Chapter 28: Ascend

Nail was growing uneasy. The androids could arrive at any time, without warning—but he had to stay at Kame House and wait for them, as this would be the best chance he'd get to confront them. Would his new power be enough? He didn't know. Cell was also preying on his mind. The creature was on the move, he could sense that—more towns were being drained of life in a matter of hours. But not only might he miss the androids, by the time Nail would be able to get to the site of Cell's next attack, it would be gone again, masking its energy. What was its true purpose? To absorb everyone? He thought back to the moment he'd been pierced by that terrible stinger. The sensation of your very life force being ripped out of your body. He could only imagine how much more terrifying it would be to die that way. Cell would have to be stopped. But first, the androids.

Break, finished with her training routine for the moment, went over to Goku and Raditz. They'd been sitting opposite each other, in deep meditation on a hilltop, for nearly three days now. Despite the wind and the nearly Arctic temperatures around Tien and Chiaotzu's mountain home, the two saiyans didn't seem to be affected at all—presumably they were slowly burning small amounts of ki to keep themselves warm. "Hey, uh…" she didn't really want to disturb them, but she had to know. "How's it going?" Roused from their semi-conscious state, her father and uncle looked up. "There is a higher level," Raditz told her. "I can feel it, but it's so…distant."

"Right." Goku turned to face his niece from the future. "We're not prepared—physically or mentally—to take on this kind of challenge."

Raditz stood up, stretching and yawning. "What we need is time—but we just don't have that. A couple of weeks, maybe. We can't hide indefinitely…if the androids are anything like the ones in your time, they'll get bored and start random attacks on human settlements soon…"

"They will," Break agreed. "It's in their nature. Dr. Gero created them to be weapons, and that's exactly what they'll be."

"Hmm…" Goku lapsed into silent thought, then something seemed to come to mind and he sprang to his feet. "Time! That's it! It's like you said, Raditz, we need more time!"

"Well, what about it?" Raditz asked irritably.

"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber!"

"The, uh, the what now?"

Goku brightened up. "It's a special room in Kami's lookout, where you can train for a whole year in just a day!"

"That's possible?" Break wondered.

"Yeah!" Goku grinned. "I never considered it before—we've always had plenty of time to prepare, and you can only use it for two days in your life—but it could come in really handy right now."

"Let's not waste any time," Raditz decided. "Goku, Break, grab on." He focused his mind, searching for Kami's servant djinn's energy signature at Kami's lookout, Instant Transmission taking them straight to him.

…"And you're sure you haven't seen any signs of the heart virus?" Break was asking as they approached the door to the chamber, through the otherworldly architecture of Kami's lookout.

"Nope," Goku answered. "I've felt just fine."

"Weird…I guess all this time-travelling really altered history. Keep the medicine around, though—who knows when it could strike."

"Right. Well, the chamber only has enough food for two people to go the full year, so who's going to go in first?"

"Let Break go with me," Raditz suggested. "I know she's got a lot of potential. With a full year, there's no doubt we can unlock this higher level."

Break smiled. "Thanks…dad. I'll try not to disappoint you!"

"Don't worry. You'll do fine."

Goku nodded. "Sure, that sounds good. Go ahead, you two—and good luck." Raditz slowly opened the door to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and Break followed him in, waving goodbye to Goku. Earth's hero, after wandering aimlessly for a couple of minutes, realised the one thing he hadn't got enough of recently: sleep.

It was almost an hour before a noise awoke Goku from his nap. Two quiet feet touching down on the lookout. Curious, Goku stood up and walked out onto the lookout's exterior. A small figure in orange was striding towards him. "Gohan?"

His son nodded. "I'm here to train with you, dad!"

"Ah…" Goku hesitated. "You want to fight with us, don't you? Chi-Chi would kill me…"

"I'm not a baby anymore!" Gohan protested. "I'm turning ten in a few days, you know!"

"That's still pretty young. I was twelve when I started having adventures—I'm just worried you'll get hurt, son."

Gohan's temper snapped. "STOP PROTECTING ME!"

Goku flinched back. "…Uh?"

"It's always like this," the half-saiyan child growled. "You told me to stay back when the saiyans attacked, and only fight if I had to…everyone said I shouldn't go to Namek…you left me and ran off to fight Kuriza…you left me with mom when the androids came…I've had enough! You're not gonna leave me behind again!" His lip was quivering, and he sniffed to hold back the tears.

