Chapter 27: Cell

"How's it going?" Goku floated up to Raditz and Break, who were still sparring in the air above Kame House.

"It's hard to tell," Break replied. "We've only been training for a couple of hours."

"Actually, we haven't really started." Raditz shrugged. "I'm trying to improve Break's stance and technique. Your son did his best to teach her in the future, but he never really completed his own teaching before we died. And I'm going to need her to be a true fighter before we even think about reaching past Super Saiyan."

"Say what?" Break asked, rounding on Raditz. "You can't think about me so much! Do what you have to on your own!"

He held up a hand to try and calm her down. "Look, I know you've got potential. We can both surpass Super Saiyan, I know it. Just give it time…you're a quick learner. It won't take long to bring you up to speed." He turned to Goku. "Oh. Your friend died, right?"

"Tien? Yeah," Goku told him, suddenly feeling less optimistic when he remembered hearing the news.

"Are you going to wish him back with the Dragon Balls? Correct me if I'm wrong, but you'd have to use the ones on new Namek."

Goku nodded. "That's right. But we figure we'll wait until the threat is over, then bring everyone who's died back in one go. Otherwise, some emergency wish might come up, but we've already used up our wishes for a whole year and we're doomed."

"I guess so…" Break joined the discussion. "But what if one of the balls is destroyed, like in my timeline? Then you wouldn't get any wishes."

"We'll have to risk it," Goku decided. "It's worth having them in reserve in case something comes up."

"Oh! Goku." Raditz remembered something he'd been thinking about. "I want to ask you something."

"Huh? Okay, I guess…"

"If I die in battle…don't wish me back. All right?" He looked extremely serious as he said this.

"What? Why?"

"Nature has given us this one life, to live to its fullest extent. I don't want to have a free ticket out just because I know the world's greatest scavenger hunters. Look, the Dragon Balls can't be used on natural deaths, correct?"

Goku tilted his head back, trying to remember. "I…think so. Yeah, that's right."

"And let's face it, to people as strong as us, natural disasters and accidents aren't very threatening," Raditz continued. "The only death of mine you could reverse with them is a death in battle! But—that's the only death I'd ever accept!" He faced Goku, looking him in the eyes. "Understand?"

"I think I do." Goku nodded. "If you die an honourable death in battle, you want to be remembered that way—not cheat your opponent of their victory, and go out quietly in your old age. Right?"

"That's exactly it." He folded his arms. "My warrior's pride won't allow anything else! So promise me, Goku! On your word as my brother and as one of the last saiyans—swear you will never revive me with the Dragon Balls!"

Goku gave a thumbs-up, but his face was grim. "All right. I promise. Now I'm gonna go see what everybody's got planned. Good luck ascending!"

Raditz considered this as Goku left. 'Ascending'…hmm…

The light slowly faded, and Mr. Popo looked up. Standing opposite him, on the edge of Kami's lookout, was an almost-familiar figure. He was a Namekian, that much was certain. He stood almost a foot taller than Piccolo (who had already been over seven feet) had, and from his imposing musculature must have weighed nearly twice as much. He wore simple blue clothes, with Piccolo's symbol on the front and Kami's on the back, and had a stern expression on his face. Slowly, he turned to face the bewildered genie. "Do not be afraid, Mr. Popo," he said. His voice was strong but kind.

"Who-who are you?" Mr. Popo asked.

"Me? That's a very good question." The Namekian crossed his arms, furrowing his brow. "I am not Kami, nor am I Piccolo. I have not existed as one being for a very long time. I am the son of Katas. I am the Namek who has long since forgotten his name."

"So…what should I call you?"

"I'm not sure. It might not matter, anyway. You probably won't see much of me in the future." He shrugged.

"I won't? Why?"

The Namek smiled. "I'm not fit to be guardian of Earth. It's Piccolo, you see. His evil taint still resides within me." He said this jovially, as if commenting on the weather. "No, you'll have to find someone else. You know, you wouldn't make a half-bad guardian yourself, if you had a bit more self-confidence."

"I—" before Mr. Popo could speak, the Namek had taken off, his slipstream bowling his former servant over onto the floor.

The Namek flew through the air. Kami discovered a great and terrible evil during the last few days…but it's hard to follow. It masks its trail like a cunning animal…I can feel traces of it, where it's been in the past, but not where it is now. Damn! It's like trying to catch water in your hands! He flew onwards. It couldn't hide forever.

