A/N: Enjoy! =)

Across Time: Eternal Hope

Before he could consume her, a foot to the side of the creature's head caused him to lose his grip on his precious prey. Cell did a backflip in midair and landed, his three long talons breaking through the ground, halting his movements.

Cell frowned as he glared nastily at the Namek who had just interfered. He stood erect, then throw a quick look at Eighteen and couldn't help but chuckle at her still form. She won't be paralyzed for long…

The ivory creature hopped out of the way of the Namek's incoming fist, quickly curving to the right when Piccolo threw his foot forwards, aiming for Cell's head. He caught him by his leg, throwing it aside as he did a spin kick that sent the Namek across the air. His wings buzzing to life, Cell leaped pass his foe, readying to drop an elbow on him, only to have Piccolo capture it instead. Getting fed up with this small fry, Cell showed a sudden speed increase, shocking the Namek as he was met with a bone crushing fist to his cheek, followed by a sideways kick to his ribs sending him smashing into the ground.

"Now stay out of the way Namek." Cell sneered, eyeing the seemingly lifeless Piccolo. He then turned around, making his way to the brunette Android.

Eighteen shut her eyes as Cell reached his clawed hand towards her. Instead of using his hand to take hold of the Android, he had to defend himself as the nuisance of a Namek was at it again. With his back turned, Cell lifted his arm, blocking the fist only to have Piccolo attempt to kick him shortly after. He managed to use his free hand to effortlessly grab hold of his ankle before thrusting his right fist to his foe's chest, sending him rolling across the ground.

Deciding that he had enough of the Namek's meddling, Cell turned and rushed towards Piccolo, who was just standing up. His eyes widened as a powerful kick to his abdomen send him into the air, Cell proceeding to phase out of view. Appearing behind him, the Android gave a right hook to his enemies' injured rib and well Piccolo would have gasped if Cell didn't deliver another hook, this time to his sore chest. He stopped his fall to the ground by grabbing him by the front of his tattered and tore upper gi attire, holding him in place.

"You are a pest!" Cell yelled as he started to hurl multiple punches and kicks at such an incredible rate, that it looked like Piccolo's body was flailing like a fish out of water.

Not too far away, Seventeen, who had finally managed to get back on his feet made his way towards his sister. He knelt down next to her, grabbing her shoulder as he then flipped her around so she could face him.

"Sis, it's me." Seventeen said when he saw that his sister was trembling within his arms. Starting to get feeling back in her body, Eighteen opened her jaded eyes and upon seeing her brother she smiled weakly at him.

"Eighteen? What the hell did he do to you?"

The brunette's right arm twitched at first, then flapped before finally flinging upwards…slapping her brother in the face. Regaining all feeling back, her left hand flew to her mouth in shock as she began to splutter apologies to her brother.

"What was that for!?" Seventeen growled out, using his free hand to stroke his sore cheek.

"I didn't mean to!" She giggled.

The blond couldn't help but grin, feeling glad that his sister was okay. His expression then sobered, his jaded eyes locking on Sixteen who didn't seem to be focused at all. In fact, from what Eighteen could tell, he was doing the same thing he had been earlier on, though this time his from seemed to be shaking.

Then his eyes snapped open.

"We have to leave now! There is something else here!"

The large Android's warning caused the siblings to instantly jump to their feet and make their way towards him.

"What-" Before Seventeen could ask his question, they saw a sudden ivory blur crash several feet away, the Namek landing near him.

"Get out of the way!"

As Piccolo cupped his hand together, placing them against his chest, a circular ball of yellow ki began to develop within them; it become larger and larger ever second that passed and at that moment the Androids knew that it would be in their best interest to listen to the warning.

When Cell stood back up, irritation splashed on his face, his orbs widened at the attack the Namek was creating in his hands.

"Light Grenade!" Piccolo roared out, letting loose the attack that skyrocketed towards his foe, the Androids diving out of way just in time as the attack slammed directly into Cell's chest, exploding radically, taking all of the land Cell had been standing on.

The area now completely covered in smoke and debris, all the three Androids and Piccolo could do was wait and see what the outcome of the Namek's attack would be.

Losses and Gains

They didn't have to wait long as Cell's unharmed figure drifted out of smoke clad area, his talons touching the terrain, his turquoise eyes almost laughing gleefully at the priceless look of astonishment plastered on Piccolo's face

"Not bad, Piccolo. That actually might have worked when we first met…but now-"

Within a blink of an eye, Cell was face to face with the Namek, who registered it too late as a fist struck the side of his head so hard, that a harsh snap was heard, making the Androids flinch at the sound. As Piccolo fell uselessly on the ground, Cell immediately plucked him up by the front of his gi attire, his evil smile never leaving his beak.

