Piccolo's Wisdom, Cell's Origin

Cell cleared away the rubble pinning him down and had just sat up when he saw Piccolo flying toward him. He hurriedly got to his feet and threw a punch in retaliation, but Piccolo dodged it and kicked him in the lower back, sending him sprawling. Cell had barely climbed back up when he saw Piccolo appear before him and throw another kick, forcing him to dodge backward.

Yet before he could retreat to a safe distance, Piccolo appeared behind him and kicked Cell flying. Piccolo quickly moved to where Cell would land, only to see him spread open the shell on his back, reveal his wings, hover in midair, and swiftly fly high into the sky.

Piccolo looked at Cell in the air with some surprise. Cell extended his arm, pressed his joined index and middle fingers against his forehead, and rapidly fired a spiraling energy wave at Piccolo—it was Piccolo's ultimate technique, the Special Beam Cannon. Piccolo casually knocked the blast away, and it struck a ruined building nearby, causing an explosion.

"W-what was that just now?"

Piccolo stared solemnly at Cell in the sky. Taking the opportunity, Cell charged at Piccolo. The two exchanged blows, but Cell was soon punched in the face by Piccolo, then driven toward the ground by a knee strike.

Boom~

Cell smashed a huge crater into the ground.

"Looks like I judged you wrong before. I thought you were some unfathomable monster," Piccolo said as he flew down from the sky and landed not far from Cell.

"Though I have yet to become complete, the fact that you can fight me to this extent means you are quite powerful," Cell said as he climbed out of the crater and looked at Piccolo.

"C-complete? D-don't tell me that's why you've been eating humans?" Piccolo broke out in a cold sweat as he recalled Cell devouring people earlier.

"They are the biological energy that fuels my growth," Cell said, staring at Piccolo with his vertical pupils.

"Damn it! Then who was it that put you in the time machine and sent you here? Was it one of your companions?" Piccolo asked angrily.

Cell looked surprised for a moment before answering, "I sent myself here. That time machine was far too small for my body, so I made myself regress to the stage of an egg."

"Still, I'm surprised you know about the time machine. But there's no way you know about this as well." With that, Cell assumed the stance for a Kamehameha and shouted in that hoarse, grating voice.

"Ka... me... ha... me... ha..."

Before Piccolo's astonished eyes, a blue energy wave struck the spot where he had been standing. Piccolo had only just dodged aside when Cell appeared behind him and locked him down tightly with both arms and legs.

"Your life is mine," Cell said, stabbing his syringe-like tail toward Piccolo.

Piccolo desperately twisted aside to avoid a vital spot, but the tail pierced his arm. As the tail pulsed continuously, a gurgling sound like liquid being sucked up rang out.

"Gah!"

Piccolo's scream echoed through the empty ruins.

A rumbling sound suddenly came from afar. Dozens of tanks had surrounded them, with Piccolo and Cell firmly trapped in their encirclement.

A soldier who looked like a commander climbed out of one of the tanks, holding something like a pager in his hand as he shouted, "Hey! You monster! You're surrounded! Stop this pointless resistance and surrender quietly!"

"You dare interrupt my meal?" Cell's eyes shot out two red beams that swept over one of the tanks.

Boom!

The tank exploded with a thunderous roar. Seeing this, the commander immediately ordered an attack. Shells fired continuously from dozens of tanks bombarded Piccolo and Cell until neither could be seen. Several missile launchers in the distance also began firing missiles nonstop, lighting up the sky as though the sun had fallen from above.

However, when the smoke cleared, Cell had appeared in the air on the other side. The commander ordered the attack to continue, but before the missiles could hit Cell, he merely waved a hand, and they all fell back, engulfing the entire army.

Cell continued draining energy from Piccolo. The gurgling sound persisted as Piccolo's left arm visibly shriveled. Piccolo suddenly slammed his head backward, and while Cell recoiled in pain, he broke free from Cell's hold and flew away. After landing on the ground, Piccolo panted heavily.

"You're quite good at running away. But now you have one less arm to use. The outcome is already obvious," Cell said with a heh-heh-heh laugh.

Putting on an expression of pain, Piccolo said, "That's right! In this condition, it'll be difficult for me to maintain my strength. Continuing to fight would be disadvantageous for me. I hate to admit it, but you really have won."

