Trunks allowed for a small smirk as he clenched both his fists as his frame began to shake. Slowly the sky began to darken as the forest below began to quake from the pressure he was exerting. As the seconds passed his frame would begin to swell, his arms and legs rippling with thick muscles as his hair spiked wildly. His aura continued to soar higher. After a few short moments Cell's expression shifted from irritation to fear.

"But how? Where is all this power coming from? The data I have suggests that no one on this pathetic planet should have so much strength. " he growled.

Trunks finally ceased his display as he reached his ascended form. "Let's just say I've read your palm big guy and you have a very short life span. "

"What are you talking about? ?" Cell spat as he shifted into a defensive stance.

"I visited another timeline, a parallel world to this one. I know right now you want nothing more then to absorb Eighteen, but unlike in the past timeline there's nothing stopping me from finishing you here."

Cell smirked. "Don't underestimate me boy. I possess the knowledge of the greatest warriors that have ever lived. I will not allow my perfection to be halted by a mere child."

Trunks afterimaged, before reappearing in front of Cell as he planted his fist deep into the android's stomach causing the creature to double over in pain. "All that knowledge and even your perfection didn't save you from being destroyed Cell. "

"You lie!" Cell grunted as blood escaped his mouth.

Trunks smirked once more as he leaned in to whisper. "No I'm serious and to make matters worse you were destroyed by an eleven year old boy."

Cell snarled as he wheeled around and attempted to swing at Trunk's face only for the Half-Saiyan to stop the blow with the back of his arm. Despite this the Android continued to press against the Saiyan's defense. 'How is it possible for a Saiyan to be this strong? Even if he had years of training. I AM the perfect being.' his thought were interrupted as Trunk with a single motion broke through his guard, before appearing above him and dropping his elbow atop the android's head sending Cell careening into the ground below.

"How's the situation on Earth Kibito?" the Supreme Kai asked as he looked away from the information he was studying and up at his most trusted comrade and friend.

Kibito bowed his head. "It would seem things are turning in favor of the planet. "

Shin let out a sigh. "That's a relief. I know a lot of innocent people have died there, but it's ultimately a matter of numbers A few billion versus trillions of lives. "

"Agreed Master and we must find Babidi before he learns that Earth is his destination."

The shorter Kai nodded. "Agreed however we need help and I know where to look for it..."

Trunks frowned. 'As much as I'm enjoying this. I need this finish this quickly. I won't make the same mistake father made.' the half-saiyan thought to himself.

Cell panted deeply as he floated upward towards Trunks. Desperation was beginning to grip at the android.

"...Aren't you at least curious Trunks? Think of it as the true chance to test your full power against a worthy adversary. Will you ever have that chance again?"

Trunks laughed. "That line worked on my father in the past, but I know better Cell. While I too share his pride, I won't be consumed by it. I already told you...this ends here.." he said his eyes narrowing as he battered Cell's arm away, before he raised his foot kicking the android in the chin sending him flying upwards.

Cell glared down at the Half-Saiyan as he spit up some blood. "You foolish boy this is only the beginning." he roared as he brought his hands up to either side of his face.

'Oh no not this again!' Trunk thought as he at the same time slammed his hands together and began to collect a massive amount of Ki energy.

"Vanish Cell...Finish Buster!" he yelled as he fired a golden blast skyward at the android.

At the same moment a bright light errupted from Cell. "Solar Flaire..." the android screamed as Trunks was immediately blinded by the flash.

Trunks gritted his teeth as he tried to focus on his sense of hearing. He could hear a roar above him as he imagined his blast had made contact.

Then silence followed...

Several seconds passed and finally a minute until the Half-Saiyan regained his sense of sight. He pivoted around quickly, before scanning the air. He couldn't see any sign of Cell nor sense his presence. "Dammit is he actually gone or is this just another trick." he gritted his teeth as he floated upwards still scanning his surroundings.

"Theres no way to tell with Cell. If he is alive...he'll keep low. Damn him. " he grumbled under his breath.

Several minutes slipped by as the Half-Saiyan continued his search in Vain.