"You should have just stayed out of the way Piccolo. But oh well…hmmm I don't have a sword but I think this attack with do just nicely."

Using his upper body strength, the ivory creature hurled the Namek across the air and as his form sailed over the vast ocean, Cell extended his arms, did a series of rapidly hand motions before stopping, his hands now held out in the shape of a triangle.

"Burning Attack!" The ivory Android shouted, releasing the large round ki orb which slammed right into the Namek's stomach, detonating loudly.

The last thing that could be seen of Piccolo was the remaining half that was his upper body descend right into the ocean, sinking slowly until it was gone from view.

"Well that's that. Now where was I?" He murmured as his sights locked on the three Androids, who had just been too entranced with the Namek's demise to move.

"Oh yeah the absorbing. So…who wants to be first?"

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Gohan, along with everyone else's eyes widened, their jaw dropping as they all felt Piccolo's energy signature disappear. The Z-Fighters focus had switched to the battle when they felt Cell's power level skyrocket to new heights, far exceeding anyone else on the planet.

"No! Piccolo!" Gohan's exclaimed, tears beginning to stream down his eye lids as rage then filled his small body.

Goku, seeing his son's reaction instantly jumped onto his feet and wrapped his form with his good arm, holding him tightly as a means to keep him grounded.

"Gohan! Calm down!"

"N-No! I have to go and help!" Gohan shouted, struggling within his father's arm.

"Listen! Going down there will do nothing but get you killed! We have to wait our turn because if we don't even stand a chance against the Androids, then imagine our chances with taking on Cell?!" Goku reasoned, but his son would have none of that, his form exploding in a wild surge of power.

The sudden jump of power had literally blown the older Saiyan off his feet, Goku nearly falling off the Lookout.

"I don't care! I'm going down there and you can't stop me!" The half Saiyan roared out, his now long golden hair soaring.

Goku stared in shock when his eyes fall on his son's now turquoise ones, his body clearly struggling to retain the transformation. Upon seeing that Gohan's power was steadily rising, the Earth raised Saiyan transformed himself and leaped towards his son, only to have a bizzare jagged red spark of lightning strike his chest, causing him to shout in agony at the immense voltage shock he felt course through his body.

Bra's aqua orbs were filled with panic as she saw her mother, along with baby Trunks who was clutched tightly within her arms, fly right pass her. The female Saiyan took action by dashing well ahead of her mother; she sighed in relief when she was able to wrap her arms around her mother's waist, holding her tightly as Bulma held her baby. When she saw that the group got it together, she squinted, the powerful gust of wind giving her eyesight trouble. Her line of vision then dropping onto Goku. The older Saiyan was having a hard time keeping his feet on the white tiled floor, which was cracking from the amount of power that Gohan was expelling.

"Gohan! You have to stop! You're going to not only hurt us but destroy the Lookout!" Goku shouted, his golden hair wavering wildly; he used his arm to clover his eyes from the dust and debris that was ripping from the floor.

Holding on to Mr. Popo as he was one of the first to become airborne from the force that is Gohan, Krillin looked rather spooked as he saw blood cascading from the half Saiyan's eyes and nose, the red substance disappearing in the wind. But that's not what creeped him out the most, oh no, it was his eyes which were replaced by crimson red. The monk couldn't help but shiver as his eyes sort of now mirrored Frieza's. Something's definitely wrong if I just compared Gohan with Frieza…

"Go-Goku! Remember you saw this when you went through my memories! Stop him or he's going to kill himself!" Bra advised, her bluish-green tresses whipping at her face.

Not being able to take the pain that was ripping his body apart, driving him nearly insane, the son of Goku started to scream loudly, his voice reverberating everywhere and as Goku watched his son lose his mind he snapped. Faster than the eye could see, Goku jammed two fingers to his forehead and used Instant Transmission. Seconds after he vanished, he reappeared behind his son and gave him a heavy chop to the side of his neck, causing him to freeze. Shortly after his blazing aura extinguished, Gohan fell on to his knees, his crimson orbs fading back to turquoise and then to black, his small form flopping face first onto the floor.

As Goku eyed his unconscious son with concern, he landed near him and lifted him up over his shoulder. He sighed, reverting back to his base form.

"So was this the Super Saiyan 2 form you were talking about?" The older Saiyan asked, talking to the Saiyan Princess.

Placing her mother gently on the tiled floor, earning her a weak smile, Bra reluctantly nodded. "It is…but it's not right…"

The response she gave didn't settle well with Goku. "What do you mean?" he asked carefully.

"I mean that he has the traits of a Super Saiyan 2 except that his eyes should have been no different than a regular Super Saiyan's. Also, the red static that had surrounded his body—I've never seen that before…"

"And his aura…did you feel how dark it was?" Tien added.

