Repercussions of the Positive Kind
A light wind swept across the barren wasteland, the once grassy meadow having been turned into a battlefield that was the embodiment of chaos. Large craters of varying sizes dotted the landscape, highlighting the severity of the carnage. Several figures were spread out across the area, each engaged in battle with the miniature spawns of Earth's greatest ever threat.
In the centre of the battlefield stood a golden haired boy, no older than 9 years of age, wearing a purple gi. His glassy, tear-stricken eyes were fixed on the ground in front of him, where a large robotic head lay unmoving.
"Gohan, protect the nature, and the animals I loved so much… please," spoke the strained voice of android 16. Despite the state he was currently in, the mohawked metallic being had a smile on his face as he gazed towards the Earth's young protector. "Defend them for me… I'm counting on you."
A shadow then fell over the decapitated android's face as heavy footsteps announced the arrival of Cell; the harbinger of Earth's destruction and the sole figure responsible for the day's chaos. Without any hesitation the insect-like bio android raised his foot and stomped down upon android 16's head. The breaking of glass was heard, and the subsequent explosion sent various screws, circuits and traces of blood scattering around the area. On one of the larger circuits a small green light blinked several times, then died out completely.
The golden-haired warrior, Son Gohan, could do nothing but stare in shock as another life was extinguished right before his eyes. "Nobody asked you, you factory defect!" came the cold voice of the now smirking Cell; the bio-android seeming pleased with his work.
In his mind, Gohan imagined bird flying gracefully though the sky, its chirping voice showing no hints of pain, worry, or anything of the sort. But then the bird flew off into the distance, and with it gone, so too was a young boy's innocence.
A bloodcurdling scream filled the air as the young half Saiyan let out all his pain, anger, fear and frustration. The sheer power radiating off him caused the ground within miles of him to tremble, and the crater at his feet grew even larger. The pulsing waves of golden electrical energy spread across the battlefield, causing all the other combatants to stop what they were doing and stare at Gohan in awe. Not even Cell could keep the amazement from showing on his face.
Gohan though, his eyes now brimming with tears, glared hatefully at the bio-android. His body had grown in both size and muscle mass with the transformation, and his golden hair was even spikier than before, with a long bang hanging down in front of his forehead. He had warned Cell what would happen if he was pushed too far, and yet Dr Gero's ultimate creation had relented. So assured was he of his own superiority, that he had never even considered there would be anyone out there capable of stopping him. Now it was time to teach him the error of his ways.
"For everything you've done Cell," began Gohan through gritted teeth, "you're going to pay." With his glare never leaving the bio-android's eyes, the half Saiyan strode towards his opponent.
A grin formed on Cell's face. "Finally!" he called out. "You've shown your true self. Now things are going to get interesting!" Much to Cell's surprise, he felt the load in his hand lighten, and when he looked down he spotted the small bag of senzu beans he had swiped earlier held firmly in Gohan's powerful grip. "What!? You took the senzus?" he exclaimed in shock. 'What speed…'
The half Saiyan said nothing as he then seemingly vanished, reappearing several metres away almost instantly. Before him was one of Cell's cursed spawns, standing next to the broken body of Krillin, the bald monk who was his father's best friend. The little creature cackled maliciously at the impassive Gohan before it shot towards him, intent of harming the one who had interrupted his fun.
To Gohan though, it was as if the Cell Jr was moving in slow motion, and with one swift backhanded chop he decapitated the small blue being. Those who had been observing gasped in shock once more, and Gohan's father Goku couldn't help but let out a tiny smirk. "I knew it…"
Seeing one of their brothers ruthlessly beheaded like he was nothing caused the remaining Cell Jr's to stop what they were doing and charge at the one responsible with blind fury. The half Saiyan boy turned his head towards the onrushing spawns, his face no longer betraying any hint of emotion.
The first Cell Jr approached with his arms outstretched, as if attempting to grab the boy. As soon as he got within range, Gohan lashed out with a powerful high kick that split the Cell Jr in half at the waist. A roundhouse kick, an elbow strike and two side thrusts kick later saw the instantaneous death of five more Cell Jr's, leaving only one remaining. As the severed arm of one of his brothers fell on the ground in front of him, the lone bio-android spawn began sweating heavily, knowing it was clearly outmatched.
