Hey everyone! This is my first REAL fic so yah…hope you enjoy =)
Disclaimer: I didn't invent DBZ, I wish I had…but I did not. Oh and to the best of my knowledge, this is an original idea (but that could just be because I don't read much)
NOTE: Android 18 was never knocked out of Cell
NOTE: The camera was fully functional before/during/after the battle with Cell
The Battle for Earth…Lost?
"Why was I so stupid!" Gohan exclaimed, as tears fell from his eyes. "I could have prevented this! I could have killed Cell!" Now on his knees, he was oblivious to everything around him. "Why didn't I listen? I'm sorry father!"
Piccolo, Trunks, Krillen, Yamcha, Tien and even Vegeta were all at a loss for words as they watched their friend sacrifice himself to save the earth. There was nothing any of them could have done, too weak to help either of their comrades. The thought sickened Vegeta. Even the sky seemed to darken with the loss of the earth's saviour, the clouds thickened, as though preparing for a treacherous downpour.
Hiding near some large boulders, Hercule and his friends could only look with wonder as to what just occurred. In their minds, they had seen Cell expand to an unbelievable size and then suddenly disappear. Hercule would have taken the moment to jump for joy, and celebrate the 'victory' but even he could see the gloomy atmosphere that had been created.
It started to rain.
Gohan was somewhat relieved by the droplets of rain, although he remained completely dry. Still powered up, the drops would simply evaporate before hitting his body. His mind went through the battle, over and over again. Picking out all his opportunities to have killed cell; to have saved his father. He knew it was pointless, the battle was over, and he had failed.
Trunks, being one of the more sensitive of the observers, walked over to Gohan. "Its alright, you did your best. Besides, we can just go and get the dragonballs right now, and wish him back. He's not gone forever."
But Gohan still wasn't convinced, "Its not that easy though. You were there when Dende made the new dragonballs, we can't wish someone back if they've died before." The tears were falling as rapidly as the storm that now encompassed the battlefield.
"Then we'll go to New Namek. I've never been there before, but I'm sure they'll be willing to help out. In fact, if we leave now, my mother can probably have a ship ready before the end of the day. We'll be heading there by tomorrow."
By this point, Gohan had already stopped paying attention to him, 'Mom's gonna kill me. She's gonna tear me apart. This is all my fault.' He then started mentally going through the battle once again.
"Come on Gohan, it's all gonna be alright. Lets go home." Trunks tried to shake Gohan out of his disturbed state.
"Trunks, leave him alone." Vegeta yelled out. "He doesn't need you to make things worse."
Trunks was puzzled as to how he was making it worse. but that was when he felt it. When they all felt it. "No! Its not possible!" Gohan jerked upright. "No!" They looked, and there, standing as though nothing had happened, was a fully functional, unharmed, Cell.
· · ·
"How can this be?" Vegeta exclaimed. He was pissed. Not only had he been visibly surpassed by two lower-ranking saiyajins on the same day, he had seen his ally, no, his friend sacrifice himself pointlessly. What made him more angered would be the fact that Cell seemed to have learned Goku's teleportation technique, and that he seemed to be more powerful than ever.
"Don't look so surprised Vegeta, I've told you before. I'm invincible! Indestructible! As long as a single cell remains, I can regenerate, and thanks to your saiyajin blood, I grow stronger." Cell looked as proud as ever, and then turned his focus on Gohan. "You were close boy, you almost did it. But you were careless, and now you've killed you father."
By now, the tears had stopped falling from his eyes. Instead a burning fire took its place. Had Vegeta seen the look in his eyes, even he would fear for his life. His eyes read a simple message. "I'm gonna kill you!" Gohan screamed, his power level skyrocketed, and the cell games began anew.
· · ·
The rain had stopped although the sky remained gloomy. The battle for earth wore on, but the others could only watch with dismay, as they realized how powerful Cell had become. "Cell's toying with him!" Piccolo grunted, obviously distressed by the events. "His power level may be equal with Cell right now, but it's draining rapidly. If we don't do something, he's going to die."
"What can we do?" Krillen cried, "They're too powerful, we're all outclassed. If we even tried to help, we'd just get in Gohan's way." Trunks nodded in agreement, racking his brain for possible solutions. 'You're the son of a genius! Two geniuses if you count Vegeta. There must be something we can do!' As hard as he tried, he knew it was to no avail. Krillen was right. They were outclassed. All they could do was watch.
· · ·
"Are you ready to give up yet?" Cell taunted, enjoying his newfound strength and speed. "Do you need me to kill another of your friends before you're ready to admit defeat?" The power his saiyajin blood gave him was incredible. "Who should it be? Krillen? Trunks? Or maybe your good friend Piccolo."
