Val sat on the ground, staring out towards the edge of the Lookout. She felt annoyance simmering under the surface, but it was not as strong as the few seconds before she struck the ground. Stuck up here. Knowing nothing of what was happening down on the planet. Interim guardian. The choice. Which might mean there is no other choice to replace her so-
"My lady," Mr. Popo said near her. She jumped, looking up at him. He had the staff, her staff in hand offering it towards her. She cringed internally, standing up and taking it from him.
"Thank you," she said, holding the staff in one hand, not understanding the point of it. She looked around the area. "It's rather quiet up here..." she said. She drew her ears back, straining to hear another sound, any sound.
"It is an adjustment," he explained.
She frowned, telling herself not to take out her frustration on him. "How did Kami look down at the world below?" she asked.
He gestured towards the edge. She step towards it, him walking side by side with her. When they got to the edge, this time she did not try to jump. She stood a few steps back from it. "Hold up the staff, clear your mind, and sense for someone down below. Then you can use remote viewing to watch them."
She nodded, raising the staff up and debating who to look for: the androids or Piccolo. Kami had been terrified of something worse than the androids though, so terrified that he sacrificed his life in hope to stop whatever it was. She felt a sharp spike in her heart, recalling it was exactly what Nail had done. That terrifying thing was what Piccolo had gone after. She closed her eyes and sensed for him. She gasped when she honed in on him all too easily.
She saw him land on the ground, seeing a suddenly deserted town with no one around, but clothes, jewelry, and even a TV camera abandoned on the road. She felt her ears draw back up at the Lookout while watching Piccolo look around the area. "So you've finally shown yourself, monster," Piccolo said, turning around to see what indeed a monster approaching him.
Whatever it was looked like a cross between a human and a cicada. Val could not recall having seen an alien like that before, even among the ones Raditz used to parade in front of her. She sensed it, not sure what she was sensing, an amalgamation of familiar energies that did not match. A heavy set human man was behind him. The monster held fast to his suit jacket. "He- help me!" the man called out. "If you want money, I'll give you all you want. Just save me! I'm the richest person in this town!" Val watched Piccolo watch him. "Hey! Hey you!"
"I don't think you'll be able to understand me, but release him. Even things like that deserve to live," Piccolo said.
The monster said nothing, but let the man go. The man started to crawl away from it and towards Piccolo. Yet shockingly, the monster tail, needle point at the tip, stabbed into the man's back. The sickening sucking sound that matched with the horror of watching the man melt and scream until nothing was left beyond his clothes. Val felt her stomach flip at the sight and sound of it. The monster looked over at Piccolo, saying, "you're going to be next, Arch-Demon Piccolo!"
Val gasped in shock, fighting with herself mentally to stay in the remote viewing of it all. "How- how do you know my name? What are you?" Piccolo asked.
The monster answered nonverbally by powering up. Val sensed at it again, knowing she knew what she was sensing, having sensed it all the time since she learned to sense others. She could even sense it outside of the remote viewing, up in the Lookout. "I sense... me..." she said aloud, knowing only Mr. Popo would be able to hear her, but thankfully he did not say anything to distract her. "More than me..." Her stomach flipped harder. She tried to ignore it, wanting to stay in the remote viewing to keep watching.
"This... this is..." Piccolo stuttered out.
"I'm your son," the monster stated.
"That's not possible," Val said, shaking her head, mind light headed and racing. If she sensed herself in that creature plus it stating that he was Piccolo child, it was not a far conclusion to draw that it was somehow theirs. They had already met one time traveler from the future, what was to stop other one? However, it was not possible. The monster was neither Anthromorph nor Namekian completely by looks. A child of an Anthromorph could only take after one parent or the other, hardly getting much of anything from the other parent. The mixing of traits like it did with other races such as humans with Saiyans did not happen. On top of that, the monster was an amalgamation that did not fit coming from the two of them.
She sunk her mind back down into the scene. "Who are you really?" Piccolo demanded. "Tell me everything!"
