A/N: Okay, just want to address a query from "saiyan fan", with regards to Videl. Yes, she will definitely be part of this story, earlier than the canon, but I don't want to give away too much else xD. All I can say is that she'll have some promising moments. ;)
And as always, thanks everyone for the reviews! Reading them is such a joy! :D
Chapter 59: Monster Hunt
'What's this?' Vegeta was immediately on alert. 'I sense an incredible power level. It can't be the Androids. They don't have an energy reading, so who is it?! It feels familiar as well, but how?!'
He was unable to identify it- but even so, it didn't appear to radiate even the slightest trace of evil. Most curious. Shutting his eyes, the Prince honed in on the mysterious force, but try as he might, he couldn't quite gauge its exact magnitude. All he knew was that it was somewhere up there with his. The only person who came to mind was Kakarot, but that rustic clod was a long ways away from a full recovery. Who else could it be though? Vegeta suddenly felt someone tap him on the shoulder, wedging right through his musings. Scowling, he whirled around. Lo and behold, it was none other than the obnoxious blue-haired wench and she looked far from pleased.
"What the hell do you want, wom-"
THWACK!
A resounding slap virtually whipped his face right back around and the Prince's eyes widened in shock, a crimson hue suffusing fast over the stinging flesh of his cheek. He glowered at the tempestuous female, wondering what in hell's name had brought on such a bold show of belligerence, only to see the answer nearby in the form of that gaping lavender-haired pup of theirs.
Trunks gasped in horror, completely nonplussed by the abrupt and impetuous move. He gulped, stomach coiling up with a deluge of disconcerting dread, as he wondered how much longer his poor mother had to live. There's no way his father would ever tolerate such a brazen and hostile act from anyone, hot-tempered as he was.
"Now you listen to me, you little twerp!" Bulma peevishly prodded the Prince's breastplate with her index finger. "You're gonna march your sorry ass over to Trunks and apologize to him right now, you got it?!"
"Like hell!" The flame-haired Saiyan stormed back, in outrage. "Over my dead b-"
THWACK!
Another slap, this time with the left hand. Trunks was even more flabbergasted, if it were possible, rubbernecking the incredulous scene materializing before his bulging eyes. How on Earth was this crazy woman still alive?! Did she always behave this way?! Even at her worst, he could never recall her future counterpart being this suicidal.
"Now!" Bulma emphatically demanded. "Or so help me, I will slap you all the way to the next decade!"
Wincing at the very real threat, Vegeta realized that he would find no peace anywhere in the Universe, if he didn't do as he was told. He cursed under his breath and grudgingly made his way over to the demi-Saiyan, Bulma in tow. He shuddered at the way she was latching onto him, like a ghastly bloodsucker of some kind.
"Go on then, I'm waiting." She ordered restlessly, arms akimbo. "Or do you need another slap?"
"Okay, okay." A disgruntled Vegeta bore his teeth at her, before turning towards the meddlesome source of his present dilemma. "I'm sorry that you're too weak for my training- AAARRRRGGGHHHHH-" The Prince cried out in pain, as the blue-haired banshee grabbed his ear and gave it a sharp twist. "What the hell?! I did what you asked, demon woman!" He protested aloud.
"That is not an apology!" She lividly shot back. "Try harder! And don't you call him weak ever again! He is not weak, you jerk!"
"Um- mom, this isn't really necessary." Trunks tactfully cut in, scarcely able to keep himself from collapsing into an explosive gale of laughter, at the sheer hilarity of it all. It was astonishing to see his tempestuous mother succeed in subduing Vegeta so easily, where someone like Android Eighteen had failed. He stared pleadingly at the discomfited Prince. "Look father, I know that you're a whole lot stronger than I am and I don't wanna be pushy or slow you down or anything like that. You don't have to train me if you don't want to. I was just hoping for a chance to see you train, so that maybe I can learn how to become stronger on my own, you know?"
To Vegeta's utmost relief, Bulma finally released him. He cleared his throat and addressed the demi-Saiyan, but not before shooting his barbaric mother one last glare.
"Okay, so you want to learn do you?"
Trunks nodded, in earnest.
"Fine then, show me your stance."
"Alright." The thrilled boy nodded and did as directed, heart skittering with a zesty hale of vigor. Vegeta frowned in close scrutiny, circling Trunks and sizing him up like some sort of predator, much to the boy's growing discomfort.
"See, here's the problem." Vegeta said, firing a punch that fell an inch short of the half-Saiyan's spleen. "There're too many holes in your defence. If I'd hit you hard enough just now, you would die from exsanguination, within ten minutes."
