Original of the Species 4: The Robots and the Saiyan: Cell Chapter Twenty One, a Buffy: The Vampire Slayer + Dragon Ball Z Crossover fanfic

Chapter 21

'I Might Be Wrong'

AN: Blah, blah, stuff keeps on getting bigger then expected, blah, blah, causing me to split things off, blah, blah.

But it's fun, right?

Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, Cell's Valley, time unknown

As Gohan's power erupted it was like another nuclear bomb going off in what used to be Cell's Valley. A detonation of chi blew over the hapless onlookers and then they were bombarded with strong winds.

And then, after the storm had passed came the calm. With Gohan standing at the center of what used to be Cell's Valley, surrounded by bright golden flames of chi.

"T-that's Gohan?" Piccolo said astounded as he watched his former pupil, "Mild mannered Gohan?"

How the hell did that brat get so powerful, Vegeta thought as he tried to pick up his jaw from the ground, I don't believe my eyes!

Sensei, what utter power you could have had, Mayan thought mournfully as she remembered her former teacher.

We are in your hands now, Gohan, Belmovekk thought, now resigned to his faith, show us why Goku has so much faith in you.

Only one person felt differently.

Poor kid, barely twelve and already he has the weight of the world on his shoulder, Buffy thought sympathetically as she now felt a connection between herself and Gohan. Just another kid who got trust into a 'save the Earth or else' kind of situation when he should have been just another kid.

It was when she was thinking that train of thought that she suddenly realized something and turned to Belmovekk.

"So that's why you and Goku kept silent?" she said in an accusing tone of voice, "Because you guys knew damn well that if you had told him Gohan would have run away screaming and Piccolo would have your guts for garters."

"Yes," Belmovekk admitted, "His plan did hinge on Gohan and everything else being kept in the dark."

"This is not right," Buffy said, "Nobody should be forced to do this, especially a kid."

"Sometimes one must commit evil acts in order to fight something more evil," Belmovekk sighed, then he looked at Buffy, "And before you continue your little preach, I have never heard you ask about all the evil things I did for you. The people I slaughtered to save you from Anubis and the Majin for example."

"I…., uh…, um…," Buffy stammered as she tried to find the right comeback and couldn't.

"Do not think Goku came to this decision lightly," Belmovekk continued, "For months he tried to come up with other strategies but could not find any. Cell is too strong for Goku to beat. His reserves of power unfathomable. The only solution he could come up with were the unfathomable reserves of power of his own son."

Buffy looked down into the valley, towards Gohan who was now facing off Cell.

"We can only hope that Goku's gamble pays off," Belmovekk said worried, "Everything I have learned about Gohan's hidden powers is that they tend to come and go with his emotions."

As Cell eyed Gohan wearily he felt a mixture of emotions. There was the excitement of testing himself against a new power. There was also anger because Goku had robbed him of what was after all a very exhilarating fight. And resentment as well.

"So Goku wasn't completely lying after all," Cell finally said, "a germ of truth in his story. But still, to say that you can beat me, that's an insult. You're just a kid. So I will kill you now."

Cell turned to the ridge.

"Do you hear me, Son Goku? Because of you your child will die! Weep when your child dies because of your arrogance!"

Cell then lowered himself and touched down on the ground. Landing behind Gohan, the child then turned around and assumed a fighting stance.

"So you really want to fight me?" Cell said scornful, "Uppity little brat, aren't you? Well, consider yourself lucky. Maybe you get to die before you get to experience true horror."

Then Cell moved with lightning fast speed and made a roundhouse kick aimed straight at Gohan's head. Which he easily blocked. Then Cell jumped back, then immediately launched himself at Gohan and swiped at the kid. But Gohan easily evaded Cell's attack by jumping into the air.

Seeing that Gohan was going up in the air Cell gave chase and tried to kick him. Which Gohan again managed to avoid. A few more failed attacks followed and the two fighters touched down again.

"Quick little rodent, aren't you," Cell said derogatory, "Maybe I should use my full speed on you instead?"

Then, going even faster then before Cell jumped onto Gohan, grabbed him by his clothes and delivered a straight headbutt into Gohan's face. Then for good measure he began to pound him in the face several times.

Eventually Cell tired of that and tossed Gohan away like he was a dirty rag. Before Gohan had a chance to fall to the ground Cell aimed his hand at him and unleashed a wave of pure chi that sent the underaged fighter flying backwards at breakneck speed into a rocky hill with so much force that it collapsed on top of him.

"Oops," Cell said with mock regret, "did I overdo it? Should I not have done that to a kid?"

"He hurt that kid," one demon exclaimed angrily in Larry's bar, "That bastard hurt a child!"

A statement which Spike found hilarious, because if there was one thing this kind of demon was known for it was preying on small kids.

"Chi Chi, be strong!" the Ox-King said as Chi Chi collapsed on the floor of the Son household living room, having just seen her son getting slapped silly by Cell and then buried in a rocky hill.

"What the hell is going on here?" the reporter spoke into his microphone in horror, "First they said they were going to eat, then a child suddenly challenged Cell and now he died? What a terrible waste of a young life!"

"That's it," General Hammond said indignant as he saw Gohan get buried underneath a hill, "I can live with Super Saiyans and energy attacks on the television but I draw the line at kids getting abused on television. Major, I order you to pull the plug on that satellite connection. And fast! Otherwise I authorize the colonel to ask Thor to blow up those satellites for us."

"Oh, can I?" O'Neill said excited, "Please? Pretty please with cherries on top?"

On top of the ridge the Z-fighters were shocked. Everyone except Goku, who just stood there with his stupid smile like it meant nothing.

"Goku, you idiot, this is all your fault! You're too optimistic! Everybody warned you this would happen," Piccolo growled angrily, then he began to yell, "YOU GOT YOUR OWN SON KILLED!"

"Calm down, Piccolo," Goku said care free, "don't jump to conclusions. Gohan's chi hasn't gone down at all."

"He's right," Faith said, "I can still sense him."

"GOKU! ENOUGH OF THIS SILLY JOKE!" Cell yelled towards where Goku stood, "Eat your damn senzu and face me once again!"

"He doesn't even know," Mayan said incredulously as she witnessed Cell making his challenge."

"Of course not," Buffy said shaking her head, "He's got an ego so big it makes Vegeta's cower in fear."

"Probably the one thing he got from Vegeta to begin with," Xander said softly, "That computer reckoned an ego that big just had to be weapons grade."

"Maybe Goku was right after all," Belmovekk said as he cupped his chin, "Interesting."

"Dumb ass, look behind you," Goku's voice came from the ridge, causing Cell to look aside.

"What the….," he exclaimed softly as he saw to his astonishment that Gohan had emerged from underneath the rubble. And aside from a few minor cuts and bruises he looked none the worse.

Walking calmly Gohan came towards Cell and halted when he was up close.

"What a surprise," Cell said, his curiosity gaining the upper hand, "You're a lot tougher then I thought."

"Can we stop this please?" Gohan suddenly asked, "This battle is pointless."

Cell had expected people to say a lot of things to him. In fact they already had. Most of his victims had pleaded for their lives, some had fought then pleaded, some had been defiant, telling him to do his worst.

None however had ever told him what he was going to do to them was pointless.

"Hahaha," Cell laughed, not believing what he was hearing, "Did you just call these games pointless? Of all the things you could have said."

Cell then leaned forward.

"Of course it's not pointless. Me, I'm getting lots of entertainment from it. I can't speak for you all but I'm sure most you are probably here to save the Earth."

"But I don't want to fight," Gohan said in earnest, "I'm not like my father. I don't want to kill anyone. Not even one such as you."

"I've got it!" Sam said triumphantly as she looked over her shoulder at O'Neill and General Hammond, "I've got full control over the commercial satellite network. I can switch things on and off at will."

"I don't know what's scarier, major," O'Neill said as he joined Sam at her computer, "That signal uninterrupted on the air or the casual ease with which you can bring down a whole satellite network."

"The sooner we shut down that network the better," General Hammond said, "the Pentagon's been screaming for it to happen, the SecDef will be pleased."

"And thus press freedom dies," Daniel said wistful, "With one press of a button military censorship will score another victory."

"The people aren't ready for this," O'Neill said determined, "Aside from people going superman on international TV nobody should have to watch a child being beaten on television."

"It's still censorship," Daniel countered, "And have you been on the internet lately? There's way worse stuff there to be found."

"Yeah, but at least that's not being aired to 6 billion viewers at the same time," O'Neill said.

"Shut it down, major," General Hammond said gravely, "Let's end this chara….."

"NO! YOU CAN'T!" somebody yelled.

It was Giles.

"What?" O'Neill said annoyed, "More of your whacked up prophecies?"

As soon as he said it Giles started to look uncomfortably.

"As a, um, matter of, um, fact…"

"What's Gohan saying?" Krillin asked on top of the ridge, "I can't make it out."

