FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Metamorphosis

---

Written by Arian Mabe (Amethyst Mare)

Commissioned by Cario

_ _

_ _

He didn't know what had happened, only that things had changed. He didn't remember who he was, though there were memories of a life that had been lived – yet they danced just before his fingertips, as if they were not really present in his mind and reality at all.

That was strange… But not strange enough to trouble him. Not when his experience of the world around him was as limited as it was.

He floated, suspended in liquid, bubbles rising lightly around him, though he didn't quite see that there was no surface in there. Blinking slowly, the larva form grew, a little more every day, the blurriness before his eyes clearing as he became a little more conscious, every single day, of his place in the world.

Outside the tank-like container that he was growing in, a man stared back at him – though he was not present enough in his own mind to tell that it was Dr Gero, not at that time. That was a name that would only have significance to him later on.

Wait…

_ _

He blinked and wiggled, barely able to squirm back and forth. It was as if every ounce of energy in his body was going into the act of growing, though he felt like he hadn't always been like that.

But he hadn't always been in here. He remembered being elsewhere – and he recognised the man too! With his white hair and surly expression, the beard too… It was all familiar to him, but as if he'd been watching it on a screen before: some kind of TV show.

The memories faded as soon as he, too eagerly, tried to reach for them. But they would still be there, perhaps, as he grew and evolved.

All he could do, in that moment, was drift and grow, all as time passed. There was very little concept of time in there, though he was aware of things changing in himself and his body.

Sometimes, he blinked back to full wakefulness, though it was a loud, angry voice that called him back. His vision had cleared a little, allowing him to take in what he came to see as a laboratory of some kind, although it seemed to be underground as he couldn't see any natural light in there.

His creator snarled and snapped at someone, though they staggered away, holding their hands up as if they were trying to placate the old but fierce man. As he watched, one word entered his head, even if it had no reason to be there: android. How did he know they were an android? Or android? The use of the words swirled in his head, all mixed up and back to front, though the growing creature tried his very best to make sense of everything.

The “android," as they were named in his head, had blonde hair, cut off above their shoulders. It looked like they'd broken some lab equipment and a test tube spilled pink fluid across a worktable, though Android 18 stood tall, finally looking Dr Gero in the eye.

Androids or…Android? He tried to think it through, toying with how he saw the name and the word. It would become clear, at least to him, all in good time.

“No," they said, shortly and clearly, though sound was still muffled through the liquid of his prison, all while he grew through his larva form. “Not anymore."

He tried to peer closer as the doctor, his creator, backed up, seeming to realise he had stepped too far. Yet that was a life lesson best learned in death as Android 18 lunged. All he saw was a flash of light, perhaps a blade slicing through the air – and then Dr Gero's head was separated from his body, as if it all had been a passive act.

It thudded to the ground, but he didn't feel any remorse or sadness at all, even if he was aware what those emotions were. He just didn't have that kind of connection with his creator, despite everything.

A remote fell from Dr Gero's hand, yet Android 18 had been right to do as they did. The doctor had been just about to shut them down: and then there would have been no more for them.

“Someday…" Dr Gero's voice gurgled, though it had a broken, mechanical element to it – as if it was a message he had recorded to have played to the androids, if they ever acted out against him. “Someday… He will swallow you u-up… You'll become part of his ultimate perfection. The ultimate…weapon."

Android 17 stepped forward, though the watching larva didn't know what was happening, even though he understood that the end of Dr Gero had come to pass, as if it was the natural order of things. With his dark hair loose, he struck a handsome figure with the cut of his jaw, though the growing larva didn't have all that much idea of what was going on. In time, as his brain developed and allowed him to more easily retrieve memories and knowledge, he would see that he had been shifted from a human form into a world where things that should never have been possible simply were a day-to-day occurrence.

From human to Cell… He was designed, even if he had been human and forced into the growing form of Cell in the earliest stage of his life cycle, to be a perfect being. No more and most certainly no less than that.

The twins, Android 17 and Android 18 looked at one another, a smirk tugging obviously at Android 17's lips. Yet they could not be truly upset by the desolation of Dr Gero, the one who had controlled and overpowered them.

Yet when the lab doors closed, he was left alone there, explosions sounding but the lower levels of the lab remaining as they were, thankfully for him. The computer systems still ran, which was just as well too for him, for they fed him nutrients as he grew from larva and, slowly, grew a harder, outer shell.

