Author's note: Ahoy! See? I'm starting to update more regularly. I need to get better about it though, sorry -_-. Now that Trunks and 18 have met Videl, the ball can get rolling. More Cell experiments, more insight into 18, and more Trunks being Trunks. On with the show!

Trunks and 18 were sharing a room. They found it a bit awkward, as usual, but thankfully it had two beds. Videl and the rest of the Red Shark gang had insisted upon the sleeping arrangements.

"Maybe you trust her," Videl had said, "But we don't. We want you to keep an eye on her while she's in our town, got it?"

Trunks lay there staring up at the ceiling, trying to piece together everything that had happened over the last few weeks. Everything still seemed so strange, but he actually found that he was starting to get used to it. That is, he was starting to get used to having 18 around. Realizing that, though, made him uncomfortable.

"Hey Trunks, you awake?" asked 18.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Did you..." she hesitated. "What did you think about her?"

"Huh?" asked Trunks.

"Videl," said 18. "What did you think of her?"

"Oh, Videl," said Trunks. "I thought she was pretty brave, all things considering. She hardly seemed scared of you at all."

"Is that it?" asked 18.

"No," said Trunks. "There was something else about her. Something special." 18 was silent, so Trunks carried on. "It was small, but I could actually feel her energy."

"So?" asked 18.

"So?" repeated Trunks. "What do you mean 'so'? Do you know what that means?"

"No," said 18. "I don't really know what that means at all, Trunks. I can't sense energy like you can, remember? I can only occasionally feel yours when you flare up."

"I see," said Trunks. "Well this is what it means: out of entire cities of normal people, I can only feel collective energy. Videl is the only person out of everywhere we've been that has actually stuck out. I could feel her over other people."

"So you're saying she's strong," said 18.

"Yeah," said Trunks. "I'm saying that she's really strong compared to the others. She has potential."

"How much potential are we talking about?" asked 18.

"Well," said Trunks, thinking about it, "if my guess is correct, she'd have about as much potential as maybe Yamcha, or Krillen."

"Those two?" asked 18. "Please, those two were weak. They wouldn't be much help now."

"I meant the ones that I knew," said Trunks. "The ones you fought were much weaker than the ones I knew, because I'd warned them you were coming. In fact, I'd say Krillen was able to keep up with the Super Saiyans up to a point."

"Really?" asked 18. "Hmm. He actually sounds a little useful then. At least as a distraction."

"You're seriously over there pitting people up against Cell in your head, aren't you?" asked Trunks.

"Of course I am," said 18. "I've seen what he can do. And you already explained that he's got Saiyan DNA, so each time you blow him away but miss some of him he just keeps coming back stronger. You would have had him last time if it weren't for that little creep."

"Nineteen you mean?" asked Trunks, looking over at her.

"Yeah."

"I honestly wasn't expecting him. I didn't even know he'd been built in this time."

"Gero was working on him when he decided to activate us," explained 18. "I honestly thought we'd reduced him to scrap metal."

"I guess we both made mistakes in that area," said Trunks. They were both quiet after this, each thinking about how things could have been different if they'd been more careful. The strange thing was that Trunks was having a hard time picturing things without 18 now. He kept thinking back to the 18 he'd met in the past. She'd turned out totally different. Did that mean that there was still hope for this 18?

Instead of just shaking the question from his head as he had been doing, he really considered it. It really was possible, he guessed, but he didn't know how likely. After all, she'd been doing evil things far longer than the other 18. But... well, so had his father. If Vegeta could change, could 18? He honestly didn't know. The only thing he was beginning to be sure of was that when the time came and he had defeated Cell, he did not know what he would do with the Androids.

"Did you think she was pretty?" asked 18.

"What?" asked Trunks.

"Videl," said 18, "did you think she was pretty?"

"I guess so, yeah," said Trunks. "I mean, I really wasn't judging her looks at the time. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering, I guess," said 18.

"Right," said Trunks, deciding it was too late at night to be confused. "We should get some sleep. We need to get an early start tomorrow."

"Agreed," said 18. "Good night."

"Uh, good night," replied Trunks.