Then all thoughts of Gohan's strange transformation flew out of their heads when they all heard Yamcha speak.

"Hey…is it just me or are there now two Cells?"

No one said anything, as they indeed did sense another Cell, though this other one seemed to be very faint.

"Oh Kami…" Bulma whispered, her form trembling as realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Once all eyes fall on her, she spoke. "So I kind of forget to mention that-that there was another cocoon not too far from the one Cell had come out of. I'm not sure if Piccolo was even aware of it, but Gohan, Trunks and I most definitely were. I guess they both forgot also and shoot I'm sorry you guys…"

"Well shit…" Yamcha cursed nervously.

The others couldn't help but agree.

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Watching from a well hidden place, Cell's Semi-Perfect counterpart grit his teeth apprehensively, his fist balled up so tightly that his sharp black nails nearly broke through his green skin. There were three things that were making him feel on edge, one being his sudden jump of power earlier on. He was concerned that that slip up might have alerted the Z-Worriers because after all, he knew they were well trained in that area, him having all their cells and whatnot. On top of that, his counterpart was stalking ever so slowly towards his preys, the hunger for perfection evident in his turquoise orbs. He couldn't help but agree with the brunette Android's 'ew' comment, stuttering unpleasantly as he watched his copy's tongue run over his upper beak with gusto. But that's not what was bothering him the most.

His strength…it has surpassed me completely… he thought nervously. Sure he himself had consumed his fair share of humans earlier on, however it seemed as if it wasn't enough. His doppelganger was showing to be a huge inconvenience and to think that it all had to do with the fact that he had simply absorbed the lavender haired Saiyan. Then again, if I remember correctly, Trunks could have definitely defeated me in this form during the fight with Vegeta in my reality before I reached my Perfect form.

So now the near perfect Cell was in a fork in the road so to speak. Either he waited patiently until his counterpart is in the process of absorbing one of the Androids, so he could use that distraction to get his own or jump in recklessly now and run the risk of getting clobbered by him. Briefly snapping out of his thoughts, he saw that his imperfect self was already on the move and just before he could land a blow on Eighteen, his chosen target, Sixteen stepped in, just as he expected since things are kind of playing out as they did in the reality he was in previously. The difference was, again expected, was that he was absolutely overpowering the large Android, laughing madly as Sixteen's punches and kicks failed to even graze his tough skin. What's worse was that he didn't even need to go after the other two, since unlike in his own timeline, Sixteen was actually absorbable here. And well, Cell didn't really think it was a good idea to let him do that because then he might be even more powerful than he was in his Perfect form! It's ridiculous!

While watching Sixteen's failed attempt to rip off his counterpart's tail, Semi-Perfect's choice was starting to lean more into just letting Imperfect consume one of them, in turn giving him just enough time to consume his own. Of course he knew that he would have to battle him right after because despite there being 'enough' for the two of them to become Perfect, he was not going to allow there to be two Cells.

No, that's unacceptable. There can be only room for one Cell!

With a firm nod, his choice finally made, he began to creep his way at a snail pace behind the unsuspecting Android siblings, who were completely engrossed by the battle in front of them.

As he got closer and closer, he couldn't help but wonder if absorbing Seventeen again was a good idea or not. Deciding not to test it unless necessary, he locked his focus on the brunette.

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Sixteen groaned painfully as Cell ruthlessly attacked his body with rapid punches and kicks, all but shattering both his arms, rendering them useless.

"Well Sixteen, you could have been left off the menu since my intention had been only to feast on Android Seventeen and Eighteen, but you just had to interfere didn't you? Dr. Gero most likely made you just in case one of the Androids were to be killed."

Sixteen said nothing, only growling as he thoughtlessly jumped at the ivory creature, aiming a kick at the side of his neck. Cell laughed at his pathetic attempt of an attack, using his right hand to catch the leg and Sixteen had to bite back a scream as the monster brutally twisted it to the left, snapping the bone in half.

"And just to keep you from escaping-" Cell curled his fist, then slammed it right into Sixteen's stomach, making him nearly vomit the bile in his system. After, he gave him a harsh blow to his forehead, sending him right into the ground, before grabbing his remaining working leg and snapping it with a loud crack. "There we go, now you're ready to be processed." He cackled at his own joke, his long tail extending over his shoulder while he hefted the limp Android by the throat, Sixteen jerking in a fruitless last attempt to break free.

"Any last words?" just as Sixteen opened his mouth to speak, his eyes half lidded with pain, the tip of Cell's tail expanded before sliding right onto his head, muffling his voice as he dropped the hand he used to hoist up the Android to his side. "Oops I thought you were done! Hehehahaha!"

