AN: Alright, just as I promised. Here's the new chapter and it's longer than usual, it's nearly 4000 words long. I hope you enjoy it and if you have questions ask away.
Everyone stared at the new arrival and 21 noticed the worried tone of Piccolo's voice when he spoke about whatever that thing was. Judging from Piccolo's tone, 21 knew that it wasn't friendly so readied herself for battle just in case.
"Okay... who's this freak?" 17 asked.
"Whatever he is, he's bad news." 21 said.
"You think so?"
"Be careful, 17. He's clearly an enemy." 21 warned.
"What's gotten you so worked up?" 18 asked.
"I don't know. The only thing I know is we can't trust that thing."
Piccolo and the Androids watched as the mysterious bug man chuckled before hopping down the hill. Piccolo watched nervously as it started to charge his power while laughing manically which for some reason frightened him. Though, she could tell why, she may not have a way to read power levels like 16 can, but she could feel the malice behind his power incredible. The mysterious thing fully powered up which caused rocks to fly every at high speeds. They watched as a golden aura surrounded him and he started walking towards everyone. Piccolo just stood there in terror as it walked by him but it stopped right behind him to say something.
"Oh wait, Piccolo. Just one more thing. This time, stay out of my way!" It warned him.
"You managed to power up more than I imagined. How many thousands of innocent lives did you have to sacrifice, Cell?!"
'Cell? That's what that things name is?' 21 thought.
"A few. Though, I say they should be grateful. I made them one with perfection." Cell said before continuing towards the Androids.
17 crossed his arms with a smug smile before he spoke up. "We were kinda in the middle of something here. So whoever you are, you'll just have to wait until I'm finished with him." 21 could tell that this Cell didn't care what he had to say while he lifted up his stinger-like tail.
"No, 17! Don't underestimate him! He's dangerous! He came here to absorb you! Move!" Piccolo tried to warn 17 but it was already too late as Cell began his attack by using his tail. Lucky enough, 17 was able to dodge it at the last second and Cell repeated tried to stab 17 but was able to dodge all of them. Cell grabbed 17's arm and slammed him into the ground while bringing his stinger tail inches to his body. Before Cell could do anything Piccolo kicked him in the face which made Cell jump back. Cell chuckled a little as he wiped his mouth from the attack he took.
"A surprise attack? Now that's just rude! Who is this freak and what do you mean he wants to absorb me?" 17 said.
"I'll keep it simple. You're looking at another one of Doctor Gero's creations built by the computer in his secret lab. Only he's not complete yet, and to reach his final form he needs to absorb you and 18 into his body." Piccolo explained.
"What was that?" 18 said not believing what she was hearing.
"Great! Another reason to hate Gero." 21 said.
"Yes, it's all true. Once I completed my design I'll become super being of unimaginable power the likes of this universe has ever known! Join me and help fulfill our father's lifelong ambition to create the perfect warrior." Cell said as he extended his hand up.
"I think I heard enough of this nonsense. Dr. Gero already created the perfect warrior. He standing right here." 17 said as he pointed at himself with an overconfident smile. "Why would I want to join with you?"
"What you want makes little difference. Like it or not, you will be absorbed." Cell said.
"We'll just have to see about that. Bring it on!" 17 said as he took his battle stance.
"No, 17! Retreat!" 17 and 18 looked shocked at Android 16 suddenly shouting at him to leave the battlefield. "His power is much greater than yours! You can not win! If we allow him to reach his perfect form he'll not be satisfied with merely destroying Goku, he'll destroy the entire universe!"
"He's more dangerous than I thought." 21 said to herself.
"Heh, how about that? You finally decide to open that big metal trap of yours and it's to tell me to run away."
"That overconfident idiot... he's not going to run, is he?" 21 said to herself.
"Not a chance! I don't run from anyone!" 17 said as he charged at Cell to attack him, but he dodged using his extreme speed which was a lot faster than what 17 could do. Cell easily overpowered him by elbowing him into the ground and Piccolo tried to stop him so he decided to join the fight but just like 17, Cell stopped his attack with ease. He grabbed Piccolo's leg and slammed his hand into Piccolo's chest which set him skidding across the ground. 21 watched as Cell walked over to Piccolo who was still recovering from the last attack. Cell kicked Piccolo with enough force to send the Namekian rolling along ground several meters away.
"18, you should run while you have the chance." 21 said.
"What? Why?"
