceton. There wasn't any affiliation however, only a grim familiarity.

Still, it was very obvious in the 2 seconds she scanned the battlefield upon her approach who the main attacker was, and it was the strange insectoid. Twisting through the air on the approach, her body darted from one side to the other, trying to confuse and mask her approach as time slowed while her power supplies and processors heated up with increased power consumption, not even being overlocked into overdrive mode.

Power, power like she'd never imagined seemed to be at her fingertips. When she darted past the Saiyan, he didn't even seem to motion that he knew she was there until the force of her motion blasted past him, long after her form had already burst head, diving feet first into the beaked creature's face. When their two bodies collided, her feet acting as twin spears almost skewering its head on them, she felt an immense amount of resistance at first before the body was sent plunging into the crust of the planet. A Cloud of displaced dust shot out of the hole as cracks drew up around it while her audio-sensors picked up the echoes of the creature tunneling its way, unintentionally of course, through the cold hard Earth. Standing at the gate of this newly formed entrance, her she felt the fading sun at her back, as she stood over it, almost as a gatekeeper.

"T-twenty-two?" Eighteen's voice emerged from behind her. "Is that you?"

The question was more than one out of shock, she suspected the others had a hint of what might have happened upon her integration with the other components from her immediate lineup. She didn't turn to look at her counterpart as her optics remained fixed on the hole the creature had made, looking for any sign of movement from below, her feet attuned to vibrations in the Earth as well, trying to sense movement that might try to bypass her.

That thing wasn't dead yet.

"Yea, it's me," she responded back. "You two look like you've been through a meatgrinder."

"They have," Turles responded.

It was almost enough to get her to turn around, she nearly snarled even, as someone she wasn't talking to answered the question.

"I wasn't speaking with you," she made her offense clear, her tone reflecting her attitude on the lack of respect demonstrated.

"Yea, it was pretty rough," Seventeen managed, pulling himself up as he answered. "It appears that 16 is… offline."

It was ironic, wasn't it? The one that was a complete machine, the one without any of the meat that made them what they were, the one without an organic component to their network had been the best of them. What was worse, was now he was very clearly… gone. That was another one on the list, wasn't it? Twenty-Four was gone, 20 and 21 had betrayed them. They'd killed 23. Now 16 was gone as well. All that was left was the 3 of them in all of this.

The ground started to rumble and she knew exactly why, movement was starting to happen beneath their feet, but not from the bug-monster making a tunnel. It was powering up, trying to display its power.

The ground bubbled upwards a hundred metres in front of them before bursting forth with golden energy. Thousands of tons of rock and earth pulled upwards from the destroyed husk of a hole that now appeared. The thrum of a powerful ki field filled her ears as the force of wind blasted out around them. Her hair was swept back as she stood her ground in the face of whatever this thing was as it slowly emerged. Energy crackled through the air as its crest carefully moved into the air. Even now, she could tell everything this thing was doing was methodical, deliberate, even in how it chose to emerge from the attack.

Drifting up, as if it was being carried by a breeze, the strange abomination came more and more into view. Spotted green skin made of leather, and hardened carapace. The orange accents of strange plating came into view, and a blackened sphere within the headcrest itself. Its insect-like appearance would have been unnerving to most, but she felt nothing of the sort looking at it. In a blur of motion, sudden and rapid, it appeared only a few metres in front of her, still hovering above the ground.

K-tch. K-tch.

The two feet landed only a few feet from her allowed her to finish her analysis. It was significantly larger than she was as well. Its strange, slit eyes were also something of note as well, it had the appearance of an animal, more than anything, but she knew it had an intelligence which was far more sinister. Just has it chose to emerge once more, showed her that.

"You are another Android," it observed, its voice rasping deeply. "An intriguing development. You were observed before… you are one of the weaker Androids, a primitive model. An element unneeded in my design."

His design?

She almost let her confusion show through, but kept her features impassive, hardened even as she stood across from it, keeping her stare on it. It was already examining her for potential weakspots, she could see its eyes moving over her from left to right before a long, drawn out growl, one which sounded amused more than anything, rumbled out of its chest.

"Yes, fascinating, of all the designs I've seen so far from Dr. Gero, yours would be the least impressive. Even the husk of the machine I discovered on the way here was more impressive than this. A poor copy of 17 and 18, and little else, not even worthy of being integrated into my perfect design like our dear siblings. It is little wonder why your model was never activated in my own time."

Its own time? This thing is from the future?

Her own chips began to calculate everything it could. A future design she wasn't aware of, that needed 17 and 18? It was just like 23 then, wasn't it? Both of the series had been designed to integrate together. Her own lip finally curled with disgust. Ironically, she wasn't all that different from this thing, but its very sight made her sick.

"You may stand aside, I have no reason to harm you, and your every moment in my way defies the objective of Dr. Gero," it advised. "Your ability to stop me is also, negligible. I am Cell. Nothing can stand between me and perfection."

Spitting at its feet, or, whatever things masqueraded as feet at its base, she raised her arms and formed her fists, letting it know she wasn't going to make a single motion to back down.

"Seventeen, 18, get clear," she warned, even sensing the Saiyan beginning to back away. "I'll take care of this thing."

It started to chuckle before its own body flexed downward, repositioning itself like a predator stalking its prey, taking several skirmishing steps to one side, as it prepared to go through her, seemingly.

"How foolish to remain in my path. Your limits will be made clear very quickly against my power," it chuckled. "Yes, I believe this will not take long."

Her feet shifted beneath her with anticipation, knowing it was going to make the first move. It was arrogant, believing it was ahead of her, and she assumed it must have been very far ahead of 17 and 18. It was getting very tiring listening to this corpse run its mouth however. Already, her files were categorizing her thoughts on the target. A new protocol came up for her as she assigned him over to a valid target, and marked it manually for death.

"It won't," she responded back bluntly as she finished her assessment.

"A cheeky one," it rasped back at her. "And one of so few words. I will enjoy making you scream for your involvement here."

She didn't make a single move as she waited for him to strike out, seeing him on the edge of it, noticing all the subtle changes in posture it was making to strike out at her, looking for a killing blow outright she was guessing.

"I make it a rule to avoid talking to dead men," she assured him. "All this talking is inconvenient. Hurry up and fight me so I can get through killing you."

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Android 17:

The damage to his own chassis was extensive. He could barely manage to speak to 22 when she'd arrived. Even as Turles had taken over the fight and nearly gotten himself killed as well, 17 had no illusions as to what his chances of continuing any fight right now was, and sadly, even as he was, in a few hours he'd be in better fighting shape than 18 was, as she'd suffered a much more debilitating injury to her leg that would take weeks to heal.

The only thing standing between them and whatever the fuck this thing wanted to do to them was a badly mauled Saiyan, and 22. It wasn't lost on him that the Android he'd tried to save from their corrupted, psychotic friend 23, was now returning the favour. He'd wanted to be the hero, in his own way, at least to be the hero of his own story, but he could ironically see the role now falling on the shoulders of the most ruthless person he knew of all of the Androids in their clique. Really, until things went to shit, he'd have never really expected 22 to stick her neck out for anyone. But all of this fighting, all of this… dying had changed something between all of them. Even his processor, both organic and electronic, could feel it. They'd all changed, their priorities had changed. Their programming was adaptable, and this was demonstrating it.

Listening to the exchange between the 2 powerhouses was almost comical. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. Twenty-two wasn't interested in talking to this thing as it tried to intimidate her into making a mistake, or getting out of the way. It was the same answer all of her opponents so far seemed to get.

The Saiyan, Turles had backed himself up to their position, looking over at them both cautiously before looking back to the fight as it prepared to emerge.

"Don't get any ideas," Eighteen warned.

"I always have ideas," he responded back bluntly. "But don't worry, none of them are about killing the two of you. I don't have the power to do that right now anyway."

Well, the honesty is refreshing at least.

Looking back towards the fight about to unfurl, 17 just tried to hone his optics. Twenty-two had no idea how strong that thing was, and she was just standing there in front of it like it was nothing. Even if she was as strong as 23 had been, he knew that Cell would overwhelm her quickly, maybe in a couple of minutes even. He wanted to warn her more than anything, at least more than they had, but it seemed to be ill-fated now more than anything.

Briefly glancing over at the Saiyan, he almost was looking for a sign of worry or concern on the battered Saiyan's face, knowing he was likely still using his power. But it looked calm, if anything he was looking more worried back at him, regarding him, rather than Cell at this point.

"Does she stand a chance?" Eighteen asked bluntly from behind him.

When the Saiyan looked back at her, he didn't say a word before looking ahead.

"It's not about if she stands a chance. It's about how high this fight is going to be driven."

What does that mean?

When he turned his optics back towards the two, he could see Cell growing increasingly impatient as it waited for an opening on 22, trying to pace from side to side, repositioning to see some hole in her defense, but nothing seemed to give way, at least from his perspective. It looked like the creature wanted to be cleverer than 22, more so than just overpower her. It took only a few more seconds of irritation before the mask slipped however. When Cell ceased his circling, he paused in place before blurring.

It was fast. Immensely fast, even faster than his optics had been calibrated too. Thumps moved through his heart as he sensed his own response just from seeing something move that fast. He expected to see 22's body go flying, or for her to be shredded in two without much of a fight. Instead, a thump echoed through the air around them that didn't come from within his heart. He felt the wave ride through the air around them as Cell's blur came into vision in front of 22, his huge arm crashing into her left as she raised her guard, the two of them seemingly frozen in place. Slit eyes widened in disbelief, as his own eyes bulged in disbelief at what he was seeing.

A dark purple and bright purple energy circled 22 a second later as energy buzzed through the air around them. She shoved the arm back and Cell didn't seem dissuaded at all, despite his momentary shock. Another blow came in, this one a punch from the other side, before a sweeping kick came around. The arm found nothing but air as she backed away and the leg was blocked by her own. A frenzy of strikes followed, so fast that 17 couldn't even follow. Each strike was further and further sped up as he felt the friction in the air, rather than seeing the strikes themselves as Cell attacked. Finally, the two vanished completely from view as a furious noise escaped the beaked monstrosity. Thumps and booms rumbled all around them as 17 looked over to Turles, seeing the Saiyan's eyes frantically following as well, and with more precision than himself, clearly using his power to keep track of the battle more than anything. The look said it all though, he was clearly surprised just as much as they were.

When the reappeared a second later, an outstretched leg rested atop 22's guard. The blur having come to a close as the creature snarled, only for 17 to see motion finally coming from 22 herself as her guard broke. Her right leg came out, snap kicking into Cell's only foot on the ground, catching it off balance as its tail flailed trying to rebalance him. Sweeping around from the motion, her other leg extended, bot her feet leaving the ground as one arm went to the ground to offer her support. Her feet cracked across Cell's face, the beak shooting to one side as leathery skin stretched as its entire head shot to the side, a look of complete confusion coming across its face before her body swept around again, her other foot making a connection on his head as he tried to pull himself back towards her, trying not to falter in his stance only to be cracked across the temple this time. The propeller of kicks seemed to end as she swept back to her feet and stepped into him, driving a short, hard punch into his gut before dropping another punch into his midsection a moment later, and another, and another, each one ringing out over their ears and vibrating through the ground, before she rocketed up his front, shooting like a reverse lightning bolt into the air with a gigantic uppercut. The huge frame of the creature shot back before she planted one foot on his chest while he rocked backwards, before swinging around with her other foot once more, landing a vicious spinning heel-kick on his head. This time there was a crack as something beneath its skin gave way, and the monster was sent hurtling back on an angle.

When its body crashed into the side of the crater it'd made when it re-emerged, a huge chunk of rock collapsed in immediately before the entire side of the crater imploded in a landslide, burying even the entrance of where the monster had disappeared. Twenty-two remained in place for a moment, before her body lowered to the ground gracefully, to its feet, one leg still hanging in the air, the one which had landed the intense blow which had disabled the creature. The purple energy fields around her gradually vanished as she remained in place, clearly expecting something to occur.

"S-she… she just destroyed him," Eighteen said in disbelief. "He didn't even land an attack."

"She's stronger than 23," Seventeen admitted a second later. "And she's definitely stronger than 16. That amount of power… that's wild."

"It's not over," Turles warned a second later. "Not by a long-shot. We're going to need to move soon."

"What? What are you talking about? That thing didn't even scratch-" Seventeen didn't even finish his sentence before the ground started to rumble, and then began to shake violently.

Cracks appeared on the edge of the fissures and craters made so far as bits of rock rolled down into them. Where 22 had planted Cell, the ground was shaking even more violently before in a single flash of light, an immense landscape of rock vanished in a wave of golden light. It was so bright 17 couldn't even stare directly at it without his optics fizzling out of any meaningful vision. His stats ceased being tracked before the light vanished almost as quickly as it first appeared. Golden energy oozed off Cell's body as the creature took a step forward, its body scuffed and dirty, but otherwise unharmed.

K-tch. K-tch. K-tch. K-tch.

Each step forward felt angrier and angrier as it seethed with every step.

"You wretched creature," Cell hissed. "How dare you stand in front of my purpose?! You are nothing in the face of my perfection!"

The rage-filled announcement didn't have an answer as all, before 22's foot resting firmly on the ground finally. Her feet then started to skip between one another, hopping from side to side as her fists came up in a guard, clearly ready for more, not bothering to address the remark, and 17 knew clearly as to why.

Because 22 didn't bother to talk to dead-things.

Two golden orbs appeared in Cell's palms before he cast the first one out. Then the other, then a dozen, then a hundred shots within only a few seconds. Streams of energy waves descended on 22 as 17 naturally raised his shield, as if expecting them to hit him, or the others. The purple energies appeared around 22 once again just as the dozens of bolts from the first wave appeared ready to impact. Only instead of exploding, each of the shots seemed to gradually grind to a halt. A hum was echoing through the air, intensifying with its noise with every passing moment until 17 almost felt the inside of his head beginning to vibrate from the resonance. Slowly but surely, all the bolts seemed to step in the air as 22 held her ground. The field around her sparked, and in a whoosh of power, swept out along the ground.