888

Cell stepped into the canyon outside the lab. The sun was up, and so it was time to work. As he had done the other day, he concentrated on creating a new being. "HA!" he yelled, birthing a Cell Jr. out of his tail. He concentrated again, and created another. He repeated the process once more, and felt like he couldn't create another. He needed to rest for a few moments.

"Curse this imperfect body," he said, panting. "I must achieve perfection soon. This simply will not do." After taking a few moments to regain himself, Cell turned his attention to his new creations.

"Ha!" shouted one, firing an energy blast at another. The other one took it full in the chest and was knocked back. The third struck the first the second his back was turned, and laughed as he fell to the ground.

The second got back up and kicked the first. While he may not have intended to, he kicked the first straight into the third. This caused the third to throw the first into the second. This quickly escalated into a frantic, full on brawl between all three Cell Jr's.

Cell's jaw dropped as he watched the scene unfold. They seemed to be totally mindless! What use could these things possibly be to him!

"ENOUGH!" he shouted. The three instantly stopped, and if Cell hadn't been so furious with them he would have found the position comical. The first had the third in his grip, and had his fist back and ready for a punch, while the second was on the ground underneath the third, ready to kick the first between the legs. "This is no way to behave, boys. Now straighten up!"

Immediately, all three Cell Jr's were on their feet, standing straight up and at attention. Cell put his hand to his chin. It seemed they did have some discipline, and did follow his orders. He realized then that the small things he'd dubbed "Cell Jr's" were only living up to their names. They were acting like children.

"Boys," he said, "I need you to calm down and do as I say, alright?" All three nodded. "You are One, Two, and Three, got it?" He pointed to each in turn, naming them in order of their creation. They nodded at this as well, accepting their new names.

"Now," said Cell, looking from one to another, "One, I want you to power up. Power up as much as you can. Two, I want you to charge up an energy blast, and take a shot at me when I give you the signal. Three, you stand by for orders. Understand?" they nodded again and set about doing as they were told.

While Two began charging his energy for an attack, Cell focused on One. He found that even though their energy signals were nearly identical, he could tell them all apart. His eyes grew wider as One's power level increased. When the Cell Jr. finally peaked, he was at about Cell's power.

'Incredible,' Cell thought. "You may power down now." He turned his attentions to Two. "NOW!"

"HA!" shouted Two, blasting at his father. Cell braced himself for impact and found out immediately that he was right to do so. The blast hit him hard, and he had to concentrate energy towards his front in order to stave off injury.

"Very impressive," said Cell when his son's attack ended. Two grinned evilly, happy to have pleased his father. "Now Three, I need you to do something."

"Eh?" asked Three.

"Attack me." said Cell. "Right now. Only melee, no holding back." Three nodded and took a fighting stance. Cell took one as well, and One and Two each stepped back.

Three rushed at Cell. The second he reached him he began throwing a flurry of punches and kicks. To compensate for his lack of size, Three was floating in midair, which allowed him to punch and kick even faster.

Cell found himself actually straining a little to block all of the incoming blows. He looked for an opening and finally returned a blow, throwing a punch. To his great surprise, Three caught his arm and actually held him there, delivering a kick to Cell's head and sending him crashing into the canyon wall.

Cell got up and dusted himself off. "Very good," he said, wiping a small amount of blood from his lip. In a flash, he was on Three, punching and kicking away, this time forcing Three to dodge and block as fast as possible. Cell finally got a shot in, punching Three and sending him flying into the air.

Cell immediately pursued, and, before Three could right himself, bicycle kicked him up and round, sending him speeding back towards the ground. Just before he could land, Cell was there, and kicked him into the opposite Canyon wall.

The dust cleared, and Three pulled himself out of the rubble. One of the pieces on his head had broken off. Cell and the two other Jr's stood there, waiting for it to grow back. After a few moments, however, a startling fact was revealed. Cell Jr's couldn't regenerate!

When Three realized this, he began freaking out a bit, as did his brothers, and they all began shrieking. They looked for his missing piece and found it. To their horror, they watched it disintegrate. They looked to Cell, unsure of what to do.

"Hmm," said Cell, pondering this new piece of information. "You don't regenerate at all. However, as you are, you are each about as powerful as I am. At least there's that. Good job boys, you've made me very happy."

