A Wonderful Life

By: SomeRandomPerson648

Chapter 44: When They're Gone

A/N: Hey guys! So this isn't exactly a filler chapter but more or less fun downtime with some brand new characters that you'll definitely see more of in the future, so I hope you enjoy!


The air was hot around the small laboratory. Alarms blared violently and a red hue overshadowed the cramped underground base

21 panicked as she ran from place to place, making sure that the men were doing as they were told. She redirected everyone to the required stations for fear of being overrun. Eventually she entered the computer lab to see a handful of scientists operating the scene as best they could

"Status report!" The Android demanded

"Failures in the left core are being worked on, and the right core is just barely holding!" A familiar voice said

21 turned to see the figure. An old friend of hers, one that has worked beside her since she took over the RRA. He was tall with blonde hair tied in a pony tail, wore glasses and had a fairly skinny figure

"How did this happen so suddenly?!" 21 demanded an answer as she shoved aside a person in order to take over. From her console she tried imputing override after override with little success

"The sample was able overpower our station and steal our energy! We're doing our best to ward it off but-" the man said before there was a crash at the door to the room

Everyone turned to see a pink figure standing at the door. It was the outline of an armed soldier, however his skin was covered entirly by a piece of that strange sample they collected months ago

The figure then raised it's right arm and charged a yellow ball of ki

Before the ball could launch however, 21 dashed forwards and took the full brunt of the attack with her body, enveloping her in light


21 awoke suddenly from her nightmare to look around her room. She breathed heavily before calming down as she took in her surroundings. She slowly yet surely settled back down

It was odd for 21 to get a nightmare again, with the help of Cell he would usually help prevent them by influencing her mind, plus the soul would help as well though it did need to sleep aswell

This time Cell wasn't in the corner of the room as per usual. In a sense it was very comforting to know he was there, especially since he would wake her when something bad happened. Knowing someone had your back gave 21 more comfort that way

But for today he wasn't with her. It made 21 feel a little empty inside, she was very used to his calm and collected presense

21 turned to look at the clock, 6:00 AM

"Crap." 21 said before rushing out of bed


The following rush was very quick and speedy, she showered, got dressed and reheated breakfast in a less than orderly fashion. It was all thanks to her forgetting to set the alarm before sleeping the day before. If Cell were here he would have made sure that she was properly prepared

Cell...21 wondered why he was on her mind so much. It was mostly due to his very constant presense as well as all the little things he does, cooks her food, makes sure the hideout is clean, (Though he is still improving) and training her everyday. It was no wonder 21 felt out of sorts

By the time 21 used Instant Transmission to leave it was already 7:30. Giru also came with this time since Cell wasn't there

21 entered the front doors with a coffee at hand, Giru also happily floated by her as he observed everything the surroundings had to offer

"Morning Jin, you're uncharacteristically late today." Janice the front desk lady said

"Very sorry but I forgot to set my alarm. I hope I didn't miss anything interesting." 21 said as she strut to the elevator


Meanwhile in a nearby park there stood three strange figures within the greenery. These figures being Prestina, Chocolata and Adult Trunks

Adult Trunks wore a casual lavender t-shirt with black cargo shorts and simple black shoes, it was his day off and as such he went out with the two Majin sisters as he usually does

Prestina on the other hand wore a dark blue dress shirt with long sleeves, a pair of stylish white shorts and dark blue shoes. Chocolata wore a casual maroon t-shirt, elastic jeans and red shoes

The group of three walked around simply talking and looking around casually. This was Prestina's favorite place to go, and by extension Chocolata and Trunks'. She simply liked watching the people and animals interact as well as the plants and the way the lit up the area

Just as they talked however, Gohan suddenly landed just beside them, wearing his casual attire of a button shirt, beige pants and brown shoes

"Hey Gohan! What brings you here?" Prestina asked with a chip attitude

"Yeah, I actually need to tell you something." Gohan said, but just then Prestina gasped

"Ooh look, ice cream!" Chocolata said with an odd sense of childish glee, Prestina joined in suite

"Um, how about we get some ice cream first." Trunks said as Gohan nodded a little reluctantly. Though he was in no rush, what he had to say was pretty important

"I'll just tell them when it's right." He thought to himself, not wanting to ruin their mood


The day passed on very quickly as 21 worked diligently throughout it all. As she worked Giru also had fun observing and learning with the scientists as well, he simply wanted to learn more and more about Earth's technology and it's advances

21 found herself standing in front of a large compactor of sorts. It's purpose was to compact molecules in order to perhaps change aspects of an object like coal or water. However it's not exactly easy to replicate the powers of the sun itself into a machine

