Chapter 38: Rise
Cell's Galick Gun arced down towards Goku, the roaring purple beam seeming to almost lazily approach the ground, as if it shared Cell's arrogance, his sense that victory was assured. "It's over, Goku!" Cell taunted, leering at his horrified opponents. "Don't try to fight it...it's just natural selection in action. I, as the superior life form, will survive, and you inferior pure biologicals will die."
Goku, completely drained and shattered, shut his eyes, waiting for the end. How could I fail like this? We came so close to winning so many times...
Raditz watched, terrified. I...I have to do something! That's my brother he's going to kill there! We've already lost so many... he trembled, realising that, despite his urge to help out, he wasn't moving. His fear was freezing him to the spot. No...damn it, I won't stand and watch!
What would my father do? The thought came completely out of the blue. Just like that, the trembling stopped. His face hardened. By the time he had actually made up his mind to act, unfortunately, the beam had almost hit its target-there was no time to move Goku or Cell out of the way. Only time for one Instant Transmission jump. Then...I know what I have to do.
Goku thought of Chi-Chi, of course, as he waited to die. He realised this might be his last thought, as his mind cast back to their first meeting, back at the tournament when he'd beaten Piccolo the second time. He hadn't even realised who she was until she told him...yet they'd left the ring engaged. Placing the thought of that happier time firmly in the fore of his mind, Son Goku smiled and waited for death.
He heard a flicker of familiar sound, somehow carrying over the roar of the incoming Galick Gun. Opening his eyes, he saw Raditz, silhouetted in the purple light, grinning like a madman-standing over his brother, shielding him. That moment lasted just long enough to imprint itself on Goku's mind, then the attack hit. There was a titanic explosion, and Raditz's outline was blasted apart. The earth shook, cracks spreading out from the impact zone and spidering away around the plains. The news crew's camera completely overloaded, exploding in a surge of energy.
Goku stared, wide-eyed, as the light faded. There really wasn't much left of his older brother, but he caught a telepathic message, sent directly to him in Raditz's dying moments. Goku...I trust you'll honour your promise not to bring me back, but...you have to defeat Cell. We've come too far to fail. I know you'll remember me as a saiyan warrior, but please, remember me as something more...something better. Human.
Cell frowned. "That fool...I should have put more power into that attack. If I'd really been trying, I'd be capable of wiping out not just this planet, but your entire solar system! Shall we try that again?"
Goku felt the rage-felt Kakarot-surging up through his mind, but realised something. No...I don't need you anymore. I'm angry enough myself. I...hate this creature. I hate someone...that's new. His face twisted in anger. "You androids...hundreds of innocent people...Tien...Yamcha...Piccolo, Kami, Katas...even your own kind...Bulma, Gohan...now Raditz...when will you be satisfied?!"
"When you, and this planet are no more!" Cell replied with a laugh. "When the universe is my playground!"
"You..." Goku's teeth ground together. He began to collect energy in his right arm-it was deeply slashed, but his only working limb. 'You'...what? There is no word...no word in any language...for this monster. "Y-you're not...gonna get away with this..." Power began to crackle up and down his arm and hand, more power than he'd realised he was capable of even in this higher form. "I just...won't...let you..." He slammed his arm down into the ground, launching a massive Kamehameha wave downwards and catapulting himself up at Cell.
I am the hope of the universe.
Krillin gawked. "Woah, Goku! Don't shoot that at the ground! You'll blow up the Earth!"
Nail shook his head. "No, it's more controlled than Goku's usual kamehameha...a tight, focused beam...it'll make a deep hole, but it isn't large enough to seriously affect the core. We can fix this kind of damage...if we win the battle."
I am the answer to all living things that cry out for peace.
Cell grinned. "Yes, have your last little shot at victory. In your condition, what can you really expect to...to..." This energy...what is this? "You still have power?!" he gasped, too late.
I am protector of the innocent. I am the light in the darkness. I am truth.