He had had enough. Gohan's rage had grown out of control. And worst of all, he knew his power was diminishing. He only had enough power for one last showdown against Cell. He backed off, and quickly began charging up for a final attack.
Cell, amazed at Gohan's will to fight, only laughed at the attempt. He began charging up his own attack, knowing that this was going to be it. He was going to win, and he will have killed the two strongest people on earth to do it.
"Ka..Me..Ha..Me..Ha!"
They both released their attack. Completely in unison, at first they seemed even, but it became apparent who was stronger as time wore on. Cell was stronger. Much stronger.
"You can do it son." The voice echoed in his head. He recognized the voice immediately. Somewhere, somehow, his father was watching, cheering him on. 'I can do this' he told himself, and he fought everything he had. He felt as though the power of his father was flowing through him. "I can do this!"
· · ·
"He can't do it." Trunks cried, "He needs our help!" They all flew out, save Vegeta, and scattered themselves behind Cell. Each of them gave everything they had into a single beam, and fired it at him from behind.
Vegeta knew the attempt was futile. 'The short man was right, we're outclassed.' But even he couldn't anticipate what happened next. He watched, eyes wide with horror. He saw what was coming, and knew that neither Gohan, nor the people behind Cell would realize before it was too late. Even he was too late when he came to this conclusion. He tried to yell to them, but nothing came out. All he could do was watch.
Pleased to have learned a new ability, Cell felt the urge to try it out. Knowing that the people behind him posed no threat, he devised an excellent strategy. He simply smiled before raising one of his hands to his forehead. He began to laugh manically. He teleported 50 feet into the air, and watched what he believed would be the most entertaining event ever.
Shocked by the sudden lack of resistance to his attack, Gohan lost control. He could only watch helplessly as his attack enveloped his friends, one by one, their faces contorting with agony. They seemed to have a bewildered and betrayed look, as they disappeared from the plain of physical existence. "What have I done?" Gohan was losing his mind. Having caused the death of his father was one thing; he was supposed to be wished back in several days. But now, they were all gone. All of his friends had left him. He was alone. His thought back to his adventures with each of them, but was rudely interrupted by the piercing laughter raining from the sky.
"That was wonderful!" Cell was delighted. He knew Gohan was broken in both body and spirit after that last attack. "Its over boy. You caused the death of your family, your friends and now this planet you love so dearly." He pauses for a moment, "There is one way you can save this miserable planet of yours though. Join me, and help me purge the universe of life, and I will spare earth."
He was disgusted. The thought of killing innocent people sickened Gohan, but he knew, 'It's the only way.' Then he remembered something. Something that immediately brought a smile to his face. Before arriving at the battlegrounds, he had snuck a senzu bean into his left glove. He quickly removed his glove and ate the magic bean.
Cell's face held a look of surprise, before returning to his original composure. "It wont make a difference boy! Your power is nothing compared to mine!" Cell began powering up once again, preparing for another oncoming assault from Gohan.
'The boy might actually pull it off." Vegeta thought to himself, obviously impressed by Gohan's tactical preparation. 'Cell may have sounded confident, but even he has no idea how strong Gohan is now.' He had hope; earth had a fighting chance once again.
'How can I do this?' Gohan tried to plan his attack but realized, 'I have to make sure I kill every single cell in his body, or he'll just regenerate.' He knew there would only be one way; another showdown against Cell. This time he would win though. He would be ready if Cell tried to move. No one else would have to get hurt. He began to charge up an attack, knowing Cell would do the same.
Cell grinned; he knew Gohan would try this again. It was the only way he could possibly be defeated. But he knew something else too, he had held back during their last showdown. This time he would go all out.
"Ka..Me..Ha..Me..Ha!"
They both released their attacks. Vegeta was enraged by what he saw. Cell's beam completely enveloped Gohan's attack almost immediately. All he could do was watch as the attack hit Gohan at almost full force, creating an explosion that could be seen hundreds of miles away. And as the dust settled, Vegeta saw what he most feared. Gohan lay motionless on the ground.
· · ·
Mass chaos erupted throughout the world. Panicked screams echoed in the streets. Fear had taken over, and everyone had lost hope. People all over the earth had been watching the epic battle took place. No one understood what was taking place; how lights could be created in someone hand, how people could fly or even how people could move at speeds too fast for the human eye. Despite their lack of understanding, there was one thing they knew. This battle was against Cell, and must be won at all costs. They watched as a boy, who could only have been 11 or 12 years old, fight head on with Cell, giving it everything he had. They were shocked when they saw fighters such as Tien and Yamcha, recognized from previous World Martial Arts Tournaments, disappear in a stream of light. They could feel the earth quake with every blow delivered. They had been cheering, hoping with all their might that the boy would succeed; that he could vanquish Cell, their enemy; the Earth's enemy. However, the cheers had since ceased, now replaced by the fearful cries of the public. Their hero had been defeated.