"N-No way." Trunks stammered.
"Yes way." The flame-haired Saiyan jeered. "And I can assure you that the Androids hit even harder than I do."
"But you beat Eighteen, so how could-"
"Not everything's about power, you fool!" Vegeta growled.
"Hey, stop being so mean." Bulma ardently protested.
"Quiet woman!" The curmudgeonly Prince snapped. "If you wish to pamper the boy, then by all means take him home and train him yourself. But if I do this, I do it my way and that's all there is to it." Before his irksome female could respond, he addressed his son yet again. "Now then, I'm going to give you exactly three hours of my time. I suggest you make good use of every second, because after that you're on your own. If you properly grasp the techniques you learn here today, you'll be able to grow stronger by yourself, without my help. Once you reach a level I deem adequate, I'll decide whether or not you're worth my real training."
"Yes, father." The half-Saiyan beamed in excitement, overly eager to spend time with the father he'd never had. No matter what happened, he would not let him down. He was determined to prove himself worthy of the royal blood, pumping through his veins!
"You may leave." Vegeta sharply turned towards the heiress. "This is officially a human-free zone."
"Whatever, but you'd better not be too hard on him or else." The blue-haired mother gravely warned. She grinned triumphantly at her son, giving him a wink and a thumbs up, before making her departure. Three hours of training with Vegeta was probably worth more than three months with anyone else, as far as she was concerned. This was definitely a win, in her book.
"Okay, first thing's first." The Prince took up a stance. "We're going to spar."
"But-"
"No need to be frightened boy." Vegeta scorned. " I'm going to be generous and give you a handicap. I'll keep my power level even with yours. That way you'll realize for yourself, just how much your piddly skills pale in comparison to a true Saiyan warrior."
'Gosh, I guess mom and Gohan got at least one thing right.' Trunks rolled his eyes, assuming his own stance. 'The man's full of himself. Then again, maybe he has a right to gloat. No one I've ever known could defeat an Android in single-combat.'
"Your guard's down, fool!" A right fist landed square on the unsuspecting demi-Saiyan's face, hurling him back several meters. Trunks' robust figure skidded along the dirt.
"I wasn't ready yet!" He groused, louring up at his father.
"There's no such thing as ready!" The austere Prince barked, like a drill-sergeant. "An enemy's not going to do you the favor of waiting, while you primp yourself! Even when you're sleeping, you need to train your senses to be alert at all times!"
"Oh really?" Trunks asked wryly. "Is that why mom was able to sneak up on you from behind and slap the Saiyan out of you?"
"What was that?!"
"Nothing, nothing." The boy slurred, feeling extremely timid all of a sudden. "Y-You're totally right. B-B-Be ready at all times. I got it!"
"That's what I like to hear." Vegeta sneered. "Now get your ass up of the floor."
An hour passed by, when the Prince caught wind of that peculiar power level once again, locked in heated battle with another strong adversary, only this one resonated with an aura of pure, uninhibited evil, the likes of which he hadn't felt since-
"Is it just me or am I sensing Frieza?" Trunks' face was scrunched up, in bewilderment. "And now- I'm sensing Goku as well, but it's from the same person. What on Earth is going on?!"
"I'm going to find out."
"Let me come with you."
"No!" The Saiyan resolutely commanded. "These two are way above your league and if anything were to happen to you, I'd never hear the end of it from your insane mother. Stay right here, understood? If I catch you following me, you'll wish you hadn't."
Trunks watched in apprehension, as his hotheaded father headed straight for the lion's den. He hated being left behind, like this. It inadvertently resurfaced a bitter slew of memories, from his dismal past. This was exactly what Gohan would do, every time he took off to battle the Androids. And of course that ended with the tragic demise of his beloved mentor and foster brother. His entire life, Trunks was forced to remain on the sidelines.
'No more!' He clenched his fists tight, staunchly determined to become the warrior he was destined to be. 'I'm not gonna stand back and let others fight my battles for me!'
That in mind, he quickly transformed and zoomed ahead, full speed.
XXXX
"Now that I've got my arm back, I'm gonna send you right back to whatever hole you crawled out of!" The Namekian growled at the winged abomination that called itself Cell. It was the most grotesque creature he'd ever seen, with a brittle green integument and black spots all over, a striated mahogany beak and two navy-blue bulges; one at the centre of the thorax and the other at the crest of its head. Most distinguishable of all, however, was the acute stinger at the end of its fleshy tail, a formidable weapon used to drain the life out of hapless living beings.
"No w-w-wait, l-let's talk about this." Cell fearfully stammered, backing up a few paces and desperately waving his hands, anxious beads of sweat rolling down his lime temple.