Cell threw his hands in front of his body to protect himself, but his guard was smashed aside by Goku's massive ki aura, and the Super Saiyan spun in the air, extinguishing his kamehameha and pointing the ki-charged fist of his good arm straight up at Cell. It punched straight through the evil android, Goku's arm penetrating right through Cell's midsection and out the other side, covered in green vital fluids.
Ally to good! Nightmare to you, Cell!
The pair fell limply, almost pathetically to the ground. Goku wrenched his arm free, ripping out chunks of Cell's flesh as he rolled away from his enemy. Cell weakly climbed to his knees, retching blood. He was already weakened, but this was almost too much. Almost. Wincing, he began to will on his regeneration. I need...to end this! It's getting out of hand...
"KAMEHAMEHA!" Goku had managed to prop himself on his broken arm, gritting his teeth at the pain, and now fired another blast from his good hand.
Cell spun as quickly as he could manage, forced to leave the gaping hole in his abdomen unhealed as he caught Goku's attack in both hands, desperately trying to hold it off. "You damn saiyan...don't you ever stop fighting? Do I have to...break every bone in your body?!" Still, his frustration aside, it seemed that they were about equal, neither giving an inch. Goku's energy struggled with Cell's, pushing off each other and both throwing their entire being into the battle. Cell took a step forwards, pushing the blast back. "Impressive...Goku..." he hissed. "But you're just...too injured...three limbs down...give up..."
"Not while I'm...breathing!" Goku growled, but he could tell he was losing. Cell was half-dead, but Goku was almost incapacitated. He threw everything he had into his Kamehameha, but it wasn't enough. Here at the end, he was losing.
"BURNING FLASH!"
Cell's eyes widened as Break's voice called out. "No-" he managed, before a second beam-green tinged with gold, and much more volatile-crashed into him from behind, starting to melt his back. Cell lashed an arm out to the other side, trying to block one beam with each hand. "Hnnngg...no...you won't..." The two attacks pressed in from left and right, overwhelming Cell's defences.
"Goku!" Break shouted. "Finish it now!"
"HYAAAAAH!" They screamed in unison, smashing right through Cell's guard and incinerating first his arms, then working inwards and pulping his body like paper in a shredder. Cell hissed his last few venomous words as he disintegrated. "This...cannot...be...I am...perfect...!" There was no sparing even a single cell this time, no regenerating-energy was blasting in from all sides, crushing and obliterating even the smallest piece of the horrific creature. Finally, the two attacks met in the middle, the energies clashing and cancelling each other out in the most massive blast wave yet. This one dwarfed all other explosions, any clash between the universe's most powerful fighters. The light from Cell's defeat could be seen from solar systems away, lighting up Earth like a beacon, then slowly fading.
Goku collapsed to the ground. Chi-Chi... he managed to lock on to her mind with telepathy. It's done...it's finally done. But I'm sorry, I'm too late...Gohan's...
He's just barely hanging on, Goku...hurry! He's fading fast, he hasn't got long... his wife replied.
Goku gasped, his weariness forgotten. "He's alive?!" he said out loud. His energy must have dropped so low I couldn't sense it at all... "Break! Gohan's alive, but he hasn't got long...we need to get him the medicine...you're the fastest! I've got no strength left, hurry!"
Break struggled to her feet, sighing as fatigue forced her to return to her base form. "Right, but...where's the medicine? Cell buried it somewhere around here...that's pretty vague...how do I find it?!"
Chi-Chi was shaking Gohan by the shoulders, trying to get his attention. "Gohan! Hold on! Just a few more minutes, they're coming!" His eyes rolled up into his head, glazing over. His breathing began to fade. Just as she was about to despair, there was a hiss and a pop. She looked down to see a bottle of liquid had materialised in her hand. In a frenzy, and perhaps more understanding than she realised, she started unthinkingly spooning it into Gohan's mouth. A couple mouthfuls, and he gasped, colour returning to his face. She smiled, overjoyed, and only then did she question what had just happened. "Where did this come from...?" she wondered aloud.