'Dammit no sign at all. I know that blast hit him, but I still feel uneasy. I hate this feeling of not knowing. I'll have to keep a close eye on Eighteen. If that bastard is still out there he'll no doubt try to find a way to reach her. It'd be easier to just destroy Eighteen that way even if Cell is out there he'd never reach his perfect form and if he is in fact dead then at least I could say I took no chances. ' he frowned as he continued to drift through the air.

'But mom would never forgive me. And I don't know if it's an act or not...but she at least seems geninune. Hell I don't know. ' he let out a sigh as he turned towards the West.

'I somehow pictured coming home and starting to fix things would be simpler then this.' he mused, before he rocketed through the sky.

Meanwhile in Hell...

An old man with a long beard and intense blue eyes stared transfixed at a crystal ball. "My Perfection creation destroy by a Saiyan brat? Preposterous." he mused as a scowl appeared on his face.

"Quite a creation indeed. Though it would seem his fate is currently unknown. Perhaps he still lives. If he arrives here shortly I suppose we'll know" A voice mused.

Doctor Gero tilted his head as he glanced over his shoulder a moment at where the voice had come from. There stood an alien humanoid that in some ways bore a similar look to his own, save he had blue skin, a visor where his eyes should be and an orange beard and mustache. "Who precisely are you? and why do you seek to bother me ?"

The man regarded him a moment, before speaking. "I am of a similar walk of life. My name is Doctor Myu. In life I dedicated my existence to building the perfect Synthetic being in which could destroy every remaining Saiyan that drew breath. In an ironic twist of fate I was recently killed by one of the surviving Saiyans. The Legendary Super Saiyan in fact." he mused as he folded his hands behind his back.

"Legendary Super Saiyan? Very interesting though it still doesn't explain your purpose here." Gero stated bluntly.

"Ah yes of course. You see as I understand it there are very few loop holes to escaping this place, however for scientists such as ourselves nothing is impossible. I thought perhaps together with our combined knowledge we could find a way to escape this accursed place."

Gero's eyes widened momentarily as he raised his hand to his chin as he was silent for a few moments, before speaking.

"There may in fact be a way out of this place and a way for both of us to achieve our mutual goals. It will however require us to move unnoticed by the guards and to began work on what was planned as my ultimate project."

"Ultimate Project? " Myu questioned as he studied the other scientist. "I was told by some of the other residents of this prison that this Cell of yours was your finest creation. Is he not?"

Gero smirked slightly. "It is true Cell is the greatest android I have ever made, however I had plans for a project I was never able to achieve that would make Cell's power look like an ant compared to a star. It was known as the Super Android Project"

"Incredible. If I may why did you never pursue this project further?"

Gero chuckled. "I was afraid. I did not possess enough confidence in the ability to control the being I was creating. "

"Then we shall take the necessary precautions. Do we have an accord Doctor?" Myu asked as he held out his hand.

Gero regarded it a moment as a smile spread across his face. "Indeed it's time we get to work. This will take some time to finish."

Eighteen had been enroute to West City now for close to an hour. At this rate it wouldn't be long till she was there. She immediately tensed as she caught a figure closing in on her at the edge of sight.

She relaxed marginally as she recognized the figure as Trunks.

Her eyes widened as the pair exchanged a look for a long moment in silence. "Is he finally?"

Trunks bowed his head ever so slightly. "...I'm not entirely sure. " he admitted as a frown spread across his face.

Eighteen's eyes narrowed. "I thought you said you had things under control? You either killed him or you didn't" she said simply.

Trunk clenched his teeth. "Look he blinded me at the last second as I blasted him. I didn't see him die but I couldn't find any trace of him."

"So what now?" The blonde asked exasperated.

"I don't take my eye off of you until I know for certain that he's either dead or still alive."

Eighteen rolled her eyes. "Didn't know I was your type. " she said in a sarcastic manner.

Trunks grumbled something under his breath to the effect of. 'Not if you were the last person on earth..'

"Look I'm not happy about this either. I just want this all to be over and not knowing if he's out there is going to drive me insane." Trunks added after a moment.

"I've been dealing with him practically on my own for the last five months. Sleeping is not easy anymore." she mused.

"Wait you sleep?" Trunks blurted out instantly regretting his words as the blonde shot him a glare.

"What you thought I just plugged myself into the wall to charge like a phone?" she said her words coated with sarcasm and perhaps a bit of hurt?

