Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or have any rights to it.

Trunks slammed his fist into one of the lookout's walls, luckily, he was holding back enough to prevent its destruction. The super saiyan was frustrated had been in a bad mood ever since he woke up one day after passing out on the lookout. "I can't believe how helpless we were!" He let out a frustrated sigh as everyone else stood back, allowing him a much-needed vent. "Those androids…they're far too strong!"

Trunks appeared to be cooling off, so Tarble decided to talk to him. "Trunks…if it means anything, I know that you're strong. Even if the androids are that much stronger than you, I know it's not impossible for you to catch up to him."

"Each one is twice as strong as I am," replied Trunks in a dejected tone. "It took the pain and suffering of thousand of people for me to even become a super saiyan. How am I supposed to bridge that kind of power gap?"

"I'm not sure how a super saiyan works," replied Tarble in an even tone, "but I do remembered what my brother…your father was capable of. While he wasn't a super saiyan, he could easily double his strength within a year. You, being his son, should have that same potential."

"I guess you might be right," said Trunks. "However, I don't think it'll be quite that easy for me. I know I can do it, but will I live long enough, and how many people will die in-between?" He clenched his fists as frustration returned to him. "I wish Gohan was here. If he'd been there with us, then we would've won."

"Don't think like that," came a voice from a nearby doorway into the palace. All eyes turned to see Piccolo walk out in front of them. The Namekian regarded Trunks with a mercilessly serious look. "I've known Gohan since he was a little boy, and I know that he'd never want you to have this kind of defeatist mentality."

"But-"

"Not buts! There's no point in thinking about what might go wrong!" Piccolo didn't bother addressing the obvious confusion from those who had never seen him, and continued his lecture to Trunks. "You're a super saiyan, so why don't you start acting like one. Vegeta never worried about what could go wrong when he was training to defeat his enemies and neither should you!"

Now Trunks felt ashamed. He knew that Piccolo was a veteran fighter and unlike his uncle, he actually knew how super saiyans behaved. He didn't bother apologizing, knowing that it would make him look pathetic and earn him another earful. "You're right Piccolo," replied Trunks with humility.

Piccolo's expression changed from harsh to a more passive look as he gave the super saiyan a nod of acknowledgement. "That's good, make sure it stays that way. He then looked up at the sky. "Kami's been telling me about what's been happening. I suppose those two power levels are Abo and Cado."

"They are," replied Tarble, who knew better than to question Piccolo's harsh lecture. "They're each as powerful as Freeza, though I'm sure we can handle them."

"We can," replied Piccolo, "but it's not because of Trunks being a super saiyan." He turned to Tarble and said, "When you said they were as powerful as Freeza, I think you meant his first form."

"Freeza has transformations?" asked Tarble who was clearly surprised.

"That's correct. Trunks wouldn't have known because he's never sensed Freeza or seen his transformations. I was there to see all but his first form, and Abo and Cado are weaker than his second form."

"I had no idea that they were still weaker than Freeza," replied Tarble. "I guess I began spreading drama for nothing."

"Don't worry," replied Piccolo. "Freeza's first form was the one everyone in the galaxy knew about. His other transformations were kept secret so it's unlikely that you would know about it anyway."

"They should be arriving soon," noted Kami as he stared relentlessly at the sky, already able to see the two spaceships. "They'll be landing in what used to be East City, though now it's a complete wasteland and there won't be anyone around to get hurt."

"That's good," replied Bardock as he tightened his headband. "We could use a taste of victory." Instead of using Instant Transmission, Bardock decided to fly to the area with everyone else, knowing that after the flight, the wait for Abo and Cado would be shorter.

"We should fly at higher altitudes," said Piccolo. "Even though we'll have them out numbered more than two to one, we can't afford an encounter with the androids. We're still not strong enough to beat them."

"Fine by me," said Trunks. "Besides, Android Eighteen will be especially angry if she sees you Piccolo. I'm not sure if Seventeen has told her about you being alive yet."

"I agree," replied Piccolo. "In this situation, it's always good to have the element of surprise." As the others began taking off towards the battleground, Piccolo turned back to Kami. He apparently wanted to talk about something without the others around."

Kami smiled, as he knew what was on his other half's mind. "So you want me to forgo creating a new set of dragonballs? What an interesting request. Why wouldn't you want them back? We might be able to use them to clean up the damage on Earth and bring people back."

