Yo! Son Goku and friends!

by Lucky8ofspades

If you've ever found yourself wanting Yamcha, Krillin, Tien, or Piccolo to contribute in the latter half of Dragon Ball, then this is the story for you. There is but one simple goal in this story. It's not about fighting, it's about martial arts.

43. Through the Fires of Time

Yo! Son Goku and friends! Cell Saga (Chapter 5)

Triceratops King

The fields were a lush and quiet existence. It was jam packed with life, but nary a human, only a small settlement of exactly three houses and a large silo broke up the native ecosystem. Surrounding the encampment were high stalks of corn forming almost a natural barrier of sorts. A woman's attention was stolen by a rumbling beneath her feet and she turned towards the corn wall outside the small stead. A greyish hound yipped next to her, his nose aimed at the commotion.

"Roof! Wouff!"

The woman raised a brow as the trembling, earthquake-like sensation rocked the area. Soon enough she could see what was causing it. A man flung the door open to one of the three humble homes and yelled:

"What the hell is that racket!?"

The woman threw up her hands in defeat.

"You think I know? Looks like gosh-darned dinosaurs!"

The man got off the porch and trudged over next to the woman with a deep frown on his face, his whiskery mustache perturbed at the disturbed stalks of vegetation. The rumbling went on for seconds which felt like hours until:

DOMDOMDOMDOMDOMDOMFWAFFDOMDOMDOMkkkkkkkkkkkkk~

A veritable tribe of Triceratops dinosaurs crashed into the village, mowing down the cornstalk barricade in no time at all. A strange humanoid led the pack of the four legged critters. It had brown plate all over it like armour, but was still clearly a Triceratops. However, it stood over all of them, a somewhat humanlike biped, standing over the pack on two legs.

"Whut?" The man asked, scratching his beaten up, sunstained, scraggly mess of hair.

"This is a nice little villa you have here."

"Who… are… you?" The woman asked, her dog frothing out the mouth with bombastic barks before the dino-man spoke again.

"I am The Triceratops King. I've need to spread my empire and lick our wounds. This looks like as good a place as any."

"But… we settled here first."

"Did you?" The King smiled like a bastard, walking forward and examining the small estate. "Huh. Well to me, just like any other animal, it looks like you just decided to build a nest wherever you saw fit."

"That's what everyone does!"

"Exactly. Who're you to say that me and my people are not allowed here? Do you have a policy against outsiders or…" He looked the pair up and down with a devilish smile. "Are you just prejudiced?"

"What are you sayin'!?"

"I'm calling you racists, but I see that the nuance might be lost on you."

"There's not enough space for you here."

"Is there?" He asked with a low tilt of his large armoured head. "Is there really?"

The pair stood there, stark and staring as the large man waved in the Triceratops. The ground quaked once again as droves of thumping hooves beat across the land like war drums.

"I'm not a bigot so I'm going to leave your little venue alone but I'm definitely not going to stop looking for where to settle my people. So if it just so happens to be your abnormally large corn stalk I guess it'll have to be your abnormally large corn stalk."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Are you going to stop me?" He asked plainly, marching past the pair as his pack followed him. "Didn't think so!" He shouted as he and his crew stampeded through the crops, flattening them in no time, marching into the forest with a bright smile.

Raditz

"How do you see yourself being a benefit to this company?"

"Well I'm a hard worker and have been at the bottom many times. I aim to work my way up and establish strong connections on my way to the top. I work well with others and am very healthy, unlike other workers I most certainly won't be needing sick days."

"Hmm… How can you be so sure of this?"

"Erm~" The Saiyan struggled to find the words without saying it matter-of-factly.

"See?" Bulma titled her glasses down and eyed Raditz from across the counter. "You can't just bring up your Saiyan heritage as a benefit."

"Gah~"

"I know that it Is. But that's not necessarily something that applies especially if you're getting an office job and not construction or something."

"Hah~" He let out a stress sigh.

"A statement about your performance that would be more pertinent would be something along the lines of… 'I maintain a steady and routine exercise program every week so I understand the dedication it takes to build something'. You did good though, you're getting much better at this."

"Earth's civilisation is really tedious. Working with The Cold Estate they just told you to go beat up on some planet, you hopped in your pod then beat em' up, no runarounds."

Another uneventful 2 years had passed. Age 768

Raditz got up from the stool in the loft and cracked his neck as a little toddler walked over to him and pointed with declaration.

"Big hair poopie!"

"It's me. Big hair poopie."

Trunks dashed out onto the balcony, accompanied by his mother's laughter and Raditz' shaking of the head and he made his way down the steps of the loft, walking past various employees and staff, robots and the like.

"Hi Raditz!"

"Hey, Puar."

He finished the staircase, dipping and juking around the many employees as he made his way to the garage. Dr. Brief sat toying away under a nicely maintained vehicle on a sliding apparatus.

"Yo! Brief! My car done yet?"

"Almost…"

Fixing machinery is what Dr. Brief loves the most, it always seems to bring back a simpler time. The Doctor recalls a memory from long ago, even before his daughter was born.

Brief

Four young men sat in a dimly lit basement of a rural home. The room was hotboxed to the brim with smoke from a blunt, scattered papers and designs were posted all over the walls.

Everyone is young once. This is the story of Dr. Brief's time meeting three rambunctious, inspired, and incredibly monstrously intelligent individuals at The West City College's Department of Science and Engineering. 20 years old.

"Hurry up man, shit." A man with beep black slicked back hair commanded with a wave of the hand as Brief coughed out a puff of smoke. "Sheesh." He said with a smile as the long blue haired man had a fit.

The best word to describe him would be Spiteful. Soon to be self-proclaimed Doctor Kochin. His moniker after the events at West City College would be that of the 'Demonic Scientist'. Brilliant man with a lot of hate in his heart. 31 years old.

"Relax, Brief, that shit ain't gonna kill ya."

The highest and most raw IQ of the four. Wheelo entered college at 15 due to good grades and smart usage of his time and picking the right electives. He was still young, and very impressionable, looking to prove himself to those he saw as peers and betters. 17 years old.

"Is that~ heff~" Brief called out. "What you're working on?"

The last man in the room had a silky and immaculately well maintained brown mane of hair. It came halfway down to his back and tied in a hippie half knot. He toiled away on a sketch on the wall, it was a large alien-like creature with wings.

"Looks wicked." Brief congratulated with a forceful pat on the back, coughing out the rest of the gas.

A man interested in big things, highly driven. He was going to graduate with Brief and go his own way. Doctor Gero. 20 years old.

"Did you boys know that cockroaches can survive a nuclear explosion?" Gero said without batting an eye, still sketching in the roughs of the humanoid insect creature he drew on the canvas.

"Not at all." Brief answered quickly, fixing his glasses and blinking a few times as he eyed the piece.

"Come on, Gero, that was completely disproven. Cockroaches are only about five or so more times resistant than humans. They'll survive a little bit longer but they still get nuked. Phu~ " Kochin answered with a petty sounding call out, rolling his eyes and passing the blunt.

Wheelo grabbed it and hit a toke, letting out a short breath of smoke that resulted in multiple rings. He giggled at the passtime.

"Even if that were true, they can't survive without an ecosystem, cockroaches are scavengers so the only meal they could have is shit that's laden with nuclear chemicals in the aftermath. So they're dead either way in the nuclear winter."

"I didn't know that." Gero spoke softly, eyes locked onto his drawing as it started to come into its own.

Wheelo presented the ish but Gero declined, shaking his head no at the offer so it went right back to Brief.

"Aheh~" Wheelo coughed out scratching the top of his buzzed head. "Didn't you say you were having a baby?"

"Yes." He answered with a genuine smile, finally turning away from the sketch and swiveling his chair around to make eye contact with Wheelo. "Me and my better half were thinking of naming him Gebo."

"That's awesome!" Wheelo answered spiritedly, smiling wide with his bright whites.

Gero chuckled to himself, scratching at his stubble before turning around and getting right back to his artistic endeavor.

"You're pretty young though, you sure you'll manage?"

"Hehhh~" Gero's shoulders collapsed, and a sigh scampered out of his fuzzy lips at Wheelo's prodding.

"He's got a point you know, getting more expensive every year to have a baby. Gotta pay for college too." Brief said as he scratched his nose.

"20's is really young for a kid isn't it?" Wheelo asked with a raised brow, leaning back into the leather couch as Kochin handed him the blunt. "Thanks. Fffff~ Phew~"

"It's only ever going to get harder financially but humans are supposed to breed young. You can't wait until your 30's. Each year increases the chance of birth defects. Smart choice, Gero."

"Nah, the condom definitely broke."

"Ohh~" Kochin stifled out a laugh. "My condolences."

"We'll make it work somehow."

"..." Brief accepted the last bit of the roll up, smoking it to nothing but a nub. "Phuuu~ Eh! Eh! Eh!"

"Haha-haaa~" Wheelo laughed as Brief coughed up a lung. "Don't chuff it down all at once man, damn!"

