Cell walked toward Gohan, a smile on his lips."You say that you can defeat me, and yet you do not wish to fight?"
"Yes," Gohan said calmly, wiping the blood off his cheek.
"Why walk out here then? Why risk your life by challenging me?" the Bug-Creature pressed.
"I wished to offer you one last chance," Gohan said. "A good warrior knows when to offer his opponent a chance to yield."
Despite his calm appearance on the outside, Gohan was still afraid. This creature had killed thousands of people as a demonstration of his perfection and knew instinctively that even with the mastery of the Super Saiyan form and his dad's training, he would be hard pressed to stand up directly to this monster. He would have to fight smartly, using his opponents weaknesses against him.
No... Gohan thought, I do not want to fight. Fighting accomplished nothing but sorrow and anguish. After the year spent in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber learning to control his own emotions and gain mastery over his body, it just seemed... wrong. He couldn't. Not now... He was worried that all that work would come to naught if he took up the mantle of a warrior again.
Gohan wasn't as confident as he seemed. Inside, underneath the void of calm that he had placed around himself, his feelings flickered back and forth between fear and anger. Just because he could control his emotions didn't mean that they didn't influence him. He wouldn't stand a chance against Cell, his inner fear told him. Cell was ruthless, while Gohan had a conscience. But, his inner courage and his moral compass told him something else: He couldn't kill anyone, not even this... this... thing. But he could fight hard if he really had to.
"Perhaps... you need, some encouragement," Cell said chillingly.
Cell's wings flared, and Gohan heard a popping noise. A copy of Cell walked out from behind its parent, grinning evilly and chuckling like an insane little kid. It looked exactly like Cell, but had a blue shell instead of a green one. The popping sound came an additional five more times, and each time, a new...Cell Junior...joined the ranks. Within no time at all, Cell and six miniature copies were staring Gohan down.
The original Cell grinned. "Minions, this is Gohan. Gohan, meet my minions."
"Hello," The first Minion said, "Wanna play?"
"No, he does not," Cell said. He then pointed towards Goku, Vegeta and the other fighters, "But they however, do. Go ahead, boys, have some fun with them, but be sure that you keep them alive. We want them to scream quite a bit to give Gohan some 'positive' peer pressure."
"No, Cell! Don't do it!" Gohan said, realizing what he meant.
"Oh, But I will," Cell responded.
Grinning, the evil Minions blurred out of sight and began to gruesomely beat the snot out of Gohan's friends and family. He watched in horror as his dad, still tired after his bout with Cell, struggled to defend himself to no avail.
"Cell please! You don't have to do this," Gohan cried out, sinking to the ground in horror.
"Apparently, I do," Cell said coldly, "I will not let your passivism turn me from my amusements. And if I have to squash a few worthless insects in order to inspire a proper fighting spirit in you, then so much the better!"
Cell was trying to provoke him, he had to maintain his control... But it was so hard...
"GOHAN!" His dad screamed, as the Miniature Cells began their torturous onslaught.
But Gohan's brain was frozen in horror at the whole situation.
Mr. Satan watched as the young boy with white blonde hair tried in vain to reason with Cell. Then he saw cell make clones of himself, and he nearly fell over in surprise.
It is... all just a clever ruse! He thought, not really convincing himself.
"Mr. Satan," a voice said from somewhere nearby.
Curious, Hercule crawled over to where he heard the voice coming from. Glancing down, he saw the head of the guy who had tried to go Kamikaze on Cell. A few wires sprouted from the machines head, so it was obviously not human.
"What-do-ya want?" He asked it, a little hesitantly.
"Take me back..." the head said,"I have one last mission to accomplish. See to it that I get next to Gohan."
"The boy? The one with blonde hair?" Mr. Satan said, doubtfully. He wasn't sure if he could trust this thing.
"Y-Yes." it responded, "G-g-grant this malfunctioning machine its l-l-last request."