"I don't need to," the monster said. "I'm going to be feasting on you soon."
"Yes, you do," Val willed.
"I see, you don't want to talk," Piccolo grunted. "If that's the way it's going to be, I'll just have to kill you without asking any more questions."
The monster laughed, "ho, ho, ho. Arch-Demon Piccolo, do you really think that you can kill me?"
Piccolo answered, "I don't know how you know Piccolo, but..." He left his words hanging, powering himself up intensely. "Too bad, however, you've mistaken me for someone else."
"What?" the monster asked. "Did you say I've mistaken you for someone else? Are you trying to tell me that you aren't Arch-Demon Piccolo?"
Piccolo nodded, saying cockily, "that's right." He flared his energy once more, Val being able to easily sense it so far away on the top of the Lookout. She felt a stir of pride and protective attraction in her chest. "It was convenient that you got rid of all the inhabitants of the city."
"What? What do you mean?" the monster asked. "What?" Piccolo took aim at the monster, hitting it with a sudden and powerful blast.
Val felt her hands trembling, half relieved and half confused as to what that monster was, where he came from, and how she could sense herself in it. The monster landed far away on the ground with Piccolo charging towards it prone form. He jumped up, trying to get at Piccolo. Piccolo dodged it and gave it a swift kick in the back. The monster jumped away, only to charge at him once more. Piccolo knocked it away. "If that's that best that you can do, then I was mistaken thinking you were a terrible monster," he said.
The monster panted. "You're pretty good, even though I haven't gotten my perfect form yet," it admitted.
"Perfect form?" Piccolo asked. "Don't tell me that's why you were absorbing people."
The monster shook his head, explaining, "I take the essence and convert it to energy."
"Answer me!" Piccolo demanded. "Who sent you back to this time!? Was it your friend?"
The monster answered, "I sent myself. This body was too large for the time machine itself, so it was necessary for me to turn myself back into an egg. But I'm surprised you even knew about the time machine. However, I'm sure you didn't know about this." The monster drew both hands back, powering up and chanting, "Ka... Me... Ha... Me..." Val felt her stomach twist and sink, breathing nervously as she heard him power up to copy one of Goku's moves. Not only that, he was aiming it right at Piccolo.
"That stance. It can't be!" Piccolo said, shocked.
"Ha!" the monster finished, sending the blast right at Piccolo.
"This is impossible!" Piccolo shouted, watching it. "It's the real thing!"
"Move!" Val shouted and willed from her roost on the Lookout. Precious seconds ticked past as she waited until he was in sight.
He dodged the blast, moving and looking for the monster. Val hissed through her teeth, seeing the monster wrap his arms and legs around Piccolo. She wanted so badly to leave the Lookout and go after him, but she was stuck up here until further notice. The monster stabbed him with his tail, shouting, "your life is mine!" Val cringed, watching it stab him in the arm and hearing him shouting in pain as he was being drained from the wound. "Ugh! I stung him in the arm! But even so... the result will be the same!" Piccolo kept shouting, struggling and kipping to get out of the monster's grip. He threw his head back as hard as he could, head butting the monster to make it let him go. Val felt sickened at the sight of one of his arms, his right arm, being reduce to a thin piece of flesh. That monster... that monster was somehow their son. Val shook her spinning head, trying to deny the thought of it. "Even though you've escaped, you can't use that arm anymore. The tables have turned!" the monster shouted gleefully.
"Yeah... my balance is off as well," Piccolo admitted, holding on to the top of what was left of his right arm. "It's certainly gotten harder for me. It looks like you'll win," he said.
"You've realized the futility of your position! Fortunately after I take your life essence, I'll be much closer to my perfect form," the monster cheered.
