//------------------------------//
// Android: Cell 
// Story: Dragon Ball Z: Daughters of Destruction 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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"So, the beast that Kami saw has finally showed himself," Piccolo commented, to which he turned his full attention towards the strange creature he had discovered, which meant that he was facing the creature and his hostage, while at the same time he wondered how he was going to save the man before he died.

He knew that he was putting a brave face on, and not showing fear to the creature thanks to what he knew about the parents of Rainbow and Applejack, but what he could feel in the air was a combination of ki energies. It felt like Vegeta, Frieza, and King Cold were standing in front of him, while at the same time he felt his own energy lingering with those three, which seemed impossible considering that he was standing in front of the creature. He had the feeling that this was Cell, the strange Android creation that the other two Androids had warned him and the others about, but if that was the case he had to wonder how Dr. Gero had even created such a strange creation.

"S... save me!" the man said, trying to squirm out of the creature's grasp, while at the same time reaching into his clothing and pulling out a large pile of cash that had a band that prevented the loose pieces of paper from being taken by the wind, "I am the wealthiest man in the area! I'll give you whatever amount of money you want, if you save me!"

"I don't know if you can understand me or not," Piccolo stated, his eyes glancing towards the man for a moment, before turning back to the creature, "but let him go... then the two of us can fight, if that is what you desire."

The creature stared at him for a few seconds, as if mentally going over something in his head, before opening his hand and letting the man collapse on the ground, almost as if he was letting the man go. The man inched forward for a few seconds, though his progress was stopped when the creature's stinger pierced his back, to which Piccolo watched as the creature started to drain the man of his life force. The man literally collapsed in on himself as his skin shriveled and his bones turned to liquid, to which Piccolo watched as the entirety of the poor man was consumed into the creature's body, who pulled his tail back and stared at him once more.

Piccolo could tell that this creature was definitely responsible for what he had seen around the city, with the holes in the back of all the clothing he had seen, but he had no idea why the creature had bothered to do that... while at the same time knowing that some explanation would be coming his way.

"The next one that will end up like this will be you," the creature said, surprising Piccolo by the fact that he was able to talk for a few seconds, though his voice sounded like he was trying to be terrifying, "Piccolo Daimao."

Before Piccolo could say anything to that, and inquire how the creature knew that name, the creature started to power up, as he started pushing the wind away from him as the ground in front of him cracked, while at the same time his power pushed over cars, shattered windows, and cracked some of the buildings around them. At the same time Piccolo could feel some of Goku's ki coming from the creature, which made the mysterious creature even more deadly than he had been. A few seconds later the creature stopped powering up and stared at Piccolo, which meant that they were either going to have a small conversation or they were going to start fighting.

"So, who are you?" Piccolo asked, knowing that he could guess at the creature's name, but he wanted to double check in case this wasn't the Android that the other two Androids had warned him and the others about, "And what are you for that matter?"

"Well, to be perfectly honest, my creator didn't personally tell me what my name was," the creature said, though at the same time Piccolo kept himself ready, just in case the creature decided to attack him while he explained himself, "though, after some searching through his files, I discovered that he intended on giving me the name 'Cell'... and personally, I think that is a perfect name."

"So, you're the Cell that the other Androids warned us about," Piccolo commented, knowing that he had found the one thing that the two Androids might actually fear, considering that they appeared like they didn't want to fight the creature, "which means that the 'creator' you mentioned is Dr. Gero."

"And how would you know that Dr. Gero made me?" the creature, Cell, asked, though it was hard to tell if he was actually curious of if he was trying to distract Piccolo.

"Android 17 and 18 were awake for some time while Dr. Gero went away on business," Piccolo said, remembering what the two Androids had told them, "they found a few files that allowed them to change some of their programming... while at the same time discovering some information on you. Based on what they found they determined that allowing you to live would be a mistake, where they told me and my friends about you in the hopes that we would hunt you down and obliterate you before you woke up... though its clear that we were a little late in that regard."

"You knew of my existence before I revealed myself," Cell commented, sounding a little surprised by that fact, before glaring at Piccolo once more, "I'm actually not that surprised by this information... and besides, soon you'll be a nice meal that will increase my power even further, so it really doesn't matter how you knew about me."