"There's nothing to talk about." Piccolo fumed. "You're gonna pay for all the innocent people you've hurt."
Vegeta suddenly entered the scene, touching down next to the Namekian and grimacing, at the unsightly insectoid.
"What the hell is this ugly thing?!"
"Ugly?!" Cell fizzled in that serpentine voice of his. It was somewhat reminiscent of Burter. "How dare you call me that, you Saiyan scum?!" His meaty tail lashed behind him, creating a small fissure in it's waspish wake. "I am the most remarkable life form the Universe has ever seen, a perfect blend of the strongest warriors in existence, including yourself of course."
"I'm not entirely following along, but if you're as good as you say you are, then perhaps you might want to explain why your were just cowering before the Namekian here." The Prince scoffed, gesturing towards Piccolo. So now he understood why this misshapen deformity gave off an array of distinguishable auras.
"Oh Vegeta, how little you know." The giant insect sniggered. "What you see now is but a fragment of my true self. Once I absorb Androids Seventeen and Eighteen, my power will be far beyond your grasp. None of you will stand a chance against me then!"
"Absorb the Androids?" The flame-haired Saiyan frowned. This creature was obviously the result of one of Gero's catastrophic experiments. "Well, pardon my say so, but if your true power hinges on the absorption of others, then it's not really your power is it?"
"You understand nothing, my dear Saiyan." Cell clucked his tongue. "I am the ultimate creation of Doctor Gero. The Androids are merely an extension of my being, designed for the sole purpose of assimilating into one perfect entity, that is myself."
"I'm afraid that's not gonna happen, you overgrown cockroach." Piccolo scowled. "As you are, either one of us would have no trouble defeating you and you know it."
"Yes, it appears that I've managed to hit quite a roadblock already." Cell growled, in frustration. "Given that you merged with Kami, your power does not surprise me quite as much as what I'm sensing from our Super Saiyan friend here."
'So that explains everything.' The astounded Prince gawked at the Namekian. 'Amazing. In terms of raw strength, Piccolo easily surpasses even myself, there's no question about that. I only met Kami that one time though and he was never all that powerful, so how could a merger with someone like him, transform Piccolo to a level beyond Super Saiyan? It doesn't add up.' (A/N: Refer to Chapter 44).
"Enough talk!" The Namek turned towards his flame-haired comrade. "Do you wanna finish him off or should I?"
"By all means, have at him." Vegeta smirked condescendingly. "I find that squashing bugs is a little below my pay grade hahaha."
Cell desperately scoured his surroundings, searching for some means of escape or other. There had to be something, anything that he could use to his advantage, a hostage perhaps. Lo and behold, he saw an all-too-familiar figure scrambling towards the hotspot. This was his one and only chance.
"Say goodbye to your precious son, Vegeta!" He promptly fired a humongous blast of Ki at the would-be intruder.
'Shit!' The panic-stricken Prince frantically rushed to stop the energy wave from engulfing Trunks, knowing that the latter wasn't strong enough to withstand such an attack, even as a Super Saiyan.
"You coward!" Piccolo snapped, lunging towards the insectoid. "I'm gonna end you once and for all!"
"SOLAR FLARE!" Cell quickly brought his fingers in front of his eyes, temporarily blinding everyone on scene and using the distraction to get as far away as possible, masking his energy thereafter.
"That bastard!" Piccolo snarled, once the dazzling light subsided. His fists shook with apoplectic rage, a pervasive blue aura skirling around his windswept frame. "I should've killed him, while I had the chance! Damn him! Damn him to hell!"
"What the fuck is wrong with you, brat?!" The Prince swivelled around and grabbed a petrified Trunks by the lapels of his indigo jacket, after having redirected Cell's energy attack into the skies. "I specifically warned you not to follow me! You're just as brainless as that insufferable mother of yours!"
"I'm s-sorry." The boy stammered.
"Oh, you will be sorry!" Vegeta pulled him closer, so that they were mere inches apart. "The next time you pull a stunt like that, don't expect me to save your useless behind!" He promptly dug his knee right into his son's solar-plexus, whereby he lost his Super Saiyan form and fell into a fit of bloody coughs, barely able to hold himself together. Vegeta wanted nothing more than to throttle the life out of Trunks, that's how irate he was. Were he not his own son, he might've done just that. "This is exactly why I told you to stay behind, dammit! I could've handled that fucking thing myself, but you just had to come along and get in the way, didn't you?!"
