Their gang watches worriedly as Vegeta decides it's his turn to have a round with Cell. They both stand facing each other, looking smug.
"You can't let the energy you detect from Cell fool you." Krillin warns his two friends. "It's all just a front. His real power is a whole lot bigger. He's hiding it, like you." Krillin states, looking at Trunks who in turn looks back at him surprised. "You mean you know?" he asks in wonder, to which Krillin nods.
"You've been holding back haven't you?" Julliet asks Trunks. "Because you don't want to hurt your dad's ego." she continues, to which he looks back at Vegeta guiltily. "You're stronger than him." she finishes in realization.
They all turn back to Cell and Vegeta for a moment as Vegeta springs into action first. Cell easily defends as Vegeta test the waters so to speak before jumping back. "Well, it's nice to you you've become a little stronger. Maybe this time, I will actually break a sweat."
Cell smirks before Vegeta jumps in again, sending a barrage of attacks towards him. Cell looks to be unimpressed and though Vegeta tries not to let it show, it vexes him greatly.
"Trunks. Sometimes you care to much about what your dad thinks of you." Julliet tells him, continuing the conversation. She doesn't want to say it, but he could have ended Cell before, but he didn't.
Trunks frowns. "I know. I want so much for him to accept me. I want to wait for the right time to show my power so he will. But I just wish he just took care of Cell before he transformed. I'm an idiot for letting my father hold me back and he's an idiot for letting it come to this." he says through gritted teeth, feeling guilty.
Meanwhile, Cell seems to be playing around with Vegeta. Vegeta is too annoyed and still underestimating Cell to fight him properly. This goes on for a while until Vegeta's anger reaches a breaking point.
He sends out a barrage of blasts towards his opponent until it leaves him momentarily out of breath. They all wait for the result as the explosions die down.
As soon as Vegeta realizes that Cell has come out unscathed, he rushes back at him. Cell however, has become too fast and dodges his blows with ease. Especially now that Vegeta hasn't got his head on straight. Angered, he dissipates the dust cloud with a burst of power, but when he's done, Cell is gone.
He doesn't realize that Cell is watching him with amusement from a distance while Vegeta looks around frantically for him. When he finally spots him, he wastes no time in going in for another attack, but there is no real result. It's like a game of cat and mouse.
To make matters worse, Cell tells Vegeta he is only just warming up. That can only piss off Vegeta further and he dares Cell to finally fight back and Cell seems only happy to oblige.
The first kick to hit Vegeta is effective enough to send him flying way back, though air and rock. He manages to stop himself from going too far, before falling into the waters just off the shore. He painfully manages to drag himself back to dry land before collapsing, trying to catch his breath.
Cell feigns mock disappointment in Vegeta's powers, amused to have crushed the man's pride so easily. Trunks strains to hold himself back for as long as he can. He wants so badly to cut in and fight, but not before his father loses consciousness.
"I don't think you realize how much honor means to my father. It's the only thing that keeps him going. It's what makes him a warrior." Trunks starts after Krillin urges him to go. "Oh sure. Some might see it as arrogance, but I think, down at the core, it's much more noble than that. I believe that's what my mother saw in him and I see it too." he explains, effectively shutting Krillin up.
Julliet never realized that might be Vegeta's angle. It seems Trunks has learned something from his father while they were together that nobody else ever got the chance to learn.
She looks over to see that Vegeta has gotten back to his feet again and though looking a little worse for wear, rises to the sky before starting to gather all this energy. It makes the atmosphere around them do freaky things. It's like a storm is brewing.
Finally he puts his hands together, pointing them at Cell as he shakes with power. He gathers a ball of ki so strong that lightning sparks from his hands. They all, but for Cell, have to brace themselves against the harsh winds. It seems that Vegeta is gathering every last bit of his energy for one final attack. They start to fear of for the safety of the planet.
Krillin and Julliet are ready to move, Julliet pulling at Trunks to follow, but he won't budge as he watches in horror as his father releases the attack. "Final Flash!"
For a moment, Cell seems caught of guard before he is engulfed in the blast. It's so enormous that it skims the earth's crust before blowing out into space to cause further damage there. Trunks, pulls Julliet to the ground, covering her from the blast. Krillin and android 16 too hit the deck.
Once it diminishes, they rise to survey the damage. They realize that Vegeta nearly blew up the planet. He would have if it weren't for the shallow angle. Trunks is relieved to know that his father has put some thought in it.
As the dust clears, they can see that it has done Cell some serious damage. His right arm is completely gone, along with some of his torso. He looks horrified for a moment, leaving the tired Saiyan prince to revel in it.
Cell gets a grip on himself. "You're a fool." he smirks, effectively stopping Vegeta from laughing. "Have you already forgotten that Piccolo's regenerative cells are a part of me?" he chuckles before Vegeta watches stunned as Cell reforms himself, looking a good as new.
"Well, shall we continue from where we left off?" he smirks before approaching Vegeta. The man throws a blast at him and than more as Cell just keeps walking like he's taking a leisurely stroll. Vegeta gives it his all, but Cell reaches him, punching him right in the face. Vegeta is send skidding across the dirt.
Cell follows up with more blows and the others can only watch as he gets it handed to him. When Vegeta gets send to eat some more dirt, his strength starts to fade and he reverts back from being a super Saiyan. The fight is over for him.
"Listen Julliet." Trunks starts, ready to fight. He can barely contain himself at the sight of his father and what Cell reduced him to. "I want you to go." Trunks tells her, making her looks at him like she's been slapped. "What?! And let you face Cell alone?!" she argues. "You promised me." he reminds her. "You promised you would go when I asked you. Besides, I don't want to risk losing you." he admits, making her scowl soften.
"You are my weakness Julliet. You're mine as much as pride is to my father. I don't want you to be used against me. If you die, there is no bringing you back because there are no Dragon balls. I-If I survive, I don't want to go back home without you. I-I don't know if I could live without you." he admits to her, his voice small and filled with pain at the thought.
Julliet can feel herself physically tremble at his admittance. She fights up the courage to reply. "The same goes for me too. Honestly speaking, if I didn't have you, I believe I would have destroyed myself a long time ago. You made my life worth living. So if I go, you need to promise me… You need to promise you'll live. And you need to promise you will come find me."
Trunks looks at her for a long moment. His eyes are full of emotion. He never realized how much he meant to her. It makes him sad and happy at the same time. Sad, because he realizes that Julliet has so little to fall back on and happy because he gives her live purpose. He isn't sure he can make that promise, but he does so anyway. "I'll come back to you. I promise that." he vows.
He turns to Cell with determination before finally letting all his powers unleash. His body bulks up even more. The band in his hair snaps as his hair spikes up even more. His power is absolutely tremendous. It catches Cell's attention before he gets around to finishing Vegeta off for good.
Julliet backs off. It's up to Trunks now. Driven by an insatiable drive to protect this world from suffering the same fate as the one he and Julliet came from, and the will to save those he cares for most, he is ready to start fighting. She just hopes that he will keep his promise.
She watches as he makes sure that Krillin will take his father out of there, throwing him the last senzu bean he has. He wouldn't dare put Julliet in his father's path when he wakes up.
He gives the young woman a final glance. She nods a goodbye, for now that is. She will go back to Kami's lookout for now. She will meet him there, once he's finished with Cell.