"Wait, what?" Goku asked.

"That's right!" Bulma held up the printout. "Look, it's a Capsule Corp vehicle! But I don't recognise the model at all…"

"And you say they found this in the middle of the jungle? How weird…"

"Yeah, it was covered in moss and stuff like it'd been there for years."

"Hey…" Break (who, along with Raditz, was resting inside Kame House after a few hours' training) leaned over, looking at the picture. "That's my time machine!" Everyone fell silent as she continued to speak. "But it looks so old…it must be from further in the future than I come from. I wonder who used it? Whoever it was, they blasted their way out—see that hole in the canopy, there." She looked up. "We should go check this out."

Raditz stood up. "I'll take you with Instant Transmission. We can't risk leaving a ki trail, one of the androids can sense us. Bulma, you should come with us. You know Capsule Corp technology better than any of us."

"Right." Bulma nodded.

Zarbon walked over. "Then count me in too."

"What am I, a tour bus?" Raditz muttered, as Break, Bulma and Zarbon all placed a hand on his shoulder. Still grumbling, he teleported them all away, leaving everyone else to wait for their return. Chi-Chi was upstairs disciplining Gohan, but the rest were just milling around, waiting for new developments. The world seemed to be in a strange state of limbo at the moment. They didn't really have a direction. Master Roshi sighed. "First the androids…now another time traveller…things are getting complicated."

"I know what you mean." Goku nodded. "I liked it better when it was simple. Androids are coming in three years, train hard, fight, win. Well, we did all that, but then more of them came along, and we lost. Only we didn't. We're still here. And now there's this." He scratched the back of his neck irritably. "I don't like this."

"Yeah, that's definitely my time machine—only not my version. My one's in one of my capsules in my pocket…" Break peered at the aged vehicle. "To see it in this condition…it's just creepy."

Bulma was examining it too. "Well, it's definitely a Capsule model. Looks like something we might come up with in a couple of decades, I guess."

"Yeah, you will." Break smiled. "You never failed to amaze me, you know. There were all these powerful fighters around, but it was still you that saved us nine times out of ten."

Bulma laughed. "Hah! Sounds just like me. Trust you fighters to get into messes you can't handle…still, I hope it doesn't come to that. If you can beat the androids in a straight fight, that'd be great. The prospect of trying to figure out a way to turn them off isn't exactly enticing."

Break shrugged. "Well, the future version of you has been trying for seventeen years. If it was possible, I think you'd have done it."

"Well, I'll still take a look at it if I have to, but let's just focus on this for now."

"Yes, let's." Raditz agreed, standing a few paces away (Zarbon was on guard duty, hovering about a mile overhead). "I'm already getting bored of this little field trip."

"Oh, hush." Bulma waved him into silence. "We're investigating the unknown. Go punch something or whatever."

"Huh!" Raditz scowled at her back as she turned to examine the time machine. "Did you come up with that all by yourself?"

Bulma ignored him. "Hey, Break! Give me a boost!"

"Uh, sure." Break hefted Bulma up until she could get a look into the cockpit of the time machine.

"Hey…what's this?" Bulma reached in and pulled out…something. Jumping down to the ground, she laid the two objects down in front of her. "Take a look. Is this some component of the machine?"

"No. I've never seen them before," Break replied. They were two identical, hollow hemispheres, light purple in colour and covered in small bumps. "Looks more organic than mechanical."

"Yeah, I see what you mean…" Bulma rubbed her chin in thought. "Almost looks like…two halves of an egg or something."

"An egg? Are you sure? What kind of creature would hatch out of that?"

Raditz spoke up, having wandered over out of curiosity. "Well, whatever it is, it knows how to work a time machine—or at least whoever put it there did. And this creature's been here, in our time, for quite a while now, if the state of the machine's anything to go by."

"But…why would someone put a strange creature like that in a time machine and send it here?" Bulma asked.

"I don't know and I don't care. I'm much more worried about killer robots that are actively searching for us than some mystery time-travelling creature that may or may not actively be a threat." He held out a hand. "Come on, let's go back. We're not going to ascend just standing here."

The small house on Mount Paozu exploded violently. Stalking away from it, android 17 ground his teeth. "They're. Not. Here." He complained.