Goku stepped forwards, picking up his son and holding him close. "Hey. I'm sorry, Gohan…I just didn't want you getting hurt…"

"Dad…" Gohan looked up at his father hopefully. "Will you take me in the time training place with you? Please?"

"Um…" after that outburst, Goku didn't want to say 'no', but he'd hoped he'd get to train on his own or with Raditz.

"Please, Dad! I wanna become a Super Saiyan like you! I have to be able to protect my friends!"

Goku smiled. Gohan certainly had potential, and his heart was in the right place. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. "You've grown up far too fast, son…sure. As soon as Raditz and Break are done, we'll train together. Okay?"

Gohan beamed. "All right!"

"Woah." Break stared around her—the Hyperbolic Time Chamber consisted of a small building acting as living quarters, surrounded by an endless expanse of white, empty nothingness. "This place feels…weird. Like a waking dream."

"I know what you mean…" Raditz walked out into the emptiness. "Hmm…and out here, the air is thick, the temperature's risen a bit…" Break tried to follow him outside and promptly fell over. "…Oh, and the gravity is ten times Earth's," Raditz added by way of an explanation.

Break grunted, standing up shakily and throwing off her jacket as she felt the effects of the heat. "Thanks for not mentioning that a few seconds ago…"

"Oh, quit your whining. Let's begin."

"Begin?" Break asked. "What are we going to start with—" she was floored by a lightning-fast punch to the face.

"Your reflexes could use some improvement," Raditz commented, rubbing his aching knuckles. "Hard skull, though."

Early the next day...

The androids had ditched the car upon reaching the ocean, and were flying at a leisurely pace towards where their database said Kame House would be. "I still haven't gotten a change of clothes," Eighteen muttered.

"Well, it's not my fault you've got a short temper," Seventeen told her, smirking as he remembered the incident. "You can hardly take the clothes if you blow up the whole building, right?"

"Don't blame it on me!" she snapped. "That guy at the counter deserved it!"

"Deserved being spread over a half-mile blast radius? I doubt it." Seventeen grinned. "Still, it was pretty funny."

16 interrupted them, pointing to an object appearing on the horizon. "We are nearing Kame House. Exercise caution—it is possible that they are prepared for our arrival."

"Sure, sure," Seventeen said, waving 16's concerns off. "It doesn't matter. They're no match for us."

"But the powers I sensed shortly after our battle—"

"I told you, it's just a sensor malfunction. Lighten up—it's impossible that anyone on this planet has the strength to challenge us. Well, we're here. Sixteen?"

16 glanced around. "I only detect one energy signature inside. It is being suppressed, and I cannot determine its full magnitude. It could be any of them."

"I guess they were expecting us." Eighteen shrugged. "Well, we can beat on this one until they tell us where the others are hiding…" she trailed off as the door opened. Nail walked out, taking in the scene. "I can't sense your power, but you make a lot of noise," he said. He was carrying a glass of water, from which he periodically sipped through a straw. "Can I help you?"

Seventeen nodded. "You could say that. Tell us where Goku is."

"And if I don't?"

"I'll leave it to your imagination."

"Hmm." Nail appeared to genuinely consider this. "How about this. I'm not going to tell you anything. You, on the other hand, can leave right now, before I send you to that great big junkyard in the sky."

"Why, you…" Seventeen clenched his fists. "You think you can threaten us?"

"Calm down, Seventeen!" Eighteen urged, putting a steadying hand on her brother's shoulder. "Getting mad won't help us at all."

Seventeen exhaled slowly. "Right. You're right. Sorry." He looked over at 16. "Hey, 16. He's being uncooperative. You want to loosen his tongue some?"

"No." 16 replied instantly, giving an automated, pre-determined response.

"No?"

"I am programmed only to fight Goku. If this fighter is not actively obstructing me, I will not attack him."

"Whatever you say," Seventeen replied. "You're so dull, 16. You should learn to have some fun once in a while." 16 declined to answer. "Fine." Seventeen looked up. "Hey, Namek guy!"

Nail, having grown bored of the androids' bickering and drifted into a daydream, looked up just in time to notice Seventeen's fist swinging for him. Reacting without thinking, he swung his arm up and caught the android's hand mid-swing. The glass of water formerly held in Nail's hand fell to the ground, shattering and spilling its contents on the sand. "You know," he said, "I wasn't finished with that."

