"Dr. Flappe…" Tenshinhan turned to the old man sitting on top of the burly Android flying while engulfed in a light-bending, electromagnetic force field that sparked with teal electricity from time to time. "Where are we going and what exactly did you mean by saying that Android 21 will destroy the world?"
"It might be too long of a story, dear boy," Dr. Flappe closed his eyes with a solemn look on his face.
"Please, I must request that you explain yourself, as I can feel the Ki of Son Goku and Chayote dipping. Right now I am feeling like I must separate from you and go help them," Tenshinhan asked the old scientist.
"That would be a grave mistake. Artificial Human No. 21 is prepared for every one of you. In a way, the place I am taking you to and the reason I took you along is related to that very thing that makes her so invincible," Dr. Flappe replied.
"What do you mean by that? You mean Android 21 mastered some sort of powerful and secret technique to defeat us?" Tenshinhan's eyebrows tilted in surprise as his mouth gaped ajar.
"You still seem fixed on thinking of Artificial Human No. 21 as a martial artist. She is not. She is a scientist and through cybernetic and genetic tampering, she may very well be the most fearsome one in the entire universe. No. What I meant by that was that she's specifically designed plans to deal with every warrior of remarkable battle power, even Trunks, who came from the future," Dr. Flappe explained.
"And, because of her ability to consume technology, not even other Androids, not even Super Androids can challenge her," Super Android 8 turned up and to his left, looking right at Tenshinhan, to say.
"But you've absorbed Android One-Eight, didn't you?" Tenshinhan wondered about what he saw Artificial Human No. 8 do back during his clash with the fearsome Android. "Even when he lacked a physical body and was just a floating artificial intelligence, you've still absorbed him and became a Super Android, didn't you?"
"The ability of Artificial Human No. 21 to assimilate technology and upgrade herself goes beyond that. It's true that she's able to absorb separate pieces of destroyed Androids like us and become a Super Android, but she's also able to assimilate any piece of technology, meaning any Android, no matter what state they are in. She could have become far stronger than she is now by simply assimilating all of her One Models, but she must have thought them to be more useful to her at the time acting separately," Super Android 8 explained.
"Artificial Human No. 8 doesn't think like you martial artists. She doesn't want or need more power, so she'd never just gobble down Artificial Humans unless she needs that power-up or to use a function that those Artificial Humans can perform. That's why it's so perilous that you see her as just another powerful enemy you must surpass and defeat. That is why you keep losing to her ambitions and strategies," Dr. Flappe wiped the sweat from his forehead. Even if Super Android 8's electromagnetic field and all the electrical sparkles didn't hurt him, it didn't mean they didn't bother him. Not to mention the internal qualms he had about this entire situation.
"You said you've been an ally of Dr. Puri's for the longest time. That you've worked alongside her even back when her husband was still alive. Someone like you must know a lot of crucial information about her plans and how she thinks. We should head to God's Temple, I'll raise my Ki to its limits, which the rest will see as an alarm to rush back and regroup. Together we can put a better plan together and finally defeat Android 21 for good!" Tenshinhan suggested with a confident look on his face.
"There may not be time for this. You're right, I've worked alongside Dr. Puri for decades. I've worked alongside her husband, Dr. Gero, back when we were co-workers when both of us have been youths about your age. Then, Dr. Gero joined with the Red Ribbons and, out of tremendous respect for him and the work we've been doing, I followed suit, despite my reservations about using my brilliant mind for a rogue military complex and their world domination goals," Dr. Flappe shook his head, going through belated regret that shadowed over his expression.
"Dr. Flappe, it's okay…" Super Android 8 said, turning his head up at the elderly scientist riding on top of him. "If you and Dr. Gero didn't join the Red Ribbon Army, you'd have never created me, and I'm very grateful for a chance to be alive."