Wordlessly, Mr. Satan picked up the head. He was already insane enough for staying here, so moving a talking robot head wouldn't add much to his ran until he got within 40 feet or so from where Cell was standing, then chucked the Android's head as hard as he could.
He wasn't sure, but he thought he heard the machine say "T-t-thank You," as it flew through the air.
Gohan heard a thump beside him, which brought him out of the panic-induced trance that had occasionally plagued him since his training with Piccolo. He looked down, and saw the head of Android 16.
"G-G-Gohan," The android said,"Listen t-to me."
"I'm listening 16," Gohan said, striving to focus on the android. If he could block out the sounds of his friends, then maybe he could keep his head clear to see a perfect chance to catch the bug by surprize.
When he saw that the Head of Android 16 was next to Gohan, Cell's curiosity was the android convince Gohan to fight? He waved a hand at his minions, motioning them to stop.
He didn't need to worry about Goku and his friends, as they were too badly injured to move now. Besides, While Gohan was in his trance, he had quickly stolen the Sensu Beans, moving so fast that no one but the Cell Juniors could've possibly seen him.
"T-th-the world is a B-beautiful place, filled with beautiful t-t-things, all of which a-a-are worth protecting," Android 16 said.
"You are a gentle being, and I know that you do not wish to harm others. I know this, because I too have l-l-learned these feelings, and how to cherish life. You may have the fire of the Saiyan blood burning within you, and your race's inherent desire for combat may at times be overpowering, but you have developed self-control, and embraced your human side. Gohan, there are times where it is necessary to take those barriers down, and now is one of those times. Never the less, don't lose sight of who you really are. Stay in control. Use your feelings, but don't let them control you."
"Oh great, another heroic speech," Cell said sarcastically. "I hope it knocks some sense into that boy. Please do go on, its not like we have anything else to do right now..."
What was left of the Android ignored Cell.
Despite the fact that he was keeping his eyes on Cell,Gohan listened intently to what the Android's remains was saying. The Android's words seemed to pierce his very soul...
"Gohan," the head continued, "there are times where great evil enters the world, threatening to tear it apart in blood and these times, men and women with honorable hearts, some gentile and peaceloving, others with the fires of courage burning in their minds, must stand up for what is right and be willing to lay down their very lives for justice and freedom. Now is one of those times. It is not a sin to fight for the right cause; It is not evil to fight in defense of your friends,family, and loved is an honor, and it is also a duty."
"Please, get to the point!" Cell quipped, walking forward menacingly.
The young Half-Saiyan met the eyes of Android 16.
"Gohan, you have said that if he chooses to fight you, then you will destroy Cell, even though you have no true desire to fight. Yet," The android said with a penetrating voice, "I sense a hesitation within you, a fear of losing control of yourself. He has chosen to fight you, and yet you cling to trying to persuade him to walk away. Don't let fear drive you. You say that you have control over your emotions, but yet the desires of your heart spring from them. Your inborn desire to fight can only turn into bloodlust if you let it. Don't let your desire to not cause pain conflict with your nature. You need to be able to draw upon your desires for the right situation, and now is n-n-not the time to be passive. You must be willing to back up your words with are people in this world whom words alone will never sway; Cell is one of them."
"Do what must be done... Do not hold back Gohan," Android 16 said.
His eyes bespoke trust and care, as he sadly he finished his speech: "Fight for this world with all your might. I cannot do so any longer."
Cell walked over Android 16's head, destroying the machine in a flurry of sparks and wires.
"Long-winded piece of junk," Cell said, smirking.
This monster just killed a helpless being! Gohan thought. Android 16... Just sacrificed himself... to tell me something important. His rage was building... He couldn't keep it under control...
"It seems as though the android failed to inspire you," Cell said, his cold eyes locked into a gaze of hatred on Gohan. "Pity. I was hoping to give your father the chance to see me kill you, but unfortunately, that isn't going to happen..."
He motioned to the Cell Juniors to continue their torture.
"Kill them all," Cell said flatly,"Slowly."
TO BE CONTINUED...