You're welcome! A kindly voice said, directly into her mind. Instead of panicking, she approached the situation logically. She'd experienced telepathy before. "You must be...King Kai?"
That's right! Came the reply. You guys all said you were saving the Dragon Balls on Namek for an emergency, so I figured this qualified...I contacted their elders a few minutes ago. They owe Earth one for saving them from the frost demons, and transporting the medicine to you was easy for Porunga!
"Porunga..." she nodded. "Namek's dragon, right."
Yup! Hold on, I'll just tell the others. Give him small amounts every few hours until he recovers, all right? Oh, and you might want to take a little yourself, plus anyone who's been in contact with him since he fell ill. Can't be too careful. Well, see ya. The cheerful voice cut off as King Kai informed the fighters of this latest turn of events.
Hearing the good news, Goku smiled, letting himself power down to normal. It was a bittersweet victory-many had been lost-but for now, he allowed himself to fall into a deep sleep.
Events began to move quickly after that. With no Instant Transmission user available, the second wish from the Namekian dragon was used to transport the Namek child (now almost a teenager by Earth reckoning) Dende over from Namek. He'd taken a liking to the humans after being personally saved by them on the original planet Namek. With his healing abilities, he quickly restored the fighters to full strength.
Gatherings of the Earth's defenders usually took place at Capsule Corp, but due to the planned restoration of the Dragon Balls and other important decisions about the future, it was decided that the meeting would be at what used to be Kami's lookout, in 24 hours.
"All right. You're sure that you can re-energise the dragon?" Goku asked.
Dende nodded. "Sure. Now you've fixed up the model..." he indicated the miniature stone dragon on the floor in front of them. "It'll be fine. I can even make it grant three wishes like the one on Namek!"
"Oh, cool!" Goku smiled. "But remember that Cell killed a whole lot of people, so we'll need to be able to bring back groups of people with a single wish."
"Right." Dende fell silent for a second, thinking this over. "That'll take up some of its power, but it'll still be able to grant two wishes. And it won't be able to resurrect anybody more than once."
Goku shrugged. "That's fine...since it's technically a different dragon now, it's like we're starting from scratch. We can even revive the people who've been brought back before by the old Shenron."
"It's a good thing you got to Gohan when you did," Dende said quietly, "or he'd be gone for good. No wish can undo a death by natural causes, like disease..." he shook his head, clearing his mind of such thoughts. "Never mind. Let's just get to fixing things."
"You're sure?" Break asked. "You'll have to adopt full responsibility as Guardian of the Earth, like Kami before you. You might not see your home for a long time."
Dende sighed. "...I know. But what would you think of me if I left your planet in this state? For now...just stand back." He mumbled a few words in the Namekian language, and an enormous bolt of lightning struck the model, the gathered Dragon Balls glowing as their old power re-filled them. The sky darkened, and with a thunderous noise Shenron burst forth, emerging and filling the sky over the lookout.
"YOU WHO HAVE SUMMONED ME," Shenron boomed, "SPEAK YOUR WISHES, FOR I SHALL GRANT ANY TWO OF YOUR HEART'S DESIRES."
Krillin grinned. "Ah, it's good to see the big guy again. Hey, guys-let's be careful exactly what we wish for. There's a lot to consider."
"And remember Porunga, on Namek, still has one wish remaining before his power is dissipated," Dende reminded them.
"Huh? It's been a while...you mean he's still waiting on them?" Krillin asked.
Dende frowned. "Yeah...Moori tells me he's pretty impatient, but they asked for a day or two to think, given the kind of losses Earth has suffered, and the dragon agreed to wait this once."
