A/N: Hi guys, I'm back. Sorry for the long radio silence, but all kinds of crappy things happened to me all at once. Health problems, a computer that kept going belly up (Windows Vista was developed by Dr. Gero, I'm certain of it) and my favorite aunt who died of cancer after a long and unfair battle she couldn't win. I love to write, but the past few weeks were very rough and I just wasn't feeling it. And even though I started updating again, it might take me a while to get back in the groove. New chapters may be plenty or rare and in between, it depends on my mood. I hope I haven't lost too many readers over this hiatus, but some things can't be helped.


Chapter 6: Hidden Powers

In a heartbeat, Bunny's power was amplified by the 'fist of the worlds'. Her strength, speed, even her senses increased as she focused all of her energy in that single, crucial instance.

"KAIOKEN!!!" she yelled, her power exploding around her form in a violent, red-hot aura. Catching Cell completely by surprise, she lunged at the monster and landed a vicious kick on his chin. The creature was sent flying up in the air, Bunny racing after him with lightning speed. Before he could regain his bearings, she appeared above him, using both fists to deliver a hammer punch to his chest and sending him crashing into the pavement below.

"Kame…" she began to chant, cupping her hands. "Hame…"

Bunny prepared to fire the attack, when she suddenly realized just how high up in the air she was suspended. Her hands began to tremble, the energy gathered in her palms fizzling away.

Oh no, she panicked, her teeth chattering uncontrollably and the world around her spinning out of control. Oh no, oh no, oh no!!! HELP! SOMEONE GET ME DOWN!!!

In that split second she was paralyzed with fear, Cell dashed up and grabbed her arm, flinging her back at the Earth. Bunny snapped out of her shock and managed to land on her feet, back flipping out of the way just in tome to dodge the monster's lethal tail. The two warriors from the future now stood face to face, eyeing each other warily.

Kami… it wasn't enough! Bunny thought grimly as she struggled to catch her breath. But do I really dare go Kaioken times two? Mom told me never to go higher, but what other choice do I have!? Oh, crap…

"Tell me… Bunny, I believe it was?" Cell started slyly. "Why did you and your unconscious friend travel back in time?"

Bunny's eyes widened in shock and she wasn't sure if she should deny it or not. However, the monster quickly eliminated that dilemma altogether.

"Don't try to deny it, girl," Cell said, taking out a book that he had wedged under one of his wings. Bunny couldn't read the title, but she instantly recognized the cover: it was Tsuru's history book.

Damn you, crane boy! she silently cursed. Her rival had taken the book from his luggage at the diner in Nicky Town, but apparently had forgotten to put it back.

"And what if we did come from the future, huh?" Bunny narrowed her eyes, arching an eyebrow. "What's it to ya?"

"I'm simply being curious, my dear," he answered. "Which timeline did you come from? Mine, perhaps?"

"You're from the future too?!" Bunny blurted out, her eyes now big as dinner plates.

"You didn't know I came here in a time machine?" the monster frowned.

"Uh… sure I did," the girl quickly recovered. "I was just checking to see if you knew!"

"… What?"

"What?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I have no idea anymore," Bunny sweatdropped. "I'm sort of winging it."

"You're an odd one, girl," Cell said, then chuckled. "'Wing' our battle as much as you want, the outcome stays the same. I will find out how you learned the Kamehameha wave and even the Kaioken."

"I'll never tell you," Bunny glared.

"I never asked you to," the monster grinned, arching his tail so the tip was aimed right at her. "I can do more with this than just absorb someone's energy, my dear. Though I rarely go through the trouble, it is possible for me to absorb their mind as well. And you'll be honored to know that I'm quite interested in yours."

All blood drained from Bunny's face when the monster approached, his metallic footsteps sending shivers down her spine. She quickly took a step back, wincing as her muscled protested at even the slightest bit of movement. The Kaioken had really done a number on her body, and Bunny knew she was going to be sore for quite a while. Cell chuckled, as if reading her mind.

"It looks like that Kaioken did more damage to you than it did to me. I doubt you even have the strength left to …"

"KAIOKEN TIMES TWO!!!"

Bunny didn't know if what came over her was renewed fighting spirit or utter desperation. But whatever it was, it caused her power to explode and engulf her body in a fiery crimson aura. She blasted at the monster, her fists mercilessly jack hammering in his stomach. She sent Cell flying with a spinning kick, dashing after him and elbowing him in the back. She the jumped up, hovering over his fallen form and raising her hands above her head.

