Chapter 66: The Hunt

"17 wait, I believe we are going the wrong direction." 16 said suddenly just as he and 17 emerged from the forest. Somewhere far in the distance he sensed multiple power levels rising suddenly.

"Let's go then!" 17 practically snarled, frustrated that 16 wasn't moving faster.

In an instant both Androids were airborne cutting through the sky.

"Goku did you feel that?" Piccolo suddenly asked a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah I did, it felt like Meditrain and the others." Goku said looking just as concerned.

Around him the previously bored fighters suddenly were on edge. Barely an hour had passed and yet already there was clearly another attack happening down below.

"Nappa, you stay here in case this is someone trying to lead us away again. Cooler you're with us." Piccolo ordered as he quickly made his way to Goku's shoulder.

Cooler snarled slightly at being ordered, but ultimately made his way over to the group as well. If he'd have the opportunity to dismantle some of the Androids, he could overlook the slight.

Focusing on the rapidly fading Caspin's power level Goku phased out.

(A few seconds before)

Cell's lips curled in agitation, he had been sloppy, he was sure Goku and the rest of his group had felt the sudden power spikes from the Blue Force's fruitless struggling. At best he would have seconds more to escape before a warrior who could potentially harm him arrived in the form of Piccolo.

Even though his meal wasn't finished he needed to leave.

Accessing one of his borrowed techniques Cell quickly grew 2 more pairs of arms, as he grasped 4 of the fighters tightly against his body and dove for the hole he had just emerged from, leaving Caspin to die and the half absorbed remains of Meditrain as a gift to whoever came to investigate the situation.

The trio of warriors arrived just an instant later to a horrifying sight.

Goku rushed to Caspin's aid, but the Special Forces member was too far gone, his eyes already glassing over as he breathed his last breath.

"What the hell caused this?" Cooler asked bluntly taking special care not to step in the partially liquefied remains of Meditrain.

"It had to have been Cell." Piccolo declared noting the hole in the remains roughly matching the normal shape of his tail. "Just like he somehow absorbed the Android and transformed, he appears to have been draining them." Piccolo eyed the tunnel extending down from the center of the room carefully. Somewhere beneath him he could feel the other fighter's' strengths draining away.

"That monster!" Goku shouted as he slammed his fist on the ground. They should've never trusted him. He told them exactly what they wanted to hear and now there was another threat to the Earth, only this time one he made himself.

"Goku, Piccolo and the one known as Cooler have arrived." 16 stated, as the wind wiped past both him and 17.

"Just great…" 17 mumbled. "They better not try to get in our way."

Less than a minute later they arrived, entering through the hole Caspin had blasted out in his failed escape attempt.

"Where is he?" 17 shouted the instant he came into view.

All 3 fighters jumped ever so slightly, at the unexpected arrival.

"Down there." Piccolo replied without any pretense. If the Androids wanted to chase after Cell through that hole, he was perfectly ok with letting them.

17 stared at the hole warily, unsure if the Namekian was telling the truth.

"I've detected him." 16 replied in response to 17's distrust.

Without any further delay 16 approached the hole and detached both his arms.

"Wait several-" Goku started to say before being drowned out by 16's yell. "Hell's FLASH!" Without hesitation an orange inferno shot down into the hole, instantly the ground beneath the base began to bulge upwards as the rock beneath vaporized.

The Earth's defenders, along with 17 were forced up into the air as the balloon of pure energy reached its maximum size and prepared to pop.

An instant layer the entire area was colored in the orange glow of a massive explosion.

"16! 18 is still in him!" 17 shouted nearly gagging at the thought of what he had said.

Now floating a short distance away from 17, 16 ignored his allies complaints as he instead focused all his attention on the ground beneath him waiting for his target to surface.

Beneath the ground Cell continued to dig downwards as fast as possible. He had already been forced to drop two of his captives when the wall of energy approached him. With luckily though he had been able to extend a shield around both himself and one other Blue Force soldier. He was absorbing Aden as fast as possible as he continued to dig. He knew he was missing out of much of his biomass as he liquefied through his fingers.

Finally several miles down Cell came to a stop, the toxic fumes from the vaporized rock would've killed most creatures long ago. He though was not most creatures, he was one step away from perfection. With his Frost Demon DNA, breathing was entirely optional, allowing him to continue his escape in peace.

Above 16 finally concluded his attempts were in vain. As he floated back down towards where he remembered the opening to the tunnel once sat. "I will pursue Cell underground." Without any further discussion the stoic Android blasted a small hole in the ground revealing a partially collapsed tunnel, and began descending.