Piccolo kept talking, making Val wonder what he was doing. "Before I'm absorbed by you, answer my questions. What are you? Why can I feel Goku's and Frieza's ki from you? You can even do the Kame-Hame-Ha!" Val took a few step backs in shock. Frieza... she sensed the monster, finding it true. Frieza's ki was there, and so was Goku's mixed with their own. There were other ones there, too. She brought a hand up to her mouth, tasting bile in the back of her throat.
The monster stood up taller, proud and proper. He explained, "alright. You'll be dead anyhow. I may as well tell you. My name is Cell. I am a cyborg. Dr. Gero's computer created me." Val felt her ears draw back at that. Created... how...?
"Dr. Gero again!" Piccolo groaned.
The monster continued, "long ago, Dr. Gero started to collect genetic material from you warriors. He was going to use the genes to create a cyborg. However, it wouldn't have even been possible had a genetic gold mine never come to Earth from Namek. One that was compatible with all the fathers, even a Namekian Demon Clansmen."
"Who?" Piccolo asked.
The monster purred, "my mother, you know her. Your adopted sister. The Anthromorph. Val."
Val felt her head spin in absolute shock. She turned around, running towards the building part of the Lookout. She did not make it, stumbling to the ground and threw up. She felt Mr. Popo come next to her, pulling her disheveled braid out of the way. She stayed in the remote viewing, hearing what was said, even as she got sick.
"What?" Piccolo asked.
The monster, Cell, kept talking. "Dr. Gero couldn't make the genetic materials from the other warriors work together without the Anthromorph DNA because yours was not compatible otherwise. However, getting it was difficult. Her skin is thick, far too thick. A tiny spy robot would never have managed to get a blood sample from her without her catching it in the attempt, so he bribed a Capsule Corp employee handsomely to steal him a vial of her blood. It worked. Namekian Demon Clan DNA was compatible with hers.
"Yet he gave up eventually though. It took too long, so he stopped working on me. However, the computer continued his work. It took the cells collected from you, Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta, and Napa when you all were fighting on Earth. And when Frieza and his father came to Earth, we were lucky enough to collect and use their cells, too. Don't worry. Technically, no incest was involved. It would have been nice to get Trunk's cells too, but we already had enough Saiyan samples," the monster finished.
Val scooted herself away from her vomit, shaking too much to stand up. She watched Mr. Popo simply wave his hand and magic it away. Her mind reeling from the news she just heard. Her blood... he got her blood somehow... Dr. Gero got it and took and used it. Used it to make a monster... How, but how-?
She gasped, recalling the destroyed blood samples from her and the Dragon Clansmen, the day of Yamcha's baseball game. The game where she had properly been introduced to Tien and Chiaotzu. That had been so long ago. She had given five vials, done by the red headed worker, but Dr. Briefs had said four were destroyed. She had always assumed he miscounted or something in the aftermath. The lab had been such a mess. Yet what if the person who took one vial to Dr. Gero had destroyed all those samples just to cover their tracks...?
Piccolo was talking, drawing her out of her rambling thoughts. Piccolo commented, "Goku wasn't very strong then. That's why your Kamehameha wasn't very powerful! How were you able to collect the cells? You couldn't have had all of them stolen from Capsule Corps's lab. There wasn't anyone suspicious around us at those times."
"I told you Dr. Gero had spy robots," Cell reminded him. "It was a bee like robot. Probably none of you notice it since only a quick, tiny prick was needed. Easy to penetrate undetected such thin skin compared to Val's. It got samples of your blood whenever it could. Watch closely!" He shouted, cocking his back and above himself. "Even now it's sending data to the computer! It may even want to sample you right now!"
Piccolo honed in on it, blasting it out of air, swearing, "damn you!" Piccolo shot the drone down with a quick blast from his left hand.
Cell chuckled, "destroying it now is too late. It's already taken all the necessary samples. The research has already begun! I won't be perfected for another 24 years!"
Piccolo grunted, "don't be stupid! We destroyed Dr. Gero's lab!"
Cell shook his head, saying, "the research computer was below the one you destroyed!"
"I see," Piccolo said pensively.