"Well, you say that like I'm going to be easy to take out," Piccolo said, causing Cell to stop in his tracks for a few seconds, while at the same time allowing his own power to rise all around them, "however, let me show you just how wrong you really are."

With that said Piccolo released his own energy, pushing the ground beneath his feet further into the ground as the force of his energy started to push Cell backwards. That was rapidly followed by a large flash of golden light being pushed out from where he was standing, though a few seconds later it was clear that Cell was trying to hold his own against the power he was emitting. The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds, allowing Cell to understand the difference between their power, while at the same time giving Piccolo a few seconds to clarify something that his opponent had said... before putting him in the ground.

"You called me Piccolo Daimao," Piccolo commented, causing Cell to lock his gaze on him, while at the same time they remained where they were standing, "unfortunately you are mistaking him for me. I am Piccolo, one of the Z Warriors that protects the Earth from creatures and villains like yourself... though the fact that you extinguished the lives of everyone in this town actually works to my advantage."

"And what could you possibly mean by that?" Cell asked, which meant he was curious as to what the Namekian was talking about, while at the same time preparing himself for whatever might be coming his way.

"It means, my dear Cell, that I can go all out without having to worry about innocent bystanders." Piccolo said, allowing his energy to gather in front of his left hand, which he pointed in Cell's direction for a few seconds and then released a large burst of energy at his opponent.

The resulting explosion rocked the surrounding area, creating a shockwave that would be felt by everyone that could feel energy while at the same time destroying all of the buildings around him and Cell. A few seconds later the smoke cleared and revealed the destruction that rested all around Piccolo, though as he lowered his hand he noticed that some of the rubble was moving. That was followed by the pieces of building moving around until Cell pulled himself from the destruction, though he seemed out of it as he shook off the effects of the attack that Piccolo had thrown at him. Piccolo smiled as he flew through the air and reached Cell, who threw a punch in return, though at the same time Piccolo had been anticipating an attack and dodged it, to which he used his new speed to race around his target, approach him from behind, and spin around before delivering a kick that sent Cell flying.

Cell stopped himself from going too far and turned back to face Piccolo, who was in the process of sending another kick his way, though time time Cell threw himself backwards and moved away from Piccolo, who appeared behind him and kicked him back in the direction he had been running away from. As Cell went flying, and crossed the ground he had been trying to cover, Piccolo appeared in front of where he was going to land and raised his fist, so he could deliver a punch that would turn the tide in his favor. Cell, however, noticed what was coming and managed to stop himself before the attack could land, with his own energy no less, though that was followed by him flying into the air and allowing him to glare down at Piccolo for a few seconds.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Cell raised two of his fingers to his head, to which Piccolo raised his eyebrow for a moment, before Cell loosed the Special Beam Cannon at Piccolo... who growled and slammed his hand into the attack, sending it into a nearby building that was destroyed a few seconds later.

Cell apparently used the attack as a diversion, because he appeared behind Piccolo and attacked him while forcing him into the air, where they started exchanging blows with each other. That quickly came to an end as Piccolo slammed his fist into Cell's face and knocked him backwards, though at the same time Piccolo moved passed his opponent and approached from behind. Cell tried to attack him, but Piccolo used an after image and slipped passed his opponent, to which he reappeared behind Cell, who turned around when he noticed the deception, and delivered a kick that sent him flying back into the ground below them.

This time Cell didn't try anything funny, to which Piccolo landed nearby and kept his eyes on his target, because he was expecting some sort of trick in the near future.

"So, who put you in that time machine and sent you back to this time?" Piccolo asked, remembering that Kami had seen the discovery of the second time machine, which meant that he knew of its existence thanks to the knowledge that was handed to him.

"No one. I sent myself back to this time period," Cell replied, though he frowned for a moment, indicating that he had believed the second time machine would have been hidden and that no one would know of its existence, "That time machine was too small for this body to fit in, so I reverted back to my egg form to fit inside it, though before the change into my egg was complete I set the coordinates for four years ago. I have come back to this time period to achieve my perfect form, though I think its time that we ended this fight."