The Cell Jr's survival instincts then kicked in, and he turned around and started flying as far away from the terrifying half Saiyan as possible. It was no use. Gohan disappeared and reappeared in front of the small creature almost instantly, and with narrowed eyes swiftly beheaded him with another backhanded chop. In the end, the massacre of the Cell Jr's lasted only a few seconds in total.
Despite having given birth to the Cell Jr's, Cell cared nothing for his children. To him they were just pawns, used in an attempt to force Gohan to reveal his true power. They had served their purpose magnificently, and while Cell couldn't help but be surprised at how quickly they were slaughtered, the Saiyan genes inside him boiled in excitement at the prospect of fighting the powerful half breed.
Vegeta and Trunks, beaten and battered but still wreathed in the golden auras of their Super Saiyan forms, stood atop a rocky cliff with wide eyes and gaping mouths. Gohan, a mere child who hadn't even reached his teenage years yet, had accomplished what they had been trying to do for the past two years.
On another part of the wasteland Piccolo stared at his pupil in shock. He had trained the boy when he was 4 years old, and had watched him grow from a snivelling crybaby into a powerful warrior. Despite his initial disdain for the boy, Gohan had grown on him, and eventually the Namek had come to regard the half Saiyan as not just his disciple, but his first true friend. Piccolo felt pride swelling in his chest. 'Is that really you, Gohan?' he thought. 'It seems Goku was right. You have surpassed us all…'
Elsewhere, the bloodied body of Goku was sprawled out on the ground. Despite his wounds though, the Saiyan couldn't keep the grin off his face. "Take that Cell! You made the mistake of pushing Gohan too far, and it's come back to cost you!"
Still hovering in the air, Gohan threw the bag of senzu beans to Trunks. "Give these to everyone," he ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"Sure," Trunks complied, still having not gotten over his shock at Gohan's transformation. He knew his sensei was a great man capable of doing amazing things, but in a shattered world where one had to be on guard every second of their life, he just didn't have the right circumstances to fully take advantage of his enormous potential.
Gohan dropped to the ground several metres away from Cell and once again glared at the evil bio-android, who had a smirk on his face.
"Incredible," Krillin remarked from the sidelines, having been given a senzeu bean by Trunks. "This must be what Goku was talking about."
Cell heard this and scoffed. "Don't get too confident brat," he spat out. "Even after all that, you can't really believe you stand a chance against me? I am in a completely different league from my children."
"I will defeat you," Gohan stated in response.
The bio-android's eyes widened momentarily before he smirked yet again. "Hmph, you talk big," he commented as he spread he legs shoulder width apart. "I guess I'll just have to show you the absolute terror that is my true power!"
The Z Fighters gasped in shock when they heard this. They knew Cell was more powerful than them, but they didn't expect him to still have more power in reserve. Doubt flickered across some of their faces. Goku however, remained smiling. He still had the utmost faith in his son.
Cell then clenched his fists and let out a primal yell. His aura grew tremendously and a massive crater formed at his feet. The shockwaves from his ki caused the ground to tremble and sent a chill down the spines of every single Z Fighter standing on the sidelines. The humans were blown back several metres, but the Saiyans and Namek managed to stand their ground, although it took some effort.
When his screaming subsided, signalling the end of his power up, Cell smirked at Gohan. He had witnessed the looks of utter terror on the faces of the Z Fighters out of the corner of his eye, as they finally realised how insignificant they were to his perfect being.
"At last, Cell's going to show us what he's really capable of," Goku remarked, having taken to the sky alongside Krillin to get away from the tremors.
The bald monk nodded. "It feels like his ki alone is going to destroy the world…"
Cell's smirk turned into a vicious grin. "What do you think Gohan?" he asked the half Saiyan. "This is what I'm like when I'm serious."
All Gohan did in response was quirk his eyebrow slightly. "Is that is?"
Cell chuckled humourlessly, before a scowl formed on his features. He dashed forward with his right fist pulled back and planted a powerful hook into the side of his opponent's head. The thunderous crack of the impact was reminiscent of two icebergs colliding. However, while Cell felt that he had hit cleanly, he still encountered resistance.
