PART TWO: LOTS OF OLD FOES HERE!

Chapter 9

Translated by MikeysBoner(certified god), Kakarotto Ka Power Level Kya Hai? and npberryhill

Android 17 of the 14th universe glanced to his right, over at the space of Universe 15. There was a woman standing there, dressed in a rather ridiculous fashion. She wore a kind of turban that clashed with the rest of her clothes and a cape that did not hide the tail sticking out of her back.

Her oddities were not restricted to her attire, as #17 then proceeded to detail her face. "Eeey, not much better," he thought. She seemed completely dumb-founded. A giant mole near her nose made her even uglier than she already seemed, her wide eyes with only two lashes, and her giant, gaping lips...

An amused smile spread across #17's face. "Even a repulsing face can't stop me from enjoying this fight."

"Wha... Already?" the curious warrior exclaimed.

#17 paused, tilting his head. What was the problem? Was she hesitant to fight him, or was there another factor at play?

"But, my I'K'L is not born yet!" the woman continued.

"Born?" What #17 had mistaken for a giant belly... actually contained a unborn creature, which only vaguely looked like humanoid. It also became apparent that the mother was not human either (while she turned, #17 could see her round, alien-looking ears), but she still looked similar. This creature developing in her womb, however, was completely... hideous.

"Please, allow me a few more hours!" the mother called out.

"Impossible," the Varga finally declared. "It's a forfeit."

The public passionately protested that the fight didn't take place.

"Well, that was easier than expected," #17 boasted.

I'K'L's mother glared at him.

"One way or another it would have ended quickly," the cyborg continued. "Consider yourself lucky I wasn't forced to pulverize your newborn child."

With that, #17 joined his sister.

"Do you think this #17 is stronger than the one we fought in our universe?" Gohan wondered aloud.

"Who cares!?" Vegeta remarked. "Even if he were several times stronger we would still crush him."

"Y'know, I just realized," said Goku. "I never actually got to fight him."

"Well, Dad, in the next round you’ll finally get your chance!"

"Hey yeah, nice! I hope he's strong through..."

"If memory serves, Trunks once said that our androids were much stronger than his," Piccolo added, joining the conversation.

"Yes, I recall our conversation," Gohan replied, nodding. "His theory was that there's no such thing as actually infinite energy."

"So the more time that passes, the weaker they become... logical," Piccolo replied, uncrossing his arms.

"Forget them, what do you think of Cell?" Vegeta asked out of curiosity.

The four of them turned to look at the space 17. Cell hadn't moved even an inch since the beginning of the tournament.

"Cell is a more complicated..." Gohan replied, equally interested. "We'll have to see him fight first. He can be tricky..."

"Well, in any case I'm looking forward to fighting one of them in the next round!" Goku said with a renewed smile.

"Southern Kaioshin of Universe 1 against Butta of Universe 8!" the presenter suddenly declared.

Both of the warriors touched down on the ring. They were both very large, and almost to equal in size. If this were the smallest Kaioshin, the size difference might have amused the audience.

Butta placed his hands on his hips while his opponent stood straight, hands at his sides. The blue-skinned warrior hoped to win this match to bring back honor to the Ginyu Force after Jeece's bad luck... In retrospect, Butta was glad he hadn't been in his comrade's place, but oh well! First, he needed to know his opponent's strength. In order to do so, he laid a finger on the button of the device on his ear. Some numbers appeared on the greenish screen covering his left eye. Butta laughed.

"That's it? 500 units!? Haha! I'm at least a hundred times stronger than you! Haha! Also, I'm the fastest being in the universe, if you know what's good for you you'll forfeit!" Butta finished by pointing his thumb at himself, one hand still on his hip.

"Really?" his opponent simply as he instantly disappeared.

Butta looked around, but in vain... Less than a second later his opponent was right in front of him.

"Well," said the Kaioshin in front of Butta, who retreated back out of shock. "I just ran around you one-hundred times! Do you think you're as fast?"

"I... I'm the fastest being in the universe!" stuttered the elite soldier while sweating profusely.

Butta had no time to say more, as his opponent disappeared yet again. He reappeared, his fist placed firmly into Butta's stomach... The god had knocked out his opponent with one strike despite the strong armor of the latter. Clearly, the strength of the Southern Kaioshin was not 500 units...

"The fastest, eh?" Southern Kaioshin repeated. "In your universe maybe."

About to pass out, Butta heard the remark and became enraged. Hands clutching his stomach, legs trembling, and a trickle of drool at the corner of his mouth, he managed to let out a last couple of words. "Im... Impossible... So fast..."

