I feel like I finally have my mojo back. It's great to be writing again! Thank you to everyone who has left a comment - it is so motivating to know that there are people out there still reading and following along. There are even some of you who have started from the beginning and are commenting on each chapter as you read. Thank you so much, I've been reading your comment then re-reading the chapters as well!

We are into the Cell Games with this chapter! Obligatory comments: I don't own the characters. UK English.

Bulma peered into the glass orb that projected a small, blurry version of the battle with Cell, wishing there was a way to display the image onto a television screen. The media had stopped airing it about an hour ago when the news channel's cameras were blown up, but Master Roshi had somehow convinced his crotchety sister to come to his island to show the fight on her glass ball. If the image had been projected by technology Bulma would have tinkered with things to make the screen larger, but when it came to magic she was a little out of her depth.

Despite the small view, everyone who had crowded into Master Roshi's small house - which was pretty much all of the non-combatant friends of those in the arena - could tell that Cell had maintained the upper hand for the entire fight so far. It wasn't looking good. The silence in the room, broken only by Chi Chi's sniffing and Oolong's pacing, was palpable.

Baby Trunks squirmed and fussed in Bulma's arms, clearly just as unhappy with how well the fight was progressing as she was.

"Poor boy." Bulma's mother clucked sympathetically, plucking Trunks out of Bulma's arms. "Don't you worry, your daddy will beat that bad man and come home and bake you a big batch of cupcakes." She blew a raspberry on Trunks' tummy, making the boy giggle.

Bulma gave her mother a wan smile. She'd managed to convince her parents to both come to the island, and despite her father grumbling about the interruption to his work, they'd both eventually agreed.

Chi Chi knelt on the floor before the orb, winding a damp handkerchief between her hands. "That monster is going to kill Goku and my baby," she wailed. "I never should have let Gohan go!"

Bulma patted Chi Chi's shoulder. "The kids are handling themselves well," she said, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. It wasn't exactly a lie. Gohan, Trunks and Seria worked well as a team and kept Cell from being able to truly power up and get in any killing hits. But even to Bulma's inexpert eyes the children's moves were slowing and becoming more sloppy. Cell meanwhile fought with the same intensity he had at the beginning of the match.

"I should be there." Chi Chi stood up suddenly, knocking the table and sending the glass ball rolling.

Baba squawked in annoyance and caught the ball. "Stupid woman. What could you do other than get yourself killed?"

"Ara is there with her daughter." Chi Chi glared at the old woman. "I'd rather be out there than hiding here like a coward."

"That Ara chick has a big ass gun," Oolong pointed out.

"And she was a fighter for Frieza," Master Rochi added.

Bulma winced as Cell got in a ki blast that sent Vegeta - which one she wasn't sure, thanks to the grainy image - flying. "I agree with Chi Chi," she said. "I'm not going to wait around for the others to save the day any longer."

"What are you going to do?" Chi Chi wrinkled her nose and gave a disdainful sniff. "You've never fought a day in your life."

"I can take care of myself." Bulma picked up the backpack she'd brought for just such an emergency. None of the Z fighters were going to be happy with her, but she always planned for every possible eventuality and this time was no different. The dragon balls were collected and with Dende, her father had a capsulised spaceship in his pocket, and Bulma still had a trick or two up her sleeve to stop Cell. "Besides, I have something better than fighting skills."

Chi Chi frowned but dried the tears from her eyes. "What's that?"

Bulma grinned. "Science."

As he sailed face-first into a rugged clay cliff, Vegeta came to the conclusion that his time in the chamber with Trunks had not been enough.

Weak from the fight so far, he landed roughly, barely getting his arms up to take the brunt of the fall in time. With a groan, Vegeta half slid and half rolled his way down, falling in a crumpled heap with a groan to the bottom. If only his future self hadn't hogged one of the days he was sure he could have defeated Cell quickly. But nothing seemed to work.

Already was worn out from fighting the blue, aggravating mini Cell creatures, Vegeta was beginning to feel nervous about his ability to actually land a decent hit, let alone finish the lizard off.

The worst part was, Vegeta recognised Cell's technique… it was one he had deployed a thousand times before while working for Frieza. Let someone or something else wear them down first, then finish them off. After all, that had been exactly what he had done when he'd set the Saibamen on the Z fighters the first time he'd landed on Earth.

Cell's asexually produced babies had been strong, violent, and knowing that Cell had been created using part of his own DNA made Vegeta feel like they were a twisted kind of karmic retribution. Not that Vegeta believed in such things. The weak died, the strong died, and karma, if it existed at all, was for the afterlife. After all, if karma was real, Vegeta should by all accounts be writhing in continuous misery to match the countless lives he'd cruelly taken.

Spitting out dirt, Vegeta struggled to his feet. He started to brush off the dust and mud from his scratched up armour but quickly realised there was no point. All he was doing was smearing it around. Taking a few deep breaths to ready himself first, he then launched into the air and flew back to the battleground. The baby Cells had been destroyed, taking a few of the human Z fighters out of the games with them, including Yamcha (although not permanently, much to Vegeta's disappointment, but the man's broken arm was at a wonderfully disgusting angle). Unfortunately, the battle with the actual Cell wasn't going much better than it had with the babies, hence Vegeta's recent collision with the dirt.