"TORTOISE TORNADO!!!" Bunny screamed as she performed her mother's signature attack, thousands of exploding ki-blasts raining down on the monster and shrouding the battleground in a cloud of smoke and dust.

Bunny smiled weakly as she dropped out of Kaioken, but her face almost immediately contorted in pain. Every millimeter of her body was in utter agony and her organs felt like they were going to burst. Spots began to dance before her eyes and she felt the last of her strength leave her. Bunny dropped to the ground, landing on one knee. Gritting her teeth, she got up again, but her legs immediately began to buckle. And still, even after giving her all at Kaioken times two, she could hear those horrible, metallic footsteps coming from the dust.

"No… this isn't fair… this isn't fair!" she whimpered, her face pale as death itself. "What the hell are you made of?!"

"The correct question, my dear, would be who am I made of," Cell said, grinning. "I am an android, created by the great Doctor Gero by fusing cells taken from the greatest warriors to have ever lived."

"T-That's a lie!" Bunny protested, her voice a pitch higher than normal. "Gero only made two androids, numbers Seventeen and Eighteen, and they were both destroyed by Trunks before he died of the mutated viral heart disease!"

This time, it were Cell's eyes that widened in shock.

"… Viral heart disease?" he blinked. "It seems that certain events in your timeline transpired a bit differently than they have in mine."

"No shit, Sherlock," Bunny sweatdropped. "What happened to Trunks in your timeline then?"

"I killed him, stole his time machine and came here," the android explained in a tone as if talking to a five-year old.

Bunny instantly believed him. She didn't know why, but she always had a feeling that grandma Bulma and her parents had been lying to her. But why? What were they hiding? What wasn't she allowed to learn!?

"Well, now that I told something about myself, why not return the favor," Cell suggested slyly. "Tell me… what is your connection to Kameko Roshi? The Kamehameha is a quite common attack these days, but the same can't be said for that Tortoise Tornado you just performed."

Bunny's initial reaction would have been 'bite me!', weren't it for her severely weakened state. Her first Kaioken had really done a number on her system, and following it up with a Kaioken times two, in hindsight, had not been one of her brightest ideas. The girl was clutching onto a lamppost for support, her breathing labored and her eyes glazing over as she threatened to lose consciousness due to internal bleeding. Bunny highly doubted if even her unusual healing abilities were a match for injuries so grave as these, but she knew she had to try.

"Kameko Roshi is my mentor," Bunny answered. "She and her father have trained me since I was a little girl and taught me everything I know."

Rather than denying everything and only increasing his curiosity, Bunny decided to feed the android selective parts of the truth. This would not only reduce the risk of future slipups, but it would also buy her precious time.

Barking dogs don't bite! Bunny thought feverishly. I have to keep him talking!

"Assuming Kameko did not start passing on her teachings before she left for this timeline, this must mean I perished," Cell mused, narrowing his snakelike eyes. "Otherwise she would have never made it back home alive."

"I wouldn't know," Bunny admitted, then sighed sadly and lowered her gaze. "Kameko never even told me she went to the past in the first place. I wonder what else there is I'm not allowed to know… and why?!"

She was talking more to herself than the android. Even though her head felt light from blood loss, her mind was still reeling with questions. Questions about her mother, Trunks' death, the timeline, and Cell himself.

"Well, I suppose I should proceed with caution then, until I have reached my perfect form. Fortunately, your energy shall help me achieve that goal much sooner than I anticipated. Though I assume you wish to use some of it for one last desperate attack?"

Bunny considered it, but knew that if she attempted to lunge at the android now, she would be dead before her feet had left the ground. Her vision was already blurring, and the girl began to realize that, even if her body could heal on it's own, it would take more time than she could ever hope to buy.

"I give up," Bunny sighed after a long silence, her voice not sad or angry, but just incredibly tired. "I wish I could run or go down fighting, but even breathing hurts like hell… So I guess I'm out of options."

"Indeed," Cell grinned darkly, raising his tail. "Well then, I'm glad you finally realize the futility of your efforts. Time to absorb…"

"Not so fast, stabby," she interrupted him. "Surely even you have some honor as a warrior? How about a last request?"

"That depends," the android folded his arms. "What did you have in mind, my dear?"

"Tell me everything mo… my mentor didn't," she pleaded. "Who are you? What are you?! Why did you come here, what is your purpose? What is this perfection you keep speaking of? And why is nothing in this messed up timeline what it's supposed to be?!"