"You know that it wouldn't be right to do that in this circumstance. The earthlings know that their loved ones were killed by the androids and that they would have to rebuild all their cities. Suddenly restoring them to their past glory would only confuse them. Besides, even if you just create them, the dragonballs might not be around much longer."

Kami closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them with a knowing smile, as if he had read Piccolo's mind. "I'll have to think it over for a while. I'm not ready to jump into it just yet. You should go with them. First, you will have to determine the extent of you own abilities."

Piccolo grunted in response before flying to catch up with the others. However, upon catching up, he and everyone else sensed a disturbance elsewhere, and Piccolo recognized the pattern from the information Kami had telepathically given him.

"It's the creature again," replied Piccolo. "It's attacking another town."

"I'll deal with it," said Trunks, turning super saiyan in the process. "You guys can handle Abo and Cado. I might be able to test the creature's strength a little more."

"Be careful Trunks," replied Bardock. "Remember to stay clear of its tail. I can absorb you through that. It's also very good at concealing it's power so don't underestimate it."

"I'll try not to," replied Trunks as he changed direction and headed for the nearby town. It was already deserted when he got there, though he still had an eerie feeling that something was still lurking about.

The creature, whatever it was, had hidden itself among the buildings, and Trunks would have to walk through the streets on foot to draw it out. He decided to conserve his strength by powering down. Perhaps if he suppressed his strength, he would be able to draw it out.

The beast stared at the half saiyan from its perch atop a nearby building. He couldn't see it, but he had an eerie feeling that something was watching him. The creature recognized the half saiyan, even though Dr. Gero's androids didn't have data on him.

"Trunks!" The beast hoped down from the building and licked its lips. "I'm glad that you came here."

Trunks froze before turning around to face the creature, instantly transforming into a super saiyan. "What…are you?" He was caught between disgust at the creature's appearance, and anger at what he knew it had done. "And how do you know my name?"

The creature chuckled. "Ah…I look forward to testing my strength against a super saiyan. This will be most enjoyable." It raised its tail, pointing it ominously at Trunks. "This will be satisfying meal."

Trunks wasn't in the mood for cryptic conversation and being left in the dark. "Answer my question!"

Cell wagged his finger at the angry super saiyan. "That would be telling, Trunks. I'm not going to reveal my secret so easily." He got into a fighting position. "But I will tell you one thing. I plan to absorb you into my being and your power will become mine."

"I won't let you!" Extending both his hands, Trunks let loose a powerful blast, blowing up the area in front of him. However, the creature had leapt into the air to dodge it, and Trunks pursued it.

"Do you really thing you can beat me? You're wasting your energy." It fired a one-handed ki blast at Trunks, but the super saiyan dodged and tried to land a punch, which it blocked.

Trunks engaged in hand-to-hand combat with it, and they both clashed in mid-air, causing shockwaves to shake the Earth below them. "You're strong, I can see why Bardock had to retreat from you." He then landed a kick to the side of its head, causing it to jerk sideway, though the creature was otherwise unharmed.

The creature chuckled at Trunks' shocked look as it righted itself. "Is that all you've got? You're not much of a super saiyan after all. I expected more."

Its words seemed to strike a chord in him, and Trunks felt his anger rise. I am a super saiyan! I won't let this freak insult me! With a battle cry, he charged forward to continue the fight.

Bardock could sense the fight as he, and the others approached the site where Abo and Cado's space pods would land. "He seems to be keeping up with it," said Bardock, "though I have the impression that it's holding back."

"It's beyond us right now," replied Piccolo. "We have to focus on Abo and Cado right now." The Namekian stared up at the two objects that were falling towards them. "There they are."

The space pods burned up like meteors in the Earth's atmosphere, but lost their heat as they changed course and moved parallel to the ground. They swooped in low, a few feet above the Z-Fighter's heads before coming to a landing several feet in front of them. The hatches opened and two fat aliens stepped out. They both looked similar to Dodoria, but with fewer spikes. One was reddish and the other was blue, and both on hand one external ear on their right, and a single small horn atop their head.

Piccolo was unimpressed by the two evildoers and their evil grins. So theses are Abo and Cado? They don't look so tough. Though they're definitely about as strong as Freeza's first form. They could destroy the planet if they had the chance.