Eighteen rolled her eyes. "Of course they're not here, Seventeen. It's far too obvious. They know we're looking for them." She shook her head. "You could have waited to blow the place up, you know. There might have been something worth taking. I could do with a change of clothes, for one thing—mine are still torn up from that last battle."

"Oh, quit whining," Seventeen replied. "If it means that much to you, we'll stop at a shop or something on the way."

"Let's just get going," she said. They returned to their stolen vehicle, where Sixteen was silently waiting for their return. He only spoke once they had started moving again. "I told you the probability of their anticipating our search and moving elsewhere was significant," he stated.

"You too?" Seventeen moaned. "Give me a break…"

I can feel Piccolo's spirit within me... the newly-fused Namek thought. Like a posion eating away at my good intentions. I will have to deal with that-but not like last time. I won't unleash that monster on the world again. Luckily, Piccolo wanted this threat eliminated as much as Kami-so I won't have to worry about that in the immediate future. I should focus on...there. I've found you.

He banked right, arcing down towards a small city called Gingertown. Human energy signatures were disappearing, one after the other. There were only a couple left by the time the Namek landed. This place feels…wrong. Like the town itself is sick. Whatever's killing this people, it's unnatural. The air seemed to hang thick and cloying around him, and he almost turned away at the sight of the inhabitants' remains. Of their bodies there was no sign, but their empty clothes lay scattered all around, like they had been sucked right out of them, or vapourised without touching the clothes. A few guns lay on the ground with them, spent cartridges dotting the road. They had fought back, evidently, but their foe had been beyond the level of mere firearms. If only there were more great fighters in the world…hm? His head turned as one of the last two human energy signals in the town faded. But at that moment, he'd felt the faintest flicker of another power. It had been small, but he knew it was just the tip of the iceberg—an extremely powerful being trying to hide itself. Without a doubt the culprit—he made straight for the town centre, where he'd felt the signal. Whatever it was, it wouldn't escape.

"There you are." The voice startled the creature, which was obscured by shadows as it crouched in the corner. This distraction gave its human victim the moment he needed to try and flee. He leapt up, terrified yelps escaping his mouth, and scrambled away, but something lashed out from the darkness, stabbing into his back. With a sick gurgling sound, the very life was pumped out of him. His skin began to wrinkle and crack, as his insides liquidated and rushed up the appendage. His skin soon followed, and his clothes sank to the ground, an empty husk. The Namek watched all this in horror, and took a wary step back as the creature emerged.

It stood even taller than he did, and was roughly humanoid, though otherwise it appeared to be somewhere between an insect and a lizard. It was coloured various shades of green, speckled with black spots and the occasional splash of orange. There were gemstone-like black circles in the centre of its chest and forehead, eerily reminiscent of Frieza's family. It had two horn-like protrusions extending at angles from its head, insectile wings stretching down its back, and a long, twisting tail ending in a needle-sharp stinger.

"What are you?" the Namek growled. "Why are you doing this?"

"Ah…" the creature hissed. "Picco—no. No, not Piccolo. Not quite." It blinked a couple of times, its eyes narrowing to slits. "Who are you?"

How does it know the name Piccolo? "I am the Namek who first came to Earth—I created Piccolo and Kami, many years ago," he replied. This was a test, to find out how much it knew.

"Ah…I see. They fused, did they?" it rasped. "Unexpected, most unexpected. But nothing to worry about…you are still no threat to me…still, what shall I call you? 'The Namek' doesn't really work, now does it?"

He smiled. "I've been giving that some thought, actually. And I've decided—I shall take the name of my father, the honourable Namekian who spared me from my home planet's catastrophe…you can call me Katas."

The creature opened its beak-like mouth, baring four small fangs in a strange sort of grin. "Heh heh heh…well then, 'Katas', let's get a move on. I know you're here to stop me, but you don't have a clue why I'm here…trust me when I say you have no idea what you're getting into. My name is Cell, and I am the last opponent you will ever face!" It crouched, like a spider tensing itself to pounce.

Katas waited for Cell's attack, dodging to the right as its tail lashed past him, demolishing the building behind him. He struck back, leading with a low kick that Cell jumped over, making a grab for him with both hands. Katas jumped inside its guard, punching Cell in the jaw and sending it staggering back. He followed up with an elbow jab, but swung through Cell's afterimage, his foe appearing behind him, spinning and knocking him through a city block.