Nearby, Seventeen could only watch in horror, his body still too tender to even try to save his comrade…not that he could make a difference anyways.

"Seventeen! We have to help him!" Eighteen's urgent demand caused Seventeen to tear his jaded eyes from the rather disturbing sight of Sixteen's form slipping deeper and deeper inside Cell's tail, the upper part of the appendage enlarging to fit the Android's big frame.

"The-there is nothing we can do…we should just leave be-"

"Ugh you're such a selfish prick!" Eighteen shouted, however she paused as she saw her brother's eyes broaden, a look of dread written on his face.

"Seventeen, you're freaking me out…what's wrong?"

The blond Android snapped out of his sudden odd trance and returned his gaze to his sister.

"Sis, do you even get the feeling that something bad is about to happen?"

Eighteen looked taken aback, finding the question extremely bizzare. "Uhhh sometimes… just not now…but forget that! We have to help Sixteen-"

"I think you should listen to your brother more often Eighteen."

At hearing the chilling deep voice behind them, Seventeen barely had any time to speak much less register the incoming green fist, which made friends with the left side of his cheek, sending him tumbling violently across the ground.

"Seventeen!" the brunette cried out, her shocked jaded orbs now staring at a large green figure, not unlike the ivory one.

"Smile for the camera!" Semi-Perfect shouted, spreading each of his hands to the sides of his head. "Solar Flare!"

Eighteen immediately stumbled back, shutting her eyes tightly as they refused to open due to the overwhelming brightness that was burning her retinas.

Seventeen, who instantly realized what that particular attack did, had flung his arm over his eyes, successfully avoiding the blinding light. However, upon hearing his sister scream, he dropped his arm to his side, only to see a wide tan funnel engulf a quarter of his sister's body.

"No! Eighteen!" the blond Android hollered with disbelief as he forced his body to stand with all his might, shooting off to Semi-Perfect in an attempt to save his struggling sister.

Within a few inches of reaching his goal, Cell, with his ever arrogant smirk, chuckled as he swatted Seventeen like a mere insect to the side.

Seventeen, landing in a crouching position, slammed a fist to the ground, rupturing it as he watched the two people he ever cared for literally disappearing right before his eyes.

The blond man's clutched fist loosened as he fell witness to both his sister and Sixteen consumed entirely by each of the Cells. The sudden fear and panic taking control of his emotions was so overwhelming, so foreign to him that he actually began to feel sick, vomit nearly spewing from his mouth. Though his eyes slightly moistened with tears, he stubbornly refused to let them cascade from his eyelids, blinking rapidly in order to get rid of them; the task was starting to become impossible.

"Seventeen, you never cry…so don't start now…" The defeated Android whispered as a means to encourage himself.

Then as his sister and friend were completely devoured, the creatures now encased in a luminescent light that brighten the dusk sky, a faint tear managed to escape his will.

A/N: Not a very long chapter, but I felt like I got the story moving in the right direction. More of Gohan's uncontrollable power and a slightly emotional Seventeen...I think it's understandable in this case right? But fear not, he will not break.

Anyhow, I'm sorry to say that I'm going to fall into the shadows again but I will return! Honestly, I don't know why but I swear my writing is declining in quality. I feel like my earlier chapters were better in writing but shit it could be me just being to hard on myself as always. What do you guys think?

Q and A (Can't believe I have any!)

Q: A good chapter filled with good comedy, and i hope that Cell will have what he deserves. All being said i wish you good luck and that you can update soon. Spencer :D

P.s: what are your throughs regarding Trunks/18 as pairing

A: It's just as cracked as Goku and Bra =) Worse because Trunks can't stand 18. But I've read a few good stories of them together.

The rest of the review questions I answered through PMs.

And as for the guest reviews, I would appreciate it if you'd stop spamming. I don't really understand why people want to do that, it's not going to make me update any faster. Calm down dude =)

Also for those of you who like lemons, I'm going to post one right after this. It's kind of a sequel to Gravity Tension, the name Hyperbolic Tension being an obvious indicator =) it could be considered canon to the story, since some of that is going to make it in this story, minus the lemon of course. Don't worry for those who don't like reading stuff like that, the emotional aspect of it will be here also.

Oh, before I forget, shout outs to Perfect Carnage and Foxstarkiller for helping me decide who should one of the Cell's absorb. I original had Semi-Perfect Cell consume Seventeen, but then after both your reviews, I realized that it would be too redundant to have Seventeen absorbed again in the same setting as canon. I always take readers feedback in to consideration if it seems reasonable, so seriously thanks you guys! =) I'm pretty much writing blind from here on out, though I do have a lot of parts planned for later use as I have said uncountable amount of times.

Later dudes! =)

(Posted: 3-6-15, Friday Evening)

~Gater~