"You were a fluke, Artificial Human No. 8. Together with Dr. Gero, we sought to discover the wonders of robotics, cybernetics: ways to make cybernetically enhanced soldiers for the army while Dr. Gero sought for technology to bring dead people to life using cybernetics. There was much we didn't know at the time, that is why your appearance was so… Shoddy. We essentially made your skinsuit out of the flesh of dead soldiers, put it together like a jigsaw puzzle, and stapled it. I didn't want to make a weapon that the Red Ribbon Army wanted, I argued to make you a gentle and kind soul. Back then, I was surprised why Dr. Gero would agree with my request…" Dr. Flappe replied.
"He must have respected you for the years you've worked together…" Super Android 8 replied with a hopeful smile.
"That's what I thought back then too. It was only later that I found out about the death of his son. Young Gebo was a gentle and kind soul, just like the nature I wanted us to instill in you to prevent you from becoming a weapon. He must have seen our project as a trial version of a sort before he devotes himself to his work in restoring his son back to life through Artificial Human technology. That is really why Dr. Gero agreed to make you into what the Red Ribbons considered "a dud"," Dr. Flappe explained.
"Well, I'm glad either way," Super Android 8 objected before looking on ahead with an optimistic face unfit for the burly monstrosity he had become. "Whatever the reason, I got to live as a peaceful and kind soul because of it. I'd have hated nothing more than to become a living weapon or to enjoy destruction like those One Models…"
"If we made you into a weapon that the Red Ribbons wanted, you'd have enjoyed destruction because your nature would have been different. Artificial Humans are what their creators program them to be, their nature is no lottery like it is with biological humans," Dr. Flappe corrected his creation. "After the collapse of the Red Ribbons, I had no incentive to work alongside the Rainbow Brigade and the ensuing chaos in their formation allowed me to escape their clutches. However, Dr. Gero continued his work, joining up with the White Ribbon Army. I've advised him on a few things from time to time remotely from the nearby Jingle Village where I've come to reside. I thought to have retired from serious scientific research. I must admit, back then I thought that Dr. Gero would've been better off dealing with his grief and letting go of his son, especially given the problems that the destruction of the Red Ribbons' base caused him since that base was where Gebo's body was preserved."
"And yet you've ended up working alongside Dr. Puri?" Tenshinhan wondered.
"That is correct. After Dr. Gero ended up dying, I've had to work through some grief of my own. Then, I've learned that his wife, the brilliant Dr. Puri, was continuing his research, so I felt inclined to assist her. She offered me to convert me into an Artificial Human like she planned to do to herself with the aid of two wild kids that Dr. Gero bargained with candy and free gadgets with as his pair of free hands, Lapis and Lazuli. I truly believed in the mother's work to restore the life of her child, deep down I hoped that she'd rebuild her genius husband too one day with that same technology. With the groundbreaking breakthroughs that Dr. Gero and his obsession had left us with, the sky seemed like the limit of what the Artificial Human technology could do." Dr. Flappe recalled.
"So you knew about her plans, how she planned to betray Bulma and capture Chayote for revenge?" Tenshinhan's look became direr. A man so close to Dr. Puri couldn't have feigned ignorance of even the more intricate parts of her plan.
"I did. I didn't like those plans, but I believed in the work we were doing. With the threats our world was facing, the "Devil" sign appearing on the ground, the chaos worldwide, then the Demon invasion, the Saiyans and the Evil Tribe from space, not to mention the re-emergence of Dr. Wheelo and his Bio-Warriors… We needed Artificial Humans to protect humanity, I was sure of it. That was why I had to swallow my dignity and doom Chayote for the life of excruciating torture that Dr. Puri had planned for that poor woman for the sake of humanity's best interests. Then… When Dr. Puri discovered the traces of the heart virus… That was when I started sleeping peacefully at night again. Chayote's fate paled compared to this looming threat to humanity. One woman had to live a life of suffering so that the hero the world needed could fix it before all humanity went extinct," judging from Dr. Flappe's tone, the old scientist didn't try to justify himself and he saw himself as someone as wicked as everyone else under Dr. Puri's employ.