"No I just. Dammit never mind." he said as a silence fell between the pair for a few minutes, before the blonde looked down at Pan as a somewhat sad expression touched her face.

"What happened to her? How did she end up like this?" Trunks asked his voice carrying a somewhat hard edge to it.

Eighteen ignored his tone as she tilted her head to look over at the Half-Saiyan. "Apparently going blonde takes a lot of energy." she mused, before a hint of a smile teased her lips. "She actually saved my life."

Trunk's eyes widened. "She transformed? Mom told me she's not even five yet." he paused a moment, before continuing. "Why did you take her with you in the first place. Super Saiyan or not she's too young, you could have gotten her killed."

Eighteen frowned. "I take her with me because getting coddled all the time will get her killed. Even if Cell is gone this world still isn't safe, I've been trying to train her what happened back there wasn't suppose to happen."

Trunk's scowled. "Why do you even care? Six months ago you would have killed her like everyone else you did...like you did with her F-" he stopped himself as he gritted his teeth and looked away.

There was a long pause, before Eighteen broke the silence. "I get it. You hate me. I deserve it. For the longest time I justifed what we were doing because I didn't consider myself a human. I only thought of myself as a thing. It's part of the reason I hated Gero so much. To be so close to human, but still feel so different. I hated him for it. I hated that with the exception of my brother the only real emotions I felt were anger and bitterness. I envied in a way all of you, I thought what you had was impossible for me to have, I had no idea that beneath all the enhancements and cybernetics...there was anything else."

Trunks was quiet a moment. "You envied us? What doesn't that even mean?"

Eighteen sighed. "There were times I'd watch you and your master together, or you and your mother interact."

"What?!..I...guess that explains how you knew where Capsule Corp is, but why didn't you kill us then? Was it just so you could torture us later?"

Eighteen said nothing for a couple of moments. Finally though she found her voice again.

"I don't know looking back on it. Look I don't want to talk about it. Can we just drop it?"

Trunks sighed. "Yeah maybe silence is the best for both of us."

A few seconds passed before Eighteen spoke again though this time in a softer more subdued manner.

"I'm sorry Trunks." she said simply.

"Wait for what?" he asked dumbfounded. He'd have expected her to grow wings sooner than apologize for anything.

"I know none of this is easy for you. I can't imagine how I'd feel if the situation was reversed. I know you can't see it...or well believe it yet, but I'm trying. And though I know it wasn't for me...thank you for saving us both back there." she said as she offered him a small smile.

Trunk's mouth moved though no words came out for several seconds. Finally he managed to summon a couple of words. "Yeah...don't mention it. " he said as he rocketed ahead, before landing near the entrance of Capsule Corp. Eighteen hid a tiny smirk as she followed after the Half-Saiyan.

Bulma bounded outside her relieved expression apparent as she eyed Trunks and Eighteen, before a look of worry crossing her face as she saw Pan. She immediately strode forward. "Oh my god is she?"

Eighteen shook her head as she offered the older woman a smile. "You don't have to worry she's fine, just tuckered out. I guess playing hero took a toll on her." she mused.

Trunks watched with interest as the two women spoke. It was odd if he didn't know better his mother seemed quite comfortable with Eighteen. It was still jarring how much had changed since the last time he was home.

Bulma smiled as she ran a hand through Pan's hair, before she turned and promptly bolted over to Trunks as she threw her arms around him. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? I thought you were dead this morning then you return home finally and then you leave me to wait and worry all day long. "

Trunks allowed a small smile as he returned the embrace. "I'm sorry for making you worry so much mom."

"Is it over?" Bulma asked a hint of anxiety in her tone.

Trunk's expression darkened slightly.

"We're not sure...It's hard to explain I..." he stopped as his stomach rumbled loudly causing him to blush and eliciting a laugh from his mother and a snicker from Eighteen.

"Maybe we should talk over dinner then. I get the feeling it's been an eventful day for all of us."

Eighteen walked forward as she adjusted the girl into one of her arms as she fished something out of her denim jacket. "Here. I think this is what you were looking for." she said as she held out the small power core she'd collected from Gero's lab earlier.

Bulma's eyes lit up. "Lazuli this is perfect! We'll be space bound in no time!" she exclaimed with a smile.