"Hey! You're not leaving me behind!" 17 shouted as he immediately moved to follow 16 down the tunnel.

Back above Goku's fists tightened in frustration, he had felt at least three more of his friends perish below. Two were fast enough he had to assume they died in the blast, but the last one was the same sickeningly slow death it appeared Meditrain had suffered. All of their deaths were on his hands.

Piccolo picked up on Goku's inner struggle almost immediately. His former enemy's previously unshakable confidence had clearly been damaged several times in recent years since their defeat against Raditz and the loss of his son.

"Goku, let's head back. We should contact Bulma and make sure the rest of the weaker fighters actually suppress their power levels." He added with a grumble.

Goku nodded, Piccolo was right, they could still salvage the situation. "Alright, let's go."

A sickening feeling came over Bulma as the received the update from Goku. She wasn't sure who this Cell character was, or what his real goals were. But he had more than proven he was not a friend already.

She immediately had the emergency response workers stationed in the room begin contacting the other Ki trained fighters, warning them to completely suppress their energy. She could only hope that would keep them safe until the new threat was dealt with.

Cell continued to dig towards the next town, over, already he had detected several high power levels scattered throughout the town. With any luck he would be able to pick them off one by one and avoid drawing too much attention to himself.

Something was beginning to bother the bio-android though, it almost sounded like a few other distant explosions were reverberating behind him.

He let out a low growl. 'Dr. Gero should've given some means of detecting the Androids.' He thought to himself.

There was only one way to be sure he wasn't being followed, quickly he focused his power and began the process of making his Cell Jrs again. If he was just being paranoid he'd have 3 new helpers to help deal with any resistance. If he was being followed the miniature versions of himself would provide the perfect means of throwing his pursuers from his tail.

One Cell Jr. Raced back down the tunnel the way they came, while the other two began filing in Cell's path with new perpendicular tunnels of their own.

Now fully encased in rock, Cell restarted his path, albeit at a slower pace.

Following Cell's trail so far had proved extremely straightforward, a straight line down, followed by a mostly straight line west.

Somewhere in the distance 16 could sense a masked power, radiating only a few times as much power as a normal human fighter from the old martial arts tournaments. With one exception though, a series of 3 brief spikes all but confirmed it was the target they were looking for.

Just as 16 prepared to round one of the few bends they had encountered so far, his internal sensor sounded an alarm.

16 immediately dropped into a defensive posture, partially shielding his weaker counterpart behind his massive body.

In that same instant another of the small Cell like creatures they had encountered before rounded the counter. Its childlike face twisting in surprise as it was suddenly, and apparently unexpectedly face to face with two Androids.

A shrill shriek echoed throughout the tunnel complex, followed quickly by the blinding light of the solar flare technique.

The Cell Jr. Ignited the full extent of its power as it rocketed back down the tunnel from which it had come.

16 though was hot on its trail, tracking its energy signature like heat seeking missile.

The creature had barely made it 100 yards before it was caught in 16's crushing grip. Without hesitation 16 obliterated the small creature allowing its remains to fall harmlessly to the ground.

Silently the Androids continued on.

A slight grimace crossed Cell's face as he felt his miniature clone fade from existence. Clearly he was being followed. Likely by 16 based on the quantity of attack that been fired initially.

'Just give up already!' He silently shouted in his mind, careful not to allow his power level to spike. He continued on his way making sure to keep his power level as low as possible while still being able to tunnel.

"Damn there must've been more of them" 17 scowled as he and 16 tried to determine which tunnel to choose.

"We will start with this one." 16 finally decided before turning down the tunnel to the right.

"Whatever you say." 17 replied irritated at 16 seemingly deciding everything.

(In Otherworld)

"Shizen step forward." King Yemma ordered, his tone clearly full of irritation.

"King Yemma if I may-" South Kai started, only to be immediately shot down.

"Silence, you were responsible for keeping him in line!" King Yemma shouted as the somewhat mild mannered Kai immediately backed down with a subdued "Yes sir."

In the meantime Shizen had stepped forward, seemingly completely relaxed. Although being in heaven had been useful, he had for the most part been able to accomplish his goals. Now all he could do is hope the vague hints he had passed Raditz's way spurred him to make the correct choices in the coming days.

"Shizen, you have been found in violation of natural law. Your repeated interference in the mortal realm cannot be allowed. Although the evidence is very stacked against you in this case, I will grant you a moment to speak." King Yamma said, mentally keeping track of how far this trail would back up his line.