"While I don't agree with you, Dr. Flappe, I can understand you, somewhat…" Tenshinhan turned his eyes away. He wondered deep down if he wouldn't have doomed someone, even someone he knew, for a life as Dr. Puri's personal lab rat in the field of agony if that meant he could save the entire humanity. Heck, even if he could have saved just Chiaotzu…
"I was a senile fool," Dr. Flappe cut it short with a strict slash of his unwavering tone. "I should have known that, with time, Dr. Puri would fail to balance her need to save the world with her primitive craving for vengeance. When one justifies one depravity to themselves, allowing more of them in one's work becomes increasingly simpler. And thus, Dr. Puri's methods became more and more depraved in time. Everything became just a means to a noble end. Controlling the world in an iron grip became acceptable to her, as long as that world stayed safe under her control. Forcing her conversion upon people through the employ of her cyber legions became acceptable because even though they may have suffered and their freedom to choose was quashed, they'd get to live in the end…"
"I see… This still doesn't explain why we are in such a rush though, Dr. Flappe…" Tenshinhan noted, seeing the reason behind the old scientist's motivations of betraying Dr. Puri.
"It's because of another depravity of Artificial Human No. 21's–Cell," Dr. Flappe declared with a stony face that was frigid with both terror and determination to do something extreme that he had in his mind.
"Cell?" Tenshinhan repeated, looking confused as this name didn't seem to follow the ordinary naming pattern for Artificial Humans. "What is it? Another Android we haven't heard of?"
"No… It is far beyond just that, though Dr. Puri refuses to see the threat that this creature poses. Through genetic splicing and experimentation, she's created artificial, biological life. A Bio-Android, if you will," Dr. Flappe pointed out.
"Artificial life?" Super Android 8 gasped.
"I am not fully sure why she'd go this far, perhaps she wasn't satisfied with the results of the major project in restoring her son Gebo to life and wanted to take his revival in another direction. From what Dr. Puri revealed to me, she uses Cell as her guinea pig, introducing the cells of different creatures across the universe and testing different methods of crippling or killing them. It is because of Cell that she's been able to devise these 100%, infallible strategies of besting every martial artist from across every corner of the universe. It is because of Cell that she could wipe out every Namekian of the Dragon Clan specifically," Dr. Flappe explained.
"I'm… I'm not sure I understand…" Tenshinhan muttered, trying to wrap his head around what exactly Cell was and what threat he might have posed. "From what we've heard so far, it feels to me like this Cell should be interested in escaping captivity and punishing Android 21, not working with her."
"Oh, no… It's utterly impossible to know what Cell thinks or wants. Dr. Puri may be oblivious to the dangers of her genetic splicing and playing God, but she's keeping Cell in a primitive, mostly harmless and dormant form inside of a controlled, test tube environment," Dr. Flappe replied.
"Then why is this Cell so dangerous that you would snap and betray Dr. Puri like that, Doctor? After all those years…" Super Android 8 wondered. Dr. Flappe gently patted his back as a sign for the bulky Super Android to stop and hover above the location they were in. It was a sign that they'd arrived at where this Cell creature was.
Tenshinhan and Super Android 8 swooped down, with Dr. Flappe slipping off of Super Android 8's shoulders and rushing off toward a mountain ridge and seeking a hidden door leading to an underground facility where Cell was being kept. The elderly scientist staggered back with sweat pouring down his face.
"What's wrong, Dr. Flappe?" Tenshinhan wondered. "Do you need help with something?"
"The door… It's not here… I… I don't understand… Could Dr. Puri have predicted my betrayal and moved that abomination somewhere else? She's never held it in the open, she couldn't have moved it to her own lab… She couldn't have…" Dr. Flappe gasped and struggled for air while staggering to a nearby rock. Tenshinhan approached the pile of wrecked rocks that Dr. Flappe had been feeling up before and extended an open palm. The three-eyed warrior yelled out, expelling a Kiai shock pulse that scattered the rocks and revealed a charred and ruined wreckage.
