A few years have passed since the ordeal on Planet Namek, and Goku has still not returned home, but he is not dead, since the Namekian Dragon was unable to revive him. Gohan is studying peacefully when he suddenly senses a very strong powerlevel. Gohan calls Krillin and it turns it that he sensed it too, and that it is the powerlevel of Frieza!. The Z Warriors regroup and fly towards Frieza’s incoming ship. It is revealed that Frieza survived the destruction of Namek, but was very badly hurt and was about to die. He was found by his father, King Kold, and rebuilt as a cyborg. The Cyborg Frieza told his father to head for Planet Earth so that he could have his revenge. The ship lands, but the Z Fighters decide to lower their powerlevels so Frieza wouldn’t sense them. Before they could even go in for the attack, a mysterious young stranger confronts Freiza and quickly disposes of many of his henchmen. He challenges Frieza, and reveals that Goku isn’t the only Super Saiyan when he turns into one himself, shocking the entire Z Gang.(especially Vegeta) Frieza tries 3 attacks to destroy him, including the same one he used to destroy Namek, but the Super Saiyan was not even scratched by any of them. The warrior then flies up and slices Frieza in half, then into little pieces, and then, he finishes the job by blasting the pieces into nothing. King Kold tries to convince the Saiyan to join him, but, of course, it doesn’t work. King Kold tells him that of course he would not be able to kill Frieza without his sword. The fighter hands King Kold his sword, and when the evil warrior lunges at him, the Saiyan easily blocks and blasts King Kold, killing him. He then flies in the air and tells the Z fighters that he knows the exact time and place that Goku will arrive back on Earth. The Z Fighters follow him to a place in the desert, and sure enough, Goku arrives on Earth at that specific time that the stranger mentioned. The strangers asks to talk to Goku in private, and the two fly off. The young warrior reveals his name to be Trunks. Trunks says that he comes from the future, where Earth is a desolate wasteland. He says that in 3 years, two killer Androids will arrive on Earth and wipe out many lives, including the lives of the Z Fightes. He also says that Goku will catch a deadly heart virus that will kill him. Trunks gives Goku medicine to counter the virus so that he won’t die from it. Trunks also shows Goku his ability to go Super Saiyan, and asks if he could test Goku in battle. Goku also turns into a Super Saiyan, and blocks Trunks’ sword attack with one finger. When Goku asks how Trunks was able to turn Super Saiyan if there are no Saiyans left other than Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan, Trunks says that he is the future son of Vegeta and Bulma! Trunks tells Goku where to find the Androids, and then goes back in his time machine to his timeline, but he says that he will return to Goku’s timeline to help fight the Androids. Goku flies back to his friends and tells them what Trunks said, but leaves out the part about Trunks being Vegeta and Bulma’s son. Goku also reveals a new technique that he learned on planet Yardrat: An ability to instantly teleport to any place that he can think of in a split second. After his demonstration, the Z Warriors break into groups to train for the 3 years before the Androids arrive. Goku, Piccolo, and Gohan train together, while Krillin trains with Master Roshi. Tien and Chiaoutsu train together, while Yamcha trains himself. Vegeta, however, trains at 350X Earth’s gravity to surpass Goku and to become a Super Saiyan. The 3 years pass quickly, and the Z Warriors all meet in the location that Trunks had predicted(except for Vegeta and Chiaoutsu)including Bulma, with her new baby boy, Trunks! Sure enough, the Z Warriors see an explosion, but, due to the Android technology, they are unable to sense the Androids’ powerlevels! The Z Warriors fly into the small town where the explosion occurred. Yamcha meets up with two strange looking individuals: One old man, and one pale chubby man, and tell them to run away from two evil Androids. The pair tells Yamcha that they are the Androids, and Yamcha signals for the others to find him. The elderly man, revealing himself as Android #20, puts his hand on Yamcha’s mouth and absorbs his energy. #20 then proceeds to shove his hand through Yamcha’s gut. Krillin gives Yamcha a senzu bean healing him. The Z Fighters fly off to fight the Androids in a deserted area where no one would get hurt. Goku fight with the chubby Android #19, and the fight seems even, but for some reason, Goku keeps holding his chest. Piccolo realizes that this was the virus that Trunks was talking about. #19 capitalizes on this and beats up Goku and absorbs his energy. Just when things seems hopeless, an unexpected ally appears on the battlefield….Vegeta! Yamcha takes Goku home to recuperate and to take his medicine. Meanwhile, Vegeta reveals a new ability, the ability to transform into a Super Saiyan! Vegeta beats up #19, and even after getting a slight energy drain, Vegeta