"Okay." Goku stepped ahead of the others. "First thing's first...the actual planet itself's suffered some pretty heavy damage, not least the hole I blew in it, so let's get that out of the way. SHENRON!" He spread his arms wide, speaking loudly and boldly. "Please repair all the damage caused to the Earth during the battles of the past few weeks!"
Shenron's eyes flared a brighter red. "YOUR WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED. NOW SPEAK YOUR SECOND WISH, SO THAT I MAY RETURN TO MY REST."
"Okay." Goku looked back at the others. "Pretty simple, right? Resurrect everybody Cell killed? Wait, make that Cell and the androids..."
"Hold on." Nail shook his head. "That might not work for Yamcha, as from a certain point of view he killed himself...and don't forget that Piccolo levelled an apartment block right near the beginning, when 19 and 20 showed up. Not to mention that Seventeen and Eighteen were actually killed by you, Goku..."
"Oh, yeah." Goku tapped his forehead. "Ah! How about this? We ask for Shenron to bring back everyone killed during the battles against the androids and Cell...ah, we should say 'except Cell', I guess. He might count as living. I don't think 16, 19 or 20 will, though."
A voice cut through their minds. You're forgetting one thing, if I might interject.
"Uh?" Goku stared slightly upwards, his habit when talking telepathically to someone far-off. "Raditz?"
Who else? Raditz answered. King Kai's helping me boost my telepathy so I can talk to you from the afterlife. Anyway...remember what you promised. I died an honourable death. A warrior's death. You can't...you can't bring me back so that I can just fade away. A saiyan's life is meant to end with a bang, not a whimper!
"Uh...Launch?" Goku turned, seeing the dark-blue-haired woman already walking out ahead of the group. She was carrying the baby version of Break from this timeline. "Aren't you gonna ask him...to come back?" Goku asked.
Eyes shining, but holding back tears, she shook her head. "...No. Raditz!"
Yes?
"I know this is how you want it, and...I won't argue." She was shaking slightly, and then her whole body shuddered, and she was suddenly in her agressive, blonde personality, somehow having changed without the usual sneeze trigger. Evidently, her mind was under some considerable stress. "I'll...raise our kid...but more than that." She switched back to shy, but her tone of voice didn't change. Her outline seemed to blur. "I told you I'd get stronger...at least, one half of me did, but..." Switch. "But all of me meant it!" She sniffed. "We'll meet again, before the end. I don't know how, but...sometime in this life, I'm gonna see you again." Switch. "And I'll be strong enough...you'll look at me as an equal!"
In Otherworld, millions of miles away, Raditz smiled, touched. Launch...I never saw you as enything less. He looked up. But if you say we'll see each other...then we will. I believe you.
"You bet!" The personality switches became a blur, starting to become indistinguishable from each other. "So go. Go have an adventure...the greatest adventure in the universe. And I'll be waiting."
He laughed softly. You know how I'd say I wanted to be a saiyan, but human? I should have listened to you more. You've got it without even trying.
"Just get going, you...you wonderful idiot. Don't drag this out." She waved a hand to the sky, and baby Break did the same, laughing. "See ya!" There was a snapping sound, a loud crack, and the two blurring images settled together, forming one. Dark blue hair, run through with a streak of blonde, and projecting a new air of confidence.
I will. And with that, he was gone.
Goku took a deep breath. "All right then...Shenron!"
"WHAT IS YOUR SECOND WISH?"
"Please bring back to life all those who were killed during the battles with Cell and the androids, except Cell and...Raditz."
"VERY WELL." Shenron's eyes glowed for longer than before, the specifics of the wish taking several seconds to work through. "YOUR WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED. MY TASK IS DONE." The dragon faded, the dragon balls scattered to the far corners of the Earth, and the sky returned to normal. Shortly, they were joined by several more figures on the lookout-Tien, Yamcha, Bulma, Seventeen and Eighteen.
"What happened, guys? I don't remember..." Bulma asked, trailing off.
