Chapter 3: Spell Games

'Are you sure, Goten?' Trunks asked sceptically as he pulled off his helmet and held it under his arm. His hair was plastered to his head in the shape of the helmet. 'The light does play off these visors.'

Goten nodded his head frantically. 'No really, I saw it, I swear!'

Trunks seemed suddenly aware of his surroundings, a steely look in his eyes. 'Hold on. I sensed something! You guys wait here.' He pushed the helmet back on his head with a grimace and shot up into the sky, blasting off into the distance.

Cerberos nodded, the ruby glistening on his forehead in the late morning light. 'I'll have a look, too.' He beat his heavy pearlescent wings and soared away.

Goten bent his knees ready to fly in pursuit when Draco pulled his arm roughly, making Goten fall onto his backside.

'What was that for?!' Goten exclaimed as he jumped back onto his feet.

Draco shook his head, still gripping Goten's arm tightly, his wand in the other hand pointed towards the ground. 'I'll be damned if all of you go off and leave me by myself in this—this ghost town—with some who-knows-what lurking about the place.'

Goten was tempted to fly off with Draco dangling perilously from his arm, but he resisted the urge begrudgingly. Instead, he stared wryly at Draco. 'Really? I thought you'd much prefer to be on your own.'

Draco stiffened and released Goten. 'True. But If I go down, you're going down with me. Can't leave anything to chance.'

'What does that even mean?' Goten asked, exasperation in his tone.

'Meiling,' Draco replied, tapping the tip of his wand on his other gloved hand.

Goten's mouth fell open as he uttered, 'But you two aren't together!'

Draco sneered. 'Doesn't matter. If I can't have her, neither can you.'

Goten shook his head incredulously. 'You can't be serious. Are you really talking about something like this now? A whole town just got eradicated—hello?'

Draco was about to respond rudely when they heard the crunch of gravel under boots. The two boys whipped around to see Trunks arrive with Sakura, Chibi Moon and Meiling. Goten blinked. Trunks had changed his clothes for some reason, now donning loose trousers tucked into boots and a shirt covered by a detailed breastplate. 'Hey Trunks, did you get changed?' He squinted his eyes. 'Is that Saiyajin armour?'

Trunks stared at Goten in confusion. 'I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've met.'

Goten snorted. 'Very funny, Trunks, ha-ha…' He took off his own helmet and shook out his unruly black hair. 'I get it, everyone can't pull off the "sentai look" like you can.' He stared more closely. 'Was your hair that long before?'

Trunks peered back at Goten. 'You look a lot like Son Goku. Are you related?'

Goten laughed nervously. 'Come on, Trunks! I'm only, like, his son!'

Trunks looked shocked; this unnerved Goten.

Sakura stepped between them, waving her hands apologetically. 'It's a long story, but he's not really Trunks. I mean he is, but he's from the future.'

Goten and Draco gawped at Sakura and muttered, 'What?'

They felt a rush of wind over their heads and watched, dumbfounded as another Trunks, fully dressed in his shining blue suit, plummeted down and landed on his boots, standing upright. 'Hey,' he said, waving at Goten. 'I couldn't see where they've…' He turned silently and stared for a long while at the other Trunks. He slowly pulled off his helmet and continued to stare, eyes wide like dinner plates.

'No way…' he breathed.

The creature shot past Yue's arrow and reeled towards them. Harry watched as though the thing moved in slow motion. He took in the mottled face which had the texture of peat moss, the thin pupils on reddish bulbous eyes and the bumpy skin of its lips. Harry thought that it was an abomination, a mix of reptile and insect. But he also thought that something about it resembled a human. The very idea that this creature could be human and might have destroyed thousands of lives, made his blood run cold. The creature seemed to read his thoughts as it met his eyes. The creature sneered and veered past Harry and Ron with eerie, rattling breaths, stopping to hulk over Syaoran's unconscious green-suited form. Its back hunched.

Harry watched with sick fascination as the creature's barbed tail rose like a charmed cobra over its shoulder. Too fast to see, the tail struck down into the earth, barely missing Syaoran's ear. The tail rose again, poised to strike true. Panicking, Harry and Ron attacked the creature's back with offensive spells. However, as though it wore a protective cloak, the magic repelled off of its membranous wings.

'MOVE ASIDE!' Yue yelled.

Harry and Ron leapt away just as Yue released a shimmering arrow. The light stung Harry's eyes, but he felt a rush of relief as the arrow sliced through the creature's tail. Harry could see that the tail did not contain vertebrae as the cut exposed oozing green flesh. The top half of the tail still hung by a sliver of skin, and the barbed end dripped with a viscous purple fluid. The creature released a gurgling snarl and whirled away from Syaoran, raising its deformed limbs to beat its chest at Yue. Yue pulled back his bow arm, ready to strike again. Suddenly the creature froze like a statue, ignoring the sickly oozing of its tail; the secretions scolded the ground, confirming to Harry that it was acidic.

The creature then smirked past them and raised its wings, breathing deeply through its slit nostrils.