"I-"
"If you say you're sorry one more time, I swear I'm going to rip your tongue out and strangle you with it!" The Prince cut him off, with a furious snarl. "Stupid boy! You don't know your own limits, that's your problem!"
"F-Father, listen to me." The half-Saiyan wheezed, still having trouble catching his breath. "That monster you just fought- I think it's the same one who stole my time machine."
"Stole your- what?!" Vegeta frowned, caught unawares by that startling tidbit. "Don't be absurd. If that's the case, then how were you able to travel back here in the first place?!"
"No, not my time machine per say, but one from another timeline that presumably belonged to alternate version of me."
"You're not making any fucking sense!"
"He's not wrong." Piccolo validated from down below, feeling somewhat calmer now, though still vexed at having lost his opportunity. "That creature told me everything. It's name is Cell."
"It has a name?"
"Apparently so." Piccolo affirmed. "Tien and Krillin are due here any minute now. I'll explain further, once they arrive."
Father and son landed by the green giant.
"So it's true that you merged with Kami, isn't it?" Vegeta asked.
"That's right."
"Wait a second, doesn't that mean that the dragon balls no longer exist?!" Trunks gasped.
"Unfortunately, that is the case." The Namekian grunted. "Considering the enemies we're up against, we felt that it was a risk that had to be taken."
"It still doesn't explain how you're this strong." An embittered Vegeta gruffly remarked, lip curled up in resentment. "Kami was a weakling."
"Be that is it may, our union was one of a kind." Piccolo smirked conceitedly, at the unmistakeable hint of jealousy in the other warrior's tone. "According to King Kai, before he separated into two beings, Kami was the last of a powerful bloodline of warriors, known as the Super Namekians."
"Super Namekians?" Trunks' jaw fell. He'd never heard of such a thing before, but if the energy resonating off of Piccolo was anything to go by, they would have to have been unduly incredible, even more so than Super Saiyans.
"Yes." Piccolo nodded grimly. "They were said to be the strongest warriors in the entire Universe and the protectors of planet Namek. Had any one of them still been around, Frieza's invasion of our home world would've ended before it even had a chance to begin." He went on. "I've yet to draw forth the latent depths of power inside me. That'll require a little time and meditation. But once it happens, I'll be completely unrivalled in all spheres."
"Tch, we'll see about that." Vegeta scoffed, determined to prove him wrong.
Just then Krillin and Tien arrived and Piccolo began recounting the story behind Cell.
"So my mother from Cell's future managed to create a remote controller, with which the other me shut down the Androids." The demi-Saiyan peered at the rough asphalt, between his feet. "But just as I was about to return, Cell killed me, took my time machine and travelled back here."
"Yes, but what I don't understand is how that timeline even exists." The Namek creased his eyes. "The original timeline was the one you came from, but when you travelled here three years ago, it created another timeline, namely the one we're in now. But how could a third one possibly come into being?"
"Something must've went wrong, when I returned to the future, after giving Goku the medicine." Trunks replied, after taking a moment to think things through. "Mom warned me about the risks involved with time travel. When I went back to my world, there was obviously a time split of some sort and a whole other reality was created, one in which I didn't return here straight away and instead waited until the Androids were dealt with. That other me must've wanted to come back here with a remote controller in hand, so that he could shut down the Androids and destroy them right away, rather than risk us fighting them head on." He grit his teeth, in exasperation. "If it hadn't been for Cell that plan might actually have worked!"
"Wait a second, if that happened, wouldn't there be two of you here, at the very same time?" A dumbfounded Krillin asked.
"Technically, there'd be three of him." Tien rectified. "You're forgetting about the baby."
"Right, right."
"But that second time machine was set to arrive, a year before the incident with Frieza and his father." Piccolo noted. "Why would the other Trunks choose to come here at that specific date?"
"Beats me." The perplexed lavender-haired boy shrugged. "But this might also explain why the timeline here is different than my own. My travelling here must've caused some kind of a ripple effect in the space-time continuum, which resulted in me being sent to an alternate version of the past rather than my own."
"Alternate version?" Vegeta frowned, in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot that you and mom still don't know about that."
"About what?" The Prince narrowed his eyes and so the young half-breed explained everything. As expected, the flame-haired Saiyan was not pleased in the slightest. "What?! Kakarot turned into a Super Saiyan, years before I did?!" He spat in disgust. "And I was killed by that bastard Frieza?! No way! I refuse to believe that!"
"And apparently, you were even more of an asshole than you are in this world." Tien drolly added.
"What did you just call me?!" Vegeta held up a threatening fist.
"Hey, don't take my word for it." The three-eyed warrior scoffed. "Just ask Trunks, over there."