When he saw that his blow had simply made Gohan tilt his head to the side he frowned, then in a fit of rage aimed a left overhead punch at the boy. Gohan casually raised his arm to block it, then aimed a left punch of his own directly into Cell's chest. This attack made contact, and forced Cell to hunch over as he spat out a wad of blood.
Gritting his teeth, the bio-android fired off another swing which Gohan ducked under, before uppercutting the insect-like being and sending him flying backwards. Cell struggled getting back to his feet, and when he raised his head the onlookers spotted a trail of blood leaking from his nose and mouth.
'How is it possible… to be so damaged after only two punches?' he thought worriedly.
Meanwhile, the Z Fighters were watching the battle with awe. Vegeta, among others, was still stupefied by Gohan's transformation and subsequent manhandling of Cell, but Goku continued smiling knowingly.
Cell, having finally stood up straight, gave Gohan the most hateful glare he could muster. "You… bastard!" With a cry of rage the bio-android shot towards his small opponent and launched a barrage of strikes, both punches and kicks. The half Saiyan continued blocking them and countered with a few hits of his own.
To Cell, each blow he received rattled his insides. With each punch a miniature tremor ran through his body, and each kick seemed to force out more and more of his spirit. Never before had he experienced such sheer, agonizing pain. However, he couldn't back down now. He was Cell, the perfect being created by Dr Gero, infused with the cells of the most powerful warriors across the known universe. He could not be defeated by a mere child.. such a thing was beneath him.
After being sent flying one more time, a smirk found its way back to the bio-android's face. 'I may be losing to him in power, but I still have other ways to win!' Cell then shot up into the sky and cupped his hands to his side in a familiar pose. "Kaa… mee… haa… mee…"
The smile quickly left Goku's face as he gazed up at Cell worryingly. "That bastard!"
Krillin and Yamcha were visibly panicking. "How can he do something like that!? This isn't funny!" the bald monk exclaimed.
Gohan was the only one who wasn't affected if his facial expression was anything to go by.
"Haaa!" Cell finished as he launched an enormous beam down towards the ground.
Even as the others in the area pondered their imminent demise, Gohan let the beam come closer before he cupped his own hands to his side. "Kame hame haa!" he cried as he sent his own beam up at Cell's. The two enormous ki attacks met in the sky for a brief moment, before Gohan's began to swiftly push Cell's beam towards it's creator.
The bio-android's eyes widened briefly before he was hit with the combined power of both attacks. He managed to twist out of the way somehow so as to not be engulfed completely, causing the Kamehameha to go shooting out into space, but he didn't escape unharmed. The pulsing ki burned his flesh and tore off his limbs, leaving only his right arm.
"Why!?" Cell spat out, the agony clear in his voice. "Why do you have so much power?"
Of the Z Fighters, Vegeta was the first one to speak. "The kid… he countered Cell's massive Kamehameha with an even bigger one!"
Before anyone could celebrate, a sadistic smirk found its way to Gohan's face. The look, so uncharacteristic for someone of the young half Saiyan's nature, seemed too far out of place to those that knew him well. Piccolo and Goku specifically felt pangs of fear strike at their hearts.
"Gohan, what are you doing?" Goku cried out desperately. "Finish him off! Right now!"
The half Saiyan gave his father a bemused quirk of his eyebrow, as if the request was a mere joke. "Finish him?" He smirked again, his electric aura pulsing around him as if it was a reflection of his emotions. "It's too early father. He has to suffer more…"
Goku was lost for words. "Wha… what are you saying?"
Piccolo seemed to mirror his sentiments. "What's he talking about?"
Up in the sky, Cell was regenerating his lost limbs. Goku saw this, and tried to get through to his son once more. "Gohan, you're the only one who can finish him off! Hurry up and do it! Stop playing with him, you don't know what you're doing!"
The elder Saiyan's eyes fell on deaf ears as his son continued smirking. He looked up at Cell, who had finished regenerating, with a glint in his eye. "You little shit… you little shit!" the bio-android screamed in fury as he swelled his body to enormous proportions. With it, his ki skyrocketed it. "There's no way… no way I'm going to lose to you!" the now hulking behemoth cried as he flew down towards Gohan with as much speed as he could muster, and aimed a powerful right fist at the half Saiyan's head.