'Yes…' the creature rasped, sending shivers through to Harry's core, 'the energy over there is…greater…'

The creature shot into the air and off into the distance like a bullet. They watched after it in horror; the thing could speak.

Yue glided down to meet them, his arms folded. 'We must pursue it, before it gets to the others.'

Ron nodded frantically. 'But Syaoran…'

Yue glanced down at Syaoran and back to Ron. 'I will contact Cerberos, and pursue the creature myself.' Before they could protest he had flown off.

Harry looked at Ron as he roughly pulled off his helmet and tucked it under his armpit. Harry noticed that his best friend's forehead and cheeks had become ruddy and damp with perspiration. Ron knew everything there was about the Wizarding World, yet, even with all the oddities that existed in their world, it paled in comparison to this creature.

Ron shakily ran a hand over his face. He let out a deep sigh, but his breath was uneven. 'So he's going after it alone? Blimey. He's barking mad, isn't he?'

'Did you see what he did to that thing? He doesn't need us,' Harry muttered. He exhaled deeply before marching limply forward and crouching alongside Syaoran who still remained on the ground. He slowly lifted the brunette boy into his lap. Harry had been scared out of his mind too, but now wasn't the time to dwell on it.

'Syaoran's really hurt.' Harry turned the boy's head gently to one side and saw a dark patch of blood. He felt a rush of panic.

What if he was…

Syaoran's chest rose as he started to cough. Harry lifted Syaoran carefully into a sitting position, allowing him to clear his airways.

Ron slipped his wand under his belt and then squatted down. He patted Syaoran's cheek lightly. 'Hey, mate, are you with us?'

Syaoran groaned as he gingerly touched the back of his head. He stared at the blood on his fingers and grimaced. 'And that's why you keep your helmet on at all times, children.'

Ron smiled weakly, suddenly conscious of his exposed head. 'Tomoyo's a bloody fortune teller,' he muttered, hastily thrusting his own orange helmet back on. 'Good thing these things are water-proof. I damn near wet myself.'

'Where'd it go?' Syaoran asked, looking panicked as his eyes searched for the thing.

'It flew off, and Yue chased after it,' Harry explained as he and Ron helped Syaoran to his feet.

'It said something about greater energy being somewhere else,' Ron said.

It suddenly registered in Harry's mind. The creature had been intent on attacking Syaoran, because out of the four of them, he had the strongest magic. But who of them was stronger than Syaoran?

'Sakura!' Syaoran cried. His gaze became vacant as he swayed, succumbing to an onset of dizziness. He squinted his eyes to right himself and glared at Harry and Ron determinedly. 'We have to get to them, now!'

They walked in a group as Future Trunks continued his story.

'And so you see, when I went back in time to fight the androids, that thing got released into that timeline.' He sighed as he folded his arms. 'I fought it there and was prepared to go back to my time. But it seems to me that there's another one that got released. Time travel is tricky. It can open up parallel or alternate universes and change things in unexpected…'

In spite of their caution, the group were transfixed by Future Trunks' story and demeanour.

Sailor Chibi Moon took particular interest in his description of time travel, feeling that it related to her own experience, in a way. However, the mechanics of time travel without magic seemed too time-consuming and costly. How much easier would his travel have been had he one of Sailor Pluto's Time Keys, which she had used in her years ago.

Chibi Moon glanced over at their Trunks, who seemed to be daydreaming as he muttered to Goten, 'You know… I always wondered what I'd look like with longer hair. Like, if I just let it grow.'

She frowned slightly at him; in this time of crisis, he was still annoying and vain.

Goten sighed, 'Trunks, are you even listening to him?'

Trunks nodded, smiling blissfully. 'Yeah, of course! Who could ever stop listening to me?'

Goten met Chibi Moon's eyes and grinned knowingly at her. Chibi Moon blushed and hastily looked away. What had that look meant?

Suddenly, Future Trunks stopped, his eyes narrowed as he stared away from them. Chibi Moon knew that look; he had sensed something. Swiftly he raised his arm and unsheathed a long sword from his back. The edge of the blade rang metallically as it was released from its holster. Everyone seemed to stare in admiration. The other Trunks made a 'whooping' sound from behind. 'Whoa! Did I always look so cool?'

Chibi Moon quirked her eyebrows. Future Trunks had looked pretty cool.

'Hey, maybe you should get yours out too,' Goten supplied.

Trunks nodded. 'Oh, right.' Screwing his mouth in concentration, he pulled out his own sword in a similar fashion to Future Trunks. He whispered to Goten, 'I bet I look cool when I'm fighting, too.'

Goten rolled his eyes before returning his helmet to his head. Chibi Moon suppressed a giggle; his childish antics were amusing.

Future Trunks turned to the others. 'It is heading towards us now. Let's be ready to meet it.'

The others secured their helmets and held out their wands and weapons. Meiling got into a ready stance, fists up, as Diana stood rigidly on all fours at Chibi Moon's side.