"There is nothing I can say that will affect the course of this case. I am ready to accept any punishment." Shizen responded calmly.

Relieved at the short length of the proceedings Yemma immediately made his judgement. "Shizen you will be damned to spend the rest of your days in hell."

"Yemma, one moment please if you will. I would like to have speak to him first." A somewhat soft, refined voice called from a nearby doorway.

The entire room was shocked silent for a moment, even Shizen had not foreseen the interruption.

King Yemma's eyes went wide, it had been millennia since he had seen the being before him, when he was appointed as judge of this galaxy's waystation. "Um yes, whatever you need Supreme Kai sir."

All of Hell seemed to shake as explosions dotted the seemingly endless landscape, and a steady stream of blows continued to rain back and forth.

High in the air Cepa's eyes shone with delight, somehow despite the beatings she had previously given the slug-like alien, he had managed to hold back his true power from her.

This creature, even with its lack of honor was like a drink of water in the middle of the harshest desert. He was the opponent she had been searching for. Not only strong enough to hold up against her attacks like few had ever been able to, but intelligent enough to counter her advantage in strength. Fights that could make her heartbeat like this were virtually non-existent besides Tawas and a few other Saiyan elite. And although her lieutenant still outclassed the alien in terms of raw strength, at this point though there were no surprises either of them could hope to provide the other, so their fights were stale, merely a means of going through the motions.

Before she had a real chance to react Slug's fist came crashing into her cheek sending the Saiyan Queen hurtling backwards.

She only managed to fly a few dozen feet before her course was changed back towards the floor below by a bicycle kick.

Finally the sequence ended with a barrage of potent yellow blasts.

Finally Slug paused for a moment, his breathing ragged, purple blood oozing from a dozen major wounds, most notably a missing right arm. As easy as replacing the limb normally would be, he knew it would be useless in this case, nothing more than a waste of energy. So instead he focused more on stopping the bleeding and trying to regain a fraction of his strength.

If he ever escaped hell he would have to thank whatever Namekian was continuing to fuel his own rise in power. Even if he didn't win today, at the pace he was growing his eternal rule over the endless domain was all but sealed.

Cepa hit the ground hard, somehow managing to twist her body in such a way to land on her hands and knees. Each limp easy shattered the rocky surface beneath her.

An excited smile crossed her bloodied lips as she saw the rain of blasts nearly upon her.

Immediately she launched off the ground, directly into the heart of the deadly rain.

Like a child playing a game, she weaved her way through the attacks coming at her attack from the direction she was sure he would least expect.

Slug's eyes scanned around him hoping to catch which direction the next assault would come from.

As his eyes began to move back to his left, a blur appeared out of the corner of his eye.

Cepa was in front of him in an instant driving her knee deeply into his abdomen.

A rain of spittle and blood coated the Saiyan Queen's face as she prepared to follow up her initial attack by cupping her hands together in front of the bent over Super Namekian.

"Here's my judgement!" She shouted as a massive, purple blast completely enveloped Slugs upper body, cutting through the sky before fading harmlessly against the barrier keeping them all imprisoned.

With a satisfied smile Cepa watched the lower half of Slug's body drop limply out of the sky. Soon he would respawn and they could begin their fight anew.

Chi Chi felt like she had flown over every inch of the planet already, her body was at its breaking point, almost completely drained of Ki.

Finally on the verge of tears she arrived back at the lookout, still unable to locate her daughter.

She arrived to exactly what she expected, not only were the other humans milling about not helping her search but even her own husband was sitting around doing nothing.

An indescribable fury was building within her. She had had enough, had Goku ever really even tried to find Gohan? Based on his efforts at finding Gota she was seriously doubting it. All he ever thought about was fighting, never a single thought about his family.

Storming across the floor of the lookout, her tired body suddenly reinvigorated by her burning anger she made a bee-line straight for her husband to finally give him a piece of her mind.

"GOKU!" She shouted as a red aura built around her.

Goku jumped up, turning around, seemingly in a full blown panic. Quickly he rushed a finger to his lips as if shushing her.

Such disrespect only caused her rage to burn brighter. "WHO-"

The rest of her sentence melted away as she heard the last sound she expected, a baby's cry. It was only then that she noticed what was in Goku's other arm.

"GOTA!" She shouted only furthering her child's cries as she forced her daughter from her husband's arms. "I'm never letting you out if my sights again!" Hugging her tighter than she ever had before. Her daughter was home, somehow Goku had found her.