Brief smiled as he let out the rest through stiff coughs and the help of Wheelo's harsh hand on his back.

"What about you, Kochin? You should be getting married yourself, you don't have too many years now."

"Please. I don't have time for women, I only have time for research and my degree. I already wasted some of my golden years before I even got to this stupid university. I don't need to waste any more time or money on someone who wouldn't understand."

Brief said nothing, only shrugging his shoulders and fixing his thick framed glasses. Wheelo looked down at the ground dejectedly before meeting the eye contact of Brief.

"What about you, bro? I seen you looking at that cutie in the library."

Brief blinked briefly, looking behind himself and pointing at his chest, making a show of it.

"Me?"

"Yes, you, stupid." He laughed, crumpling up and throwing a newspaper at the man's head.

Brief laughed too as it made contact, he scratched his head in the aftermath, thinking about it.

"I don't know. There's no way she'd like guys like me. She's way too pretty."

"Can't think like that." Kochin chimed in. "Look. Women like it when a man takes charge. You gotta think you're the shit even if you don't believe it."

"But how would I even do that?"

"Confidence." Gero spoke, finally taking his eyes away from the piece.

"..?"

"Well… It's not necessarily about being so confident. Just be comfortable and brave. If that's not enough then move on, no harm done." Gero said as he locked eyes with the young blue haired man, throwing his arm over the back of the seat as he turned to look.

Brief took off his glasses, wiping them off on his West City University hoodie, a bright white with a blue logo on the front.

"What's the worst that can happen, bruh?" Wheelo smirked. "Oh no, I have a loving wife and kids. What a tragedy."

"I can think of a couple things worse." Kochin said as he shook his head and laughed at the dumb joke.

"Ta-Da~" Gero sing-songed valiantly. "It's finished."

"Oh wow." Brief commented as he leaned in.

"So this is what you're gonna try and accomplish?"

"I mean I hope so." Gero replied as he sunk back into the swivel chair. "It'd be nice if I could create an organic artificial life form. First in history that's not a through and through robot."

"It's wild." Wheelo said with wide, starry eyes. "What's its name? A thing like this has to have a badass name, right?"

"You're right… I hadn't thought that far ahead."

The four men stared deeply onto the canvas. Brief tilted his glasses slightly, raising his hand awkwardly like he were in class.

"Could I name it?"

"Sure, I don't care. It doesn't even exist yet so~ go for it!"

"How about..."

Cell

KRSH!

The long cylindrical green tube smashed open, glass flying everywhere.

A tall and regal creature climbed out of the prison. Less-than-pristine liquid sloshed out onto the metal floor, draining off the sides of the railing and down into the unknown below. Cerulean stone marked the caverns and the slimy goop containing the insect creature's form splashed many times on its way down into the endless infinity. It took a sharp breath through its humanoid mouth, possessing lips just like an Earthling. Its black wings shuttered and fluttered, flinging the rest of the goo off of its back in a dramatic display. The creature put its fleshy white hands together and stretched them outward providing a sizable crack. Afterwards it rotated its black bug-like shoulders in a roll, flexing its back. It looked down at its green forearms, admiring the black spots on them.

"Fantastic." Gero stated as he took steps backward.

"Hello Father." The green creature bowed to Gero, taking a kneeling stance and placing its right arm over its shiny black chest.

Kochin gazed at the newborn creature before turning his attention to the compass again.

"We have work to do."

"Get up, Cell."

The bug creature stood up tall in response to Gero's command, Its form head and shoulders above both of the scientists. Cell's unfocused look wandered around the many computers and mechanisms littering the underground facility.

"Do you remember your protocol, Cell?"

"Of course, Father. You need my help to find The Dragon Balls. We will then use them to wish your colleague Doctor Wheelo to life."

"Marvellous work, Gero. Now you!" He pointed to Cell accusatory. "Your first job is to kill that dragon guarding the nearest, Dragonball."

Kochin brandished the radar and Cell took a careful look at the orange blip. Cell cupped the device in his hands like it were a newborn and smiled genuinely.

"I'll get it done right away, Doctor Kochin."

"We'll be coming after you, so wait for us when you've completed your mission." Kochin stated as he wheeled open the door.

Cell nodded and took gallant strides out into the long dark corridor. He walked for a while under the drained neon lights that sparsely illuminated the hallway. Kochin and Gero filed behind Cell. Cell looked at the lights with wonder, touching and feeling them as he passed. There was a bit of warmth to them. The creature eventually reached the end which led to a bunker door facing the sky. Kochin typed a few things into a keypad on the left side and the shutters opened up.

De-dee! SKF! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!

A long droning sound screeched into Cell's yellow ear prisms as the doors revealed the sky. He exited quickly, even before the doors had fully opened. The serene nature of the blue beyond all around placed him a chokehold in wonder. The white pasty formations above everything caught his attention most of all.

"Wow." He was simply taken aback.

"It's just the sky, Cell."

"Of course, Father." He said dejectedly in response.

"Go on now, Cell, you have a job to do."

"Yes, Doctor."

Cell floated up to the aether, looked at the radar and then blasted off after it completed a rotation.

"Shoot, I hope I'm going the right way." Cell mused as he peered at the green scanlines, scratching the top of his black dome.

Giran

The place was huge, a massive, sprawling mansion with many reservoirs of water and streams falling down all around them. Tasteful vines carved into and wrapped around large statues of chubby and muscular dragons that littered the estate. The marble finish on all of the monuments and the ecosystem surrounding it gave the courtyard a sophisticated and simultaneously ecosystemic feel. The pristine marble playground was banging with low BPM music as dragons that resembled Giran blew bubbles, splashed around, and lived it up lavishly.

The money from The 25th Tenkaichi Budokai set Giran for a long while. 5 million Zeni added on top of the penny-pinching he did with his well financed job working construction finally paid off.

"Mister Giran." A woman with a white fur coat and waiter's table motioned to the blue dragon in blue robes.

"What is it?"

"Well uhh, it would appear the guards were not able to stop a certain visitor intent on speaking with you." She pointed matter-of-factly at a distinctly bug-looking humanoid entering the courtyard with wonderment. The speckled creature laughed as it absorbed the contents, watching half the other visitors swim and splash about the place, while the other half laid down on matching white chairs, sipping alcohol at midday.

"Wow…" Cell called out, his excitement mounting as he came across the beautiful villa. "This is absolutely remarkable."

"Whoa' you?" Giran questioned sternly, almost appearing out of nowhere as the two stood opposite on the marble steps.

"Are you the owner of this wonderful..?"

"Palace."

"Yes. It's…" Cell's eyes glazed over in deep respect and acknowledgement. "Completely marvellous."

"I heard you got past the guards. So what do you want?" He continued gruffly.

"Oh yes."

Chwuick! Beep! Beep! Beep!

"This is a… Dragon Radar."

"Heh~" He laughed out a bit as the other dragons gathered around. "Works pretty good I guess."

"..? Is that a joke?"

"...What?" Giran raised a genuine brow.

"Oh! It was~ Hah-huh-hah!"

"What a weirdo…" Giran kept to himself as he furrowed his brow at the new green inhabitant trespassing in his abode.

"No, sir, this Dragon Radar is for finding the location of The Dragon Balls."

"Damn, I didn't know it was like that." Giran joked, which got the whole squad laughing.

"Hah-huh-hah~" Cell laughed along strangely, trying to keep in line with the rest of the group.

Giran shook his head and let his shades catch onto his regal white horn.

"So what the fuck are you really here for?"

"Uh… I told you. The Dragon Balls."

"The Dragon Balls?"

"Yes. Just one of them though."

"Bruh, I'm not letting you take one of my nuts."

"..."

"..."

Cell's uneven fit of laughter was paired with a knee slapper, the company Giran housed all staring at the strange bug-man living it up in their midst.

"Oh! Hah-huh-hah! You thought I meant your genitalia! Huh-hah-hah!"

"What the hell..? Were you born yesterday, Smart Ass?"

"No. I was born today!" Cell answered with full confidence, boasting his sleek black chest high into the sky and putting his hands on his hips.

"Look, I ain't got time for this shit." Giran responded as he put back on his slick black shutter shades. "You're not even supposed to be here so Ima' just let you off with a warning this time."

"Sir?"

"What!?"

"My life's purpose is to find The Dragon Balls. I don't know exactly what they look like but they are 7 magic spheres with stars on them. I need to find all 7."

"Oh shit…"

Snapp!

"Alexi!"

Soon enough, a purple haired woman with wild and wacky high volume hair walked out into the courtyard wearing a skintight hot pink spandex suit, The 3 Star Dragon Ball in plain view of Cell.

"Oh~" He raised a brow and smiled wide.

"Is this what you're looking for?"

"Yes! Yes please!" Cell almost shouted in his hype, extending out his hand.

Fwush!

Giran swiped the ball fast and held it in front of Cell face tantalisingly.

"Well it's mine. Looks nice on the bedframe too so I'd like to keep it."

"Is there any way I could convince you to give it to me?"