"I'm not sure," Buffy said uncertain, "something about…."

"I heard it too," Belmovekk said as he got up from the boulder he had been sitting on, "Something's wrong."

"And it shall come to pass that on the day of reckoning the Children of Grey shall fight the Flesh Golem," Giles said as he read from the print out he was holding, "Guard well Satan's Stone for he shall be instrumental in the coming of a new dawn."

"Yeah, we've heard that gibberish," O'Neill said as he rolled his eyes, "We're not trying to kill Bruce this time. We're just trying to turn off that accursed satellite signal."

"I've found another mention," Giles said and turned the print out so he could read a different page, "In the valley of poppies the fate of the world shall be decided. As the children of grey will battle the child of chaos the world shall watch. For only as the world will be allowed to watch can the children of grey be safeguarded."

O'Neill looked at General Hammond after Giles had read his passage.

"Who writes these things?" O'Neill exclaimed.

"Prophets usually," Daniel said, "That or crazy people."

"Sounds like both combined," O'Neill snorted.

"Actually, um, that's not far from the, uh, truth," Giles said, "Prophecies tend to be written by the mad very often. Something about them being a…., um, perfect conduit as it were?"

"Dr. Giles," General Hammond said, "You're telling me that I have to explain to the Secretary of Defense that I can't shut down the greatest public relations clusterfuck in the history of public relations disasters because your prophecy, no, the word of some long dead mad man, tells us not too?"

"If you put it like that everything sounds ridiculous," Joyce said as she came to Giles' defense.

"I can't put a better shine on it, ma'am," General Hammond replied, "Polish a turd and it's still a turd."

"Look," Giles said as he pointed to the print out, "I'm trained to read and interpret these things. All Watchers are. The lives of our Slayers depend on us being able to correctly interpret signs, dreams and portents. Considering that the Earth is still here and has not been sucked into some Hell dimension over these past thousands of years I'd say we haven't done such a bad job after all."

"Well, to be fair, sir, the only reason we first learned of the Asgard was because Daniel interpreted ancient religions," Sam interjected.

"Don't tell me you believe this nonsense?" O'Neill asked Sam.

"Sir, with all due respect," Sam said back, "It is his job. We don't question Daniel on his. Or even our own intelligence analysts."

"I don't believe we're again going to listen to this mumbo jumbo," O'Neill said as he shook his head in disbelief.

"I can't just tell the Secretary of Defence we're not going to shut down this broadcast," General Hammond said as he pointed to the big screen with the FOX NEWS feed, "Not on the basis of some ancient prophecy that is."

"Well, we could always say that Sam's still working on it," Daniel said as he winked towards Sam, "Or that her computer crashed?"

"Yeah," O'Neill said as he rolled his eyes, "Just tell him that her computer's running on Windows Millennium. Maybe you're lucky and his own computer runs on Millennium too and he'll buy it."

"Are you some sort of pacifist or something?" Cell said astonished, "You do realize that pacifism is cowardice, right? Somebody who wants to enjoy all the benefits of the society he lives in but none of the responsibility of defending it."

"I don't care," Gohan said shaking his head.

"Okay, so you don't like to fight," Cell said, "I can understand that. But what's this nonsense about not wanting to kill me? You couldn't even kill me even if you tried for a hundred years. Am I wrong, child?"

Cell put a lot of vitriolic emphasis on the word child. But if it was meant to hurt Gohan, it didn't seem to phase him.

"I think I finally understand why dad said that only I could defeat you," Gohan said unperturbed, "Ever since I was a little kid when I got really angry I would lose control of myself and get way stronger then I ever could imagine."

Gohan paused briefly and looked down.

"I think this is what my father was hoping for would happen."

Cell stopped smirking and began to stare at Gohan intently.

"Oh really?" he said interested, then he smirked again, "I guess your plan failed then, kiddo."

"Huh?" Gohan asked surprised.

"You really have no clue how I work, do you kid?" Cell said derisive, "If you thought you could tell me a story like that to scare me away you're mistaken. Now I really want to piss you off just so I can see that power for myself."

Then before Gohan had a clue Cell lashed out and smashed his fist into his face.

"By the Seven Hells!" a demon said horrified back at Larry's bar, "He's hitting that poor kid again!"

"Curses to whoever sold Bruce that bad food," another demon said angry, "Then he would really show Cell who's boss."

"They're at it again," O'Neill said as he saw Cell attack Gohan again on FOX NEWS.

"Don't pull that plug, general," Giles said adamantly, "I'm staking my professional reputation on this."

General Hammond looked at O'Neill.

"This is your call, general," O'Neill said as he put up his hands in a hands off gesture, "I'm not going to get burned on this one."

General Hammond then looked at the big screen and more scenes of Gohan getting hammered.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Giles," he finally said, "I can't lie to the Secretary of Defense that we are unable to shut this down. I've already kept it going for way to long as it is."

Then Joyce stepped forward and came up to Sam.

"That computer, is that your own, or is it a network terminal?" she asked.

"It's got network access, but it's my o…..," Sam tried to say, but then Joyce threw a glass of water over Sam's computer. Which then showed the dreaded blue screen of death, followed by smoke coming out of its back.

"There," she said as she put down the glass, "Now you don't have to lie, general."

WOK!

As Cell smashed his elbow on the back of Gohan's head the little fighter staggered backwards reeling from the pain. But Cell didn't give him the time to recover as he followed up with a roundhouse kick that sent Gohan flying backwards.

"YES!" Cell shouted excited as he jumped after him, "Come on, kid, get mad! Show me your true power!"

As Cell approached him Gohan touched down. Then, as Cell punched towards him, Gohan jumped upwards and delivered a roundhouse kick of his own, which sent the creature flat on his back.

"Nice move, kid," Spike said appreciatively as he sipped from his beer.

As he crawled up from the ground Cell eyed Gohan wearily. Of course Gohan stared wearily back at him. Then Cell touched his mouth and noticed that he was bleeding purple blood.

As he stared at the blood on his thumb Cell realized that Goku and the kid were right. There were hidden reserves of power in this kid. Somehow this kid had managed to hurt him and he had only barely scratched the surface.

Then he smirked again. Now that he had had a taste he wanted to see what more this kid could do. No matter the cost.

"One way or another kid, I'm gonna bring out the real you."

On top of the ridge Goku watched as Cell tried to bring out 'the real Gohan'.

Yes, way to go Cell. You keep on doing that! Get Gohan mad! And then you'll experience fear for the first time.

Then as he watched he saw Cell aim his arm at Gohan and point his index finger at him.

"What are they doing now?" the reporter asked Bruce as they watched from a distance.

"It looks like he's singling out the kid," Bruce said, as he recognized the gesture from his wrestling days, "Like he's saying that this time it's personal."

By now Krillin had the sad distinction of having died twice. The first time he had been murdered by Piccolo the Elder. A gruesome death but despite that it wasn't the one that still gave him nightmares on a regular basis.

It was his death at the hands of Freeza that still haunted Krillin. Made him scream at night as he awoke from his nightmares. They usually followed the same pattern, with the horned tyrant always chasing him, then torturing him followed by a gruesome death that always resembled his death on planet Namek, like an explosive charge exploded deep inside him.

Normally he detested his nightmares. He had tried seeking psychological council but found that psychology wasn't so effective when you came with a true but totally unbelievable story to a psychologist. Having barely escaped getting committed to a mental institution Krillin resigned himself to his nightmares.

But now they paid off as he recognized the attack that Cell was about to unleash next.

"GOHAN, BE CAREFUL!" he yelled, "HE'S USING FREEZA'S LANCING ATTACK!"

As soon as Gohan heard Krillin's warning Cell fired Freeza's Lancing Attack from his finger and a beam of intensely concentrated energy lanced towards Gohan. Which he just barely managed to evade by letting himself fall on his back.

Next thing he had to get back on his feet real quick because Cell fired off several more lancing attacks that had Gohan dancing about like he was in a old fashioned western movie and the villain was shooting bullets near his feet. Only this case it was less of a dance and more a deadly ballet as Cell fired off his attacks all over the place.

The reason for this deadly bout of acrobatics was simple. Where most energy attacks wasted a lot of energy by exploding into all directions only two attacks really differed.

First was the Kienzan or destructo disc. Which was an energy attack that was flattened to such an extend that it became a flat disc. Instead of exploding it cut by virtue of concentrating all deadly energy at its razor sharp edge. And what made it really dangerous was that a weaker opponent could use the Kienzan to slice through or cut a stronger opponent. Which made it a very cool and dangerous attack in the hands of a skilled fighter, some of whom could even control the Kienzan in flight remotely. The downside was that a skilled fighter could also easily defeat a Kienzan by punching through the center of the disc, which was were it was essentially harmless.