"Well, uh," Krillin mumbled, "Cell kind of, uh, killed you. And then Goku went completely mad..." he continued to recount the story, various parts requiring re-telling as Tien and Yamcha walked over and asked what had happened since they'd died. Seventeen and Eighteen hung at the edges, listening intently but not joining in with the conversation-they were only there at all because they'd needed to hear the full story.
"So now what?" Nail asked. "We've still got the dragon on Namek hanging around, waiting for somebody to use its last wish, remember?"
Yamcha scratched his head, looking optimistic. "Well, we've done what we need to do, so...we could wish for a giant pile of money?"
"Or a never-ending supply of food?" Goku suggested.
Break coughed. "This might sound a little selfish, but maybe we could use that wish to get me back to my time? Cell destroyed my time machine, after all."
"Don't worry about that." Bulma indicated herself. "Cell said he stole your time machine, right? You're looking at the world's foremost expert in state-of-the-art technology, alien tech, future, tech, you name it!" A thought struck her, and she looked slightly uncertain for a second. "Of course, that came from some third timeline, so that could be a problem, but now that we know there are different timelines, I'm sure we can use your...temporal signature or something, I don't know...and calibrate the machine to return you to your proper timeline. No need to use a wish for that."
"Hold on a second," a voice said. Android Eighteen, her brother Seventeen drifting along just behind, was approaching the group. "You come from the future?"
Break nodded, eyes hard. "A future the pair of you destroyed. Krillin keeps telling us you're different here, that you're human, but where I come from you're heartless killers. You've destroyed most of human civilisation, and killed a lot of people close to me. When I get back there, I'm going to destroy that version of you...it'll be easy, with the power I have now."
Eighteen nodded. "I think I understand, I..." she sighed. "What was it like?"
Break seemed surprised. She cares? "Like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, I've been told. There was no warning. The first few weeks were the worst. You had only just been released...I guess you must have killed Dr. Gero, because we never saw any sign of him, but you were just having fun with your power. Even in this timeline we couldn't stop you at first, but in that one, when we were unprepared-with both Goku and Raditz already dead-it was a slaughter. First Earth's defenders." She spoke tonelessly, as if reciting from a book, trying not to bring emotion into it. "You hunted them across the world, picking them off...only Gohan survived, taking Bulma, Trunks and me with him as he escaped. And then there was nothing between you and billions of innocents. It was the apocalypse. The end of the world. Judgement day. Today, there are probably less than a million humans on the planet, and that many only because you can't sense energy and you don't particularly feel like destroying the whole thing. It's not just humans, though. It's a wasteland. You rarely see animals...there's hardly any green left...do you know, I..." her voice started to crack. "I came back to this time, and the first thing that struck me was how beatiful the planet was. I barely recognised it as the same place. The future doesn't even look like Earth anymore. Even those still alive are in constant fear of your next attack. It's not living...it's just waiting for death."
Eighteen was biting her lip, forcing herself to listen. Even Seventeen, normally detached and aloof, seemed horrified. "Could we...really do that?" he whispered.
"Twenty years..." Eighteen muttered. "Almost twenty years of absolute freedom. Wandering the Earth, taking anything we wanted. Yes, we could do it. Remember how proud we were, just a few days ago? When no-one could match us? It wouldn't take much to change us from just arrogant into monsters." She looked up, staring straight into Break's eyes. "I want to go with you."
"What?"
"I want to go to your time. When you've beaten those versions of us...there's going to be a lot of work to do, isn't there? Fixing the world."
Break nodded. "If humanity can continue...there's a lot of damage to undo. And no dragon balls to magic the problem away."
"Well, I want to help. My strength can make a difference. I know it was a different time...it wasn't really us. But I still feel responsible. It could have been us...if it weren't for Break's coming back here, it would have been us."
"Hey, Eighteen..." her brother looked her in the eyes. "You're serious about this? That's a major commitment."