The earth rumbled beneath them, throwing several off-balance. They heard a blast and an animalistic roar. In the air they saw a reptilian creature pivot out of the way of one of Cerberos' fireballs. They could feel the heat of the fire below and watched in shock as the creature rushed Cerberos and lifted its shredded tail. The pointed tail end expanded into a large funnel and seemed to vacuum the air around it. Cerberos beat his wings desperately to move away, roaring in determination. He was suddenly sucked up into the funnel, whose tail end immediately shrunk back into a point. The creature emitted a disgusting 'swallow' sound and hovered in mid-air. Aglow, its body started to vibrate and then distort, as though the bones beneath its skin rearranged themselves. When the creature turned to peer down at them, it resembled a hulking man with human facial features and body, clad in green armour with wings. Even his tail had retracted into the smalls of his back. The creature laughed a deep masculine laugh.

'What is that?!' Meiling cried in fright.

The creature glanced down at her and folded its well-muscled arms. 'I name myself in this new form. I am Cell.'

'Kero…' Sakura murmured, gazing fearfully around the space where her lion guardian had been moments before. This was the creature. Cell. Just like everyone else in the town his entire being had been swallowed up. Cell had done to the others what he had just done to him. It was a such a gruesome sight! No one deserved this! Kero didn't deserve this! She clenched her teeth and screamed, 'KERO!' She growled and as though reflecting the burning mixture of rage, despair and anguish she was feeling within, she summoned the Firey card spirit. A tunnel of flames lapsed over Cell. Cell swiftly emerged from the flames and opened his mouth. He countered Firey's attack with fire breath. Sakura screamed as she fell back.

'He obtains the powers of those he absorbs!' Future Trunks yelled. 'Sakura, fall back!'

Ignoring his future counterpart, Trunks hurdled towards Cell with his sword out, ready to attack. But as though predicting his movements, Cell tilted out of the way and returned a strike of his own, knocking the sword out of Trunks' hands. Cell followed up with a second strike. Trunks caught Cell's fist, just short of getting hit. Cell smirked. He pulled him inwards by that same fist, and then bashed his head into Trunks' forehead. Yowling, Trunks faltered as he clutched his head.

Goten hastened to Trunks' side, but Cell was ready and he was met with a solid kick to the pit of his stomach.

'GAAHH!' Goten wheezed, bowling over.

Recovering quickly (aided by the helmet) Trunks watched frantically as Cell geared up to strike Goten again.

'Goten! Watch out!' Trunks hollered. But in that precise moment, Cell drove his foot under Goten's jaw, forcing his head back. Cell quickly conjured a ball of energy in his open palm.

Trunks threw his own blast, and the two energies clashed, with Cell's own beam driving Trunks' back…

Meiling eagerly came to their defence, white and red boots clattering as she sent out her own ki blast at Cell's back. Cell glanced sidelong at the girl, looking amused.

'What's this?' he chuckled.

'Meiling! No!' someone shouted, recognizing she was no match.

Alert, Goten jerked sharply, pre-emptively hurling a white flare at Cell. Cell simply whacked it out of the way like a child's dodge ball. The hollers and screams of the other fighters were heard as their group split into two, diving and scrambling to evade being hit by the redirected blast. A gaping, smouldering crater was left in its wake.

Goten and Trunks back-flipped, retreating several metres away from the monster. They stared uneasily at Cell and then traded weary glances.

'Damn it—he's fast. Really fast,' Goten mumbled breathlessly.

'Yeah? What the hell were you doing?' Trunks panted, noticing they were not at all in sync. 'It was like you're completely out of it!'

Goten shot Trunks a dirty look he couldn't see through his helmet before muttering, 'I haven't been training like you, remember?'

Cell let out a guttural laugh. His lips drew into a sneer, one word uttered with utmost confidence: 'Inferior.'

Trunks growled. 'Time to do it—Super.'

Nodding affirmatively, Trunks and Goten brought their hands to their sides and their sentai suited bodies exploded with a blazing golden halo.

They surged towards Cell, avoiding one of his many Cerberos-style fireballs. Two against one, they exchanged kicks and blocks in rapid succession, their bodies a blur of blue and yellow against Cell's mottled green. Just as Trunks directed a punch to Cell's face and Goten a kick to Cell's back, he vanished. Seeming to gather a sudden quickness, Cell continued in this fashion, disappearing just as they went to strike.

The boys wearily leapt back once more. 'Shit! What is with this guy?' Trunks groused.

Sakura turned frantically to Future Trunks, her pink staff gripped tightly in her hands. 'Trunks! Can't you do something to help them?'

Future Trunks' sword drooped in his hand, his gaze despairing. 'I've been studying his movements. This version of Perfect Cell is more powerful and skilful than the one I've faced. Also, perhaps doesn't help to mention that Cell killed me in this form.'

'What?' Chibi Moon squeaked, taken aback by his last line.

Meiling turned abruptly, worry in her tone, 'Wait, does that mean even you can't—'

Just then, the sound of heavy breathing and feet pounding against the ground was heard from afar. The teens were attentive, eyes squinted as three, black, orange and green bodies came into view.

'It's the others!' Diana cried, facing them.

'Syaoran!' Meiling hollered, turning swiftly from Future Trunks. She and Sakura scampered over to them, noticing with unease that Harry and Ron were supporting a wobbly Syaoran.