Nail twisted, throwing Seventeen over his shoulder and into the ocean. Seconds later, the android burst back up to the surface, seething with rage. "That's it! I don't care anymore, you're dead!"

Nail gave a half-smile, and with a noise like distant thunder, he powered up to maximum, whipping up a small sandstorm around himself with his ki.

"This is one of the powers I sensed battling earlier!" 16 called out urgently. "Seventeen! Do not attempt to fight him! His power exceeds yours!"

"What did you say?!" Seventeen shouted. "I told you, that's impossible!" He rushed at Nail, who easily sidestepped his blow and kicked him away, knocking the android back at supersonic speeds, leaving a jet-stream of water behind him. Nail took off after his foe, 16 and Eighteen just behind.

I'll try and keep this away from Kame House… Nail decided. It's already been destroyed once, after all. He swooped down underwater, grabbed Seventeen by the back of his shirt and flung him over onto a small, grassy island nearby. Seventeen gasped, pushing off the ground and jumping to his feet. "This can't be happening!" He growled. "I'm the strongest in the universe!"

Nail laughed. "Hahahah! Is that so? Well, maybe the second strongest now."

"You…I'll…" Seventeen shook with anger. "I'll kill you!"

"Is that so?" Nail asked, jumping over and ducking under all of Seventeen's strikes as the dark-haired cyborg charged back into the fray. "You don't seem to be getting very far with that."

"You'll tire out eventually!" Seventeen snarled. "I won't! I'll wear you down and—" he was cut off by a chop to the throat that sent him reeling, choking as pain caused his neck muscles to spasm.

"You're far too overconfident." Nail raised an eyebrow. "Hey, tell me, have you ever fought anyone who could actually challenge you before? I'm guessing not, the way you're reacting."

"I'm coming, Seventeen!" the female android yelled, charging Nail from behind just as Seventeen recovered and kicked at him in front. Nail smacked Seventeen's leg away with his right elbow, knocking Eighteen's arm aside with his left forearm. Moving quickly, he launched a punch to each side, hitting them both in the stomach. They landed next to each other on the island, glaring up at Nail. "That was the same strike you used on Gohan and me a few days ago, Seventeen, by the way. If I'm honest, it's a bit predictable. Easy to guard against—unless you're entirely outclassed, of course."

"SHUT UP!" Eighteen shouted. "We're going to—" Nail waved his hand, and the island the androids were standing on exploded. They jumped up and away in opposite directions, hovering opposite from Nail.

"How did this happen?" Seventeen mumbled in disbelief. "I took him down in one hit three days ago. Hey!" He addressed Nail directly. "Were you hiding your power before?"

Nail shook his head. "I've improved."

"That quickly? You're lying!" He thrust his hands forwards, a volley of flickering energy bullets flying at Nail. A second stream of attacks appeared as Eighteen followed his example.

"You think so?" Nail crossed his arms, folding his body up as the blasts approached. "Then explain—hrrr—this!" He unfolded like a spring released, spreading his arms and legs and flinging out a rolling wall of ki in all directions. "YAAA!" The energy attacks were bounced back like raindrops on a windshield, flying off and dissipating in the air, or detonating in the sea. Eighteen gritted her teeth. "What's it take, huh?"

"More than you've got!" Nail replied, flexing his muscles. "Feel free to give up any time you like. I won't kill you."

"Go to hell!" she shouted back. "I guess you don't know us very well—our freedom means more to us than anything! We're not giving ourselves up to anybody!"

"Yet you're following Dr. Gero's plans…"

"We don't have a choice in that!" Seventeen told him. "It's in our programming. I'm telling you, you can't keep this up forever. We'll win in the end."

Nail sighed. "We'll see."

Seventeen raised his hands to either side of his head, charging up a yellow ball of energy in each. He threw them at Nail, who stood stoically staring into space as they flew at him. Eighteen flew around behind Nail, hoping to take advantage of the momentary distraction defending himself would give. But Nail wouldn't move—he hovered, unmoving, as the attack drew nearer.

"Eighteen—look out!" 16 warned as his sensors alerted him to the danger, but it was too late—she flew straight through Nail's vanishing afterimage, crashing head-first into Seventeen's attacks.

When the smoke cleared, Eighteen was hovering there, arms raised to protect her face, sleeves entirely burned away, scratches running up and down her forearms. "…Ow." Nail stood a few metres away, facing away from the androids, staring off into space.