As Piccolo watched his opponent he noticed that he was pulling his hands towards the right side of his body, while at the same time his energy seemed to shift towards Goku's for a moment... though Piccolo knew which move Cell was attempting to use.

"Ka... me... ha... me..." Cell said, the energy gathering around his hands, and forming the sphere that usually came with the attack when Goku or one of the girls used the move, before leveling his palms with him, "HAAAAAA!"

Piccolo, in a moment of quick decision making, moved out of the area as the attack was released at him, allowing it to detonate on some of the rubble as he moved into the air, though that was before Cell appeared behind him and used both his arms and his legs to grab onto Piccolo, to prevent him from moving. A few seconds later he raised his tail and sent it flying towards Piccolo's chest, though that was stopped as Piccolo used his arm instead of allowing it to pierce his chest, while at the same time biting back a scream.

"The outcome remains the same," Cell commented, though his tone indicated that he was pleased by what had happened, "I shall take your powerful life essence into my own and increase my power even more than the townspeople did... and I shall use your power to help me achieve my perfect form."

Piccolo struggled against the power that Cell possessed, the power that was being used to keep him trapped, while feeling some of his essence being drained from him. A second or two later he spotted at least twenty tanks rolling up to where he and Cell were floating, to which he noticed the leader shouting up to them, insisting that they surrender and not bother fighting back. Before Cell could say anything the commander of the armed forces called for his soldiers to open fire, to which Cell extended his right hand and used his energy to force the missiles back down towards the ground... effectively obliterating all of the tanks in an instant, while no doubt killing all of the people that had come to fight them.

As Cell gloated over destroying the soldiers and their toys, however, Piccolo noticed that his left arm was completely drained, to which he slammed the back of his head into Cell's mouth and released himself. He then used the opportunity to fly to the ground, where Cell followed him the moment he was done getting rid of the brief pain he had felt, though the monster seemed pleased, in some manner, to have someone actually fight back against him.

"You were lucky to get away from me," Cell said, chuckling a bit as he stared at Piccolo, or more specifically the drained arm that he was holding onto, "but with your arm in that condition it appears that the advantage has switched to my side, where it shall remain until I'm done with you."

"There's no doubt that you are correct," Piccolo replied, calling upon his earlier terror at the discovery of who Rainbow and Applejack's father was to make himself appear that he was scared of Cell, which would no doubt lower the monster's guard until the time was right, "With my arm in this condition my balance will be thrown off, so its plainly obvious that you have won this battle."

"Yes, not even you can help admitting when your beaten." Cell stated, a grin appearing on his face as he realized that he was going to gain a large amount of energy from taking Piccolo into himself, "Your power will allow me to ascend to my final form... so in thanks, I will tell you something about me. As you might have no doubt guessed, thanks to your knowledge of my existence, I am another of the 'Artificial Humans' that Dr. Gero created, though instead of being made by the doctor himself I was created by his computer. Dr. Gero, at one point in time, started gathering the cells of the world's greatest warriors in an attempt to create an Artificial Human from synthesized cells, but due to the amount of time it was taking he eventually gave up halfway through.

However, the computer itself continued its research and continued collecting cells of the most powerful warriors this planet had to offer, so at the time of the Saiyan invasion it gathered the cells of Goku, Vegeta, and yourself. Then, when Frieza and his father arrived on Earth, we had the good fortune to acquire their cells as well, though we refused to collect your friend Trunk's cells, as we already had too much from the Saiyans themselves."

"Question," Piccolo said, causing Cell to frown at him for a few seconds, though that was before he beckoned for Piccolo to continue, "How did you acquire the cells of Frieza and his father? Trunks obliterated the two of them without leaving a single trace that they were even there, so how did you obtain their cells?"

"There's a little robot that has been gathering cells, similar to the one Dr. Gero used to spy on Goku and his friends," Cell explained, while at the same time he shrugged as Piccolo noticed the oddly shaped miniature robot that was floating somewhere near Cell, "Honestly, you would think that we wouldn't have been able to acquire the cells of Frieza and his father, but the robot was able to grab some before they were both obliterated from existence. Go ahead, destroy the robot if you wish, it doesn't matter in the long run... because in twenty-four years I will be created and that version of myself will do the same thing I did, until we come to this point."