As he approached, Vegeta quickly took in the scene. Trunks, Seria and Gohan had formed a ring around Cell and were taking shots at him, but all three looked exhausted, and their ki levels wavered dangerously. Vegeta's older self was visibly furious - a feeling he too shared - and even the usually cheerful Kakarot, who was currently engaged with Cell in hand to hand combat along with Piccolo, had his brow furrowed in concern.

Kakarot took a powerful hit, and the older Vegeta went straight in, replacing him. Recovering, Kakarot seemed to spot Vegeta, and he flew over, leaving everyone else to keep Cell distracted.

"This could be going better," Kakarot said, sounding a little out of breath.

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "No shit."

"We need a plan."

"Really." Vegeta sneered at the younger Saiyan. "Leave the planning to those of us with a brain, Kakarot. And stay the hell out of my way."

"But a joint attack would increase our chances-"

"Fuck off, Kakarot." Vegeta ignored the feeling in his gut that told him that the other Saiyan was talking sense for once and let all of his anger and rage flow into his body.

All this training, nearly killing himself daily to become a Super Saiyan, and for what? To be defeated by a genetic experiment? Not a chance.

Vegeta powered up, putting everything into it. All his fury, all his frustration, everything that had been bubbling under the surface since Frieza had died. He turned it into a powerful, white-hot energy beam and released it with a scream, trusting the others to read his ki and get out of the way.

The blast hit Cell in his back - a cheap shot, Vegeta knew but he'd never been one to play fair. It exploded into white and purple sparks, and while it didn't disintegrate the monster on impact, much to Vegeta's irritation, it did send the creature reeling backwards, forcing him into a defensive stance.

Cell twisted and retaliated with his own blast, but even through the explosion of ki, Vegeta could see the lizard's grimace. Cell wasn't so cocky now, Vegeta realised with a smirk.

Cell fired again, and Vegeta met it with another blast of his own. Locked in a strength of will, Vegeta could sense that their powers were evenly matched. It would only be a matter of who weakened first.

Suddenly, Cell faltered. Gaining the upper hand, Vegeta was quick to send more energy towards Cell. But it wasn't just Cell. To his shock, Kakarot was on Cell's back, like a turtles' shell.

"Finish it!" Kakarot gasped.

"Get out of the way, you moron!" Vegeta held the blast steady but didn't take advantage of Cell's confusion by finishing him off. "I'll kill you too!"

Not that he cared, Vegeta told himself. He certainly did not. But he couldn't fathom what game this pathetic excuse for a Saiyan was playing.

"We can't risk him escaping. Just do it!"

For once, Vegeta decided to listen to Kakarot. Having the other Saiyan distracting Cell was working. Vegeta's ki blast was weakening Cell's. Letting out a roar, he released everything he had left towards Cell. Cell's ki blast melted away and his own took over, exploding in a mushroom cloud that sent Vegeta and all of the Z fighters reeling backwards.

Black spots danced in front of his eyes, and Vegeta powered out of Super Saiyan and sank to his knees, drawing in shuddering, exhausted breaths. Blinking through his blurry eyesight, he watched the dust begin to settle.

Ha! He'd done it! He'd actually killed Cell. And unlike many of the others, he hadn't resorted to using the energy release trick Bulma had installed in his armour.

A wail came from his left. "What did you do?" Vegeta glanced over to see Gohan scrambling to his feet, his face ashen. "You killed my dad!"

Vegeta looked back at the spot where Cell and Kakarot had been, and realised the boy was right. He hadn't actually thought Kakarot would stay. He was supposed to move at the last moment. Instant transmission away. While he talked often about killing the man, Vegeta had not actually expected to do so. At least not today… If anything, Vegeta should have felt even more elated, but his joy slipped away, leaving him empty and exhausted.

"Kid," Piccolo placed a warning hand on Gohan's shoulder. "Your dad made a choice. Don't blame Vegeta."

Vegeta opened his mouth to make a snide remark but snapped it shut as a cloud of dust began to form and then rise.

It swirled and hissed in the wind, slowly gathering and forming a vaguely humanoid shape.

Vegeta swallowed hard. Had Kakarot learnt another strange technique in space - one for disintegrating then solidifying?

But as the shape formed even more Vegeta realised that it wasn't Kakarot after all. This person was larger. And greener.

Cell.

Vegeta took a horrified step back. Not only could the monster regenerate limbs, thanks to Piccolo's genes, but it appeared that he could regenerate from mere grains of dust!

"We are fucked," Vegeta whispered to himself.

"Yes." Cell appeared before him, his fingers to his forehead like Kakarot did when using instant transmission. His mouth quirked up in a smirk as he brought his hand down to grasp Vegeta's throat tightly. He squeezed hard, cutting off Vegeta's air completely as he lifted him in the air. "Yes you are."

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