kills the Android using his “Big Bang Attack”. #20 sees Vegeta’s great power, and retreats to his hideout in the mountain to awaken 2 more Androids: Android #17, and Android #18. Trunks also reappears on the battlefield with his time machine and sees the decapitated head of Android #19, and he realizes that the two Androids that appeared were not the same two that appeared in his timeline! While the others try to stop the evil Android, Bulma reveals to them that #20 is, in fact, Dr. Gero, creator of the Red Ribbon Army and the Androids! The Z Warriors try to track down #20, but they do not reach him in time. #s 17 and 18 are awakened, but they don’t listen to Gero at all, and with a swift kick to the head, #17 decapitates #20, and steps on his head, killing him . The deadly pair of androids also awaken Android #16, an incomplete android who’s personality grid and emotions were not fully developed. The Androids escape from the lab, and the Z Fighters follow them to the highway.(Except for Gohan, who takes Bulma and Yajirobe, who had come to bring them senzu beans, home.) Vegeta challenges Android #18 to a fight, and even in Super Saiyan form, he is no match for the deadly lady. The other Z Warriors interfere to help Vegeta(except for a petrified Krillin) but, even as a group, they are no match for the two Androids.(#16 does not fight because he insists that he will only fight Goku.) The Androids decide to obey #16s wishes and to track down and kill Goku. Krillin pleads with them not to, but they don’t listen. Krillin heals Vegeta, Trunks, Piccolo, and Tien with senzu beans. Piccolo flies away from the Z Fighters towards Kami’s lookout in an attempt to fuse with the aging Namek to become stronger. Vegeta also flies off alone to do more training, and Tien does the same. Trunks and Krillin decide to go to Goku’s house. Goku is still suffering from his heart virus, but thanks to the medicine from Trunks, he will not die from it. Gohan also arrives at his house and sees how his father is doing. Trunks and Krillin arrive and tell everyone what is happening. They tell everyone that Goku should be moved to Master Roshi’s place, because his house is the first place that the Androids will look. Everyone boards a Capsule Corp Transport ship, and they go to Master Roshi’s. Krillin and Trunks are asked to investigate a strange siting in the woods. They arrive, and see a strange egg and a wreckage of a machine that looks just like the one that Trunks used to travel through time. Upon arriving at the Kame House, everyone begins to sense strange powerlevels coming from a city called Gingertown, including the powerlevels of Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Frieza, and King Kold! Meanwhile, on Kami’s lookout, Kami is also sensing the same awkward disturbance, and in a last ditch effort, the two Namekians fuse into a super-powered warrior. The new and improved Piccolo flies to Gingertown and sees that the town has become a wasteland, because there are no people in sight only their clothes on the ground. Suddenly, an evil force reveals itself to Piccolo. A preying-mantis like creature appears, and Piccolo can sense the multiple energy readings coming from him. The creature also reveals a sinister technique, the ability to drain lifeforce from a living person into his own being! The monster demonstrates by absorbing the life energy from a townsperson through his tail. Piccolo and the creature fight, and after Piccolo’s arm is drained of its energy by the creature, he tricks it into telling him who it is and where it came from. The monster reveals its name to be Cell, and Cell says that he is an Android created by Dr. Gero using the cells of the greatest fighters ever: Goku, Vegeta, Frieza, King Kold, and even Piccolo himself! Cell also reveals that he is able to use their most devastating attacks, such as the Kamehameha wave and the Special Beam Cannon. Cell says that he is programmed to absorb the two Androids, #s 17 and 18, into his being, and upon doing so, Cell will gain a tremendous boost of power, and he will assume his ultimate, perfect body. Cell says that he came to the current time in Trunks’ time machine because in his timeline, the Androids had already been killed by Trunks, and he had to go back to a time where the Androids were still alive and well. After Cell reveals his scheme, Piccolo rips off his lifeless arm and regenerates a new one. He goes back onto the offensive to try and kill Cell before he can successfully absorb the Androids. This attempt is foiled when Trunks and Krillin arrive in Gingertown, distracting Piccolo for a split second, allowing Cell to successfully perform a “Solar Flare” attack that allows him to escape from the fight. After he recovers from the attack, Piccolo tells Krillin and Trunks the story of Cell, and Trunks realizes that Cell must have hatched from the egg that he and Krillin found near Gingertown, and used the time machine to get to the current timeline. Also, Cell has the ability to conceal his powerlevel, making it impossible of the Z Fighters to know where he is! If that isn’t