His energy shield collapsed, and every single orb in the air just… sparked out. They didn't even explode. Each one cancelled out in a fizzle. Seventeen's own throat felt like it tightened as he realized just… how far behind they all were. She had to be at least twice as powerful as Cell, maybe more. That was madness.

Even Cell seemed to be taken back finally, the creature looking out where its attacks had been, its head swinging from one side to the other as it looked for any signs of what had just happened.

Ceasing her hop, and moving one of her arms up from her guard, 22 seemed to be measuring something before she vanished from view. Seventeen's optics completely lost her, not even having a hint of where she was moving. It appeared at the very least however, Cell seemed to know. The stunned Android tried to defend himself immediately, shifting to one side before he vanished in a whoosh of speed and energy, clearly without his own input on the matter. The ground exploded suddenly across a half dozen steps before four gigantic booms rocked past them.

When the pair reappeared, it was as they were driving down from a might higher altitude, Cell's back facing towards the ground as his body tumbled helplessly several times, his tongue hanging out of his beak before 22 dived down onto him, driving another fist into its face before rolling in front of him in his dive, grabbing him by the face and directing him down, heaving him at the last moment to collide with the ground face first. Even 17 cringed as the bug-like creature's frame broke into the already battle-worn battlefield they'd been standing on. The ground beneath him reverse-domed immediately from the strength of his own head hitting the ground before his legs and tail limply slapped against the ground behind him.

Before he even had a chance to recover, 22 grabbed his chipped headcrest, pulling his head and body up and immediately laying into him, two quick punches and a violent kick followed, the kick was hard enough that 17 heard Cell's neck snap from the impact, before she rounded him again and drive another reverse-heel kick into him, hitting him so hard in the body that his chiton armour cracked before his body tumbled into the side of the fresh crater.

Lowering her guarded stance, the other Android hopped out of the crater and brushed some dirt off her shoulder before combing back her hair. She'd only managed to break a sweat, it looked like, and Cell looked dead on the side of the ground behind her.

It's over. He was no match for her. She beat him on every level and killed him like it wasn't even a problem. What an incredible power?

There was a sinking feeling in his chest however… which was simply that 22 was clearly the one who'd be in charge after all this.

"You all look surprised," Twenty-Two offered. "What did you expect?"

"Not that," Eighteen said. "You completely destroyed him. He didn't stand a chance."

A confident smirk crossed her lips before she placed her hands on her hips, lowering her head slowly and acting as if it was nothing. It clearly wasn't, and she knew damn well it wasn't.

"Oh? I like to think he had a chance for a second. I was really worried for-"

"Idiots," Turles sneered as he looked over all of them. "He's not finished yet."

"I broke its neck," she reminded. "Do you want to find out how that ends a fight?"

Wait… Shit, he's right!

"He's not wrong," Seventeen said a second later. "That thing can regenerate-"

As if only because he'd mentioned it, the crumbled, broken body of Cell started to pull itself back up. The armoured plating seemed to start snapping back into place. He could hear bones started to clip as well, at first gradually, before, even as far away as he was, whole vertebra started to click into place once more. His audio-sensors were sensitive enough to hear every grim detail as he felt his heart starting to race again.

A long, grim noise escaped the creature as it reared back to life, its entire body seemingly not even impacted by what had just transpired. It was fine. Even the bruises on its husk-like body seemingly had vanished before the familiar sound of its disgusting feet cracked into place as it took its first steps of renewed life seemingly.

Even 22's face looked confused before she turned around, seeing this creature brought back to renewed life.

A long smile pulled back against the leather of its skin, as the beak was drawn upwards.

"Well, that was a surprising turn of events. Never in my dreams did I imagine running into a creature who could match my full power in this state, even Piccolo before his end was no match for me…" it growled, before starting to chuckle. "Hmmmmm… that's right… my full power…"

"Shit," Turles's voice said with raised alarm. "It's time to go, now."

"What do you mean? That thing was no match for 22 and-" Eighteen didn't finish her words when Cell's aura flickered from gold, to red.

The aura of the Kaioken attack? Seventeen's files listed what it was almost immediately while he tried to fully process what was going on.

This is bad.

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Android 22:

This thing can survive that? Figures this thing would be a pain in the ass.

She'd made sure to use her attacks with precision, only striking where and when it made sense. Overwhelming him had been tactically successful, but clearly hadn't yielded the desired results. If he was able to regenerate in this capacity, even surviving a fatal blow to the head and neck, then it was assumed she'd need to utilized less precise attacks, and more overtly indiscriminate ones. Her processor changed its priority as the creature burst with red energy and she felt a difference in the local temperature. She couldn't read power levels, not in a traditional sense, but her sensors were already feeding her data about a large increase in the monster's power.

Several programs began running as a means of compensating what was to come as the red-flame covered target throbbed with energy, almost bleeding it painfully into the world around them. A confident smirk was etched into its beak and leathery features. She wasn't one to be unnerved, but it clearly had an idea of what she was capable of up until this point, and if it was confident, that gave her an idea of how strong it thought it was, or believed its technique would be.

Air broke past her like it was a wave out of the ocean, or more accurately, like a plasma discharge from the surface of the sun. It was heavy, hot, and almost had the consistently of liquid. Alerts and warnings came through her preprogrammed defenses, opting to switch to dynamic processing immediately as a means of defending herself as she felt her chips all beginning to ramp up themselves. As a biproduct, she could see the glowing red energy coming from her eyes as the world's colours were tinted, before her onboard programming corrected the vision, giving her an accurate depiction of colour despite the light she was emitting.

It almost caught her, and she felt her own features shift from confident and impassive, to stressed as the top of its foot clipped her forearm as she barely managed the block in time, noticing it was seemingly intent on kicking her head off. The impact was loud, her eardrums, no longer human, would have shattered from the pressure wave, let alone the noise. Audio was dampened as to not distract her as she met eyes with the beast, who still didn't seem deterred, the predatory creature just growled. Kicking for his other leg, her own foot met nothing as he blurred away. Charging her own speed, 22 jetted after him as time and space slowed to its lowest point for her. The pair of them dashed over the ruined ground around them as she gave chase, cutting him off from his approach of the others and redirecting him to the side just through positioning. In their wake, in the real-time they seemed to be outside of, wooshing winds picked up the ground around them as they jetted over the surface of the Earth. Sharp turns, twists, and jagged climbs described the flight as she gave chase. Only when Cell shot straight up, did she manage to catch him. Launching her elbow towards him, she felt his own block land as the world around them sped back up.

Beneath them dust and ruins were raised up just by their movement as she felt the heat of the red field around him. In another flash of speed, the first strike came towards her. Its arm shot past her head as she dodged to the side, striking back only to find the huge insectoid was moving with a grace she'd never expected. In an exchange of strikes, neither seemed able to land a blow. Kicks, punches, even grabs, slipped past one another as they both moved with the fluidity of frictionless mass. It was like two water-crafted beings were sweeping past one another in a blaze of hundreds of strikes before the first blocks were even met, each of their liquid forms seemingly taking on a solid point only when they struck one another. Booms echoed out over the landscape around them with each hit as one after another the strikes were landed. Her forearms almost felt like they were being vibrated to nothing with each blow, and her own fists actually hurt as she impacted, and even dented the chiton armour of the other creature.

Neither broke from the duel, their eyes met a thousand times as she felt his determination, and maintained her own in response. Catching him finally at a misplaced moment, her fist crashed across his beak, finally breaking through his defense, only her own processor found out why she'd found the opening a second later, as the green, leather hand connected with her own face in response. Both of them rolled back through the air as she scowled back at him, driving back towards him immediately as he turned about, charging in response. Razers cutting through the wind filled her audio-receptors as it cut in towards her, the strange noise it made on its flight buzzing through her. With a grunt of anger, she collided with him, both of their bodies creating another shockwave around them as her foot caught his guard. Its tail stabbed towards her, trying to slip around her as she pulled to one side, only to find a fist waiting for her as it'd gotten a clear upperhand. Blood filled her mouth as her head rang a second later. The blow was hard enough she almost blanked out.

A glitching sound emerged above her before pain exploded in her side. A bruise would form there, even with enhanced physiology, as its axe-handle smash made it feel like the back of her ribs were going to cave in. Plummeting towards the earth, she hit the ground on three points, both her feet and one hand. Scanning for him immediately, she only caught the last of his blurred image as he came for her again, behind, again. Sensing the movement in the air, having adapted to the strategy, her programming took over as she twisted, grabbing his foot as it shot past where her back had been. A disgruntled, confused noise followed him as she pulled on the leg and twisted. Unable to resist, the confused noise shifted to outright surprise as its body slid to the ground. A flailing mass of limbs tried to assert itself as she grabbed its foot, cracking it to one side. A horrifying scream emerged from it as the end of the limb fell dead. Rolling to the side immediately, she felt the impact of its tail stabbing into the ground where she'd been. Grabbing his arm as she'd rolled to the side, she braced her legs against him, grabbing it by his fingers and wrist and starting to pull back. A furious, desperate noise followed before fingers began to break.

"You wretched creature! Obsolete scrap, I'll-"

Crack.

"AHHHHHH!"

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, CRACK, each bone broke inside of its arm, and carapace snapped out of place as she pulled mutated, leather, strange muscles and tore it. When she finally let go, it was still howling, instinctively trying to get its other arm over to where the injured was. Just like any wounded animal, or person, they responded in a predictable way. With its guard now dropped, she grabbed the limb again, before he could finish retracting it, another yelp came out as it pathetically tried to reach at her for mercy, seemingly. Instead, she anchored herself on the limb, and kicked down, almost like a stomp, with both feet, driving into him. One foot hit him under the armpit, if he'd been human, its heart would have been punched through its lungs and out its body as its carapace and bones snapped beneath the strike. The other came for its head, shattering half its beak and breaking in part of its face, as its eye popped out a second later. Purple blood oozed all over her boot before she shoved both her feet into the ground, pulling him back once more as the gurgling mess of a monster was pulled into an arm-bar suplex, rolling him through the air and crashing him face first, with a violent level of strength, into the ground.

The catapult-like throw had destroyed the ground beneath them, doming immediately into another crater as she jetted upwards, energy crackling off her feet.

Kicking down several times, several electric-styled energy attacks buzzed through the air as she accessed unknown files on her drive.

Violent-Attack registered.

Five explosions blasted out below, the red energy getting more and more severe as it grew higher and higher. She raised her own guard as her own energy blasted past her. When it faded, there was nothing but a crater in place as her feet shot straight to the edge of the desolated hole.

Cracking her head to one side, then the other, Violet turned her attention to the others. The Saiyan looked nervous, more than nervous even, as he looked between her and the others.

"And you were worried we'd have to leave," Seventeen mocked their 'ally', who was most definitely not an ally, a second later.

Behind them all, a familiar figure came into view as Raditz hovered in the air above the others. What exactly was following her around like a lost puppy going to accomplish, exactly? Was it some delusional bid to protect her? As if she was the one needing protection? Didn't he have some sand and sun to go find? Hovering around here was a death sentence. It was far from her caring, neither her current personality engram, or her body's dead brain, held any special place for Raditz. There was a small debt to pay back, which was namely that his insufferable habit of trying to save her, because she was wearing the face of a dead-woman who he loved, who ironically hated and used him, and that was the only reason she didn't kill him herself. They shared a death, in a sense, and that's about it.

Not that it'd matter anyway, given the creature was dead and gone.

"The time for kindness and consideration is over. You, idiot with the mind-powers. Beat it, before I kill you. I'm giving you a pass because of 23, and that's it," she declared bluntly, walking towards the others as the Saiyan narrowed his eyes on her, before looking back at the other one of his species in the air.

"And what about my wayward brother, Raditz? Are you intending on keeping him around, Violet? Not that I care to pry, but I think you should listen-"

There wasn't even the standard thought of not wanting to listen to bullshit, or engage in useless talk when she had other objectives. With speed which the Saiyan couldn't follow, she slammed her fist into his gut, but gently enough as to not kill him, or cause permanent damage. Immediately he fell to his knees, wheezing and gasping for air as she looked down at him, placing her hands on her hips.

"That's for being an asshole," she said bluntly before looking at the snickering 17, though past him 18 looked dejected somehow. "What's up?"

"Sixteen's dead, remember?" she said bluntly. "He died fighting Piccolo, who died fighting that thing."

It wasn't like her body's memories to mourn. It hadn't been programmed into that person. The only person she'd mourned was herself. But 22 was not Violet, even if she had inherited some of her characteristics. Sixteen had been her friend, and he'd looked out for all of them. It was strange to think that the gentle-giant had died in a fight. He'd almost died trying to just save her. Twenty-Three was the reason he'd broken his vow of not fighting, if only because he was a total monster. Even then, she knew he'd wanted to protect her as well, despite her own nature clashing with his own.

The gravity that he was gone was only made present by the fact that there wasn't a fight happening.

"Twenty-Two," Raditz said from above. "There are more of those things out there. If you can shut them down like this one, then we can work something out. Your friends are apart of that thing's design. Turles and I can vouch-"

"Yea, I know," she said back to him, though she was irked to learn there were 2 more of those things. Just how the fuck were there 3 of them?

"Maybe it's a good idea," Eighteen offered. "We can sort out what to do with them after we kill those things."

"Besides, the sooner they're out of the way, we can find Dr. Gero and have a little talk about his flawed design," Seventeen said a moment later. "I think I have a problem with some of these features."

"I agree," Twenty-Two said a second afterward. "Hey, idiot, do something more useful than float up there. Get your 'friends' and-"

"It's… not… over…" a voice emerged below her.