While still hugging her crying child she looked at her husband with eyes full of tears of joy, her voice didn't match the happiness she felt when she next spoke though "And just when were you going to tell me you'd found our daughter! Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" Her tears becoming a mixture of frustration and joy.

"I'm sorry Chi, after you left a lot happened, and I sort of forgot to tell you." Goku replied sheepishly, though not as light-heartedly as usual.

It took Goku several minutes to explain the events of the last 12 hours or so. By the time he had finished she looked conflicted.

"Obviously Cell just didn't realize who he was attacking. Maybe Meditrain and those other hot heads even attacked first. I mean I've told you how our first meeting went after all." Chi Chi reasoned. "Besides if Cell really was created to defeat the Androids we should let him. Once they're out of the way we can finally wish Gohan home too." She added a sense of relief rushing through her.

In her arms she had finally managed to rock Gota back to sleep, so she was keeping her voice soft.

"I don't think so. The ones he's targeting at least don't actually seem that bad. It almost sounded like they had some sort of fight with Gero and left him." Goku replied trying to weigh the options carefully. "Those three just sort of seemed different than the other Androids."

"Whatever, as long as we finally have a safe planet for our children, they can kill each other all they want." Chi Chi replied with a huff.

Something was wrong. Inexplicably almost every major power level in the planet had vanished over a period of about an hour.

As he continued to crawl through the earth towards the next nearest town at a painfully slow rate, the few mechanical parts of the once well-known assassin he had snared moments ago leaving a trail behind him.

Cell couldn't help but play out the possible scenarios in his mind. The only two that held any sort of credence to him were that Goku's group had warned the others to hide, or that Goku had transported almost the entire fighting population of the Earth to another world. Either way Goku and his friends were proving to be a major obstacle standing in the way of him completing his mission and reaching perfection.

He could feel his body repairing itself, allowing the infinite energy generators to finally begin to approach their normal output. It wouldn't be long until he was able to use his engines at full efficiency, until then he needed a plan to gain enough strength to counter 16's overwhelming power when he finally made his move.

At that moment, his next target moved into range. In a flash he managed to burst from his tunnel and drag the elderly man who was walking by back into it with him.

As the last of the man disappeared within him, a new idea struck the Android, a certain blue haired scientist flashing through his mind's eye.

Hey everyone hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a bit longer than the last one at least. On my flights I managed to get the next chapter more than halfway done at least too. I don't have a whole lot else to say this chapter, I will hopefully have the next one finished soon.

Reviews:

super mystic gohan -

Glad you enjoyed it. Yeah at this point many characters are becoming more and more liabilities at this point. I think that was part of the problem they ran into in writing the show initially. It is pretty hard keeping all the characters relevant. Hope you enjoyed this one too.

RKF22 -

Hope you enjoyed this one as well! Thanks for the review

Guest -

Yup, Raditz has to think he is completely losing his mind at this point XD. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Nick -

Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed this one too!

silverspetz -

I'm glad to hear that, I've sort of felt out of my groove for a while since I haven't been able to update regularly so I've been worried about that. Sorry about that, the plot lines should start combining before too terribly long.

a guy -

Here is more! ;)

Weesnawthedemonslayer -

I'm very glad to hear that! :) Yeah there were a lot of times where getting a chapter posted would give me a boost too. :) Thanks for the vote of confidence on the story :)

RedEYES-Fallen -

Yeah unfortunately he hasn't yet. It was always my plan for Gohan to return at around the halfway mark, the story has just expanded so much from my original design. Honestly when I started this story I didn't think the story would reach 500,000 words when it was fully completed yet here we are right around half way through and I'm almost there. So anyway sorry that is taking so long, hopefully it will be worth it in the end

Anonymous -

Yup! I am :) No Mecha Frieza has already come and gone, it's possible you are referring to a different augmented Frost Demon though ;)

Yeah you sort of beat me too that.

Yes Goku and Nappa would improve more if they went in that way, but as of right now Cooler is still somewhat treated as an unknown. Piccolo sort of refuses to take his eyes off the Frost Demon for too long. He wouldn't want Cooler to somehow gain an advantage over him and simply kill everyone himself in the end. At least that is how I imagine that.

serus black antihumannature -

Thank you for the review, I only really planned on them showing up once more in the story at the moment, but I added a bit just because you asked ;) hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

JOEL -

Thank you hope you enjoyed this one as well :)