Demons' Kaleidoscope and Angels' Facade

Chapter 1: Conflagration Of Dark Victory

He had not known if he would ever have the chance to make this dream come true, but as he looked upon Trunks, who was writhing in pain on the ground, he felt a sense of sordid satisfaction.

"Ignorance is bliss, Trunks, and you and my counterpart were thankfully quite ignorant," Future Cell said, as he reveled in the glory of Trunks' agony. "You were unable to stop me from succeeding because you had no idea I was alive. This proved to be most fortunate."

Future Cell once again took a moment to observe his new form and embrace his foul euphoria. He looked at his hands and then at his chest, then redirected his gaze toward Trunks.

Trunks had not been in any state of Super Saiyan when Future Cell had forcefully struck him, and he was only now beginning to be able to stand.

"You know, I could have pretended to be my counterpart and masqueraded as him for a while, only to suddenly – and possibly literally – stab you in the back," Future Cell said with a malicious grin. "I could have even made it seem from the onset that he had somehow returned to believing in the values he had abandoned. But instead, I've been rather forthright with you, considering the obvious advantage I could have had through making you believe I was him. Ah, but I wanted you to experience the truth of your predicament, and for you to be consumed by this fear. Are you enjoying yourself?"

Trunks sneered.

"How on earth are you still alive?" Trunks asked, with his growing frustration out of the ramifications of this unanticipated peril becoming all the more clear. "Cell killed you! There's no way you could have escaped Cell's energy attack; it completely surrounded you and when it abated, you were gone!"

"You're wrong about most of that," Future Cell said, as he halted his approach within three meters of Trunks, who suddenly powered up to his Ascended Super Saiyan sub-form.

"What do you mean?" Trunks asked. "Are you here because we inadvertently brought you back with the wishes we made with the Dragon Balls?"

"I could psychologically torment you by saying yes, but instead, I'll reaffirm your conclusion that I never died to begin with," Future Cell said. "The fact you now know that even my counterpart's best efforts could not kill me should give you pause. You see, Trunks, I cannot die, and neither could he. And now that I've absorbed him into my being and gained the perfect form that he had achieved and wasted, I will pick up where he left off and fulfill the glorious mission that he disregarded!"

Trunks let his energy flow, and his aura became more and more engilded.

"We just went through all that effort, after so many years of horror, to restore life to those from whom it should have never been taken away," Trunks said, as he increasingly concentrated his power. "I doubt you're in the mood to let Cell free, but even if you're not, you've achieved the perfection you craved so much. That should be enough. It is not necessary for us to fight. Just let the people of this planet and of this universe live in peace. Leave us alone. Please."

Future Cell took a moment before starting to cackle.

"You actually thought I would give in to such weakness?" Future Cell asked. "You're in no position to be making demands of me. Your power level pales in comparison to mine, especially after my successful absorption of my counterpart. If you thought my counterpart was strong before, then imagine how strong I am now after enabling my base form to become magnified by the totality of his strength! Besides, Gohan from the alternate past tried to convince my counterpart to stop fighting based upon similar notions of peace, and my counterpart wisely declined. My counterpart made that choice before his corruption, and I refuse to fall from my high ideals!" [Author's Note: Future Cell is referring to the discussion between Gohan and Cell that took place in uncut DBZ episode 182, "Gohan's Plea," in which Gohan tried to convince Cell to stop fighting and instead resolve their conflict peacefully. Canon does not confirm whether Trunks knew about the content of that conversation, as it is explicitly stated in the episode that Gohan and Cell were speaking with such low volume that it was difficult for others to hear what they were saying.]