Cell's arrival had caused an uproar at the base. Vegeta was the first to jump up in protest. "Have you gone crazy? You're letting that monster join us? He nearly killed everyone!" Goku hesitated too. "Kashu, Cell really has done a lot of terrible things. He may have turned over a new leaf, but..." "You don't trust him, but do you trust me?" Kashu asked. Goku and Vegeta exchanged a glance. "I do," Goku said. "You saved our lives." "Then trust me this once," Kashu said. "Give Cell a chance. If he makes a single wrong move, I'll deal with him myself." Vegeta was about to say something, but Bulma tugged at his sleeve and murmured, "Kashu has a point. Cell is incredibly powerful. If he can become our ally, we have everything to gain." Vegeta snorted and turned away. Piccolo took a more neutral stance. "Kashu, are you sure his core programming has really been erased?" "I checked his cellular structure," Kashu said. "The command genes Dr. Gero implanted have been removed. Cell is a blank slate now. What kind of person he becomes is entirely up to him." Piccolo thought it over for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. I agree. But I'll keep an eye on him." Android 17's attitude was surprisingly warm. "Welcome aboard, Cell." Cell looked at him in surprise. "You don't hate me?" "What would I hate you for?" Android 17 shrugged. "You're not the Cell from this era. You came from the future, where the androids of that time are already dead. We have no history together."
Cell smiled. "You're more open-minded than I expected." Android 18 remained wary, but she didn't object. She trusted Kashu's judgment. Gohan walked up to Cell and held out his hand. "Cell, we're allies from now on." Cell stared at Gohan's hand, stunned. He thought of how he'd nearly killed Gohan's father, nearly absorbed Android 17 and Android 18, and nearly destroyed West City. Yet this boy—the person he'd hurt most—was willing to reach out to him. Cell took Gohan's hand. "Thank you," he said. It was the first time he'd ever spoken those words. During Cell's first week at the base, the atmosphere was tense. He spent most of his time in the training room and didn't talk to anyone. His training methods were unusual: he combined Saiyan fighting instincts, Namekian meditation techniques, and the energy control of the Frieza Clan. He recovered quickly. After a week, his ki had returned to eighty percent of its peak. Goku and Vegeta often visited the training room to spar with Cell. At first, Cell defeated them with ease. But as Goku and Vegeta gradually mastered compression, the battles grew more even. "Cell's power is growing fast, but Goku's improving even faster," Piccolo said after watching them. "Compression has made Goku at least three times stronger. Give him another month, and he might catch up to Cell." Kashu nodded. "Goku's talent for training really is astonishing. Vegeta's progress is slower, but he's persistent. He'll find his own path eventually." Android 16 patrolled the area around the base every day, monitoring fluctuations in the planet's energy. He occasionally spoke with Cell about life and existence. They were both artificial life forms, and they shared similar questions.
"Cell, what do you think the meaning of life is?" Android 16 asked him one day. Cell was silent for a long time. "I don't know. I used to think life was about getting stronger and defeating every opponent. But now... that goal is gone, and I don't know what to do." "Maybe life's meaning isn't in the goal, but in the journey," Android 16 said. "My purpose is to protect life, but what I enjoy more is the act of protecting it—watching birds fly, listening to the wind rustle the leaves, feeling the sunlight on my skin." Cell looked at Android 16. "You weren't like this before. All you cared about was fighting." "I've changed," Android 16 said. "Kashu changed me. He made me realize I'm not a tool. I'm a being with feelings." Cell pondered this but said nothing. In the third week, something happened that changed Cell completely. The base's energy system malfunctioned, and the backup generator wouldn't start. If it wasn't repaired soon, the life-support system would fail within hours, and the gravity devices in the training room would shut down too.