Rising from the rubble, Katas scowled at the approaching creature. "You're right—I don't know why you're here. So why don't you tell me?" He raised his guard, waiting for the next attack.

"Very well. Your fused power is impressive, but hardly a match for my own, especially augmented by the people of this town." Cell laughed, a noise not entirely unlike styrofoam-coated fingernails on a chalkboard. "So I suppose you won't live to tell anyone else…I, Cell, am the ultimate creation of Dr. Gero!"

Katas' eyes widened. "What?"

Android 16's eyes flickered, concern briefly registering on his face. "I detect two high powers in combat," he commented.

"What's this?" Eighteen leaned back. "Who's fighting?"

"I do not know," 16 replied. "The energy signatures do not match any in my database, or any of the warriors I fought earlier. However, their power is in the region of yours—if not quite your equal."

"There you go." Seventeen smiled. "They're still no match for us, so it doesn't matter. I'm sure we'll run into them eventually…let's just focus on finding Goku, all right?"

"Which would be a lot faster if you didn't insist on driving the whole way…" Eighteen muttered.

"You see," Cell continued, "even now, hidden in a secondary, underground laboratory, Dr. Gero's super-computer is continuing his work. It is programmed with his intelligence and personality—for all intents and purposes, it is Dr. Gero, but without the limits of a human mind! I was the final product of this computer, the ultimate bio-android. I possess the ability to steal energy from others—something you'd know about if you watched the news. "Town emptied by mystery killer", that sort of thing, I'd imagine."

Katas frowned. "But how were you created in such a short space of time? Gero himself hasn't been dead for long."

"Well…I'm not from your time period," Cell replied. "But I know a little girl called Break, who owns a time machine. Well…I knew her. And now I own a time machine. Or I would if I had much use for it…but why would I? I come from a desolate future, with barely any life on the planet for me to absorb…"

"So you can steal power?" Katas spat. "I'd hardly call you 'the ultimate creation' just because of that. The androids from earlier were stronger than you."

"Ah, but that's not all, my friend. You see, I'm built from the combined DNA of the greatest fighters ever to grace this planet. Even yours. Not only that, I'm programmed with an innate knowledge of all their techniques! Let me demonstrate…" He raised two fingers to his forehead, electric yellow bolts of power arcing off of them, crackling loudly. "Special Beam Cannon!"

"What the—" Katas couldn't believe the amount of power being generated by the attack. "His power really is greater than mine…and he knows Piccolo's technique…" Cell released the attack, and Katas tried to leap out of the way, but Cell was faster than him. In trying to dodge, Katas manage to get most of his body clear of the piercing beam, but it shot right through his left leg, bringing him crashing back down to the ground. Trying to ignore the pain, he rolled to the side as Cell's foot came crashing down where his head had been. He pushed off the ground with his good leg, landing two solid punches that knocked Cell flying. With some effort, he focused his internal energies and regenerated the damaged tissue in his leg, allowing himself to stand again. All right…now where is he? He heard a hiss of a fast-moving object speeding through the air behind him, but before he could turn Cell was upon him, the whip-like tail curling around to Katas' front and stabbing at his chest. Katas ducked, causing Cell to stumble and nearly stab itself in the chest. It righted itself, but in its moment of hesitation Katas struck, another punch putting Cell down.

Cell dragged itself to its feet, a low growl coming from the back of its throat. "You're a tricky one…but your luck has to run out sooner or later. I'll drain your energy, just like all these humans…but how much more power can you offer me than those weaklings, I wonder?"

"Don't plan on finding out, creature!" A voice called, as Cell jumped away to avoid an energy blast. The smoke cleared to reveal Nail, both hands extended in the aftermath of his attack. He smiled. "So, I was right. It felt like a Namekian presence, but due to the distance I wasn't sure, so I came alone. I didn't want to risk everyone running into the androids…still, I have to wonder, who exactly are you?"

"Call me Katas," the larger Namekian replied. "I'm the fusion of Piccolo and Kami."

"Ah, so you rejoined! That explains it." Nail turned to face Cell, who was glaring at him. "Of course, that begs the next obvious question: who—or what—is this?"

