Chapter 26 – Goku to the Rescue
"Waaaah!" Baby Trunks cried flailing his arms about. He still sat alone in the kitchen.
"Poor little baby, maybe a warm bottle of milk will calm your nerves?" Cell Junior purred, entering the kitchen.
Trunks abruptly stopped crying as he looked upon the new visitor. He tilted his head to the side and then began to giggle uncontrollably, clapping his hands at the appearance of his new guest.
"You think I have a funny face, do you? Well, I'm glad to bring you some joy before I end your life," Cell Junior said with an evil smirk as he started to charge energy at his fingertips.
"Trunks, my baby! I finally found your baby food, no more reasons to cry," Bulma called from the hallway as she approached the kitchen.
"Well, I guess I better finish you off fast!" Cell Junior shouted.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY BABY?!" Bulma cried in terror as she stepped into the doorway and saw a tinier version of Cell collecting energy at his fingertips as he waved it toward her son. Without another thought, Bulma ran toward Trunks and shielded her beloved child. Bulma was hit full blast with Cell Junior's attack, as she fell over Trunks' high chair. Just then Goku materialized and witnessed Bulma sacrificing herself for Trunks.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Goku yelled as Bulma hit the floor. The wrath that he felt at the moment was indescribable, all he could see was red and all he could feel fire. The ends of his hair turned gold like the blazing and raging fire he felt burning inside him and an angry glow surrounded him. Fixing a deadly stare at the miniature Cell, Goku strode toward the little cretin. Goku snatched up the little Cell Junior with fierce speed and without giving him a chance to plead for his life, Goku snapped his head off. Knowing that Cell had the ability to regenerate himself, he powered his palms with his ki and crumpled up Cell Junior's small body into dust.
"Goku...Goku, how's Trunks? Is he's ok...?" Bulma coughed and blood spurted out of her mouth. At the timid sound of her voice, immediately Goku's anger calmed and his super saiyan form was doused. He immediately ran to Bulma's side, crouching over her and holding her close in his arms.
"Bulma, you're still alive!" Goku breathed in relief, burying his face in the crook of her neck and inhaling her scent once more. Bulma coughed once again.
"Trunks, he's alive? The blast didn't go through me and touch him?" Bulma asked, tears forming at the corners of her eyes from the numbness she felt taking over. Goku looked back at his high chair and the young baby was curled up in the corner of his seat, rigid fear set on his young features.
"Yes, he's alive, thank Kami! He just needs his mom to get better and take care of him," Goku reassured as Bulma's lips trembled.
"Goku, no. I don't think I'm going to get better..." Bulma said tearfully with a remorseful smile. "But I am lucky though, I did get to see what a fine young man he'll grow up to be before I go...Please watch over him..."
"Bulma! Stop saying silly things like that! You're going to be just fine, we'll take you to the hospital and you're going to get better. Trunks will grow up with his mother by his side..." Goku insisted as he gazed into Bulma's watery eyes, but even as he said the words he felt her life force fading quickly. Even tears began form in his own eyes as watched his first love take her last breaths.
Bulma stared into Goku's dark onyx eyes and saw a wealth of emotion in them and she felt something familiar about the expression. Too familiar.
"Goku..." she rasped, reaching up for his face. "I think I..."
Then her hand dropped down and Bulma fell limp in his arms.
"BUUUUULMAAAAAA...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Goku cried out in anguish, tears falling freely from his eyes and his hair turned golden once more from the raw emotion he was feeling. He felt as if heart split into two halves.
"Oh dear, what happened?!" Mrs. Briefs asked fearfully, horror in her eyes from seeing her daughter's body unmoving and bloody in Goku's arms and Trunks looking as pale as if he had seen a ghost.
"Don't you worry Mrs. Briefs, Mr. Briefs and Trunks. I'll make him pay," Goku vowed to himself as he returned to the tournament area.
By the time Goku returned, Gohan still maintained the upper hand over Cell, even though the rest of the onlookers watched amazed since they could sense that Cell has raised his ki to his maxium level. Many of the Z fighters were astonished at Gohan's strength, but Goku looked upon his son knowingly. He knew he should be feeling proud but Goku couldn't stop thinking about the tragic loss of Bulma. As soon as he saw an opening, Goku would make Cell rue the day he decided to father those eight little bastards.
Cell fired a massive Kamehameha toward Gohan, the power of it was enough to destroy the earth if Gohan didn't take the brunt of it. Without a slightest tremble of fear, Gohan released a loud groan as he raised his arms and pushed his palms forward.