Val felt her stomach settle a bit, but she thought about it through a headache that was now forming. Dr. Gero had a research computer, still in tack. She felt hesitant, but wanted to go there and at the very peruse his data. Genetic research, he could create another fighter using her and Piccolo's DNA as well as several others, but what if he had some research that could allow an Anthromorphic child between just the two of them? A child that would not end up becoming an evil monster? "I need that data," she said out loud to herself, seething that she was stuck up here indefinitely.
"My Lady, are you still remote viewing?" Mr. Popo asked her. She glanced up at him, nodding. She gave him a two sentence summary about what Piccolo was facing, making him draw back. "Is that possible?" he asked. She stood up and shrugged, still watching Piccolo below as well.
Piccolo was still talking, "why did it take you three years to grow out of that shape from the egg?"
Cell answered, "after returning to an egg, it takes three years of growth in the ground." He cracked his neck and stepped forward. "Now then, I must absorb you now-"
"My last question!" Piccolo rushed out. "Why did you come back in time?"
Cell raised his head up proudly, explaining, "in order for me to achieve my perfect form, I need more than just life essence. I need to join with two important bodies. The computer told me those two bodies are #17 and #18."
"What?!" Val said, catching in an afterthought that she said it at the same time Piccolo did.
Cell kept monologuing, "when I started life in the future, they were nowhere to be found. I don't know what happened, but in my future, they had been destroyed. Probably by Trunks. But fortunately, Trunks had his time machine. I killed Trunks and came back in time to find 17 and 18." Val felt her jaw clench at that news.
"Why did you chose this time?" Piccolo asked.
Cell stated, "Trunk's time machine was set for this time. All I did was push the button."
Piccolo nodded. "I see. Trunks was probably coming back to tell us he'd somehow destroyed the cyborgs!"
"The computer also told me this..." Cell started. "When I achieve my perfect form, I will be the most powerful being imaginable!"
"For what reason? Why do you want absolute power?" Piccolo asked.
"Reasons?" Cell scoffed. "Don't ask such foolish questions! The computer was programmed to make me as strong as possible! Or maybe it's the majority of Saiyan blood in me. Or Frieza's. Or Demon Clan's, with all its evil potential and tendencies."
"I see," Piccolo said yet again. Then he did something odd. He glanced only his eyes up towards the sky and whispered softly, "did you get all that?" Val blinked, confused at first what he saying. Then she gasped, realizing with a wave of embarrassment that he knew she was watching, had expected her to be remote viewing, ease dropping on their conversation.
"Hmm, what did you say?" Cell asked.
Piccolo shook his head. "Thank you for clearing up those mysteries," he preempted. He grabbed what remained of his right arm, tearing the deflated piece off so then a new, fully fleshed arm could grow back in its place. He shook it out, looking it over. "You've given me a lot to think about."
Cell looked aghast, stuttering, "you... you... You did that to make me talk!"
"I'm not the only one who heard either," Piccolo hinted vaguely.
Cell looked around the area, devoid of life beyond the two of them. "Who? Who else is here?"
Piccolo smirked, explaining, "Earth's guardian. Knowing them, they're listening in as we speak. So you hiding from them now that they know your energy signature ought to be next to impossible."
Cell fumed, "I'll take care of that ancient Dragon Clansman later."
Piccolo smirked and shook his head, saying, "I can't allow you to go after Earth's guardian. Nor can I allow you to reach your perfect form. You have my blood. Didn't you realize I can regenerate my arm? Even accounting for the energy in that one arm. I'm still stronger than you."
Cell hissed, "you're pretty smart. You pretended to lose that arm to get me to talk. Your evil wisdom is working well for you."
Piccolo shook his head. "That was Kami's wisdom."
"What?" Cell gasped. He stared at Piccolo. "I see! You're what happens when Kami and Piccolo fuse! That means the dragon balls are gone and the Earth is without a guardian... Whoever dies can't come back... This might work to my advantage."