"Calls itself Cell. It's another creation of Dr. Gero's—this one designed by his supercomputer in the future. It stole Break's time machine and came back here."

"Of course." Nail began to look wary as Cell advanced. "Nothing's ever simple, is it?"

"Your gallows humour is appreciated…" Cell hissed. "But your time is up!" It leapt at Nail, but Katas intercepted. Nail won't have a chance against this thing… He led with a high kick that crashed into Cell's block, shaking the ground beneath them. Cell countered with a quick swipe of its claws that raked strips of cloth off of Katas' shirt. He jumped away, hurling an energy ball to cover his retreat, but Cell knocked it aside without much difficulty. Nail ran at Cell from the side, trying to get in a sneak attack, but Cell noticed the attack coming without much trouble. It jumped over Nail's swinging fist, grabbed hold of his shoulders and plunged its tail into his back. Nail gasped as it began to pump energy out of his body. As he began to lose strength, he fell to his knees.

Seeing this, Katas acted quickly. His eyes flashed, two thin energy beams scything through Cell's tail, slicing it neatly in half. Cell snarled, spinning to face Katas as Nail dropped to the ground. Katas grinned. "No more stealing energy, Cell."

"You think so?" Cell replied, waving its cauterised tail-stump as if showing off. "Didn't I tell you? I have your DNA, Namekian. And that means—I have your ability to regenerate!" It grunted, and a new tail-end burst, dripping with gore, from the ruins of the old. Cell laughed softly. "How do you like that? Not that I needed it to defeat you…"

Damn! I'm not getting anywhere! Katas tried to think of a next move. Wait for more fighters to arrive? Who knew how long that would take.

"Haa!" Nail, using the last of his energy, was back on his feet and charging Cell again, but the bio-android vanished and reappeared on the other side of the town square. "Here's another technique I've inherited!" it shouted, forming a blue ball of energy between its hands. "Kamehame—HAA!" The beam shot from Cell's outstretched palms, smashing into Nail's unprotected form and launching him away. Katas flew over as he hit the ground, crouching next to his fellow Namek. "How bad is the damage?" he asked quickly.

Nail coughed up blood. "Doesn't look great." He was covered in scratches and burns. "You're not looking 100% yourself."

"I'm fine," Katas insisted, "but listen, there's not much time. Can you regenerate?"

"I've been trying…" Nail told him. "Managed to fix a couple of vital organs. But I used most of my energy throwing up a last-minute shield when that blast hit. Look, I haven't got long. It's drastic, but…there's a way one of us can make it out of this. You can beat that thing, maybe the androids too!"

"You don't mean—"

Nail held one hand up towards Katas. "Take my power."

"You want to fuse with me? You realise this isn't like Kami and Piccolo—we were never originally one being. You'd have to use me as a base, you'd cease to exist."

"I'm…dying anyway. I can't believe how quickly he beat me..." Nail glanced over to the side. "He's coming this way. Taking his time, showing off how he hasn't got anything to worry about, but…look. Together, we'd be far more than the sum of our parts. Trust me, the planet needs a defender with that kind of strength."

"I can't do it!" Katas protested. "There's evil in my heart—Piccolo was a testament to that. I try to do good, but the more power I possess, the greater the temptation to misuse it. Let's…use you as a base. You can take my power."

"No good. I'm too injured. Look at me, I'm a mess." Nail smiled. "Look, the fact that you even considered sacrificing yourself and letting me be the base is proof that, at heart, you're a noble being. You are fit to be this planet's guardian. Just have faith in yourself…" he raised a hand, and Katas took it.

"…All right. I won't forget you, Nail." A blue glow began to envelop the two of them.

"What's this?" Cell stopped his approach, examining the situation. "Oh, I see…Nail is just giving Katas what little ki he has left. Well, it still won't make him my equal." He decided to wait—if they had false hope, their defeat would be all the sweeter-and more energy to be drained was a good thing, of course.

Just as Nail prepared to transform his essence into pure energy and pour it into Katas, the other Namek grinned. "I'm sorry my second stay on this planet was so short…I wish I could've been around longer."

"What?" Nail gasped.

"With this energy, you should be able to heal yourself and still win the fight, no problem."