A bug, after all, had to grow to a point that they had a hard exoskeleton – and a cocoon to protect them as they grew. Metamorphosis was not an easy process by any means.

The computer systems whirred and beeped, adjusting his nutrients, though he could not remain in the tank forever. Eventually, he grew too large for that one and a large, mechanical hand aided his transfer to another, for he was not yet able to move easily of his own free will.

That tank faced screens, though there were still robotic drones moving around. A voice came through the speakers in the lab, as if Dr Gero had planned everything before his death.

“You are Cell," the disembodied voice said, naming him for the very first time. “Cell, an android created by the great Dr Gero. You are the ultimate creation, Cell, and your purpose in the world is to be the victor."

It may have only been a recording, yet the programmed instructions and manipulations for him as Cell played out as perfectly as if Dr Gero was right there with him.

He had a great importance in the world, though the abilities, such as of absorption, seemed familiar to him. More of his memories came back, though they were not in line with the computer programs and systems that were playing out for him, his body growing as he was forced to follow them.

He had to obey. That was crucial and he knew it, even as he watched Z fighters on recordings on the screens. Small drones chirred and scurried before him, feeding him more and more information.

I can't believe Z fighters are actually real, he thought, a wave of awe rolling through him, as if in respect. This is amazing… And I'm a part of this now? What about my old life?

_ _

He didn't know what was to come of the life he'd left behind, yet all he could do, as Cell, was to grow and to learn.

There was some footage of the Z fighters being killed by the androids, which brought a real pang of sadness into his heart. It was hard to tell just at what point in the timeline he was at, although it seemed that there were fewer and fewer Z fighters surviving over the coming months. That was a guess, however, for the androids sought to bring every Z fighter down.

It was as if the drones and system were feeding him information to fuel his anger and drive, his want to bring things back. He was not just Cell but a being who had another personality to meld with the new one, bringing two beings into one.

In the end, he uncovered that Trunks and Gohan, one young and one seemingly adult from what he could tell, were the only remaining survivors. The drones brought more intelligence to him he devoured, trying to show positive responses so they could bring him more information still, as much as it pained him.

A flickering image on a screen was all he could be shown of Gohan being killed by the twins – the androids who had been with him in the lab. Trunks transformed, a blaze of energy surrounded him, showing his Super Saiyan form at last. Against himself, Cell's heart surged.

Oh, how he wanted to meet him!

Yet Trunks was still defeated and, as Cell vaguely remembered from another life and time, used the time machine to go back to warn the Z Fighters about the androids, as was right. It would at least allow Cell a chance to meet them when Trunks once again returned to the future, though he didn't have much of an idea how long that would be. He still had to grow, after all.

That meant, if he was Cell, that the DNA from some of the most powerful warriors in the universe was inside him, so many different parts coming together beautifully. But he needed to feed and there were only so many nutrients that could be fed to him while he was in the tank and, indeed, in the lab too. For Cell absorbed biomass in order to grow and fuel his strength.

“Absorb lifeforms, as many as you encounter. No one should escape," the computer instructed him, though he had become used to the mechanical voice by then. “Humans. Everyone. You must become stronger, Cell."

He grunted and tried to shake his head. Of course, he couldn't do that! He'd never do that! But the androids might be a different case, he wasn't sure. Did they count as humans and people? His memories of them, from the show he'd watched, were fuzzy around the edges, as if he was finding out all the information for the first time – but not at the same time.

Androids 17 and 18, perhaps, could be sought and absorbed into his being. Then they, and he, would become perfect, even though he would be never-ending in his search for beings to absorb. Cell would have to have his morals, however, not harming anyone that did not deserve it, even if there were at least two separate natures within him warring with one another.

“Your tail will be your aid to absorption," the computer instructed him. “This is how you will pull their essence into your body, draining them of every last drop of strength and energy and life in their body. It is their purpose to feed you."

Cell trembled. No, no… No, he couldn't do that. But the computer didn't have to know that. He would fight what Dr Gero wanted for him, though he had a life and a new form to explore as Cell.

Time passed and, eventually, he grew too large for his new tank, although he was not transferred again. He blinked at his reflection in the glass when the light, artificial, hit the tank just right, but it didn't look like anything he recognised.