Piccolo hummed, "that's almost right. Took you long enough to figure it out."
"Almost right?" Cell asked.
"Val's the new guardian, so your mother's watching," Piccolo teased. Val felt her nose wrinkle at the thought of being called that.
Cell hissed, "she can't anything from that roost." He stared hard at Piccolo, looking him up and down. "The fusion. That's why you're so strong, even though you still look the Demon Clansman Piccolo."
Piccolo looked ready to fight again when all three of them heard a familiar voice call out, "that is Piccolo! He has fused with Kami! But what is that other thing?!" Val looked, seeing Krillin speaking. He was flying towards Piccolo alongside Future Trunks.
"It's probably that thing that came out of the shell," Future Trunks reasoned.
Val watched them fly over to Piccolo and land nearby him. "It's a monster!" Krillin commented. He looked up at Piccolo and asked, "is this what killed everyone in Ginger Town?"
Piccolo nodding, warning them, "yes. Be careful of his tail. It's what he used on everyone."
"Why do we feel..." Krillin started asking, "like everyone's ki coming from him?"
Piccolo said, "I'll tell you later. I have to take care of him first."
Cell laughed, "'take care of me? That won't be easy."
"It spoke!" Krillin gasped in shock.
"I really don't think you have a chance of winning in this situation," Piccolo warned, stepping towards Cell.
"It does look like I'll have to retreat," Cell cringed.
Piccolo shook his head. "I won't let you escape. Another Kamehameha won't affect me."
"Kamehameha?" Krillin asked. "Can he use Goku's Kamehameha?"
Cell answered, "I can use more than just that attack, Krillin. If I wanted to, I may even use the Genki Dama!"
Krillin stared at Cell. "Wow, it even knows my name! Goku's really going to be surprised when I tell him this."
Cell purred, "so he's still alive? This time line is slowly separating from the history I know." He took a deep breath and shouted, "I will get my hand on 17 and 18! You won't even be able to stop me from obtaining my perfect form!" He raised his hands up to his face, palms facing in and fingers spread wide. Val felt her ears draw back, recognizing that set up for an attack. The three below were also just as shocked. "Taiyoken!" he shouted, creating a flash of bright light to blind the others so he could flee. The brightness even blinded Val as she watched below. When the light subsided, she looked around and sensed around the area, not seeing or sensing him anywhere. She stomped her foot in annoyance, giving up when she could not find him at all.
"Damn!" Piccolo swore.
"Damn!" Future Trunks echoed. "We let him get away!"
"Wasn't that Tien's technique?" Piccolo asked.
"The Taiyoken's not hard to do," Krillin explained. "Even Goku and I can do it! I even taught it to Val when she and trained together." Trunks looked at him confused at that comment.
Piccolo growled, flying up into the air and looking around. "Damn him! He's hidden his ki. I didn't think he could do that, too!"
Val sighed, trying again to sense for Cell, somewhere, anywhere in the area. Even with that and the ability to remote view, she could not find him at all. She huffed, giving up and turning her focus still on the remote viewing down on the others.
Piccolo landed on the ground and swore loudly, "Damn it! I left myself get distracted! I should have defeated him sooner! Damn me!" He panted, calming down after a bit. "We can't let him achieve his perfect form!" Krillin and Future Trunks just stared at him, unsure what he was saying exactly.
Val sensed around the area a bit, smiling to herself to see Vegeta land in the area. "That's Piccolo! Impossible!" he said out loud. "Tell me! What the hell just happened here?"
Piccolo looked up in the air, saying, "it looks like Tien is coming here, too. I'll you when he arrives."
Vegeta grunted. "Before that, tell me this. Are you really Piccolo? How were you able to get so strong so fast?"
"It looks like he rejoined with Kami," Future Trunks answered for him.
"Wha...What? Rejoined with Kami? Just that?!" Vegeta asked. "Then who is guarding the Earth?" Vegeta grumbled, face growing sour.