The blonde merely smiled as she continued walking forward towards the door. "I'm going to lay the squirt down. She's still out like a rock. Then I'm grabbing a nice hot shower. I'll catch up with you both later." she mused as she strode forward.

Trunks blinked as he watched the blonde disappear out of sight. "I didn't know you two were this familiar and what's with that name?"

Bulma chuckled. "Like I said son. I lot has happened. We fell into a certain routine after a while. As for the name you'd have to talk to her about that. She just told me in passing one day that I could start calling her that instead of Eighteen if I wanted to. Sometimes I forget to though." she mused as she tapped her chin.

Trunks sighed. "This has been such a strange day. And now I'm stuck doing something I never thought I'd find myself doing." he grumbled as he walked towards the door after Eighteen.

Bulma blinked. "And what's that son?"

Trunks glanced over his shoulder. "Until I know Cell is really dead...I'm not letting my eyes of that And-woman." he corrected himself, before shaking his head as he continued walking forward.

"We'll be at dinner even if I have to drag her with me.." he muttered as he strode inside.

Far away in the still of the night a deep intake of breath could be heard followed by a flash of icy blue eyes as the figure rose to their feet panting, before snarling in disgust. "I AM WHOLE..."

The Semi-Perfect Cell stumbled forward a look of fury on his face as he nearly tripped on something in the darkened forest. Regaining his bearings he looked down and spotted the fragments of Android Sixteen before him. Parts of his torso and head as well as one of his legs and arms. "Worthless piece of junk.." he grunted as he held out his palm intending to blast the remnants of the broken android into oblivion but he decided against at the last moment remembering his predicament with Trunks. He tilted his head to the side momentarily a look of curiosity filled his features as he held his Tail out, before extending the tip. "If my design can incorporated Organic components as well as the inorganic components of Seventeen and Eighteen...what's stopping me from absorbing Sixteen?" he mused aloud.

His tail twitched as he piece by piece swallowed up every component of the Android he could recover. Several seconds passed, before Cell twitched violently as he felt his body responding to the components. His already large frame expanded further, but as the seconds passed his half formed began to fully form giving him a much more human appearance. He for the most part looked like his Second form save becoming even bulkier and his face and the rest of his body had adopted more human like qualities.

Cell's eyes widened in wonder as he stared down at his hands. "Incredible...the wonders of my design even amaze me. This is not my perfect form, but with it I will have Eighteen and then I will only continue to push the limits of my perfection. " he mused as he tilted his head to the side as he turned towards the north. 'Thanks to the information salvaged from Sixteen's databanks...there should be a few other androids in which I can assimilate into my design. When I'm finished I will have inherited each of Gero's lesser creations into my being. And once I've finished doing that...only Eighteen will remain and Trunks will be nothing to me anymore."

'Like I told you Trunks...this is only the beginning. But you will soon see the end.'

*AN*

I decided to alter a single thing for this set of power levels. The Number I had listed for Trunk's Ultra SSJ form will instead simply be his Ascended Form. The reason for this is because after being reminded this I do recall that there was a difference in the show. Trunks Technically could power wise match or even surpass Perfect Cell. However with the decreased speed it obviously proved ineffective.

Powerlevels:

After giving it some thought and doing some research on a few different sites I decided to come up with a basic list of powerlevels. By no means do I expect these to be 100% canon or right, but I figure it might help to have some sort of reference for comparison. I know Pan's might be a little high, but I figure that if Trunks and Goten of the main timeline can be become Super Saiyans at such a young age why can't Pan? Anyways the modifiers I'm planning to use for right now is this:

Baseform x50= Super Saiyan Powerlevel

Baseform x75= Ascended Super Saiyan Powerlevel

Baseform x100= Ultra Super Saiyan Powerlevel -Decreased Speed.

Baseform x150= Super Saiyan 2 Powerlevel

Again I know this isn't exactly right, but I just more or less wanted a means of comparing powerlevels between characters in this fic.

Semi-Perfect Cell 625,000,000 (After absorbing Humans and 17)

Semi-Perfect Cell 750,000,000 (After absorbing fragments of Sixteen)

Pan: Base Form: 4,000,000, / SS Form: 200,000,000

Trunks: Base Form: 10,400,000 /SS Form: 520,000,000 / Ascended SS: 780,000,000/ Ultra 1,004,000,000