Chapter 64: A Royal Retreat
16 and 17 cut through the forest like a hot knife through butter. Each scrub, each tree, simply could not withstand their relentless charge through the forest.
Their search was entering a dangerous territory though, as Cell's energy signature was dropping further and further, and only 16 was capable of tracking him down.
"Wait 17." 16 suddenly declared, an uncomfortable look on his face as he stared directly ahead of themselves.
"Why the hell are we stopping 16? He has 18!" 17 shouted barely containing his fury.
"Cell has stopped moving, he is charging his power, be prepared." With the warning finished, the super powered Android continued on their way.
In the clearing from which Cells energy had once radiated stood two strange, small, green creatures, each somewhat resembling the humanoid form Cell had taken before fleeing.
The bio android himself was nowhere to be seen. Even his Ki signature seemed to have vanished completely.
"Where is he?" 17 shouted to the apparent miniature Cells, causing the duo to break into snickers.
17 had had enough of this game, as he quickly charged up 2 blasts. The small clones immediately stopped their laughter, each taking on a much more serious fighting stance.
Without any further hesitation 17 unleashed his attacks. Both of the miniature Cells scattered in opposite directions.
17 wasn't inclined to let the small creatures go that easily, as both attacks continued to track their intended targets
In a fraction of a second it was clear to the small green beings that the attacks were coming faster than they could hope to dodge.
Each of the two creatures took a different strategy for dealing with the attack.
The one that had dodged left cupped his hands and unleashed what appeared to be a small Kamehameha wave, which easily wiped the small attack away.
The second miniature took a significantly less intelligent method and attempted to catch the attack in his own hands, before detonating it with a blinding flash
17 didn't pass up the opportunity to phase behind the small creature as its eyes still adjusted to the change of light.
It was unable to react as 17 charged up another, much more powerful attack and completely vaporized the small creature.
Before 17 could even look up from his own handy work, he noticed his one remaining ally had been busy himself, as his massive hands enveloped the other small creature's throat. His apparent previous anger still shining through, as he glared dangerously at the small, struggling, creature. It was almost unnatural to see the big guy act like this.
"Where is Cell?" 16's voice had a hint of venom in it.
The small creature, despite how desperate of a situation it currently was in, suddenly stopped struggling and allowed its body to hang limply in his grasp, before casually shrugging its shoulders.
In the next instant, the creature had vanished in a blinding wall of light.
The two Androids immediately continued along the path they were traveling, missing a slightly disturbed path of dirt in the side of a nearby hill.
Several dozen feet down, Cell felt the quick deaths of his children. He had wasted a good portion of his energy generating them, but since the ground wasn't currently evaporating above him, it appears it was a sacrifice worth taking.
Slowly, his body was helping to hasten the repair of the damaged energy generator. It was as if his own cells knew exactly what was needed to repair even the mechanical parts of Android 18. 'Soon.' He told himself, as he imagined what his perfect form would be like, 'I'll find out soon.'
It was a short trip for everyone to reach the relative safety of the Lookout. Each fighter's mind was focused elsewhere, as the events of the last few minutes played through each of their minds.
Upon arriving it was immediately noticed that Trunks had awoken from his drained state, which brought a bright smile to Goku's face. He was sure Trunks would be interested in what he had to say as well.
King Kai had gotten distracted as soon as he had finished speaking with Goku the last time, his entire body felt like he felt like he could pass out at any moment, as his mind had immediately began watching the one lone planet again. He had been following the trails of destruction and was sure he knew the pattern this time. Any moment now whatever had been causing so much chaos in his portion of the galaxy would show themselves, and he could finally get some rest. After he identified the threat, he and the other kai's would be able to determine if they needed to come up with a solution or not.
King Kai's eyes slowly shut, with minimal resistance as sleep finally overwhelmed the blue deity. No sooner had he closed his eyes and finally fell into the warm embrace of sleep a familiar voice cut into his mind.