"Heh-heh-heh. Looks like even you have no choice but to admit your defeat. I'm so happy. After absorbing life energy of your caliber, I'll be one step closer to becoming complete. You must be honored to help me attain my complete form," Cell said with a loud laugh.

"Before you absorb me, let me ask you one question. Who exactly are you? Why do you possess the energy of Son Goku and Frieza? And how can you even use the Kamehameha?" Piccolo asked, clutching his withered left arm.

"Fine! You're about to die anyway, so I'll tell you!"

"My name is Cell. I am an android, created by the large computer Dr. Gero used for a long time."

"Long ago, Dr. Gero began collecting the cells of every martial arts master and combining them to create an android."

"But because the research took too long, he stopped it midway. However, the program in the computer did not stop and continued the research. The blood and body tissue left behind after each of your battles were brought back by robots," Cell explained.

"So that was from back when Goku was around. No wonder the Kamehameha you used didn't seem all that powerful," Piccolo said.

"Besides that, when Frieza and the others came chasing after you to Earth, the computer was fortunate enough to collect their cells as well. It would have been nice if it could have collected the cells of that Trunks too. Then I could have gathered enough Saiyan cells," Cell said, his tone carrying a trace of regret.

"How did you collect the cells? I don't remember seeing anyone around at the time," Piccolo asked.

"You should have heard Dr. Gero mention it before. He used spy robots to observe your movements. Those tiny bee-like robots naturally went unnoticed. Since that robot collects cells, look carefully. It's by your side right now, transmitting the details of your battle back to the computer." As Cell spoke, he pointed toward a nearly invisible bee robot in the air nearby.

Piccolo looked in the direction Cell pointed in shock and indeed saw a tiny bee robot. He quickly destroyed it with an energy blast.

"It's too late to destroy it now. The important cells have already been collected, and the research began long ago. Then, twenty-four years later, it created the invincible me," Cell said with a smile.

"Impossible! Dr. Gero's laboratory was destroyed long ago!" Piccolo shouted.

"The computer used for the research is in a secret chamber deep underground beneath the laboratory," Cell explained.

"I see. Why did you wait a full three years after returning to this era before taking action?" Piccolo continued asking.

"Once I regressed to the form of an egg, I had to wait underground for three years to mature again. Everything takes time. I'm done talking. Now you should obediently and willingly let me absorb you," Cell said, taking a few steps toward Piccolo.

"One last question. Why did you specifically come here from the future?" Piccolo hurriedly asked.

"To become complete. Absorbing the biological energy of humans alone is not enough for me to evolve. I must merge with two important special lifeforms. The computer told me those two special lifeforms are Android 17 and Android 18, created personally by Dr. Gero."

"But for some reason, in the future world where I existed, Android 17 and Android 18 had been defeated and no longer existed because of that guy named Trunks. Fortunately, I was lucky. That guy Trunks had a time machine that could return to the past. After killing Trunks, I took the time machine specifically to come to your era so I could absorb Android 17 and Android 18."

After Cell finished speaking, Piccolo asked, "Then why did you choose this era?"

"It's simple. Trunks's time machine had been set to this era. All I had to do was press the switch."

"The computer told me that once I became perfect, I would gain unimaginable, terrifying, and immense power." Cell slowly raised his hands and clenched them into fists.

"And what reason do you have for wanting such great power?" Piccolo asked again.

"What reason? That's such a boring question. The computer was merely created according to instructions humans entered—to create the strongest being, to surpass human limits. Maybe it's because half the blood flowing through me comes from Saiyans, Frieza, and Piccolo, so I can't control myself." Cell spoke impatiently, then laughed again when he mentioned Saiyan blood.

"Are you satisfied now?" Cell asked, looking at Piccolo.

"I see. I'm very satisfied. Thank you for clearing up my doubts." With that, Piccolo tore off his shriveled arm, then let out a roar. To Cell's stunned expression, a brand-new arm grew back.

"This gives me a useful reference." Piccolo flexed his new arm, still coated in mucus.

"You... you tricked me into talking?" Cell took two steps back.

"How could I possibly let someone like you become perfect? You have my cells, yet you didn't even know my arm could regenerate. What an idiot!" Piccolo laughed smugly.