"I'm sure." She gave a slight nod towards Krillin. "I've...done a lot of thinking, lately. I think we were wrong about a lot of things."
"In that case...count me in. You're not going anywhere without me." A nervous grin passed between the siblings. "Plus, when Cell absorbed us, I came to some conclusions about what I think of Gero's plans. Anything we can do to spit in his face, in any timeline, is fine by me."
Break was puzzled. Could these two, the monsters she'd run from her whole life, change so much? What had Krillin said to Eighteen? What she didn't know was that it wasn't really about what the man had said. He had done something else: he'd listened. And understood. "Well...all right. I'm putting a lot of trust in you, but you seem pretty sincere. It's going to be a shock to Bulma, seeing you..." Inside, she was still hesitating. She'd watched so many die because of these two. So why hadn't she outright refused? Maybe...maybe she wanted to believe that they could change. That evil and cruelty wasn't their real nature. Because they were human, once. And if all it took was freedom to turn them into monsters...did that mean all people were like them, deep down? Break had to believe that they were good at heart. That humanity was the race she hoped it could be. And so, she had to give them this chance. Even if she raged inside, every second they were still alive.
"Well..." Krillin smiled slightly. "If you really want to do it, then I might be able to make it an easier job. Hey, Dende! You still got a telepathic link with your family on Namek?"
Dende nodded. "Yes! Have you decided on a final wish for Porunga?"
"I have. Now, relay this wish word for word." He took a deep breath. "I want all the people of Earth in Break's future to forget what androids Seventeen and Eighteen look and sound like. They have to remember them only as vague, shadowy monsters. That way, when this version of Seventeen and Eighteen try and help, they won't be feared and hated."
Dende frowned. "It is difficult. The Namekian language is...I think that should do it. Oh...hmm."
"'Oh' what?" Krillin asked. "I don't like the sound of that."
"The dragon...is not sure. Affecting another timelines...might be beyond his power. But he'll try."
"Right. I mean, I was hoping just affecting people's perceptions would be possible..." Krillin started pacing back and forth nervously. "I guessed affecting that other time physically would be too much, I never thought that we'd be able to actually fix that other world from here, but maybe...just maybe, we can do something subtle like this. Especially if he can, I don't know, lock on to Break's temporal something-or-other, since she's from that universe."
"Well..." Dende replied. "We'll see. For now, we can only wait."
Bulma leaned out of the window, feeling the biting wind whip at her eyes and hair, watching the derelict time machine as it was lifted out of the dense undergrowth that had sprouted around it over the years. "All right, haul it up!" she shouted as the crane pulled. She could have asked one of the superhuman warriors to do the heavy lifting, and it would probably have been a lot quicker and easier, but sometimes it felt good to live in the real world once in a while-even if the 'real world' involved salvaging a time machine.
In short order, her assortment of remote-controlled vehicles had recovered the machine and loaded it into the transport plane, where it was whisked back to Capsule Corp. Work began immediately, despite her parents' protests. "You've only been back from the dead a minute, dear!" Dr. Briefs muttered, shaking his head as Bulma dashed off into the hangar.
"I'm busy! Get off my case!" she called back, skidding to a halt and looking up at the time machine. It was broken, almost a complete wreck. It was calibrated for the wrong future timeline. And it was technology twenty years ahead of her knowledge. Impossible, some might say. She grinned, snapping her goggles down. Well...the impossible takes me a little longer...
"Uh, guys?" Krillin called from the front room. "You might want to see this..." The inhabitants of Kame House traipsed in, to see the martial artist pointing at the TV screen, a 'what-can-I-say' expression on his face. A serious-looking man in military uniform, several medals and decorations adorning his chest, was speaking calmly and solemnly, staring directly into the camera.