Cell seemed to think it over, then shrugged his shoulders and lowered his tail.

"Alright then. How can I refuse a meaningless last wish?"

The android began to tell his tale, a story that went even beyond Bunny's wildest dreams. The more the android spoke, the more she realized her family had been hiding from her. She listened bewildered to Cell's stories about planet Namek, Frieza the Ice-jin and how he himself had been created from their cells. However, what fascinated her most was his tale about an alien warrior race called the "Sayains", of which her grandmother's husband had been the prince! Even Goku, the legendary warrior who had been trained by her grandfather, had been one. Though she had heard about the Z-fighters, her parents never mentioned that some of them weren't human. Accidentally… or on purpose?

Mom… Dad… grandpa… grandma… uncle Oolong… why didn't you tell me we aren't alone in the universe? Are you aliens too? Am I one? I love you and I wish I could trust you, but Cell isn't lying. I don't know why, but I can feel it. I can feel it.

"Well then, is everything clear to you now?" Cell said, snapping her out of her shock.

"Not yet," she said quickly when she saw his tail rising again. "Why did you kill Trunks and hijack his time machine? What did you come here for?"

"You're an inquisitive one, aren't you?" he chuckled. "Alright, I suppose I can answer this last one. The good Doctor's computer told me that absorbing human energies alone will not be enough to achieve perfection. In order to complete my evolution and reach my ultimate form, I need to absorb androids Seventeen and Eighteen. I've hunted all over the planet for them, but somehow I was always one step behind. After months of fruitless searching, I discovered that they had been destroyed by Trunks. I thought all hope was lost, when I learned that Miss Briefs had build her son a time machine. I killed him, took the contraption and used it to travel back to a time when my dear androids are still alive and well. And once I find the twins and absorb them into my system, I will be the strongest being that has ever lived!"

"But why?!" Bunny exclaimed. "With the Z-fighters dead and the androids destroyed, you were already the strongest one there in our timeline!"

"Because I can, my dear," Cell smiled cruelly. "Most likely it's the blood of Frieza and his father flowing through my veins, or that of Piccolo and Vegeta perhaps. Though I possess DNA from both good and evil forces, the computer made some genetic traits more dominant in my design than others."

Saiyans, Nameks, Ice-jinn, androids… I think my brain is going to explode! Bunny thought, then realized there was still one more thing she needed to know.

"One more question!" she yelped as the android poised his tail to strike. "Kameko… what is she doing here?"

"She came here to stop me, apparently," Cell answered duly, but Bunny could hear his patience was wearing thin. "And to warn Trunks of his imminent demise. Your mentor will fail though, I can safely assure you that."

Mom is going to kick your ass, or else I wouldn't have been born! Bunny wanted to yell, but she stopped herself at the last moment.

"Now then, enough of this chitchat. Let's end it here," Cell said, as he continued to stalk closer. Bunny desperately tried to move, but she felt her legs give out, her body sinking to the street. The girl weakly tried to pull herself up again, but her hand slipped from the lamppost and fell limply to her side. Bunny could only watch as Cell broke into a run, the distance between the rapidly growing smaller. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, bracing herself for the android's deadly tail.

Mom… dad… grandpa… I'm so sorry. I failed you all. Even you, Tsuru. You may be an asshole, but I'm sorry I couldn't save you… I'm sorry that not even my mother's Kaioken times two was enough to rid the world of this monster. What kind of Z-fighter am I if I can't even handle this sorry excuse for a science project?! Kami, what the hell am I doing here? What the hell were we thinking!? We got in way over our heads and now this timeline will be our grave. Bunny choked back a sob, tears flowing from her closed shut eyes. I just want to go home! she panicked, her power rising as images of her family and friends appeared in her mind. I just want to go home… I WANT TO GO HOME!!!

There was screaming, a blinding flash of light. Bunny felt her insides being rearranged, her stomach doing a barrelrol as her body was jerked out of harm's way by an invisible force. Suddenly she felt how the rocky surface beneath her feet was replaced by smooth metal, a bloodied hand being firmly grasped by her own.

"What…?" Bunny mumbled utterly confused as she opened her eyes. Her brain slowly registered that she was holding her unconscious archrival, who's body lay limply at feet. Her gaze moved up, where it fell on a surprised group of people that was staring back at her. Bunny blinked once, twice. Then her body finally gave out and collapsed next to that of her rival.