"Hey King Kai, how is locating New Namek going?" Goku asked, surprised that it had taken the usually on top of things King Kai so long to get back to him.
"New Namek?" King Kai muttered, confused for a moment, before realizing he had forgotten about Goku's request.
"Just a moment Goku, I am very busy today…" King Kai muttered as he stretched out his senses once more trying to locate the new home of the Namekians.
Goku accepted the explanation of King Kai being busy without hesitation, he was hoping that his former master would hurry with a response. He needed to contact the Namekians and hopefully get everyone into tip top shape again, for the next part of his plan.
A few moments later King Kai finally contacted the Saiyan warrior, with the necessary directions to the Namekian home world. He had also sent his message on ahead to the Namekians.
Goku didn't have to be told twice and immediately vanished. The other fighters of the lookout were left in their awkward waiting pattern for a few more minutes before Goku returned with Cargo, Dende's brother. The young Namekian had immediately volunteered to help after learning what happened to his brother.
The young Namekian healer got each and every one of the Earth's defenders healed up in the matter of seconds.
This wasn't the only action unfolding though as the Elders of New Namek were quickly gathering the scattered dragon balls preparing to revive the Earth's guardian.
"Thank you Cargo, I'm not sure what we'd do without you." Goku said with a bright grin, as he patted the young Namekian on the back.
The young healer accepted the savior of his people's gratitude with a tired smile. He was glad he could help the Earth's warriors in their own struggle, after the hardships they had gone through on their own behalf. Though he wished the price hadn't been as high for his brother.
"Would you mind hanging around for a while longer?" Goku asked, "We're kinda running out of options for dealing with injuries."
"Of course." Cargo replied without any hesitation.
With the question of whether the Z fighters would be without a means to heal themselves now put to rest, Goku finally turned back to the others to continue his thoughts from earlier.
"So how I see it we have two options." The Earthling Saiyan said, holding up one finger.
"We can gather our strength up now, and try and hunt down Cell with the two good Androids. Or two, we can start training and get strong enough to beat any of the Androids one on one." Goku finished with two fingers raised into the air.
"What the hell do you mean train?! In case you haven't noticed Kakarot, the Androids are already here!" Vegeta shouted, grabbing his rival by his battered Gi.
"I know of a place where we can train all we could ever need to and more. And the best part is, it's right here under our noses." Goku replied with a confident smile.
"So you plan to use the Hyperbolic Time Chamber after all?" Piccolo cut in before Vegeta could respond. "You're aware no one has been able to stay in it for more than a year, right?" He added, only furthering the confusion of those around them.
"What the hell are you even blabbering on about?" Nappa cut in. "We don't have a year to train! Unless you want a bunch of Androids turning ou-, your world into their own playground." Nappa silently cursed himself for almost referring to this world as something else.
Vegeta though, was finally intrigued. It was something that had been weighing on his mind more and more as the days passed. Something hadn't been sitting right with him since the day he first transformed. Somehow, Cold had already surpassed the power of a Super Saiyan, what was supposed to be the ultimate power to have ever existed. Initially, he had writing it off as a lone oddity that had somehow defied the natural order. Now though he wasn't so sure. More and more freaks were rising, destroying the idealized world he had clung to his entire life. He was a Super Saiyan, yet a Namekian, and even now multiple Machines, had been able to surpass him. Something wasn't right, and so a new thought had sprung to life, one he had initially resisted. But after being so easily cast aside in his latest fight, he was in fact sure of it now. There was a level beyond that of a Super Saiyan. Somehow the form he had achieved was an imperfect reflection of a true Super Saiyan. Kakarot and the Namekian seemed confident that this Hyperbolic time chamber would meet their needs, and so the Saiyan prince decided it was time to test it out for himself. "Continue…" He stated bluntly, as he loosened his grip on Kakarot's Gi.