One of her other savior's, the vilest of them, looked up at her with his breath still trembling. She blinked, her own processor trying to understand what had just been said. All of its calculations, all 3 of her processors, had calculated, that she'd done severe enough damage to kill Cell.

K-tch.

Even she froze this time. Shiver went up her spine as she heard everyone save Turles gasp. It was almost like a hallucination. She could hear its quivering 'shells' around its body as the last of its regenerative noises were made. She almost thought it must have been another of these others. A low chuckle escaped it this time as another clicking noise followed as it took another step forward.

When she turned to look at it, she could see it perfect. There was no lasting damage. Fresh slime covered its beak and some of its armour, but it was in perfect condition. It was in fighting condition.

"Hmmmmmm…. Are you surprised?" it asked, amusement clearly in its tone. "You have surprised me, I must admit. I did not imagine one of Dr. Gero's lesser models would have made such a substantial impact in a fight. It is of little concern, however, as your design is still incredibly archaic in comparison to my own."

K-tch. K-tch. K-tch.

"Your resistance, though admirable, will not change the outcome. I will be complete."

Its voice slithered up her spine along with the shiver she'd first felt.

"It's time to go," Turles said bluntly to the others. "Like I told you."

"He's right," she affirmed in response, walking in front of the beast again as its tail slithered back and forth. "Go. Now."

"Do you really believe I'd allow my prey to leave so easily, 22? Your power is surprising, as well as your inadequate fighting style. That however, will not avail you of me. A fight with Cell, will go beyond your limitations very quickly."

She still didn't say a thing to him. Why bother? There wasn't a point in speaking with the dead. She'd already said it before, and she held true to her word. Though sometimes, you didn't need words to get the point across. Pulling up phellem from the back of her throw, even as it mixed with the small amount of blood that she'd produced from the injuries sustained so far from the fight, 22 formed the liquid, mucus and blood with her tongue, ensuring it had the right viscosity and texture, before parting her lips and expressing herself through bodily-fluids, rather than through her words. The fresh spittle hit the green creature on the cheek. There was a pause from the moment she'd ejected the spit, to the moment that followed. The slit eyes turned in the direction it'd landed, before looking back at her.

Raising her arms, and getting the hop back in her feet, 22 prepared herself. She wasn't going to lose to this thing. Even if it was able to regenerate, she'd eventually find a way to kill it.

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Raditz:

Shit.

That thing was alive. He'd sensed its power only after it'd made its first step back, and now they were planning on making a break for it. Worst of all, he'd only just gotten here. But for Raditz, there was a complicating element to all of it. Most notably, he wasn't looking at Cell, not really. He was looking at 22 standing in front of him, almost being the gatekeeper between this world and the next. Beyond her, death was there, not just for the Androids, but for everyone on this planet. It was a selflessness he never expected from Violet, only further engraving that this was only her corpse. She really was gone.

And this person, this new person, was in her place. This better person, was in her place. He didn't love 22, that much he was certain of, at least at the moment. He might have been in love with 22 when they first met, or believed he was still holding the flame for Violet, when they first met. But now that sensation was gone, and it'd been replaced with something new. Part of it was respect, despite the grim nature of it all. But there was another part of it, it certainly wasn't his own redemption, he'd long given up on that regardless, but what it was he couldn't put his finger on. Whatever it was, it was haunting. It was as haunting as Violet's ghost.

It was the sense of guilt he still felt. That guilt had been passed onto the shell of the person he'd been indebted to. He only instinctively did it, he knew, because he couldn't repay Violet herself. He'd told 22 that he was already dead, and figuratively he knew he was. The bridges were burned, his honour despoiled time and time again, and he'd didn't even have the strength to his name needed to fight alongside those he'd betrayed.

But he knew that he could make a difference, and he knew now he could make a difference. Beyond 22, there was death… perhaps his own death.

Landing next to the other Androids and Turles, he looked at them, noting how they were all in terrible shape.

"Find Krillin, or get to the Lookout," Raditz ordered Turles, not even waiting for him to respond. "Krillin has the last of the Senzu Beans, or he should anyway, and if not the cat-thing on the Lookout does. Get them one, and get yourself one. Keep low and hide until you get there."

"What the Hell is a Lookout?" Seventeen asked.

"Go," Raditz ordered in response, looking at the Android with a seriousness which conveyed his message as much as his words. "It's somewhere that monster can't find you."

The blonde was on her feet, looking nervously between all of them before she looked back at 22, seeing the same thing Raditz was looking at. The monster was almost itching to get past 22, and would be trying to any second.

"It's time to go, 17," she urged. "Let's follow them out of here. What've we got to lose anyway?"

"… fine…" the other Android agreed, clearly not due to his words, but hers.

When Turles got to his feet again, he prepared to move, only pausing when he realized something, and Raditz knew what he realized of course. Namely, that he'd not motioned to follow them. This was where he belonged, here, and now. It had the air of destiny around it, but more than that, it was where he needed to be.

A boom followed as the two fighters engaged again, Cell's red aura burning around him as he engaged with 22 once again. Raditz knew what the technique was at first sight, even if the others hadn't clued in yet. He was using Kakarot's Kaioken attack. It was unique, and he'd seen it in action against both Vegeta, and Frieza, as well as during their sparring… prior to his troubles, that was. Just like Piccolo, it seemed Cell was capped at a certain value when utilizing it, at least for now. If there was anything he was learning from sensing this thing's energy, it was that it was adaptive and seemed to come back every time it came to an obstacle. If 22 was going to beat this, she'd need at least one person at her back as a spotter, or someone to intervene.

It likely would mean his death, of course. But… that'd been a long time coming. A death, fighting against the cruel, sick creature that this was, didn't bring him any shame. It hardly erased any of his shame either, but it would be an honourable death at the very least. It was the one thing which he could still have.

"Die well, Raditz," Turles said shortly, though he could sense there was something behind the stiff words.

It was a Saiyan goodbye.

Turning and looking at his brother as another boom exchanged out in front of them as the two Androids traded blows with one another, and Raditz carefully and quietly nodded in response to his brother. The Androids, 17 and 18, looked at them and even they picked up on the subtly before beginning to move to follow Turles. In a blur of fast motion, the three of them skipped across the landscape, keeping their power down.

When Raditz turned back towards the fight, another whoosh of energy blasted past him. Black hair sprawled behind him, helplessly flailing in the wind. He couldn't even follow them, only sensing the faded traces of Cell's power as it rushed over him. They were hitting one another, in rapid succession, and over a gigantic distance. He could only stand here like a rock in the middle of a hurricane. Pebbles and rocks bounced off his skin despite his own power field normally being enough to reject them. There was more energy going around here than he'd ever sensed in his life. It made the feats he'd sense Piccolo reach feel like halfmeasures. The fact 22 was keeping up with that was staggering in and of itself.

He then felt the spike.

Because Cell's power doubled… again. The world itself seemed to freeze as Raditz felt it. Just as he'd feared, Cell had adapted, and he'd unlocked another level of Kaioken. Raditz's own heartbeat skipped a beat when he'd sensed it, his eyes finally peering at the two in the air in a frozen slot of time. As everything came back into view, he could see it landing the killer blow, a punch striking 22 across the face, her body spinning multiple times before crashing into the ground. It ignored him entirely as it peered after where the other Android's had gone.

"No! I am so close, you will not escape me!" it declared, bursting forward as the sound of buzzing blades cutting through air assaulted his ears.

He was left standing there, stunned when his eyes turned towards 22. Running at full speed, he knelt next to the body, looking for any sign of permanent injury. The eyes were vacant, but she was still breathing. Cell had hit her so hard That he'd managed to knock her out in a single blow. Reaching out to grab her, instead a vice-grip grabbed his hand as her eyes locked onto him, giving him a look of 'back off' in an extreme way. He flinched almost in fear as she sat up, shoving him back a second later as her eyes turned towards where it'd went.

"Listen, it's using a technique called Kaioken, it doubles its strength every time it advances it," Raditz explained. "It can only do it for short intervals, if its anything like Kakarot's or Piccolo's ability."

As he was speaking, she was already getting to her feet, before launching away. She vanished in a burst of speed that was enough to send him sprawling back, despite his best efforts.

"Shit!" he spat, jumping to his feet and launching after them.

She better have listened to what I said.

Everyone disregarded him. Everyone knew how weak he was. This time, however, he was not going to be ignored. He'd chosen this battle and it would not be denied to him.

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Android 18:

"I can't do this anymore, you've got to give me a minute," Eighteen said, resting her hand against the wall.

Her leg was throbbing. It was still useless, every quick series of motions she'd made in their escape had felt like someone was twisting something through the inside of her leg. Because it was, her bone, despite being reinforced, her been broken, by a pair of stupid assholes, one of which she was required to kill, the other that she wanted to kill. They'd all stopped on the outskirts of somewhere all too familiar.

There still weren't any people here. It was still the ghost-town they'd left it as. This was the start of their journey, when they were all together. Sixteen, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24 had all been here. This was where they found Lade, this was where they'd teased her brother. This was the beginning of what led them all here. Only now, 18 was realizing something else. Twenty-Four had been right, she looked at the building he'd scarred when he'd sensed something watching them. This wasn't just when they'd been all together.

That thing had been with them as well.

Welcome to Spiceton.

The sign hadn't changed in days. It was still there, still as 'happy' as any greeting sign to any community. But it was twisting in her stomach now as she rested her arm against a car now, having hobbling several feet from the building, looking at the other two.

"We've got to keep moving," Turles warned. "I sensed it go dark. I won't know until a dozen or so seconds before it attacks, but it was on our trail."

"Eighteen, we've got to keep moving," Seventeen urged her. "I don't like it either, hell, this idiot is the last person I want to trust."

"This idiot kept you alive," Turles said warningly. "And if that thing is about to get you next time, I'll have a different target than its tail, understand?"

"Look at it threaten," Eighteen winced. "All it knows how to do is manipulate and bluster."

"That's not all I know how to do, but it might be some of my finer talents and traits."

"Enough," Seventeen repeated. "You're just going to have to deal with it, or one of us is going to need to shoulder you. We're out of time."

"Yea, fuck, we are."

She knew they only had a dozen seconds. Her own heartrate accelerated as she looked around for cover, somewhere to hide, when she realized she was stepping on the discarded shirt from one of that thing's victims. It wasn't just walking on someone's grave; it was a reminder. This would be their fate.

K-tch.

To her own surprise, it was Turles who stepped up first, in front of them.

It leered down at them, smiling as its tail swished from side to side.

"My apologies for the distraction, my dear siblings. I know you've been dying to unite with me… I'll make this as painless as possible…"

It appeared in front of Turles faster than 18's optics could even follow, swatting him aside with its tail like he was nothing. The Saiyan went hurtling past her, crashing into a nearby wall. She managed to turned her attention to the body as she realized they needed him to find Krillin, the short-fighter who had the Senzu beans they needed. Or, at the very least, to escape to whatever the Lookout was.

Before she could even make a move past that however, its grim hand had already grabbed her shoulder. Its fingers were strong, too strong, she felt her shoulder almost pop out of place. Her one good leg kicked him, and it was useless. It pulled her into the air as she heard it chuckling.

"I have been waiting for so long for this! Finally, we-"

Seventeen's frame came into her view as his body moved to strike at Cell's, only for him to suddenly be rolling across the street, his body barely moving. It'd caught him in a backhand so quickly she'd not even seen it. Its head was turned towards her brother as its 'lip' curled up once more.

"That's enough out of you, I'll get to you soon enough," it said before its eyes turned back onto her. "Now then, where were we?"

Another frantic kick followed as she saw its tail looming up behind it, the hole opening in a way that made her want to gag. It was disgusting and horrifying in equal measure. When she looked back into its eyes, she could see its alien, sick satisfaction. Her own program panicked as she realized this was it.

A blur of purple energy thapped in front of her as Cell's head shot to one side. Fingers released her just in time for her to stumble instead of being sent along with it as she heard an outraged scream as a dozen houses exploded with the motion of Cell's body plunging through them.

"I told all of you to move out," she warned. "Get your shit together and go."

She was alive. Not just 22, but herself. A return of the favour from before, but in reality, it was more than that. They were friends.

"Twenty-Two!... Thank you," Eighteen said. "But 17's down, and-"

"You're going need to keep up," Turles warned, hobbling out of the building, holding his side, nodding to 22 before moving past her and towards 17.

This was their last chance to get free of this thing, wasn't it? It was all happening so fast, but she knew that 22 was fighting for their lives more than anything. They'd all been so selfish before all of this, before the betrayals and before the fights broke out. Now all 18 wanted was something that even approached security. Friends offered that security, didn't they?

The ground rumbled as bits of debris were picked up off the road.

There wasn't anymore time for anything.

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Cell:

I was so close!

It was like tasting ash in its own mouth when that bitch had interfered again. Its design had made it more than a match for him in his normal state, and relying on Kaioken had its drawbacks. This time, he would need to destroy it, and promptly. He could not allow Androids 17 and 18 to escape his grasp again. Especially with the others lurking about still. He'd eaten through his time-budget because of this vile irritant. She would be strong enough to kill the other two would some ease as well, knowing that his own plan had been devised to utilized Kaioken, but they no longer had the time to learn the technique in a meaningful way as he had prior to even coming here.

I will not allow this inferior unit to intervene further.

Trying to simply bypass the other unit in fear of losing out on its prey had clearly been a mistake, and one which Cell would not allow to be repeated. In such close proximity to the Androids, with them being in such a physically debilitated state… it was too much for him. It was PERFECT and these other ingrates were ruining it for him. His entire existence had been built up until this point, and now that it was within reach, he couldn't let this just be the end of it. His tail snapped back as his body pulled itself up from the wreckage. Energy oozed off his frame before changing to an increasingly familiar colour, red. The Earth itself responded by crying out in pain while damaged chunks and small items lifted into the air while the crust of the Earth creaked beneath him.