He had a hard shell, rounded around him, and red eyes with slits greeted him, boring back into him as he stared at his reflection. Though the shell, or cocoon, looked brown or maybe even a very dark green, there was a green, bug-like face too – yet he couldn't see that clearly as he squirmed uncomfortably. That couldn't possibly be him, could it? No…

And yet it was time, all as his bug cocoon form swelled and grew against the bounds of the tank. It was too small for him as bubbles rose around him, the cramping bonds of the tank penning him in. He trembled, something pulling and pulling inside him, rising just like those bubbles through the light green liquid.

Out, out… He had to get out!

Cell groaned as a flash of bright light seared into his eyes and a surge of energy blasted from him. Glass shattered and the liquid he'd been suspended in spilled away in a wash, streaming across the lab floor. His legs wiggled as he found his footing on the ground, though it took some of the fluid to wash away before he could actually get up on to four legs.

Legs… He actually had legs. That was something, at least, though they'd not had all that much to do while he'd been in the tank. Yet, somehow, he'd still built muscle mass and could stand, even if it took a few, awkward steps before he stabilised himself and not sway drunkenly from side to side.

Carefully, his lungs straining, he took his first, deep breath. Fresh air filled his lungs and he groaned, trying to talk, though it was as if something simply wasn't present in his throat. He swung his head back and forth uncomfortably, disliking how that had been lost to him, though there was only so much he could do there.

Still, he worked out the use of his legs and explored the lab a little, growing used to his cocoon bug form, even though it was still greatly limited. There were a lot of screens and blinking lights in the laboratory that he didn't understand, though the computer gave him instructions on how to move.

Of course, all Dr Gero wanted was for him to leave the lab and go out into the world, to become that perfect being. He was supposed to defeat someone, to be the ultimate weapon and a being of complete perfection.

But he would carve his own path, all as Cell. He would find out who he was in that world as he stalked through the forest, tipped forward a little as he worked out how to even out his weight between his front and back legs.

If I'm Cell, I should be walking on two legs… He thought dimly. But…that doesn't seem right. I am on four now…so I must still be growing.

_ _

Cell couldn't remember quite what the full life cycle was supposed to be like, although he had plenty of time to delve into his world. He didn't feed, not yet, as he explored the deep forest, moving by rivers and small cliffs, though the terrain there was not too unlevel. Dipping into the luscious green of the valleys was appealing to him, a cool, soft environment wrapped around him that felt exactly right the way it was.

As the weeks passed, he grew, swelling within his cocoon. Even without the tank, he had a vessel for change around him.

As he paused in a small clearing, he stiffened suddenly, his whole body vibrating. The slits in his eyes dilated, allowing in more light all of a sudden.

It was time.

CRACK!

His cocoon split open, a long, jagged slit breaking down it in a glow of green light. He had no sense of how big or not he was, though his form emerged, his legs free, though his front legs no longer felt like legs. In fact, his “toes" were longer there and more like fingers, even if he had been yet to use them for any dextrous means.

“Agh!"

Cell gasped, chest heaving, crawling out of the cocoon, though it was a mere shell left behind him. His green skin glowed as he hefted himself from what had encased him, though it would no longer serve him anymore, not in the slightest. Thick, gooey fluid drooled from him, though it clung to his hide as if it did not want to relinquish its grasp on him.

Heaving for breath that slowly steadied, he stood tall, slowly uncurling his body. He didn't feel stiff at all, yet there was a sense of everything in him needing to settle into a bipedal form.

“Mmm…"

He hummed lightly, not yet trying to speak as he explored his body, though he kept blinking rapidly. It was as if it was not real, the cocoon still glowing behind him, lending the moment an ethereal quality. Yet there was energy flowing and winding around him, helping him to stand, even though he felt weak inside, like something was yawning and straining. It was not a sensation in his guts, however, that was like any hunger he recalled in the past. In fact, Cell hadn't experienced a true hunger since being born and coming to be in the larva state. He didn't want to consider how that could change.

However, Cell was in a form he could finally use, though it was not like any human body he remembered having, however vaguely, before. Desperate to see what he looked like, he staggered, one awkward step after the other, to a small pool, which swirled from a creek. It seemed to have formed in a natural curve of the valley, pooling even though the active water was still flowing smoothly downstream.

The pooled water stilled enough for him to take in his facial features, though he had observed his face a little before. He had a beak-like mouth that seemed a little small and his eyes were blue, with slit-like pupils, as before. It was almost comforting to see a few similarities in his appearance, though he had never got a clear view of himself – and the pool was not steady either, forcing Cell to fill in the gaps even in his own self-inspection.