"Hmm, if we had a large enough power source we may be able to operate it, but finding something close to a star isn't very convenient. Though maybe we could have the dragon team..." 21 thought out loud as she held a clipboard full of notes, beside her Giru looked on

"Earthlings can't harness a star yet? Dr. Myuu was able to harness multiple in order to create his army." Giru stated curiously

"Well that is fairly advanced, however there was that time Maki-er, Dr. Gero made an infinite power source while in hiding." 21 stated

As she mentioned Gero, there was a small flashback to her dream from the morning. As she worked throughout the day she couldn't help but think of it. What was strange was that she personally couldn't recall the events, however she clearly remembers reading about something similar from her journal

"Hey hey how's it coming along?" A man said as he entered the room

His name was Kazuha Azamuku, he was a fellow scientist that worked with 21. He was tall with short black hair and he had an oddly bulky frame. He also tended to wrap his coat sleeves back, revealing muscle. The man was a good friend of 21's as well as everyone else's, quite like a social butterfly would be

"Oh, hey Azumuku." 21 said but he simply laughed

"Come on I told you to call me Kazuha, after all I get to call you Jin." Kazuha established, after all he was on first name basis with practically everyone around

"Fine, if you insist Kazuha." 21 repeated as the man smiled

"Right, anyway I've been looking into this device Margaret created an I have to say the concept is very impressive. However the trouble really involves materials to build it." 21 said simply

"Right, it's pretty hard to find something stronger than Tungsten." Kazuha agreed

"Though I may have an idea how to get them..." 21 thought as she recalled Cell's ability of creating

"Oh hey almost forgot but me and a few other figure heads were planing on going out for a few drinks after work, any chance you'll join too." Kazuha invited

"Sure I'd love to, just tell me where." 21 accepted with no hesitation. She had never been to a social outing before, (especially so while she was under control) and saw it as an opportunity to get to know everyone around

"Nice! Alright then I'll tell you later Jin. And be sure to bring Giru too!" He said before leaving the room

"Oh oh Giru's heard of this before! You've just been invited to a social meeting involving alcoholic beverages! This means you'll be able to learn more about your fellow colleagues!" Giru bolstered, making 21 chuckle

"Yes indeed, you've been learning a lot haven't you?" She asked before going back her own work


As the scientists were hard at work Teen Trunks and Goten wandered the halls of Capsule Corp aimlessly. The young Brief wore a casual pair of black shorts and black sneakers as well as a white t-shirt with the CC logo on it. Goten wore a blue t-shirt with grey pants and his blue gi-boots that he wore with his orange gi

After the absence of both their fathers the two suddenly had tons of free time on their hands. Originally they trained adamantly alongside Gohan and the others as they got together very often. However not only was Gohan busy at the moment but so was everyone else

"Hm, if only we could train a little more." Trunks wined

"We could always ask 16 or 13." Goten suggested

"Nah, training with them is always so stale. 16 always wants to add suggestions to my fighting and he's just so serious. 13 is always doing something for my mom. Other than them 14 and 15 are the same too." Trunks stated as he held his arms crossed behind his back

"Maybe we could start training with Gohan or Piccolo." Goten added, which brightened Trunks' attitude

"Yeah you're right! I'm sure Piccolo doesn't have anything better to do." He said before the two encountered something very odd

Before them was an open door which led to the storage room. Inside were the less important and more vain items in Bulma's stock, jewelry, devices, and other trinkets that were of high value

"Huh, mom's almost never in here." Trunks commented as the two went over to the entrance of the room and looked within

Inside of the storage room were small mountains of organized drawers, closets and containers all full of items. However for some reason they were all spewed out onto the open like they were being rummaged

"What the?" Trunks asked as he was suddenly on guard, someone had broken into the room

"What is it?" Goten asked casually as he was amazed with the mess inside

"Someone's here." Trunks said as he used ki sense, something that he learned not too long ago

But before he looked further there appeared three strange figures from within the room

The first was a dog furry with orange fur and white hands as well as a white snout. He wore a purple ninja costume with two white belts, one wrapped around his waist and one wrapped diagonally to hold the katana on his back

The second was a pretty teenage girl with long black hair. She wore a grey trench coat with a brown belt that contained a holster for a gun as well as brown boots

The third and last was a short blue skinned man with sharp pointy ears and a few red pimples over his face. He wore a red and blue beanie with a red star in front and he also wore a trench coat, however it was black with a large red star in front. He also wore orange boots

"Grrr, we couldn't find the Dragonballs anywhere!" The blue man said

"Well sorry boss but maybe they were used when the sky turned black a few days ago" the ninja said