Their horror at their lack of healing abilities vanished as the three Jr's celebrated what was to them a great victory. Cell decided to keep them out for the day, to train with them and try and find the true limits of their abilities. Besides that, there was nothing else to do but wait for 19 to finish the blasted Android tracker.

888

Trunks and 18 were getting ready to get on the road again. Trunks had gone off to take care of a few last minute things, leaving 18 to her own devices for a little while. She wandered around the town, trying to look inconspicuous for a change. It was difficult, and many people gave her a wide berth. Finally, tired of being avoided, she walked into an alley where she'd noticed a fire escape and climbed up the later until she was at the third level from the top.

She watched people come and go, or tried to. It was much easier when people didn't notice she was there, but that didn't happen often. Suddenly, she became aware of a sniffling noise. It was coming from across the street, but she couldn't see from where at first. She finally saw a little girl across the street. She was crying.

'She must have gotten lost,' thought 18. She frowned. She remembered getting lost as a child. She'd had her brother with her, of course, but it had still been scary. She almost left her perch, thinking to go comfort the girl, when she saw a man making a beeline for her.

Seeing this made her suddenly uneasy. Did he mean the girl harm? Was she going to have to stop him? He reached the little girl and bent down to her level. 18, quick as a flash, climbed the rest of the fire escape and hopped to the top of the building. She ran to the edge of the building and jumped across the street. She had to get a better look at the man and the little girl.

She went to the edge of the other building, kneeling down and looking over the edge.

"What's wrong?" asked the man.

"I l-lost m-my m-mommy!" sobbed the little girl.

"Aw, you hush now," said the man, smiling kindly at her. "Here, come on, let's find your mama." Without another word, the man hoisted the girl up and put her on his shoulders. 18 kept all of her focus on the man, watching for the slightest sign of malicious intent. However, the man gave her no cause to worry. He began calling out to the crowd, looking for the girl's mother.

Soon, a woman rushed forward. "Mommy!" cried the little girl, leaping from the man's shoulders into the arms of her mother.

"Oh, I was so worried!" exclaimed the mother. 18 found herself smiling as they embraced, and smiling wider when she thanked the man for his kindness.

'Maybe,' she thought to herself, sitting back on the building and looking into the sky, 'maybe I had them pegged all wrong. Maybe some people are actually worth keeping around.'

888

They were on the road again. They had bid farewell to Videl, and Trunks had reaffirmed his promise that someday he'd come back to try and train her. 18 had offered to drive today, in order to give Trunks a break.

He had been surprised by her offer, but he accepted it without question. The ride was a quiet one at first, each of them keeping to their own thoughts. 18 was still happy at having seen what she saw earlier. It had just put her in a really good mood.

"You know," said Trunks, "I saw you today."

"What?" asked 18, snapping out of her thoughts.

"On that roof top," said Trunks. "I saw you watching that whole thing."

"You saw that too?" asked 18. Trunks nodded.

"Put you in a good mood, didn't it?"

"Yes, actually," said 18. "I just... I didn't think there were any good people like that anymore."

"And why is that?" asked Trunks.

"The same reason I have trouble trusting anyone," she answered. "Gero really messed us both up, you know."

"I see," said Trunks. He pulled something out of the truck's glove compartment. He turned it over in his hands a few times before offering it to 18. 18 looked from the road to his hands, but kept her attention mostly on the road.

"Open it and see," he said. She pulled over and took the thing out off his hands. Her eyes widened. A small, thin, square package like this could only be one thing. She opened it excitedly.

"You got me a CD?" she asked.

"A couple of towns back," said Trunks, "when I went into that store without you. It was from that band you liked."

"You cared enough to remember what I was listening to on the radio?" she asked.

"Surprisingly," answered Trunks. "I felt bad about the stuff I'd said. I got you that and just thought I'd wait to give it to you. Don't know why, really."

"Well thanks," said 18, genuinely smiling at him. She put the CD in, and began driving as the music started.

Trunks and 18 weren't sure about much, but at least now they were sure of one thing. The rest of this crazy road trip might just be bearable after all.

TADA! And there you go. Sorry for the wait, all. All in all, I'm happy with how this came out, I really am. However, things are only going to get more intense from here.

What will Cell do with his newfound powers?

Will Trunks and 18 continue to get along?

What will happen when 19 finishes the tracking device? Find out next time, on Dragon Ball Z!