"Very soon, I am going to explode. And when I do, you are all going to die with me!" Cell said, trying to instill fear into Gohan and the rest of the Z-fighters.

Gohan felt defeated; he took far too much time toying with Cell, not expecting that he would go to the extent of destroying the entire planet. In spite of the significant increase of power that resulted from becoming a Super Saiyan 2, he had failed. The fate of the entire planet, in that moment, had been sealed.

"I-I should have listened to my dad!" Gohan yelled, subsequently falling to his knees. "It's all my fault. I should have finished him off when I had the chance!" The burning fire inside of him had gone out; he now began to accept that he and all of the inhabitants of Earth were going to perish.

"Ha ha ha ha! Sorry kid, but we can't all have happy endings, now can we?" Cell said.

Goku looked on, knowing that there was only one way to ensure the survival of the Earth and the eradication of the bloated Bio-Android in front of him and his friends. He did not want to leave them behind, but the interest of the Earth took precedence over his personal desires. Though Goku was one of the strongest warriors in the universe, his selfless dedication toward being the protector of all life is what drove him to fight. He looked at his friends, smiling, knowing what he had to do.

"Goku, what's wrong?" Krillin asked, the concern in his voice evident.

"Well, there's only one way we can save the Earth at this point." Goku replied.

Krillin gasped, knowing exactly what he had in mind. He knew that Goku intended on using the instant transmission technique to get Cell away from the Earth.

"Goku, what are you talking about?" Piccolo asked, beginning to realize what Goku was about to do.

"Goodbye, my friends." Goku said, transporting away from his friends and heading towards Cell.

"Goku!" Krillin screamed, reaching his hand out in front of him. Overcome with emotions, he realized that this might be the final time that he'll see his best friend since childhood. He was always like that, willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good without the slightest hint of hesitation.

Seconds later, Goku materialized in front of a kneeling Gohan with his face in the ground, and Cell.

"What?!" Cell yelled, overcome with surprise. Gohan lifted his face up, staring right at his father. The realization had yet to sink in that his dad intended on sacrificing himself.

"What the hell is Goku doing?!" Cell thought. Why did he have two fingers to his forehead with one hand, and the other placed on him?

"You've made me very proud, Gohan." Goku said, looking towards his son.

"D-dad?" Gohan replied, starting to feel anxious. He didn't want to believe that his father was going to use the instant transmission technique to bring Cell elsewhere, knowing that Goku would not have enough time to return to Earth. Perhaps he had something else in mind. Surely, he would do away with Cell and come back, right?

"I'm going to need you to take care of your mother for me. And you're going to have to tell her that I didn't have a choice." Goku said.

That confirmed exactly what Gohan had feared; his father was going to sacrifice himself for the planet, ensuring the survival of his friends.

"Goodbye, my son"

Cells face immediately turned to a look of complete shock. In a matter of seconds, Goku completely managed to foil his plans of destroying the Earth. But where was he going to take him?

"No, dad!" Gohan yelled, the intensity in his voice full of emotional distraught.

"Ahhh! Goku, you brought him here?! Are you out of your mind?!" King Kai screamed, while Bubbles and Gregory flailed around in fear.

"Sorry King Kai!" Goku replied. "This is the only place I could think of bringing him!"

"No!" Cell yelled, enraged that his goal fell through. It was time to face the end of his life.

The bloated bio-android detonated, releasing a powerful explosion that instantly took the lives of all five present on his now-destroyed home planet. The magnificent blast seemed to last an eternity, as Cell slowly felt his consciousness fade away. Left after was nothing but the empty vacuum of space; Goku, King Kai, Bubbles and Gregory were now dead, and Cell was about to slip away into the state of non-being. And then, everything faded to black.

Cell felt himself wake up. He could see nothing, but he started to feel the sensation of regeneration overcome him. He felt his legs restore, and then his torso, followed by his arms. Slowly but surely, his entire being was reviving itself.

Finally, his head started to form, and all of his senses were back and well-intact.

And there he was, back from the brink of extinction, his perfect form at use once again.

Cell stood in complete shock, not expecting that he would be alive. Thanks to Frieza's cells, he was able to remain in the vacuum of space. His namekian cells were the primary reason that he lived in the first place, and because he was in a near-death situation, he received a significant power boost, thanks to the saiyan cells coursing through his veins.

He threw several punches and kicks, to make sure that he was fully healed. He displayed an expression of complete surprise and felt empowered, especially since his perfect self was back. As if things could not work out more in his favor, he noticed that he picked up the ability to use Goku's instant transmission technique. At that moment, he was able to sense the Z-fighters from his location in an emptiness from space, and he could have transported back over and destroyed all of them without problem thanks to his new power.

But he didn't.

"No, something's wrong," Cell thought, "I'm reborn, yes, but…I shouldn't be in this situation."

Immediately, he began to think back to after he spit out Android 18 and reverted back to his second form. Running from a child, resorting to blowing himself up as a means to secure his victory. The saiyan side of Cell knew how dishonorable this was for a warrior, and he began feeling an inner sense of disgust towards himself. The confidence he displayed one week before against Vegeta and Trunks when he reached his perfect form, all meant nothing now. He acted like an emotional weakling on the battlefield, and that's the final image of Cell that the Z-warriors would have inside of their minds. They would remember him as a disgustingly bloated time-bomb, and it was hard for him to bear. He felt embarrassed.

The walls of egotism were crumbling inside of the bio-android's mind. To make matters worse, he had achieved Dr. Gero's singular purpose of eradicating Goku. He was the ultimate android, and he accomplished the master goal that his creator gave him, and yet, here he was, floating in space.

His entire life was laid out for him in a systematic fashion: absorb Androids 17 and 18, and kill Goku. And though the androids in his time were destroyed by Trunks, he had enough cunning to slay Trunks and steal his time machine in order to fulfill his purpose. What was Cell to do now, having accomplished everything he was supposed to?

"Perhaps, I'm not as perfect as I thought."