His head, however, split off into two different directions, making a V-shape. As he stood and took in more of his body, reflected in the pool, he noted the orange sections near his abdominals and around the back of his head – even down close to his groin too, although nothing was “on show" down there. Cell turned, running trembling fingers up his arm, which was covered in a firm exoskeleton, though wings fluttered from his back in an insectoid buzz. They caught his attention next and he spared a soft breath for them.

Beautiful. Clad in emerald-green, his wings had black spots all over them, though he didn't have much control as yet. The rest of his body was the same shade of green with lime wound through it, all over his head, arms and his legs too. He wiggled his fingers, counting five – including the thumb – though he only had three toes and black claws. Testing their use, he curled his toes and claws into the ground, easily cutting up the earth.

His tail, however, was his key feature and how he would absorb other beings, even if he had determined that no sapient beings would meet their end in him. He curled it back and forth, though his movements at first with a little clunky and stuttering, even if he would grow in control over it, all in good time. The beige stinger at the tip gleamed in the light as he examined it, but didn't want to get too close to it. What if it stung him too? Would he be immune to his own venom?

He had to take a quick look, however, as he examined his tail and ran his fingers up it until he brushed the stinger. It was an entirely different feel to the muscle of his tail, with a smooth surface that promised a deadly bite at the point of the stinger. With the lightest of touches, he used one of the claws on his fingers, dark and cutting, to touch the end of the stinger, able to feel the sharp prick of it even then.

The black lines pulled down around his abdomen too, some areas spotted, and his eye was constantly drawn to different areas of his body as he explored by touch and sight, forgetting his reflection for the moment. The azure-blue veins running up his arms stood out and he turned his arms back and forth, rolling them slightly, as he examined them.

Every inch of his body trembled with power and he groaned, letting his head fall back as he shuddered bodily. He was perfect… No wonder Dr Gero had created him that way.

He wanted to test out his abilities, some of which he'd learned about in the lab, but, first, he had to feast. Cell wouldn't harm people, of course, but there were big dinosaurs in the forest and beyond that he'd ignored so far. When he wasn't a potential food source to them, they'd left him alone, although he could now take advantage of them, so he could become all he needed to be.

He stalked the dinosaurs, though chose a big, lumbering one with legs the size of tree-trunks for his first “kill," so to speak. He grunted and chirped – and lunged from the undergrowth with a feral cry.

Cell may still not have spoken, but he jabbed his stinger deep into the dinosaur-like creature, even if it was a beast of the world and not as he knew. The beast bellowed and quivered bodily, though slumped to the ground as Cell fed. Pleasure warmed him through as his tail throbbed, sending a big bulge down the length, multiple times.

That had to be him absorbing the dinosaur's energy, he thought, and licked his beak with relish. His tail twitched and Cell groaned as another bulge ran through his tail, bringing with it a fleshy, brilliant surge of energy.

Glrrrp… Glrrrp… Glrrrp…

_ _

Even the sounds his body made as he absorbed the dinosaur were intoxicating, making him want to do more, to feel more, his glorious tail twitching as he pulled the dinosaur up into him. He'd never felt so alive, as if every part of his body was vibrating with need.

His first prey item deflated like a used air mattress, though that was a part of another life that no longer had any bearing on him. The creature's body softened more and more as it was sucked into the tail, though the ripples and folds in it would both horrifying and invigorating at the same time.

In a way, the beast would live on in Cell as he absorbed every drop of its flesh and essence for his very own. But he had no way to tell that, not as he grunted and shuddered as there was, finally, nothing left of the dinosaur-like creature for him to devour, panting heavily as his chest rose and fell sharply.

“Hm…"

He hummed happily, probably a lot cheerier in his demeanour than Cell actually ever had been – but it was his timeline that time and he could take all he needed from it.

A bellowing roar echoed in the distance and Cell lifted his head, lips stretching in a wide grin. That was another one of them – the dinosaurs! Now that he'd consumed one, he wanted another, and he lunged into a light sprint, finding his stride as he worked out how hard he had to push off the ground with every step. The bigger dinosaur was in a more open area of the forest, where the undergrowth was barely even present between the trees, and Cell roared as he leapt, sailing through the air and landing on its back.