"We should have looked for them earlier while the Briefs had that birthday party..." The girl thought tactically as she held her hand over her chin

"Well it doesn't matter, we'll just keep searching..." The blue man said before he turned to see Goten and Trunks standing before them

Everyone in the room froze as they realized the presence of the two teens. But what scared them the most was the sight of Goten for some odd reason

"AhahAH!!" The three yelled as they fumbled to the floor in fear for their lives. The three ran around in circles before getting their bearings

"Please spare us we were looking for something please we weren't doing anything bad!!!" The purple ninja said as he bowed his head over the floor

"Yeah we were just leaving there's no need to harm us!!!" The blue man said whilst repeating what the first man said

"Oh uh...sure?" Trunks said simply as he was simply unable to process the suddenness of their panic

"THANKYOUVERYMUCH!" The three yelled all at once as they bolted out the room without another word

But as they ran the girl stopped for a short second to pull something out of her pocket

"Here take this!" The girl said before shoving a large diamond into Trunks' hands and then running after her allies

The two boys stared after the three after they left, simply confused by what happened

"What...was that?" Trunks asked aloud

"I don't know..." Goten said before shaking his head

"But there're gone now, nothing we can do." Goten said as he simply turned around without a care in the world

Trunks on the other hand was fairly caught up with that last portion of the event

"Who...was that girl?" He asked himself as felt his hand with the diamond

"Hey, you coming or what?" Goten asked as Trunks shook his head

"Yeah right, we should tell my mom about this." He said before running to catch up to Goten

Meanwhile, as the three criminals ran far from the two boys the girl had a feint blush on her face that grew little by little


Overtime the day sped by, and soon the sun stood inches above the horizon for the people of West City

Within the vast city was Future Trunks as well as Gohan, Prestina and Chocolata. The three spent a large sum of hours outside doing simply whatever came to mind, whether it was curiously entering a shop or playing at the arcade. The experience was quite fun, and without them realizing they had spent quality time with each other, which was something that was always great to have

"Man, I hadn't had this much fun in a while." Gohan said a loud as the three walked out of a small shop containing various bright accessories. Though he meant to entertain the idea he was soon swept up in a flurry of excitement that was then generated by the group

"Yeah you should join us more often." Future Trunks offered as Gohan nodded

"I think I'll drop by every once and a while." He assured everyone before looking at the sky

"Oh right, it's getting late. I should probably fly home." Gohan said as he smiled towards the sunset

"Really? Why can't you stay a little while longer?" Chocolata said whilst holding an oversized pillow in the shape of a candy bar (a small joke that later became a purchase)

"Sorry but I have to do some paper work before I fall asleep, can't forget about that." Gohan said before gasping in realization

"Right! I almost forgot to tell you something." Gohan said

"Hm, and what is it?" Prestina asked as suddenly Gohan got a little serious and taking everyone aback

Originally, Gohan had asked Bulma where Prestina was. He had to break what had happened between Cell and him to her soon, otherwise she'd be caught unaware. What he didn't count on however was spending the whole day exploring the city

"I've been meaning to tell you guys, but recently I talked with Cell about training Broly." He said abruptly which surprised everyone

"What?! Why would you ask him that?" Future Trunks asked in shock as Gohan sighed

"It was originally my dad's idea. After the last time Vegeta trained him Broly got really out of hand and Vegeta had to be careful around him. But then the three of us thought about asking Cell to train him for us." Gohan explained shortly, though this eliminated none of the real questions

"But why can't they train him?" Chocolata asked

"Because since they left all of a sudden it won't be while until they come back. Right now we need to let them do their thing if it means they get stronger after what happened last time." Gohan broke it down

"But why should Cell train him!" Trunks asked, which made Gohan sigh deeply

"Listen...I'm not a fan of him being here either but he's our best bet beside Vegeta and dad. You saw what 21 was able to do, and you saw what Broly was about to do if they didn't intervine." Gohan said as the three had to forcibly agree

"We have to train Broly if we want to stand a better chance against someone like Beerus or Frieza and none of us are strong enough to do it. Cell on the other hand can." Gohan finalized before softening

"I know it's not easy when I say Cell has to do this but trust me when I say he's the only one who can stand a chance against Broly, let alone teach him." He finished as the trio looked between themselves

The three were equally nervous of Cell being around, but they all recognized that Broly was a real threat if they couldn't stop him properly. Future Trunks and Chocolata were both paranoid of Cell doing something against them, as is their nature of being the more cautious of their siblings