Giran looked at the sky and properly pondered before he said:

"Ah-haa~ You pay for the bills for the next year and it's all yours."

"Bills?"

"You know, electricity, water, the works." He said as he motioned a wave of the hand over the stunning vista.

"Oh. No, sorry I can't do that."

"So you a broke boy then?"

"I… guess..?"

"What do you mean I guess?"

"I was born only a while ago sir. I don't have anything. I couldn't help you with that."

"Heh." He laughed out heartily, a billow of smoke shooting out of his nostrils. "I'll be damned. This guy's a nutcase."

"Is there any way I could get it without paying?"

"Nah."

"Sir."

"WHAT!?" He finally snapped, his yellow dragon eyes piercing into Cell's soul.

"I need that ball."

"I don't really care, I found it, it's mine."

Giran started to walk down the marble steps towards the front door, onlookers intrigued by the strange bug-man.

"Sir, I'm... going to have to resort to violence if you won't give me what I want." Cell declared as he pointed at the ground in the least intimidating way possible.

"Wow!" Giran shouted loudly. "The balls on this guy! Born not yesterday but Today and he thinks he can take The Dragon Ball from a Tenkaichi tournament winner! I just might have to oblige!"

"A what..? Tournament?"

"Only the biggest and most prestigious martial arts tournament under the heavens, Bug-Boy. Alexi!"

Alexi clapped and then caught The Dragon Ball as Giran took off his bath robes.

Fwoush!

The large dragon flexed and motioned towards the not-so-aggressive aggressor.

"Well come on. If you want The Dragon Ball, you can't just stand there all day, Chicken Shit."

Cell cleared his throat and walked through the courtyard before they settled on having the contest in the back, a glorious vista next to a sprawling cave with a waterfall on each side, four dragon statues marking the fighting area with stairs leading out and to the mansion.

Cell VS Giran

Objective: Acquire the Dragon Ball!

The two men stood across from each other, waiting for their opportunity as water flowed here and there around their ankles. The onlookers looked on and Cell had a tough time swallowing as his new foe stared him down. The only thing endeavoring to break the silence was the constant flow of water. A dumb drawl escaped from Cell's mouth as he stared with vacant eyes.

"Hey uhh, don't you know it's customary as the challenger to let the defender land a free hit?"

"Oh! No, I didn't know that. I'm sorry." Cell said with a smile on his face as he walked over.

"Whoa~" Giran put his hand out, Cell stopping on a dime a few steps away from him. "Not that close."

"How are you gonna hit me?"

He really asked that.

"I got something in mind." "Is this guy for real..?" Giran couldn't keep it together, busting a gut laughing before coughing to straighten himself out.

"What's so funny?" Cell asked genuinely, holding out a starry smile.

"Nothin'... is nothin'. Just uhh~ thanks for abiding by the rules of engagement."

"No problem, sir." Cell replied with a big, child-like thumbs up.

Giran cocked his mouth back, gathering a mass of substance in it before firing, shooting out a tangy pink mound of gum at Cell.

"Wahh~" Cell yelped as the strange goo impacted his frame. "Oh. It's not so bad."

"Haw-haw-haw! What the hell!?"

"What?"

"You really just let me do that to you, haw-haw-haw!" Giran was absolutely bursting at the seams laughing as he fell onto his ass and splashed around in the pool.

"What do you mean? That was part of the rules, was it not?"

"No-ho! You're just too gullible to realise it!"

"Oh. I was played for a fool…"

"Haw-haw-haw!"

"I'll get you back for this!" Cell stated as he attempted to leave his slimy pink prison. "Errr! Hah! Hyah! Huh. It's not working."

"That's because it's my Merry-Go-Round-Gum. It's too strong for a punk like you to break out of."

Try as he might, and he did try, Cell could not remove the Merry-Go-Round-Gum.

"Very well." Cell said matter-of-factly. "I'll just have to beat you with my legs." The insect humanoid stated as he bent at the knees and leaned forward.

"Sure thing, Tough Guy." Giran mocked as he entered a fighting stance, his wings spreading and flapping harshly, causing a ripple in the ankle deep water, lily pads floating away from the two fighters.

"Okay so…" Cell thought to himself as Giran barreled towards him at blinding speeds. "How do I… fight..?"

WHOKK!

"WHOAAA~" The various partygoers of humans and dragons alike bellowed as their party host slammed a haymaker of a right hand onto the bug's strange V-shaped head. Cell crashed right onto the cliff face next to the house, bouncing off the rocks and splashing onto the water again as he rebounded.

Whomp~KrrrrOKK! Slashhhhhhh~

"Ouch~" Cell grunted with a bit of sass, already seeing stars from the powerful blow.

SLUOUSHHH~ Fwuof-Fwaf-Fwuf~

Giran stalled high into the air and peered down at Cell who stood up pretty normally all things considered.

"Maybe he really is a tough guy…"

FOOSH!

With a flap of his wings, Giran blasted out of the sky and towards the ground like a bullet, barely missing Cell's head by a fraction as the bug-man dipped low just in time.

"Wow~ That was pretty close."

Giran sharpened his brow and committed to a full swing, his large tail causing an intimidating hiss as it cut the wind just short of his target. Cell backstepped just in time, eyes wide at the blue dragon and the power it possessed.

"Man. Maybe this wasn't the smartest idea." Cell thought out loud before his foe rushed him.

"You think!?"

KOMM! Bu-Bom-Buh-Bamp!

The elbow bunt launched Cell across the courtyard and into the white tanning chairs on the other side, spilling drinks and forcing the afternoon attendees out of their seats.

"Heyyy~" A girl whined, sticking out her tongue at the bug-man aggressively.

"Watch it!"

"Sorry." He answered in a still rather chipper voice.

"You're gonna have to start fighting back if you actually want to win, Bug-Boy."

"Sorry. I don't have any martial arts training so I'm at a loss for how I'm supposed to attack." He said plainly, miming some low-level kicks with poor torque.

"Like I care." Giran mocked as he lunged forward regardless.

Cell weaved under, ducking low and moving past as Giran's big claw marked the wall.

Klomm!

Other than the crushing spider web handprint he left on the chalky wall, Giran managed to avoid too much property damage and chased down his foe as the bug-man made his way back to the water.

Slash-Slosh-Sluss~

"Whoa~" Cell ooed and awed as Giran threw punch after punch, missing and slipping off the gummy substance and his own natural head movement. Cell's eyes seemed to glaze over and scan almost like machines, he ran the numbers on how Giran was striking with his hands.

Cell came to the conclusion that the big beast punched downward frequently, both because he was tall and because he had a lot of weight that helped power up that type of attack angle.

"I see…" Cell said aloud as he backstepped off the water, it parting with an elegant grace.

"Get back here!" Giran shouted. "How is he doin' this so easy?"

Cell slipped a three-piece backwards, going up the few steps that led back to the outside of the mansion, onlookers running across the courtyard, focused on keeping their eyes on the contest.

"Wow." Alexi said as she polished The Dragon Ball with a white cloth. "He's not doin' too bad."

Giran looked to force the issue with a low leg sweep using his tail. The wind snapped harshly as the blue dragon spun like a top, whipping his massive beastly tail at Cell's ankles.

"Whoa!" Cell yelped with a laugh as he hopped just in time over the tail. He smiled and looked at Giran. "That could have been-"

WHAMM!

During the followthrough of the gyration, Giran stuck out a backhand and smashed it on his foe's nose, sending him packing. Cell whirled through the air and broke through the last two pillars on the end of the compound, white dusty chalk and debris flying everywhere from the hit. Visitors and family friends alike were almost waylaid by the concussive force shooting out sharp chunks of stone and marble.

DOMPDOMTOMMTOMTOMPPDOMP!

Giran stampeded forward like a wild animal hunting down wounded prey. Cell was laying down and folded like a burrito before he stuck his head out the goo and noticed Giran running batshit crazy.

"Uh oh."

Whup. WHOKK! THUMM! Krrrockle!

Giran set him up with a light left leg to toss him into the air and then finished the job with a weighty superdragon punch using a right hand to propel Cell towards the back gate. The spotted bug humanoid carried far too much momentum and carved right through, landing in the middle of the road. Cars peeled out on both sides as they tried to avoid the strange amalgamation of pink and green.

"Oww~ that one hurt…" He grunted as he attempted to stand up, shaky.

He was definitely feeling it now.

Giran walked forward with swagger before realising just how close a huge speeding truck was to hitting him. Cell took the impact and rolled right over, splatting on the ground in an unhealthy thump as tire marks brushed into the grey with black, and that unmistakable screech bellowed out to all those who could hear it.

"Oh my god~" A few of the ladies looked around and whispered gossip as the dragons in the midst yelled obscenities.

"Daaaaaaaaamn!"

"He got farked." A pink dragon pointed her claw at the beat up bug-man on the pavement.

They all watched in feverish anticipation as Cell stood up tall once more, leaking from new orifices.

"Phew~" Cell blinked to get the focus back into his eyes, falling forward onto his knees, trying to stand up again and make his way back to Giran. It should have been a losing battle, but his jello legs at least gave him something to stand on.