"He's stronger than you and 17. He can and will absorb you if you stay here."
"I agree." 16 said. "It is true that if you and he are absorbed Cell will be unstoppable. This world will be his."
"What about you two? Aren't you coming?"
"He doesn't need me to achieve his perfect form... at least, I hope he doesn't." 21 said. "If it comes down to it, I'll try to hold him off so that you and 17 can escape."
"Wait, what?!" 18 was shocked to hear what she heard, she didn't think that somebody she met over a few days ago would do something like that for them. "Don't be so reckless."
21 didn't say anything else while she carefully watched Cell approach a heavy breathing Piccolo. Piccolo slowly brought his hands together until his fingertips touched each other and he started to charge a very large amount of Ki between his hands. 21 could tell from watching that this attack was going to be very powerful, maybe enough to majorly damage 17 or 18 if it hit them or even kill them, but she wasn't sure that it would be able to do anything to Cell. 17 quickly ran away before Piccolo could launch his attack. Piccolo fire that massive amount of Ki at Cell which was powerful enough to destroy the area in front of him. Once the dust and rubble had calmed down the only thing that was left in the area where Cell was stand was water from the ocean.
"They got him! I guess you were wrong." 18 said.
"No, negative. Cell did not take any damage from that blast." 16 said.
"I was afraid of that." 21 said.
Everyone watched as Cell slowly rose out of the water and just like 16 said, Cell was not damaged in the slightest. Cell slowly floated back to land before he started to walk towards Piccolo who wasn't really sure what to do next. Cell eventually stopped in front of Piccolo as they stared at each other before Cell glanced at 17 who was watching what was happening.
"Hurry 17! Ruuuuun-!" Piccolo shouted but was punched so hard by Cell that might it have broken his neck. Cell walked to Piccolo who wasn't even moving at all. 21 had enough of what she was watching and she shouted at 17.
"17! Hurry up and listen to him! Run!" 21 shouted before she looked over at 18 who was shocked to see how much power Cell had. "You too! Get out of here!"
21 gasped a little once she noticed that Cell was holding him and that he has blasted a hole through his chest. Cell chuckled evilly before he tossed Piccolo's body into the ocean and they watched as Piccolo's body slowly sank into the water. Cell stared at where he threw Piccolo into the water and he slowly turned towards 17 and he did what they could only guess was a smile which made 17 flinch a little. "So much for the mighty Piccolo. But what about you? Think you can do better?" Cell glanced over at 18 which she gasped once she noticed him looking. His power started to flare up as a golden aura once again surrounds him.
"17... what are you doing just standing there?" 21 said to herself as she got increasingly frustrated at 17's lack of action.
"Well, shall we get started?" Cell said before walking over to 17 to absorb him. "I hope you don't plan to resist. You're going to be absorbed no matter what you do, so why don't you make it easier on your self. I'll be with you shortly." Cell said as he once again looked over to Android 18.
"This bastard..." 21 started to clench her fist in anger, and for some reason, she can't quite explain, whenever she thought of losing either 17 or 18 got her even more anger. "I'll protect both of you. No matter what."
"No! Are you crazy!? We both saw what he can do. I doubt you can beat him." 21 didn't say anything as she stared at Cell who continued his advance towards 17. Eventually, Cell decided to pick up the pace and started to run towards 17 who was preparing himself for a fight. 17 charged towards Cell deciding to fight instead of just letting him absorb him. Once he was close enough, 17 jumped into the air and slammed into the ground where Cell was standing. The dust cleared to reveal nothing and 17 looked around for Cell when he noticed a shadow at his feet. He looked up to see Cell flying at him and 17 jumped back when Cell tried to slam his tail on top of him.
"You think I'm just going to roll over for you!" 17 said he tried to fight back but Cell completely overpowered him.
"Damn it! 17, why didn't you run?" 21 said.
"You're right. Maybe it would be a good idea to run." 18 said.
"Yes, go now. I'll stay behind. If both you and 17 are absorbed there will be no way to stop Cell from destroying this world." 16 said.
"So what are you going to do?" 18 asked.
"I will destroy Cell. The time for me to fight has come. My search for Goku will have to wait." 16 said as he started to walk to where Cell and 17 are fighting.
"Have you lost your mind, 16?! Don't go! Cell will kill you!" 18 shouted.
"Wait! You're not going by yourself." 21 said.
"21... you have to protect 18 in case things go wrong." 16 said.
"I know, but..." 21 said reluctantly.
