Wow. We're almost done here. I bet you're excited! Let's not delay!

Chapter Twenty-one

~ Gohan made sure to walk a slowly as he could, for he knew that it caused Cell to fill with terror- and that's exactly what he wanted. The heartless beast should be forced to endure the same cruel fate that he gave far too many innocents. Cell, just as expected, trembled in cowardice of the Saiyan. ~

~ "Stay away from me, you monster!" He blubbered nasally. He took a step back in fear, but did not realize his proximity to the chasm. The unstable edge broke beneath his foot, and the beast fell, but he managed to cling to the cliff with one hand. Gohan finally arrived, and placed his foot on top of the monster's scaly green hand. He decided to give the brute another chance to spare himself pain- if he agreed he would make his death as quick as possible. ~

~ "Give up… or fall." Gohan offered. Cell reached his other hand for the edge of the cliff, and Gohan took this as his reply. He removed his foot from the fiend's hand, and replaced it on his face. He put his weight on the foot, pushing Cell and causing him to fall off, down the seemingly bottomless chasm. This put so much terror into Cell that, initially, he forgot that he possessed the ability to fly, and continued to fall while giving a panic-filled scream. Gohan paused before he turned his back for a moment. Only a moment, though, then he sensed the presence of Cell behind him, and dealt the brute a knee to the stomach. The green being was sent hurtling away, and crashed into a nearby rock formation. Cell, with much difficulty, managed to stand himself up, only to see Gohan once again walking unhurriedly towards him. He stopped a few feet away, and debated whether or not he had knocked some sense into the beast. ~

~ "I'll get you for this, boy, I swear I will!" It pledged, though there was nothing that suggested that it was ready to fulfil this promise. Gohan settled that he should give the beast one last chance to save himself so much unnecessary pain. ~

~ "Cell, give up. You aren't going to beat me," he attested. ~

~ This time, the shout that came from the cliff was loud enough to be heard, and its message was clear. ~

~ "NOW GOHAN! END IT RIGHT NOW! THERE'S NO TIME TO WASTE- GET HIM, GOHAN!" Goku yelled at full volume, so that both Gohan and Cell were able to hear it. In response to the request, Gohan began to gradually walk the last few feet between him and the fear-stricken monster. He was going to finish him off alright- but he was going to drag it out for as long as possible. Cell saw the pitiless teal eyes staring hard at him, and knew what was in store for him. ~

~ He trembled in horror. ~

~ "No- stay back!" he warned, but Gohan did not stop. Cell was in full-blown panic- and as such, decided on a fatal course of action. He shouted at the top of his lungs. He appeared to be powering up, as the energy he was releasing sent clouds of dust flying at not only Gohan's face, but at the faces of the bystanders on the precipice. Gohan attentively stared as the grotesque green face began to bloat, some unseen force pulling and stretching his cheeks, then his forehead, and then his eyes. After his face was swelled to far beyond its comfort, his entire body began to inflate in a manner comparable to that of a balloon. Some inaudible things were said on the cliff, accompanied by another loud shout from Goku. ~

~ "RUN GOHAN!" ~

~ Instead of obeying, Gohan remained where he was, and looked at the still 'pumping up' Cell. ~

~ "Ha ha ha ha! Boy, this is the end for you! You thought that you could beat me, but you can't! Ha ha! I'm going to blow myself up now- and I'm going to take you with me! Say good-bye to your precious planet!" He threatened, finding the thought quite amusing as he kept laughing, despite the morbidity of the situation. ~

~ "No! Don't!" Gohan implored. Cell heard the distress in his voice, and began to laugh again. ~

~ "You lose, little man! I'm going to destroy this planet!" He chortled. Gohan growled in disgust, and slipped into his fighting stance before the humongous monster. ~

~ "No you won't!" He retorted, the energy still being discharged by Cell whipping his hair across his face. Cell, though, raised his hands in warning. ~

~ "Watch out! You might make me explode! You don't want to make me upset- one little shock might set me off! Then it's "bye-bye!" Gohan, "bye-bye!" Goku, and "so long!" Earth!" Cell cautioned. ~

~ Gohan realized that he was not lying- the energy that was escaping from Cell was so huge that the energy he was collecting must be monumental. Gohan growled between gritted teeth, clenching his fists hard as he attempted to come up with a plan. His mind raced, but failed to think of a way to stop Cell without setting off the bomb of energy. ~

~ "Ha ha ha ha… one minute, boy, and then it will all be over! Ha ha ha!" Cell announced, still finding the circumstances oddly hilarious. Many terror-filled exclamations came from the witnesses on the cliff, realizing that they were helpless to stop the disaster. The final seconds passed by far too quickly. ~

~ "Ah… forty more seconds left!" Cell declared. Gohan ultimately became conscious of the fact that he unable to defeat Cell now. He had the opportunity to finish him off, but decided instead to make him suffer. The entire planet was going to pay for his mistake. ~

~ 'Dad was right- I should have destroyed Cell when I had the chance! I let my powers go to my head!' He realized in his thoughts.