"Okay, that does it!" Seventeen charged back up at Nail, his fist swinging through empty air. "Wha—" He'd been able to follow Nail's movements so far, even if he hadn't quite been fast enough to react to them. But this time, he'd seen nothing—Nail had been there, and then he was gone.

"Looking for me?" Nail asked, inches away, practically breathing down Seventeen's neck. He held up a small red object—he'd stolen Seventeen's scarf from around the android's shoulders without him even noticing. Nail waved it mockingly. "Oh, and your fashion sense is atrocious, if Bulma's frequent lectures are anything to go by..."

"Yaah!" Seventeen started wildly lashing out at Nail, none of his blows connecting. "Eighteen! A little help here!"

"Right!" Eighteen flew up to join the attack. "He can't dodge us both at once!" She began to furiously rain blows at Nail. "No, I think I can," the Namekian warrior decided, and proceeded to do just that.

"Stand—still!" Seventeen snarled.

"Okay, but you asked for it!" Nail stopped dodging, grabbing Eighteen by one arm and throwing her down into the sea. Seventeen kicked at his head, but he dodged again with the same ease, landing a solid punch to Seventeen's gut, kicking him into the air, appearing above him and elbowing him back down into the ocean.

The android duo slowly rose out of the water, gasping for breath. Nail floated sternly above them. "Have you figured it out yet? You're fighting a losing battle."

"16! You want to lend a hand, huh?" Seventeen shouted up to their unmoving comrade.

16 shook his head. "I told you, I am programmed only to fight Goku. And this warrior will not kill you. He has said as much, and I predict an overwhelming probability that he is telling the truth. My advice is to surrender until an opportunity to locate Goku presents itself."

"Not happening!" Seventeen growled, grinding his teeth.

"Well, what choice do we have?" Eighteen asked. "I'm open to suggestions, but let's not just keep attacking blindly. He's barely broken a sweat."

"You should listen to her," Nail suggested. "You're not getting anywhere. I—huh?" He tensed up, sensing an unnatural, evil ki. Cell! What's he doing here? He turned, to see the bug-like bio-android already approaching. 16 was also staring in that direction, watching Cell's arrival with detached, almost scientific interest.

Finally noticing the new arrival, Seventeen and Eighteen looked behind them seeing Cell flying towards them. "And who's this?" Seventeen wondered.

"I don't know, and frankly I don't care." Eighteen looked up at 16. "He's not anything to worry about…is he?"

16 looked visibly worried. "This is the other power I sensed before. He has grown stronger…"

"I know." Nail clenched his fists. "He's drained energy from thousands of people—fighting him won't be so easy this time…"

Cell cam to a halt to the group's right. "Well, isn't this a nice little gathering."

"Who the hell are you?" Seventeen demanded.

"Shut up!" Nail snapped, then turned to the new foe. "What do you want here, Cell?"

"I never told you my ultimate goal, did I?" Cell asked. "Dr. Gero made me with a very specific aim in mind—to achieve my perfect form."

"Well, I'd say you're far from perfect…" Nail shrugged. "No offence, but the bug-wings are kind of redundant, given that you can fly with your ki…and I can't help noticing, your mouth looks exactly like your—"

"Enough!" Cell snarled. "To attain my perfect form, I must absorb androids 17 and 18 into my being. Kindly remove yourself from my path—destroying you will be a waste of time."

"A bit bold, don't you think?" Nail asked. "Telling me your plan."

"It doesn't matter," Cell hissed. "There's nothing you can do stop it!" It vanished, reappearing in front of Nail, who blocked its first punch. They pushed against each other, struggling to break the lock and gain the upper hand.

"Incredible…" 16 muttered. "Their power levels are both equal to mine…"

Nail ducked to the left as Cell swung past him, and they spun around to face each other. "You've grown strong, Cell," Nail noted. "But it won't make a difference. I can't let you achieve this 'perfect' form. I imagine it would make you much more powerful…and I'm not one of those people who'll just sit around while you power up just for the challenge, so trust me, you're not going any further."

"You underestimate me!" Cell growled.

"Hey!" Seventeen called up to the battling pair. "Don't we get a say in this?"

"No!" Nail and Cell shouted simultaneously, before launching into a high-speed exchange of blows. "But…" Nail decided as he dodged and blocked with expert precision, "you might want to get out of here. If he does beat me somehow, you'll be next, and trust me, you're no match for this guy."