"I'm glad to have met you. Thanks to all three of you, I've seen that the world is a good place." 16 said before continuing onward. "It was... fun travelling with you."
"Damn it, 16!" 21 said as she clenched her hand into a fist before she let out a huge sigh. "It's time for you to go, 18."
"Wait, what about you? Aren't you coming?"
"No, I can't leave 17 and 16 behind."
"What!? Not you too! Come on, Cell's going to kill you both!" 18 heard a light chuckle coming 21 and she wondered what got into her.
"You underestimate power. I don't know if it'll be enough to destroy Cell, but I know it'll be enough to give you and 17 enough time to escape." 21 said before followed 16 into battle and 18 could only watch as 21 disappear behind the rocks, she didn't know why someone would risk their life for someone they barely knew. 18 couldn't quite explain it, but for some reason, such action made her heart skip a beat.
21 ran past some rocks to find 16 had already engaged Cell in battle and 17 lying on the ground nearby. She quickly rushed over to help 17 get out of the area before he can be absorbed into Cell. She stopped right next to 17 and began to help him up.
"What are you doing here?" 17 said
"I came here to help you. Now get out of here! I'm going to help 16."
"What?! When did you and 16 become so crazy? He'll kill you! You're no match for him!"
"Hehe, actually, during the time you and Piccolo were fighting him I know how powerful he is compared to me. I say were roughly around the same in terms of power."
"That's what 16 said." 17 said, but he gasped once he noticed that Cell stabbed his tail into 16's neck. But from the looks of it, he couldn't absorb him and 16 smiled a little before he pulled Cell's tail out of his neck. 16 then proceeded to throw Cell into the ground before slamming his foot on top of Cell's tail. They all watched as 16 began to pull as hard as he could when suddenly he ripped his tail off which shocked everyone watching.
"There... now there is no danger of you absorbing 17 and 18."
"You haven't stopped me." Cell said as he stood up from the ground standing tall as 16. "I have Piccolo's Namekian DNA as apart of my design." Cell started laughing maniacally and started yelling for some reason they didn't really understand since it didn't look like he was powering up but what happened shocked 17 and 21 since Cell's tail grew back almost instantly. "I can easily regenerate something minor as a tail."
"Great! Now I really hate Gero!" 21 said as she decided to join in on the fight.
Cell charged up his power more as 16 flew at him to try and destroy him, but his attack was dodged. Cell was about to kick 16, but a boot to his face prevented it. 21 landed right 16 who was surprised to 21 fighting Cell. Cell started to laugh before he powered up again and charged at both 16 and 21. 21 charged at him too but was met with a powerful punch to the face. She was sent flying into the nearby hill and instantly 21 burst out of the rocks before continued her battle. Cell chuckled as swung his tail 21 but grabbed it and flipped him over and slammed him into the ground. Cell tried to retaliate but was met with a punched from a dismembered arm. The force was enough to send Cell flying along with the arm and it just happened to belong to 16 as he appeared right next to Cell. 16 grabbed his arm and reattached it before grabbing Cell and slamming him into the ground and tossing him as hard as he could. Before Cell could recover 21 appeared behind him and kicked him skyward and she appeared behind him once again. 21 repeatedly punched Cell in his stomach as fast as she could. Cell tried to stab 21 with his tail but she dodged it and kicked him to the ground. 16 decided to act upon Cell being kicked into the ground and he quickly picked him and slammed him further into the ground creating a small deep hole. 16 put his hands under his arms and detached them before pointing at the hole where Cell is. 21 landed right 16 and she held her arms up and pointed straight into the hole as well. 21 could hear something powering up coming from 16 and soon after a ball of blue energy appeared between 21's hand.
"Hell's Flash Fire!" 16 shouted.
"Haaaaaa!" Both 16 and 21 fired very powerful energy waves into the hole where Cell is. The amount of energy being fired into the ground caused an eruption of energy to pop all over the island. After a while 16 and 21 stopped their attack and stood there staring at the hole.
"Even with our combined efforts, I don't think that finished him off." 21 said.
"Yes... I agree." 16 said.
"Well... maybe we gave them enough time to escape." 21 looked around and to her annoyance, 17 and 18 were still nearby watching them fight Cell. "Damn it! They're still here!"
"What are you doing?! Run! You're not safe here, 18!" 16 shouted
"What is there to worry about? You just took care of Cell, I'd say." 18 said, feeling pretty confident after what she just saw.