The beast bucked and heaved, trying to throw him off, but not even a maw filled with sharp, deadly teeth was enough to scare him. He was right where he needed to be and reared back with a bared-teeth grin that was equal parts right and absolutely terrifying. It was not a natural smile by any means and he laughed as he plunged his stinger into the dinosaur's tough flesh with apparent ease.

The beast under him roared and swung its massive head as agony flowed through it, though its fate was already sealed. As he had done the first, he absorbed his second meal, his tongue flicking out around the edge of his beak once again, as if he was actually eating with his mouth and not his tail, though he doubted he would ever need to use his beak-like mouth ever again.

“I…enjoy this," he said slowly, testing his voice and finding it deeper and raspier than before. “Immensely, yes… This is me."

And it was. Simply put, but Cell did not have to be a complicated being, even if he had enjoyed a complicated start to his life in that world. The biomass of the dinosaur squelched up his tail, bulge after bulge travelling up into Cell's body, and he groaned aloud, letting himself openly relish in it. His clawed hands traced over one of the bulges, marvelling at how it had been a part of the dinosaur not all that long ago at all.

The dinosaur buckled, stopping its fight for survival. Maybe it realised there was nothing it could do as it shrank down and Cell slid to the ground as the substance of the body he was standing on was absorbed. Down and down it shrank, until the body collapsed in on itself in folds of skin and shrank until nothing at all was left. The last bulge of the dinosaur sucked up into his thickly muscular tail and he stroked his tail in thanks, rubbing up and down lightly. It was what gave him so much power, after all.

Time passed as he learned to tackle and absorb even larger prey, enjoying the process greatly every time. But things could not be that easy for Cell as his brain had been programmed as he'd grown and developed, even by the computer once Dr Gero had been killed.

It was like a force and an urge inside him, driving him to absorb his…twins. His siblings. Apparently, they were back in the lab, for something pulled him from the centre of his stomach. He grunted and shook his head, pushing the notion away.

It didn't need to become him. If he chose to do it, it would be because it was something he wanted.

Instead, he flicked his tail around to his face, bringing the stinging tip close to his face. He held it between two clawed fingertips, gently holding it though with a lot more confidence than he had before. There was a tiny slit in the tip of it and Cell smiled as he flexed his stinger, curling it in and out. It took a while, however, before he could expand it, reeling in mild shock as he fleshed it out and out, his stinger expanding massively into a huge, funnel-shaped bell. It squelched lightly as it stretched and grew, though Cell muttered under his breath.

“Wow… This is…"

But he couldn't finish his words, even though he was glad he could talk again. That was something to be pleased with, even as he stared into the yawning depths of his tail and took note of the heated, fleshy red inside. It kind of looked soft, but he didn't want to put his hand in there, even if he was more confident he wouldn't hurt himself by that point. The tunnel within his tail led right up into the core of his being, feeding all he absorbed into himself.

“Unreal… Totally…"

The words were his and yet they came out in Cell's coarse, raspy voice – just like from the show. He shivered, not able to escape the feel of power rolling around him, though he teased his fingers lightly over the lipped part of the funnel bell. It was a strange combination of plant and flesh, though didn't make full sense, not even to his mind.

Shaking it off, he withdrew his funnel, pulling it all the way back to his stringer tip, and crouched on all fours. Power bunched up in his body as he bent his knees and brought his tail alongside him, more confidently expanding it into a funnel bell once more. The edges twitched as if his tail was eager for more and he grinned as a little ripple ran down through his body.

That felt good, really good. Leaving the tip of his tail enlarged, he dug his claws into the ground and smiled more widely still.

His body was his to control and he lengthened his claws, darkening them again and digging them roughly down as they sharpened. They already cut through the soil like nothing, yet the sense of deadliness coursing through him drove Cell on.

“This is…so fucking awesome!"

It was unnerving to hear his words coming from Cell's mouth – but perhaps it was about time he realised he was Cell, not just in Cell's body. He couldn't even remember the name he'd had when he'd been human. All he really knew was that he thought he'd been a man, though he couldn't even be sure about that.

“Thank you, Dr Gero," he breathed, lifting his head. “This life… For the glorious gift you've given me!"

Dr Gero likely would have had no concept at all of what he'd done for Cell, although that didn't matter to him. Dr Gero was gone and there was nothing more Cell needed to do with him, for he would take his own path in life. To him, it felt like a second chance to have a new body that fit him perfectly, power coursing through him with every beat of his heart.

