Frequency Reversal

Two minutes and fifty seconds.

Gohan's mind raced. He had to resolve everything within two minutes and fifty seconds.

The Senzu Bean was useless. Android 17's problem wasn't external injuries—his internal energy cycle had been forcibly rewritten.

Then what else was there?

The Reverse Frequency Device at his waist.

Right! This thing had originally been meant to temporarily incapacitate androids, but if its reverse frequency could interfere with an android's energy cycle, then theoretically, it could also neutralize that damned self-destruct program!

That old lunatic Dr. Gero's "Energy Cycle Stabilizer" was essentially designed to control the flow of energy, while the Reverse Frequency Device could create energy interference.

Resonance at the same frequency—maybe it could neutralize the red pulse waves!

But the problem was that it had to be activated within ten meters.

And Cell's tail was wrapped around Android 17.

Cell seemed to see through his thoughts, his smile growing more smug. "Want to use that little toy of yours? Gohan, do you think I'd be stupid enough to let you get close?"

Two minutes and forty seconds.

"I saw through all your trump cards long ago." Cell's tail tightened, drawing a muffled groan of pain from Android 17. "Save him, or fight me. Choose."

"What if I want both?"

Cell froze for a second.

The next second, Gohan moved.

He didn't charge at Cell. He shot straight toward Android 17 instead!

"Have you lost your mind?" Cell sneered. "If you don't attack me, you'll never break my tail—"

Before he could finish, Gohan's figure suddenly flickered.

Afterimage Fist.

The real Gohan burst out from another direction, a ki blast charged in his left hand and a Kamehameha gathering in his right. Both attacks blasted toward Cell at once!

"If you protect Android 17, you can't defend against me with your full strength!" Gohan roared. "I'm betting my life against yours today!"

Cell's expression changed slightly, and he had no choice but to split his attention to deal with the attacks.

But his tail remained wrapped around Android 17, and Gohan still couldn't get within ten meters.

Two minutes and twenty seconds.

"Damn it..." Gohan gritted his teeth.

Though Cell's tail couldn't defend at full strength, it was still more than enough to stop Gohan's advance. And once he got around it, Cell would use Android 17 as a shield with his tail.

"I told you," Cell scoffed. "Gohan, aren't you a genius? Figure it out for me, then."

"Figure out your mother."

Cell's face darkened. "What did you say?"

"I said, figure out your mother." A dangerous curve tugged at Gohan's lips. "Cell, do you think you've won?"

"Did you think I couldn't tell? You don't dare let go at all."

Cell's eyes shifted slightly.

"That self-destruct program needs a continuous energy supply to activate." Gohan spoke word by word. "The moment your tail leaves Android 17's body, the red pulse waves will stop, and the program won't be able to complete its final detonation."

"So you have to keep holding onto him."

"And as long as you're holding onto him, you can't deal with me at full strength."

Cell's smile froze.

"You think you're playing me?" Gohan's voice grew colder and colder. "Cell, you're just digging your own grave."

"You think I don't dare kill you?" Gohan's aura suddenly surged. "In two minutes, I'll make sure you don't even get the chance to beg for mercy!"

Golden flames of energy burned wildly as Gohan's battle power instantly broke through its limits!

It wasn't Super Saiyan 2, nor was it the legendary full-power Super Saiyan.

It was the limit of Super Saiyan 1, every last shred of power in his body burning as it was squeezed to the absolute extreme!

"You're insane!" Cell's expression drastically changed. "If this keeps up, you'll—"

"Shut up!"

Gohan vanished from where he stood.

The next second, he appeared before Cell, his right fist crashing down with the power to destroy everything!

Cell raised his guard with all his strength, his tail lashing wildly at Gohan.

But Gohan didn't dodge at all.

Bam!

Cell was sent flying, smashing through several walls.

At the same time, Cell's tail lashed across Gohan's back, sending blood spraying.

"Gohan!" Android 17 cried out.

"Cut the crap!" Gohan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "When I count to three, can you move?"

Android 17 froze for a moment, then immediately understood.

One.

Cell crawled out of the rubble, his face dark.

Two.

Gohan brought his hands together as an energy blast began to gather.

Three!

The last trace of strength in Android 17's body erupted. His hand grabbed the Energy Suppressor at his waist—a backup control device designed by Dr. Gero, originally meant to restrict an android's movements.

"Remove... restrictions..." Android 17 gritted out.

In an instant, Android 17's energy output surged by 50%!

Cell's tail was forcibly pried open by a tiny gap!

Now!

Gohan shot through that narrow opening, slamming the Reverse Frequency Device firmly against Android 17's chest!

"Activate!" Gohan roared.

The device let out a piercing hum as reverse frequencies began striking Android 17's internal energy cycle.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

The red pulse waves collided with the reverse frequencies, and Android 17's body shook violently.

Cell charged over like a madman. "Stop!"

"Too late." Gohan looked at him coldly.