"It's over."

"B-buh~but~" Cell stuttered, caving to a knee that he was forced to fight out of again. "I need to get The Dragon Balls."

"Sorry bruh, but that orange crystal is mine."

"It's... not over yet…" Cell could barely make out through heavy breaths.

"Puh~" Giran scoffed, totally taken aback. "You're outta your damn mind! I just beat your ass all around my estate, you got ran over by a car, can barely even breath, and you think it ain't over? I get to call the shots around here, bruh. Do you know what Supply and Demand is?"

"No." Cell smiled once more, purple trickles of blood spilling out of his mouth as he smiled. "What's that?"

"Supply and Demand is the concept of… how do I phrase it… You want something." He pointed to The Dragon Ball. "And I have it. Which means you have to abide by the rules of my market to obtain the supply. I obliged your demand for long enough, bruh. Now get tha hell outta here." He threw his hands up defiantly and turned around.

Cell ran through the last few actions of the fight, looking for what to extrapolate from it. He scoured all of the relevant information before he came across something useful.

"Aha!" Cell's shout drew both excitement and pity.

The set-up kick Giran used for the superman punch.

"I can use that!" He said, eyes lit up like there were lightbulbs behind them, his smile could light the room too if it weren't already daytime.

Cell jogged spiritedly towards his ex-combatant.

"Sir! Sir!"

"I've Had Enough Of You!"

Cell smiled wide, looked at the ground as he hopped up and shifted his legs, winded back his left and absolutely crushed the bottom of Giran's jaw with it.

WHOKK!

"But I don't got hands. Hmm~" Cell mused aloud, looking at the pink gum around his frame for a moment. "Well, this is a bust."

Whump!

Cell's attention was stolen by Giran landing on the front steps to his mansion, cracking and denting the middle of them in a dramatic display.

"Oh." He said with duck lips.

Cell walked over slowly and checked the checked out Giran.

"Sir..? I guess not."

"Outta my way!" A large screech was heard at the other side of the manor, compounded by a rain of gunfire which spooked and perturbed the guests.

"Here! Take it!" Alexi screamed as she ran for it, throwing The Dragon Ball at a breakneck pace right into the pink gum binding Cell's body.

Doungg!

Soon enough, Kochin and Gero rounded the corner of the dusted columns to Cell's left.

"Father."

"You've gathered the, Dragonball. Excellent work."

"Cell?"

"Yes, Father?"

"Why haven't you absorbed him?" Gero stated matter-of-factly, pointing at the unconscious dragon laying on the broken up white marble steps.

"Well I got The Dragon Ball, didn't I?'

"You did."

"Then why do I..?"

"It's part of your job, Cell!"

Cell swallowed harshly.

"You were created to absorb organisms and become the strongest lifeform in existence. An organic machine that learns at an impossible rate. But you can't do that unless you absorb what you've defeated."

Cell gave one last nervous look at the two doctors before his tail jived out of the pink mass and stuck Giran.

"Very good."

Vyoip~Vyoip~Vyoip~

As Cell began draining the life from the iced out Giran, he awoke suddenly, screaming bloody murder from the pain before his voice tapered off into withering old yodels, his skin loosening, muscles evaporating, blood draining. Cell had to look away at the curdling plastic baggy that was the dragon's body before it faded entirely, leaving only black shutter shades on the steps.

Kochin patted Cell on the wing, he recoiled and twitched suddenly at the touch, eyes wide in the horror.

"What's your malfunction, Cell?"

"..."

"It's Survival of the Fittest." Kochin stated. "Don't ever forget that."

Cell took a couple breaths to compose himself before tearing off the pink gum in an impressive display, flexing his muscles tight as he opened and closed his hands.

"O~kay…" He said to himself shakily.

Kami

"Ahh~" Kami calmly called out, the wind breezing hard at the apex of The Lookout. Dark clouds forming in, around, above, and below the high-up landmass.

He closed his eyes in thought and sent out a massive, sprawling wave of energy that combed the planet in a loose lap, that doubled back the other side as it touched tips on the polar opposite position from his location. Kami waited for a few minutes as the energy ran its course and finally funneled back into the sky. It hit him hard and he looked up to the sky with a flicker of doubt. Popo strolled by with arms behind his back, eyes wide at The Guardian of Earth's fierce grimace.

"Kami…"

"We are in danger, Mr. Popo."

"What are you saying, Kami?"

"I have reason to believe another threat, the likes of the Saiyans has taken root somewhere on this planet. I have nary an idea where it might be at this very moment but… I am personally not liking our odds."

"What..?"

"I get the feeling this danger is different."

"Why is that? What about it?"

"Hnnnnnmphhh~" The green God breathed in sharply through his nose before coughing and speaking again plainly. "Even though I think this might be our strongest foe yet, the reason I am nervous has nothing to do with power or strength."

The black clouds surrounding The Lookout grew in number and in volume as they started pelting the palace and trees with wet winds.

"It has to do with…" He put his index and middle finger up against his temple, creasing his brow and closing his eyes harshly in thought. "How cunning it is."

Popo said nothing back, only walking to the edge of the platform and staring down at the dark, swirling abyss below. Soon enough, a black cloud parted the black clouds, a white cat standing stark against the nightmarish colours.

Dyuuuuuuuuuuu~

The Dark Nimbus shoved the clouds aside and Korin broke through the top, hopping off the vehicle and weathering the storm with his brown staff.

"Korin. What a pleasure it is to have you here." Kami greeted with a deep bow.

"Yeah, yeah." Korin said back as he returned the favour.

"I assume you are here for..?"

"Yep." Korin replied, standing next to the green God, looking up and shielding his frame with a stomp of his staff, the rain around the two men parting and stalling instead.

"So you feel as I feel?"

Korin didn't answer with speech, just bobbing his cat head up and down a single time. Kami smiled brightly at the gesture.

"You really are a great fit."

"Can it, you ain't kicked the bucket yet."

"Who knows how many years I have left, Friend? The Room of Spirit and Time might not even be complete in my lifetime."

Korin's whiskers twitched as Popo entered the small shelter, flapping his red vest to rid it of the elements.

"That ain't what I came up here to discuss either."

"Right. That was selfish of me, my apologies."

"What do you think it is?"

"I cannot tell. It is beyond me. Just an ominous whisper on the wind. Not even loud enough to hear what it is saying."

"Well those boys figured out how to take down Frieza so this should be no problem."

"Heh-heh." Kami laughed heartily before turning his attention to Korin once more. "Did they not give you the full details? Or are you intentionally being dishonest?" He joked with a jab of his staff.

Korin smiled and looked on into the darkness.

"Look Kami, they figured out a way to subdue a juggernaut already. Maybe it wasn't them that did it, but they solved the problem with the tools they possessed. Even if this thing we're thinking of isn't a fluke, that don't matter. Our guys'll take care of it like they always do."

"Suppose a strange incident were to occur like the Saiyans then. Our own special forces unit goes down and it is up to just us?"

"Then we're fucked." Korin laughed out loudly, coaxing a similar response out of The Guardian of Earth.

"I do not disagree." He replied with a cheeky smile, the rain pelting and pouring down even harder, the palm trees almost rooting out of the soil.

Maloja

The prairie was bustling with activity as wildlife ran rampant trying to escape a large burst of flame. Deer, dinosaurs, lions, bears as well as small critters like rabbits looked on from a safe distance as a man with green robes and a purple rope tied around his head casted ancient and powerful spells from his staff. The black instrument had a glossy red orb at its top and fire as well as ice and lightning shot all around as the man swung and chanted incantations in the fields.

Fwuofff~Gzzzzk! Zzzt! Fwooooooo~ Popp! Gzzzkt!

"Oop-Zaa-Laaaaa~" He recounted, a bursting mix of the elements rampaging in a bombastic explosion.

Zingg!

A potent bubble-like aura wrapped around his frame as he stomped the staff on the ground. The dirt and the grass were not so lucky, turning his surroundings into what looked like a battleground. The man smirked wide at his new devastation. He wiped at the sweat on his brow using his headband-rope accessory. The man was unshaven and messy, he looked like he hadn't showered in a long time.

After being humiliated by that girl in his own town of Natade Village, Maloja had taken to actually practicing his spells. The reason people relied on him in Natade was mostly because they had little alternatives and likewise didn't know any better. Maloja wasn't a threat back then but now, he was a force to be reckoned with. Five years of practicing in the wilderness sharpened his capabilities for destruction immensely.

"Phew~" He whistled out, mopping up the last of his sweat and looking out into the dusty greens and browns of the wasteland.

He shook his right fist in victory and stomped his staff onto the ground in a flourish, hype of his own accomplishments.

"Time to give that old hag what-for!" Maloja yelled with a throaty might. "Hawh-HAH!"

The leftover ember laden patches of grass all went out like candle lights as the instrument of Maloja's choice thumped into the earth, followed this time by a wispy aura enraptured his frame, levitating the man slightly before he was enveloped in full-on flight, blasting back light winds and exiting the premises as the creatures prowling the region looked on in complete disbelief.