"Run away? Not a chance," Seventeen protested.

"It might be a good idea…" Eighteen said, indicating the battle. "You know they're above our level."

"Think about it…" Seventeen tapped his head. "Those two are about equal, right? So whoever wins is going to be tired—their power will drop massively! If we work together, we can take them out, no problem. And then the only two real threats to us will be gone. You want me to run away from that chance?"

"I…I guess not." Eighteen looked hesitant. "I just hope you're right…"

"Trust me."

Nail finally landed a blow, but Cell's natural chitin armour plating absorbed it, and the creature seized him by the throat, sinking its needle-sharp tail into his arm. There was a scraping, sucking sound as Nail's energy was pumped out of him. But he'd felt it before, and he was prepared for the pain—twisting, he prepared himself for far greater agony and ripped his own arm off at the shoulder. Purple blood sprayed in a wide arc, and he had to bite his lip to stop himself screaming. With a further grunt, he forced energy into his shoulder, regenerating the severed limb. Cell hissed again, throwing away the empty husk of Nail's former arm. "Quite impressive, Nail. But I drained a lot of your power, and that little stunt just cost you even more. Now, I have the upper hand."

"Heh heh…so sure?" Nail grinned. "Ever since you stabbed me the first time we fought, I've been working on a trick that'll come in handy if I ever find myself with a substantial amount of my energy inside my opponent's body."

"Wha—" Cell never got to finish his sentence—Nail detonated his stolen ki at the moment it entered Cell's main body, completely obliterating its midsection. Cell's legs and tail fell away, into the ocean, as its upper body hung in the air, twitching and growling in pain. "Cunning…" With surprisingly little effort, Cell regenerated itself, within seconds becoming whole again. "…But ultimately futile."

"I wouldn't say that," Nail said. "As you said—regenerating takes a lot of energy. And I should think that half of your body is more draining than one arm…"

"Hmph!" Cell braced itself. "Well, victory is determined by intelligence just as much as power. And I have the combined knowledge and brainpower of the entire Brief family, every Namekian ever to visit the Earth, and the greatest fighting tacticians among the planet's defenders…" He dashed at Nail, who raised his arms in preparation to block. Cell made a familiar movement, and recognising the Solar Flare technique, Nail flinched, closing his eyes. "I won't fall for the same trick twice!"

"No, you'll fall for a whole new one this time!" It was merely a feint, and Cell placed both hands on Nail's stomach in the moment the Namek warrior had his eyes closed, charging crackling purple energy around his fingers. "Galick Gun!"

Nail just had time to think, Vegeta's technique— before the blast hurled him away in a blaze of light, boiling the water around him as he landed. Several seconds passed, and nothing surfaced. Cell took a second to enjoy his victory, before focusing on the androids. "Well, now. That went rather well. Who's going to help me achieve perfection first, hmm?"

Break sat down, panting—her training was really taking everything she had. She'd found a limit, unfortunately—an upper plateau, which she hadn't been able to push her power past. She knew the other Super Saiyans had found the same thing when preparing themselves for the androids' attack. Raditz had, after cleaning up her form and technique, begun to meditate, telling her to go and train on her own while he searched for the next level, and to come back when she'd reached the upper limit of Super Saiyan. Now she had, and she wearily trudged over to him. The temperature in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber fluctuated more, the further away from the living quarters you went—right now it was biting cold. At least the gravity hadn't taken long to get used to. She approached her father, who was standing up straight with his eyes closed.

"I've reached it," she said. "The limit. I can't push my power any higher." She took a deep breath. "Have you found the next level yet?"

Raditz was silent for several seconds, and then nodded slowly.

Opening his eyes, he powered up to Super Saiyan. Then, maintaining perfect focus, and entirely without speaking, he pulled on another, greater reserve of power. Golden light flooded the surrounding area, and Break shielded her eyes, peering over her raised hands when it cleared at her transformed father. "Incredible…" she breathed.

And here we go. The Super Saiyans ascend and all that. Title drop. Nail vs. the androids and Cell was fun to write, even if I kept having to stop to go and do other things. I wrote this to the DB Kai Ginyu Force theme 'Tokusentai'. It's hilarious (to me, anyway. I have a weird sense of humour).