· · ·
He was stunned. 'The boy was supposed to win! He was so much stronger!' Vegeta reached out with his senses and was floored by the power he felt. Cell had been holding back, not just a little power, but a lot. Cell had been at least five times as powerful as Gohan had been before the second showdown had begun.
Hercule too was dumbstruck. He had hoped the young fighter would have won, so he wouldn't have to fight Cell. He looked over to where Vegeta was floating, 'isn't he going to fight too?' Hercule wondered how Vegeta could remain so silent after having seen the deaths of his friends. His wonder then turned to dread, 'Oh no! He must be waiting for me to beat Cell! He must know I'm not actually sick, and that I was umm..just waiting to surprise Cell. What am I gonna do now?'
The announcer, who was merely inches away from Hercule, seeing as how they were both hiding behind the same rock, had a similar thought. 'What on earth is Hercule doing? Everyone knows he isn't sick. He must be planning on a surprise attack or something.' He managed to keep a bit of hope left in his system. 'That's it! Of course! The world champion must have something up his sleeve, he looks so calm and prepared.' To Hercule's dismay, the announcer spoke to him, audible enough to be picked up by the microphone, "Hey champ, are you ready to take down Cell yet? We know you're feeling alright now, your surprise attack would be perfect any time now."
Back in the streets, people calmed down a bit. Cries of, "How could we have forgotten about Hercule?" and "We're saved!" could be heard everywhere as hope was once again renewed.
Hercule, knowing he was on camera immediately took the microphone, "That's right! Never fear because the World Champ is here!" He gave the peace sign to the cameraman, while crowds everywhere cheered for their new hero.
Unbeknownst to Hercule however was that he had yelled slightly too loud. Cell, never one to give up an opportunity only smirked, before firing a small blast to the rock Hercule and his gang were hiding behind. In addition to the destruction of their shelter, the camera was blown to bits.
Immediately the announcer, cameraman and the others ran behind another rock, leaving Hercule alone to deal with Cell.
Imbued with a newfound sense of strength, Hercule slowly walked up to Cell. However, with each step he took, he gradually lost his confidence, and by the time he was next to Cell, tears were pouring out of his eyes. At that point, he did what any other sane human would do, in the presence of a superior being. Hercule got down on his knees and begged for mercy.
Cell laughed at his feeble attempt at survival, kicked him lightly (sending him about 100 feet away) and turned his attention back to Vegeta. "What's wrong Prince?" Cell asked, intent on ridiculing the remaining warrior, "I thought you wanted a challenge."
Vegeta remained silent
"Aren't you going to make me, eat my words; as you so nicely put it earlier?" The mocking continued, "Where's your Saiyajin pride now, you coward"
Silence
"Well, seeing as how there's no one left to fight, I suppose this tournament is over." Cell felt like he was talking to a wall, but wasn't intimidated. "You know Vegeta, whether you fight me or not, you're still going to die when I destroy the planet."
Vegeta's eye gave a little twitch.
"Ahh, so its survival you're worried about isn't it. Well, I'm a forgiving person..how about you come over here and beg for mercy just like that fool just did. Maybe then I'll spare you."
Silence again
"Fine then!" Cell began to lose his cool, "If that's how you want it, I'll give you 24 hours before I destroy the earth. That should be plenty of time for you to run away, you pathetic coward." Cell was seething, 'Vegeta should be scared out of his mind right now, but it looks like he doesn't even care!' "Just remember, if you manage to get off this mud ball of a planet remember you were a coward. That you watched your friends die in battle while you did nothing but watch. That you were afraid." And with that, Cell began to rise; still waiting for a response from the remaining warrior.
Despite Vegeta's silence, he was indeed smiling on the inside. 'I can't believe that android fell for it! 24 hours is more than enough to gather the dragonballs and receive immortality. And thanks to the little Namek, I can have a second wish for whatever I else I want.' Knowing that Cell was still watching him, he decided to carry on with his ploy a little more.
"Oh and one more thing, incase you thought I forgot, there's a rule to this time I'm giving you to run away. Should I see the sky go dark, its bye bye for the Earth.
Vegeta was silenced.
Coming soon: Contingency Plan
As he left the main building, Vegeta spotted Bulma's jet copter landing. As the people filed out, they realized how badly all their friends had turned out. In fact, the only living person they saw that remained was Vegeta.
Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it. Oh yah…don't forget to review either. =)