The form that he was locked into, after being born from the cocoon, appeared to be his Imperfect form, although there was very little Cell could remember of the show he'd once loved. It was much better to live it, after all, as he stood tall and buzzed his wings, letting the vibrations course through him.

He had to learn how to use his body, after all, even though how to do things, like throw punches and kicks, how to power up, was programmed into him. It was another thing entirely to build that muscle memory as he trained on trees, slamming into them with rapid, drilling punches – and then flipping away to slam a powerful kick into another.

Felling large sections of forest did not bother him, though he spread out the destruction he wrought as he trained and honed his body. Slowly, over time, he learned to fly, though he alternated leaping off rocks to get air time with slamming his fists into the rocks themselves, gaining the physical strength to shatter them too.

The first time he flew was ecstasy – there was simply no other way to describe it. While he was on the ground, there was a staggering, overwhelming sense of power drowning him, although he grappled with it. Flying was freedom, soaring through the sky (however jerky his initial flights were) with his wings buzzing and the air stroking his skin like a million tiny hands, all caressing his powerful form.

It was easier still as he learned to fly without even the use of his wings, letting the wind tease over them while they were left in close to his body, flying faster and faster. Cell laughed for the hell of it, exhilaration coursing through his body with every pump of blood.

He wasn't even in his ultimate form yet – and he could see just why Dr Gero wanted him to absorb the androids and become perfect, although he still didn't know if he was going to do it. They were his twins, his siblings, even if they did not share all the same DNA. The urge was still there, pulling in the pit of his stomach as if a cord connected him to the twins, wherever they were.

It was his destiny to absorb them and yet…he didn't care about becoming perfect. Not when it was someone else's idea of perfection. Cell did not intend, in his active mind, to follow the design Dr Gero had laid out for him and no amount of urging in his mind, his thoughts following practised, programmed patterns, was going to make him become that perfect warrior.

Regardless, he made his way back a little closer to the lab on the flatter plain, even though mountains rose around it. They provided a welcoming backdrop to the laboratory, protecting it, and they kept it tucked away with the dense forest surrounding it too.

I wonder how Dr Gero even found this place? Cell wondered. Or got out here? It seems like quite a trek. I don't even know where this lab is in that universe. Well, I guess it's my universe too.

_ _

It was hard to untangle things in his head, although Cell tried not to be too frustrated by what he didn't know and how his memories were fed back to him in little pieces. They simply weren't something he could put together into a bigger picture, though he had to be content, one way or another, in living his life exactly the way he was.

Out there, he hunted more dinosaurs and took on the largest prey he could find, though he was, in that sense, limited by his surroundings. If he was staying near the lab, to learn and train his powers, he could only absorb what was in his area, even if more dinosaurs he could take as prey made their way through the parts where the forest was not as deep. Herbivores sought sanctuary there, not knowing there was an agile predator in their midst.

His strength grew, muscles becoming more defined and bulging, though it was in his agility and energy attacks that he really came through.

“Kamehameha."

The word came back to him, slowly rolling the name around his mouth before letting it fly, his hands together for the attack. Other words and terms came back to him, but he struck trees and boulders and sought even the craggy outcrops of rocks on which to train, spinning through kicks but focusing on the energy attacks blasting from both of his hands in tandem with one another.

It empowered him to scream the name of the attack when he let it fly, his exoskeleton prickling as he let loose a blast of blue energy towards the top of the mountain, which was hidden in the clouds. Yet he had to try and a small smile graced his lips as the energy blast slammed into the mountain, shaking it to its core. The ground under his feet trembled as a cloud of smoke and displaced rock rose from the mountain, flung into the air as if it was nothing at all.

“Holy shit," Cell said wondrously, his low, raspy voice grinding against his throat. “That… That's…"

Yet he didn't have words for it. He trained harder and harder, letting the weeks pass and finding a sort of peace in his heart. It was a simple life out there, as he worked on his skills and body, knowing there was still more out there for him to do.

He had to press on, moment by moment, taking every day as it came. It was such a simple way of existence, although Cell managed to work his hands more easily, defining each finger and controlling every muscle in his body. He didn't delve back into the lab, but used the knowledge and date that he had gained from Dr Gero's supercomputer to progress his learning. Absorbing increasingly larger prey, however, was what empowered Cell the most.

