They Came Knocking

"Damn it, we have to find that guy Cell quickly." After learning the details, Krillin spoke up with concern.

"Can we even find him? That guy will definitely hide his energy and keep absorbing humans..." Trunks was not optimistic.

"Regardless, if we don't stop Cell from absorbing Android 17 and Android 18, it will be a disaster!" Tien Shinhan said firmly.

"So we must track him down and kill him, or find Android 17 and Android 18 and kill them... I believe we must defeat Cell before his power increases further," Piccolo made the final decision.

"Hmph! What a nuisance. Just let him reach his perfect form; it'll reduce the number of opponents and save us the trouble," Vegeta said with a look of annoyance. "I don't care what the enemy becomes... as long as I kill him!"

"Don't underestimate Cell's power." As the first one to engage Cell in battle, Piccolo had the right to speak on the matter.

"Do whatever you want!" Vegeta threw those words over his shoulder and flew away.

"Hey, Trunks, can't you just use your Time Machine to go back to the past and destroy the Androids?" Krillin asked.

"No, the future of that dimension has nothing to do with this one."

"Then, what if we go to Gero's lab now and destroy the incomplete Cell?"

"No, we still have to go and destroy it. At the very least, Cell won't be born in the future of this dimension."

"You two go to the lab; Tien Shinhan and I will keep searching for Cell around here," Piccolo said.

"Alright. If we can't find him, we'll head to Kame House later. Maybe we can track his movements through the news," Krillin nodded, then headed toward North City with Trunks.

At the ruins of the lab, Krillin shivered from the cold.

"Ugh... is there really a basement? How are we supposed to find it? Let's just tear this whole place apart."

"Krillin! I found it, it should be here."

Trunks quickly located an underground entrance.

"Look, this thing must be Cell." Upon entering the basement, they immediately saw a computer that was still running.

"Good! Let's do it." Krillin prepared to fire a ki blast to destroy the place.

"Wait... wait!" Trunks suddenly spotted the blueprints on the table.

"Oh? Are those the blueprints for Cell?"

"No! Look, it says Android 17 here. If I take this to Mom, maybe we can find Android 17's weakness!" Trunks opened the drawings and grew excited; he had dreamed of killing Android 17 and Android 18.

Rumble!

Afterward, the two destroyed the basement and left the area.

"Trunks, that's great! An unexpected gain."

"Yeah!" After his excitement faded, Trunks fell silent, seemingly deep in thought.

"Krillin, please take this to my mother for me."

"Huh? You aren't coming with me?" Krillin asked, puzzled.

"I want to train with my father."

"That's fine, but I don't think Vegeta will let you tag along."

"I don't want to be with that kind of father either, but training through combat is much faster than training alone."

"Alright! Good luck."

Meanwhile, Piccolo and Tien Shinhan found no trace of Cell and had no choice but to return to Kame House.

And so, two days passed, then three...

"Breaking news: the monster has appeared in a large town in the South Area, Sector 48. Half the residents have been killed..."

"Damn it, the South Area this time. Cell, you need to stop this!" Piccolo gritted his teeth while staring at the television.

Swish! Thud!

Suddenly, there was movement outside. A window was abruptly forced open. When Piccolo looked out, his face turned green—Android 17, Android 18, and an unfamiliar, hulking Android had shown up at their doorstep.

Strictly speaking, this was the first appearance of Android 16, Android 17, and Android 18; Piccolo had only heard Trunks' description of two of them previously.

When they had found Gero's lab in North City earlier, Gero had already been killed, and Android 17 and Android 18 had already left.

"Hi! Is Sun Wukong here?" Android 17 asked with his hands in his pockets.

Piccolo didn't answer, thinking to himself: Damn it, they show up at a time like this...

"Sun Wukong doesn't seem to be here," Android 16 spoke up on his own.

"Is that so?" Android 17 didn't trust his radar function at all right now.

In fact, Sun Wukong was fast asleep in a room on the second floor of Kame House, and Android 16's energy radar hadn't detected him.

"Wake up, the worst kind of guests are here," Piccolo turned and shouted to the sleeping Krillin and Yamcha.

After staring at the TV for three days straight, Krillin and Yamcha were exhausted; even martial artists needed rest.

"Get lost, Sun Wukong isn't here," Piccolo said bluntly as he stepped outside.

"Oh? Then, please tell me, where is he?" Android 17 asked, unfazed.

"Do you think we'd just tell you?" Piccolo countered.

"How did you even find this place?" Krillin interjected, puzzled.

"If you won't talk, we'll just have to force it out of you," Android 17 laughed.

"Is that so? Then let's put it to the test. There's an uninhabited island over there; let's fight there," Piccolo said, pointing toward the island across the water.

"Oh my... what a foolhardy guy!" Android 17 sneered.

"You three stay back; it's no use if you come," Piccolo said, glancing back at Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien Shinhan before flying toward the island with the three Androids.

Krillin: ...

"Will Piccolo win?" Yamcha asked, despite his frustration with his own lack of strength.

"It's unlikely. There are three of them. Two are the Android 17 and Android 18 that Trunks mentioned, and there's another unexpected Android," Tien Shinhan said, noting the grim situation.

"What are we going to do? Goku's illness hasn't cleared up yet, and that guy Wumian has gone missing again. We can only hope Vegeta or Trunks arrive to fight soon," Krillin muttered, clenching his fists.

On the uninhabited island, Android 16 was lost in the beauty of nature, while Android 18 sat cutely on a large rock, resting her chin in her hands with a relaxed expression.

Android 17 rolled up his sleeves, ready to start the fight.

Bang!

Piccolo discarded his Weighted Clothing, intending to use his full power from the very start.

Android 17 stepped forward and spread his hands. "I really don't get it. You know you have no chance of winning, so why fight? Is it to buy time, or are you just an idiot?"

"Hmph!" Piccolo's solemn expression vanished, replaced by the thrill of impending battle.

"Fine, let's begin!"

"Are you the only one fighting me, 17?"

"Of course! Someone like you isn't even worth me lifting a finger."

Hearing this, Piccolo thought: Excellent! If there is only one opponent, as long as I take down any one of them, I can stop Cell from reaching his perfect form.

Piccolo turned his fists into claws and began to power up.

"Yaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

The entire island shook as sand and stones flew into the air.

Piccolo's energy surged, his combat power reaching 310 million!

"That's not Piccolo!" Android 16 noticed something was wrong.

"What?" Android 17 looked at Android 16 in disbelief.

Dragon Ball: I Have a Super Saiyan Check-in System by Wumeng Qiankong