bad enough, the Androids have arrived at Goku’s house, and seeing that no one was there, they have decided to check out the Kame House. The gang heads back to Master Roshi’s, and, sure enough, the Androids arrive seeking Goku. Piccolo decides to try and bide some time by challenging #17 to a fight. He accepts, and the two fly off to an island to fight. While they fight, Goku fully recovers from his illness, and discovers a way that the Earth’s strongest fighters can dramatically boost their strength in one day of training. Goku knows of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber on Kami’s lookout that allows up to two people to receive one year of training in one day! Goku takes Gohan, Trunks, and Vegeta to the lookout, and Trunks and Vegeta enter the room first, leaving Goku and Gohan to watch over the Earth below. The fight between Piccolo and #17 continues, and seems pretty even, until the evil Cell appears on the battlefield! Piccolo tries to defend the Androids, but he is badly beaten up and thought dead. This enrages Gohan, but Goku convinces him to stay on the lookout rather than to go down to try and stop Cell. Krillin meets up with Bulma, and is given a device from her which could shut down #17 and #18 if Krillin could get close enough to them. He flies off with the device to try and help stop Cell. Cell has #17 in his sight, but, suddenly, the unexpected happens. #16, the strong, silent warrior, steps in and challenges Cell, saying that he is just as strong as he is. They fight, but #16 is also badly beaten by Cell and almost killed. Cell goes after #17, and after a surprise sneak attack, absorbs him into his being. Right after transforming, Tien, who had been watching on, blasts Cell with a barrage of powerful attacks. He is also beaten up by Cell, but right before Cell could deliver the finishing blow, Goku uses his Instant Transmission to save Tien, and a dying Piccolo. The new, Semi-Perfect Cell still needs #18 to be part of him in order to assume his perfect body, so he persuades her to merge with him by imitating #17’s voice. She is not convinced. #16 goes back on the offensive again, but gets a portion of his head broken off by Cell. Meanwhile, on Kami’s lookout, Tien and Piccolo are healed, and Trunks and Vegeta emerge from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and after a quick suit change, they fly off to the battlefield. Vegeta fight with Cell, and is beating him up badly, until Cell makes a proposition to Vegeta. If Vegeta would let Cell absorb #18, then he would be perfect, allowing Vegeta to finally find the challenge that he always desires in a fight. Vegeta agrees. Trunks is enraged by this and attacks Cell, yet he is not strong enough to stop the monster, even with his new training. Or so it seems. Cell beats up Trunks and gains the time that he needs to absorb #18. He does this, and he becomes Perfect Cell. In the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Goku is training Gohan to become a Super Saiyan. Goku tells Gohan to imagine all the pain that Cell has and will inflict upon the Earth. When he does this, Gohan turns into a Super Saiyan fro the first time and is able to reflect his father’s attack right back at him! Meanwhile, Vegeta is pleased at the new energy reading that he gets from his foe., and attempts the destroy him using the FINAL FLASH technique, which almost destroys the whole planet. Cell looks dead, but regenerates with the help of the genes that he inherited from Piccolo. Trunks and Krillin talk while Vegeta is fighting with Cell. Trunks reveals to Krillin that he has a new power which, when unleashed, would allow him to become even stronger than his father! He tells Krillin that once Cell has defeated Vegeta, he will reveal his power because he does not want to hurt his father’s pride. Sure enough, Vegeta is not strong enough to defeat Perfect Cell, and he is beaten until he is unconscious. Trunks powers up and turns a new level of SSJ, Ultimate Super Saiyan, which allows him to become much stronger, but at the same time, he becomes slower due to his overwhelming amount of muscles. He is strong, but Cell’s speed allows him to overcome Trunks’ brute strength. He is beaten, but not killed, because the cockiness that Cell inherited from Vegeta and Frieza kicks in, and he tells Trunks to get all of the Z Fighters together in 9 days for a World Martial Arts Tournament. The rules are: Each Z Fighter goes one on one with Cell until there are none left. He leaves Trunks to tell the others about it, saying to stay tuned to their TVs for more information. Vegeta is healed by Krillin and he reveals the flaws of Trunks’ new power. The 3 of them head back to Kami’s lookout to tell Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, and Tien about the tournament. They arrive, and Goku and Gohan emerge from their year of training in one day as Super Saiyans. They say that they will remain that way until the Cell Games tournament to get used to it. Goku is abnormally calm, even though he knows that Cell is much stronger than he is. Vegeta, Piccolo, and Trunks each say that they want to have another turn in the room, but Goku says that he just wants to take it easy for the 9 days and spend time with Gohan. Also, Goku goes to Namek using his new, teleportation maneuver to find a new guardian for Earth. Upon doing this, the new guardian would be able to revive the now-useless Earth dragonballs.