Prestina on the other hand had less clear cut feeling than that

In the times that she had gotten to know Cell she had developed mixed feelings to say the least. After all she was one of very few who got to see him act nice and pleasant, but she was also one of few that got to see just how cruel Cell really was deep down. In the end she couldn't bring herself to hate him as Trunks or Vegeta did, it just wasn't in her. But she also didn't like him after all that he's done. She can't just condemn the person who spared her twice, but she can't forgive the one who brought chaos thrice as well

"Wait, but why are you telling us?" Chocolata asked which reeled everything back to Gohan once more

"That's because...yesterday I went up to him and offered him to train Broly. But he also wants...for you to be there with him Prestina." Gohan revealed which shocked everyone around

"What? You can't be serious!" Trunks raged

"You couldn't have said yes could you!?" Chocolata asked, but Gohan nodded

Both Trunks and Chocolata were angered by this information. They just knew Cell was going to do something behind all of theirs backs. Knowing Cell there was always an angle to take, some way that he was ahead of them, and as such the two adopted the paranoia as well as a few others

But yet again, Prestina's feelings were less clear cut than her best friend and her sister. She was surprised sure but she was more pensive than she was apprehensive

"I'll go." Prestina said suddenly, which surprised everyone

"What?" Trunks thought

"If this is so important then I can't let him scare me. We need to help Broly, and if this means I'll be helping then I'll do it, for everyone's sake." Prestina reaffirmed with determination, which was something only seen in the likes of the Saiyans. Her long stay truly had changed her

"Then I'll come with!" Trunks said but was stopped

"No, you have a job to take care of." Prestina reminded him, and before he could abject Chocolata inserted herself

"I'll go with, just to make sure he doesn't try anything." She assured him and her sister as everybody shook their heads, Trunks albeit very reluctantly

"I'm glad you guys can understand. I'll make sure to keep an eye out as well from afar, but otherwise you're on your own." Gohan said before waving everyone goodbye

Once Gohan left the three felt uneasy with what was left

"Are you sure you don't need me to come with?" Trunks asked but was quickly rejected

"Please Trunks you can't just throw away your human life for my sake, I'll be fine." Prestina assured him as he held her hands

"I know but...I'm just worried you'll get hurt without me looking." Trunks said with a tear rolling down his eye, a symbol of all his past experiences

"Don't worry, I'll be fine...ok?" She said as she kindly rolled a tear away from his eye with her finger

The two shared a moment as they embraced each other. Though Prestina tried not to look it she was actually incredibly nervous for what was to come, being in the hands of Cell again after so long was going to be harder than she could imagine

Trunks was definitely worried about Prestina. There simply was too much around Cell for Trunks to trust him, in fact he still considered him an enemy of sorts. He didn't want what happened to his timeline happen here yet again, to the same person no less

Chocolata smiled in the background as she saw the two hug, they definitely would make a cute couple


As the sun began to set further from the Horizon, 21 and Giru stood just outside a bar

Though Cell and his cloths-making abilities were gone for the moment he still left her with many dresses and outfits that worked well with either her human or Majin form

At the moment 21 wore a variant of her favorite red and blue dress. She wore a tight dress that had a cross of Maroon red and Dark Blue, and the two colors created one diagonal cut at the center of the dress in a very stylish fashion. The common shoulder straps instead crossed each other above the chest area for support. She wore the same alternating colored heels, only this time they were sleeker and sported the darker tone. Aside from the dress she also wore a black peral necklace, black jewel earrings and she also had no glasses on, though they were mainly just habit than for real use to begin with. Her hair was also combed nicely, having less branches of hair that stuck up than before

In short 21 looked different than she usually does. The pearl necklace was one of, if not the first pieces of jewelry Cell had ever given her. Though she didn't wear it often it definitely held a special place in her wardrobe. Though after changing for the festivity she realized just what Cell meant by her potential of outfits since she had two distinct forms

"He was right, I have two separate skin tones and hair colors that change my entire theme and outfit choice. And speaking of which I never did put on that one outfit." 21 said as she thought of the black tube top and baggy white pants that she wore when she first transformed, she she shuddered at the idea, seeing as how her evil self was all that came to mind

Before she was lost further in thought she was met by Kazuha, who wore a green shirt with blue jeans and black sneakers. He had his hair combed to the side and it also glistened with gel. Behind him were a few more companions from work that dressed for the occasion

"Oh hey you came Jin! You too Giru!" The buff man said with an endearing tone of voice

"Yes, I decided it was about time I went to a place like this." 21 said as Kazuha chuckled

"That's what practically everyone is telling me, looks like everyone really smart never went to a bar." He commented before shaking his head