"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber is a special room that is somehow separated from our world." Goku began, "Basically time moves differently there, so you can train for a whole year in there and have only a day pass on the outside!" The Saiyan warrior finished triumphantly.
"What's the catch?" Cooler added in as he uncrossed his arms and stepped forward. What Goku was describing seemed too perfect.
"Well the only downside I know of is only two of us can go in at a time." Goku finished.
"Fine by me. I will be going first." Vegeta declared, sensing the Namekian and Frieza's brother already preparing to protest his declaration.
"Fine by me. But I was thinking we could switch things up." Goku replied, shocking everyone by his easy agreement, no one more so than the Saiyan Prince himself. "So you and Trunks should go in first, and I'll go with Nappa when our turn comes up." Goku continued, knowing how curious Trunks was of the father he had never gotten the chance to meet in the future.
Vegeta watched Kakarot closely trying to figure out what the other Saiyan could possibly be gaining by such an arrangement, other than to rob Vegeta of a more powerful training partner. Even though the boy's power was lacking, and he seemed raw, it wasn't as if the drop off was insurmountable. He did know more about these Androids than any other fighter of note. "As long as I go first, the brat can tag along." Vegeta replied holding Kakarot's gaze for a moment longer before turning to Nappa.
"I'm sure you have no problems training with a low class Saiyan again?" He said flatly.
Nappa caught onto Kakarot's plans almost immediately, it was obviously an attempt on his part to try and develop some sort of bond between the two Saiyan Princes. It was one Nappa was forced to reluctantly agree with. "Don't worry, I'm more than ready to put him back in his place." Nappa replied with a confident boast, temporarily suppressing his disappointment at falling further behind Vegeta.
"I refuse to go last." Cooler snarled finally interrupting the conversation, his own initial shock finally vanishing.
"Goku what the hell are you thinking?" Piccolo snarled, still not fully trusting the Saiyan warriors.
"Settle down guys, we're all on the same team in this fight. Besides we need you to hang around in case Cell or the Androids make another move." Goku replied looking straight at Piccolo while saying this.
The Namekian warrior reluctantly had to admit his lifelong rival had thought through seemingly everything. If there were other warriors capable of going toe to toe with the likes of 16, while Piccolo himself chaperoned Cooler inside the chamber, the world could likely survive the one day he would be missing. "Fine, we've wasted enough time as it is, follow me." He reluctantly ordered as he tapped into Kami's memories.
Vegeta entered the room, simply taking note of the bizarre arrangement stretching on beyond him.
Trunks, who had initially been surprised that Goku had been able to read his hope so easily, sheepishly entered after his father a few moments later. To say the pre-teen was absolutely stunned was an understatement. In all directions, besides the small temple like structure he had initially entered through, sheer nothingness stretched before him in all directions. The emptiness of it all was magnified by not even feeling a single energy signature besides his father. It was as if this small dwelling and the father-son duo were the only things in the entire universe.
"If you are going to stand around gawking the entire time leave now and get Nappa in here. I won't have you hold me back just because you are a child." Vegeta snarled, as he ignited his Super Saiyan aura.
Trunks' eyes opened wide in surprise, it was the first time that his father had ever directly spoken to him. Quickly the youth shook off his surprise, determined not to let his father see him as a failure he quickly replied. "Yes sir." And ignited his own aura.
(Across the galaxy)
Raditz scowled slightly as he exited his pod and activated his scouter. Shizen had ordered him to take some time to relax with his nephew and Turles appeared ready to celebrate his latest victory. The dream of a short break was short lived though as he immediately ordered his entire crew out to clear traitors who had sided with Taiga during the recent protracted battle.
At the very least, he was able to partially follow Shizen's orders as Turles allowed the two Saiyans to travel together. Turles did allow them to take any Tree of Might fruit gathered from the worlds they went to for their own as well. An offer that caused his nephew's eyes to light up with just the thought.