The Prince shot a glare at the half-breed boy.
"Well- I- I never used those exact words, but mom did say that you were kind of cold and uncaring." The demi-Saiyan quirked his lips up, in an uneasy smile. "But hey, you seem to be a lot different in this timeline and mom told me that if you'd lived, you may well have changed for the better."
"Oh spare me." Vegeta sneered. He couldn't help but wonder how much of an 'asshole' his alter-ego had to be. It made sense, considering the man's defeat at the hands of Earth's warriors, not to mention Frieza. Such events would've triggered a strong sense of bitterness and malice, which he himself didn't harbor, due to the fact that circumstances in this timeline just happened to be a lot more favorable- at least, from his perspective. Even so, he cursed the other Vegeta, for treating Bulma like a clog of dirt and then leaving her all alone, by getting himself killed. She deserved so much better! But more so, he cursed that bastard Cell! That ugly piece of slime-infested shit had murdered his son and stolen his time-machine. His chest tightened with a sharp pang of sorrow, as he thought about the boy's devastated mother and the heart-wrenching anguish she must've felt at losing her only child, especially after they'd lost virtually everyone else and barely managed to defeat the Androids, after struggling for almost two decades. She had no one left behind to console her, comfort her or protect her and it was all Cell's fault. Vegeta felt the ground beneath him quake, as his strapping figure bristled with unprecedented rage. He flew off before anyone could utter a word, engulfed with a vindictive surge of crazed bloodlust. Cell would pay dearly for what he'd done! He'd rip that fucker apart, limb from limb!
"What's gotten into him, all of a sudden?" Tien raised a bewildered brow.
"If I were to guess, I'd say he's on a monster hunt." Piccolo's eyes followed the Prince's receding figure. "He's going after Cell and I'm gonna join him. Between the two of us, we should have no trouble locating him and killing him. As for the rest of you." He looked between the others. "Cell's not an opponent you can stand up to. He almost killed Trunks with a single blast."
"So what should we do?" Krillin asked.
"I'm going to get Chiaotzu and bring him over to Kame House." Tien decided.
"Alright, I guess I'll go back to Doctor Gero's lab and look for a passage, leading to the underground bunker." Trunks said. "I may not be strong enough to face the Cell from the future, but I can kill the present version, while he's still stuck inside that incubator of his."
"I dunno, if Goku were here, he'd probably say that's cruel, since that particular Cell hasn't done anything wrong." The bald warrior chuckled.
"Well, it's a good thing he's not here then." Piccolo spat, in disgust. "Krillin, you should go with Trunks."
"Sure thing." The short man nodded.
A few minutes later…
"I never asked for your assistance." Vegeta growled at the giant warrior, flying next to him.
"Well, you have it anyway." The Namekian replied. "Like it or not, we're in this together."
"Tch whatever, but Cell's mine, you hear me?!"
"I know you want to avenge your son." Piccolo stated knowingly, eliciting a grimace from the flame-haired Saiyan. "I've never particularly liked you, but that's something I can appreciate. I'm only here to help you track down Cell, that's all. Once we find that son-of-a-bitch, he's all yours."
Little did they know, their target was below them the whole time, suppressing his energy within the sewers and tracking their Ki signals, all the while.
"Once the two of them are a safe distance away, I'll resurface and look for another populated area." Cell soliloquized. "I'm still not strong enough to face either one of them yet. I am, however, curious about Vegeta. He wasn't anywhere near this strong, in my timeline. But it is of no consequence. Once I absorb enough humans, I'll kill the both of them and find the Androids." He let out a sinister series of serpentine snickers.
A/N: Aw Vegeta, you do have a heart hehe. Hope you folks enjoyed, especially the opening scene with our favourite tiger mom, Bulma xD. That's right Vegeta, you'd better do as she says, if you know what's good for you! Incidentally, there're some areas of "assumed knowledge" here and there that I didn't want to repeat (e.g. Cell's fight with Piccolo). I also borrowed the term "space-time continuum" from "Back to the Future" hehe. ;p
Thanks for reading everyone! Let me know what you think and be sure to drop a review! :D
Power levels (descending order):
Piccolo: 470 million (with a crazy heap of potential beneath the surface, that is yet to be unlocked; 450 million after his arm drainage)
Vegeta: 8.1 million
405 million (Super Saiyan - slight boost from Zenkai)
Cell: 380 million (340 million before absorbing the population of Ginger Town; 360 million, before sapping energy from Piccolo's arm)
Trunks: 5.2 million
260 million (Super Saiyan - slight boost from Zenkai)
Will reveal the human power levels, later on.