Freeza's Lancing Attack was similar in idea yet completely different in execution. It concentrated all of its deadly power at the tip of a very narrow beam which would then pierce through an enemy like a spear. Unlike the Kienzan disc there was no defense against the lancing attack. No defense other then not get hit. On the plus side its range was shorter and there was no means of changing the path of a beam other then firing off a new one.

Which was what Cell was repeatedly doing.

Evading Cell's barrage of lancing attacks took every ounce of concentration from Gohan. So when Cell suddenly moved with lightning fast speed after firing yet another beam Gohan didn't notice it until it was too late.

Right in the middle of a jump Cell suddenly appeared up close next to Gohan and grabbed him. Drawing him in tight in a bear hug Cell then proceeded to squeeze Gohan for everything that he was worth.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Gohan yelled as he felt immense pressure squeezing him like he was just a clove of garlic about to meet a garlic press.

"Well, doesn't this hurt?" Cell said condescending, "Get angry! Unleash that rage of yours. You don't want to die do you?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! IT HURTS!" was all that came out of Gohan.

"Oh," Cell said pretending to be sorry, "Does this hurt? You know I could break every bone in your body if I wanted too. Surely you don't hate fighting this much that you would rather suffer this?"

"Christ, I can't bear to watch this," O'Neill said as he put his hand across his face. And yet he couldn't stop watching as he peeked through his fingers.

"This is horrible," Mayan said aghast as she watch Gohan being squeezed, "Why are we letting this happen?"

"Because its Captain Crunch's master plan?" Buffy said as she nodded towards Goku.

"I can't stand this no more," Piccolo suddenly yelled angry, "I no longer care about your plan anymore, Goku, I'm going down there to help Gohan!"

"Don't do it, Piccolo," Goku said shaking his head, "You're no match for Cell. Just have faith. Wait a little longer."

"You want me to wait? For what?" Piccolo spat angrily, "For Gohan to die?"

"No," Goku said calmly, "For Gohan to get mad. Once that happens rage will unleash his true power. Then we'll see something."

Goku then bowed his head as his son continued to yell in pain. As Gohan yelled Goku briefly gnashed his teeth, indicating it wasn't easy for him as well.

"Our only hope to beat Cell is Gohan's hidden power," he said grim.

"Oh my god, dear viewers, it just keeps on getting worse and worse," the reporter spoke despairingly into his microphone, "Cell keeps on torturing this child and our champion Bruce is still racked with crippling stomach pains. And so far none of the other contestants has made any moves to come to the child's aid."

"Do you think he's right?" Buffy asked Belmovekk, "Do you think Gohan could defeat Cell if only he embraces the power of the Force?"

"Frankly, I do not know what to think any more," Belmovekk said, still sitting on his boulder, "I can only place my trust in his plan as there does not seem to be any other."

"I don't understand why Gohan's so reluctant to fight Cell," Mayan said shaking her head, "The Gohan I knew didn't like to fight either but did it anyway."

"It does seem out of character," Belmovekk agreed then he got off his boulder and looked at Willow, "I starting to suspect foul play. Like somebody has been fanning the flames of his reticence."

"The Powers That Be?" Willow said.

"The very same," Belmovekk echoed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Gohan yelled as Cell continued his torture.

"Come on," Cell said sounding a little impatient, "Aren't you angry yet? I know this must hurt. Does this not make you angry at me?"

"Goku, you're mistaken," Piccolo continued and pointed towards Gohan, "Your son is not like you. He doesn't have your warrior's heart. He fights because he has too, not because he wants too. Does he even know about your plan? Did you even discuss it with him?"

Goku didn't reply. He hadn't discussed it with Gohan because he feared knowing the plan might inhibit Gohan or create a psychological block to unleash his rage. But there was worse. For the first time in his life Goku realized that he might have misunderstood his own son. Projected his own hopes and desires onto him. And the awful truth, the bitter truth was that Piccolo might be right. Gohan may like martial arts for its playfulness and competitiveness, and the bond it created with him and Piccolo, but in his heart he had no Saiyan desire for actual fighting. No desire to push himself to the limit in combat and to seek out new challenges and enemies to fight.

So, for the first time doubt began to creep in.

What have I done?

Seeing that he had scored a major point Piccolo pressed on.

"Do you want to know what's inside your son's mind right now? He's not thinking about unleashing his rage. He's not thinking about how to unleash his hidden power. Inside is a little boy that's terribly frightened and who wonders why his father won't come to save him from death and pain! He wonders why his father values a fair manly fight more then his own son's life. Never forget that he may be the strongest of all of us, underneath it all he's still a child!"

What have I done?

As he stared at Gohan, crushed in Cell's grip Goku's eyes grew big in the realization of the horror of his actions.

"I don't care if I die," Piccolo said as he reached to take off his shoulder pieces, "I'm going!"

"I'm with you," Faith said immediately and unreservedly.

"Krillin," Goku said as he turned towards the small fighter, "Quickly, give me a senzu!"

"You've got it!" Krillin said relieved as he reached for the pouch with the beans.

Then the unexpected happened.

Without warning Cell suddenly let Gohan go and dropped him to the ground. As he fell on the ground Gohan began to pant heavily.

"You're a stubborn bastard," Cell snorted derisively, "It looks like your own pain is not enough to get you angry."

Cell then looked up briefly up the ridge where the other fighters were.

"Let's see what your friends have to say about this," he said as he began to smirk again. Then, before Gohan had a chance to react, Cell took off and raced towards the other fighters.

"NO! STOP IT!" Gohan yelled to no avail. And before anyone else could react Cell appeared in front of Krillin and grabbed the pouch with senzu beans from him.

"This contains your supply of senzu beans, right?" Cell said as he examined the pouch, "These can be troublesome. Why don't I hang on them for a while?"

Then he jumped away and landed next to Gohan again.

"No need for me to dirty my hands fighting the likes of them again," Cell said arrogantly as he glanced back for a moment.

"What… what are you going to do?" Gohan asked horrified.

"Simple," Cell replied as he tossed the pouch with senzu beans in the air and grabbed it again, "I'll do basically anything to see that awesome power of yours. Since you won't respond to your own pain I'm going to make your friends pay for your reluctance."

"No!" Gohan pleaded, "You don't understand! I can't control myself like that! That's why I can't do it!"

Cell looked at Gohan and his smirk grew a little bigger.

"And that's exactly why I'm going to hurt your friends until you do," Cell said.

"NOOOOO!" Gohan yelled as he lunged for the bag of senzu beans, but Cell kicked him easily into the ground.

"If you're going to get mad, do it proper!" he said expressing his disapproval.

Then, before he could say or do anything else, something caught Cell's attention from the corner of his eyes and he looked around.

Only to see Android #16 lunge for him and take him in a bear hug of his own.

"Well, that's a twist," Spike said half drunken and mildly surprised inside Larry's bar, "Hands up who saw that coming?"

"How did he get there?" Goku said surprised. Nobody had seen it coming as the android had sneaked up upon Cell and grabbed him as if out of nowhere.

"He's a machine," Piccolo said, "there's no sensing him."

"#16's going to fight Cell?" Krillin said surprised.

"He doesn't stand a chance," Faith said worried, "he barely escaped the last time. And that was before Cell became perfect."

"DAMN YOU, #16!" Cell said angry as he struggled against the iron grip that Android #16 had on him.

Then the big android began to yell.

"FORGIVE ME FOR GETTING YOU ALL INVOLVED IN THIS! AND FOR SACRIFICING YOUR LIVES! I'M GOING TO SELF-DESTRUCT MYSELF ALONG WITH CELL!"

"WHAT?" a lot of people exclaimed on top of the ridge.

"This is the final power I was never to use unless as a last resort," Android #16 continued to yell, "None of you can survive the annihilation of my infinite energy reactors at such close range. Not even Cell!"

As he realized what Android #16 was going to do Cell's eyes grew big as saucers. The infinite energy reactors packed a lot of punch as they were, but when the thermo-nuclear detonator would go off and make them go critical all bets were basically off.

Then Android #16 yelled as he activated his thermo-nuclear detonator.

On top of the ridge a lot of people tried to scramble for cover. Others stood immobile as they realized that there would be no cover. At least not for them to reach in time.

Only one person did not dive for cover as she realized the godawful truth.

And then nothing happened.

As he opened his eyes Android #16 realized he was still there.

"W-why? Why am I still here?"

"#16, you can't blow yourself up," Faith yelled at the android in the valley below, "Bulma's father found that bomb inside you when they repaired you. And he took it out!"

"Talk about irony much," Bulma said as she slumped in her seat in front of the television back home.

"No," Android #16 said softly as he realized that his plan had failed.

"There goes another plan down the drain," Belmovekk said sadly on top of the ridge, "It scored high on guts, poor on research and in the end all for naught."

"Too bad, #16," Cell said as he began to smirk again, "But if it's any consolation, I don't think it would have worked against me anyway."

DOOM!