Cell

The bug-man and two old scientists sat patiently under the sunlight as it beamed down on the draconian mansion. The partygoers had evacuated and left the three of them to marvel at the orb's majesty.

"Well. There are 7, Cell." Gero stated with a cold disposition.

"You have an entire six more to gather, you had better get to it."

"Yes, Doctor."

"Cell."

"Father?"

"Put the, Dragonball, in this."

"What is it?"

"It is a, Capsule, made by, The Capsule Corporation. These small tubes can hold just about anything." The man stated as he handed off the little device.

Cell clicked the top node and sure enough, the Capsule had swallowed up The Dragon Ball and sealed it tight. Kochin snatched the Capsule from Cell's hand as soon as it got the job done.

"You're burning daylight. It will be easier for an organic lifeform like yourself to find things during these hours."

"O-kay."

"We know the next, Dragonball, is south of, West City. We'll accompany you to that one as well to make sure you're functioning as intended but after that…"

The two doctors spared a look at each other before sharpening their gaze on the bug-man.

"You're on your own."

"Yes, Doctor."

"Good."

Cell left the two men in the dust, fluttering his wings and flying high into the air as he checked The Dragon Radar.

Chuick! Bee! Bee! Bee!

"I feel stronger, but I don't feel any better…" Cell said mostly to himself as he glided through the air and contemplated the blood on his hands, or more accurately, circulating through his system. The only blood on him, was his own, and it slipped off his now perfectly curated shell. Whatever damage he had accumulated seemed to have lessened after swallowing up Giran's energies.

Krillin

"Krillin, come watch this." An officer said with a crooked smile, shaking his head and taking a long sip from a coffee mug. "Wild."

"Just over three hours ago apparently a bug-man terrorised and ransacked martial artist and Tenkaichi Budokai tournament winner: Giran's, mansion. The now deceased-"

Krillin stood up tall at the statement.

"-tournament winner was killed in his own home as eyewitnesses report that the life was literally sucked out of him. This is what interviewee and personal maid, Sarah, had to say about the situation."

"It was Bleep-ed to all hell." The lavish and pampered-looking redhead with pink shades and a white fur coat spoke close to the microphone. "I thought everything was gonna be fine cause it was Giran who accepted the fight. He's a champion you know." She emphasised by pulling down her glasses and looking into the camera. "Even then, everyone thought Giran was winning until that guy landed a lucky kick."

Krillin got in close which ushered a bit more attention from the other officers in the room.

"ZTV has also been graced with footage from partygoers who were there earlier this evening. Viewer discretion, is advised."

The camera cut from a man and woman in front of a city background to a vertical phone camera display that shook violently as a green bug-man with black speckled spots crashed into white tanning chairs on the estate. Girls and dragons alike got out of the way as the man looked around dazed.

"Heyyy~"

"Watch it!"

"Sorry." The bug-man wrapped in what looked like gum replied as he turned his head away from the camera and towards the perturbed other members of the audience.

It stopped and then replayed one more time before the two casters were back on screen.

"Very strange, don't you think, Jane?"

"I'll say, Jimmy." The woman responded in kind. "What do you think that strange substance was?"

"If I recall correctly that is Giran's trademark move from his martial arts background the - Merry-Go-Round–Gum if I'm not mistaken."

"Ah-hem!" The woman cleared her throat authoritatively to get back on topic. "Apart from the brawl that tragically took the life of Giran, we also report that two strange men in lab coats entered the Ex-Tournament winner's mansion and fired off several rounds of ammunition before partnering up with the bug-man. These three are still at large."

"Unfortunately no pictures or video evidence was taken of the two men, but we have confirmation from several eyewitnesses that they were both elderly."

"Well." One of the cops smiled and placed his hand on The Not-So-New Detective's shoulder. "That's all you."

Krillin sat there and stared until the news went to commercial break, a long sigh escaped him before Lapis broke him out of the trance.

"What's good?"

"Hmm?"

"Man, you are out of it."

"Sorry."

"Is that us?" Lapis questioned as he pointed the back of his thumb at the TV screen.

Krillin answered with a determined nod of the head.

Brief

Dr. Brief walked along the hallways, toking on a cig and petting the sleek not-so-black fur of a getting-up-there Scratch.

"You know, Scratch. You're getting to be as old as me these days. Not as spry as you used to be."

"Rrrow~"

"Dea'!"

"What is it?"

"Come look!" Mrs. Brief beckoned as she watered the flowers and birds chirped in a cage nearby. She had her left index locked on to the TV set as her husband walked in.

"Heyyy~"

"Watch it!"

"Sorry."

It all cut across in an instant. Dr. Brief recalls the time he spent at West City College.

"What are you doing, bro?" Wheelo called out with a shit-eating grin. "She's right there~"

Brief sighed out loudly and fixed his glasses, pushing Wheelo out of the way as he laughed, taking firm hold of the library door and swinging it open. It was a bit louder than necessary seeing as everyone in the quiet facility turned to him as he entered. Brief coughed a single time and closed the door as he entered. Brief pumped his right fist and took a couple breaths to compose himself as he neared the gorgeous platinum blonde woman with poofy hair. She came straight out of a hairspray commercial with her wild look and Brief couldn't take his eyes off her.

"...This seat taken?"

"I don't see noone theya'."

Brief plopped down his bag on the seat across from her and walked away from the table.

"Hmm?" She hummed, looking over at the blue haired man that just strolled away.

The blue haired student scoured the library for appropriate reading material and came back soon enough with two books. The woman paid him no mind as he sat down, doing her own work on a white sheet. The two sat in silence for a while before:

"Ah-hem~"

"..?"

"..."

She averted her eyes back down to the page and kept reading in silence for a while until:

"What are you working on, if you don't mind me-" Before Brief could even finish asking the girl went on a tirade.

"I'm working on anatomy and biomechanics. My motha' wanted me to be a housewife but my fatha' said 'Listen honey, women are entering the workforce now so I don't want to catch you relyin' on no man to do youa' stuff foa' ya'."

Brief blinked briefly.

"And then I said 'Dad but what if I want to just be me?' And then he said 'Why in the world would you ever want to deal with a man telling you what to do?' And then I said:"

Brief chuckled a bit, eyes locked onto her as she forwent her homework and started telling an elaborate story with her hands.

"Wouldn't it not matta' if I loved him?' And then he said 'Love's not real, I don't want no daughta' a-mine tuh grow up living a fairy tail'"

"And then what did you say?"

"Oi'm glad you asked. Because then I said 'Do you not love momma'? And guess what he said?"

"What did he say?" Brief asked as he smiled, letting his chin rest on his knuckles as the pair leaned in close.

"'I like youa' motha' but we're only really stayin' togetha' cause we got you'."

"Get outta here, that's awful."

"I know, talk about a bombshell to drop outta nowhere. I didn't want to have to know that!"

Before they even knew it, the pair where halted by another:

"Ah-Hem!"

"Hmm?"

"Yes?" Brief inquired as he fixed his glasses.

"If you all want to gossip, take it outside where you're not bothering anyone." One of the librarians growled through shushed teeth, pointing towards the exit with a ruler.

So of course.

"And then I said 'I hate you! Why did you have to tell me all that'!?'"

"Wow."

"And then my motha' said: 'Honey, youa' goin' to school, I don't wanna hear no lip'. And I said 'Yes ma'."

"So how's your dad doing?"

"I don't know, prolly still in the dog house, I guess." She said as she crossed her hands over her bookbag and kicked a can.

Twingg!

The pair walked for a while around campus until they got to a courtyard, the woman looked over at Brief and finally gave him a once-over with her eyes.

"What's youa' name?"

"Brief. Well, last name, but I'm looking to become a doctor."

"Wowww~ Fancy."

"Heh~"

"Are you looking to make a lot of money?"

"Something like that." He responded, looking up at the somewhat grey clouds forming in the sky.

"..."

"Yours?"

"My name's Panchy."

"Nice to meet you." Brief presented a pretty manly handshake.

"Ha-Ha!" She giggled. "How forward." She taunted, grabbing hold daintily and barely shaking it.

"..."

"..."

"It's about to rain soon."

"Yeah. It is."

It started to lightly sprinkle and Brief looked over at Panchy as he took off his glasses, wiping them on his hoodie.

"Would you like to go out sometime?"

"Huh..? I guess I would. But you remember what my fatha' said, right?"

"Love's not real?"

"Yeah… I guess I just neva' wanted to try that hard after I heard that."

Kshhhhhhhhhhh~

"Scary, ya' know. Having someone know youa' darkest secrets."

"You don't think it's worth it then?"

"Well I've neva' tried is all."

Panchy stuck out her hand and Brief met it in the middle, cradling it like a precious artifact of storied and ancient mythos.

"Would you like to try with me?"

Brief recalls the next week later.

"Where am I gonna take her?" He asked aloud to the other three in the blown-up basement.