"What are you talking about?" He's reversing the fusion—giving his life for me! Nail realised. He tried to fight it, but Katas' spirit was stronger, and there wasn't anything Nail could to to stop him.

"You can defeat Cell—and with this act, I can finally rid the world of Piccolo. Good luck…"

"No—" The light grew to blinding intensity, and Cell stepped away involuntarily.

"What are they doing?!" In his timeline, no Nameks had ever fused together—this was entirely new to him.

The light receded, revealing Nail, lying alone on the ground. He could feel Katas' essence—containing both Piccolo and Kami—fading into his subconscious. "You…stubborn bastard!" Gritting his teeth, Nail forced rejuvenating energy throughout his entire body, knitting flesh back together, re-setting bones and smoothing over burns. He stood up slowly, turning to face Cell. Another quick burst of light, and his clothes were remade anew. Kami's symbol was branded onto the back of his jacket. He turned to face Cell, his eyes burning.

"Your power…what did you do? Where did the other one go?" Cell demanded. His response came in the form of a fist to the gut, driving him to his knees. Nail followed up with an uppercut that knocked Cell flat on his back. Cell sprang back up, charging Nail, but the newly-fused Namekian dodged its attacks with little effort, kicking it into the air.

Cell gasped for air, feeling its bruises throbbing as painful reminders of the sudden turnaround. "I won't forget this! I'll return, and you will die! You-the saiyans-the humans-all of you!"

"You're not going anywhere," Nail told it.

"So you say…" Cell raised both hands to its forehead, splaying out its eight fingers. "Solar Flare!" The sudden burst of light burned into Nail's eyes, blinding him. By the time he could see again, Cell was gone, its ki signature hidden. "Aagh!" I should have expected this!

Goku landed in the town, now almost reduced to rubble from the intensity of the battle. "Hey Nail, what's going on? I felt some huge powers—something a bit like Piccolo's, but not as evil, fighting, well…first it felt like it was fighting Piccolo himself…then me—and then Tien. What happened?"

Nail sighed. "Let's get back to the others. I'd rather not tell this twice."

"And we never even got to meet this Katas guy?" Krillin, back at Kame House, lamented. "Ah, that sucks." Plus, we're gonna have to rely on our friends over on new Namek for Dragon Balls now—Kami and Piccolo fusing would have got rid of them, from what Kami told us when we were training for that year under him…

"Well, he is a part of me now," Nail told him. "He was noble, despite his flaws, and we should remember his sacrifice."

"Hmm…" Chi-Chi was next to speak, sitting protectively next to Gohan (who was-grudgingly-doing his homework). "The androids are looking for Goku, right?"

"Seems that way," Master Roshi answered.

"So," she said, "if they're programmed with all this knowledge like you said, they'll know where we live. They'll head to Mount Paozu first, and since we're not there, they'll come to the next most likely place…"

"Here," Raditz finished. "We should move, and soon. Kame House won't be safe anymore."

Launch spoke up. "I know a place. I visited Tien there, after the last World Tournament we went to. He had a secluded home in the mountains."

"Yeah—that's our house," Chiaotzu said. "At least, it has been since Master Shen turned us out…"

"Then we should head there," Yamcha agreed. "We'll be safe for a while. But I guess we do need a plan—we can't run forever."

"Yeah...Hey, Nail." Goku looked over at the amalgamation of all their Namekian allies. "Do you think you could take on the androids with your new power?"

"Well, it's hard to say." Nail thought this over. "I mean, it's not like they have any ki to measure. But, and this isn't a boast, I'm definitely stronger than you Super Saiyans now. I can't promise I'll win—but to protect this world, it's worth a shot."

"All right. Do that if you want. But we'll have to wait for the androids to show themselves—we can't sense them, remember."

Nail smiled. "Simple enough. We've worked out they're coming to Kame House. The rest of you go and hide in the mountains—I'll stay here and wait for them. When you sense me powering up to maximum, you'll know the battle's begun."

"Right." Raditz nodded. "We'll keep trying to figure out a way to surpass Super Saiyan, and we'll join you if we do."

"All right." They stood up and began to head for the door. A smile crossed Goku's face. They had a plan. They had hope. Maybe—just maybe—they could come out of this on top.

Android 16 continued to scan incoming energy signatures on his inbuilt sensor array. "The two powers I was following have stopped fighting," he announced. "I must report that one of them grew significantly during the battle. It now equals your own, Seventeen."