Kaioken times 2 had been something which he'd not fully understood until it clicked for him in the middle of his desperate struggle to get past 22. Now, he would call on it again to overwhelm this other unit. This time he would step on her neck after their encounter to ensure that this was not repeated. It would only take a few seconds for him to overwhelm them. Thrusting upwards, his body tore through the half-annihilated house he'd found himself in the living room in, an ironic term considering what had happened to this city.

One of my counterparts has already devoured this location. It is of little matter.

Jetting to perch himself from an advantaged position, he saw the woman standing there, defiant as before. Her fighting stance was just as eager as before, and it was insufferable. The time for stalling was over, he'd kill her in prompt order. Even now he could spy Son Goku's look-alike leaving with 17's body, and with 18 in tow. There was also the familiar face of Raditz standing nearby, watching all of this rather than fleeting with the others.

The most insignificant one of them all, I need not even bother with that one.

The red aura around him spiked as Cell brought more and more of his strength to the fore. Leaping ahead at full speed, he didn't even bother to engage in the social niceties he had prior. The ground in front of him shattered, scattering sidewalk and road with his very presence as he drove straight towards her. She seemed to stop moving, as if knowing her fate. A smirk crossed his beak as he let loose a small, satisfying growl. Time had come almost to a standstill for him as he enjoyed the moment. This was the end of the beginning. He could already taste perfection, even though he had yet to realize what it was.

That's right, throw your life away in this futile effort.

She was at least sensible enough to know she was finished.

But even as the events of all this transpired, his slit eyes picked up on subtle differences, as something was happening. One light energy field was mixing with a dark energy field around the body. Androids didn't normally generate auras unless there was some kind of technique taking place. It was bio-electric in origin. The air seemed to start vibrating while the ground opposite his own shockwave seemed to breach. An unknown technique? But what could it be?

Swooping in, disregarding whatever pitiful plan she had, he laughed as his arm almost prepared to contact hers. Finally, she flinched, he had expected her to try and dodge, but instead… she moved into his space, batting his one arm aside with similar speed. Her eyes were glowing with violet energy as Cell felt his hearts skip a beat, even like this. The first blow landed, hard. His entire insides felt like they would come up through his neck and head. Before she could follow through, he grabbed her by the arm which had struck him, snarling as he did, flipping her back and smashing her body into the ground. Preparing to stomp her a moment later, Cell instead found she'd already swept his other leg out, a surprised noise passed his beak before he once again found himself on the ground. Two hard blows landed on his face as he felt her speed and strength matching his own. Another snarl almost barked past him as she fed several more fists to him. Each one cracked the cement of the sidewalk metres away as houses rumbled with the blows. Had he any teeth, they'd be knocked out. Catching one of her fists with his own, Cell caught the other before his tail shot up.

"Goodbye," he snarled, stabbing towards her.

She was locked in place, there would be no escape this time. A killing blow would be necessary to end this, especially now that he knew she was operating with even more power than he originally anticipated. Using him as leverage, she shot up, doing a handstand on top of his arms as his tail stabbed into the free air. A painful realization hit him too late as she looked into his eyes with the killer instinct of a professional killer, more than that of a killer-android, when she flipped forward from her handstand position, her own fingers hardening in place, locking into his hands so he couldn't let go. When her feet hit the ground past his headcrest, her body propelled forward, throwing him up and over before two energy orbs appeared in her hands. He felt his hands expand, before exploding.

Pain scored through his entire body as he cried out in confusion and anguish. Buildings passed by him as he tumbled back helplessly. Plunging through another wall, his body tore through and shattered the structure before simply passing through to the other side. The world behind him expanded in the most literal way, air being displaced by the violet and white energy field. Turning up his own power rapidly, Cell twisted in the air as new hands continued to form into place. Snapping his leg up and out on the right path, calculated based on their prior encounters, he caught her across the side of the face and immediately saw her frame shoot off to the side, exploding through a small office building as it imploded from the point of her entry. Stopping himself against the side of the ground, ripping through more of the road.

Seventeen and 18 were far from here. Other sensory ranges, outside of ki detection, could be utilized to track them but only so far. He needed to get back after them, and now. Looking up, Cell saw Raditz hovering over the battlefield, watching still. What was that insect doing? Did he really think he could make anything that resembled any kind of difference?

The air around him began to buzz as Cell felt himself lock back into battle-mode. In a flash of speed and power, 22 emerged next to him, this time managing to block her first two strikes, before stabbing towards her with an elbow strike, missing her only by a hair before he swept around, slashing her across the face with his tail. The blow was powerful enough to stun her before he rounded her once more, landing a backhanded blow from his right arm, before driving forward with a follow-through with his left, his knuckles tasting the side of her face. Blood shot out to one side before she was launched back, sending her flying through the side of a small stadium's walls. The enclosed location would be her downfall. This was it, his last push before he could pursue what was needed to win this little game.

Launching himself through the hole the body had made, he could see the pitch in the centre of the structure with a gigantic gash in it from the sole body now rising to its feet on the centre of it all.

"This time, you won't recover," Cell warned, landing in the middle of the crowd section, his feet crushing the chairs he'd landed on. "Your power is simply… inferior to my own. And I will not tolerate your interference further."

She spat to the side, obviously to clear the blood from her mouth. It was noteworthy to him that she'd not said a single word to him since they're started their fight, having only declared that she didn't speak with the dead. Such arrogance was fitting to come from a creature which had sought to so deeply involve itself in his plans.

Focusing his ki as he pointed his hands in front of him, Cell started to chuckle as his red aura flashed again.

"Now then, let us conclude this."

Blue energy clashed with a red aura in front of him as he noticed something beginning to form on her own side. A light purple energy began to swirl around her as he saw the dark and light energies around her, positive and negative, begin to swirl faster and faster.

"KA… Meeeeee… HAAAAA…. MEEEEEEE…" Cell's voice growled out the commands as his hands continued to make their motions, unlocking the necessary ki-gates to produce his most powerful attack.

The entire building seemed to rumble as he grinned at it all. This was enough power to level more than just the city, but half a country. If he directed it straight down then he would destroy the Earth itself by displacing its core, though that wasn't in his interest… yet.

"HAAA!"

Throwing his hands forward, the blue energy wave appeared at its fullest extent. The entire wall of light in front of him was bright, almost purifying. The seats in front of him vanished from the force wave as the grass on the pitch parted as if it were an ocean, rather than land. He couldn't help but laugh until he saw the purple aura swirl violently around her before vanishing for a brief second. Then, it happened. Instead of a directed energy attack, Cell only saw a storm. A storm of chaos. The blue light from his Kamehameha was wrapped up in it before the cyclone of violet energy continued to grow. His own arms held firm as he tried to keep himself in place, pushing more power into the attack.

Only at the last second did he realize the full gravity of what was happening.

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Raditz:

Whatever the Hell is happening in there, it's crazy! They're going to fuck up the whole-

Raditz didn't have time to think much further as he felt his survival instincts come to the fore. All these buildings were about to be shrapnel. Even pulling back wouldn't be enough. Raising his own ki as high as he could, Raditz focused all his energy towards the stadium as a rotating orb of solid purple energy emerged. The building's roof exploded outwards before the sides of the building blasted out in a spectacular explosion of a wave of energy. Then the sphere just… grew… expanding higher and higher into the air, he could sense the energy from Cell's attack vanishing in it as his own heart started to race faster and faster as it was almost on him, even now trying to pull back without compromising his defense, he wasn't sure it'd stop growing.

Like a star expanding until it couldn't any longer, it reached it zenith, consuming almost a third of the city, before he could hear its critical mass.

Shit. SHIT!

In a flash he could feel it peeling away his defenses. The orb vanished, replaced by only the escaping energy. The entire city seemed to almost be picked up, before the majority of the buildings were just washed away, as if taken away by a flood, or tsunami. The light became too much, he felt lost in it before his body started to tumble widely in it, scattering in all different directions as he was thrown back, his skin burning.

"AHHHH!"

Hitting the ground, almost blind from the attack, he managed to pull himself up as his vision came back into focus. The entire city was ruins. The foundations of some structures remained, or the rubble of buildings… but it was all gone. Even the sound of the familiar clattering of destroyed buildings wasn't present. The taller pieces had been turned to ash. Carefully, he started to rise into the air, his eyes peering over everything, trying to get a lock on something. He couldn't sense any energy at all down there. What the Hell had that been?

The centre of the blast was only a deep crater, encompassing most of what had been the city stadium. Whatever was left of Spiceton, was ruined.

The others had gotten clear by now, at least. But where were they? He knew this wasn't over, not yet. Cell's energy hadn't fluctuated enough before it vanished to tell him it'd been killed.

There was a rumble only seconds later… telling him exactly where they were.

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Android 22:

Still alive? This thing is too persistent.

She knew what the Kaioken attack was, her own design had been based on it. She was meant to kill Son Goku when he utilized the attack, so were all of them. That was what the overdrive function was for. She'd leaned on it for the first time since her ascension to this new state. The creature hadn't noticed her using it since he'd started exaggerating his power, and he clearly didn't understand that she was stronger than he was.

Annihilating the stadium wasn't her intention, but she needed to drive the point home that his pointless energy attacks didn't have a place here when fighting her. These new abilities, unlocked by her tri-processor system and multiple power units, had left her not in wonderment, but had filled her with confidence, even in the face of something that seemed unkillable. With her overdrive ready on command, she was ready for whatever this thing thought it could throw at her.

Walking down the remnants of the street, she peered around every corner, her sensors looking for any signs of disturbance at all. Pausing her footsteps, a single piece of fragmented concrete skipped down the side of a ruined. Turning her purple eyes towards the target, still brimming with energy her system had on hand, she remained cold in her demeanour, especially now that she'd seen the limits of this Cell's abilities. It was breathing deeply, heaving in and out from exertion and from anger. She already knew why the anger part was cresting so high on its emotional spectrum. They were gone. They were long gone. She knew it as well as he did. And by destroying the city and the surrounding area so thoroughly, tracking them would be so difficult now he'd lose out on any time he needed for that.

In essence, she'd totally fucked him over, even if she wasn't going to kill him, and she was.

"You bitch, do you have any idea what you've done?" it rasped, its voice filled with outrage as its strange toes dug into the concrete it was standing on, sending cracks down the remnants of the structure.

Yes.

Its tail swished dangerously behind it as she felt its rasps carrying through the air.

"I am Dr. Gero's greatest creation, your role is that of a failed design! And all you've done is interfere! You have no chance of defeating me. You are a pathetic throwback! What do you hope to accomplish here?!"

Shrugging her head to one side, disregarding what he was saying, she smiled back at him, knowing she'd already accomplished her own, primary objective. She didn't want to tell him he'd already lost. Just like Raditz had said, and as she knew, every time Cell was using his Kaioken at such a high level, he was getting a burst of strength, but his overall limits were being drawn down. Only a few more skirmishes would drain him enough that he'd no longer be a significant threat to her. He was just too blind to see it.

He was dead already, just like she'd told him before they'd started throwing punches. This thing was just too arrogant and short-sighted to see it.

Raising her guard again, fists forward and ready to fight, she let him know exactly what she thought of his bluster, and she didn't say a word. She didn't have to, her being here, unshaken, was enough to tell him what she thought of his little fit over losing this fight. He should be more upset over losing his life, but she wasn't one to judge people that harshly on their way out. Everyone always deluded themselves on their way out.

Even Violet did, and Violet's memories were what taught her that.

Finally, it'd had enough, just as she suspected. The red field around it intensified as it leaped down in front of her, its huge frame overshadowing her as it snarled back at her, the sharp fangs within its beak being born out for the first time. Pouncing forward, it launched itself at her at full speed. She let him come, letting his punch swing past her as she sought to connect her own right, only to find he'd still had enough power to block it. In a clash of high speeds, she felt her body taking over her through its programming as she plotted out her attack. Punches, kicks, knees and elbows shot past and around one another in rapid motion. Blocks of concrete shattered and the rode was torn apart in a machinegun like series of aftershock blasts as their punches missed one another.

Shoving him back with a wave of bio-electric energy, 22 stood her ground, knowing she'd need to get him to waste more energy, sooner. Opening her arms in response to him, revealing her guard had been dropped, she just smiled and closed her eyes, knowing exactly what she was saying without uttering a word. Take your best shot.

The creature took the bait, only there was one problem, it didn't take the bait as she'd expected. Two quick energy bolts were launched at her. Rolling her eyes, she cast the first aside before kicking the other away as if they were nothing. By the time she'd disrupted the attacks however, she'd not expected Cell to be right in front of her. Blinking, having been caught out from her own ploy, she felt his foot stamp on her chest as the wind was almost knocked out of her, before his red saturated leg shot into her side before she could hope to block. A rib buckled, fracturing under the impact as she hissed into her mouth, feeling her feet sliding across the broken asphalt beneath her, sending up streaks of toxic smoke as she slid back.

A right connected next before she could recover, sending her head reeling back before another one snapped into her abdomen, and another caught her up the side of the head. Each strike sent her body's flow in one direction, and then another as she heard it snarling with a fury with every blow landed. Finally, it connected with a straight kick to her head, she saw the bottom of its armoured foot collide with her, seeing it incoming but not getting her arms up to guard her face in time. Immediately her skull resonated as she her the k-tch sound of it cracking into her. Software-stabilizers to her equilibrium kicked in as she slid back further, not losing her footing as she held herself up, if only barely. Blood trickled down her lip and nose as she stared the beast down, who was now giving her a contemptuous glare in response.

Counterattack was the primary option selected.