Krillin pointed up into the air. "He's here! It's Tien," he announced. He looked up at Piccolo. "It's Val, isn't? She chased after you and somehow became guardian?"
Val felt herself twitch and cringe to hear them start to talk about her. Her ears drew back. Piccolo nodded and grunted down at Krillin. "What?" Vegeta asked tightly.
"Wait, but I thought she only chased after you to get her bracelet fixed? Why on Earth would she become guardian?" Tien asked in confusion.
Krillin shrugged, saying, "well, Kami has been asking her since right before we fought Garlic Jr. I guess she finally gave in?"
"That was years ago," Tien commented. "She never mentioned it to me." Val felt her ears draw back at that outing comment.
Vegeta spoke next, looking right at Piccolo, saying, "you! You made her do it. Somehow." When Piccolo did not answer right away, he kept talking. "She didn't want to do that really, preferring to hide herself away with her computers at Capsule Corps. That old man just kept asking her and pressuring her. It's the only reason she would even consider it." Val griped the staff in her hands tightly.
Piccolo sighed, answering, "she's just doing it for the interim. Until we can find someone more suited to it." She felt her breathing quicken, wanting them to stop talking about her.
Vegeta narrowed his eyes, giving Tien a quick glance before asking, "is that why you were at Capsule Corps with her all night last night?"
Val gasped, hearing him say that. She saw the others were shocked at the comment as well. She did notice Trunks looked oddly the most confused. "We have more serious matters to discuss," Piccolo insisted. Val gritted her teeth, wanting them to move on from this conversation.
Vegeta clicked his teeth. "And yet she wants a ch-"
"Just shut up!" Val shouted loudly, feeling her hands heat up.
Unexpectedly, Vegeta looked behind himself and up in the air. The others looked around as well. "Uh, I think she heard you," Krillin stated. Val felt her face flush, realizing they heard her. He cleared his throat. "Uh, Piccolo? Maybe you're not ready, but could you tell us what that monster was exactly?"
Piccolo turned around and looked down at Krillin, nodding his head. "Okay, I'll explain everything. Vegeta and Tien didn't see it, but that monster is a cyborg created by Dr. Gero's computer acting on it's own. That monster is..." Val cringed, listening to him explain what he knew and had seen with Cell all over again. The four of them looked shocked when he finished explaining it just to say the least. "That's what's going on. In order to stop Cell from obtaining his perfect form, we'll either have to find him again and kill him or destroy 17 and 18. It's one or the other. I'll have to defeat Cell while I'm still more powerful than him."
"Damn, I guess we'll have to find and kill Cell," Krillin concluded.
"Will we be able to find him?" Trunks asked. "He knows how powerful Piccolo is. Won't he continue to hide and consume people at his leisure?"
"We have to keep him and #17 and #18 apart! This looks bad..." Tien commented.
Piccolo nodded, saying, "this affect more than the Earth. All the planets in the Universe share out danger. Don't forget Frieza's blood is in his veins, too."
"He has my blood, too," Vegeta stated. "You're wasting your time with this planning. Why not let him fuse if that's what he wants?" he asked.
"Shut up," Val willed just weak enough that he would not hear her this time, knowing before he said it where he was going with this.
Vegeta kept going, "it'll give us less people to fight and more room to act. I don't care how strong my opponent is. I'll still kill him!"
Piccolo growled, "don't underestimate him, Vegeta. You were barely able to touch #18, and Cell is much stronger than her."
Vegeta shouted, "I'm not going to listen to you fucking bad-mouth me! Do you want me to kill you before I kill the cyborgs? I'll surpass them! No matter what, I'll surpass them! I'll even surpass the Super Saiyan!" He flew off at that in his rage.
Val huffed and cringed watching him fly off in yet another rage. She brought her hand to her forehead, not sure if she should watch after him or the others. She felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her, but she shook it off, thinking about, of all things, how to get her hands on Dr. Gero's research from his lab...