"Better try not to let this drag out," said Bardock in a tone that only Piccolo could hear. "We can't risk having the androids show up from the commotion this fight might cause."

The blue one, Abo, grinned maliciously as he spied Tarble. "Ah…Tarble. You've found some new allies after giving us the slip. I'm afraid this is the end of the line for you."

Tarble knew that they could win, but he also felt slightly stronger after trying his hand against the androids. He knew that there were beings out there that were far stronger than Abo and Cado. "I'm not afraid of either of you. Besides, you had a two on one advantage then."

"I take it you'll fight one of them?" asked Tapion, who received a nod from Tarble. "Alright. Piccolo, Bardock, if you don't mind, I'd like to fight the other one."

"Be my guest," replied Piccolo, as Bardock shrugged casually in agreement. He and Bardock stood aside with crossed arms and Tapion and Tarble squared off against Abo and Cado.

Tarble leapt towards Abo and landed a punch to his nose, catching him of guard. The alien was disoriented as Tarble then phased behind him and sent him face first to the ground with a kick to the back of the head.

Tapion didn't bother using his sword as he dodged every punch Cado tried to land. Then he countered with a ki blast to the face. The alien cried in frustration as he backed away. Taking advantage of his opening, Tapion kicked him in the gut, doubling him over, before sending him into a nearby mountain with a roundhouse.

Before Cado could get up, Abo crashed into him due to being thrown by Tarble. The two aliens were surprised at Tarble's increased strength as well as Tapion's strength. On top of that, they knew that Piccolo and Bardock hadn't fought yet and were probably even stronger.

They were taken aback as they got up and realized that Tarble and Tapion weren't tired at all. Their opponents had them outmatched in fighting skill, though the brothers still had some tricks up their sleeve. The looked to each other and nodded before rising back to their enemy's level.

Bardock raised an eyebrow as he saw Abo and Cado seemingly multiply and surround Tapion and Tarble. "It's an illusion?" He narrowed his eyes before realizing what they really were. "Amazing."

"They can clone themselves," noted Piccolo. "We call it the multiform technique. It has a major disadvantage; the individual's power is divided amongst the clones, so each is considerably weaker. However the technique can still be used to confound an opponent."

Abo and Cado began laughing as they began flying around Tarble and Tapion in a confounding pattern. It was hard for both fighters to keep track of them. Abo took advantage of this and swooped in to knee Tarble in the gut, causing him to double over.

"Tarble!" However, Tapion didn't have time to react as two of Cado's clones each landed a punch to the sides of his head, causing him to drop to the ground.

"Hey! Try to sense their energy," yelled Piccolo. "You can't trust your eyes. Predict them by sensing their movements."

Tarble took a deep breath, trying to take Piccolo's advice and as he stared at the clones of Abo and Cado surrounding him. His eyes widened as he noticed something. What's this feeling? It's weird…I know where they are! He swayed sideways to dodge a punch from an Abo clone before sending it flying back with a punch to the face. The motion shocked his as he realized what had happened. I…I can sense power levels! He removed his scouter and let it fall to the ground; he wouldn't need it anymore.

Bardock looked up with a proud smirk. Look's like the prince can finally sense energy. He won't have much trouble tracking Abo and Cado now.

The two aliens stopped what they were doing and stared at Tarble in confusion. The saiyan didn't seem to be mesmerized by them anymore. However, they were shaken out of their shock state when Tapion erupted from the ground and slammed his leg into one of Cado's clones, knocking him into the others and causing them to merge back together.

"Look's like we've got this technique of yours figured out," said Tarble. "I don't like fighting, but I know that it is my responsibility to deal with you after you destroyed my wife's home planet."

Abo looked serious as his clones all merged back together. "We still have one technique left." He looked to his brother, who nodded. They both then hovered in the air next to each other before being engulfed by a tornado of energy, and when that had dissipated, a new being stood in their place.

It;s been so long since I last updated. I'm afraid that my college work will lengthen the time between updates. Anyway, I know that Tarble might seem out of character, but I'm making him like Gohan. I'm sure he'd be stronger after getting beaten up by the androids, and he'd be fighting Abo and Cado out of a sense of responsibility.