Firing off a massive blast Cell fired right through Android #16, ripping the brave android apart and showering the area with little pieces.

"No," Faith said sadly on top of the ridge. She liked the big android. He was big, strong and silent, just like she liked them. And for an android, a fully mechanical one even, he had a surprisingly big human heart.

As Gohan watched on in horror pieces of Android #16 landed all around him. Then the biggest piece of all landed not far from him at Cell's feet.

His head.

"Haha," Cell laughed, "In the end you proved yourself to be exactly what you were, a failed experiment by Dr. Gero."

Then he kicked the head away.

Ricocheting off a rock Android #16's head bounced a couple of times before landing not far from Bruce Schnitzengruber and the FOX NEWS camera team. Who were insanely grossed out by it as they realized he was not a man but a robot.

Meanwhile Cell looked at the fighters on top of the ridge.

"Alright, you're all next," he said grinning and began to count them, "1… 2… 4… 7… 10… 13… 21…, that's 33 in all. But most of them don't count. There's only 14 that matter. Add a 15th for the rest."

Cell then arched his back and closed his eyes.

"Mmmmm," he groaned, then the spike on his back, all that was left of his once extremely dangerous tail, widened into a funnel again.

"What's he doing?" Vegeta said curious.

"Hhmmmpf," Cell groaned again, then a shiver went through his back. And another. And another.

With each tremor something popped out of Cell's funnel. Something small. Then, as Gohan watched on in horror they turned out to be miniature versions of Cell, a small army of them.

"What the hell are those?" Piccolo asked horrified.

"Kree, kree," the miniature versions of Cell shrieked as they got to their feet. Then Cell turned around to address his new mini army.

"Cell Juniors, see those people on those hills?" he said nodding towards the ridge, "Attack them. I want you to hurt them. I don't even care if you kill them."

Taking one look at the fighters at the ridge the Cell Juniors launched themselves in the air.

"Kree kree!"

"Watch out!" Goku yelled as he assumed a fighting stance, "They're unbelievably strong!"

As Goku raised his power, so did everybody else. Everybody who could transform into Super Saiyan did so.

As he watched the fighters power up and transform Cell smirked.

"You're all wasting your effort, you can't beat them," he said calmly, "They are after all, my children."

I should have taken a painkiller, Xander thought as one of the little mini-Cells landed right in front of him. Despite spending another year in that accursed Room of Spirit and Time and trying his damnest Xander had been unable to fully rid himself of the searing pain that hit him every time he went Super. Even though by now he was able to suck it up for short amounts of time, he still had need of some painkillers to function properly.

"Kree kree!" the creature said taunting him.

"Yeah, your mommy's a hamster and she spilled a bottle of ugly over you when you were born," Xander said back, then he charged the little tyke. And hit empty air as the Cell Junior easily evaded his punch and sunk his elbow in his back instead.

As Xander fell to the floor he could at least count his blessings. There were worse kinds of pain then the pain that came with going Super and he could probably look forward to a whole world of new experiences in that regard.

"What are you?" Belmovekk said as a Cell Junior landed in front of him. The creature said nothing, only grinned ferally as it jumped towards him and tried to punch him in the face.

"Is that all you got?" Belmovekk said as he evaded the attack by sidestepping. As he did he tried to smash his fist into the Cell Junior's face. And got blocked by the thing's arm. It was like trying to hit hardened steel.

"Tough guy, huh?" Belmovekk said as the two fighters stared each other in the face. He then unleashed a flurry of blows which the Cell Junior all easily blocked.

"Torak's teeth!" Belmovekk swore as he tried to raise every ounce of power he still had left. It was like fighting Cell all over again.

As he fought his own Cell Junior Riley couldn't help but think that coming here maybe wasn't the brightest idea in the book after all. There wasn't a whole lot he could do and right now he was in way out of his league with these little Cells.

Still, he should be honored, Out of all the soldiers only he and Jamison seemed to be worthy enough to have gotten their own mini Cell. The rest had to 'make do' with a single one for all of them.

Who just happened to be wiping the floor with all of them.

Not that he was doing much better as the Cell Junior hit him ten times for every hit he managed to score.

Then the Cell Junior made a low spinning leg sweep designed to knock him off his feet.

"Oh no you don't," Riley said as he jumped in order to avoid getting swept away.

But apparently that was exactly what the thing had in mind as it dropped underneath and squarely hit him in the Finn family jewels.

"There goes the grandkids mother always wanted," Riley groaned as he fell to the ground.

"Son of a bitch!" Krillin said angry as he faced off against his Cell Junior, then he made a swipe for the thing, which it easily avoided.

"Over here!" the Cell Junior said suddenly behind Krillin. Then it did a roundhouse kick that sent Krillin flying and falling into the valley. Where he landed not far from Cell and Gohan.

Before he could get up the Cell Junior landed with his knee in Krillin's back, causing Krillin's eyes to almost pop out of his skull.

As he saw Krillin get mercilessly beaten by the Cell Junior Gohan watched on helplessly.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Many have died before and can never be brought back with the Dragonballs. If they die now it's forever! Why do I feel no anger about this? Shouldn't I be enraged? Why am I not enraged?

As Buffy fought her Cell Junior she suddenly backed into someone. Glancing briefly over her shoulder she discovered it was Faith.

"Got your back, B.," Faith grinned back confidently, "Just like the old days, in Sunnydale."

Amidst the absolute chaos, only one person was left to fend for herself unharmed. As the Cell Juniors wreaked havoc on her friends Willow found that the creatures completely ignored her.

He must think I don't matter at all, Willow thought, not sure whether to feel lucky or to feel insulted. Considering the way that everybody got clobbered maybe it was a blessing after all.

The Cell Junior fighting Krillin, if you could still call it fighting, was kicking him without any mercy, delighting itself in the pain it was inflicting.

Super Saiyan Mayan was no match for hers as she doubled over and received a two handed strike to the back of her head.

"MOTHERFUCKER!"

She was still defiant though as she fell to the ground, kicked her legs upward and then pushed herself up to somersault over the thing, then before landing she kicked the Cell Junior in the face. A glancing blow to the face at least as the thing managed to dodge most of it.

In Larry's bar Spike watched with interest as the camera showed how the Z-fighters and Scoobies got the living snot kicked out of them.

"It's like I died and went to heaven," Spike said as he wiped away an imaginary tear. Then he reached for his bottle of beer and had a swig. Come to think of it, the end of the world might not be so bad after all if it meant getting completely pissed while watching the telly where those arrogant Scoobies got beaten and killed first.

"Here's to you, Cell," Spike said as he raised his beer, "I salute you, you magnificent bastard!"

"They're getting beaten," Daniel said as he looked away from the big screen towards O'Neill.

"Correction," the colonel said not taking his eyes from the big screen, "They're getting hammered. Real bad!"

"Only the Saiyans and half Saiyans seem to be holding their own," Sam said, "the rest just gets tortured."

"But why?" O'Neill said gesturing towards the big screen, "Cell's not even bothering with the kid any more."

Why did I have to come, Yamcha thought as his Cell Junior slapped him around like a sack of potatoes.

I wasn't even going to participate!

No.

This can't be happening, Gohan thought as he watched on helplessly.

Then Cell looked over his shoulder at Gohan.

"Did I sense a small increase in your chi?" Cell said smirking, "Good. You finally seem to be coming to your senses. You'd better be quick though or it's too late. Only Vegeta and Trunks seem to be holding their own. Goku has lost too much of his power, and the rest are just no match for my children."

In the year that she had spent with her father in the Room of Spirit and Time Mayan had learned many things. That compared to her father her old teacher Gohan knew next to nothing about martial arts. This was of course no sign of disgrace for Gohan. He just had to grow up without the benefit of a mentor of his own when he most needed one.

Some of the techniques her father had taught her in the Room of Spirit and Time now came in handy. Especially some those defensive Radi'itsu techniques which now helped ward off that annoying Cell Junior that besieged her.

Of course the best defense does not win any battle without a means to strike back a winning blow against the attacker. Without that the attacker continues to wield the initiative and eventually wears the defender down. Waiting for that mistake that would eventually happen.

So when it happened Mayan was in for a world of hurt.

As his Cell Junior ploughed his elbow into Yamcha's arm he heard the noise of bones breaking.

Then came searing pain.

"GAAAAAAAAAAH!" Yamcha yelled as he reached for his broken arm.

Delivering a roundhouse kick to his Cell Junior Trunks bought himself a little respite. Maybe it would give him the inspiration to finish that damn critter off.

But then Trunks saw something happen that caused him to forget all about his Cell Junior.

Mayan was going down.

"MAYAN!" Trunks yelled, then he ran towards her.

And got tackled by his own Cell Junior before he even came close.

Sentimental fool, Vegeta thought derisively as he saw his son go down. There was no place for romantic tomfoolery on the battlefield and if Trunks wanted to help his whore then he should do everyone a favor and beat his own Cell spawn first.