A few days later they had arrived, to a relatively barren world. Gohan had spent the time reading up about this world and the history of this sector. Centuries ago it had been an important outpost of a large galactic empire, after the planet trade had swept through this portion of the galaxy it had been reduced to this barren shape. Based on the shattered reports that remained, the young demi-Saiyan suspected it was one of the members of the mysterious race that both Frieza and now Taiga had belonged to. The race he would help Turles exterminate once and for all, finally beginning to bring peace and stabity to the galaxy.
Before the two Saiyan warriors was the main building that was the Planet Trade outpost. Confidently the pair made their way towards the door.
"Togoma! Shisami! Garana! We have intruders!" Sobert shouted a sinking feeling in his stomach as he recognized the creatures walking towards the base. They were undoubtedly Saiyans. These low-class beings, once the favorite targets of Frieza's wrath had suddenly inexplicably risen to the very top of the galactic pecking order. The fact these two warriors were here meant one thing, Sobert had chosen the wrong side to ally with. Somehow the Saiyans had defeated even the mighty Taiga, who had risen to rebuild the Planet Trade to its former glory.
His top three lieutenants had arrived in the room. Already he could hear the lower ranked soldiers engaging the intruders. They would barely provide any time at all.
"Quickly each of you eat one of these! They are the only chance we have." Sobert declared handing one of the mystical fruits they had gathered for Lord Taiga to each of them before producing a fourth one for himself. With any luck this small fraction of the power that Lord Taiga had hoped to achieve would give them a fighting chance.
Sobert bit into the fruit and immediately felt a rush of power unlike anything he had ever felt before hit his veins. Around him the other elite members of the remains of the Planet Trade organizations' faces lit up with a look of ecstasy as power rushed through their veins.
This level of strength was downright addicting. The first thought that crossed each of their minds was the idea of gathering more of the fruit, each saw himself rising to be the true rightful ruler of the universe.
Before those delusions could fully take shape the wall behind Togoma exploded from the force of a lone body being launched through it.
Each of the 4 Planet Trade Elites inside took a defensive posture to defend against debris. All watching wearily as two pairs of footsteps echoed from the darkened room that was just laid open.
Without any warning a blue light suddenly appeared in the darkness. In an eerie face appearing, that of a child. Before any of those gathered could react the light vanished, in the same instant 3 of the fighters were thrown from their feet. Each colliding with one of the nearby walls.
Sobert quickly scanned his surroundings, spotting Garana and Shisami quickly rising to their feet ready for combat. His head was still ringing as the physically weakest member of the 4 elites rose to his feet. Finally he noticed someone was missing.
Quickly Sobert scanned the room, wondering if Togoma, his right hand man had actually abandoned him.
Sobert's entire body froze, in the center of where they had just been standing were a pair of disembodied legs; all that remained of his most powerful warrior.
His eyes quickly flashed back to the opening, the larger of the Saiyans had entered the room at some point, his arms crossed, and eyes closed as he leaned up against the wall, seemingly completely at ease.
Without hesitation Sobert began to raise his trump card, a powerful laser he could amplify with his own Ki. He was confident such a weapon would be able to take down even the mightiest of warriors, even the likes of Captain Ginyu.
A strange feeling passed over the current head of the Planet Trade's remnants as his view suddenly changed from the Saiyan to that of the ceiling. Even more peculiar, it continued to turn in slow motion. The next thing he knew he was staring at the wall opposite of the direction he was facing.
He tried to blink his eyes but nothing happened, that was when part of his view was blocked by his left cheek colliding with the floor.
He wasn't sure when he had fallen. Had he been hit when he was focusing on the other Saiyan? He wasn't sure. A sense of vertigo assaulted him as the world seemed to spin for a moment, before coming to rest in the initial direction he was facing again, albeit from a much lower angle.