Q: [Nail being the Super Namek was cool/warnings that Piccolo fans might be upset]

A: Thanks, I tried to do something a little different. Katas was pretty cool, but I didn't want Nail to suffer the same fate as he did in canon-and yet somebody had to hold the androids off, and Katas on his own didn't have the necessary power. Still, Piccolo and Kami are both hanging around in Nail's subconscious...

Q: I thnink nail should be stronger than 17 or at least stronger than cannon 17, think about it: If katas was a lil weaker or a lil stronger than kamicolo minus nail he should be stronger now because nail is stronger than what he was when he fused piccolo in cannon so i think 17 should get his ass kicked or at least not be completely even like he was against piccolo

A: Yup. Piccolo and Nail did more pre-fusion training than in canon.

Q: This Namecian business does raise some questions... Katas-jr, like kami and even his father, would be a super namec of the dragon clan; Nail being a warrior-type, and not of the dragon clan, at the base of this fusion would keep him from having DBs of hi own... but not preclude him from being earth's guardian (goku was once offered the role). So will we be seeing a little green to complete the new big green's role with a set of active DBs?

A: Yeah, he's a warrior-type. So no DBs on Earth at the moment. Luckily, unlike in the future timeline, Meta-Frieza didn't get to blow up New Namek, so they might be paying a visit at some point.

Q: Good chapter. So quick question involving the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. A big plothole in the series is the fact that the HTC was around all this time but no one used it during the Saiyan saga. Is the reason Goku didn't bring up the HTC in your fanfic because you are preventing that plot hole?

A: Goku basically explains that in this chapter, I hope. They've always had either more than enough time to prepare or none at all.

Q: Brilliant chapter! The fusion and sacrifice of Katas was a great plot twist, and Nail surviving as base is more like the Piccolo of canon in his nature as a hero character. I have to say Raditz is a developing father figure. It makes me chuckle slightly at the thought of Break and Launch taming the great Saiyan warrior. My only question is: When will the prince nake a return? When they are all defeated? Will he be an ally or the harbinger of doom for our heroes?

A: Vegeta will return...at some point. That's all I'll say for now.

Q: nice chapter once again. interesting to see #16 being abit more talktive. poor tien, he just can't catch a break can't he.

A: True, true. Tien has had a bit of a rough time of it.

Q: Katas was pretty cool. I wish you had had Katas absorb Nail. He was a very interesting character with alot of potential. Also the Namekian that is absorbed remains as a part of the base Namekians conciousness. Nail could help Katas keep control of his evil side, at least that is my belief. I still like the way this turned out, Nail is a very good character. Also, when will Zarbon become a larger part of the story (you don't have to answer if it is a spoiler)? This is one of the best fanfics I have ever read! Keep up the good work!

A: I've talked about Katas above, and Zarbon will be a larger part of the story during the 7 years' gap between the android and Buu arcs. Yes, I will be doing several chapters in that time period. Things will happen.

Q: Loved the inclusion of the nameless Namek aka Katas, I thought your reasoning for the fusion going this way was sound, wish he lasted longer though the fusion into Nail will be an interesting change later, you've found another path to Gast (from DBM) lol.

A: Huh, didn't think of that. Gast, of course, is the fusion of around a hundred Nameks, so considerably greater power than Katas, but yeah. The height and all. And being a fusion character.

Q: Nice couple of chapters, only got a chance to read now (RIP Tien, Grand Kai training perhaps?)

A: Unlikely. He's nowhere near Pikkon's level at the moment. Although Pikkon always confused me. He one-shots Super Perfect Cell, then takes his training weights off, getting stronger, and is about equal to Full-Power Super Saiyan Goku...what.

So yeah, if I'm going to include him (and I haven't decided whether I'll do that or not yet), I'll have to decide that.

Q: Interesting approach to Piccolo's character here. I wonder how his lack of being in this story will affect things to come, such as Gohan's training. It seems Raditz has taken over canon Piccolo's role to an extent.

A: In some ways, yeah. Gohan has had a very different childhood-canon Gohan's year with Piccolo had a real effect on him, I think.

So, is Nail dead or what? Will Cell absorb the androids and become Perfect, or will somebody hold him off until Raditz and Break are done training? Well, Tien did it in canon...oh yeah, he's dead. Well, I'm sure Zarbon can-(Zarbon falls asleep)...er, Krillin and Yamcha...are Krillin and Yamcha. Right. Well, crap. I guess Cell wins. (Okay, no. This moment of randomness brought to you by Sleep Deprivation (c)). See you next time.