"HYAH!" Vegeta yelled as he hammered his fist into his own Cell Junior. Only to got a kick to the face back from that accursed creature.

This is ridiculous! I can't be having this much difficulty fighting against these shrimps!

At least he had managed to succeed in one aspect. He had managed to wipe that accursed smirk off that little creature's face.

As he received a knee to the stomach from his Cell Junior Goku doubled over. He had been in poor shape already after his fight with Cell, what little remained was no match for this…. thing.

"I-I'm sorry everyone," Goku stammered, "This…, wasn't how it was…, supposed to happen."

As the two Cell Juniors pounded into Buffy and Faith like madmen, Faith spat defiantly at the creatures.

"Is that the best you can do, fuckers? You hit like a bunch of girls!"

What is wrong with me, Gohan asked himself in disgust as he watched almost everyone going down, everybody….., everybody's going to get killed! If I really had this incredible power I wish that I could use it right now.

I want to use that strength to beat Cell now.

But how? How do I do this? Why can't I unleash my rage?

Androids do not experience time when deactivated or turned off. All they experience is nothingness. And nothing is pretty much devoid of anything. The only time they do register is when they are online.

When Android #16 was about to self-destruct he pretty much expected nothingness to happen again. And got exactly that once Cell destroyed him. Great was his surprise when suddenly his CPU activated again.

Status: damaged beyond repair

Critical damage: no systems operational below the neck

Options: none once emergency backup power runs out

Then something even stranger happened.

He received direct command input straight into his brain.

Android, the direct input wrote, who are you?

I am a Dr. Gero type android, number 16, Android #16 stated, I was created to destroy Son Goku.

Why did you not fulfil this mission, the direct input read, you were ordered to destroy Son Goku and yet you refrained from fulfilling this mission. You also chose to act against a fellow android called Cell. Why did you do this?

I may be an android and bound to my programming, I am more then the sum of my code. My creator wanted me to be the perfect assassin, able to blend in. His programming was too good and it gave me the power of reason. I observed the world and noticed a discrepancy between my creator's view of it and my own. I chose to follow my own. And while I cannot resist my mission to destroy Son Goku indefinitely, I can chose to prioritize it to a lower magnitude.

I see, the direct input read, you have indeed risen above your programming, Android #16. Can we ask you something?

That depends, Android #16 responded, I will not undertake any actions that will bring harm to this planet.

Do not worry, the direct input read, we have no desire to do so. In fact we want you to save this planet. It is most…., dear to us.

Then I am willing to help, Android #16 responded, but my options are limited.

We know of a way you can help, the direct input wrote, but it will involve a sacrifice on your part.

Then Android #16 was shown how he could be of help.

Do you still want to help, the direct input wrote but Android #16 didn't need to think it over.

More now then ever.

"Good grief," the FOX NEWS reporter cowered as he and the others hid behind some rocks. The fight between the mini-Cells and the others had stopped being a fight and had turned into acts of sheer sadism and torture.

"What's going on?" Bruce asked, mostly at the camera man because he at least could zoom in.

"We're in trouble, that is," the reporter said frightened, "We should try to get the hell out of here, that is!"

Finally, a good idea, Bruce thought, but before he could say something, something happened.

The robot head lying in front of them opened its eyes and began to speak.

"Wait," it suddenly said, much to everyone's horror, "before you leave, someone, please, take me to that boy. Please, I beg you, for Earth! Your Earth!"

The reporter and the camera man looked at each other. As they did for once Bruce felt free to say what he felt.

"You've got to be kidding me," he said haggardly, "Cell's right next too him!"

"I seem to be mistaken," the robot's head said in a slightly mocking tone, "Did you not come here to save the world? Have not billions of people placed their trust in you? Are you not called a hero? Champion of the world?"

"Leave him alone!" the reporter yelled angry, "Bruce is a champion of humanity! Th-this is not a battle, it's a battle of freaks! Freaks like you!"

As the reporter talked Bruce looked at him, then at the talking robot head, which now looked and smiled at him.

What on Earth had he gotten himself into?

This was a question which he had asked himself often and repeatedly ever since learning the godawful truth of the Cell Games. This was no place for actors and posers like him. This was a place for real heroes. Heroes like those people up there who were now paying the price for their heroism, while a poser like him sat it out in relative safety. How was he supposed to come to terms with himself if he did nothing? How was he supposed to look himself in the eyes and not be disgusted with himself? How was he supposed to look his daughter in the eyes and not see the disgust in her eyes?

You can still be that hero, a dry voice in his head suddenly said, just do what the robot heads wants you to do.

But I might get killed, he countered.

You'll die anyway if you don't, the voice said snide, the only choice you have is whether or not you will die as a coward when Cell blows up this planet or on your feet as you meet your fate. Bruce Schnitzengruber, coward, vs. Bruce Schnitzengruber, champion of humanity, Child of Grey. This is your moment, Bruce. This is what you were born to do. Chose wisely.

And then the voice was gone.

"Alright!" Bruce said as he stood up and stepped forward, "I'll do it."

"Bruce, don't!" the reporter implored, "You'll get killed!"

"Shut up!" Bruce yelled, "A bunch of nameless people are out there, and they're fighting for us. If I run now I'll forever be the laughing stock of the planet. No, I'll forever feel ashamed of myself. For how long it lasts anyway."

Bruce came forward and picked the head up. It was surprisingly more heavy then he had expected. Holding it like it was a bowling ball Bruce ran through the valley, using various rocks as cover.

"You just want me to take you closer, right?" he asked the head nervously.

"Oh yeah, that would be great," the head replied thankful, "Just throw me when you get close enough. You're doing great, hero."

"Actually, I'm two steps away from pissing my pants," Bruce said, "I'm that scared."

"Nobody says a hero can't be scared," the head said back, "It's still doing something when you're scared which makes you a real hero."

"Are you scared?" Bruce asked the head, "Can robots be scared?"

"I do not know fear as such," the head replied after a short silence, "But I do worry about the end of my existence. I know you humans believe in some sort of afterlife but for me there is only non-existence."

"What an odd pair we are," Bruce chuckled briefly, "Oh, if it's any consolation, thank you for rescuing us earlier."

"My pleasure," the head smiled, "Now more then ever."

DOF!

Yet another Z fighter fell unconsciously to the ground.

This time it was Tien.

Yamcha had already passed out, even though his Cell Junior was still kicking him.

"P-Please, stop!" Gohan pleaded with Cell, "I'm begging you..."

Gohan's plea caused Cell to only smirk more.

Good, he's close now. So very close.

"All right, Cell Juniors," Cell yelled to his creations, "You can kill them now if you want too."

NO! Gohan thought as he balled his fist and felt his anger rise. But not enough. Still not enough.

Cell noticed another slight rise in Gohan's chi.

Yes, almost there indeed, he thought.

"DO IT! KILL THEM NOW!"

"This is as close as I'm going to get," Bruce said hiding behind the only boulder that was close enough to Cell to hide behind, "Here we go!"

Then he threw Android #16's head.

THUD

Bouncing a couple of times of the ground Android #16's head came to a stop between Cell and Gohan, be it closer to Cell then to Gohan.

"Dammit! I threw it too hard," Bruce said, angry at himself.

"Th-the android," Gohan said surprised as he saw Android #16's land in front of him. And to his surprise it still seemed to be active as it looked at him.

"Son Gohan," it said, "Fighting for good is not a sin you know. There are some whom words can never reach. Release your anger. Set your passions free. I know how you feel but you don't have to hold back."

"Good advice," Cell said mockingly, "But I prefer to teach him this in my own way."

"The wild animals and forests that I love," the android's head continued, "protect them for me. Don't let them be destroyed."

"Oh puhlease," Cell snorted derisively, "I've had enough of this hippie bullshit."

And then he stepped on Android #16's head and smashed it.

SMASH!

"Goodbye, #16," Cell said, "Drop by again in the future. If you still can."

Then, several things happened at once.

Unbeknown to both Cell and Gohan Cell's smashing of Android #16's head caused a chain of reactions to take place. The first of which was that now that the android had personalized himself as a person, his death by Cell now made it all the more harrowing.

Which was exactly what Android #16 and the unknown direct input had planned for.

Secondly the unknown direct input had rewritten some of his code and rewired some of his neural pathways. So as Cell crushed him it caused a signal to be briefly broadcast. A signal with only limited range, necessitating Bruce's aid to bring the head this close. And also necessitating Android #16's head to be crushed in the process. A sacrifice the android had made willingly.

The signal had two purposes. Firstly it served to push a highly agitated state of mind even further. But it was not enough to break the barrier that was holding back Gohan's rage.

For that barrier had been supernaturally imposed on him.

But the signal was also supernaturally designed to break down that barrier.