Spitting up the blood one more time, she jetted forward in less than a microsecond, before the blood had even touched the ground. Her feet tore the asphalt up beneath her as the bottom of her boots melted, the high-resonating energy of her overdrive running through her. She came in with a body shot, only to miss as Cell stepped back. Jumping up in a follow through, she kicked out for his head, seeing the giant barely step back as well, she twisted one more time in the air, lashing out with the back of her right hand, she found flesh, connecting her knuckles into its cheek and beak, sending cracks up the beak itself. It stumbled, but didn't fall, this time rounding on her and driving a body shot into her side, hitting her fractured rib, pushing it closer to a break. She winced, dulling her pain receptors knowing that feeling more of it wasn't going to help anyway.

Shooting low from the high position she'd been in, she dived for his left leg, grabbing it at the knee and twisting on her way down. This time however, Cell caught on in time, now allowing her to take him to the ground. He shifted his weight with hers and now had her left in a vulnerable position. Its tail crashed into her back, hard. Dropping her face first into the ground before its foot stomped down on her, crashing into the back of her right leg. That was enough for the ice to break.

"AH!"

About to roll away, she felt its tail wrap around the injured limb before she could.

"I'm going to rip your circuits out one at a time!" it snarled.

Calculating her best method of escape, she knew she'd need for him to commit to his next attack to establish a pattern to get him on the ground, and-

Two sparking energy beams shot into its chest as Cell stumbled back, and only stumbled. Its body itself deflected the blasts upwards into the air before it reset its footing. Looking at the source of the blast, 22 felt herself almost sneer. This idiot had a death wish. That much was obvious to her as she sensed organic thoughts mixing with her processors'. He didn't have the power to defeat this thing's ankle, let alone it.

"That's enough," the Saiyan warned.

She heard it before he did. The creature above her started to laugh. It was amused, though not full-throated.

"Really, is it?" it asked, as she felt its tail tightening around her leg and pulling her up. "I think you misunderstand something, my Saiyan counterpart. It's only enough when I, Cell, say its enough."

Turning towards her, she could see he was intent on using her as some kind of punching bag in front of Raditz, as if daring for him to strike. Lashing out with the first hit, she managed to block, before a knee connected with her head. It sent more ringing through her skull before the next punch came in, this time she caught it. As soon as she did, he sneered at her before Raditz's fist hit the creature's face. It didn't even flinch, but it did pause.

"Pathetic."

A second later she saw the Saiyan go flying back, backhanded away as if he was nothing, but it did give her time. Snapping his wrist, Cell snarled, his tail uncoiling, dropping her to the ground on her shoulder, but she'd not let go. Using momentum and energy, she rolled down with his arm, flipping Cell over and driving him where he hated going, straight to the ground.

"NNNRRRHH!"

Its protested, furious and frustrated growl was noteworthy as she broke another segment of his arm, twisting it back, before she rolled him onto his back, grabbing his tail at its base. Anchoring herself back, she heaved, pulling at skin as it started to give way. Disgusting sinews began to pull beyond their limits, tearing, before she pulled the vile instrument free. She already knew he'd regenerate, but the sick squealing it was making told her the attack had been effective. Not even giving him the chance to repair, she grabbed him by his headcrest, rolling him back one more time before putting all her energy into her legs, shoving them against his back and catapulting the monster down the ruins of the city, watching as his body skipped and rolled past several devastated buildings.

The frantic, quivering tail next to her was disgusting to say the least.

Hopping to her feet, she turned her eyes towards the lump of meat trying to pull itself up. It wasn't as putrid as the tail, but it was most definitely not a sigh worth seeing.

"I don't need your help, if I wanted help, I'd ask for it," she told him bluntly. "You are nothing next to him. Why would you even bother?"

A cough came up from the Saiyan before he shakily started to get to his feet. She could see the mark, very clearly, from where Cell's chop had hit him across the side of the shoulder. The Saiyan just flexed his arm uncomfortably however, before looking back at her.

"Who said I was helping you?"

That was rich.

Shaking her head in disdain, she turned towards where she knew Cell was. She could hear him coming back already, ripping through the path she'd sent him on.

"Go. I don't need you."

"No," he responded back stubbornly.

"You being here isn't going to change anything, Raditz. We've already talked, now go. This is my fight. You're just in the way."

There was an uncomfortable quiet from the Saiyan before she turned to glare at him, about to order him to leave again before the heavy footsteps reappeared, drawing her attention back to the monster she was confronting. Cell was shaking he was so angry. His fresh tail swept behind him as it just glared back at her, its slit eyes cutting through her with an intensity she couldn't have imagined prior to seeing it.

"He can stay," it rasped furiously. "He can stay to watch you die. Then I will kill him next."

"Big boasts from you, don't you think?" Raditz asked in response. "Vegeta has a better track record against her so far than you, and he's only lost twice."

Despite the stress of the situation, 22 did crack a smile for the first time in most of the fight as she saw the bug-thing brooding at the remark, hopping forward to confront them once more. No matter how badly she wanted to just be done with this thing, she needed to get traction on this. This thing had to die, not just because she'd wanted it to die, but because it was key to keeping her friends safe. The same ones who sheltered her, she now sheltered herself. It wasn't like she'd wanted this by any means. These were the only friends she'd never betrayed, either in this, her true life, or in the corpse's prior. Two of them were already dead and gone, and that meant only 2 were left.

Cracking her knuckles in the face of the monster who'd consistently threatened her, but had yet to come through with killing her, she almost snorted at the sight of him. This was the final bout, the final round. She had her plan in place to finish this thing off as her sensors scanned her target thoroughly. Two hearts, centre of mass. That was its core and what kept the body running, and that meant they needed to be removed and she knew exactly how to.

"I have a surprise for you," she said to it with her smile still in place. "Want me to spoil it?"

Its eyes widened as she spoke, giving her the element of surprise that she'd needed as she broke her silence to him. Clearly, it'd not gotten used to her tone, and she didn't care why.

"You're already dead."

Bursting forward in a flash of movement, it scowled in response, rising a kick to cut her in two almost it gave so much force. Sweeping under his leg, her own foot gathering energy with every step she'd taken so far, it was like a trail of purple fire had followed her on her way to him, and it'd been too ignorant to not understand what she was doing, even while in overdrive. He seemed prepared to deal with her kicking his leg out again, trying to defend himself from another take-down, but this time she had no such thing in mind as her body whirled up, like a rising storm, her leg and foot streaking through the air with its violet energy in tow. Striking out with it, guided to the centre of mass, her foot planted squarely on his chest as the thing stared back at her in horror.

"Murder Kick!"

Energy crackled between them by the time her foot had made impact. A cascade of energy swept forward, pulsing through the body of her opponent, the wave already forming behind him, and through him. The gagging expression on its face that followed as time slowly started to move for the two of them again, said it all. With every micro-second that passed, the torrent of power surged forward. Chiton cracked and sizzled before splitting apart and vaporizing. Purple and grey flesh was then exposed directly to the blow as the beam fully formed from her assault. Each heart burst before they vaporized as the hole was burrowed through his body. The wave of violent energy ripped over the surface of the already ruined city, shredding over the ground before the dilapidated concrete exploded once more with a violent force as the atoms that comprised the materials were ignited seemingly. The huge green frame was swept back in it before hitting the ground, unmoving.

Dead.

Terminated.

Lowering her foot slowly to the ground, she turned and gave a thumbs-up to Raditz.

"I told you, it's not a big deal," she said casually, beginning to walk towards him, hands on her hips just to further express the point. "I don't leave jobs half-done."

The hulking Saiyan didn't respond at first, nodding only as she got to him before giving a half-smile. It was something she- Violet, must have expressed before. Knowing the person who knew her, and not her, but the other her, was more than strange. Even now with her processors running over social algorithms, she didn't have a response for him. If anything, it immediately felt uncomfortable. And there was something else she noticed immediately, even though he was trying to conceal it. The curl of his brow, his body-language, it really said it all.

"You're disappointed," she remarked bluntly, her tone sounding as flat as one could imagine. "And why exactly, are you disappointed?"

"I'm not disappointed," he defended, trying to not make eye-contact, a further sign of a lie.

"Bullshit you aren't. Did you think you were going to stop that? Not that you're weak, Raditz, but you're not anywhere near that thing's league."

"I'm keenly aware," he was quick to respond before finally looking back at her. "That thing was my chance to achieve something I've been trying to find since you… died."

There was immediately a gross implication. Did he think he was going to impress her by being a stubborn idiot and saving the day? Was he really that dense? Well, probably, but it was very much the kind of love that a caveman would think up if he believed it would work. They'd already discussed this.

"Whatever," she snapped. "You're an idiot, that's not-"

"You're looking in the wrong place. You aren't Violet, 22," he said bluntly. "That thing was giving me a chance at an honourable death, and one for a better cause than I deserve to champion. An honourable death is the only thing which I have left to look forward to."

Looking back at him seriously, scanning him for any sign of a lie, she only found the truth looking back at her. He was a man looking for a death sentence, rather than sun and sand, it appeared. Maybe sun and sand were where he was going to go, when he didn't find what he was looking for. Why would someone want to end their own existence, exactly? What point did that serve? She could only understand wanting to survive. Even now, they were fighting to help her friends survive.

"So, you are a coward then?" she asked, remembering their conversation from before.

A sad smile crossed his lips in response as he nodded in return. "Now you've spotted it."

"Why? Why an honourable death, Raditz?"

"I don't have any of that left. It's something you, a machine, won't understand. Violet wouldn't have understood either, to be fair. I've done enough things to disgrace myself, on this world and a hundred others, that what little honour can be found for me now is this. At first, I thought I might find it, just finding you at the top of the mountain. That might've been more fitting, but-"

"I don't need to know the rest of why you're an idiot," she affirmed to him, turning away with a hint of disdain before preparing to walk towards the edge of the city. "Now, do something useful and show me where that… lookout…"

Cell's body wasn't there.

Her optics scanned for it several times, trying to keep track of it, and there was no sign of it. That was impossible given the circumstances.

"Lookout, it's just…" Raditz himself trailed off. "… I don't understand…"

Turning around, as if she was crazy, she scanned the area opposite of where she'd killed him, and there was still nothing.

"Lookout!"

The word seemed to be panicked, rather than expressing where they were going. She felt the air sweep past her as it was distorted by something big, and with an immense amount of power. When she'd turned about this time, she only saw green and black before something sharp punctured her abdomen on the left side. Several organs were immediately compromised. Intestines most definitely, and part of her kidney? Bloodloss was detected immediately as warnings blare internally, even as she deactivated her pain sensors. She couldn't even speak as several small noises left her lips in response. Her eyes managed to draw down towards the ribbed piece of rebar, glowing with a red aura, stuck out of her body. She managed to swallow as she felt her heartrate increasing before her eyes met the slit eyes of her soon-to-be killer.

It was still alive, and without a mark on its body, and all she heard was a satisfied growl.

"Do you feel that?" it purred to her. "That is the beginning of your death."

"I know," she finally managed to say in response, before trying to strike out. Even turning or moving left her entire body almost seizing in pain.

Her vision went blank on the right side as it dodged to one side, dodging her sloppy punch before delivering a crippling right sided strike to her head. There was no stumbling this time, no software corrections or clever tricks. Twenty-Two hit the ground and skid a dozen meters, scraping and rolling helplessly as her hand moved to the puncture wound and the metal sticking out of her. A long groan of pain passed her lips as she tried to keep it under control.

"You'll need to forgive me in advance, but I will take pleasure in killing you for taking them from ME!Yes, you will suffer first. It's only appropriate, I'm afraid."

Its body loomed over her as she saw its foot raised in the air to begin stamping on her again, aimed for her abdomen for maximum suffering. It's what Violet would have done, her past self might have been impressed, even. She looked back scornfully as she tried to rally what she had left to change this.

There was only one thing that came through, and she ashamed to admit that it became something she might have worried about. It was cruelly ironic.

"Hey, Cell," Raditz's voice cut in. "I think you're forgetting someone."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Raditz:

It was alive. That fucking thing had survived a killing blow, he saw it die when Violet killed it this time. Both hearts exploded, he sensed its energy disappear. There was no way that this could be happening. It wasn't even one of the other Cell's, he knew which it was. And he'd stood by when it reappeared. Helpless and useless, just as 22 had accused him of. He watched the piece of steel pierce her body, coated in Cell's aura to punch through her own defensive energy field and reinforced skin. It was surreal, it was horrifying. Worse yet, it was the sensation that there was nothing he could do, again.

But there was something he could do. He could stand and be counted, and he could fight, even if that meant he might not win, he could still do it. He could do the thing he didn't do when Vegeta and Nappa betrayed him.

"Hey, Cell," Raditz cut in, walking towards the pair of them. "I think you're forgetting someone."

It was a familiar beast, even prior to all this fighting. He knew this thing. He knew it from when it lurked in the shadows. It wasn't some unstoppable beast; it was a cowardly monster who only struck when it thought it could win. Even now, only its petty pride and narcissism kept it fighting this battle.

"You're easily forgotten, Saiyan," it hissed in return, its foot still looming over 22 even as he walked towards it. "Such a fascinating creature. You fly towards your death like a moth to the flame."

Hardening his gaze on it, Raditz spat to one side on his approach.

"You already know me, Cell, and I know you. You can use my name, and its Raditz. You're not going to forget it because I'm going to stop you. I know you better than you realize, even, because I know the kind of monster that you are."

It paused, looking down at 22, before looking back at him. The… dying 22 stared back at him, her own eyes now having returned to their unnatural blue, looking at him in disbelief, perhaps even disappointment. Quietly, outside of the familiar k-tch, the foot looming over her came back to Cell's side as he heard its ominous chuckle following.

"Well, you know me, do you? Then clearly you must know that I ma a being far superior to even the greatest warriors on this planet. How exactly are you intending to stop me? Are you going to negotiate? Pitiful. I don't negotiate with cattle."

"No, I know you because we've met. I've known what you are from the second I threw you across the street. You're just a monster, and a familiar one. You hunt those who can't defend themselves, and the second something goes wrong you lash out, or you run away. I've seen what you are my whole life. I've been you, most of my life. I was nothing before I came to this world. Just like you're nothing now."

