Chapter 12: Cell's Inevitable Evolution

Piccolo, #17 and #18 engage in combat against Cell, but #16 stays out of the way, for the time being. Meanwhile, on Kami's Lookout, Goku, Gohan, Videl and Pan all sense the battle going down on the island. They're still waiting for Vegeta and Trunks to exit the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. They also sense the energy of another person airborne at the battle: Tien Shinhan. He hasn't engaged in combat yet; he's just observing the battle, and ready to step in, if needed.

Piccolo fares better in this version of events than he did in the original, due to Pan giving a rough estimate as to how strong the Androids were in her timeline. However, this does very little to change the outcome of the battle. Cell takes advantage of Android 17's cockiness and absorbs him, resulting in Cell reaching his Semi-Perfect Form. Even with Android 16 being Imperfect Cell's equal, it doesn't change much. Tien finally gets involved by surprising Semi-Perfect Cell with his Neo Tri-Beam attack, gradually exhausting himself in the process.

Sensing Tien's energy gradually depleting, Goku uses Instant Transmission to bail Tien and Piccolo out and safely retreat to the Lookout. Thankfully, Korin had more than enough Senzu Beans prepared, so Tien and Piccolo are safely out of harm's way. Due to Goku's sudden interference, Cell is very unhappy that he had lost track of Android 18. For the remainder of time Vegeta and Trunks have in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Cell tries to find #18, and having very little success. Once the door to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber opens, Vegeta and Trunks step out, with their battle armor sets looking all torn up. It goes to show how hard Saiyans train.

Thankfully, Goku had come to the Lookout extra prepared on supplies, especially food. Saiyans eat A LOT of food before their stomachs are satisfied. We cut to a small flashback from Goku.

~FLASHBACK~

Goku: Bulma, can I ask you to do something for me, before I go into the Time Chamber?

Bulma: Sure, Goku. What do you need?

Goku: Can you prepare a year's worth of extra supplies for two Saiyans? I'm planning on going into the Time Chamber with Gohan, Videl and Pan, but the Time Chamber only has enough for 2 people for a whole year.

Bulma: I can see your way of thinking, Goku, and I have to say, that's not a bad idea. In fact, it's actually a REALLY good idea. I should be able to have the supplies ready very soon.

Goku: Thanks, Bulma. I really appreciate you for doing this.

Bulma smiles at Goku, and gets to work on preparing the extra supplies. A couple hours later, the supplies are fully prepared in a capsule.

~FLASHBACK ENDS~

After Vegeta and Trunks are filled in on the situation, they head off to Cell's current location. Shortly after Vegeta and Trunks depart, Goku enters the Time Chamber with Gohan, Videl and Pan, with the supply capsule in hand. Once in the Time Chamber, Goku and Pan begin by teaching Gohan and Videl how to transform into the Super Saiyan form. It takes some trial and error, but Gohan and Videl are finally able to tap into the Super Saiyan form, but it takes a bit of a toll on their bodies, due to this being their first time successfully transforming. After a whole month of trial and error, that is.

Another 2 weeks pass in the Time Chamber, and Gohan and Videl are able to transform into Super Saiyans willingly. Now all that's left is for the Saiyans of the Son family to maximize the Super Saiyan form's efficiency as much as possible in the remainder of time in the Time Chamber. Needless to say, they pull this feat off with some time still to spare. It's at this point that Goku notices something from the hybrids: they have begun knocking on the door of something beyond that of a Super Saiyan. Whatever it is, Goku doesn't know, but he does know that this may be the key to defeating Cell.

At this point, they only have about 2 months left in the Time Chamber, and Goku tells Gohan, Videl and Pan about the surges of power they gave off moments ago. Needless to say, the future family is kind of surprised to hear about this. So, they decide that they want to get used to that power as much as possible. This makes Goku feel something: He admires their desire to get stronger, even if it's just for their own purposes. That being to protect their loved ones, unlike Goku, who sometimes chooses to fight willy-nilly and not care about potential consequences.

The last 2 months pass by in a flash, and the Son family have done all they can with the Super Saiyan form.

~FLASHBACK~

Vegeta fights Semi-Perfect Cell, much like the original version of events, except that Vegeta is not as prideful as a Saiyan, but it's still there. Cell does take advantage of Vegeta's suppressed Saiyan pride, but the Saiyan Prince tells Cell that if it doesn't give him a proper challenge, then he will die by a Saiyan's hands, no matter whose they are. With that, Cell successfully absorbs Android 18 and finally achieves his Perfect Form. After toying around with Vegeta and Trunks, he decides to spare them, as they had managed to entertain him for an impressive amount of time. Cell informs them of the Cell Games, gives them 9 days to prepare, and flies off to make the Cell Games publicly known, AND create the arena.