The feel of them fusing with him as their essence slid up the thick mass of his tail was inviting, drawing him on every time. Warmth flooded him every time he did it, not even thinking of the life he was taking, though that was a simple fact of it.

The Android siblings, of course, had to be stopped. They would cause far more destruction and death if he did not halt them in their tracks – and he was not like the Cell Dr Gero had wanted him to be. He didn't want to kill Goku and dominate the world, even if killing Goku was not an option anymore. There was only so much he knew as Cell, of course.

As he activated even more of his powers, he glowed yellow while releasing energy blasts. Those were the energy powers of the Super Saiyan, flooding him as he opened and closed his hands from fists, relishing in the tingle of power.

“This… This is a lot…"

Cell grappled with the changes in his body, taking a shuddering breath up in the more mountainous territory as he prepared to release a blast. It would fuel his body, strengthening his physical attacks as well as the energy blasts. Cell only wished he had a name for every last one of the moves he pulled out, though it didn't matter. Some things came back to him, but he would not strain himself by grappling with what he didn't know, as if things were merely beyond the reach of his outstretched fingers mentally.

He had those powers, however, due to the collected DNA of other powerful warriors making up his body. However Dr Gero had collected them was beyond his knowledge, however.

As he lined up for an attack, sending a rippling wave of an energy blast coursing between mountain peaks to hit multiple targets at once, the muscles in his shoulders and arms bulged. He contracted them, learning that some of his attacks were more powerful if he used different parts of his body to send energy to them.

Testing it out, he clenched his large, clawed hands and spread his legs a little wider, putting a little bend into his knees so he could brace more effectively. As he changed his stance slightly, he threw out energy blast after blast, smashing into the rock faces and sending stone crumbling down as if it was going back into the earth itself. His wings spread as yellow energy glowed around him, shimmering as it dissipated into the air, though he couldn't stop his tail from wanting to wave back and forth as he powered up.

It was like it had a mind of its own, but he didn't mind that. He bellowed, a roar ripping itself from his throat as he sent out his most powerful energy blast yet.

It took out two mountain tops at once. If he kept going like that, he was going to have to find a new area to train, as scaring away prey and reducing the land to rubble was not an option for him.

Yet he trained harder still, seeing nothing else to do, and even learning how to create a copy for himself. It took some time for him to maintain and control the copy for more than a few seconds at a time, but it spurred him on at least a little. The multi-form fighting technique allowed him to pit himself against himself, in a way, although it was difficult to grind through it. At the very least, it occupied him for longer still as his attention span wandered. There had to be more to life there, even if he had to grow and evolve in the time he had to train.

The data bank locked into his head chirped, sending him information that he was powerful enough – at least to take on the Androids. His power outstripped the Androids and what his mental system had catalogued of their abilities, though that still didn't mean he'd be victorious against them.

He had to be sure, more cautious still than the Cell Dr Gero had created. He was his own creature, after all.

So, he trained for longer still and only searched for them after a few more weeks had passed. Cell was too restless to stay where he was, though he could fly all day long at that point, allowing him to stay aloft and explore the destroyed, sometimes still smoking, cities at his leisure.

Scanning for survivors, at least, took up some of his attention, as he growled and shook his head. There were no survivors down there, though his heart ached as he moved through the abandoned buildings, finding evidence of life down there still.

There was so much destruction and his beak broke into a snarl. The twins… They had done so much wrong. There was so much wrong in the world and all he wanted to do was to be a bringer of good. He was not to be a bringer of death, like Dr Gero wanted, but a force that could correct the bad he found in the world.

That was why he wouldn't suck humans dry and absorb them, fighting his programming with the force of his human will. Where he found survivors, he healed them from a distance, mending gashes and broken bones, soothing the pain of resounding aches. He'd made the mistake the first few times of trying to fly in close to them, but they screamed and tried to get him away from them.

He was terrifying to them, though he hoped, in time, they'd learn to see him as a protector and healer. No one would mind him absorbing and feeding on creatures as prey, of course. Humans just had to learn to see him as who he was, though that would all come in time.

Even as the computer part of his brain repeated instructions to kill them, to absorb them, to go after Goku, to fight and to destroy. That wasn't who Cell was going to be.