'Syaoran's hurt,' Harry mumbled, helping Syaoran to the ground.

'I'm fine,' Syaoran grumbled defiantly from behind his green helmet. 'I just need a break, is all.'

Future Trunks looked confused as he regarded them in their distinctive, body-hugging suits. 'Uh, just how many of you are there?'

Ron peered at Future Trunks. Though Ron's face was hidden, his body language expressed confusion and distrust. 'Were you always this tall?'

Notably, their Trunks was at least 5 inches shorter than Ron, unlike this one who was as tall as Harry who was 3 inches shorter than Ron. But Ron's question went unanswered as Harry nudged him roughly in the shoulder, directing his attention to the ongoing clash between Cell and the blue and yellow clad fighters.

Ron swore loudly at the sight of them. 'I guess it got here first.'

'Wait—if Trunks is here, then who's—' Harry rounded on Future Trunks.

'Hold on!' Syaoran shouted from his spot on the ground, his voice husky with shallow breathing. 'Has anyone seen Yue?'

Sakura looked suddenly frantic as she gaped around at the three. That's right. Yue wasn't among them. She felt a horrible, sinking feeling.

'What? Wasn't he with you?' Chibi Moon asked, looking as bewildered as Sakura.

'He went ahead to find you. He was going to warn you about…OH SH—' Ron was taken off-guard by yet another blast thrown their way. The residual gust knocked them backwards, cutting them off their feet once more and sending Diana careening like tumbleweed.

The effect of the impact was lessened by the durability of the sentai suits, but Sakura still felt a bout of vertigo as she and the others hoisted themselves up. She strained to see with horror as Cell extended one arm, drawing the other back. A glowing bow and arrow formed in his hands as he shot one in their direction. Harry, Ron and the formerly dumbstruck Draco bounded forward, throwing up their wands to form deflective barriers. Most of the shining arrow energy flitted off into nothingness, but some of its sparks still managed to break through, striking Ron, Syaoran and Meiling with minimal damage.

'No way! It penetrated it,' Harry gasped.

Sakura gaped in silence. That was Yue's attack. She could sense a hint of Yue's aura in that solid beam of energy, and in Cell's control it was even more powerful. Then she stared back at Cell and realised those eyes...were Yue's eyes.

Sakura's staff became limp in her gloved hand.

Cerberos. Yue.

Both had been absorbed by this horrible creature, along with the entire town. She felt something of a fever overcome her. She shut her eyes and collapsed.

Five minutes passed and in that short time Syaoran remained out of commission, drifting in and out of consciousness, while Sakura who had at last recovered from her own fainting spell, carefully removed his helmet and used charms to stop the bleeding. Meiling remained at their side while Chibi Moon, Harry, Ron and Draco looked on helplessly. Future Trunks stood before them.

'We're finished,' Draco moaned, fiddling edgily with his wand.

'Especially with dead-weight like you lingering about,' Harry grumbled.

Chibi Moon glanced tensely at Future Trunks.

'You are going to fight, aren't you?' she asked.

He glanced at her contemplatively. He suddenly looked away. Chibi Moon blinked. Was that a blush she had seen on his face? Unthinkingly, she felt a tinge of warmth form on her own. Returning his sword to his holster, a stoic Future Trunks started determinedly towards Cell. At last he was going to join in, perhaps realising too that his sword was worthless against such an incredible enemy.

Suddenly, there came the familiar popping sound of a winding vortex.

The fighters turned their heads brusquely, gazing with hope, eyes shining with determination. It must have been their hero—their ally from the other world. The Phoenix Fighters had described to Goten the odd occurrence, as allies were pulled from different times and worlds to provide assistance to them – but often, the heroes offered varying degrees of helpfulness. Feeling so dismayed, terrorized and defeated, never before had they so looked forward to this mystery person from beyond the stars. Who could it be, Goten thought. Perhaps Vegeta? Better yet—Son Goku himself! At last—they would be saved!

A shadowy figure marched valiantly forward, and dust and smoke gradually cleared around them. He came into view. His cape swayed in the wind as his head stood upright and stared boldly ahead. He struck a saluted hand to the sky and smiled with the spirit of a glorious crusader. The Phoenix Fighters looked on with intrigue and uncertainty. Goten's and Trunks' jaws plummeted to the ground.

'BEHOLD! I AM…' The hero crossed his arms over his face, twirled, and then brought his hands to his hips, '…THE GREAT SAIYAMAN! '

Goten leaned over to Trunks in exasperation. 'Oh my gosh…was he always this embarrassing?'

Trunks sighed, folding his arms. 'I tried to tell you, Goten.'

This was the incredibly nerdy, teenage version of Goten's older brother, Gohan, in disguise. At seven years old the "Great Saiyaman" was cool to Goten, although Trunks had always begged to differ.

The Great Saiyaman continued his speech. '…Righter of Wrongs, Champion of Justice...'

Diana glanced at Chibi Moon. 'You know this seems vaguely familiar. Almost nostalgic.'

Chibi Moon nodded as their thoughts harkened back to a masked, top-hatted crusader with an affinity for roses.