"KAMEHAMEHAAAAA…!" Gohan recited, deflecting Cell's ki blast with an even larger one. Gohan's Kamehameha almost completed encompassed Cell, but the devious Android swerved to his right. The power of Gohan's attack blew off a large chunk of Cell's torso and head.
"Gohan, kill him quick! Before my genes take over and he regenerates!" Piccolo instructed his pupil.
"Gohan, make the pathetic insect suffer, like the cockroach he is!" Goku commanded uncharacteristically, still looking for a moment to intervene and end the Android's life for himself. Gohan nodded at his father, the memory of Sixteen's crushed head still fresh in his mind.
But just as Piccolo predicted, Cell had regenerated himself completely whole but at a cost to his pride. Cell felt such shame and frustration with his own performance against Gohan, that he felt it necessary to go to extreme measures to defeat his opponent. Brazenly, Cell began collecting his energy to transform to the form that was equivalent to the Ultra Super Saiyan state.
"My goodness! His power levels are dangerously high!" Piccolo exclaimed as he watched in revulsion at Cell's expanding power. "How are we going to defeat him like that?"
"Gohan, I still think you have pretty good chance against him! Cell taunted me for fighting him in the exact same state! He'll have no speed that way!" Trunks interjected, recognizing Cell's latest form.
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," Gohan said ironically. Gohan soared toward with Cell with one goal in mind: Annihilation.
Cell smiled evilly as Gohan approached. As soon as Gohan was within his reach, Cell started to pummel the exasperating child warrior with his supercharged fists. However, as much as Cell tried he could not connect his fists with his target. Gohan was proving to be too quick of an opponent and it was wearing Cell down.
"I think it's my turn now," Gohan said, returning Cell's evil smile. With no mercy for his enemy, Gohan slammed his fist hard into Cell's stomach with as much force he could muster. With a loud sputtering gasp, Cell regurgitated Android Eighteen, forcing him back into his Semi-Perfect form. Eighteen lay unconscious at his feet, covered in a transparent gloop.
"ENOUGH! It's time to end this!" Cell cried, kicking Eighteen out of his way. With a grunt, Cell started to pump his Semi-Perfect state with high levels of ki. Cell's body began to inflate like a hot air balloon to accommodate the levels of ki he was summoning.
"He's initiating his self-destruction mode!" Piccolo yelled to Gohan. Gohan stood in awe at Cell's doubling form, unsure of how to detonate Cell's latest attack. Goku quickly took action, using his Instant Transmission technique to get between Gohan and Cell.
"Did you really I'd let you off so easy after what you did to Bulma?" Goku asked in a dangerous tone as he wrapped one arm around Cell's neck as he placed his two fingers to forehead and they disappeared.
"My planet! My most beautiful, wonderful planet! Destroyed!" King Kai cried as he picked through the left over debris on Snake-Way path. A halo glowed over his head as it did Bubbles, Gregory and Goku. "And in exchange for a miniscule planet like Earth! Goku, what were you thinking?!"
"I'm sorry King Kai, but I had to do it! I couldn't let Cell destroy my home!" Goku explained apologetically. "I had to make sure he paid for all the pain he caused when he was Earth. He needed to be stopped!"
"Goku, Cell's not dead." King Kai revealed.
"How can that be?!" Goku asked shocked.
"He used your Instant Transmission move and has returned to Earth," King Kai said knowingly, as his antennae twitched. "But since you're dead, you can't use your Instant Transmission technique to go back to Earth."
"You mean he could still destroy Earth after all I did?" Goku asked.
King Kai raised his finger to his lips to shush Goku as his antennae twitched crazily.
"Cell almost fatally injured Future Trunks. Vegeta's gone crazy! But it's not looking good. Cell was able to get back into his Perfect State somehow. Cell is going to finish him off. " King Kai reported despondently.
Goku's face fell with disappointment. Then King Kai gasped in delight.
"Gohan saved him! But...oh no! It cost him his arm!" King Kai described. "Your son has amazing spirit, he's still defending the planet with a broken arm! But I'm afraid he won't be able to defeat Cell with that injury."
"King Kai, there must be something you can do! You have to let me help him!" Goku pleaded. King Kai looked into Goku's eyes and saw his earnest expression. Goku sacrificed so much for his planet, King Kai thought to himself. Goku sacrificed his own life, time with his friends, a lifetime with his family and his first love.
"Hold my shoulder, Goku. I have the ability to allow your spirit some limited time on Earth, so make it count." King Kai accepted Goku's plea.
