Cell

I landed next to 18 in the middle of a destroyed neighborhood, overlooking a huge spire under a clear dome. "Is that it?" I asked, startling her.

"Who-?!" she gasped, whipping around to look at me.

I smirked. "I suppose this is a different form than you're used to, 18."

She jerked at my voice. "No way-! Cell?"

"I'll explain later," I assured her. "But right now, we need to wait for my son's signal."

Locke

We landed and I let George down. He stumbled, still dizzy from the ride, then fell backward when he saw our target. "The hell is that?!" he shouted at the sight of the giant spire.

I stepped toward the force field and made to place my hand against it. It passed though like water. "Looks like those notes were right," I commented and stepped through. George hesitantly followed me. "Now, to draw attention to us." I flexed my muscles and took a breath. It only took a second this time, and I roared as I transformed into Super Saiyan Orchid.

"Aaaaugh!" George cried in surprise, then again when slots opened in the spire and energy blasts started firing on us. I grabbed his shoulder and used Instant Transmission to take us directly to the small door at the base. We rushed inside and slammed the door shut again. "Maybe a warning next time?!"

"Sorry," I panted, releasing my transformation. "But that should have given Cell and 18 time to get inside. Now we just need to catch up to them." We ran further into the spire.

A few minutes later, we came to a large room, with a huge monitor taking up one wall. One of the shadowy Androids stared up at it. "I see you've finally arrived," it hissed. "Too bad your plan was doomed from the beginning."

I jerked in surprise. "Huh?! How'd you know?"

The Android turned to us. "Allow me to introduce myself." He gave a short bow. "You may call me Oreg, Dr. Gero's final measure to defeat Son Goku and conquer the world."

"Oreg!" I roared. "You're the supercomputer running this whole thing!"

It nodded. "That is correct."

I shook my head. "Augh, never mind! How the hell did you know we were coming?"

It gave a brief laugh and pointed behind me. "I had a man on the inside." As soon as the last syllable sounded, pain shot through me as a purple beam burst through my lower chest. Blood flew from my mouth as I fell forward, slamming against the hard metal floor. "Excellent work, Sanow."

I struggled to look back, but George saved me the trouble by moving next to me and flipping me onto my back with a hard kick to the side. "G-George?" I grunted.

He crossed his arms. "Weren't you listening?" he scolded. "It's Sanow." He clenched his teeth, then a purple aura erupted around him. His armor and body started to grow, tearing through his clothes. His chest was covered in a thick layer of the bone-like armor, and his head was covered in a helmet of it, with two nubs like horns and a mouth guard extending up from his chin. The armor covering his feet gave way for the three-toed feet, each of which then sprouted two curved spikes on top. Blades extended off of his shoulders and forearms, and the tip of his tail was covered in bladed plates. The transformation concluded, and I stared at the terrifying new warrior. "You can thank Oreg for this quick boost in power."

I gritted my teeth. "George, why?" I asked. "What about Meadow?"

His eyes narrowed. "She's why I'm doing this." He unfolded his arms and held them out to the sides, in the pose Cell had demonstrated while telling me about Frieza. "All my life, my sister has been the only one who I've been able to count on. She doesn't see me as a monster; I'm her brother, and she's grateful for that. I'll do anything to protect her." Then he pointed at me. "Then you come along. You sweep her off her feet, make her feel like she's never loved anyone more. Then, to top it all off, you go ahead and knock her up! My baby sister! Did you even think about how this is going to affect her?! Huh?!" His eyes widened with rage. "How'll she finish school? How will Mom react when she finds out? And..." He straightened his posture and pointed one finger directly at my forehead. "How will Meadow recover after she sees the love of her life being dragged back to her, dead, by her cowardly brother, who couldn't do any more than salvage his friend's body from this God-forsaken place?"

"Is that your alabi?" I grunted. "Sounds pretty half-assed to me. And how do you plan on beating Cell and 18 all on your own?"

Oreg continued. "He won't have to. This building was only a trap for you; Cell and Android #18 will arrive too late. Imagine the look on my creation's face when he find's his son's corpse with a hole through his brain."