'...Protector of Peace, Defender of Innocents, Lover of—'

'We get the point, you know!' shouted Ron.

The Great Saiyaman looked slightly taken aback by Ron's outburst. 'Well. That was rude. I wasn't finished. Now where was I? Oh, Yes…' He adjusted the black tinted lenses on his nose bridge, allowing it to reflect the light. 'I will show you, evildoer! Prepare to be eliminated!'

Saiyaman ended his line with a single pointed finger, sweeping it across the air until it landed on the tall, green villain.

Cell snorted with laughter. 'What's this? Another victim?'

Saiyaman's eyes weren't visible, but his dark eyebrows shot up and his body became rigid as though belted by an electric jolt. He yelped a strident "YEEEE!" and recoiled behind his cape.

'Oh no—Cell? Nope, no way—I can't do that again,' he stammered, his sunglasses sinking down his nose revealing his eyes.

'Gohan, what the hell?' the fully masked Goten shouted out, clearly incensed.

Saiyaman flinched, eyes shifting uncomfortably. He adjusted his shades, brought a hand to his mouth, coughing into it as though clearing something from his throat and responding in a deep voice that was clearly put on.

'H-Hey! I'm not Gohan. I am the Great Saiyaman.'

Overhearing this, Future Trunks glared. 'Wait? You're Gohan? The Gohan I know wouldn't be such a coward!'

Saiyaman sighed. 'Ah, yeah, but…this costume is rather costly. And my anxiety with this guy is—'

'BLOODY IDIOT!' Harry seethed, rather uncharacteristically. 'What are you doing here then if you won't fight it?'

Cell frowned. 'It's rather impolite to continue addressing me as an "it".'

Trunks groaned angrily. Of all the versions of Gohan the universe could have sent…it had to be this version. He glimpsed wearily at Goten. 'Well, we might be no match for it. But Gotenks could take Cell down easily.'

Goten sighed. 'It's been a while, huh?'

'We have no choice, buddy.'

'Alright…for you, buddy.'

'FU… SION-'

They stood beside each other and mirrored each other's moves, a dance of precise steps and strong arm movements.

'—HA!'

When their index fingers touched, there was a great explosion, smoke sent in all directions. When the smoke cleared a man appeared, an almost balanced fusion of both Trunks and Goten's features. But something was not quite right about his appearance, as though someone had tried jamming the wrong puzzle pieces together. The man stepped forward with a smirk but seemed to trip and collapsed onto his face.

Everyone waited for a tense moment for him to stand.

But he did not move.

'Blimey!' Ron gasped.

'So they combined to transform into someone weird and useless?' Harry griped, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat.

'You know what that is?' Ron said, as though something dawned on him. 'It's the curse of being fancied by Meiling.'

Fortunately Meiling was out of earshot. Draco wasn't on the other hand. He simply offered a snort in response.

There was a sudden shooting noise. Future Trunks stepped forward, now Super Saiyajin. The Fighters gasped audibility, amazed by the vast difference between this long-haired version and the other Trunks' Super Saiyajin form. Future Trunks looked like a god that walked the earth, his gold hair raised in peaks, like a great golden crown, on his head.

Cell sneered. 'Another one of these Super Saiyajins? But my, you do look vaguely familiar.'

Future Trunks snarled, 'I don't think we've met. But allow me to introduce myself — as your executioner.'

'Oh that's a good one! I should borrow that sometime,' Cell retorted.

'THERE WON'T BE ANOTHER TIME!' With a roar, Future Trunks charged, and both of them shot into the air like twin canons exploding, determinedly throwing attack after attack. However, it seemed as though Cell knew exactly what Future Trunks was going to do, every move quickly outdone by a calculated counter-strike.

'BURNING ATTACK!' Trunks hollered, a fiery blast spilling out from his outstretched hands.

Cell held out his arms in a similar manner, returning an identical attack. Future Trunks' cry resonated as he somersaulted in mid-air, catching himself seconds before crashing.

'Fool! Haven't you figured it out?' Cell boomed. 'In my realm I had attained the DNA and data of your parallel self, as well as all the others—including those, er...that...' He then directed a shrewd glance at Gotenks. By now, the hapless Gotenks was sitting quietly to himself, smirking as he dribbled and gaped at nothing.

Future Trunks was flabbergasted. 'You absorbed everyone? But how—?'

'I didn't even need to absorb them all. You see, a strange thing happened. In my dimension, an artificial human, Android X, was supposed to appear in this dimension instead of me. That android was specially created by Dr. Gero to collect data on the Phoenix Fighters. Incidentally, the unit was already powerful as it contained the data of all the Z Fighters, including the young Trunks and Goten. But of course—when I got wind of all the beautiful energy in store, I couldn't resist but absorb X and come here instead.'

Future Trunks frowned deeply, eyes wide as he stared madly with realisation, 'So that's why you knew all our movements. It makes sense now...'

The Phoenix Fighters listened on anxiously, exchanging mortified looks and whispers. They could tell from the look on Future Trunks' face that this news wasn't good news.