Gero and Wheelo jammed out assignments, working on papers and the like as Kochin stood up against one of the support beams under the staircase.

"You can always just take her to Candy Land."

"What's Candy Land?"

"A nice little theme park high in the sky above West City."

Brief raised a brow at the comment.

"I thought you said you didn't have time for women."

"Not anymore. I did at one time, got crossed, cheated, you name it. No point anymore, especially seeing as I'm going into this field for myself anyway. A partner would just get in the way."

Brief didn't prod any further, just sitting back down on the leather couch as the two others toiled away.

"Candy Land, huh?"

The next day.

Brief took steady breaths as he waited in his pretty okay baby blue roofless landcar.

They didn't exist yet, the skycar was actually the invention to skyrocket Capsule Corporation's roaring success and commercial dominance. Capsules only caught on because the public had an incentive to buy their other products. Brief was always more proud of the Dino Caps though.

The house was nicer than he thought, big lawn, nice statues, a big black gate barring the premises.

"Is she already rich?" Brief thought to himself as he twiddled his thumbs and waited all by his lonesome. "I guess she wants a rich guy to keep up the lifestyle."

Brief recalls what she said to him just over a week ago.

"Are you looking to make a lot of money?"

He is brought back to reality as the stunning girl was already leaning over the car door and staring at him, admittedly with eyes closed.

Brief blinked briefly.

"Hey."

"Hey."

They just stared at each other for a long time until Brief got out, rounded the whole way, and opened the car door for her to which Panchy filed into the passenger's side right away.

"What a gentleman."

Brief just laughed at the comment.

"A real gentleman wouldn't make a lady wait."

"I always thought a gentleman was worth waiting foa'."

Tension wrapped around Brief's throat as he sat down, an aura permeating from the girl beside him, but that might have just been Panchy's perfume. The blue haired man sat down in the driver's seat, breathing out a bit and looking up at the sky as his hands cupped and caressed the leathery wheel in front of him.

"Oh, poo, it's about to rain again. Where are we gonna go if it's like this?" She commented as she shielded herself from the oncoming annoyance.

"I know a place."

"You betta get there fast cause my hair's gonna get wet."

Brief gunned it, zooming away from the lavish abode and racing down the street as his passenger giggled.

"Are we supposed to be goin' this fast!?" She could barely get out over the loud noise of the engine and the pelting winds. "My hai-aya-ha-ha-ha!" She screamed out in a laughing fit.

"If I have my way, I'm gonna be making cars that go a lot faster than this one."

Ca-Klmm~VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

"Just you wait."

In the coming weeks, a sickening revelation was coming for those at West City College. The type of thing that happens when egos go unchecked. They type of thing that happens when intelligent people let their poor judgement get the better of them. Rota, another student in Kochin's program had presented the same final that he had been working on for months, word for word. It is unknown to this day if Kochin was the sole proprietor of the work, or if he had been the one to steal the project and present it late. I know which one is true of course.

Rota stood high on the podium as the projector played out the first image on his presentation, an exact replica.

"Are you..!?" He quickly lit aflame with an outburst, drawing the attention of the class immediately.

Rota kept going but it wasn't enough as Kochin made sure that it was about him. Other members sitting idly in the auditorium flinched at Kochin's self-assured stance. Him standing almost knocked the two students next to him out of their seats.

"That's my presentation! Down to the minor details! He stole it!"

"Hogwash!" Rota called down, his red snout bobbing up and down once. "I've had it up to here with the discrimination and racism I've endured in West City. I thought this program was going to be more tolerable than that…"

After he pulled out that card, there was no stopping him.

Gero looked on with a bit of skepticism and unease as Kochin refused to let it go. The others in the class gasped at the feuding students.

"I'm not taking anything from this bastard!" Kochin hollered as he broke free from the seating and traipsed down the aisle, while pointing right at the red skinned hog man. "The next slide should be Red: Industrial Biotechnology and how to increase workflow!"

Rota's snout fired once and a hesitant hand hovered over the button, unable to move on to the next slide.

"See!? He's stalling! Click it, Rota! If you're not afraid!"

"Kochin!" One of the professors yelled from the sidelines. "I'm not hearing anymore of your outbursts, get the hell out of my classroom! You're a grown man, show some respect." He called out as he manhandled the 30-something, security guards surrounding him as the class looked on.

Later that evening.

"You want to do something for me, Wheelo?"

"What is it?"

"I've got a guy that needs to learn his lesson not to fuck with me. Are you interested?"

"Hell yeah! What are we doing?"

"We're gonna blow up his car."

Now under normal circumstances with reasonable human beings, this is a clear no-no. But these geniuses weren't normal human beings. The reason Kochin would even bring this up to Wheelo is because he knew who Wheelo really was: Not someone wholly disturbed, but someone who just couldn't say no to fireworks, a true Pyromaniac.

Wheelo couldn't even speak, but his eyes did all the talking for him as the words were choked halfway up his throat.

"Excellent."

Soon enough it was all over the news. Senior attendee at West City College, soon to be Doctor Rota was blown up due to a rigged car bombing just two days after a dramatic outburst from another soon to be doctor who claimed his final assignment to be copy and pasted wholesale. All fingers pointed to Kochin, and video evidence pointed to a young kid, not even 18, as cameras from the streetlights caught the adolescent fiddling with the engine the night before the murder. These two men were far too smart to do something so stupid, a bright future in tatters in pursuit of their free will.

BAH-BOOOHHMMM!

Gero and Brief watched on in horror, they were unlucky enough to see it happen in real time as they always arrived on campus early.

"Someone call an ambulance! Someone was in there!" A student cried as they ran far away from the wealth of fire and metal.

Gero and his friend could all but move a muscle, latched on to that sight for the rest of their lives as they saw a body burn to cinders inside the death trap.

Hours later.

Brief motioned Gero to the window of their classroom only to see Wheelo and Kochin put in handcuffs and dragged out to police cars.

"You think..?"

"I knew." Gero answered, shaking his head. "But I didn't want to believe it. This is all my fault."

"Don't say stuff like that, man." Brief comforted, putting his arm around Gero.

Years later, both of them having gotten their doctorates in their respective fields.

"I'm glad it's finally over." Gero stated as he yawned and stretched his limbs out high into the sky.

"What's your next move?"

"Get the hell outta here. I'm moving to North City, I don't really like where West City is going at the moment and it's gonna be cheaper to live there than it is here."

"But what about your androids? If you sell them in West City, the bang for your buck is gonna be way greater. The market's way larger than it's gonna be in North."

"Yeah… but there's just… I don't know… I just need to get away from it all, you feel me?"

Brief nodded his head.

"Good luck, man."

"Thanks."

And that was the last time Brief ever saw or heard from his three best friends at West City College. All bright men, the only one he knew to be alive or at least had hints of, that being the green bug that heavily resembled the sketches Gero had in his notebooks. Brief is brought back to reality.

"Dea'?"

"Hmm?"

"You spaced out on me again."

"I'm… sorry…"

"That's okay. You know I worry about you sometimes, I feel like you space out on me moa' and moa' every day."

Brief just looked to the floor as the program cut to commercial, Scratch scratching at his ear, beckoning for scratches of his own.

"There, there, Scratch."

Cell

"Hello?" Cell asked as he touched down in the middle of a humble homestead.

A woman with a dog raised a brow at the tall humanoid bug hybrid. Cell motioned over with a smile and an accepting body language. The woman maintained her skepticism as she sidled over on the tips of her toes.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Cell. I'm looking for a Dragon Ball." He got out The Dragon Radar and showed her the green scanlines inhabiting it. "It would appear that it is around here somewhere. Possibly even in one of your..?"

"Homes?"

"Yes!"

"What does a Dragon Ball look like?" She questioned with a bit of sass, putting her hands on her hips as her dog sniffed at Cell's yellow feet.

"Roof!"

"Settle down." She called out, the little grey furball heeding the orders.

"Well, uhh… a Dragon Ball is an orange orb with stars on it. The stars are red."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Why I think Jed found one of those Dragon Balls a while back now. It's in his house."

"Ahh, excellent. Thank you very much uhh..?"

"Judith."

"Thank you, Judith." Cell said cheerily as he stepped around the woman and bowed his head respectfully, the woman raising another brow at the black almost bowling ball-like appearance that was the top of his dome, housed in a V shaped cup at the top of his head.

The home was picketed with a white fence and rural dirt. Cell pranced up the two steps and knocked patiently at the door. Soon enough, a man with a scraggly mullet-afro and beard answered the continuous knocks.

"What do you want?" He questioned gruffly.

"I'm looking for a Dragon Ball. It's an orange ball with stars on it. I've been told by that nice lady over there-" Cell said while pointing his white index towards Judith. "-that you have it."

"She did..?"

"Yes. She said you had it."

"Hold on."

Cell waited with the door closed on his face for a while, whistling a tune as he stood on the porch.

Whum!

"Yeah, I do have something like that. Is this your dragon?"

"Yes it is!" He called out spiritedly, trying to grab the ball.

"Well I ain't givin' it away for free or nothing."