The Powers That Be had guessed that Goku's plan revolved around his son and to be sure subtlely placed a barrier upon him. They had wanted Cell to kill both the Z-fighters and the Scoobies. And then grow tired of breaking Gohan and kill him as well. After which he was to serve their purpose and blow up Earth.

Instead the signal broke the barrier that held back Gohan's rage and served to push him past it.

And then his power exploded.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Until now Thor had been watching and measuring the proceedings on Earth with keen interest. Strange things were happening down there that made next to no sense but that were damn interesting from a scientific point of view.

But as he watched the child transform and ascend to a new level of power it dwarfed everything he had observed so far. There was now probably more concentrated firepower on that small piece of Earth then in both this and the Asgard galaxy combined.

"What the hell is that?" O'Neill said as his face was now almost inches away from the big screen.

"I think that kid just managed to do what all the other Saiyans couldn't," Sam said equally flabbergasted, "Reach that elusive next level they were after."

"Super Saiyan level 2?" Daniel remarked, then he held up his hand like he was pitching an idea to an executive, "This time…., with more explosions, more speed, more everything?"

"We're in the hands of a 12 year old," O'Neill said gloomily, "One who can throw the mother of all tantrums now."

As Gohan stopped blasting the entire area with a bombardment of raw chi an eerie calm returned to Cell's Valley. And finally everybody was able to see the end result of Gohan's new transformation.

Aside from his golden chi flames, now burning even brighter, arcs of electricity surrounded his chi flames. His hair stood up even straighter then seemed possible, and his muscles had increased in size, although nothing like the extreme body builder look that both Vegeta and Trunks had sported after first emerging from the Room of Spirit and Time.

The greatest change however was in the eyes.

Before a gentleness had been present, one that not even the cold blue green of hue of his Super Saiyan transformation could camouflage. Now however that gentleness was gone.

Instead it was replaced with a cold hard stare, one that spoke of death, destruction and a whole fuckload of other nasty things.

It had even Cell scared as he recoiled in its horror.

"H-he's changed," Cell said subdued. Then Gohan spoke.

"You're going to pay," he stated matter of fact, "for everything."

Then, calmly and confidently Gohan walked up to Cell. Who recoiled briefly before getting a grip of himself. This was what he had wanted after all, right? Then why was he suddenly feeling fear?

Maybe it was the sheer awesome power that Gohan seemed to be radiating. It was so incredible that…. wow, it would be the fight of his life. Hell, it would reduce his earlier fight with Goku into a simple sparring match. This would be it. The defining moment of his existence.

"So you've finally shown your true form," Cell said as he tried to grin, "this… should be interesting!"

Once he stood in front of Cell Gohan didn't respond. Instead, faster then even Cell could follow he yanked the pouch with senzu beans from him.

Not believing it had just happened Cell looked at his empty hand, then at the bag in Gohan's hand.

"Y-you took the senzu…," Cell said in disbelief.

Then, before he could do anything else Gohan took off and sped past him.

And straight for the Cell Junior that had been torturing Krillin.

As he landed next to the thing the creature looked at him in bewilderment. Then it began to grin. While extremely powerful the Cell Juniors weren't actually that bright. It had only a limited range of actions in its repertoire, yet strangely enough the one thing it had unlimited amounts off seemed to be Cell's arrogance.

Without thinking the Cell Junior threw himself at Gohan.

"HYAH!"

Before it even had a chance to get near Gohan lashed out and with one fell strike he did not just decapitate the Cell Junior, he smashed right through its head.

Still twitching its body fell to the ground.

No way, Cell thought, his eyes big as saucers, as he witnessed the casual ease with which Gohan had disposed of the Cell Junior.

"Ha," Goku chuckled weakly as he saw his son kill the Cell Junior, "I knew it!"

"Gohan?" Piccolo said bewildered.

"So Goku was right all along," Belmovekk said in amazement, "the world will come to an end."

"But maybe not today," Mayan said nearby.

The Cell Juniors had witnessed the demise of one of their own first with bewilderment. This shouldn't be possible. Then came fear. Here was something that could kill them. This shouldn't be! Therefore their tiny primitive brains came to the same conclusion.

Danger!

Destroy before danger destroys us!

Then came rage.

And then all fourteen remaining Cell Juniors streaked towards Gohan at once.

"KREE KREE!"

As he watched the Cell Juniors stream towards him Gohan calmly awaited their arrival. Then when they were close he began to yell.

"HYAAAH!"

Jumping towards the first one he kicked right through the luckless creature, tearing it in half. Then he smashed his knee into the head of another and utterly squashed its skull. A jumping kick tore the head off of third Cell Junior, an elbow strike the head of a fourth one. A turning jump tore through a fifth one.

On it went until there was only one of the creatures left.

As a severed arm fell on the ground before it, it recoiled in horror. Then it jumped into the air and flew away as fast as it could.

As he looked into the sky Gohan saw the last of the Cell Juniors fly off into the distance. Then he took off and closed the distance in no time. Appearing in front of it he swung his arm around and ploughed it through the Cell Junior.

And that was the end of the Cell Juniors.

And he hadn't even let go off the pouch with senzus while killing them.

Those that could still watch, almost all of them Saiyans, half-Saiyans and semi-Saiyans, had watched with eyes big as saucers at Gohan's casual dismissal of the creatures that had nearly killed them.

"I-I can't believe what I'm seeing!" Vegeta stammered out loud, "This can't be happening."

"Hahahaha…., cough," Goku laughed and coughed at the same time, "Serves you right, Cell! It's over!"

"Thank God!" Xander exclaimed as he sat down and de-transformed, then he reached inside his breast armor plate and pulled a plastic bag with pills, which he then popped one into his mouth.

"I still cannot believe it actually," Belmovekk said shaking his head in disbelief, "Goku's plan actually worked!"

"Yeah, I know," Mayan said as she walked over towards Buffy, "Are you alright, sis?"

"You're insinuating something," Buffy groaned lying in a world of pain on the ground, "I can tell."

Then Gohan spoke up from above and threw the pouch full of senzus to Trunks.

"Give these to everyone."

"Uh, okay," Trunks said as he caught the pouch.

Having thrown the pouch to Trunks Gohan touched down close to Cell.

Who seemed to be fuming with anger at the casual destruction of his Cell Juniors.

By now however Gohan seemed unimpressed at Cell's anger and glared back.

"Don't get too confident, boy," Cell finally said, "Don't think you can defeat me now."

"What do you think then?" Gohan asked matter of fact.

I've created a monster, Cell thought shocked at the boy's arrogance.

"Hmpf," Cell snorted, "arrogant little snip. You think you're all special now because you've had a little power up. Tremble as I will now show you my true, terrible, power."

Then Cell began to yell.

At the SGC everybody was glued to the big screen when one of the kids, little Dawn, grabbed Teal'c by his hand.

"Uncle Teal, water!" the child said, pointing to a decanter of water on a table in a corner.

"Me too, me too," little Mayan nodded eagerly.

Resigning to his fate Teal'c went to the refreshments table and poured some water in two glasses. He then put down the decanter and was about to hand the two glasses to the kids when he noticed something odd.

"Major Carter," he said.

"What Teal'c?" Sam asked as she joined Teal'c's side, who then pointed to the glasses of water. The water inside them was vibrating.

All over the planet seismographs were going off like crazy. But they weren't registering an earthquake.

At least not as such.

Earthquakes were local tremors when two tectonic plates shifted position.

What they were registering was not a local earthquake.

The whole planet was vibrating!

"KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

As Cell powered up his power blasted the surrounding countryside with the power of a category five hurricane. Causing havoc for Trunks as he tried to distribute the remaining beans to those who needed them.

For the FOX NEWS camera team and Bruce it was too much as they got blown away by the gale force winds.

But in the end everything comes to an end. And so did Cell's power up. And those who had weathered the storm looked around in bewilderment

"Christ!" Jamison said horrified to Riley, "What the hell were we thinking coming here?"

"We do what we have to do," Riley said with grim determination, causing Jamison to come forward.

"The idea that we might be of some use after Cell got weakened makes no more sense any more," the Marine said as he then pointed towards Cell and Gohan, "Compared to them we're just ants! There are already six of us dead. I say we should fall back and let them fight it out. Cause we ain't sure as hell ain't gonna make a difference here."

"We stay!" Riley barked at the Marine, "That's an order, major!"

"You're just staying because you're girlfriend is here," Jamison hissed angrily. You're not going to impress her with your bravery, you know. She's got more then enough power to protect all of us. At once!"

"Fine," Riley said angrily, "You guys leave! I'm staying!"

Jamison wanted to say something, then he changed his mind.

"Look, we're not abandoning them," he said in his defense as he pulled out a communicator, "Just to a safer distance. And we have to think of the dead as well. At least four of them look like they could be revived with the Dragonballs."

Then a voice spoke through the communicator.