The Kaioshin, still facing his opponent, decided to launch one final reply with a smile. "I'm not the fastest. My build slows me down."

Butta could no longer move, and after a couple of seconds fell into unconsciousness. When he was declared the winner, Southern Kaioshin returned to his space. He was congratulated by his comrades, although they had been sure of victory from the start. The Southern Kaioshin did not pay attention; he preferred to focus on the identity of his next round. While the henchmen of Frieza fetched Butta, the warriors of our universe commented on Southern Kaioshin's performance.

"Haha, he beat him even quicker than I did," Goku said with a smile.

"The Kaioshin are not to be taken lightly," said Piccolo. "The Eastern Kaioshin killed Frieza in their universe."

"A Kaioshin actually took out that bastard?" Vegeta retorted. "Perhaps I'll count him among the first of the gods not to be an utter disappointment and actually do something for once."

"This Southern Kaioshin appears to be far stronger than even him," replied Piccolo.

"I wonder... from what little I could sense he might very well be on par with Super Saiyan 2..." Gohan said aloud.

"Impossible to know until we see him fight someone stronger," Goku said. "I'm actually a little disappointed that we didn't get the chance to see more..."

"We will, Dad," Gohan replied. "The weakest here will be weeded out quickly, but look! We still have Cell, Buu, Bojack, Broly..."

"Hmm..." Goku was not convinced. Bojack might not be that powerful... Cell could be good. Buu? His regenerative powers might make for an interesting fight... Broly's power depends on how long he was frozen... Goku just hoped that his power increase froze along with his body.

"Hey, just go ask Cell how he won," Goten suggested with a bit of hesitation. "It could at least give us an idea..."

Looking over at Cell, Gohan became curious. "If he had died in Cell's universe, would that mean Cell never acheieved his Super Perfect form?"

"Wanna go, Dad?" Goten asked.

"Sure, let's go. Gohan, you coming?"

"No thanks, I'm not interested," Gohan said, recalling all of the pain and suffering his friends went through at the hands of this creature -- and the death of his father, all thanks to his own mistakes.

Goku and Goten then headed toward Cell's balcony. Once they were at the edge of their patio, just behind the dividing wall, the bio-android turned and looked directly at them...

"Hey there, Cell," Goku began, smiling. "How've you been? We were just talking about the Cell Games, and were wondering what happened in your universe?"

"I have nothing more to say... I will not repeat myself."

"Hmm, he must have spoken to our counterparts in Universe 16," Goten concluded, perceptive for once.

"Can you at least tell me if you managed to kill me?" Goku insisted.

Cell smiled. "Who knows..."

"What about me?" Gohan asked, finally approaching. Curiosity prevailed over the contempt he felt toward the green creature.

"You...boy," Cell began. "You were infuriating, a whiny little brat that refused to use his true strength against me."

Immediately, Gohan jumped over the barrier to see Cell face-to-face. He stopped less than a meter from Cell. Cell uncrossed his arms and held his gaze, while the Cell Jr. behind his legs stepped back.

"A whiner, eh? You know, back in my universe I'm the one who finished you off."

"Is that so? ... Doesn't surprise me. The Gohan from Universe 16 said the exact same thing," Cell said aloud. To himself, he thought, 'Intriguing, perhaps I should keep an eye on him...'

"I tried to push out your "hidden power" by killing all of your friends..." Cell continued. "But no matter what I did, you just wouldn't fight me. I was extremely disappointed, Gohan."

Gohan looked at Cell, surprised. Could this mean he was below Super Saiyan 2? The Cell Juniors would have killed everyone... His father, Trunks, Vegeta, Piccolo... Everyone. This would explain the presence of one of them along with Cell... Gohan, holding back the rising rage he felt, attempted one last time to gauge his power.

"Did you ever face anyone named Bojack?"

If Cell knew Bojack, it would mean that Goku sacrificed himself. The death of King Kai and the destruction of his planet would have freed Bojack, Zangya, Bujin, and the rest of his henchmen... It would also mean that Cell had fought Gohan's Super Saiyan 2, and that he had returned even stronger... But Cell frowned. "Bojack? Never heard of him."

"So can you tell us what you did after you killed us?" Goku asked, approaching as the Cell Jr. returned to snuggle against his "father".

"Oh, I vaguely remember watching my "children" destroy your planet," Cell said as he patted his Cell Jr. on his head. "It was quite amusing."

The Son family was taken aback by this almost paternal attitude. Not knowing what to say, they returned to their space without another word...