Power Unknown! Android 16 Breaks His Silence!

Just as Cell reaches for Android 17, a massive fist slams into the side of his head with enough force to send him skidding across the island. Android 16, the towering red-haired android who has remained passive throughout every battle since his activation, has finally entered the fight. He announces in his deep, measured voice that his internal sensors indicate his power level is roughly equal to Cell's current state, and for the first time since arriving at the islands, Cell faces an opponent who can match him blow for blow.

The two collide in a savage exchange of punches that cracks the ground beneath them and sends shockwaves rippling across the ocean. Android 16 seizes Cell's tail and, with a tremendous heave, rips it clean off at the base. Without his tail, Cell cannot perform the absorption that his entire existence has been building toward. The Z Fighters watching from nearby islands dare to hope that the tide has finally turned in their favor. But Cell's body contains Piccolo's regenerative DNA. Within seconds, a new tail sprouts from the stump, fully formed and ready to strike. Android 16 fires his ultimate technique, Hell's Flash, detaching both forearms and unleashing twin concentrated beams that blast Cell deep into the earth. The island shakes violently from the impact.

Believing Cell to be stunned or buried, Android 17 steps forward to finish the job. It is a fatal miscalculation. Cell erupts from the ground directly behind him and engulfs Android 17 with his tail before anyone can react. The absorption is instantaneous. Cell's body convulses and reshapes itself as 17's power and bio-data merge with his own. When the transformation is complete, a new creature stands where Cell once was: taller, sleeker, with a more humanoid face and an aura of power that dwarfs his previous form. Cell has achieved his Semi-Perfect state.

He tests his new body by mimicking Android 17's voice, taunting Android 18 in a cruel attempt to lure her into range.

With Semi-Perfect Cell now fixated on absorbing Android 18, the situation is desperate. From a distant cliff, Tien Shinhan makes a decision that could cost him his life. He launches his Neo Tri-Beam directly at Cell, a technique that burns his own life energy as fuel. The blast pins Cell into a crater, unable to advance. Tien fires again and again, each blast weaker than the last as his body deteriorates.

Android 18 and the damaged Android 16 use the opening to flee the island. Tien knows he cannot keep this up forever, but every second he buys gives them a better chance to escape the monster's reach.