Gohan nimbly hopped out of the way as Cell's fist hit nothing but ground, creating a sizeable crater. He continued his attempts, but no matter how hard he tried, his strikes never hit their target. An onlooking Trunks knew better than anyone what was happening. "Cell is making the same mistake he warned me about," the lavender haired Saiyan commented. "He's using so much power that his body can't keep up. He's sacrificing speed for power, but because of it he's too slow to hit anything."
Meanwhile, Gohan had gotten tired of dodging. After sending Cell crashing into the ground with a roundhouse kick, the half Saiyan sped forward and launched a tremendously powerful flying side kick directly into his opponent's gut. The bio-android felt his insides collapse. The pressure caused him to vomit out a sickly gray liquid. Cell's mouth then bulged, as if it was filled to the brim, and with a pained cry he spat out a human sized shape.
The Z Fighters gasped at the sight of the petite blonde female lying unconscious on the ground, covered in the sickly white mucus of Cell's innards. "It… it's number 18! He threw up number 18!" Krillin shouted.
Before anyone could add their own comments, Cell's body swelled yet again, and his features visibly changed. He was now a lot bulkier, and his nose had seemingly retracted back into his face. Trunks was the first to comment on this new development. "He changed back! He's not in his ultimate form anymore!" he called out. "Gohan, now's your chance to finish him off for good!"
"It's over for you Cell," Gohan remarked as he started walking towards the weakened bio-android.
Cell's face took on a look of pure venom, as the veins in his eyes bulged out noticeably. "I won't forgive you! I… I won't let you win!" He opened his mouth and let out a guttural scream. The moment his body started to swell slightly, the Z Fighters knew he was up to something.
"Gohan!" Piccolo cried out. The Namekian didn't know what Cell was planning, but he wasn't about to let him have his way. If something bad happened as a result of this, he knew Gohan would blame himself, given how many chances he had to finish off Cell beforehand. Gohan was more than just his disciple, and more than just his first friend. Gohan was like his surrogate son. And what father would let their child suffer? "Makankosappo!"
A spiralling yellow beam flew from his fingers and smacked Cell right in the face, causing his head to explode in a spray of violet blood. Had this been Cell in his perfect form, he would've regarded the attack as nothing more than a tickle. However, Cell was no longer in his perfect form. The Saiyans weren't the only ones who trained tremendously hard in the Room of Spirit and Time. Just like them, Piccolo also spent one agonising year in that empty void, only unlike them, he was alone. He knew he wasn't a match for Perfect Cell, but Semi-Perfect Cell was a whole other story, especially after Gohan's beatdown.
As Cell's headless body, still slightly enlarged, fell to the ground, Gohan turned to his sensei and glared. "What was that for?" he seethed. "I had it under control!"
Piccolo felt a vein throbbing in his forehead. Just what had this transformation done to his student? "You stupid boy!" he growled. "You weren't in control of anything, you were just playing around!" Gohan opened his mouth to speak, but Piccolo interrupted him. "You know as well as anyone how crafty and devious Cell is. If there was even a 1% chance that he could twist the situation to his favour, he would do it, no matter how dirty it was! If he had a chance to sabotage us, even if it meant dying, then you can bet your ass he would do that as well!"
Cell's headless body remained motionless several metres away from Gohan. Given his track record, it was almost a certainty that he would regenerate before too long. As such, the Z Fighters kept a close eye on the bio-android while listening to Piccolo's speech, which they knew had to be said. They were fortunate that, aside from Gohan, there were now four of them who could easily defeat Cell.
Gohan seemed to ponder Piccolo's words for a moment, but the glare never left his face. "Of course I know how evil he is! That's why he deserves to suffer! He deserves to feel all the pain he has inflicted on others!"
"And I suppose you'll be the judge of that?" Piccolo retorted as he flew towards his pupil, coming to stand directly before him. "You'll decide who gets punished, and the extent of their punishment? Even if it means putting the Earth, your friends, and your family at risk?"
