Cell absorbed Piccolo?

[Captain Cadaver]

When catching Piccolo off-guard, Cell stabs at the back of his neck instead of his arm, draining Piccolo's essence from the head and entire body. With him having powered up drastically, nobody around to stop the Artificial Humans without a Rosat trip and anyone trying to go fight Cell in Gingertown being woefully outmatched, what road does the story take?

 

[Papasmurf]

Trunks and :Krillin likely get killed after they arrive at Gingertown, which means Vegeta's gainz are not as dramatic in the Rosat due to him training alone. Since Piccolo wouldn't be interfering, Cell would likely run into both cyborgs at the same time and possibly absorb them both, although things go as they did in canon if Tenshinhan still uses the Shin Kikoho, other than that without Trunks and Kuririn around, Vegeta gets killed by Cell. Cell doesn't hold the Cell Game due to not being provoked into it by Trunks, and likely just kills Goku when he and Gohan tag-team him which leads to him getting either killed by SSJ2 Gohan, or blowing up the Earth with a self-destruct depending on how Gohan handles things. In the latter situation, Boo is never released and Cell still regenerates into his SPC form, leading him to just wander the universe seeking opponents to fight.

If assuming the Namekians sense the destruction of Earth (as filler suggested they were capable of sensing ki that far when Cell became complete), or if assuming Galu uses Kaio's telepathy to talk to them, they wish back the Earth and its inhabitants which likely catches Cell's attention, leading to a second round with Gohan. If assuming Cell powers up from the fighting he's done up to this point, he kills Gohan again before giving Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo and Trunks the chance to hone their strength again to challenge him. Since Goku is maxed out in SSJ form however, he probably doesn't get good gains from going to the RoSaT a second time, and even if he turns Super Saiyan 2 he's not strong enough to overcome Cell's regeneration. If assuming Vegeta decides to master the SSJ form though, he might possibly achieve Super Saiyan 2 (as does Trunks in this scenario), which is enough to turn the tables on Cell and defeat him. They then kill the larval form of Cell and wish back Gohan a second time, and due to suffering death twice against Cell Gohan doesn't slack off in the next 7 years, and Boo is never revived due to Gohan defeating Dabura. This leads to the Beerus arc not having its final fight, which means the world is finished when Freeza is revived the next year.

In Future Trunks' timeline however, Trunks has already unlocked Super Saiyan 2 due to mastering SSJ with Vegeta and training more in earnest, leading him to also defeat Dabura easily and stop the awakening of Boo without Kaioshin and Kibito's deaths. Goku Black never arrives due to Goku dying in the parallel timeline long before Zamasu can body change with him, leading his timeline to live in relative peace.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Do you think Trunks and Kuririn would still go investigate the mysterious Ki in Gingertown if sensing what Kuririn rightfully assumed to be Piccolo disappear and the other Ki (Cell) becoming far too much for either of them to handle though? Also, it would seem pretty unlikely for Cell to find #17 and #18 if nobody fights them, given they can't be sensed. Only way that seems likely would be if Tenshithands steps up when they get to Kame House and uses the Shin Kikoho on #17, and doing so may very well kill #17.

I doubt the BoG Arc would go without the God ritual. Even with Beerus not being angry at the pudding situation, he'd still get annoyed by not finding the SSG and probably ask about it, leading to the Saiyans learning how it's done. It would seem doubtful Beerus would just accept the food and leave without settling the matter.

 

[Papasmurf]

Do you think Trunks and Kuririn would still go investigate the mysterious Ki in Gingertown if sensing what Kuririn rightfully assumed to be Piccolo disappear and the other Ki (Cell) becoming far too much for either of them to handle though?

It seems like they were headed that way in the first place, so they'd probably either end up there considering they arrived immediately after Piccolo regenerated his arm. Even if they suppress their ki, at zero power they'd probably be unable to run away fast enough to escape Cell when he should immediately sense two high battle powers disappear akin to how Vegeta sensed Kuririn and Gohan disappear after he killed Dodoria.

Also, it would seem pretty unlikely for Cell to find #17 and #18 if nobody fights them, given they can't be sensed.

They'd still probably pick a fight with the humans at Kame House, which may lead to Galu teleporting there and lasting just long enough to lure in Cell. #16 would probably want to kill him, but #17 would probably stubbornly insist on going first due to doing almost nothing in their fight with Vegeta and Trunks and toying with Goku since he's their main target.

I doubt the BoG Arc would go without the God ritual. Even with Beerus not being angry at the pudding situation, he'd still get annoyed by not finding the SSG and probably ask about it, leading to the Saiyans learning how it's done. It would seem doubtful Beerus would just accept the food and leave without settling the matter.

Well, the only reason Beerus was resolved to destroy the planet was because he was deprived of his pudding, so in this instance they may not be inclined to waste a wish to find out how to turn SSJG. If they do, Freeza likely still destroys the Earth considering that without his My Bulma!! Rage Hax Vegeta doesn't have much to impress Whis with which likely results in only Galu becoming SSJB and getting killed soon after Sorbet laser beams him.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Well, the only reason Beerus was resolved to destroy the planet was because he was deprived of his pudding, so in this instance they may not be inclined to waste a wish to find out how to turn SSJG. If they do, Freeza likely still destroys the Earth considering that without his My Bulma!! Rage Hax Vegeta doesn't have much to impress Whis with which likely results in only Galu becoming SSJB and getting killed soon after Sorbet laser beams him.

I'd agree he wouldn't want to destroy the planet, though he may still press the matter with both Vegeta and Galu telling everyone it's best to do what Beerus demands. The main reason Whis chose to train Vegeta personally was Bulma's desserts (at least in the anime), so it's still most likely he'd receive training. The only change may be that it may be slightly later than in the main timeline, though not by enough to make a huge difference.

 

[withheldforprivacy]

Cell would probably be gone by the time the Z Fighters arrived in Ginger.

Having no way to spot the Androids, Cell just roams around for the following days, searching for them. As for the Z Fighters, they're just avoiding Cell, waiting for Goku to wake up before making their next move. I don't think that even Vegeta would be so stupid as to go and challenge that source of an enormous chi.

Goku wakes up and brings up the ROSAT idea. Everything happens as in canon (Vegeta/Trunks go first, Goku hides at Kami's Lookout), except Cell's intentions are not known yet.

Eventually, the Androids arrive at the Kame House. With Piccolo not there to stall them, Goku goes to surrender, not wanting to let his human friends die to protect him. Even though they can kill him in an instant, I guess the Androids play around a little; Sixteen is probably happy to let Seventeen do the job and take his time, as long as he knows that Goku will die in the end.

Cell senses Goku's aura and arrives on the battlefield. Seventeen is absorbed. Goku gets injured but manages to escape with Instant Transmission. After that, everything happens as in canon, except Piccolo is not there, but he's resurrected at the end of the saga.