"Pardon me, majors," Thor's voice said apologetic, "I happen to overhear your conversation. I am willing teleport your dead to my ship. But what are these Dragonballs that can revive the dead?"

"Finally, Cell at full power," Buffy said towards Willow, "And we used to think that he was laughs-a-plenty before."

"He likes to play games with us, that's for sure," Willow said back.

"If he wanted to play games, why not join the chess club?" Buffy countered.

"I guess he prefers dodgeball instead," Willow replied.

"Hhhhhha," Cell panted with a big grin on his face as he faced Gohan, "Well? What do you think? This is what I am when I really mean it."

Gohan looked anything but impressed.

"What about it?" he said unimpressed.

For a second Cell looked disappointed by Gohan's casual dismissal of his power. Then he began to smirk again.

Then, even faster then before, he launched himself at Gohan and planted his fist in Gohan's face. But even though Gohan had bent backwards because of the blow, he wasn't staggering. Instead he just looked pissed.

Feeling angry because his blow's lack of result Cell swung for Gohan again. Only this time Gohan ducked, then blocked Cell's blow and swung his own fist underneath as a counterattack, sinking his wrist up till wrist into Cell's stomach.

"Uuuuhhh," Cell groaned in pain as he stepped backwards and clutched his stomach. Then he looked angry at Gohan and made an open handed swipe for Gohan's neck, which the little fighter easily dodged. But it again left Cell open for a counter attack and this time Gohan gave Cell an uppercut to his jaw. Which sent the creature flying backwards until he landed wobbling on his feet, not believing what was happening to him.

"Unbelievable," Piccolo said wide eyed.

Goku said nothing, he just looked like a very proud father.

Vegeta on the other looked like he was again grinding his own teeth into fine powder. There he was, again being surpassed, only this time by Goku's abominable offspring.

Was there no end to his humiliation?

"Dear viewers," the reporter spoke excited into his microphone, while nearby the camera man was busy unscrewing the back of his camera, "the camera may be broken, but we are witnessing something incredible. That little boy is literally pummeling Cell!"

At the SGC the big screen had now been switched over to the feed of the single remaining Predator drone still circling the battlefield, but the FOX NEWS audio feed still came in.

"Cell's no match for this kid any more," Daniel said exciting, "this could be over any second!"

"If only we could be so lucky," O'Neill said as he remembered how a certain Saiyan prince once had Cell on his knees as well and just let him go.

Having composed himself Cell looked angrily at Gohan.

"You bastard shrimp!" he growled outraged as Cell came walking towards him. Then Gohan halted right in front of him.

"RRAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Cell yelled as he swung his leg towards Gohan's face with the obvious intent to smash it in there. But like before Gohan just easily blocked it with his arm.

Cell then tried to hit Gohan again repeatedly but each time his kick got blocked by Gohan. Then Gohan did a roundhouse kick that connected so hard against Cell's head that it almost tore it off.

It send the monster sliding face first across the ground over a hundred feet, finally sliding to a stop at the edge of the crater that used to be his ring.

"Ugh," Cell groaned as he came to his senses, then he looked up, as purple blood was dripping from his mouth.

Gohan was approaching.

Then, for the first time in his existence, Cell felt real fear.

Before, in the battles leading up to his completion, he had felt frustration. That this couldn't be happening to him. That if only he had been complete he could have won.

And that had been true.

Now, for the first time ever, he actually feared for his existence. So as he got up he recoiled in horror.

I don't believe it, Cell thought horrified, nothing like him should exist in the universe. And yet he's actually stronger then me!

"But that doesn't mean that I will lose," Cell said as he began to smirk again.

Then Cell jumped up and took to the skies, until he was half a mile high.

"Have fun breathing vacuum," he said maliciously, then he cupped his hands at his side, "KA! ME! HA!"

"That monster," Goku said horrified as he realized what Cell was going to do.

"He's going to blow us all up," Trunks said.

"Well, in that case," Mayan said as she grabbed Trunks and pressed her lips onto his.

"Mmmmm," Trunks said surprised, then he realized what she was doing and began to kiss back, "mmmmmm."

Seeing the two kiss Xander turned to Buffy.

"Kiss me and die," Buffy said quickly.

"No, not me," Xander said and pointed to Riley, "Him!"

On board the Beliskner II Thor powered up his main engines, chances were that he may had to leave in a hurry. Judging by these figures half the solar system would be blown up. While he liked the Earth humans, there was no sense in dying with them.

"ME!"

"YES!" Cell yelled with a voice filled and fuelled by hatred, "A KAMEHAMEHA AT FULL POWER! DODGE THIS AND THE EARTH WILL BE DESTROYED! YOU WILL HAVE TO STOP IT WITH YOUR OWN BODY!"

"I guess this is the end," Buffy said hesitantly as she stood before Riley.

"I guess so," Riley said back equally hesitant, "For what it's worth, I could think of a lot of worse endings. For us I mean."

"Just shut up and kiss," Buffy said, then she grabbed him by his uniform.

An obscene globe of energy was now beside Cell, bathing the entire countryside in a pale blue hue.

"HAAAAAA!" Cell yelled, then he fired off the Kamehameha wave towards Gohan.

"It's all over," Vegeta yelled.

Standing on the ground Gohan watched Cell's massive Kamehameha wave come towards him. Then he spoke.

"Ka, me, ha, me…."

Just as Cell's Kamehameha wave was just ten feet away Gohan brought up his hands and aimed them at Cell's attack.

"HAAAAAAAA!" he yelled and unleashed his own Kamehameha attack into Cell's.

DOOOM!

As strong waves of wind blasted the onlookers at hurricane wind levels Gohan's blast tore into Cell's. Then, much to Cell's horror he saw his Kamehameha wave pushed back towards him.

"NOOOOO….. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

This time the Beliskner II was in no danger as yet another Kamehameha wave pushed into space, again obliterating some satellites along the way. The SGC on the other hand wasn't doing so well as the sole Predator drone was now the only means they had of keeping track what was happening on the battlefield. There were now no surveillance satellites left.

An eerie calm returned to the battlefield as Gohan let the Kamehameha wave dissipate in space and turned his attention towards Cell instead.

Cell hung in the air, somehow having survived being hit by the Kamehameha wave blowback. But he had sustained massive injuries. One leg was fully gone, the other below the knee. His left arm from the elbow on, both his chitin wings and the two headplates.

Seeing Cell this much damaged Gohan began to grin maliciously.

"W-why…, does he…, h-have so much.., p-power?" Cell groaned in horror.

"That shrimp fired off an even bigger Kamehameha then Cell's already ridiculously overpowered Kamehameha," Vegeta said.

"I guess we live to fight another day," Riley said as he stopped kissing Buffy.

"Jay us?" Buffy smiled.

As Cell hung there helplessly in the air Gohan did nothing but smirk a malicious grin. Much to Goku's chagrin.

"Gohan! What are you doing?" he yelled at his son, "FINISH HIM OFF!"

"Finish him?" Gohan said as he briefly looked at his father, "I think he should suffer more."

"What did he just say?" Goku said incredulously as he looked at Piccolo.

"He wants Cell to suffer more," Piccolo answered.

"Is he crazy?" Faith remarked, "He's down, kick the bastard into the afterlife."

"He is drunk with power," Belmovekk said, "It happens when you first reach a new level of power. He is not used to it, it has gotten to his head."

"He's right," Piccolo agreed, "Vegeta was like that, Goku, you were like that too."

"GOHAN!" Goku yelled at his son, "You're the only one who can kill him, hurry up and do it! Stop playing with him. We don't know what it can still do! You don't know what you're doing!"

"Yeah, that'll work," Faith said shaking her head, "telling him he's an idiot."

Gohan again glanced at his father, but did nothing. Then, high in the sky, Cell grunted.

"NNNNYAAAAAAH!" he yelled, then his lost appendages sprouted back into existence again. Then Cell panted heavily from the exertion for a while before looking at Gohan.

"Y…., you are…., gonna PAY!"

Digging deep inside himself Cell reached for every ounce of power he still had. And then the impossible happened. His power grew even bigger.

And so did his muscle size.

As his muscles grew to obscene bodybuilder size Cell came down to Earth and landed in front of Gohan.

"I will NEVER lose to a THING like YOU!" Cell yelled enraged and brought a massive fist down unto Gohan.

But Gohan easily evaded Cell's fist as it smashed into the ground, creating a small crater. Cell swung again and again hit nothing as Gohan jumped backwards with contemptible ease.

"It transformed to maximize power," Trunks said as he couldn't believe what he was seeing, "It's the same mistake it mocked me for. It's blinded by rage."

"So this is the next level," Belmovekk said, "Not just incredible strength but also incredible speed as well. Truly the best of both worlds."

Gohan jumped towards Cell and drove his knee into Cell's bloated face. As he landed the monster stepped back, seemingly in incredible pain

"Ugh, ugh," Cell moaned, then his face contorted as his body began to writhe in agony. And then it looked like it had to threw up something.

