"It can't be… I achieved Perfection… How did I still lose? I refuse to accept this!" Cell lay broken on the scorched earth, his voice a weak rasp of impotent fury.
"Your acceptance is irrelevant. The result is final."
Goku grabbed Cell by the head, hauled him upright, and drove his fist deep into the android's gut. "GUUHH—!"
Cell convulsed, gagging violently. Goku flung him down, and moments later, the forms of Android 17 and 18 were expelled onto the ground in a slick, undignified heap. It was a revolting sight, but relief washed over Goku—18 was intact.
The twins staggered to their feet. 18 brushed herself off, her cool gaze flicking from the pathetic Cell to Goku. "So you defeated him. I knew the data on you was flawed. We never had a hope of victory."
17 strode over, placing a foot on Cell's skull with a snarl. "You dared to consume me? I'll finish this myself!" He raised a fist, then faltered, confusion on his face. "Strange… why do I feel so weak? My power… it's gone."
Hearing this, 18 focused inward and her brow furrowed. "Our energy… it was drained." Having been trapped inside Cell, their infinite energy reactors had been siphoned dry alongside his own power by Goku's absorption.
Goku retrieved a single Senzu Bean from his pouch and offered it to 18. "Here. This will restore you."
"This is…?" 18 took the bean, recognition dawning. "The legendary Senzu Bean from the database?" Without hesitation, she swallowed it. In seconds, color returned to her cheeks and the familiar hum of her power restored itself to its peak.
"Full recovery… incredible," she murmured, a flicker of genuine awe in her eyes.
"A-hem… What about me?" 17 interjected.
Goku shot him a sidelong glance. "What, you think having long hair makes you a pretty girl? The lady's privilege is for the lady only. Tough luck."
"Urk!" 17 wisely swallowed his protest. He understood his continued existence hung by the thread of Goku's interest in his sister. Crossing the Saiyan meant instant annihilation.
Ignoring the pouting 17, Goku turned his attention back to 18. "You know, I did just save your life. Not even a 'thank you'?"
"Hmph! I never asked you to," 18 retorted, though her tone lacked its usual sharpness. She rose into the air. "17, we're leaving."
As the two Androids shot toward the horizon, Goku shook his head with a wry smile. "A tough one to crack." His expression hardened as he looked down at the barely-conscious Cell. "Now, to clean up this mess."
He kicked Cell's limp form high into the sky. Taking a classic stance, blue energy erupted between his palms.
"KA… ME… HA… ME…"
The air itself seemed to hold its breath.
"HAAAAAAAA!"
A torrential blue-white beam of pure energy engulfed the falling android. "GYAAAAARGH! SON GOKUUUU—!" Cell's final scream was swallowed by the light as his body, down to the last microchip in his brain, was utterly vaporized. Perfect Cell was no more.
"That just leaves the one called 'Nok.' Where are you hiding?" Goku mused, scanning the skies. "No point searching blindly. He'll reveal himself when he's ready."
---
Far above the Earth, a thousand meters in the silent void, a spaceship hung perfectly cloaked, invisible to all sensors and eyes.
Within its heart lay a laboratory, a stark contrast to the void outside. Racks of sinister instruments lined the walls; test tubes bubbled with eerie, fluorescent green fluids.
At the room's center stood two massive, transparent cylinders filled with a viscous amber liquid. One contained the dormant, embryonic form of Cell. The other, far larger, held a different subject.
Suspended within was a small, fetal form. Its face bore a disturbing, seven-tenths resemblance to a young Son Goku, but its features were hardened by a cruel blend of other lineages—hints of Broly's savage brow, the cold genetics of the Frost Demons. Most tellingly, a gray, simian tail coiled around its tiny body.
Beside the tank, a hyper-advanced computer display scrolled with alien glyphs. In the top left corner, clear numerical digits glowed: 1:10.
It was a Temporal Acceleration Field. One day in the outside world equaled ten years within the tank.
This hidden vessel was Dr. Loke's true masterpiece, his final redoubt. The accelerator was his crowning achievement—soon to be overshadowed by the monstrosity maturing within the adjacent cylinder.
Suddenly, the starfield outside the viewport warped and blurred. In an instant, the entire ship vanished, rematerializing deep within a vast, dark, subterranean cavern that served as a hidden base.
A short, wizened, and grotesquely wrinkled alien—clad in ornate robes and leaning on a mystical staff—stood beside the ship's hull. He tapped the metal lightly with his staff's tip. A ripple of dark energy flowed out, and a hatch silently irised open.
He boarded, his footsteps echoing in the sterile silence, and entered the time chamber. His beady eyes widened behind his spectacles.
"So this is the temporal engine the good doctor dedicated his life to… Magnificent," he breathed, his voice like dry parchment.
He shuffled to the larger tank, peering in at the fetal bio-warrior. A greedy, triumphant smile split his face. "Dr. Loke… your genius truly did rival my father's! Once this 'Nok' reaches maturity, its power will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with my father's own creation… Majin Buu. What a splendid scientist you were! Heh heh… I thank you, Doctor. With your creature's energy, the revival of my Buu will be assured! HAHAHAHA!"
The mad cackle of the wizard Babidi echoed through the silent lab, a promise of horrors yet to come.