Kashu went with Android 17, Android 18, and Cell to inspect the underground power room. It lay at the lowest level beneath the base, a vast spherical chamber. Suspended at its center was a glowing orb—the simulated core of a planet, which Kashu had brought back from an alien ruin. "The energy output from the core is unstable," Kashu said after checking the readings. "The channels inside it are blocked. Someone needs to go inside and clear them." "Inside the core?" Android 17 frowned. "The energy density in there is hundreds of times greater than outside. An ordinary person would be vaporized instantly." "Which is why we need someone extraordinary." Kashu looked at Cell. "Your body can withstand the energy density inside the core. You have cells from the Frieza Clan, so you can survive extreme environments." Cell hesitated. The inside of the core was no ordinary environment. The energy density there was immense, comparable to the core of a miniature star. Even he would endure tremendous pain if he went in. "I'll go with you," Cell said. "There's no need," Kashu replied, shaking his head. "You can go in alone. I'll monitor your vital signs from here and cut the core's energy output if necessary." Cell took a deep breath and approached the energy core. Its surface rippled like water as his body slowly sank into it.
Inside the core was a pure white space. There was no up or down, no left or right, no sense of direction—only endless energy. It washed over Cell like a tide, each second feeling like countless needles stabbing into him. He clenched his teeth and searched for the blockage in the energy channels. His senses were badly disrupted inside the core, so he could only grope his way forward by instinct. At last, deep within the core, he found the obstruction: a clump of solidified energy, like a rock lodged in the channel. Cell reached out to crush it, but it was far harder than he expected. He had to use all his strength just to crack it. The clump shattered, and the energy channel cleared.
But at that moment, the core began to shake violently, and its energy output surged. Cell felt a powerful force pulling him deeper into the core. "Cell!" Kashu's voice rang in his mind. "The core's out of control! I'm trying to cut the energy output, but I need a few seconds!" "I don't have a few seconds!" Cell shouted. The pull grew stronger, and Cell's body began to tear apart. His carapace shattered under the energy's impact, his muscles began to disintegrate, and the pain nearly made him lose consciousness. Just before his mind went dark, Cell saw a scene: a little girl, about five or six years old, wearing a white dress and running through a garden. A man ran after her, laughing as he called her name—Cell. Cell wasn't the man's name; it was the girl's. Suddenly, Cell remembered things he'd never experienced. These memories hadn't been implanted by Dr. Gero. They came from deep within the energy core—from the planet's memories. The little girl had been an ancient Earthling who lived tens of thousands of years ago. Her name was Cell, meaning "child born in spring." She'd been an ordinary Earthling with no special abilities, but she'd been happy and kind. The energy core had preserved her memories because she was the first human to sense the planet's consciousness.
Cell's eyes grew moist. He'd never imagined that his name—Cell—hadn't been chosen arbitrarily by Dr. Gero, but had come from a kind little girl. Dr. Gero had discovered the name while excavating an alien ruin, thought it suited his perfect creature, and stolen it. "I'm not a mistake," Cell murmured. "I'm... a legacy." Suddenly, dazzling light burst from his body. The energy in the core stopped tearing him apart and began to repair him instead. His carapace grew back, thicker and harder; his muscles reformed, stronger and more elastic; his bones shifted, becoming denser and tougher. Cell's ki surged—not merely recovering, but surpassing its former peak. His body adapted to the energy density inside the core and evolved a new cellular structure. This structure would let him survive any extreme environment—the surface of a star, the edge of a black hole, even a rift in time. Kashu cut off the core's energy output. Cell rose from the core and slowly descended to the floor of the power room. His appearance had changed. His carapace was now dark gold, his horns were longer and more slender, and his wings had become translucent, shimmering with rainbow colors. His eyes were no longer dark gold but a deep purple, with what looked like nebulae swirling in his pupils. "Cell?" Android 17 stared at him in amazement. Cell lowered his gaze to his hands, feeling the power coursing through him. "I've evolved," he said. "This isn't my perfect form. It's a form beyond perfection. Call me... Ultimate Cell."
Kashu looked at him and nodded with satisfaction. "Welcome to the team, officially, Cell." Cell turned to Kashu, a genuine smile on his face. "Thank you."
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