The reverse frequencies and red pulse waves produced a strange resonance. The two forces canceled each other out and annihilated one another inside Android 17's body.

Crackle!

The device's casing exploded, scattering sparks everywhere.

Everything fell silent.

Android 17 panted heavily as the red glow around him faded away.

"It worked?" He stared at himself in disbelief. "Th-This is impossible..."

"Nothing's impossible." Gohan shook off the smoking remains of the device. "No matter how complicated that old lunatic Dr. Gero's system was, its principle was still controlling the flow of energy. This thing was made specifically to disrupt energy cycles. Take a guess at what would happen."

"It would neutralize it in reverse." Android 17 continued for him, a complicated look flashing through his eyes. "You Saiyan... you're smarter than I thought."

"Quit flattering me." Gohan tossed the wreckage aside. "This thing was single-use. Now that it's been used, it's gone."

He turned toward Cell, a cold smirk curling across his lips.

Cell's face was so dark it looked like water could drip from it.

"Impossible..." he muttered. "That was the doctor's most perfect design... How could it be broken..."

"Nothing's impossible." Gohan walked toward Cell. "You overestimate the power of technology, Cell."

"Sometimes, the stupidest method is the most effective."

"Like what?"

"Blowing you up directly."

Before his words had even faded, an icy voice sounded from behind Cell.

"Android 17."

Cell whipped around.

Android 18 hovered in the air, her cold face utterly expressionless.

But her energy—an icy killing intent enough to freeze everything—was pouring madly from her body.

"Big sis..." Android 17 called weakly.

"You almost died." Android 18's voice held no emotion. "He did this."

Her gaze settled on Cell.

"He did."

A chill ran down Cell's back.

He had seen Android 18 fight before. She was indeed strong, but he had never seen that expression on her face.

That expression looked as though she had seen an enemy she could never share the sky with.

"Android 18..." Cell tried to say something.

"Shut up."

Android 18 raised her hand, and a golden ki blast began to gather.

"Sis, wait!" Android 17 shouted.

"I'm not killing him," Android 18 said coldly. "But I'll make him wish he were dead."

"And..." Her gaze swept toward Gohan. "Gohan."

"Work with me."

Gohan froze for a moment, then understood. "Got it."

Their figures vanished from where they stood at the same time.

Cell's expression changed drastically, and he turned to flee.

But the moment he turned around, he found Android 18 blocking his escape route.

"Too slow," she said coldly.

Cell turned, intending to break through from another direction, only to find that Gohan had somehow already blocked that path as well.

"I told you." Lin Mo clenched his fists as golden aura blazed around him. "You can't escape."

Android 18 stood before him, Lin Mo behind him.

Cell was trapped in the middle, unable to advance or retreat.

"Damn it..." he gritted out.

Just then, his gaze fell upon the depths of the ruins below, where a faint ki could vaguely be sensed.

It was Dr. Gero's underground laboratory.

There was another passage there.

A crafty glint flashed through Cell's eyes.

"You think you've won just like that?" he sneered. "Don't forget, I still have one final trump card—" Before he finished speaking, his body suddenly began to mutate.

He was not absorbing Android 17 or Android 18.

He was absorbing himself.

His body began to twist and deform, like some horrifying regression—and yet, like some bizarre evolution.

"What is he doing?" Gohan frowned.

"I don't know," Android 18 said coldly. "But we can't let him finish."

The two attacked at the same time, firing twin ki blasts at Cell.

But an eerie layer of light suddenly flashed across Cell's body, forcibly knocking both attacks away!

"This is..." Gohan's pupils contracted sharply.

"Imperfect Form." For the first time, Android 18's voice carried a note of gravity. "He's modified himself into some kind of special form."

Cell's figure grew increasingly blurry. In the end, his entire body suddenly collapsed into a streak of light and shot into the ruins beneath them!

"The underground passage!" Gohan shouted. "He's escaping underground!"

The two gave chase, but Cell was unbelievably fast. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the darkness below.

"...He got away." Gohan clenched his fists.

Android 18 hovered in the air, staring at the dark entrance with a tightly furrowed brow.

"There's something underground," she said. "A huge, dangerous presence."

"It's Dr. Gero's laboratory," Gohan said. "Cell set something up there."

"He'll achieve his Perfect Form." Android 18's voice was icy. "When that happens, none of us will be able to deal with him."

Gohan fell silent for several seconds.

"Then before he finishes, we blow up that laboratory first."

Android 18 turned to look at him.

"You think that'll work?"

"I don't know." Gohan shrugged. "But it's better than waiting until he reaches his Perfect Form before fighting him."

"At least..."

He looked at Android 17 lying amid the ruins, then toward the distant city.

"At least we have a little more time now."

Android 18 was silent for a moment.

"You saved Android 17," she said.

"It was nothing."

"...Thank you."

Gohan froze for a moment, then smiled.

"You're welcome, ma'am."

Android 18's face instantly darkened.

Android 17 laughed weakly beside her. "Hahaha... Gohan, you bastard..."