There was nerve, he hit it. The ground quaked for a brief second as the slit eyes focused more intently on him, its growl was audible amongst the chaos of noise now sweeping over them. He could sense the ki in the air, it was crushing, overwhelming… but he'd been here before. He was here when he faced down Vegeta on Earth and finally stood for something other than his own survival. He was here when he tried to rescue his nephew from the Ginyu Force, and then Frieza on both Namek and Earth. He was here when he and his brothers squared off against Slug and his men, and he was here when he fought the Androids, 20, and then 13, 14, 15 and 23. He knew what it was to be overmatched.

And sometimes winning didn't mean killing your adversary. Sometimes it meant buying time. Sometimes it meant being where you needed to be. And he needed to be here.

"Nothing?" its voice rasped in response. "You of all people, are calling me nothing? Look at you. I was created from the greatest traits and features from every one of the most powerful races in the Galaxy. I was built to be the strongest being who ever lived. My fate is that of an eternal creature who will span the universe destroying all life. Fool, I am Perfection… You are the one who is nothing."

Stopping his footsteps only a few metres away, Raditz stood in front of it, almost matching it eye to eye.

"No, you are nothing," he reaffirmed, his tone as solid as stone. "You're no different from any of the other monsters I've met. You're just as pathetic as I am. You and I share the same fate, Cell. We're both dead men."

There was a half-amused snark from the creature as its leathery features twisted into its cruel moniker of a confident killer.

"Are we now? Do you think you can do what Piccolo, the Androids, and that other Saiyan could not? Or is this self-righteous moment before your… assisted suicide, something you need to do to cope with the inevitably of your own failure?" it chuckled. "I am after all, happy to help relieve you of this problem. And you are right about one thing… You are a dead man."

"This world doesn't need anymore monsters in it," Raditz said bluntly. "And you're nothing on the kind of monster I am. What've you done? Eaten a few million people? I've killed billions. You're not even the biggest monster here. I am. And if I'm going to leave, I'm taking you with me."

It's amused chuckle, its fixed features twisted like melting putty into the animal that he knew it was. It was as ugly on the outside, as it was on the inside. Even if he wasn't who he was before, he knew full well the weight of his crimes. He knew the weight of the crimes of his own people. He wasn't impressed by the claims of being perfect, or being anything other than a monster. It wasn't even the ultimate monster.

It was nothing.

"You're going to take me with you, are you?" It scoffed. "You're not even going to survive a single blow. I'll enjoy hearing you scream before I kill you. With your power level, you couldn't harm any of the others I've already beaten. Just how exactly are you going to take me with you? For all the amusement that this was. I think our little chat is over. It's time for us to see what you can do, Raditz."

Already he'd tactically planned out his method of attack. Training with Kakarot, Piccolo, Tien, Gohan, Krillin, and Turles had been the most insightful thing he could have learned as a warrior. Even after his battles with Frieza and others, he learned how to hone the skills that were already there. The main thing about fighting a foe stronger than yourself, regardless of the difference, was never to fight on their level, and always encourage them to fight a battle you weren't waging.

It was as if there was a green-light that dinged as the two of them squared off. His own aura surged around him as he prepared himself. A familiar dull red light whooshed over him as Raditz smiled cunningly back at his adversary. The plan was a simple one. Every moment Cell had fought 22, he sensed it getting weaker, and not just from the damage which 22 had done to it. He got weaker because its power was finite. The day they'd first met, Raditz saw how weak this creature was. It was so weak it risked its own death rather than inspire the wrong of its betters.

"I'm going to do it like this…"

Leaping to the side, Raditz had already formed his first attack, which wasn't an attack in the traditional sense at all. He wanted to drive this away from 22, even if her wounds were mortal, he needed to buy her time. If he could drag this out long enough, if his plan worked, there might be time for at least one of them to get out of all of this. The one that wasn't a monster.

Pointing his hand forward a scattering wave of directed light shot forward. He didn't cry out the attack name as he unlocked his ki, but his Whiteout Wednesday attack sent its attack well, sending the direct beam of light into Cell's body, scattering over him. He could hear the surprise as the pure light energy blinded his opponent.

"AH!"

Already tasting the energy in the air, Raditz knew something was coming next. When he'd been the stronger of one side, he always wanted to end something with the least effort possible, and right now he knew what that was. Knowing that Cell wouldn't want to drag this out, he shot straight up, knowing Cell would target where his power level was, especially with his eyes hampered by the stunning light attack. Beneath him where he'd been, the ground exploded violently in an impressive array of golden light, fire emerging from the core of the blast as Cell's power was unleashed. Diving back down to the safety of the ground, Raditz whipped his hand out again, this time throwing his own ki wave at Cell, hitting the monster with a red bolt of energy. Its armoured carapace alone deflected the blast, but that wasn't the point. Even as it exploded helplessly off its hull, he could sense the irritation of his opponent.

A snarling noise came as Raditz felt his bloodpressure spike, just sensing the ki in the area. It wasn't ideal, but he needed to get to ground. Not just on his feet, he needed to drop. Casting himself to the side and down, Cell's body lunged past his own in a blurred motion he could have never hoped to have matched otherwise. The agitated Android's tail then plunged towards him, and Raditz rolled to one side, forming both his hands together, firing another energy bolt, this one hitting Cell in the face as it turned towards him. Its tail spiking into the ground, and its body preparing to lung at him once more, the blast did its job, stunning it momentarily and allowing Raditz to roll back onto his feet before moving to the side once more, keeping Cell from focusing him down.

As if on cue, two disks shot towards him, Krillin's Destructo disks, in fact. They were fast, faster than anything Krillin had thrown in anger or in training, and Raditz before had time to slip to the side as one of the blades grazed the outer skin of his already wounded arm. This time, he centralized his power into a single Sunday-Strike, rather than a double, opening his right hand with concentrated power, he unleashed the attack with its full ferocity. The solid beam of golden light shot into Cell's arrogant stance, sparking once more off the monster's hide, but he saw it take a single step back this time.

It surged through his beam, breaking through the light and cancelling the attack with ease, even as Raditz kept in motion and hurried to one side. He couldn't get out of the way in time, the monster ploughed into him at full force. His entire body felt like it was about to shatter as the creature's shoulder tackled into him, before a handed knee hit his side, immediately fracturing his ribs. Raditz had never been hit so hard in his life. Blood formed into bruising immediately as he gagged from the pain of it, before its tail reached around, slapping him further away. His body rolled through the air as he saw Cell's frame standing still, but this was a ploy.

Despite the pain, he needed to recover. He needed to keep his head together. He needed to draw this thing's strength back at him, and much more than necessary.

Managing to flip his body the right side up, even as he almost hit several ruins on his journey to the edge of the city, Raditz held firm, trying to catch his breath. That had almost been enough to finish him. Another hit like that and this would be over.

"Well, Raditz, you surprise me. You've lasted a whole dozen seconds longer than I imagined."

Focusing his energy once more, he knew what to do. His power flowed into solid red energy in his hand, making it appear as though he was intent on making a beam attack. The creature's body hunkered down, focusing its hands forward.

"I suspect you'll find this more than an appropriate way to end this little discussion, don't you think?" it chuckled. "Kaaaaaaaa….. Meeeee… Haaaa… MEEEEEE…"

He knew the attack well. From the first time he'd been on this world, fighting his own flesh and blood, to every moment of training with Kakarot and his friends. Instead of trying to defend, or to challenge it, he'd lured Cell into committing the kind of energy he wanted to see. Despite the pain in his ribs, he burst forward, running on his feet rather than flying at Cell, keeping his energy stored in his right arm as he felt his teeth grit together with anticipation. Even as its body rapidly formed into place, making the traditional motions of the attack, Raditz pressed forward, trying to keep Cell's attack as on course as possible.

"HAAAAA!"

Before the energy even fully manifested, before it could be directed at him fully, despite the size of the wave, Raditz pounced to the side, pressing his feet against the ground as he made his leap to the side. Raditz felt the burning from the Kamehameha still sizzle across his exposed skin. It took all that he had not to just been caught up in the wake of the energy, barely keeping to the outer regions of its control over the environment. Targeting not Cell's core itself, but his hands, Raditz knew where the source of the Kamehameha was coming from, and he knew how to manipulate it, even if the attack wasn't one which he utilized himself. Use the opponent's energy against them. That was a human concept as to how to fight, and it was one which Raditz now fully utilized.

"Saturday Crush!"

The jolt of red energy shot the side as Cell remained poised in place; his attack still being funnelled forward. When the red energy zapped into the core of the Kamehameha's source, Raditz prayed it did as he intended. Disrupt the energy, make it volatile, outside of Cell's control, and allow it to be the weapon he needed. Where Raditz had been utterly caved in. The pathway of his charge was torn from the Earth and annihilated in a wave of pure destruction, the bright-blue energy scarring the Earth itself as it travelled forward.

Only now, at the core of that attack, a red dot emerged, expanding outwards and upsetting the flow of power at its core. Cell's own expression widened with alarm only a second after the red beam hit its target from Cell's left flank.

"Wha-?!"

Raditz raised his arms to protect himself as the blast detonated. Red expanded in the heart of blue light, before the world turned a violent blue colour. He couldn't stand firm as his body was sent flying back, the energy exploding in a spectacular fashion. There was no horizon in the light, there was no sky or ground, there was only an infinity of power seemingly for one brief second, before the shockwave rolled past him. His arms felt like they were pulverized as his hair whipped back violently as he felt himself carried back. The ground rumbled as the ruins were swept back, clearing the land almost entirely of its debris at least in terms of where the city had been. Chunks of destroyed building and billions of scattered concrete and wooden chips rained down across the landscape around what had been Spiceton.

Landing in a roll, Raditz got to his feet, his senses blinded by the power which had been expunged around him. His breathing was ragged as he tried to keep himself together, looking for any signs of Cell as the mushroom-cloud formed into the air where the monster had been.

A monster knows how to fight another monster.

He felt himself trying to hold it together. It wasn't over, that much he knew. Even now he could sense huge swathes of ki being displaced around him before a blurred image shot towards him. Again, Raditz tried to dodge, only this time the world froze in red-light as the Kaioken aura of Cell's body appeared in front of him, all he could see was the outstretched arm in front of him as Cell's fist connected with him, head on. The world turned to one of dulled noise as his entire vision blurred. Power left his limbs as Raditz sensed his consciousness almost slip to nothing. The blow had been so hard he felt the origin of the shockwave roll out of his own body as the ground was once more pulverized. When he fell back this time, his legs were too weak to attempt any kind of soft landing, almost as if the muscles inside of them had been turned from steel to molten lead. His body hit the ground with a dull thud before he felt himself roll over a dozen times before his body came to a miserable stop.

K-tch… k-tcch. K-tch. K-tch. K-TCH. K-TCH!

The quickly approaching, furious footsteps from the monster were enough to make him smile, even if it was a concussed one. A hand grabbed hold of his shoulder and forced him up to look at it. The furious look on its face would have stopped hearts in fear normally, but Raditz only smiled back at it, smiling at the death he'd found for himself.

What better way to die, than to die in defiance of the tyranny of a creature unworthy of what it had? What better way, then to die in defiance to why he'd been himself? This was a good death.

"Your miserable insect!" it hissed. "Did you really think that would stop ME?!"

When the backhand landed, Raditz's face twisted to one side as the ground beneath him cracked again. Blood splattered out of his mouth before it pulled him back to look at it. He was barely able to keep his head on his shoulders, let alone throw a punch back. He couldn't even spit properly after that last blow.

"No," Raditz half laughed, his tone nearly lacking coherency. "But I did think it'd piss you off. Nothing like wasting time with a weakling, and getting weaker doing it, am I right?"

The world around him started to shake for a moment as Cell's anger swelled into his ki. And Raditz, even now, could sense the depletion in Cell's overall power.

"All that Kaioken. All those big attacks. All that showing off, thought you knew better," Raditz managed to chuckle. "Hope I get to enjoy my last laugh after all. You'll get to see me have it when we get to Hell."

Its tail poised above him, lurking and preparing to strike. This was it, the end of the road. But it was only the end of his chapter. He knew he'd made the difference needed. Even if 22 was mortally wounded, he'd bought the time he knew they needed.

"Best of luck, you're going to need it."

Instead of feeling the deadly end of the creature's vile tube, he felt the hand abruptly leave his shoulder. There was even the familiar sense of power buzzing through the air as bio-electricity surged over him. His body hit the ground again, but he managed to find the strength to half-sit-up on his elbows.

A boom landed a hundred metres away as Cell's body plunged into a pile of ruined building, one of the few left even remotely intact after the failed Kamehameha blast.

When he saw her standing there, blood oozing down her back from the wound he knew would be her end, he saw the kind of warrior he knew he couldn't be. Violet had been a monster. The body in front of him wasn't a monster. It was a machine, as it'd reminded him of before, but it was something few ever could claim to truly be.

"You need to get out of here," she warned. "You've done enough. I can handle this from here on out."

"You've got your chance to go, take it now," Raditz reasoned. "Live to fight another day."

"That's good advice," she responded back, before turning to give him a human… genuine, smile. "I'd recommend taking it. Tell 17 that he's not a super-hero, and tell 18 she's too obsessed with fashion for me… Live well, Raditz."

Did a machine have a soul? Raditz could never really know. But in that moment, he discovered the truth of a question he might not have otherwise asked. Yes, they did.

The kind of soul someone needed was a selfless one.

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Android 22:

System unable to sustain current levels of exertion. Bloody-supply falling. Attempting to limit usage of-

Override. Confirmed, system set to maximum output. Overdrive initiated.

Warning, organ(s) in critical condition- ignore.

Warning, energy levels falling below optimal- ignore.