"...the combined armed forces of the entire world government, including a full fifteen regiments of the King's Guards-a show of force unparalleled since the incident involving the Demon King Piccolo-arrived to find the field of battle utterly devastated," he was saying. The caption at the bottom of the screen read 'General Ripper, commander-in-chief, King's Guards'. "Previous footage had already proven both Cell and the group fighting him to be on an entirely different level to ordinary humans. With the Earth still intact-and reports are beginning to come in that the death and destruction caused are being undone by some mysterious force-we must arrive at the conclusion that the creature known as Cell has been defeated. We have had a team of scientists investigating the site since we arrived, and from the data we gathered before the damage was somehow repaired, we have estimated that the combatants have power outputs in the megatons, at least. I should stress that these people were unarmed, and extensive footage analysis has revealed no sign of trickery or image manipulation, as claimed by world martial arts champion 'Hercule Satan'." He paused, blinking for the first time, his expression never wavering. "And now, if you are listening out there somewhere, I would like to address these warriors directly. Whoever you are...you have done the people of this planet a great service. The Earth thanks you." He stood to attention and saluted.
"Well, what do you know..." Krillin mumbled. "Some gratitude at last."
The General continued speaking. "And now, a request. If you are watching, I invite you, formally, to Central City. We wish to personally congratulate you for your services, of course, but there is another thing. What I want, and what I know the people want right now, is the truth. It's said that smaller-scale versions of the abilities you possess have been seen at past world martial arts tournaments, and this may be true, but I hope you can understand the difference between that and the kind of awesome power displayed yesterday...I only request that if such power is achievable by all of us, its secrets be made known. At least to the world government...at most, to the public. We are all created equal. That is all." He stepped down from the podium as the news station returned to the studio. Krillin turned the TV off. "Well, guys? What do we do?"
"We tell them." They turned at the voice, seeing Goku in the doorway. "There's no reason to keep secrets, when people's lives could be benefited by knowing what we know."
"Everything, though?" Krillin raised an eyebrow. "The Dragon Balls? Time travel? Saiyans? People might not believe all that..."
Goku laughed. "Well, maybe not everything. But how ki works, at least." He shrugged. "I mean, he asked nicely, right? What's the worst that could happen?"
And that is it for the Cell saga! Wow, that was pretty long. Saiyan saga was 10 chapters, Namek was 9, Cold family 'saga' was 5...but the android saga here was thirteen. And the chapters have gotten longer, too, so that's another thing.
Anyway. I'm really looking forwards to the Buu saga, and I hope you are too, but we've got a ways to go yet. How does Tree of Might, Lord Slug, Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans, the Baby saga, Broly: Second Coming, and Fusion Reborn sound in the meantime? (And possibly Super Android 13. And maybe Dead Zone. And we might even see how Vegeta's doing. I haven't decided when we'll get back to that yet.)
Q: So, Gohan's dead? When did that happen? Just thought he was in pain..
A: He was almost dead. His ki became too faint for Goku to sense it.
Q: Awesome chapter, looks like Goku isn't going to save the day, and since Break and Goku have already unlocked some new power, does this mean it'll be Raditz who saves the day? Or by some miracle, Gohan?
A: How about all of them?
Q: A quick question Is Vegeta going to transform against Bojack or is it a pseudo-Ssj2?
A: WE SHALL SEE.
Q: This is my question: if earth is destroyed by Cell, who only grows stronger when defeated, Majin Buu is destroyed. If Cell succeeds, will the Majin Buu arc be null? Also, if the Kais intervened because Buu was strong, would they not intervene with Cell? He is at present the deadliest foe. And a threat to the universe at large.
A: I don't know. You didn't think I'd let Cell win, did you? That would be teribly un-DBZ of me. But would the Kais intervene? Well, he's at present confined to a single planet, so they'd probably only become aware of him as a serious threat if he destroyed Earth and moved on to terrorise the universe. Which he didn't.