"Negative! It'll take much more than that to defeat Cell! Our attack only slowed him down momentarily! Leave here while you can! You must 17!"
"Hurry it up! Cell must have already recovered! Get out of here!" 21 shouted.
"Seriously? After that humiliation he put me through you really think I would leave before I got some payback?!" 17 said. "You two messed him up pretty good, but I'm the one who going to finish this fight, got it?"
"Where the hell is he?" 21 said to herself as she looked around everywhere to see where Cell might ambush them.
"You hear that you freak! You're mine now! You still want to absorb me then come on I'm right here! I'm not leaving this place until squish you like the overgrown cockroach you are!" 17 shouted as all the Androids failed to notice Cell slowly appear from the hole behind 17.
"17! Behind you! Watch out!" Tien warned 17 who was watching the fight the whole time. 17 quickly looked behind himself but was too slow to react.
"So sorry to keep you waiting!" Cell yelled out as the stinger on his tail opened up and he shoved 17 into it trying to absorb him.
"No, you don't!" 21 said as she flew as fast she could to try and stop Cell. Cell looked 21 and before she could attack, Cell moved his tail in the way of 21. 21 hesitated for a split-second which Cell took advantage of and kneed her hard in the stomach knocking the wind out of her before kicking her away straight into the hill Tien was watching from. 17 tried to struggle but his fight with Cell worn him out too much to fight back. 16 tried to stop Cell as well, but before he could do anything to stop him 17 was already inside his tail already too late to do anything. 21 groaned a little as she stood up and she gasped in horror after realizing what just happened. She realized that Cell had finally absorbed 17 into his body and she watched as his body started changing forms.
"Run 18! We must get as far as we can!" 16 shouted as he ran towards 18, and he turned towards Tien and 21. "21! We must leave! And it would be wise for you to do that same!"
21 looked at her hands which her shaking in rage from 17 being absorbed by Cell. The rage kept building and building until it felt like it was going to explode. A white aura slowly started to flicker around her body until it was fully visible.
'What's going on with her?' Tien thought.
The white aura exploded and the ground cracked from the pressure but it instantly calmed down once 21 heard a very familiar voice. She looked up to see 16 picking himself off the ground while Cell, in his new form which was a little bit more humanoid than his last form, and 18 stared at Cell in shock. "That voice... it sounded like... 17..."
"Don't do anything foolish, 18. Listen, I didn't like the idea of joining Cell either. But I was so wrong. But it's great! You should let him absorb you right away! Trust me. You won't believe how incredible it feels to have this much power." 21 got even angrier once she noticed that 17's voice was coming from Cell.
"Bastard!" 21 charged at Cell who was just watching her, and once she was close enough 21 punched Cell in the face. 21 gasped in shock once she noticed her attack did nothing to him and Cell stared at her for a few seconds before being swatted away by his tail. 21 slid against the ground until she stopped near 18 who gasped a little once she noticed a small trickle of blood come from 21's forehead. "Damn it. He's way out of my league now."
"21, are you okay?" 18 asked.
"Don't trust him! That's not 17."
"Y-Yeah... I know... It took him." 18 said.
"Well, it doesn't really matter if you come willingly. I can close the gap with my new speed before you can blow yourself up."
"I'm sorry 18. I couldn't protect you and 17." 21 said as Cell slowly took one step at a time but before he could get any closer he sensed a power level above him. He looked up to see Tien floating above him who brought his hands together like he was preparing for a technique.
"Really? You must be joking. What do you think you can do?" Cell said as it looked like Tien formed a triangle with his hands.
"This! Tri-Beam Haaaaa!" Tien as a powerful Ki wave came crashing down on top of Cell. Once it cleared up, the spot where Cell was standing was nothing but a smoking crater. "Go! Now's your chance! I can't hold him out for long!" Tien noticed Cell was trying to fly out of the hole, but before he could Tien launched another Ki wave at him.
"Thank you..." 21 said before she got up and grabbed 18's wrist before running towards 16. "16! Can you still fly?" 21 asked.
"Yes, more or less." 16 answered.
"If it comes to it. We'll carry you." 21 said as both her and 18 helped carry 16 into the air and flew off to try and escape from Cell. 21 looked back at Tien who was repeatedly fired his attack to prevent Cell from getting 18. "I didn't really care about anyone, but I respect such a noble deed and I hope you live through this." 21 said quietly to herself.