"And this perfect form of yours," Piccolo asked, though at the same time he used a small amount of energy to obliterate the robot in question, because if anything else showed up it was best to not give the future creation the cells of someone like Beerus, "how do you go about acquiring something like that?"

"I must absorb two specialized lifeforms to reach my perfect form," Cell said, chuckling for a moment, as if he enjoyed revealing everything to someone before he absorbed them, "The computer that created me informed me that my targets were the last two living Androids created by Dr. Gero; Android 17 and Android 18. Unfortunately in my era the two Androids didn't exist, though I suspect that the version of Trunks that I killed had ended their lives... but he had his time machine, which I used to come back to this time. The computer also told me that my perfect form will have a power that is terrible, far beyond what the imagination can conjure, and that I can do whatever I desire with my full power."

Even as Cell said those words Piccolo knew that there was something much stronger than Cell's perfect form, as he had the knowledge that a God of Destruction existed... which meant that Cell's perfect form would be nothing special in comparison.

"Well then Cell, you have my gratitude," Piccolo said, to which he smiled at his opponent for a few seconds, while at the same time he gripped his ruined arm as tightly as he could, "Thanks to you, all of the mysteries, about both you and the other Androids, have been solved... and now I know what to tell the others."

Cell blinked as Piccolo tore off his ruined arm and tossed it towards the ground, before concentrating for a few seconds and regenerating a new one, which caused Cell to back up as he realized that Piccolo had fooled him. At the same time he realized that this wasn't just the Piccolo he thought he was dealing with, because that sort of trick almost made him think of Kami, which meant that the two of them had merged back into one being. While the disappearance of the Dragon Balls was convenient to him, as it meant that everyone who died stayed dead, he also knew that he wasn't strong enough to take Piccolo out, not yet anyway.

As he jumped onto the building behind him, so he could consider what to do next in his fight with Piccolo, the two of them felt some new arrivals coming their way, to which Cell noticed that Trunks and Krillin were the first to arrive. With three enemies he knew that he would be in some trouble, but then he spotted two people he had been hoping to avoid until he had acquired his perfect form; Rainbow Dash and Applejack. He had, after some time, returned to where the computer had been and noticed some interesting pieces of information on them, along with Rainbow's lance. There was also something special hidden away in Dr. Gero's secret laboratory, but he had ignored it and came here to steal the energy he had acquired so far.

"Well, its good of you guys to join us," Piccolo said, to which he pointed at Cell for a moment, "Allow me to introduce Cell, the Android that 17 and 18 warned us about."

"That's Cell?" Trunks asked, though at the same time he knew that they were going to have to put the creature down, otherwise there was no telling how much death the creature could cause.

"That's right, I am the one the other Androids warned you about," Cell exclaimed, making sure that all of them had their attention on him, because he was about to try something that was either going to allow him to survive or it was going to get him killed, "but I'm not telling my story again... though I will leave you all enlightened."

A few seconds later he flew into the air and made sure that he was level with the sun, because if he was going to live, and not get killed here, he needed to escape before the pony girls murdered him with their abilities... to which he called upon one of the abilities he had learned thanks to his cells and raised his hands to his head.

"Oh no," Krillin said, recognizing the stance that the creature was using, because he and Goku had learned that move from Tien back when he had joined their side, "that's the Solar Flare!"

The moment the words left Krillin's mouth the group adverted their eyes as the light flashed down upon them, though while they couldn't see they knew that Cell was escaping, meaning that they would have to expand their energy to hunt him down in the future. When the light faded the group opened their eyes and discovered that Cell was no longer in the immediate area, though based on everything he knew about their abilities they all guessed that he had the ability to hide his ki as well, making searching for him much more difficult. Piccolo and Applejack flew into the air and looked around for a few seconds, trying to determine where the Android went, though at the same time Rainbow flew around the entirety of the ruined town and tried to locate their target... before they all returned to where Trunks and Krillin were standing.

"Well, Cell is as good as gone," Rainbow commented, feeling annoyed that she and Applejack had missed their opportunity to show the seemingly powerful Android what they were capable of.