Q: However, I feel like this chapter was much shorter than your previous ones. Goku's ascendance, which was iconic to the entire Dragon Ball series in general, seemed too condensed. As soon as I started to share Goku's pain, it was over. I think that adding more detail and some more quotes from later sagas would have been a positive contribution. The idea you had in mind was to hurt us in the nostalgia, and as soon as the effect started to sink in... poof... it was gone.
A: Sorry. I just kind of ran out of things to say. I guess using quotes from the whole story didn't occur to me, I was going for the whole importance of his first human contact, that sort of thing.
Q: I seriously feel as if Vegeta's on the short end of the stick in this story. He hasn't been given the proper character development that all of the other characters have received. Hell, even Kuriza, a guy we've only known for a few chapters, has gotten more development. I understand that you're trying to remind everyone that Vegeta's still a relevant character, but by reminding us of his fight, you inadvertently remind us that Vegeta still hasn't gotten the treatment he deserves. As a result, BTtL Vegeta remains a rather one-dimensional character in a story where nearly everyone else has developed much further.
A: Oh, he'll develop. Fear not. What we're seeing here is Vegeta clinging to the same ideas and values that have driven him his whole life-repeating the same sort of thing over and over. At the moment, you're right, he hasn't matured and developed much at all. And Bojack is kicking the crap out of him. He'll...Hmm, I've probably said too much already.
Q: There's only one villain I hate more that BTtL!Cell and that's FutureHonorTrip!Cell. The similarities? Both are complete assholes about dying. I mean seriously, "How'd you escape?" "Oh, I just used Instant Transmission. I didn't even know I knew that." Seriously though, how the hell does he even know it? In canon it was only because Goku took him to otherworld with it.
A: Well, he's dead now, so I hope that satisfies you. Anyway, he had all their other techniques-I don't think Instant Transmission is any more unfeasible than knowing, say, the kamehameha or solar flare.
Q: (various comments on how Bulma's machine reminds people of Ghostbusters)
A: Yeah, I needed a design for her machine, and then I watched Ghostbusters (for the first time, actually). I thought, "YES. This." But, you know, not exactly that. Just something that looks a little like the proton packs, because, well, they look pretty cool, no? Bulma's machine was a little less portable and practical.
Q: I see Gohan dieing and Raditz pulling the sacrifice like he did with Cold in Break's timeline however Raditz refuses to be brought back like what happened with Goku. But I don't see Gohan staying dead, course he might to train with Raditz and what not. Though Bulma's death was slightly unforeseen.
A: Well...he did pull off some kind of sacrifice. Gohan would've died of natural causes and been impossible to resurrect. I had considered, at one point, Gohan dying and going to Otherworld, but they convince Raditz to come back. Overall, though, I prefer this version, not least because it lets me do a lot of cool stuff in the time gap and eventually in the Buu saga.
Q: Shit even I can't predict how cell will loose. Nice chapter this was good and yes glad to see Vegeta is he going ssj2? and will he be paired with Zangya I just got that vibe. And then will Vegeta and Zangya and there child all come to earth as Majins in the buu saga? that would be awesome.
A: Uh, maybe, maybe and maybe?
How much will our heroes tell the world? What new adventures will Raditz find in the afterlife? And how can I possibly top that Cell battle? FIND OUT-
Raditz: No we're not doing that!
Huh?
Raditz: I said no! None of that! Shame on you!
Hey, hold on a second. Since when do you get to decide-
Burter: FindoutnexttimeonDragonBallZ ! (beep) Yes! Best time!
Damn it, guys, you're making me look unprofessional!
Yamcha: Hey, has anyone seen my nachos? I left 'em around here somewhere...
Raditz: Hey! Get out of here! We're trying to finish the chapter!
Yamcha: All right, but if you see 'em...
Raditz: Leave. Now.
Just...(sigh)...just end the recording.
Raditz: Oh, so now you're rehashing another joke that you already-
You know what, screw it. DON'T MISS THE NEXT EXCITING EPISODE OF DRAGON BALL Z!
Raditz: Oh, for ****'s sake...