The alerts hit her, but it didn't matter. She silenced them as she stood there, preparing herself to finish what she'd started. This thing needed to die, that much she now understood. The others would need to deal with the other two, but this one was on its last outing, as far as she was concerned. It'd not get the chance to devour 17 and 18. She'd not give it the chance. She also knew that it could survive mortal wounds to vital organs and still regenerate. Whatever she was going to do, it'd need to involve this thing's near total oblivion.

Walking towards the landing site of the creature's impact, she could sense the ground rumbling. A second later, it emerged, exploding outwards, blasting away the detritus that had been its temporary tomb. It poised itself to glare at her immediately. There wasn't even its former animal cunning in its eyes now. All she could see was rage. Its petty nature had completely overtaken it.

Raising her hands and closing her fists in front of her, 22 started to her rush forward. It opened its hand and formed a disc of golden energy, she already classified it as a Destructo Disc before it'd been thrown at her, trying to cut her down before she even made it to him. Slipping beneath the blade while sliding on her knees over the ruined muddy ground, the blade broke into 2, trying to catch her when she'd have otherwise leaped over it, 22 without missing a step was already back on her feet, each step getting faster than the last as her overdriven went into full gear, her joints and limbs beginning to glow as her entire body surged with energy.

In front of her, Cell's red aura reappeared, burning upwards brighter and more violent than before.

Jolting forward to land an attack on him, her arm swung forward and crashed into his guard, sending out the first of many force-bubbles. It extended an attack in response, its tail slapping towards her while feigning a punch. She barely stepped back in time, kicking forward and low as it stepped back, only to find it'd adjusted, rushing her to overwhelm her defense. A knee shot towards her as she stepped to the side in an attempt to dodge. When she threw two punches back, the first being a high left, the other being a close in right aimed at the body, she felt the high punch meet air and her right was caught low, before Cell shoved his head forward with a headbutt, cracking into her skull. It fazed her as her own body flexed backwards with the hit and suddenly, she felt a huge hand grab her face, shoving her head straight into the last fragments of a ruined pillar.

Grabbing the wrist as she tried to regain control, her eyes widened as she saw Cell's tail point towards her from above its shoulder, before shooting straight ahead like a javelin. Breaking its iron-lock on her face at the last moment, she barely got her head free and down in time before it shredded through the concrete structure, formerly apart of an underground parking lot. Overextended in its effort to win quickly, she threw a knee into its side, hearing the armour crunch with the hit. A grunt escaped it before Cell slipped backwards, trying to get distance once again. Cutting at him with her own leg, trying to take his head off with as much force as possible, her foot sailed over where he was as his entire body folded backwards, slipping back like water down a ridge in the same fluid motion. When it shot back towards her from its slipped back, prone position, Cell shoved his face straight at hers. She recoiled just from the audacity of it.

"You. Cannot. Win."

Energy levels falling below 75%. Report to depot for repair. Blood loss substantial.

Warning override.

Snapping her arm up to catch him with an uppercut in her own fury, she caught nothing but air before a solid right caught her, dropping her to the ground. Before she could even hope to recover, Cell's leg snapped down, driving its 'heel' into her back, right where the fatal wound was. She shrieked at the sudden expansion of pain, even with her senses there dampened, before its other leg came around in lightning order, kicking her across the face as it slid down to stab her with the foot, rather than sweep it into her.

Walking over to her brisky, she heard its footsteps before she saw them, brushing her mouth of fresh blood as she tried to move her back without the obstruction that followed it. The hand reached out once more, brutally grabbing her by the head and pulling her up by her hair and scalp. Her eyes met its just as it tried to slash her across the face with its claws. Grabbing the wrist once more, she didn't have time to break it, instead pulling it with her as she pulled down and back, flipping him over her head and rolling Cell past her. The bug slammed into the ground.

Ground game, something she'd overwhelmed him at every time so far. It released her hair after the drop, and just as she turned to get herself into position to overwhelm him, she felt knuckles on her face, the creature having already turned to her in the midst of all of it. The first hit left her dazed, before the next strike came from the other side, battering her again, before its clawed fingers swiped across her face once more. Four long gashes appeared on her cheek and felt like burning wires being placed on her head and being fused into her skin.

It was enough to send her rolling back. Her cheeks were swelling from the first two hits as she overrode her immune system from addressing the damaged areas to prevent her sight from becoming compromised.

It was killing her. It'd already killed her, but it was killing her slowly now. All the damaged she'd sustained was piece by piece dragging her down, where as it, even with its own energy in decline, just didn't sustain long-term damage.

K-tch.

"I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart. Piece. By. Piece," it growled from behind her. "I'll be sure to drink up whatever is left of you once this is all over. And once that's over, I'll beat your Saiyan friend to death over there with your fucking head."

Her own anger rose as she felt her overdrive rise into maximum gear. Several programs unlocked as she felt the indignity of her death over faded, buried files. Blue energy crackled over her arms as she braced them against her side before she dragged herself off the ground, energy drawing in from around her before she threw her hands over her head.

"Fuck. You."

The Psycho-Electric Bomb formed over her palms before she threw it from above her head a second later. Cell's eyes widened before the huge blast crashed into him. It didn't even explode, just as she'd intended, the solid mass of bio-electric energy crashing into him, bowling over the hybrid. Focusing her energy into her own heel, she jetted over to where he had fallen, driving her foot down to splatter his head into the ground. When her heel crashed into the ground instead of his head as Cell slipped back to his feet, she pivoted from where it'd landed, springing up with her other leg as violet energy scorched over it in full overdrive.

Her other heel cracked across his break, before she used her power to speed up the spin of her body, energizing her to land not one, two, three, or even four kicks. Eight kicks later, each one arriving faster than the last from her heel, cracked across Cell's head, knocking chips of beak and chiton away before cracking his headcrests's left side entirely open. Staggered and barely able to stand, the monster tried to remain on its feet before she snapped back one more time, moving back only a sec before driving her elbow into his face and towards the ground. The body crashed into the ground in a heap as she focused in her energies, bolting up into the air before launching herself down like a missile, driving both her feet into its chest.

When she impacted it, she felt its power ooze out of its body as she nearly broke it in half with her first landing. It gagged and hissed beneath her, its head rising up and trailing forward as its beak opened in pain. Reaching up with her foot, she drove it straight into the monster's face, busting bone into its head and brain and splattering its head into the ground. Its body quivered instinctively and she rolled back from it, taking several seconds to just breath as she started to lose her breath.

It was recovering. There wasn't enough oxygen moving into her system anymore.

Blood levels, dropping. Overdrive system fa…failing…

Her limbs ceased glowing and she knew why.

Cell's body started to pull itself back together. Bones clicked back into place as flesh mended together or grew anew.

Its body was trembling. She couldn't feel the energy in the same way before. Even though she couldn't sense ki levels, the activity in the air, even with the red kaioken aura, was plummeting. It looked at its hands briefly even as its eyes popped back into place. It was shocked, and she started to understand why. All of the power it'd been gobbling up from all of these people… it was losing it. She could somehow even feel that herself, as if an extra sense her processor couldn't understand had started to form beneath it all from her organic components. She could feel the energy… she could feel it slipping.

Like her own.

"W-what have you done?" It whispered to itself. "You've… you and that… You've ruined it! You've ruined EVERYTHING!"

"Not a lot of action of the Android-consumption market, when you're a weakling now?"

Its red aura surged, but not with the same vigor it once had.

"I'll just need to get my strength back through devouring YOU!"

It propelled forward, striking out at her as she deflected the incoming strike, but only barely. A blow landed on her ribs as it landed a short-uppercut before leaping above her, driving her body into the ground with a huge right fist. Its huge foot immediately came down, stomping on her face and body several times with vigorous fury, each strike crunching her frame into the hardened-clay that was their battlefield. Barely turning her head in time to look at him, she rolled onto her front before its tail could pierce her a second later, only to find it booting her in the side. Ribs finally snapped as she almost curled up into herself, wanting to do nothing but shrink into a ball and cry. Instead, she just gave a long moan of pain, broken up only by agonized coughs as fragments of bone threatened her internal organs, reinforced or not.

But it threatened a system that was already failing.

It let her pick herself up, her shoulders were down as she tried to avoid standing tall. Its slit eyes were staring through her, looking for an excuse to cause her more pain before the end.

Energy reserves below 50%. Blood levels at 2nd stage of criticality.

Her heart was racing faster than ever and her lungs were desperately looking for air. It was a familiar sensation. Memories from her organic chip reminded her of the last time her frame had been in this condition.

It came at her next, swiping out at her with its claws, catching her in the shoulder before it tried to land a stabbing chip with the other hand. Rolling under it and past him, she then ducked to the side as its tail stabbed where she'd just rolled too, defending his backside from attack. She was caught by it striking back with one leg, kicking back like a mule or horse. Her guard didn't make it in time as she cried out, her body sent flying back. By the time she could focus again, she already saw him charging after her, roaring as he did. A golden field surrounded the body, rather than a red one, now that it was trying to conserve energy as it tried to finish her off. It must have known the condition she was in now as well. It clearly knew it, given it was landing more blows than she was.

Overdrive. Full power.

Critical failure of system likely from usage.

Override Initiated.

She could almost hallucinate. For a brief second, she could have sworn she saw Nappa, or Vegeta, charging her instead of Cell. The world ceased being a desolated cityscape, but a ruined mountain. Her brain, deprived of resources, was associating where she was with the familiar. She was dying. It was a familiar sensation.

Cell's body shot past hers as she zipped to the side to avoid him. He skidded along the ground, braking as soon as he realized he'd overshot her. Propelling herself at maximum speed to build up momentum, she steered back towards him, now flying over the ground with her fighting stance ready. She screamed out in her battlecry, it was just rage. It was the rage in knowing that this was her end. Stabbing both her feet out, she drop-kicked him from behind. The bone-cracking impact sent the monster stumbling forward as it groaned. Grabbing it by the back of the head, she then burst forward, shoving it face first into the ground and dragging for almost a dozen metres before lunging forward, throwing his carcass into the last pile of wasted city she could see.

She didn't pause to breathe, even though she was out of air.

Cell's body lay against the side of a collapsed bits of what had once been the foundations of a skyscraper. It looked vulnerable and broken, only she realized too late, it was playing at it. The red field reemeged across its body as it stepped into her, just as she was about to plunge into him once more with a kick. The hard punch connected with her, sending her body flying wildly back. Grabbing the clay-earth to stop her, she slid back only a few metres before launching herself back at him with full ferocity.

"H-huh!?"

Shooting her right hand into his face, she connected with full force, another left followed, before a hard right. Each hit sent flashes of energy out into the air before she flatly planted one final punch on its face. The red aura vanished as Cell's body smashed into the pile of rubble. Its back was against the wall as she saw its aura entirely fade. It couldn't even maintain it anymore.

System shutdown initiated.

Override.

Energy levels depleted to 28%. Blood levels at final level of criticality. Shock noted. Failure imminent.

In front of her, she could see the past, the present, and the future. The leathery green-and-black monster was her present. She could see Vegeta, and Nappa, grinning at her in either one of its eyes. And she could see beyond that. She could look towards a future she wouldn't get to experience. She could see 17 and 18. She could see her friends. She understood only the most literal meaning of that word until they'd saved her. But she'd lived. Even if it'd only been for a few weeks, 22 had lived, and she'd seen what these things were.

They weren't just definitions in a text file. They weren't just things to be negotiated in a processor, or pulled from reanimated brainmatter. It meant something. It meant enough to do this. To do all of this.

"Uuhhh… hnnn… uhhhh…" Cell's grumbling broke her trance for a moment as she saw it trying to push itself up to stand, but its energy had depleted, and despite its regenerative powers, she could see how worn t was.

Her vision started to grow hazy as she felt her life starting to slip away. Her breathing became harder and harder as she gulped for air… and then she saw it smile at her. It smiled at her, just like Vegeta had smiled at her.

Energy flowed as she expended the last of her reserves. Her mouth twisted with fury, she could feel it. Her vision became clear, clearer than it ever had in her life. Sweat overed bangs flipped in front of her as she shook her head furiously. An accessible databank appeared on her HUD as several files unlocked in front of her in a branching series of folders.

Violet energy surged over her form as her breathing became like a dragon. Screaming out in a rage, this time, she could hear the scream. The full-throated cry of vengeance and hatred came out of her as she charged back into Cell. The monster's expression shifted from a smirk, to one of absolute distress, of fear, and she was satisfied, even in her rage, with that.

Attack initiated, Bloodshed Barrage.

Firing her leg forward almost like a cannonball, 22's foot crashed into Cell's midsection as energy scorched out of it in what appeared to be a murder kick. Another leg struck a second later, the energy flowing through, and washing back. The feedback loop of energy started with kick after kick. She was screaming still, her fury didn't end while her vocal cords felt like they might snap, or whither away. Each kick that landed sent out its energy wave. Each wave that rolled through Cell burned into his body, before flooding past him and rolling back into his back. Kick after kick landed, each landing faster than the one prior as she saw his body twisting and warping with each strike. Flesh ripped and tore, it burnt and evaporated as limbs vanished inside the chaotic hellstorm of energy she was now consuming him with.

"AHHHHH!" its wet howl filled the air as she pulled back, her own body half caught on fire from the energy washing back on her, focusing every last bit of energy into both of her legs. Her body felt ready to collapse. The system tried shutting down on her once more as adrenaline entered her system, the only thing still keeping her up.

It's not over. Not yet. I can't give up yet.

"HAH!" Leaping into the air, with every last morsel of energy that remained, she threw the last of her energy forward as both her feet drove into Cell's chest and face. The power from the last shot blasting forward in the last step of the Barrage, a double-Murder Kick. The world turned white with light as she heard, rather than saw, the explosion that followed.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Raditz:

The blast was enormous. Far bigger than the blast that had destroyed the city prior. All he could do was watch. No, that wasn't true. He'd been here. He'd fought here, against something which thought him its inferior. For the first time in a long time, he'd forgotten what it was to be a monster. It felt like he was even fighting for something truly worthwhile. He'd come out of the shadow of what haunted for, and saw something new. There'd been hope.