(they became inactive after Kami and Piccolo merged.) Goku arrives and the young Dende volunteers to go to Earth. He and Goku go back to Earth and Dende becomes new guardian of the Earth by reviving the Earth’s dragon, Shenron. Goku gathers the dragonballs, while Vegeta heads into the training room. The dragonballs are saved for after the Cell Games. Meanwhile, Cell appears on TV and reveals the time and date of his Tournament. The fighters do their own separate exercises during the 9 days, and regroup for the Cell Games. Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks, Piccolo, Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien arrive on the battlefield, and they are joined shortly by an unexpected ally, Android #16, who was rebuilt by Bulma and her father. He agrees to join the fight against Cell. The 9 Z Fighters aren’t the only ones who have arrived to challenge Cell. The self-proclamed “World’s Stronger Man” Hercule and his two of his cronies arrive on the battlefield. Cell defeats them quickly and easily. Hercule also tries to fight, but he is knocked out of the ring effortlessly by Cell, claming that he ”lost his footing.” Goku then fights with Cell, and using a combonation of the Instant Transmission and the Kamehameha wave, Goku blows off Cell’s entire upper half! Cell regenerates the injured pars of his body, and Goku gives up the fight against Cell, claiming that Gohan will be the one to defeat Cell. Gohan steps into the ring against Cell and they seem even at first, until Cell finds out about Gohan’s hidden power. Gohan refuses to unleash it, intriguing Cell. Even after many blows, Gohan still will not unlock his inner strength. Piccolo is mad at Goku for sending Gohan out to die. Before he can interfere, however, #16 jumps in and attempts a Self-Destruct technique on Cell that fails. Krillin reveals that Bulma and her father must have taken the device out of #16s body when they fixed him up. #16’s body is destroyed and he is reduced to a head. Gohan still will not unleash his power. Cell decides that Gohan will be forced to do this when he notices that his friends are in danger. Cell sprouts 7 miniature Cell Jrs., each as strong as Cell himself, to attack the Z Fighters. Cell also destroys #16s head, killing the Android. Seeing his friends in danger, and seeing the death of #16, Gohan powers up and transforms into SSJ2! He easily destroys all of the Cell Jrs., and then beats up on Cell badly, toying with the evil Android. Goku tells Gohan to finish Cell off, but he keeps toying with him instead, completely beating him in the fight. Gohan hits Cell so hard that he regurgitates Android #18, regressing back to his Semi-Perfect form. Knowing that he can’t win, Cell decides to Self-Destruct and destroy the Earth and everyone on it. Just before he is ready to explode, Goku nobly sacrifices his life by grabbing Cell and teleporting to King Kai’s planet, killing Goku, King Kai, Bubbles and Gregory. Back on Earth, the Z Fighters mourn the death of Goku,(including Vegeta!) but realize how noble he was to do such a brave act. Their celebration is cut short when Cell reappears on the battlefield and kills Trunks with an energy blast! Cell reveals that he left a cell of himself on the battlefield and used it to regenerate, stronger than ever! Gohan tries to fight Cell, but he is hurt badly and looses all feeling in one of his arms. Vegeta, enraged at his son’s death, fights Cell with everything that he has, but is not able to defeat him. Goku tells Gohan to prepare a KAMEHAMEHA with all of his power and to fire it at Cell. He does this, but Cell does the same thing, causing a huge power struggle. Krillin, Piccolo, Yamcha, and Tien use their energy to try and tip the scales in Gohan’s favor, but they cannot make a difference. They are tossed aside by Cell. Goku talks to Gohan through King Kai to boost his confidence, but even King Kai has doubts about the fate of the Earth as Cell continues to hold his own, even when Gohan is at his best. As the two energy beams continue to collide, it looks as though Cell has the upper hand, until an injured Vegeta fires an energy ball down at Cell, distracting him for a split second. This distraction allows Gohan to push the two beams toward Cell, killing him and saving the Earth! Afterwards, everyone flies to Kami’s lookout where all of Cell’s victims are revived. Goku chooses not to be revived, and says goodbye to the Z Fighters. Krillin also makes a wish to remove the Self-Destruct mechanisms inside of Androids 17 and 18. #18 is touched by this, but flies off as to not confront her feelings. A few days later, Trunks, who had been revived b the dragonballs, returns to his timeline and bids farewell to the Z Fighters. Peace has returned to Earth.