Gohan clenched his fist and electricity sparkled around it. He stared at it for a while before turning his gaze to Piccolo. "With my power, there is nothing to worry about."
A resounding smack was heard, the sound reaching the ears of all those who stood on the battlefield. Piccolo glared at Gohan as he held his throbbing hand. The half Saiyan, meanwhile, had his mouth and eyes wide open in shock as he held his palm to his cheek. Piccolo's slap didn't hurt him in the slightest. On the contrary, the Namek was the one in physical pain. But Gohan felt a completely different kind of pain; the pain of disappointing the people closest to you.
"You foolish child! I taught you better than that!" Piccolo remarked, ignoring his now reddening hand. "Who are you, a 9 year old boy, to think you can play the role of King Yemma? You are nothing but a child who somehow got lucky enough to wield great power! I thought you had grown up, but I was wrong! Have you learnt nothing from Trunks' story? Of what can happen if you don't deal with a threat to the planet as quickly as possible?
"Are you willing to put the Earth at risk, just so you can play God? By doing that, you're no better than Frieza, and look what happened to him! And by torturing Cell, you're being just as bad as he is! He will be punished for his crimes by spending an eternity in hell, where he belongs! But you should leave that job up to those who are far more qualified to do it!
"Gohan," he added in a softer tone. "You are not God. You are one of the Earth's guardians, and possibly one of the universe's guardians as well. You have been blessed with a power that others can only dream of. It's up to you to use that power for good, not just for your own personal benefit."
Gohan couldn't meet his mentor's gaze, having fixed his eyes firmly on the ground. He had never before been so ashamed of his behaviour. The pain of knowing he had disappointed those closest to him hurt far more than any physical wounds he had ever suffered. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see the smiling face of his father, his teal irises glowing with something akin to… pride?
"I can kinda guess what you're thinking," Goku remarked. "You're probably thinking about how ashamed you are of yourself for disappointing us." The slight twitching of his shoulders told Goku he was right. He chuckled. "But you're wrong Gohan. You haven't disappointed us. In fact, we couldn't be any more proud of you. Even though you're only 9 years old, you were able to do something none of us were able to do, and in doing so you saved countless lives. If anyone should be ashamed, it's us."
At that Gohan frowned. "But you guys haven't done anything wrong. I'm the one who let the power get to my head."
Goku shook his head. "Gohan, we, me especially, placed the fate of the world on your shoulders. You a 9 year old boy! You should be playing with your friends and going to school or something, instead of fighting Earth shattering battles with the fate of the planet at stake! Despite all that, you didn't let us down. You met everyone's expectations, and surpassed them, saving the Earth in the process. How could we be disappointed in you!?"
Despite the warm feeling welling up in his chest, the half Saiyan still wasn't convinced. "But… this power…"
It was then that he felt another hand on his other shoulder, this one belonging to Piccolo. Gohan looked into the eyes of his sensei, his mentor, and his best friend, and saw the same hints of pride he had seen in his father's. "Your power is something else kid, but we have to work on your attitude. Still, there's nothing some good old fashioned training can't fix," he finished with a sharklike grin.
Gohan looked behind the two father figures in his life to see his friends, his comrades, standing on a cliff looking at him warmly. He scanned over them with his teal eyes. Krillin and Yamcha were giving shooting him a thumbs up, matching toothy grins on their faces. Tien and Trunks nodded in his direction, both having smiles on their faces. Even Vegeta, who had his arms crossed and his trademark frown on his face, gave him a small nod of acknowledgement.
It was then that Gohan felt proud; prouder than he ever had before. He hadn't let his friends down at all. He then heard a twitching where Cell's body lay, and frowned. He had some unfinished business to attend to. Goku and Piccolo gave him small smiles as he strode towards the bio-android's puffed out body.
Gohan reached out and grabbed Cell's wrist lightly. "I don't know exactly what you're planning," he spoke softly, "but as long as I'm alive, I won't let you terrorize the Earth. May you find peace in death." With that Gohan tossed Cell's body high up into the air, his Ascended Super Saiyan power sending him flying up to the stratosphere. He then cupped his hands at his side in the trademark pose of his father's most famous attack. "Kaa… mee… haa… mee…" an enormous ball of pulsing blue ki built up in his hands, which he thrust towards his target, "HAAA!"