Cell nodded his head towards the ground in acceptance.

"What do you want for it then, sir?"

"We got a couple of varmits out the fields out back. We used to run extra crops over there and now it's all overrun with dinosaurs."

"..?"

"So I need you to get rid of them so we can grow our crops again. Any way you do it is just fine, kill em', whatever, long as they don't come back that's good enough for me."

"Okay sir, I'll do my best."

The man didn't respond, only closing the door in the bug-man's face one last time.

"Aright, that second Dragon Ball is right in my grasp! This shouldn't be hard at all considering the last one." Cell's chipper thoughts were quickly dashed as he flew high above the village and was reminded of the cold killing of a man in his own home that he committed.

Cell's negative thoughts swam away from the current, dragging them into clarity. The only thing stopping him from thinking about it was the fact that said dinosaurs didn't seem to be very far away at all from the village he just vacated.

"Is that what a dinosaur is? I guess I should have asked what they looked like."

Cell dipped down with his flight path until he grinded along the dirt and landed next to the herd.

Skfffff~

"Excuse me! I'm- Where are you going?"

The Triceratops didn't run away per se but they definitely didn't want to associate with the tall green bug-man.

"Sirs? Huh."

Cell was left to contemplate and walk the fields on his lonesome before he finally came across a humanoid-looking one, standing head and shoulders above the rest of the four legged creatures.

"Pardon me, but-"

"Hello."

"Uhh, hello." Cell greeted, all smiles with a wave of his left hand. "Are you a dinosaur?"

"Hah! What a foolish notion!"

"Sorry..?"

"Dinosaurs are what the humans call us, disgraceful really. Categorisation is what humans strive for in almost all things. We're Triceratops."

"Did you stamp out the extra crops that village in the back had?"

"Yes, that would be us."

"I've been sent by them to get you out of their hair."

"A man like you bends at the knee for humans?"

"Excuse me?"

The Triceratops King gave him a once over, examining the very tall, regal-looking bug-man. Green shell, black blotted spots all over his frame, a set of shiny black wings, a matching black chest piece with shoulders and a bit of extra armour just below the pectorals. Cell also had fleshy purples at the joints, shiny black 'boots' and yellow feet. They didn't really resemble talons, nor feet, they looked more like pointed shoes. After examining his physique, The Triceratops King looked him in the red eyes, looking upon Cell's white face adorned with purple markings on each side.

"You seem capable enough to me, I was just wondering why the approval of man matters so much to you."

"It is not approval I seek."

"Hah! Rich! What else would you be seeking then? Was it a trade deal?"

"Yes. I am looking for something called The Dragon Balls. There are 7 in total. I need to gather all 7 to fulfill my life's ambition."

"Ahh, respectable. Purpose. A valuable goal, sir."

"Thank you."

"So you aim to rid me and my people of this land?"

"Well not necessarily rid you. I just need to appease the farmer and his rules were just to have you off the land."

"That sounds like you're trying to perform pest control to me." The Triceratops King taunted as he checked his heavy hands. Cell's eyes sharpened, this beige coloured individual standing across from him boasted heavy armour wrapping around the totality of his frame. His face falling a bit at that fact ultimately also fell away as he strengthened his resolve and pointed at The Triceratops King.

"I don't want to have to fight, if I don't need to… sir. But I won't shy away from one either!"

"Look, if you want to scrap, I'm ready for any challenger. I'll honour your request to remove me from these lands if you win against me in a duel!"

"Deal!" Cell agreed loudly as he stuck out his right hand.

"Right on!" The King agreed, meeting Cell in the middle and shaking hands in a flourish.

The two pseudo-humanoids met hands and then backdashed abruptly, a small breeze of wind kicking off the both of them. Soft gales lapped and licked at the ends of the cornfield, stalks still forming would-be walls around the defensively plated dinos.

Cell VS King Triceratops

Objective: Win the duel to obtain The Dragon Ball!

"I'm just dying to see what you got!" His voice boomed, an authoritative speaking voice that punched above his weight and punctured into his subconscious.

Cell skipped along the flattened earth and battled against it with his quick contemplations.

"I've never lost a fight, I'll have you know!" Cell proclaimed as they skittered around the outside of each other's range, both gauging the distance. "How did that other guy punch..?" Cell's thoughts scrambled around in his subconscious as he ran through the motions.

Wsht-Fwof-Woosh!

Cell tried his best to think on the fly as the dino-man ran rampant towards his location. He stuck to his guns, evading until he had a solid idea. Other Triceratops filed in from the back and blocked off the only ground exit of the corn-stalk arena.

"Of course."

Overhand punches.

The King came in close, stopped on a dime, and stuck his arms out wide, wrestling style. Cell took the bait clean, lining up a committal overhand left. It missed like clockwork as The King sidled just out of range and tossed him over the top with an arm drag. Cell landed a bit dazed and pursued with another overhand but was cut off at the pass by a belly to belly suplex. He held on tight and slammed Cell into the earth, cracking the patchy dirt and dust.

"Uofff~" Cell groaned out. "That hurt…"

Interestingly, The Triceratops King backed up and allowed Cell to get up on his own, not pursuing any kind of advantage while his foe was down. The King instead stared with intent and let out steampunk fumes through his nostrils like an anticipatory bull.

Turururu~

Cell fluttered his black bug wings a few times as he stood up and cracked his back.

"Ouch." He got out through grit teeth as The King took on his low footballer stance once again.

"That all you got?" He taunted, pointing his three horns at Cell.

"I was just getting started." Cell taunted back with a grin.

Fwsh!

The King dashed in deep, dipping low to the ground with his stance as Cell held the line, bouncing on the balls of his feet. The Triceratops caught the midsection under Cell's black pectorals with his shoulders and hands, heaving and throwing the bug-man on his back.

WHOMPP!

Cell was dumbfounded at what to do as The King locked his ankles tight between his well armoured dinosaur armpits. The Triceratops surrounding the venue started stomping their feet with fervor as Cell went for a ride, spinning round and round until The King let go and tossed Cell skyward. The King launched from the ground, kicking up dirt and dust and meeting Cell in the middle, dropping an elbow from above.

WHAMM! Krunkle!

Cell bounced off the ground and rolled with starry eyes as The King crash-landed and stampeded at him once more. Blood trickled from cracked lips and his frame felt a bit funny during the retreat.

"Okay… think…" Cell thought to himself as the dinosaur cracked the earth with his charge.

The elbow drop, the spin, the arm drag, and the belly to belly. Cell didn't know the nomenclature but it didn't matter, with the perfect cells from Saiyans, Namekians, and Earthlings. Cell could instantaneously memorise any attack that made contact with his being.

The King whiffed big time with a right hand only to be arm-dragged himself, dumbfounded as he rolled off the earth and kicked up dust as he stood.

"He knows?" The King asked mostly to himself with a goofy smile before charging right back in again.

Cell met the charge forward with his own, trying to change it up, but The King had something waiting for him, sticking out his right arm to clothesline and stepping out to the left at the very last moment. The bug-man came into contact with the armoured arm of the dino-man and went for a ride as he tailspun and hit the ground hard. Cell kipped up quick and turned around. The King went for another lariat on the turnaround but no dice, Cell dipped under, kicked off the dirt with some speed and attempted a heavy haymaker at the back of the head.

DONKK!

"Oww!" Cell yelped as he grasped onto his hand, ghost white turned veiny and purple from blood and pressure.

The King just turned around and laughed.

"You're serious? Hah! Hah! Hah!"

The Triceratops lining the entrance and exit laughed and stomped their heavy feet on the ground in a cacophony.

"You really just tried to punch a Triceratops in the head? You're either way too wild or way too stupid."

"I see." Cell said to himself as he examined not only the dinosaur-man, but all of the weighty critters creating a lollapalooza of excitable in-pace bounds. "Most of his body is like armour. That's why he uses attacks like that. If he were to practice with his kin, he probably couldn't strike head on, he has to slam them or use their momentum against them in some way..."

The King came in close but backed off again. Cell mimicked the man's form, stepping forward and keeping his arms flared out in a wide formation.

"Are you trying to copy me?"

"Uhh~"

Cell blinked a few times in thought before The King just went for it, charging with the force of God behind him, shoulder checking Cell hard.

WHOKK!

"Uff~"

Cell hit the dirt but his wings flapped wildly like an insect's, bringing him off the level ground in no time at all. The King came back around with a chopping right but it only amounted to another arm drag from his opponent, this time from the air. The King tumbled wildly before crashing into the ground and cracking up the earth. Cell shot from the aether like a bullet to pressure but his foe stopped him dead in his tracks by pushing right at the armpits with a forceful two hands. Cell stalled before turning over from the thrust. As his legs winded into the air, The King caught them, wrapping them over his head, jumping way into the sky and then plummeting down with the force of a thousand suns into a debilitating power bomb.