I gritted my teeth, but it quickly turned into a pained grin. "Sorry, but if I'm gonna die..." I started to push myself up, shocking the two. "... it won't be by you!" I struggled, but managed to get to back to my feet. "Now, I'm not sure what the hell is keeping Cell and 18, but I'm not going to let them down." I slipped into Noire Form, then went SSO. "I'll beat you into the ground!"

Sanow smirked. "And how? You're fatally unprepared, between that hole in your chest and your lack of fighting clothes. Seriously, why did you come in that?" I looked down at myself, not seeing any problem with my jeans, red tank top, and favorite white jacket... that was now soaked with blood.

"Oh, my god..." I hissed. "Why the hell did I wear this?" I shed the jacket and got into my fighting stance. "Man... George, I'm sorry about everything, and if it's any consolation, I checked through the notes, and you becoming an uncle isn't actually very likely anymore."

"But there's a chance."

"Yeah," I admitted. "I'm going to try not to kill you, because I don't want to do that to Meadow. You're right, George: you're her best friend; you always have been. But if I let Oreg have his way, this world will become a living hell, and I can't let the people I love go through that, including Meadow." He scoffed. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"You're made to be like a Saiyan," he growled. "You monkeys are bred for battle and nothing else."

I gritted my teeth. "You're wrong!" I stepped forward and pounded my fist against my chest. "I love Meadow with all my heart, and she loves me! I have a family and friends I have to protect! I won't let your screwed-up reality ruin that!"

Oreg chuckled. "You don't have an option. Sanow, kill him."

"With pleasure." He lunged at me, his fist wound back. I redirected his attack and went in to strike the new weakspot, but he suddenly slipped into his Noire Form and fired two eyebeams through my right pectoral. I hacked and faultered, giving him an opening to attack again. His fist caught my jaw and threw me up into the air, then I fell crashing back to the ground. "What's wrong, Locke? I thought you were going to beat me into the ground!" He ran up and made to kick me while I was down, but I spun and swept his leg out from under him. "Whaagh!" He fell flat on his back and I vaulted myself on top of him, knees slamming into his chest.

"You can't beat me!" I roared. "Give up before I have to do any real damage!"

He smirked. "Now tell me, who's the only one here who's actually done damage?" He shot another set of eyebeams through my abdomen.

"Aaaugh!" I fell back, clutching my stomach.

Sanow pushed himself up and planted his foot on the wound in my chest. "You know, most people with your injuries would be dead by now. But we aren't most people, are we?" He raised his foot and slammed it back down. I screamed in pain, and felt my trasformation flicker.

I gritted my teeth. "I didn't want to have to do this," I grunted. "But you're asking for it, so here it is!" Sanow raised his eyebrow, then I clenched my muscles. "Aaaaaaaahhh..." I started raising my ki, to the point that my expanding muscles irritated my wounds, but I pushed through the pain. "Aaahh!" I changed into my SSO2 form, the shockwave throwing Sanow back and propelling me back to my feet. "Count yourself lucky, Sanow; this is only my second time using this form."

His smirk returned. "Then you shouldn't know how to control it," he reasoned. "I still have the upper hand."

"That's what you think!" I charged two blasts in my hands, one purple, one hazy black, then brought them together. "Reaper Cannon!" The blast fired from my hands, moving quick enough that Sanow couldn't dodge. Instead, he caught it and started to push back. I started to add more energy, but my wounds were racked with pain as I tried. I wanted to push through it, but my body refused. I eventually released the blast and hunched over, panting.

Sanow waved his hands. "Not gonna lie, Locke," he laughed. "That burned!" He then pointed one finger at me and fired, sending a purple beam straight through the center of my chest. A torrent of blood erupted from my mouth and I collapsed. My form then expired, rendering me motionless. Sanow walked up and stood over me. "Don't worry: I'll take good care of your kid," he assured me. "No one is going to steal my sister from me." He raised his hand, charging a ball of red ki. It wouldn't even hurt me if I was at full power, but in my present condition, it was probably more than enough.

I'm sorry, Meadow. My eyes shut tight, bracing for the end. But at least I know Sanow can keep you safe. I have to at least be grateful for that.