'Enough of this,' Cell said, his sinister, ice-blue eyes flashing. 'I'm growing painfully bored of our little back and forth. I suggest we make this a little more interesting.'

Draco's voice cracked as he rasped, 'W-What does he mean by that?'

Cell directed a look at Draco, smiling evilly. Draco flinched, stunned that Cell had heard him.

'Let's play a little game.'

Cell stepped leisurely forward, with every footstep his body made a creaking sound like an old machine with gears in need of oiling. He passed an eye over them all. 'I can so easily kill all of you at once. But individually would be much more fun.'

'No! No Tournaments or Cell Games!' Future Trunks shouted frantically. 'We're not fighting individually—I am fighting you—me and me alone.'

Cell sneered, 'You're in no position to decide anything, Trunks. However, a tournament wasn't what I had in mind. I couldn't help but notice how everyone else is just standing around so pitifully with nothing to do. We can't be selfish, Trunks, keeping all the fun to ourselves, can we?'

Ron's body was visibly trembling. 'This git's really got me on edge here, mate!'

Harry muttered through clenched teeth, his voice a muffled echo behind his helmet, 'Ron, calm down. Now is not the time to lose it.' More than ever, Hermione's absence was felt. She was skilled at keeping Ron calm. But Harry didn't mean it just for Ron, but also himself. He was deathly afraid; this villain was Voldemort on steroids.

Cell stroked his chin as though in thought. His eyes lit up and with a smile he announced, 'The game is…battle royale.'

Sakura's voice was strangled. 'A multi-person free-for-all … fight to the death?'

Cell grinned. 'The Card Mistress is correct. Except I will be everyone's contender!'

Future Trunks gasped. 'That can only mean—No!'

Cell let out a dreadful howl. The pointed end of what was once his tail expanded, and out from it excreted nine beings, all miniature and bright blue junior replicas of Cell. The Cell juniors emitted hearty, shrill laughs, chilling as their sound carried through the wind.

Meiling screamed. Sakura felt the tears swarm her eyes. She clutched Syaoran who's head was rested on her lap. After wrestling with her conscience, she patted him affectionately on the cheek, then used the Flower card to create a soft cushion for him to rest his head. Sighing despondently she got to her feet once more.

'This is bloody insanity…he just shat out more of himself!' Draco uttered, stepping back, wand pointed shakily towards the Cell juniors that peered over at the group wickedly.

'Malfoy's called it! Took the words straight out of my mouth!' Ron exclaimed.

Future Trunks spun around. 'Everyone be on guard! They might look like this but they're strong!'

The Phoenix Fighters did just that. Sakura summoned both the Power and Fight cards. The wizards aimed their wands. Chibiusa shakily held out her heart wand as Meiling threw up her hands to fight.

'What? How the hell are we supposed to—I mean—' Draco stepped back in terror, glimpsing tensely at the others.

Oddly enough, his eyes fell on Meiling. She glanced back at him and for a split second, though their eyes were faint behind their tinted visors, something passed between them.

'Why not use those Exploding Charms you love so much?' Meiling suggested, oddly casual but with some sense of urgency.

Draco's jaw slackened. He gave a weak nod, turning his head slowly to refocus on the Cell juniors. The other teens seemed to overhear, observing as Draco purposefully threw up his wand. He looked poised and ready as sunlight reflected blindingly against his silver suit.

The Cell juniors lunged out like a swarm of locusts, pairing off with each of the Phoenix Fighters and their allies, fighting with might. Meanwhile, Future Trunks continued in vain his lone battle with the original Cell.

'REDUCTO!'

Three voices rang out, one after another, as Draco, and then Ron and Harry in kind cast their curses from varying angles. They struck several of the Cells, managing to explode only one, but continuously stunning the others for brief moments at a time.

'SHOT!' cried Sakura, allowing her card's lightening-fast spirit to attack their juniors while she fought her own with Power and Fight.

'They're too fast!' Ron moaned, ducking just as one recovered and sailed towards him with a swinging kick.

'Bloody wish I had my broom,' Harry grumbled.

'They also seem able to regenerate!' said Meiling, whose own energy blasts between punches proved to be only slightly useful as a distraction.

At last, the Great Saiyaman had removed his glasses and headscarf and thrown off his cape. He joined in the battle as well.

'SAILOR CHIBI MOON!' Diana cried hysterically.

Chibi Moon screamed as she used the end of her staff to absorb several bullet-fast punches from a Cell junior. The hideous creature cackled gleefully as she continued to block its assaults. She screamed as she was flung back by a particularly strong punch, smacking hard onto her back. Muttering to herself that she should have kept on Tomoyo's costume, she opened her eyes to see about three Cell juniors advancing towards her. Chibi Moon gasped and cast a hot pink beam of magic from her wand, which slammed into the Cell Juniors with a strong force. However, not held off by pain, their slightly melted forms cackled mercilessly and they lunged at her.

She instinctively raised her wand to block their attacks, but was blinded temporarily by a blast of energy. When her vision cleared she saw that the three Cell juniors had been incinerated. She turned to gaze blearily in the distance. She saw the blue-suited Trunks and further to his side the yellow-suited Goten, as they were before they had fused together. They had returned to normal.