The titanic beam shot up into the air at tremendous speed and engulfed Cell's body just as his head had finished reforming. Dr Gero's ultimate creation could only scream wordlessly as the searing hot ki of Gohan's Kamehameha burned his flesh, tore at his limbs, and vaporised each and every atom. His self destruction technique detonated prematurely due to not being charged up enough, but it too was overpowered by the sheer energy of the Turtle School's signature technique.
As his consciousness rapidly faded, a single thought passed through Cell's head. 'It seems I wasn't perfect after all.'
Gohan's Kamehameha would travel across several galaxies, appearing as a shooting star to countless planets, slowly getting smaller before colliding with a distant sun and dissipating harmlessly. Back on the ground, in the wasteland that once played host to the Cell Games, Gohan panted and let his arms fall to his sides. He stretched out his senses and couldn't feel a single trace of Cell's ki. "It's finally over."
Goku scratched the back of his head, knowing there was only one way to make sure. He raised his fingers to his head and concentrated. "Hey King Kai, did Cell appear at King Yemma's check in station?"
"Hold on Goku, let me check," the blue skinned deity replied. A few seconds later, his voice sounded in the Saiyan's mind once more. "He did! You guys did it! I must say, that's some boy you have there Goku," the Kai remarked heartily.
The elder Son smiled. "I know."
Gohan saw the smile on his father's face, as did the other Z Fighters, and they immediately realised what had happened. Cell was gone for good. Krillin and Yamcha let out loud cheers, and Gohan let his transformation drop. The moment his did so, he fell to his knees, but was stopped by the firm hands of his father. "Heh," he grinned up at Goku. "I guess I still need a lot more training before I can master that form, huh?"
Piccolo ruffled his hair. "I think we have just the thing for that, right Goku?"
The Saiyan, finally letting his own transformation drop, simply grinned in response. This lasted only a couple of seconds before a look of absolute horror found its way to his face.
Gohan saw this and frowned. "What's wrong dad? Is it Cell?"
Goku's face paled visibly. "No son, this is much, much worse." The boy's eyes widened. "Your mother kinda warned me not to let you fight."
AN: I always thought my first foray into DBZ fanfiction would be writing one of those clichéd Gohan themed high school stories that are a guilty pleasure of mine, but last night I got a burning desire to write a story where Goku doesn't die in the Cell Games. So, after five and a half hours of non-stop writing, almost 5000 words, and cramping hands, this is what I came up with. It's now 3am, and I have to get up at 7am for uni, having only gotten two and a half hours of sleep the night before. But eh, once I started writing this, I really couldn't find it in me to stop. Given that I didn't have the time to proofread it, there are probably some typos, but I'll fix those up soon.
Moving on, the entire Android arc, ranging from Trunks' appearance to Cell's defeat is my favourite arc in DBZ, but I absolutely despised the ending. Goku's reason for staying dead was complete and utter bullshit, and Gohan and Goten didn't deserve to grow up without a father. I love Goku, but Toriyama really made Goku seem like a dick with that stunt.
I also thought it was weird how none of the other Z Fighters, especially Trunks, did anything to try and stop Cell once he reverted back to his semi-perfect form, since they were far beyond his power at that stage. Of course, in the manga Cell tried to self destruct immediately after reverting back to his semi-perfect state, while it was lengthened in the anime, but they still could've tried something.
Anyway, for several years now I've had a template in my mind for a Boo arc story; one that I would've preferred to see in DBZ, and where Goku is still alive. This would serve as a prequel to it. I know the beginning, the middle, the end, and all the major plot points in between, but such a thing would be epic in length, and given that I am currently undertaking a postgraduate degree, as well as have a job, there's simply no way I have the time to write something like that, especially considering it took me almost six hours to write 5000 words. I really do admire those authors who can churn out massive chapters on a consistent basis while balancing their real life responsibilities. I don't know if I'll ever have the time or motivation to write the Buu Saga story that I've planned, but I really would like to do so someday, so who knows what'll happen.
Anyway, I hope anyone who reads this story enjoys it. Feedback would also be much appreciated. Till next time…