As the blast died, Raditz could feel clouds gathering overhead. A few trickles of rain had started to come down while he toured what was left of… nothing. Spiceton didn't exist anymore. The battlefield they'd found on itself, was a ghost. Holding his arm to one side, he didn't expect to find signs of anything, or anyone. This time, there would be no grave, would there? There would be no place to remember her by. It was perhaps better that way, wasn't it?

Standing on the hardened clay near the last blast-site, Raditz just felt his heart sink. All of that hope had turned to despair, ironically when she'd told him he was going to live. It wasn't his time, or place, to die. Now here it was. Here was the first day of living, the first day of being a survivor, again. It felt as hollow as the last time he'd been reborn. He remembered better times, with his nephew, his brother, and his sister-in-law. He remembered the better times of being apart of something that he'd thrown away.

A few chips fell on the ground nearby as the rain picked up. Raditz's eyes turned, almost expecting to see the monster springing forth from the darkness again, only to see a small patch of rubble still moving. But there was no energy behind it. Walking forward, he felt himself turn it into a run without even thinking. Reaching the side of broken bits of road and concrete, he began throwing patches of it off before he froze in place. His breathing picked up immediately as he realized what- who he'd found.

It was a replay. It was a moment he'd replayed in his life over and over. He almost broke at that realization, only this time, Violet turned to look at him, and there was… there was a smile. The first thing he saw was something genuine, it was real.

"Violet," he managed to find his voice, kneeling down next to her, placing his hand at her back and looking around, preparing to leave only to freeze in place. "You're alive. Save your strength and hold on. We're going to-"

He placed his hand over her wound, the main wound, but didn't cease the bleeding at all. She was still smiling and just shook her head.

"You've done this before," she said gently. "We both have. Just. Be here with me."

The words were so light, but they felt so heavy. There wasn't the fresh mountain air this time. The cool droplets of rain quelled the worst of the ash and dust in the air. They masked the fact his own eyes began to itch with salt as he did as she asked. There wouldn't be a mad rush for a hospital, or to find Krillin. There'd be none of that. It wasn't the time for that, it wasn't the time to lie to himself, or to her. It was time to face things as they were.

It was time to live.

"My friends," she said to him. "Make sure they're alright for me."

"… Yea, of course," he said back to her, feeling her hand placed over his own ontop of the bloody hole in her body. "…I … I wanted to save you."

"You did," she said back to him, he could see… he could see something more human in her eyes than Violet ever had, he could see the same thing reflecting back in his own. It was just the rainwater, of course, but he knew otherwise. "You did what you promised, Raditz. You saved me. You gave me the chance to decide… how I… how I was going… to live."

The words grew more difficult for her to say, there was more to it there than just a machine. He could hear the soul. It wasn't Violet's, it was her own. His own head turned down as he felt his eyes close, sensing the pain in his own chest growing like an expanding cavity. A hand came over to press against the side of his face, it was cold, colder than the rain. It was like the corpse was this machine had inhabited was returning to what it was. From dust to dust.

"You deserved more time. More time than I've had," Raditz told her, his voice cringing back at his own words. "I wanted you to have that."

"You gave me the last day I needed," she almost whispered, trying to draw out the last of her strength. "I… can't thank you enough for that."

A sob didn't come from her throat. It came from his own as the full realization of what was happening, again, happened. She was going to die in his arms again, and just like before there was nothing that he could do about it. While she was dying and she was thanking him. It was a different kind of pain than the blame that had been thrown at him before. It was more real. It was too much. He wanted to howl, or to cry out, to do anything.

"You deserved for her to be better," her voice added. "And you deserved a better life, if this is who you are, Raditz. You're not a monster…"

Raditz paused, his eyes opening once more as he looked back into her eyes. They were so much more different than Violet's were, despite being the… the same, almost. Her kind words, she of all people must have known they couldn't be true. But for that moment he believed them, not just because he wanted to, but because she told him.

Her head turned to one side as she breathed in sharply.

"Are you afraid?" he asked quietly, almost more asking himself, than asking her.

"No… I've… done this before… with you. It's over… but… I… I'm grateful… I'm… happy… I met you again, Rad…"

The eyes were so alive, so human. And then they were so vacant.

A knife stabbed into the cavity in his chest as Raditz's head shot down to her own as her eyes went still, and the breath ceased. There was beat in her chest. It had returned to the state it was meant to be. Anguish gripped him as he felt himself cry out. It wasn't a parody of the last time. This time, when he screamed in the pain of what had happened, it was far more human. Because he'd lived, just as she'd lived. All that time as a monster wasn't the same thing as being alive. One could only understand these moments by living.

The monster was dead and gone, only the man remained.

K-tch.

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Cell:

Awareness.

That was what had come back to him first. He'd felt every blow from the competing model of Android stab into him. It'd drained him of his strength first before saturating him with an attack that was so complete. Each blow had destroyed more and more his body. The feedback loop of energy around him had been enough to destroy much of his very existence. He had almost no conscious memory of his survival, but he'd felt himself returning to his true form.

He'd felt himself growing. Within his body the very essence of life remained. The last vestiges of his consciousness had dwelled within every cell in his body. And before long, he could see new hands, and new feet. Freshly regenerated flesh had come back into being as he felt the rain from above soaking his restored form, washing away his regenerative liquids and enzymes. Flexing his fingers first, Cell trembled as he reached his tallest point.

Energy.

There was so little. Even now as he was left bewildered by his own survival, having come back from the brink of the end of his own existence, he could sense years' worth of power having been drained from his system. He felt feeble by comparison. All of those human lives were gone. Their energy had been disposed of in the fight, or had been blasted out of his body. Even now his hunger was overwhelming. The regenerative process in his body had consumed so much of what he was at this point. Dangerously swishing behind him, his tail stabbed out, ready to feed once more.

Ambition.

Even now, despite his hunger, and despite the delight of realizing that he had survived the impossible, he also felt himself yearning to fulfill his true purpose.

Power… I need to restore my power. I need it to… to beat the others. I need it for my chance.

The fresh take on the world around him led to Cell rising high enough to see a familiar figure. Yes…. As weak as he was, Raditz would make up the first of the energy, and biomatter, to begin his regenerative process to restore his full power and bring about his completion. This was his new lease on life, a new beginning of his journey. A chuckle escaped him at the thought. As his slit eyes narrowed in, he could see 22's body as well. Another valuable piece of biomatter. The cybernetic components would provide him with little sustenance, but it would be more than enough to increase his energy once more. They would become one with his body, and his journey to Perfection could continue.

Swooping down quietly, he landed amongst the intensifying rain as his beak curved into a smile. He was immortal. There was little anything on this planet could do to stop him. Even in this diminished form, he was all but invulnerable. All it was, was pain. There was no way to stop him. He would always survive what anyone did to him. It was apart of the ingenious design of Dr. Gero. The true, ultimate killer, even in this state.

K-tch.

The Saiyan didn't even respond. He was huddled over the dead Android in the same way many of his victims held their loved ones prior to their contribution to his body. A low chuckle followed Cell as he looked over the one who would see him called nothing.

"Fascinating," he breathed. "It seems as though our friend's little sacrifice was all in vain. I would say it was a worthy effort, but we both know that would be a lie. Because I am still here. Though I really must thank her. Discovering how immortal I am was a true gift. And both she, and you, are going to be so generous with your biomatter. Thank you for your contributions to my Perrrrfection."

The Saiyan still wasn't acknowledging him, instead saying something quiet to the obvious corpse before rising to his full height. The Saiyan looked grieved.

"Hmmmmm… what's wrong?" he mocked. "You look surprised to see me."

There was a tremble in the Saiyan's shoulders as Cell took another step forward, growling with satisfaction as he did. Something began to change in the air however before he took another step. The rainclouds above seemed to darken. And a few trails of lightning rolled down from the heavens. One flashed into existence in front of him, causing even him to step back. Something… something was happening and he didn't know what?! Looking around for another fighter, Cell didn't sense or see anything.

I don't understand. Where is this coming from? I can sense something new, something growing.

"It wasn't…"

The half-broken voice trembled through the air as Cell paused, turning to look back at Raditz as another lightning bolt scorched into the ground next to him. His eye-slits widened as Cell now did more than just sense this ominous energy. He felt it in the air. The Saiyan looked barely controlled, his powerful frame- yes, it looked like it was almost cracking up from the inside. It was so tense; it was coiled back and ready to snap. The Saiyan was staring at him with such hate, anger, and grief that even Cell was taken aback.

"What wasn't?" Cell asked quietly, his smile having vanished and now of genuine interest.

Golden flashed through Raditz's hair for a moment as Cell's hearts stopped.

No. No this can't be.

Golden energy wrapped around the figure a second later as eyes flashed to a blue-green, before back to black. The power it was sensing. It was coming from HIM! Cell's fists closed a second later as he prepared himself. It was hard to tell how much power it could even summon.

Hair turned to golden fire, and eyes turned to turquoise gems. The golden field burst into existence at full strength as Cell felt waves of energy blast out, rolling across all of this. Its eyes briefly turned to the corpse laying next to them, purple hair fluttering in the golden power, and unable to help but notice there was a smile on its face. It was as if the corpse were smiling at what had just occurred.

Sensing the full extent of the new power in front of him, Cell felt his confidence wane, save for two factors.

He was still stronger, and he of course could regenerate… he didn't need to worry about-

His entire frame shuttered when the Saiyan spoke, he roared like a lion, his words being delivered like cannonfire.

"It wasn't in VAIN!"

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Author's Notes:

Wow, that went a lot longer than anticipated. Apologies everyone. I really struggled with this one, as I've had this chapter in my head for literally the better part of a decade, lol. I thought we'd have gotten here like, 60 chapters ago, lmao. I originally thought this was going to be like, 40 pages, and it ended up being 70. I hope the fight didn't get too tedious for some.

Writing two huge powers going at it was interesting too, especially as I tried to stay true to 22's fighting style. Also, I enjoyed writing 22 wrecking pre-Kaioken (arrogant) cell at the start of the fight. That was great, lmao.

It's 22's big moment. It's her big fight. It's a fight I've wanted to write since I wrote her vs. Vegeta round 1. I really hope that the emotion in the scene between her and Raditz came across well, especially when 22 was… dying. She's hard to write as a fighter, as she doesn't deliver banter at all. But she's a really great person, or she's become one. Her love of her friends is really pronounced, especially after he near-death experience. Writing the Androids as a whole really let me guide them down a totally different path.

They became better people, by being around one another, and 16 was a huge part of that too. They leaned on one another, they relied on one another. Even as she was dying, 22 cared that someone would look out for her friends after she was gone. I think 17 and 18 would feel the same way too.

I also love the parallels between Turles and 22 when talking to Raditz. With Turles saying Die Well, like the Saiyans of old, and 22 being human, telling Raditz to live well, to find something new in life.

I hope the transformation is to everyone's satisfaction though, because you're going to get a big-Raditz fight next Chapter, and it's going to be Raditz vs. Cell, Round 2. Big plans for the finale of the fight, big plans for the fight as a whole. An important note here, is Raditz is used to not being the stronger fighter in his fights. That's actually what makes him a good fighter. Brute-forcing your way through situations is what got Turles in hot water for so long.

I used a lot of different music for this chapter. All the Cell bits were written while listening to the old Falconer track for Imperfect Cell. Very haunting, worked really well to keep me in the zone.

Cake's: The Distance, is what I wrote a lot of Raditz to this chapter. As well as some other music I can't remember at the moment.

I wrote a lot of 22 this chapter to Metric, (A Canadian Band), most notably listening to Speed the Collapse and The Other Side, and Synthetica when writing her last moments. I also listened to the Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack as well. I also listened to Puddle of Mudd, Psycho when writing her fighting Cell, lol.

Forgive a lot of grammatical and spelling errors this time around. I wanted to get this out this week, and proofing 70 pages and 25,000 words ain't easy.

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Reviewers:

FabDuwangIsFab: Answered by PM

Guest1: He's not a fan creation. I just took a Movie Character, made a few changes, and kept true to the character as possible while growing the character through events. That's all. I swear, lol. Cell definitely ripped Piccolo's head off, its brutal. I wanted to make sure I abridged their fight because I didn't think the audience needed to see it, they just needed to see the result, and realize how quick and brutal it was.

Blades of Fury: Answered by PM.

Guest2: Everyone loves Turles it seems. He's not very lovably, so that's confusing to me, lol. It's also Android 22. Twenty-Three's General Blue, and he dead. Lol.

Perfect Carnage: Answered by PM.

The Darkest Wizard: Answered by PM.

DarkFalconZ: Answered by PM.

RulesofNature626: Answered by PM.

Luke: I'd expect the two would fight until they forced the android out of the other, or until they ate or killed one another. It'd not go well.

Mouse from Hell: A huge Review! I'll do my best to answer this. Oh boy did Raditz's transformation not happen on behalf of Piccolo, unfortunately, lol. People who die are getting mentioned, you just gotta remember I've got a huge cast to juggle. I hope you didn't feel too much dread this chapter :P

AngryShadow04: Thanks so much! I've got plans for a lot of things still regarding a ton of characters, including Gohan, I don't want to spoil though :P

TheItchyCocoon: Answered by PM.

Guest3: The brutality keeps getting ratchetted up, it would seem :P. Expect more brutality. I enjoy writing menacing Cell. I can't wait to get to Semi-Perfect Cell, or Perfect Cell. The menace factor is only going up, lol.

Ac 97: Answered by PM.

Zeice: Answered by PM.

Super Mystic Gohan: Answered by PM.

The Rocha: Answered by PM.

Guest3: It's so hard to juggle this many. I just wanna die. Lol.

Guest4: Good! As it should! Lol

Ki Ai Sky: Answered by PM.