"I… Impossible!" Dr. Flappe jumped up and ran to the destroyed underground laboratory that lay underneath the rubble. "Someone got here before us, but who? No one else but me knew where this place was and the true importance of this secret lab… It could have only been Dr. Puri herself or me that could have destroyed this lab and I certainly didn't do it."
"Perhaps Dr. Puri finally opened her eyes and saw the danger in Cell? Or maybe she's become so vain that she doesn't think she needs Cell anymore, because she's the strongest and the smartest person alive, in her own mind. Maybe it's a statement?" Tenshinhan wondered, sitting beside the old doctor and monitoring his anxiety attack so that it didn't have a perilous effect on his body.
"You don't… Understand… Cell assimilates whatever genetic sampling we splice inside of him. Right now, he might have Saiyan cells. Meaning that with each experiment that nearly kills him, he grows exponentially more powerful and evolves through adversity. He might have Namekian cells, making him capable of wild regeneration. He might have Demon cells. Making him incredibly durable and capable of using demonic magic. He might have Frieza Clan cells. Making his anatomy absolutely unruly, making him capable of breathing in space and nigh impossible to kill," Dr. Flappe kept on panting while sweat dripped from his forehead and a soaked afro.
"So, in experimenting on this creature to learn to defeat a vast variety of enemies, Dr. Puri unintentionally created an abominable mash of all of them in one creature… By wanting to learn to overcome the Evil Tribe, the Demons, the Saiyans, and Frieza, she's created something that's all of those things combined. I think I understand now why this Cell drives such fear into you, Dr. Flappe," Tenshinhan admitted. "Though there's one thing I still don't understand, why not make many Cells? Why not just kill Cell and make another one from scratch for each experiment?"
"Vanity… That incredibly stupid hero complex that will doom us all to hell…" Dr. Flappe fell on his knees, lamenting his fate and simmering in his despair. "Don't you understand? Dr. Gero would have done this very thing you said, however, Dr. Puri sees herself as this world's savior. She would never take a life, even an artificial one unless that death is strictly necessary and… She just thinks so highly of herself that she refuses to see that Cell might pose a threat to her one day."
"But… There's not a single trace of Cell or any life signs in sight…" Super Android 8 pointed out. "If Cell is a living creature with all those wild cells in him, wouldn't we be able to track his Ki?"
"You're right, I'm unable to sense anything strange. There aren't any wild Ki signatures around the Earth I can't recognize," Tenshinhan closed his eyes and focused on his Ki sensory, unable to sense any off-putting signatures that would've raised his suspicion. "All of those creatures: Evil Tribe, Namekians, Demons, Frieza and the Saiyans, all of them have their unique Ki signatures with their distinct traits and I can't pick up any of them I could not recognize, let alone all of them mashed together."
"In that case, you may be right and Dr. Puri may have destroyed Cell once and for all then," Dr. Flappe approached a ruined test tube with shattered glass. A hollowed-out, cicada-like shell laid beside it, though it had been dried up to the point of certain death and there was no sign of a hole through which something larger may have walked out after cracking from this oversized husk. Whatever fate befell it, the insectoid had dried out into a sandy husk and perished with no damage to its outer shell. "Perhaps even a self-righteous woman like her saw the peril in Cell's biological map and put a stop to her ruinous experiment… I am glad… This is such a relief…"
"Let's head to God's Temple. That's where all the survivors are based. I'm afraid that Super Android 8 won't be able to make it there because of the strengthened barrier, but maybe Kami Upa can make an exception in his incantation for a single Android?" Tenshinhan suggested.
"No, I understand… The machinations of Artificial Human No. 21 have thrown this world into chaos, I can't say I blame people for not trusting Androids anymore. It's a pity that it will take so much to regain the goodwill and peaceful co-existence that I strived for, but… We cannot help it," Super Android 8 nodded with a lukewarm expression of acceptance.