It was only then that he noticed he couldn't move a single muscle of his body. Even his eyes just continued to star ahead as the child slowly receded from his view. Behind the retreating child lay two headless bodies. One last fear bubbled up in Sobert as his own body collapsed in front of his now disembodied head, blocking his view of anything except his own corpse. Inside his head he screamed.
"You sure didn't take your time with any of them." Raditz noted disinterested.
"They're weak, all of them. They were a waste of fruit." Gohan replied emotionlessly as he picked up a mostly eaten tree of might fruit and threw it into his mouth.
On the desk behind the 4 warriors sat several more of this group's bounty. It wasn't a full planet's worth, but it would be a welcomed boost in strength nonetheless.
Without any more words needing to be spoken, the duo grabbed their prize and set off to get some actual training in before they finished their mission.
Hey everyone, I am very sorry it has been so long since I have updated. Unfortunately I don't have good news either, In addition to all the other things keeping me busy right now I am I am taking the physics GRE for a 4th time. In the past my writing has actually increased when studying for the test because I get desperate for anything besides formulas, but I have also done horribly on the first three times so I am going to have to focus on it a lot more than before. So basically what I am saying I cannot guarantee any updates before November. In all likelihood there will be at least one update before then. It really sucks right after the big explosion the story has had lately that updates are slowing down, but this is my probably my last chance to chase my dream so I have to go for it.
I want to give a huge thank you to The Lord of the Pies for helping me proofread the chapter!
Sorry for the additional delays after my post about the update coming soon. Chrome crashed and deleted half my author's note since I hadn't saved it for awhile :(
Reviews:
A huge thank you to RKF22, George10, Beerus101, Yondu, Jimmy45, Ben, Page 200, HERGE 8, Rowen152, Lorax550, HAX, KING KAI, Josey554, God GOKU, son122, MATHEW, Omni King, Simon150, Nick, wetham444, Noelesy 154, Arc238, General Fruit, Lorg 25, Arc238, HAX, For the reviews, and the patience over the last couple longer waits.
Pro 10 -
Thanks for the review and the patience. I do not currently have plans for Beerus. If I decide to include him I will decide about his backstory at that time.
Cibi - Thanks :) Some of the hints are kinda subtle but I try to make a few obvious ones too ;)
JAYDEN 123 -
Glad you enjoyed it :)
I am keeping that under wraps for a bit longer.
I've been picturing him as looking at least mostly the same.
A little bit above 500,000,000.
In it's current form it cannot boost past doubling and even then there are great risks involved.
Thank you again for the review :)
Harry1002 -
Thanks for the review, sorry you had to wait so long to get the answer to your question. So During King Cold's reign he didn't have to worry too much about rebellion. The only real conflict besides attacks between families on the planet surface are battle between his possible heirs. I believe I mentioned this in a previous chapter, but Cold survived his first attempt at finding an heir. How it is set up is he has a child with each of the major noble families. The children then battle it out between each other and are sent out on missions etc expanding the PTO in all directions. This weeding out process lasts decades as the Frost Demon children grow into adulthood, finally leaving a single heir who must unseat their parent by force. Cold killed his heir last time getting to do it all over again getting older and even stronger. If that wasn't a complete enough answer please let me know :).
Science 9 -
Thanks for the review!
Cyborgs like 17 and 18 can for sure, even to the extreme of Dr. Gero's android 20 body in the show. But fully mechanical ones such as 16 or 19 cannot in my own head cannon.
There are a few who can rival him at least.
I haven't watch much of it lately. I've heard some about a big tournament going on which has me intrigued but the first few arcs were sort of a major turn off for me.
Yes Cell worships him, he sees him as the one creature in the universe to be able to creature true perfection. He was perfectly sincere when he mentioned he was honoring Dr. Gero by absorbing him.
Possibly, he is sort of outmatched currently but I might be able to swing something at some point.
JOEL -
I'm glad you enjoyed it :) Yup you caught yourself. He not only was able to heal but received a zenkai immediately afterwards too.