Goku readily grasped King Kai's shoulder and instantly felt his spirit falling back to the Tournament site. He floated in the air as he watched the scene before him. Cell in his Perfect state, with a Kamehameha launched towards Gohan and Gohan facing him, manoeuvring his good arm to launch his own. Goku stood behind his young son and aided him in completing the Kamehameha attack.
"KAAAA...MEEE...HAA...ME...HAAAAAAAAA!" Gohan and Goku cried together, releasing a massive blast that zoomed towards Cell's direction. The father and son attack seem slightly smaller than Cell's Kamehameha which caused the two of them to push their forces harder. Cell laughed maniacally as he pushed his blast further and willed it to become even larger than theirs, focusing on injured Gohan. Using this moment of distraction from Cell, Vegeta threw his own very powerful ki blast which threw Cell off-kilter, allowing Gohan's blast to completely envelop Cell's form, obliterating the evil Android into tiny pieces.
Goku smiled proudly at his son as he felt his few moments on earth drain away. In a few short seconds Goku found himself back again on Snake-Way, grasping his sensei's shoulder.
"You've finally destroyed him," King Kai breathed solemnly.
"Thank Kami!" Goku exclaimed, releasing a breath of relief and falling onto his butt from exhaustion.
"Well, Goku...now we can discuss more important matters, like the destruction of my planet!" King Kai shouted, feeling comfortable with reprimanding him since danger to the Earth was out of the way.
"I'm sorry, King Kai. I thought maybe your planet might be able to withstand it." Goku apologized again. "I know! Now that I'm dead, I have all this free time, I'll just help you build a new one!"
Goku immediately got up and started collecting the bits and pieces that was left of King Kai's planet. King Kai chuckled at Goku's actions. Whatever anger he may have had toward Goku over the ruin of his planet, it dissipated.
"Goku, you silly boy, my planet cannot be rebuilt. So, you can stop trying," King Kai laughed. "I guess I'll have to move back to the Grand Kai's planet. You can meet me there after you go check in at Earth's check-in station. "
"The check-in station? Does that mean I have to take Snake-Way all the way back?!" Goku asked incredulously as he stared the winding path before him.
"Goku, I'll have you know that you're not only my best student but my favourite student. And it's because of this, I'll do you this favour." King Kai stated as he slapped Goku hard on his back, right between the shoulder blades. Goku felt a slight tickle in the spot that King Kai struck him and before he knew it he felt a warm energy unfurl from his back and he began float off the ground.
"King Kai, you gave me wings?!" Goku said with excitement, as he admired his new angel wings.
"These wings are even faster than you flying on your own. You'll get to Earth's check-in station and back here in no time! By then, all the arrangements will have been made." King Kai replied.
"Thank you, King Kai! I'll see you soon!" Goku waved and he flew off.
The trip to the check-in station was a breeze, King Kai wasn't lying about the speed of these new wings. Goku landed at the end of long twisting line that stood in front of King Yemma's large desk. He looked at the people ahead of him and a familiar flash of blue caught his eye.
"Bulma?" Goku breathed.
At the sound of his voice saying her name, Bulma turned around. A gasp of shock escaped her lips as she took in the view of Goku with his halo and angel wings.
"Goku!" Bulma cried, running toward him losing her place in line. She leapt into his arms, grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him hard. Goku was startled with her reaction but responded to her kiss, groaning with pleasure. Her sweet lips on his made him feel just as alive as it always did. Finally he pushed her away.
"Bulma, what are you doing?" Goku asked, out of breath and confused with her reaction. Bulma looked up at him with her twinkling cerulean eyes, as she touched her swollen lips from their kissing. The energy that surrounded them was just as magnetic as he once remembered.
"Goku...I remember everything. Our night at the Capsule house, our last journey for the dragonballs...your unselfish wishes for the planet," Bulma explained, with a slight strain on the latter part.
"How could you remember everything?" Goku said in amazement.
"You wished that for the rest of my life, I would be in love with Vegeta. But Goku, I'm no longer alive and fully remember who my heart belongs to. And this time around, I don't plan on letting you go so easily," Bulma responded, cupping his face tenderly like she had in their past. Goku could not describe in words the joy he felt at that moment.
"There is no reason why we can't be together now, is there?" Bulma inquired with a playful look in her eyes, daring him to say no to her when she knew that he never could.
"If there is, I don't want to know," Goku responded gruffly as he pulled her into his arms for an intimate kiss that he'd been wanting to give her for longest time. To get some privacy from the other on-lookers in line, Goku wrapped his angel wings about them. There was no guilt or shame in their kiss, just their yearning for each other finally fulfilled.
They may have lost their lives but they had found their love.