But enough about that, it's time to party!" He yelled as everyone around cheered, quickly joined by 21 and Giru as well


The night had long since descended upon half of the world, and as such half of the world had laid dormant for the other to take action

But as this went on there was a new development from up high, far onto the sky of Earth

Dende and Mr. Popo both walked slowly towards the Room of Spirit and Time, Cell's time having now passed for the chamber

The two walked up to the two doors as they opened by themselves, a strong light emanating from within. In front of the two large brown doors, Cell stood stoically, his expression neither of joy nor of boredom

When the two Earth guardians inspected Cell he was different than before, both physically and spiritually. His power seemed much denser and heavier, like he was struggling to hold it all in. But when sensing his soul it seemed to be in a state of neutrality

Spending one year alone did not seem to affect Cell, at least not on the outside. After all Gero's anti-mental stress procedures did have some merit to them

But with the case of Cell, as well as what he's been through, one could never know if they worked at all

The Bio-Android took a deep breath of air before flying away, having completely forgotten of his joke that he left with just yesterday

"This power...I shall put it to great use." Cell thought as he flew in the night sky


Bonus Bit: Familiar Yet Different


The night raged on, almost if not even more active than during the day time. Parties, clubs, bars and all the like raged on through the night while the day to day people rested

In one such bar a loud commotion was heard all throughout the inside. Within the large room a familiar scientist bounced around actively

"That's it come on!" Kazuha yelled, his hair was now a little messy and his cheeks blushed a feint red

"Yeah you can do this! ~hic~" Android 21 said as well, she also had a noticeable blush

In front of them two of their fellow scientists arm wrestled. Darryl, a lean cat furry, struggled to over come the intoxicated Mark, a moderately built man that knew some martial arts

The entire science team enjoyed their time together, talking and conversing while simply enveloping themselves in the atmosphere of energy. For all of them, minus Kazuha, this was a new experience. And as such no one around could handle their alcohol

"Er um, Jin? You seem to be very intoxicated at the moment. Should Giru get you a glass of water?" Giru said as he worried for the well being of his friend

"Oh don't worry, ~hic~ I'll be VERY fine! ~hic~" 21 said as Giru seemed to visibly worry, his movement being a little anxious than before

But just then something appeared in his radar

"Oh! It looks like Cell is back from his training." Giru mentioned as 21 laughed

"Cool! Maybe he can stop by for a drink too! ~hic~" 21 said

"Cell? Who's that?" Kazuha said drunkenly, beside him there was a crash as Darryl managed to win his arm wrestling match

"Oh he's just a really good friend, I love him to DEATH!" 21 said simply while bouncing around at the mention of Cell, almost like a more extreme knee jerk reaction

"He sounds fun! I'd like to meet him!" Kazuha said with effort as he leaned against a table for support

Unbeknownst to them however, a familiar green Android floated just above the roof of the establishment

After noticing 21 wasn't at her home Cell decided to search for her. To his surprise he found her drinking with a bundle of colleagues and Giru as well. Listening and sensing what occurred evoked a strange feeling in Cell

This time however it wasn't amusement or intrigue, but rather a small amount of jealousy

"If only I could be down there as well..." Cell said aloud, a small habit that he had developed recently

In the year that he spent away Cell had more than enough room to think over many things, where he wanted to go, what he was going to do and what to do next

In short, Cell had drawn an infinite number of blanks in most cases. He had no clue what to do next, surely the training Broly would have its end, as well as what he planned for Prestina. But exploring space just didn't really fit him, he wanted adventure and a good fight sure but he didn't want to be alone anymore

...He didn't want to be alone anymore...

The Bio-Weapon closed his eyes as he breathed deeply. Something inside of him simply shifted in place over the course of the last few years, like something very much needed had been acquired

Cell wasn't alone anymore

While in the chamber Cell struggled to do things by himself anymore. He had lived years alone, and he did so for so long. And yet now he had someone with him, someone that promised would be by his side. But for some reason, in the moment, he felt alone. He heard as 21 cheered gleefully alongside her social, likable friends and heard of all the things that they did together. Cell felt happy for her, but he knew that he couldn't join

"I shouldn't ruin her fun." Cell said as he simply began to fly away from the city, further into the night sky

Spending one year alone wasn't something one could do easily, and for someone as sophisticated as Cell it had a great effect of him. The constant self questioning, the revaluation and simple observing that was had simply to pass the time was plentiful for Cell

But most of all, there was something familiar. It was that familiar loneliness that seemed unchanged from those damnable 7 years of his life

Yet now he couldn't simply ignore it, not after life had shown him what else it had for him