Trunks' hand came to his head in a salute. 'You can thank me for saving you again later.' He turned on the heel of his boots and joined in the fight against the remaining juniors. Chibi Moon took a moment to recollect her thoughts and returned to the fight with a sudden surge of determination.

Goten looked about, noticing Syaoran's unconscious body. 'Hey! What about that guy?'

Trunks hastily threw a glance over his shoulder. 'Oh…right.'

'I know!' Goten said brightly as he darted over. He reached into his utility belt and pulled out a single bean that he shoved into Syaoran's mouth. 'Here, eat this. Senzu. It'll heal you right up.' He then lifted Syaoran's helmet that lay beside him, and pulled it back onto his head. 'Oh and you'll need this.'

Miraculously, Syaoran's head raised. In no time, he was up and on his feet, his voice betraying a grin. 'Thanks, brother!'

Goten gave a thumbs up and a sharp nod before running off.

Now, Syaoran was in on the fray and he and Meiling were in hand-to-hand combat, two-to-one with one of now five Cell juniors.

'Syaoran!' Sakura exclaimed happily as she caught a glimpse of his green suit.

'No, no, no!' Cell snapped, angrily knocking Future Trunks out of the way as though he were a housefly. 'This isn't right! There can't be more of you now!'

'IT'S BATTLE ROYALE! FIGHT TO THE DEATH—YOURS! NOW YOUR LITTLE FRIENDS ARE DONE!' Syaoran declared as he pulled out his enchanted papers, talismans. 'RAITEI SHOURAI!' The lightning attack struck at three Cell juniors, stunning them as Trunks and Goten knocked them into submission. Meanwhile Gohan held off the remaining two.

Cell churned out another six Cell juniors. As the second wave issued forth, Meiling flew into the air and Syaoran unleashed a wind element spell to levitate away. By now, Sakura had summoned Fly and Dash as well, and was growing fatigued with so many cards in use at once.

Cell emitted another mocking laugh. 'Amusing. Now this is what I call "entertainment". Oh, Trunks? What were you saying about there being "no next time" or some execution or something?'

Wiping a smudge of blood from his face, Future Trunks brought his arms into fists. With veins and muscles bulging, he hollered in frustration. His aura surged but it didn't make a single difference. It was only a fit of rage.

Goten glanced at Trunks, between dodging a junior's attacks. 'Trunks! That guy is basically you! What's he thinking?'

'I don't know what he's thinking but I know what I'm thinking! Cell's only using us for his enjoyment.' Trunks frowned, hitting at his own Cell spawn opponents. 'It's hopeless! We can't win like this!'

Goten swore bitterly as the Cell junior directed a painful jab to his cheek. 'Ugh! Why is Gohan so useless? Didn't he defeat Cell back then?'

As though in response to Goten's frustrated query, they again heard the popping sound of a winding vortex, indicating that another hero was emerging. Dreading yet another, weaker manifestation of his brother, or his sister-in-law, Videl (also know as Saiyaman 2), Goten could only yell in excitement as Goku and Vegeta stepped out of the portal and onto the ground. Goku looked around curiously as Vegeta glared, his arms folded tightly to his chest.

The Phoenix Fighters only glanced briefly to regard the two unfamiliar men, but were otherwise occupied in battle.

Cell placed a hand on his hip and smirked. 'So, now the real fun begins.'

'Finally!' Goten cried, shaking Trunks' shoulder as he punched a Cell junior square in the face. The impish creature squawked and jumped back.

'Yes! Finally, it's my dad!' Trunks exclaimed in agreement, kicking another Cell junior away.

Future Trunks soared to the ground, no longer in Super Saiyajin form, and landed beside Trunks and Goten. 'Oh no,' he muttered, looking worried, 'it's Dad.'

Trunks stared at him confusedly. 'Why that attitude?'

Future Trunks turned to regard him, brow furrowed. 'Our dad is going to let Cell win.'

'No way!' Trunks said.

'This version of Vegeta may not be the father you know. You are familiar with his past, no?'

Trunks grimaced. 'Yeah, but…'

Future Trunks nodded grimly and jut his chin towards where Goku and Vegeta stood. Cell was walking towards them. 'Just watch.'

'Step out of the way, Kakarot,' Vegeta sneered at his companion, who blinked owlishly in response. Vegeta smirked as he matched Cell's stride until he stood staring into the face of the muscled, green creature. 'This one's mine.'

'You'd be wrong then,' Trunks snapped at Future Trunks

Vegeta and Cell looked like shooting stars as they collided rapidly, meeting one another with mirrored strikes in mid-air. Goku watched their movements with a trained eye, his face set in a frown.

'See, now that's my dad,' Trunks said, folding his arms smugly.

Cell spun like a top and landed on the ground, breathing heavily. 'No…he is too fast…'

Vegeta landed several feet before him, also struggling for breath. 'Are you ready to surrender, creature? You are clearly no match for me!'

Cell glared at Vegeta as he clutched his side. 'You…would be right…'

'Vegeta, he's bluffing!' Goku yelled, seeming to notice that Cell couldn't have been hurt so easily and must have been masking his true power.