~ "I could have destroyed Cell! Now there's nothing I can do… I've failed," he finished aloud. He fell to his knees, and stared hopelessly at the ground, "What have I done…?!" ~

~ He grunted in frustration, pounding the earth with his fists so hard that the ground ruptured from the force. ~

~ "I've been a fool! I let Cell win again!" ~

~ The entire planet began to quake, and an unearthly red light began to emanate from it. Cell was still laughing maniacally as he saw this. ~

~ "Ten more seconds, and the Earth will be gone! I guess we'll call the game a draw." Cell gave another laugh, but was silenced as a heart-wrenching shout came from Krillin. This caught both Cell and the collapsed Gohan's attention, and even more startling was when Goku appeared between the two, his middle and index finger of his right hand placed on his forehead. He gave a devious-looking smile to Cell as he placed his left hand on the beast's protruding body. Cell gave a few panicked grunts in confusion of what was happening. Goku turned to his son and a more sincere smile shone across his bright face. ~

~ "Hey… you put up a good fight, Gohan. I'm proud of you." He spoke with a serene voice. Gohan stared in disbelief, not truly understanding what was happening. ~

~ "Wh-what? Daddy?" He managed to stammer out. ~

~ "Take care of your mother for me. She needs you," Goku continued. During those moments, all that existed was the Father and Son, "Tell her that I had to do this, Gohan." ~

~ It finally dawned onto the half-Saiyan as to what his father was doing, and he made a noise in distress, eyes wide in terror. Goku tilted his head down and smiled even larger. ~

~ "Good-bye, my son." ~

~ With that statement, the smile vanished from his face and he stared firmly at his fingers. Cell gave some more grunts of terror. ~

~ "No! Don't!" the beast begged pathetically. ~

~ Gohan immediately stood, and ran to where his father was standing. By the time that he got there, though, his father vanished completely and instead was met by a sudden, forceful and commanding blast of wind that forced him to shelter his eyes for a moment. ~

~ "NO! COME BACK!" He plead, the wind stealing his voice away. Krillin shouted as well, but to the same effect as the bustling air carried the cry away before it reached its destination. Everyone was focused on the two energy levels- one filled with malice and hatred, the other benevolent and pure. Gohan clung to this signal, holding it as close to himself as possible. He embraced it, but felt its welcoming comfort slipping away. He pressed it closer, closer, until he could even feel the hero's warm breath exhaled, and his father's heartbeat against his own, in harmony and unison with one another. Then, like the wind did with his voice, he felt the energy signal snatched away from him, the vigorous heartbeat silenced, and the protective warmth extinguished like a flame. ~

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~ Forever. ~

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~ Gohan fell to his knees again. He involuntarily let his mouth agape, and a few heart-broken stutters escaped from his mouth. He stared at the spot where his father once stood, just a few moments before. Only a few seconds ago, he was there: living, breathing; close enough to touch, hold, embrace. His body began to tremble as he felt searing tears prickle his trembling skin. His body felt numb, weak, faint, and he had no resolution left to stop the tears from streaming from his eyes, rolling down his cheek, and falling to the cold, hard, cruel, inclement ground. ~

~ "DADDY!" He cried with the last of his strength. His call echoed across the barren, empty, desolate, void, abandoned wasteland.

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~ No response came. ~

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I guess this was a little pointless, maybe... but extremely amazing to write! For me, at least. Just grin and bear it, otherwise. This is the final part of this little flashback/dream/whatever you'd like to call it. Anticipate the next segment greatly!

Did any of you catch the foreshadowing I put to this chapter in the earlier ones? *Hint* It was during the little episode with King Yemma and Goku in Otherworld. I'd love to hear from you guys on whether or not you did. I am trying hard to put these literature-enhancing devices in my works, but it is up to you to decide whether or not I have succeeded. But above all, enjoy the works!

Until next time, Warriors!!!!