"And we have no way of tracking him until he willingly reveals himself," Piccolo added, letting out a sigh as he contained his anger for being arrogant with his new power, because he knew that he could have killed Cell if he had been caught off guard so many times.

Before anyone said anything else they noticed that Tien was flying their way, though as their friend landed Rainbow smiled, because if what she was feeling was correct another of their friends was about to show up... to which everyone else allowed a smile to grace their faces as Vegeta landed nearby. Rainbow wasn't going to ask how he had felt the fight between Cell and Piccolo, while he was in the Other World no less, but he apparently had and had coming running.

"So Piccolo," Vegeta commented, to which he looked around at the devastation that was all around them, while at the same time wishing that he had been here to help out, "how did you acquire this new strength of yours?"

"He merged with Kami," Krillin replied, knowing that this was something that Piccolo might not want to talk about, before he looked over at the Namekian, "though I have to admit that he is much stronger than I originally thought he would be from such a fusion."

"Unfortunately I have some bad news to share," Piccolo stated, causing everyone to look at him once more, "Apparently Dr. Gero has been gathering the cells of the world's greatest fighters, by an old computer that he apparently never shut down, and has created that monster that you all felt. From what I've been able to gather he's got the cells of Vegeta, Goku, Frieza and his father, and myself, though at the same time I have to wonder if the computer managed to grab some of Rainbow or Applejack's cells, back when Nappa was running around."

"I seriously hope that isn't the case," Krillin said, trying to resist the urge to shake in fear, because the thought of an Android wielding the powers of both Rainbow and Applejack, in one body no less, made him tremble.

"Please. As if an Android could contain our awesomeness," Rainbow replied, while at the same time Applejack shook her head in annoyance, "So let's go hunt down Cell and put him down, before he does whatever he's supposed to do."

"He's going to try and absorb 17 and 18," Piccolo answered, shocking everyone by the news, though at the same time he actually had a brilliant idea that would no doubt draw the monstrous Android out of hiding, "apparently they are the keys to him acquiring his perfect form, which is apparently so much stronger than his current form that we couldn't even begin to imagine the power he'd command."

"Then we'll just hunt him down and kill him before he has the chance to do that," Vegeta commented, to which everyone nodded in agreement, though at the same time he turned to his son, "Trunks, I have the feeling that the secret laboratory we have been searching for might be under the one where Dr. Gero awoke the other Androids, so why don't you head over there and see if you can't find it... and the Cell that's currently being made by that computer. You should travel with Rainbow and Applejack, just in case Cell brought more than just himself to this time period, but make sure that you get all the files necessary before you blow the place sky high."

"And what will you and the others be doing?" Trunks asked, though at the same time he knew that his father and his friends would no doubt be hunting down Cell, to eliminate him, or to find the Androids, to warn them about the danger they were in.

"Hunting down Cell," Piccolo said, to which the rest of the group, those that hadn't been named by Vegeta, nodded their understanding to the situation, "Once you have any plans or information regarding Cell you should head back to Bulma and see if she can't come up with something to help us out."

Trunks nodded and flew into the air, to which both Rainbow and Applejack bid their friends farewell for the moment and flew off in the direction of the laboratory they had been in earlier. At the same time Krillin decided to follow after them as well, because he knew that in a fight against Cell, who had fought on par with Piccolo, he would end up dead. Tien and Piccolo headed off in one direction, allowing Vegeta to head off in another direction, to which they could cover more ground and use the plan to raise their energy in case they found Cell. It was an effective strategy, which had worked multiple times since they came up with it, so they reflected to use the same plan again and again until they no longer needed to use it.

As they flew away from the ruins of Ginertown, and began the hunt for Cell, Piccolo reflected to talk with Vegeta about what he had discovered, when they wouldn't have to worry about being overheard by someone who didn't need to know the information yet. At the same time he hoped that Dr. Gero's computer had failed to do anything with the cells of Rainbow and Applejack, because a manufactured Android, possessing both of their powers, would be devastating to the entire world. He had an uneasy sense of dread that filled his body, though whether it was from what he had learned about the girls or about Cell's supposed perfect form he had no idea, but at the same time he silently hoped that he and the others could beat Cell before he did what he was here to do.