Vegeta grinned wickedly and turned to regard Goku smugly. 'Shut up, Kakarot! You're obviously just jealous—'

Cell rushed forward and slammed his fist into Vegeta's diaphragm. Vegeta let out a choking sound and collapsed onto the ground, rasping as he struggled for air. Cell then followed up with a blast that rendered Vegeta immobile in a smouldering cavern of crumbling cement.

'DAD!' Trunks cried and tried to advance, but Goten held him back.

'DAD?!' Meiling, Draco and Chibi Moon gasped in unison.

'What did I say? He let him win,' Future Trunks muttered with a sigh.

Goku shook his head in annoyance and stepped forward. 'Alright, I guess it's my turn.'

'Woo! That's my dad!' Goten clapped his hands eagerly.

Cell raised a hand. 'Return my children,' Cell commanded, allowing the remaining Cell juniors to flit over to his side.

Not hesitating for a second longer, Goku launched a gigantic wave of ki, incinerating the last of the Cell juniors. He turned expectantly to Cell.

'You finished them all off at once?' Cell turned to narrow his eyes at Goku, who cracked his knuckles. 'You're more on my level than the others. At last…my amusement will be satiated…'

Goku and Cell accelerated into the sky and began an assault. Goku appeared to be more of a competent fighter than Vegeta, but they could not be sure from their position on the ground. They could, however, tell that where Vegeta had no issue with fighting close to the ground, Goku attempted to contain the battle in the air, away from the others. This was a consideration they observed from him rather than Vegeta.

Trunks rushed, sliding through gravel and uneven concrete to regard his passed out father. This Vegeta was definitely not the father he knew. His father was pompous, sure, but he wouldn't risk the lives of everyone here for a matter of pride. It made him ponder about how greatly one could change. But then he felt a pang of dismay; his father had been beaten so easily for the sake of pride.

Goten made perpetual loud gasping sounds as he watched his own father battle Cell in mid-air. At this rate, most of them were certain that Cell was close to being defeated.

'He can't destroy him yet,' Syaoran said as the group came together to watch Goku and Cell fight above them.

Sakura nodded solemnly. 'If he dies, we will lose Kero and Yue…and Yukito, forever,' she whispered, tears springing once more in her eyes. 'What would my brother do?'

'We need a new idea,' Future Trunks said. He looked around at them speculatively. 'I've seen the magic you all cast. Is there some sort of reverse spell?'

'You mean, like regurgitation?' Meiling asked. She looked thoughtful for a moment and shared a nod with Draco. She turned to the wizards of their group with a confident smile. 'Why not make Cell throw up?'

Harry and Ron raised their eyebrows as it dawned on them: they could use Vomitare Viridis. Turning to point their wands into the sky, it took several adjustments of their wands to follow Cell's rapid movement as they all cried, 'VOMITARE VIRIDIS!'

Cell was struck by a beam of green light and seemed to freeze in mid-air, like a fly stuck to flypaper. Goku delivered a powerful punch to the stomach, making Cell arch back in pain. They observed with a mixture of fascination and disgust as Cell's eyes bulged and his mouth widened, like a viper's extendible jaws. His stomach swelled and then shrunk as his mouth expelled Cerberos, and then Yue. Sakura's Guardians collapsed onto the ground, their wings tattered and their forms covered in a thick film.

Sakura cried out in relief and threw up her staff, calling on the Light card. The Light soared forth and coated Sakura's Guardians in healing warmth. They started to stir.

Goku landed beside the collapsed Vegeta and raised his arms. 'He's not easily weakened,' he said observantly, wiping sweat from his brow.

'Oh! I know!' Gohan exclaimed. 'Use the Spirit Bomb!'

Goku looked curiously at him then snapped his fingers. 'Oh yeah! That's an awesome idea!'

Goten shook his head silently, grateful for his tinted helmet that hid his embarrassment.

Trunks felt a gentle tingle disperse through his body, gentle caresses along his aura.

'Everyone, lend your energy to Goku,' Gohan exclaimed. He exchanged a furtive nod with Trunks, Future Trunks and Goten. He turned to Syaoran. 'You and the others distract Cell while Goku gathers energy.'

Syaoran nodded sharply and summoned lightning towards Cell, while Harry, Ron and Draco cast offensive spells. Meiling threw several ki blasts, and Chibi Moon shot a beam of pink light from her wand. Although Cell was still struggling with the recent expulsion of Cerberos and Yue, having degenerated into his previous reptilian state, he still seemed ready to fight, writhing and moving shakily around their attacks. There was also the added risk on their minds that he might try to absorb someone again.

Trunks, Future Trunks, Goten and Gohan pushed their energy towards the space between Goku's open palms. Just as Cell had recovered and was livid for revenge, Goku yelled and he released a great energy ball – like a blazing, shimmering sun - towards Cell. The creature known as Cell bellowed gutturally as he was engulfed by the raw energy, a cataclysm of light and fire, and was obliterated. The impact of the energy ball sent everyone off their feet and flying several metres back.

The games, it seemed, were finally over.