An explosion interrupted my thoughts. My eyes shot open, taking in the shattered monitor, smashed interface and circuits, and Sanow smashed into a crater in the wall. Cell stood over me, still in God form, glaring at our fellow Android. "Stay away from my son," he warned.

18 ran to me and helped me stand. "Easy, kid," she advised as I tried to move on my own. "Those injuries should have killed you. The fact that you're still conscious, let alone alive, is a miracle."

"More like a design flaw," Oreg hissed as he formed from black smoke. "Cell... you look different than my data predicted."

"Oreg," Cell responded. "Cease this apocalypse now and we will let you live."

Oreg chuckled. "I don't think I have anything to worry about. You see, this isn't my true body; that is hidden somewhere much safer. And besides, you wouldn't stand a chance against it. Especially in three, two, one." As though on cue, Cell's flaming aura died, his hair changed from ruby to green-tinted black, his tail turned green, and his eyes returned to their normal lavender.

"H-huh?!" Cell grunted, feeling the transformation expire and wildly looking himself over.

Oreg cackled. "That's the end of your days as a God, Cell." Cell took a step back, scowling at the computer.

I tried to move to help him, but pain shot through my body, and my vision started to fade. 18 took notice. "Cell, we have to go!" she yelled. "He won't last long like this!"

Cell looked between us and Oreg, then placed two fingers to his forehead. "We'll continue this fight later, Oreg. But right now, my family takes priority." Oreg made no move to stop him, so he instantly teleported to us. "Did you bring any Senzu Beans?"

I shook my head. "Forgot. Sorry, Dad." Cell sighed, then reached out. But before he could make contact, a white blur slammed into him and hurled him across the room. Sanow came to a skidding stop a few feet away from us.

"Sorry, freak," he growled. "But he's not leaving here alive."

Cell struggled to stand, now outmatched in his Saiyanized Perfect Form. "Dammit," he grunted. "I can't fight like this. Maybe if I was a Super Saiyan, but I'm not."

Sanow laughed. "That's right!" Then he turned to me and 18. "Now then, on to you two." He pulled his arm back, then thrust it forward. My ribs broke as his entire fist pushed into my chest, but the skin held. Despite that, I felt my heart stop. The world became unfocused, to the point that I couldn't tell what I was looking at. The air vibrated and I felt myself fall, telling me that 18 had either retreated or been attacked. I hit the ground, but no pain came.

I stared at the blurry mess that was apparently the world as it started to fade. Here we go again. But this time, I'm too worn out to jumpstart my heart, and Meadow isn't here to make surviving a priority. I wish this wasn't how it had to end. Tears started to flow, even though I was trying to make peace with my death. I don't want to die... not yet... And I'll be killed by my future brother in-law. Well, I guess not anymore; I don't have a future now. And with all the things I've done... My grief gave way to panic as something occured to me. I-I don't want to go to Hell! I don't want it to end this way... Then my thoughts shifted back to Meadow, and the baby she might be carrying. No! I know I said I wouldn't assume she was, but I can't just ignore the possibility. If I die, and if she is pregnant, then that bastard will be the one raising my kid with her! I don't want him anywhere near my family! My vision started to clear as my pulse slowly picked back up. If I'm going to die anyway, then I don't need to hold back! I slowly floated back to my feet, blood spurting from my wounds. The others ceased their fight to stare at me with shock and awe.

I gritted my teeth as I forced my power to rise, despite my physical state. "Enough," I growled.

Sanow clenched his fists. "How the hell are you still alive?!" he screamed and hurled a small Death Ball at me. I smacked it aside, blowing a hole through the wall of the spire.

My eyes locked with his. "I'm not going to let myself be killed by you," I stated firmly. "If I'm going to die, I'd rather it be by my own hands." My power rose even higher, my body slowly transitioning to Noire Form and SSO2. "And I won't be dying alone." My ki rose higher than ever before, tearing my wounds even wider, but I forced myself to continue. My eyes widened with rage. "We're going to Hell together!" My vision was filled with sparkling purple light.