Entering more populated areas of the cities that were still intact was difficult – yet that was exactly where Cell would find the twins. As he flew over a densely populated city, trying to stay out of the way, an explosion drew his attention sharply and he wheeled about in the air, using his wings to steady himself.

People fled, smoke rising, though he bellowed.

“Take cover!"

His heart pounded, sending blood around his body – though he didn't bleed in the colour of humans. He was different and it was time to face his siblings, Android 17 and Android 18. Calling on his powers, he charged up, yellow energy flickering around him as he sent his body hurtling through the air in the direction of the blast.

Alas, the Androids didn't radiate power levels, which he could detect, so he couldn't specify their exactly location. He had to rely on his vision and hearing – and also a kind of sixth sense that, in a way, told him what was around him. Cell didn't know exactly how that worked, but it was something he'd heard about before when it came to humans.

He was greater than that as he checked the news reports and spoke to less terrified survivors, some of which saw him healing, so didn't try to flee from him instantly. A radio broadcast, however, was what led him to the twins at last as he set down before them in a crater, energy radiating out from him as he struck the ground.

“Oh, look," Android 17 said with a smirk, tilting their head. “It's a freak. Did you think a bug was going to squish us?"

Android 18 glanced at Cell, a laugh bubbling up.

“Oh, yeah… Does that small thing think it's going to stop us?" They laughed. “Do you mind, bug? You're getting in our way! Or maybe you want to be squashed?"

Fury bubbled over within Cell, though it was not like Android 18's malicious humour in the slightest. Yet he allowed his anger to fuel him as he rumbled a barely contained growl.

“Your time is up!" He snarled. “It's time…for you to leave this plane of existence!"

They laughed and shook their heads, clearly underestimating Cell. Yet that was not for Cell to concern himself with, not as energy danced around him, as if he was bathed in yellow fire. He built up a tingling energy blast in the palm of his hand, hiding it from them.

But he had to move quickly! It was all happening so quickly, panting heavily, his chest rising and falling sharply as he parted his beak. His tail lashed back and forth as the twins lined up, ready to face him, everything hanging there on that moment.

Yet time itself seemed to slow around him as he knew things beyond even his life and world were readying themselves. Trunks would return soon from the other timeline, bringing them right to Cell's present moment. He might have thought of it as anime – but it was so much more than that when he was right there in the moment living it.

Trunks was elsewhere, battling his other alternate – the one that was actually the Perfect Cell. But that Cell was evil and that was not something that Cell, exactly as he was, would ever become.

It was that moment that mattered more than any other, watching as the twins powered up, though he would not allow them, even together, to match up to him. Trunks would try to destroy him, of course, and the Androids – both of them.

And the twins didn't even know what was coming, not as they lunged for him, though there was still a good bit of distance between them. His heightened senses slowed down everything around him as he breathed evenly and deeply, blinking just the once. Energy flowed from him as he sent an energy blast into the ground, ripping up concrete to pause the twins' attack. It would not hold them off forever, yet it would be enough for a few more moments, as everything kicked into high gear.

But Cell would change everything, yes. He would not kill Trunks but find a way to ally with him, for they would be both on the same side, working together for the same goal. It would change the entire timeline of the world he was in and nothing would be the same, but that was worth it. If he was cutting and carving his own path in life, it was time to see just what he could do.

There would be no more training, not on his own. He would still train and further himself, of course, but things had to change. There had to be more for his mind to focus on and so much more for him to take on in the world.

What Cell could not do as a human, in the end, would be offered to him in a new world in a new life. His tail snapped back and forth between him, shivering as the tip begged him to let it open.

Even if I have to absorb them, to stop them, I will do it. Cell let his thoughts calm, as he drew on his powers, letting it flare up and up and up, greater than it had ever been before. I don't want to…but this will be the only way to end this.

_ _

Even if the orders from my creator tell me to destroy them… This will be the only thing I do in following my creator's orders. There will be no more than this.

_ _

He readied himself, setting himself into a battle stance with his right foot a little further ahead than his left and his knees bent. Cell parted his beak in a snarl, even his eyes glowing, though he still gave a little shiver.

There was a part of Cell that wanted to devour them whole, to suck every bit of life out of them. He licked his beak, leaning into it. It would make the process of absorbing them easier.

As the twins came for him, he released the energy from his body in a blue wave, arcing out from him with ruthless intent. He was ready. Even to absorb them.

In his metamorphosis, Cell found his resolve.

He'd only had to grow a little first.