In this story he is designed to kill first Piccolo and then Goku. Eliminating the most powerful threat first. The way I see it is because Dr. Gero spent so much extra time on power upgrades the perfecting he did on their personalities has suffered. Allowing the Androids to be more independent. 16's peaceful side shines through more so unless someone is a threat to himself or those he cares about he will not attack.
That is an interesting question, it would come down to how the dragon defined a namekian. Similarly how it would deal with demi-Saiyans vs actual ones. He might be giving her a real challenge soon either way ;)
Yes it is crazy how popular the story has gotten lately :)
EXTRA 9 -
Thanks for the review! Glad you enjoyed it.
They were not aware of the horrors. Hell is a huge place and they weren't down there long.
I would say Goku and Vegeta are in the 50th percentile roughly.
I'm sure they've looked before once in a while when bored. Maybe some lower level ones going searching or something. But mostly you have to realize that hell is sort of a paradise for the Saiyans. They are the top dogs and have a nearly endless supply of prey to hunt.
Goku couldn't sense them for the same reasons why Nappa didn't while down there. It is a massive place and there are millions of powerful beings in every direction down there. It sort of just gets washed away by all the background noise.
Raj2001 - Thanks for the review! Glad you enjoyed the chapter. So there are millions of ancient Saiyans. With a minimum of tens of thousands of Super Saiyans.
Bro123 -
Glad you enjoyed the chapter. Yes Trunks and Lime filled Piccolo, Goku and Chi Chi in on all the information they had on the Androids. Others heard some basics here and there. Me not having a scene where Lime confirms or denies what Cell said was an oversight on my part. I will try to find time to fix that after I press submit on this chapter. Thanks for bringing it to my attention :)
Goku and the others are not aware Gero died. Even 16 and 17 aren't aware. Last they saw of him he was laying there with a broken back. They probably assume he was just out of commission. Thanks again for the review
Spirax570 -
Sorry this chapter took so long :( Hopefully you enjoyed it at least.
Yes Slug is getting a nice boost down in hell. You might be seeing him again soon.
You hit the nail on the head with Goku's reasoning with the time chamber. After seeing 3 of the strongest fighters he has ever met swatted like flies he realizes he needs to get stronger. Plus the true gap between himself and Piccolo is now fully apparent as well.
So they continued to fight until 13 noticed Dr. Gero was absent, 19 confirms he is dead, and they sorta just go their separate ways. 13 to get revenge against everyone, and 19 to follow his hunger.
Thanks again for the review :)
Luke -
Glad you enjoyed it I was worried it might come off rushed :)
HavenofUmbar -
Yes outside of Earth, and a couple of unique beings buzzing around the galaxy, a Super Saiyan Turles would be even more over powered than his transformed self. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well :)
Guest - Thanks for the review! Yes Krillin made the right call, but it was too little too late.
super mystic gohan - Yup, threats abound! All the more reason why using the Hyperbolic Time chamber is a priority right now. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well :)
The Lord of the Pies -
Yes he is! 16 and Piccolo are head and shoulders above the others. With overdrive 16 would is more powerful than cannon semi-perfect cell and Ascended Saiyan Vegeta. Yes Cooler is a bit of a loose canon, could easily backfire on them. I probably could've embellished 19's final struggle some, but I felt like I was running behind so that is an area I was less than happy with my work. Hopefully I can do better next time we see 13 :) I've been imagining him looking mostly the same, it's an interesting question though. Thanks again for your help :)
Longtime fanboy -
Thanks for the review :). Thank you, it has been a bit of a juggling act at times. I feel bad when I can't update regularly though, it has been an amazing right these last 3+ plus years so hopefully I can continue to meet everyone's expectations :). I'm honored to have that distinction, I was going to offer some occasional pictures but I doubt scribbles add much to the story XD
Thanks again everyone! I am sorry updates have been so sporadic at times, hopefully after I get past this test things can speed up again. I know that is a long wait though :(