The morning sun shone brightly. A blue-haired boy stood beneath a cliff.
"Ha! Hah! Hah!"
Trunks leaped from one mountain ledge to another, swinging his arms and punching the air as he trained furiously.
"I'll have my revenge! I'll win!"
Trunks clenched his fist and threw a punch. The gust of wind from it carved a long furrow through the river beneath the waterfall.
As the force dissipated, the water rushed back in, and the river's surface quickly smoothed over.
Looking at his hands, Trunks clenched his teeth, hating how weak he was.
"This isn't enough. It's nowhere near enough. Even Big Brother Gohan, who could transform into a Super Saiyan, was defeated. What chance do I have?"
"If I could transform into a Super Saiyan too, then maybe we'd stand a chance against them two-on-two."
As Trunks continued to berate himself and pile pressure onto his shoulders, an explosion sounded in the distance.
"Damn Androids! You bastards!"
Trunks glared into the distance, wondering how many people would die this time.
Just as Trunks was about to resume training, something stirred in the bushes behind him.
"Who's there?"
Trunks spun around. A huge hand loomed closer, growing larger before his eyes.
It was a green hand covered in black spots. It looked just like an alien's.
The hand grabbed Trunks by the face. He tried to struggle, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. Then the power inside him began to drain away, completely beyond his control.
Through the gaps between the creature's fingers, Trunks stared at it in horror. Only then did he realize it was a giant green insect—and one that walked upright.
"Become my nourishment! Hahaha!"
As the creature's tail drained him, Trunks grew weaker and weaker. His eyelids grew heavy, and in the end, he closed his eyes, unwilling to give in.
"Trunks!"
Son Gohan had just woken up, his head still groggy. He had been planning to sleep a little longer when he suddenly sensed Trunks's ki fading.
It wasn't the kind of disappearance caused by deliberately hiding his presence. It was more like a mighty river whose water level was rapidly dropping. Something was very wrong.
Son Gohan knew Trunks was in danger—and facing a life-or-death crisis.
"What's wrong, Gohan?"
Hearing Son Gohan's voice, Bulma immediately ran in from outside.
Son Gohan tore off the bandages around his body and rushed out without even putting on his shoes.
With a whoosh, he flew off in one direction.
"Trunks..."
Bulma seemed to sense something too, but she couldn't bring herself to believe it. Her legs wobbled, and she dropped into a chair, her face utterly drained.
"Has that day finally come?"
Beneath the waterfall, Son Gohan descended from the sky and spotted a familiar set of clothes lying on the ground.
"Trunks."
After landing, Son Gohan looked around frantically, hoping to catch sight of Trunks.
But there was no one around—only Trunks's clothes.
With the one hand he had left, Son Gohan picked up the clothes, puzzled.
While he stood there in a daze, a dark figure suddenly sprang out of the forest. Son Gohan turned around, only to feel a sharp pain in his chest as the creature's razor-sharp claws pierced straight through him.
"Hahaha! The last Saiyan is mine!"
Cell laughed loudly. Then he swung his tail and plunged it into Son Gohan's body.
Son Gohan was completely powerless to fight back. All he could do was watch as his energy was drained away.
His orange martial arts uniform fell to the ground. Son Gohan, the last warrior, had left this world.
After absorbing Son Gohan, Cell's ki began to surge wildly. His whole body glowed, golden light sweeping over him. Then his energy exploded, and an even more powerful Cell was born.
The light of a Super Saiyan shimmered around him, and excitement gleamed in Cell's eyes.
"After absorbing two Saiyans, my power has increased again. Android 17, Android 18, this time I'll make sure to absorb you both."
Cell activated his tracking function and quickly pinpointed Android 17 and Android 18's locations. He turned into a streak of light and flew straight toward them.
Android 18 was changing clothes when she suddenly sensed the energy in the distance. Her eyes filled with concern.
"As expected of the Ultimate Android created by Dr. Gero. He really is terrifying."
Android 17, who was drinking juice outside, sensed the energy too and spoke up.
"Judging by how strong that energy is, and how much it's risen in such a short time, he must have absorbed those two Saiyan survivors."
The two exchanged a glance and spoke in unison.
"Let's attack together."
They weren't afraid to fight. White energy flared around them, and they flew straight toward their opponent.
When Cell realized they weren't running away and were actually flying toward him, he smiled.
"What a pair of fools."
Meanwhile, Bulma sat motionless in a chair, staring blankly at the blue sky. Her heart was nothing but ashes.
"Our last hope is gone. Why couldn't you have held on just a little longer? Gohan, Trunks, if we'd hidden for just a few more days, maybe the Time Machine would have been finished."
"We were so close. Just a little closer!"
They had worked hard for more than ten years, only to fail in the end. Anyone could imagine how Bulma felt.
Just then, countless white particles of light appeared in an open space not far away. They gathered into an energy vortex, and when the white light faded, three figures stood there.
"Sun Wukong, Vegeta, this is another timeline. But it looks like time passes faster here."
Gamos looked around, but soon noticed something was wrong.
"Where are all the people on this planet? Why are there so few?"
Sun Wukong said gravely, sensing that something was terribly wrong.
"Kakarot, look over there."
Vegeta pointed toward a field of ruins in the distance.
Sun Wukong flew over too. What she saw left her stunned.
The once-prosperous city had been reduced to rubble. There was no sign of a single human being.
"What happened here? Who destroyed Earth like this?"
Vegeta's expression changed. His face turned ashen as he said,
"My Bulma!"
In his panic, Vegeta finally lost control of his expression. With horror on his face, he flew toward a distant location.
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