Fsst! WHOOFF~ Fyuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu~ Buh-BOKKKK! Crackkkkle~

Cell's eyes widened at the maneuver and his back spasmed unhealthily as The Triceratops King backed away, arm high in the sky as his minions stomped their feet in glory. The ground was shaking in intense fervor and celebration as Cell couldn't do anything but crawl around. The pain pulsed from his backside and his wings wouldn't listen to him.

"What the..?" He groaned as purple blood trickled out of his nose.

The Triceratops King is unconcerned with earthly things, he could have easily dethroned Demon King Piccolo or won The World Martial Arts Tournament if he chose to but it never came to him nor challenged his lifestyle.

"Had enough?"

DOMTOMTOMMDOMTOMTOMTOMDOMMTOMMTOMTOM~

Cell could barely hear his foe over the racket and his own pain, struggling to both stand and comprehend.

"What..?"

"Will you continue?"

Cell brought up his hands and wiped at his nose.

"~Yhess."

"Alright then, your loss."

WHAPP!

"OOOOOOO~" The dinos winced as their King landed a brutal knife edge chop of the chest of Cell.

The spotted bug-man wheezed out at the simultaneously sharp and blunt force impacting his black bug chest. The repeated contact cracked the shell and purple ooze started spilling out of the crevices in his armour.

SMACKK! WHAPP! SLAPP!

Before The King could come through with the fifth, Cell came in close, slamming his beige coloured foe into the earth with his own belly to belly suplex.

WHOKK!

"Not bad." The King smiled before jamming a sharp angled elbow to the face of his enemy.

WHAMM!

"How am I gonna beat this guy?" Cell thought to himself as he fell onto the ground and bled blueish blood into the cracks of the earth.

The King popped his thick neck on both sides and looked down with an indomitable glare, his piercing yellow eyes shining even as he eclipsed the sun standing over his target. Cell scrambled to his feet, wings fluttering like mad.

Flutututututu~ Wsh!

Cell dodged a wicked shoulder barge to the outside and above, hovering over his adversary.

Zzz~Zzz~Flutt~Zzt!

His wings went ballistic, buzzing hard like a bee as he thought.

"Get down here!" The King screamed as he leaped like a hero, trying to lock Cell down with a chokeslam.

Woosh!

A swing and a miss as Cell weaved it just barely with his aerial advantage.

"Ahh~ I'm thinking too linearly." Cell thought out loud. "I'm thinking about trying to take away his advantages instead of playing into mine!"

Unlike The Z Fighters, or well anyone without wings for that matter; Flying takes Ki to use. Cell is one of the lucky ones in that he doesn't need to waste any energy trying to move himself along in the air, freeing up space for beams, Ki Blasts, or Ki Sourcing.

"Yes. You heard me correctly. Ki Sourcing. Unlike most creatures on this planet, Cell was cultivated with a perfect genetic lineup of genes that had already been exposed to Ki usage."

Like I said before, someone cannot use Ki Sensing to detect life forms that do not possess Ki, those are separate skills. Likewise, the first time someone uses Ki, their body changes permanently. Cell was conceived using the best Cells from already active Ki users. This kind of happenstance only occurs in God of Destruction or Right of The Strong level beings. The Cold Throne is so strong because those whose seeds are sown are strong, passing on the most potent Ki possible. Strength breeds strength.

"Ah-hem."

WHOMPPLE~

The King returned to the earth with a thud and stood there for a moment until his bleeding foe came crashing through, barely missing him by a hair as he ducked down. Cell made contact with the dirt and darted off as fast as could be with another haymaker. Cell did hit him hard but The King didn't really go anywhere, mostly accomplishing hurting himself in the process.

"That's right." He lamented out loud. "I can't hit him hard enough through the shell."

WHOKK!

The King didn't let up, smacking him one square in the jaw as he talked to himself in range zero.

"But what am I gonna do?" Cell mused as The King wailed on him, blood and bruises starting to pile up as he was flung towards the exit.

"Get back in there!" The crowd roared as they got on two legs and forced their heavy hooves on Cell's wings.

The bug-man stumbled forward forcefully, right into The King's arms as he grappled Cell's head and slammed him into the dirt with a headlock takedown. Cell didn't gasp or squirm too much, just kind of putting pressure on the hold while deep in the recesses of his mind.

"This guy is too tough. I don't have a way to break through… Unless I can produce enough power to break through his armour I have no idea what I'm~" The streaming thoughts had a glitch in the system as The King tightened the hold and cut off his extra breathing room. "Kuu~" He gasped just before The King elbowed his black solar plexus, forcing a huge cough and convulsion from Cell.

The King let the hold go as Cell laid limp on the ground, spitting out saliva and blood all the same. The ruler of the Triceratops motioned to the crowd, much to their dinosauric applause.

DOMDOMDOMDOMMM~

The ground bumped and jumped, amping up The King as he shot into the air like a rocket. The King stayed airborne for a long time, winding up a stalling delayed elbow drop from the aether. Cell turned over and looked skyward, reaching for anything left he had in his consciousness.

FOOSHHH!

The wind clapped and bellowed outwards, pushing away the clouds as he jumped off them and soared towards the Earth with a deafening finishing maneuver.

"There's only one option I have left if I want to win." Cell thought to himself. "I just have to give it everything I've got..!"

Cell set the trap by laying motionless on the ground.

Cell is not a normal mortal, he doesn't need to have practiced Ki techniques beforehand to conjure them. Already, Cell could almost perfectly Ki Source, something that none of The Z Fighters could do at this point. Perfect Ki Sourcing is a God-level feat, Cell is something else.

At the very last moment, the point of no return, Cell kipped up with his wings, charging an ethereal purple glow as he shot up and sent his left leg high into the sky, smashing it right against The King's forehead. The King stalled out for a long time, the shock reverberating and jiving the dino-man out like a puppet whose strings had been shook before he fell to the ground with a weighty thump.

"HUUU~" The crowd gasped with great disbelief.

Cell fell to one knee from the maneuver, blood oozing out from several places as his insectoid armour had been compromised all around. The King coughed up a lung as he turned over and squirmed on the ground.

"Damn~ Nice hit. Eh~Heghh!" He groaned and moaned with more mucusy rattles. "You win, damn."

Cell stood up tall, cracking his neck and wiping at the blood exiting all around his frame.

"You really roughed me up there." Cell said as he fell onto his ass and breathed out a heavy sigh. "Whew~"

"LIkewise." The King answered as he sat up himself, opposite Cell in his posture.

"So..?"

"Yeah~ I'll leave this place. Maybe I'm a little rough-and-tumble but we Triceratops are beings of honour. If we say we'll do something, you can bet your money we'll follow through."

Cell smiled wide at the prospect as his ex-combatant looked high into the clouds.

"Don't know where I'm gonna go next though."

"There are some nice mountain ranges all the way over in North City. That's where I was born."

"Really?"

"Yeah, lot of open space in the top of the terrain if you'd want to try and make it there."

"Maybe we will." The King said as the pain subsided at the sight of the shifting cotton balls atop the skyline.

Soon enough a sharp rattling noise broke the silence and the Triceratops broke formation as two men in lab coats walked into the flattened-crop clearing.

"Cell."

"Yes, Father?"

"Father..?" The King made sure to keep to himself as he eyed the old humans.

"Did you get the, Dragonball?"

"No, not yet, but I will soon. I agreed to-"

"So you don't have it."

"No, but it's-"

"Where is it?"

"Doctor, let me explain-"

"We didn't make you so that you could relay your plans to us."

"Of course, my apologies."

"Cell!"

"Yes, Father?" Cell muscled up as blood bled from his wounds and took a submissive kneel at the beltline of the man in the black hat.

"He's this strong and he's just a slave to these guys?" The King thought out loud. "Are these guys more powerful than they look or what..?"

"Why have you not absorbed this creature?"

"Well he's an honourable duelist. I finished my fight with him and so there's no-"

"What did I just say, Cell?"

There was a long pause as The King stood up and let out a heavy breath. Cell turned around slowly and met The King's eye line with a lacklustre intent about him. The King nodded his head.

"I see. It's not Your life's ambition then."

"..."

"I would say that I'm disgusted by people like you, but that's not true. I respect those who wish to follow a leader. What I am disgusted by is people who follow prophets they don't even seem to respect themselves."

"That's not true. I respect Father and Doctor Kochin greatly."

"Doesn't seem that way to me."

"Sorry."

"And absorb? What the hell does that mean? Are you gonna kill me?"

"..."

The King put up his dukes but it was to no avail.

Cell can passively regenerate, during both fights, he took the majority of blows but was still able to keep standing due to this fact. That little rest period they had beforehand made the difference much more stark in the damage they had both taken.

It was all over in one fell swoop. The King was on the ground in a broken heap, looking up at his foe-turned-friend-turned-foe.

"If you're not the strongest there is, what's the point?" The King asked as Cell stuck him with his long stinger appendage, draining the life out of the previously clay coloured dino-man until he was just a pile of dust and three gold bangles, nothing more.

"Good. Remember Cell, it is Survival of the Fittest."

Cell looked down at the three bangles in mourning, picking up the items with great care and deliberation.

"Right, Survival of the Fittest."