"Equal to me? No way." Seveneen laughed quietly. "That isn't possible. I'm the ultimate fighting android."

"'Ultimate android'?" Eighteen shot back. "I'm right here, you know."

"Oh, you know as well as I do that Dr. Gero suppressed your power in comparison to mine," Seventeen retorted. "I think he was trying to make you less rebellious."

"Didn't go too well, did it?" They chuckled, recalling android 19's continued attempts to give them orders in their creator's name, and its subsequent fate at Eighteen's hands. 16 lapsed into silence, warning delivered.

"Don't worry, 16," Seventeen said, as the coast came into view, "it's probably just a sensor malfunction. There's no-one on this planet that can challenge us. No-one."

Well, here I am at 10 in the evening with no ideas for what to put in this section, so…yeah. Q&A.

(And a message to Gohan fans: I've probably said this before (I really can't remember), but be patient. Okay? He doesn't really do anything in this chapter, I know. I'm sorry. He will. Trust me?)

Q: I am sorry to see Tien go again, oddly enough doing the same thing as his first death, but understand the need. 16 is equally powerful to Cell's base form, meaning Tien, Yamcha and Krillin really got off lightly. You were reasonable in 16's personality, and I have always wondered if he was a "failsafe" against 17 and 18 getting out of control. A possibility?

A: I doubt it. They killed Gero in canon. You'd think, if he was a failsafe, he'd regard that as 'out of control'.

Q: (various comments about how the pacing for chapter 26 was improved and people are okay with it)

A: All right. I'll try and keep that in mind.

Q: (opinions about Zarbon)

A: Thanks, everybody. I think I've decided. So…I won't give away spoilers, except this: Zarbon is not a Hera-jin (Bojack's race). I know some people wanted him to be, well…eh. I figured I'd annoy more people with an unwelcome addition than by not adding something speculative. That's not to say he won't gain some form of power-up or transformation. He might. But it won't be like Bojack's.

Q: With all the stronger heroes there may be a big line for the HTC, especially if there are people trying to take two trips. I wonder if this will effect, Kuriza, Nail and Zarbon... Also, I don't know what this talk between Piccolo and Kami will yield but I think I'm gonna like it!

A: I hope you did. Was it a little rushed? Well, yes, Katas had a very short lifespan. But that was deliberate. It's part of the tragedy of his existence, I guess—finally whole again, but has to sacrifice himself.

Q: You're making a rather risky move by fusing Kami's and Piccolo's essences into the original Nameless Namek, I believe. Because I think if they could do that, I don't see any reason for them not to do so in canon. Unless you make some excuse like, the double-essence fusion (that's what Im calling it now :P) is less efficient than the base fusion...

A: Luckily, I didn't just randomly decide to do this. It was because in canon, Piccolo was reformed thanks to Gohan, and already fused with Nail. He was basically good, and Kami could trust him. Here, Piccolo was still completely and utterly an evil being. Kami couldn't just give him power and remove his one weakness (being linked to Kami) with a clear conscience. Likewise, Piccolo wouldn't give Kami the means to protect the Earth, even if Kami had been fit to be the base. So becoming the original Namek was a compromise—to ensure that both the good and evil natures would still exist, and be able to struggle for dominance internally. I'm going to say their power is about the same as the canon Kami-Piccolo fusion minus Nail's power (which is why Katas was outclassed by Cell), but when he fused with Nail, they were equal to canon's 'Kamiccolo', possibly a little stronger due to Piccolo's increased strength during the saiyan saga, pre-fusion.

Q: I'm also interested in seeing the differences in Cell for BTtL. Obviously, he has Cooler's DNA in him, which will alter his appearance ever so slightly... but he will also have Raditz's DNA... I'm interested in seeing how you will visualize him.

A: This is also a good point. Mainly, at the moment, the difference is that he's taller. No Frieza influence, instead Cooler, and less Vegeta, more Raditz. So 1st form Cell is a taller than even Katas was (the original Nameless Namek was 8 foot 2, according to the Dragon Ball Wiki). His appearance, personality and power differences will become clearer in his higher forms.

Well, that's all for now. By the way, thanks for being intelligent reviewers and loyal readers (views well over 30,000! Take that, Dodoria.)