Bulma looked at the young boy before her and asked in confusion,
"Who are you? Do we know each other? You don't seem to exist in our world. And how did you get here?"
Gamos stood up, clenched his right hand against his chest, and pointed his thumb at himself.
"I'm Gamos, the Legendary Super Saiyan, and a great scientist. We came here to put an end to your Android crisis and, while we're at it, revive the warriors from this timeline."
"As for how we got here? Heh heh, besides your Time Machine, Supreme Kais all have Time Rings that let them travel through time to any timeline. That's how I brought the two of them here."
As he spoke, Gamos showed off the silver ring on his hand.
A silver ring—the Time Ring—sat on the index finger of Gamos's right hand.
On his ring finger was an old-fashioned bronze ring, which was used to enter Senzu Bean Planet.
"The Legendary Super Saiyan? A scientist? Those two identities seem a little contradictory!"
Just as the four of them were about to continue chatting, the ground suddenly began to tremble, followed by a series of nonstop explosions.
"What's going on?"
Sun Wukong stared outside in confusion, unsure who was fighting out there.
"It's the Androids. They're killing innocent people everywhere, and they've nearly destroyed all the cities on Earth."
Bulma gritted her teeth. Whenever she thought of the Androids, she wanted to slaughter every last one of them.
"Let's go take a look."
Sun Wukong took the lead and flew out. Vegeta followed right behind him, while Gamos stayed behind.
In a rocky area, a short-haired boy with a scarf tied around his chest grabbed the tail of a huge, spotted, insect-like humanoid and plummeted from the sky, slamming him into the ground.
With a crash, Cell was driven into a pile of rubble. Before he could catch his breath, Android 18, already in the sky, unleashed a barrage of Ki Blasts as if they cost nothing. The moment Cell poked his head out, he was beaten senseless.
"You two have made me angry."
With a single burst of speed, Cell forced his way through their attacks and crawled out of the rubble, charging straight at Android 17.
He fended off their attacks with his tail as he closed in on Android 17, then launched a frenzied assault as if his life depended on it.
"Damn you! Get away from me!"
Android 17 delivered a roundhouse kick to Cell's waist. Cell grunted, endured the pain, and raked at him with a claw.
With a tearing sound, several gashes ripped through the clothes on Android 17's chest. The claws had come within a hair's breadth of cutting his skin.
"Android 17, we have unlimited energy. Keep your distance and attack from range!"
Android 18 called out from the sky, firing Ki Blasts of every shape to cover Android 17.
One of Cell's punches aimed at Android 17 was struck by a Ki Blast from Android 18, knocking his fist aside and stopping the attack in its tracks.
Android 17 seized the opportunity to leap backward, putting some distance between them.
Then Android 17 and Android 18 attacked Cell from both sides, unleashing a frenzied barrage. Their Prince Tactics filled the sky with dust and smoke.
The battle had reached a stalemate. Android 17 and Android 18 had unlimited energy, but they could still be injured.
Cell could regenerate, but he didn't have endless stamina. One side had an endless health bar, the other an endless energy bar, and neither could get the upper hand.
Cell endured their attacks and flew higher. He turned his hands around and held them beside his face. With the sun shining behind him, he finally used that technique.
"Solar Flare!"
A blinding flash of light instantly left Android 17 and Android 18 sightless. Neither of them had expected Cell to use a move like that.
Seeing his chance, Cell planned to absorb one of them and turn the tables.
However, Android 17 and Android 18 had already anticipated this. Though they couldn't see their surroundings, they immediately put distance between themselves and Cell.
They flew farther away in opposite directions. Just as Cell was about to chase one of them, the two of them made the same move.
They turned their hands around, held them beside their faces, and shouted, "Solar Flare!"
Cell, who had been planning to launch a sneak attack, was instantly dumbfounded. The blinding light engulfed him, and he screamed, clamping his hands over his eyes as he, too, was temporarily blinded.
The three blind fighters howled in midair. Android 17 and Android 18 were Androids and had no ki, while Cell's ki was strong. Even blinded, he was an easy target.
Android 17 and Android 18 unleashed a furious barrage, sending free energy blasts flying everywhere. Cell howled as he was bombarded, then finally plunged into a lake, covered in wounds.
Cell's ki finally disappeared, and only then did Android 17 and Android 18 stop attacking.
They rubbed their eyes and finally regained their sight.
"So we finally took care of that monster, right?"
Android 18 looked at the still lake and couldn't help saying so.
Android 17 activated his Dragon Radar to scan the area. It detected no signs of life, but he cautiously fired an energy blast at the lake anyway.
The terrifying blast struck the lakebed. The once-calm water erupted into a huge splash, then quickly settled again.
"He should be dead, right? But we can't let our guard down. That freak is a fusion with incredible vitality and the ability to regenerate. He's a real pain to deal with."
Whether Cell was dead or not, they had at least dealt with him for now. The two planned to leave and train to become stronger, so they'd be better prepared if Cell showed up again.
"Let's go!"
As they prepared to leave, Android 18 suggested checking the nearby city to see if any humans had survived. They'd had enough of this humiliation and needed someone to take it out on.
Playing cat and mouse with people while killing them sounded like a great way to blow off steam.
Suddenly, their energy Scouters began flashing wildly. A staggering number started climbing in their field of vision.
"Beep beep beep beep beep."
The two stared in shock at the energy reading on their Scouters. It had reached two billion and was still climbing. When it hit three billion, the devices displayed a message saying the reading was beyond their range.
They exchanged a terrified look and thought, This is bad.
Something terrifying must have arrived again. They had no idea what it was this time.
Android 17 and Android 18 stared fearfully into the distance. Sun Wukong and Vegeta spotted them, transformed into Super Saiyans, and reached them in the space of a breath.
"Android 17 and Android 18, there are hardly any humans left on Earth. Did you do all this?"
Sun Wukong pointed at the two of them in anger. He couldn't believe that Android 17 and Android 18, who protected Earth in his timeline, could be so evil in this one.
"Hmph! You two things! I used to think rather well of you, but you dared to make my Bulma so sad. I won't forgive you today!"
Vegeta glared furiously at them, his fists clenching with a crackle.
Just now, as they'd hurried over, they had seen the city in ruins. It had long since lost its former prosperity. The only people left were a few survivors hiding in corners, struggling pitifully to stay alive.
Looking at these two Androids, Sun Wukong couldn't make himself believe they were the same people as the Androids in his timeline. They were worlds apart.
Android 17 and Android 18 recognized them too: one was the first Earth warrior they had killed, Vegeta; the other was the target of the mission programmed into their heads, Sun Wukong.
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