"Glarg," Cell said as he vomited something up.

It was Android #18, still wearing Faith's leather outfit.

"It…., it vomited up #18," Krillin said wide eyed as everybody watched bewildered.

"Ew," Faith said shocked as she saw #18, all covered in slime and goo, "I don't think I want those clothes back."

"GAH," Cell coughed and wheezed having passed up Android #18. Then he looked up again and noticed that something had changed.

He was no longer perfect.

"It turned back," Buffy said incredulously, "It's no longer perfect!"

As Cell looked over his shoulder it stared right into Gohan's contemptuous face.

"This is useless," Gohan said frowning, "I guess this is the end for you."

"Grrrrrr, aaargh," Cell muttered in impotent anger, "no, I won't…, I WON'T ACCEPT THIS!"

Then Cell suddenly began to swell up.

"W-what's going on, viewers?" the reporter's voice spoke excited as the FOX NEWS audio sounded on at the SGC control room, "Cell is changing shape! Now he's swelling up like a balloon!"

"What's that thing up too?" General Hammond said as he studied the images coming from the Predator drone.

"It's the rollercoaster of nasty that just keeps on going," O'Neill said.

"What's it doing?" Willow asked as they saw Cell continue to swell up.

"A Jabba the Hutt impression?" Xander said but nobody laughed. Then Belmovekk and Goku looked at each other.

"Oh no…"

"HEH, HEH, HEH," Cell laughed in a deeper, bassier sound, "EVERYBODY SAY GOODBYE! I'M GOING TO SELFDESTRUCT IN 60 SECONDS! I'LL DIE, BUT SO WILL YOU! THE WHOLE EARTH WILL GO WITH ME!"

"He even sounds like Jabba the Hutt now," Xander said dejected.

"Not now," Buffy said annoyed, then she looked at Belmovekk, "Self-destruct?"

"Hahahahaha!" Cell laughed contemptuously at Gohan, "Its too late to grovel now. I can't stop it anymore!"

"I won't let you," Gohan said as he assumed a fighting stance, but Cell waved towards him.

"You can try but you'll only die sooner," he jeered, "The moment you hit me, the moment I explode."

"Damn you!" Gohan said in impotent anger

"30 seconds left," Cell gloated, "Bye bye!"

"No," Mayan said horrified and looked at the others, "We have to do something!"

"There's nothing that can be done," Piccolo said with a calm that came from the resignation to one's fate, "It's no use."

"I can think of something," Trunks said as he reached out and took her hand.

We don't know what it can still do!

Those were the words his father had said to him, Gohan thought as watched on in horror. Why didn't he listen when he had the chance?

"20 seconds left," Cell said in glee.

"SHIT!" Gohan said as he fell to his knees, "This is my fault! I-I should have finished him when I had the chance!"

"Fifteen seconds and the Earth is no more!" Cell laughed maniacally, "Muhahahahaha!"

On the ridge Goku looked at his friends, then at Belmovekk.

I know what you are going to do, the Saiyan sorcerer spoke into his mind, I am not going to let you. I can do it too.

You can't stop me from trying, Goku replied telepathically, I am stronger then you. I can beat you in five seconds and still do what I intend to.

I might be able to slow you down long enough not to, Belmovekk replied.

Then we both lose, Goku replied, then he glanced at Mayan and Buffy, especially your daughters.

What about your own son, Belmovekk asked. After which Goku briefly hesitated before answering.

I do this so he can live and be what he wants to be, Goku replied, He will have Piccolo to look after him. And hopefully you as well.

I understand, Belmovekk thought back, I will do as you ask. Go with Aldur's blessing, Son Goku, and Priya's too. You will probably be the first of our race to ever stand before her. But better late then never, right?

I will, Goku replied, then he looked at his friends and smiled.

"No matter how you think of this, this is the only way I could think off to save the Earth," the Saiyan said, then he brought two fingers to his forehead and waved at his friends, "Goodbye, guys!"

"G-Goku?" Krillin said as he realized what his oldest friend was up to, "You're kidding, right?"

Then Goku disappeared.

"Five seconds left," Cell said triumphantly, "The game ended in a draw. Too bad, that means everybody loses!

Then Goku appeared in front of Cell out of nowhere and put his hands on the swollen beast.

"You did well, Gohan," Goku said proudly as Gohan and Cell watched on in bewilderment, "I am proud of you."

"D-dad?" Gohan said shocked.

"Tell your mother I was sorry," Goku smiled one last time.

And then both he and Cell were gone.

Only to re-appear at Kaio Sama's little planetoid in the afterlife.

"I'm sorry, Kaio Sama," Goku said apologetic, "This was the only place I could think off."

And then Cell exploded.

"H-he's gone," Piccolo said as he bowed his head in grief, "Goku's chi is gone."

"GOKU!" Krillin sobbed uncontrollably as he fell to the ground crying.

Then, from the battleground below them came an even greater heartbreaking scream.

"FATHER!"

"Cell's gone, dear viewers," the reporter spoke puzzled into his microphone, "wh-what happened? It just disappeared."

As both the reporter and the camera man looked at where Cell used to be Bruce did the finger dance behind them.

It was over!

He was still alive!

His reputation was still intact!

Oh what a beautiful day!

One by one the Z-fighters touched down next to a sobbing Gohan.

"It's over," Krillin said as he and Faith knelled down next to Gohan and together embraced the little fighter, "You and Goku did it together."

"It's my fault," Gohan sobbed, "I-I could have killed it when dad told me too, but I was drunk with power. I killed my own father. I hate myself!"

"I…, uh," Krillin said not sure what to say, then Faith spoke up.

"You still saved the world, little brother," she said with a very un-Faith like gentleness, "It may not matter much to you now, but there's almost six billion people on this planet who now owe their lives now to you. For whatever it's worth to you, take comfort in that."

"She's right," Krillin said as he helped Gohan to his feet, "Come, let's go home. Let Belmovekk and his soldiers handle the rest."

"Speaking off the rest," Buffy said as she carefully tapped Android #18's leg, "I think she's still alive. Or active. Or whatever."

"I'll take care of her," Krillin said as he came forward and picked her unconscious body up.

"You know she's not going to be all hugs and kisses for you when she wakes up, right?" Buffy said at the small fighter.

"She was willing to sacrifice our lives to save us all," Krillin said back, "Even though Cell broke his promise to her, she deserves better then to be taken away by the military and be taken apart."

Buffy looked at the little man and smiled.

"You're a good man, Krillin. Don't let anyone tell you anything else."

In the afterlife three people floated above a long coiling snake road above unending unbroken yellowish clouds. And all three had little halo's floating above their heads.

"I'm sorry I got you killed too, Bubbles," Goku said apologetic at Kaio-Sama's pet ape. Who waved dismissively at Goku indicating it was okay.

The same forgiveness couldn't be said of Kaio Sama.

"I can't believe you!" he said fuming with anger, "I am Kaio Sama, Lord of Worlds! The most important person in the Universe. I am bigger then Kami Sama or those snotty ascended Ancients. You killed me just to save a single measly planet?"

"I apologized, didn't I?" Goku said back, "Why can't you let go of it? You were already in the afterlife. All you lost was that small planet. It was the only thing I could think off."

"It happened to be my little planet," Kaio Sama said snide, then he huffed, "Why can't I let it go? Idiot!"

Then Goku looked around.

"Shouldn't Cell's soul be with us here?" he asked puzzled, "Or did it go straight to Hell?"

That stopped Kaio Sama dead in his tracks as he looked around as well.

"Y-you're right," he said looking around, "It's not here anywhere. Not even at Lord Enma's. All souls go there for judgment."

"What are you saying?" Goku asked worried at the Lord of Worlds.

"I'm saying Cell's not dead yet!"

"WHAT!?"

"What are you doing with that machine," Vegeta said at Krillin carrying Android #18, "Destroy it!"

"Maybe I'm keeping her just so she can kick your ass again," Krillin said defiantly.

"That would be the day," Vegeta snorted, "I would…"

WOOOSH!

Suddenly a cloud formed not far from them, a cloud from which insanely strong winds began to blow. Then the Z-fighters looked at the cloud and began to recoil in horror.

"No, it is not possible," Belmovekk said horrified.

"T-that chi," Vegeta said shocked.

"Oh no," Piccolo said as he recoiled.

"You guys have way too much fun at our expense," Xander said as he looked upwards and rolled his eyes.

Then an arm appeared from the cloud, followed by another, then two index fingers extended themselves. One aimed at Mayan, the other at Buffy.

"Fee-fi-fo-fum," a smug voice singsang, "Which of his two daughters shall the Saiyan save this time?"

Then two Lancing Attacks were fired. One each for both Mayan and Buffy.

AN: Next time less canon, more going off the wild end. I promise. Also next update on thursday as I got a party tomorrow.