The Universe, Nebula of God, Foot of the Winding Tree Palace
Whis and Beerus were casually resting on one of the many strangely-growing trees located on the Hakaishin's planet. Whis' staff floated above the waters just in front of them, broadcasting a sphere into the sky. Within this sphere, the silhouette of a young man clad in gi could be seen, his crimson hair muted by the green-tinge of Whis' staff, but nonetheless visible to both of them. Without even being present, both Whis and Beerus could fee the shift in Gohan's ki; he was finally casting the aura of a god. Beerus yawned dully, picking up a set of chopsticks and dangling katsu chicken over his mouth, dropping it in.
"There it is," Beerus said thickly through his chewing. "I was wondering how long the boy was going to stall, but it's about time he brought it out." Picking his teeth clean with a claw, he grinned widely. "The Super Saiyan God." Beerus leaned in attentively, his ears perking.
"Oh, are you finally interested, my Lord?" inquired Whis, noticing the not-too-subtle shift in his student's posture. "Shame about the moments you missed earlier. His movements may not be perfect just yet — he's still lacking in speed in respective areas, and his body responds too sluggishly, though I suppose there'll be time to rectify that in the far future — but young Son Gohan has really improved throughout the course of his training."
"It's rather dull for me to watch a battle when the contestants are so far below me," replied Beerus, scarfing down a helping of rice to chase the chicken. "Besides," he jabbed the chopsticks in Beerus' direction, ignoring any manner of etiquette with the utensils, "transformations are how these Saiyans evolve, isn't it? If Gohan is supposed to rival me, it's only natural that I want to see the state of his growth."
"Always so many words to simply beat around the bush, Lord Beerus," chortled Whis. "But I suppose you're quite right. I too wish to see just how far Gohan has evolved with the powers of a Saiyan God, especially against an opponent like this. This Cell is certainly nothing to sneeze at, at least for our friends on Earth." The man's purple-eyes narrowed, closing in on the ensuing battle that was beginning to unfold in front of their eyes. His expression was unreadable, and yet as it always was with Whis, conveyed a hint of knowledge behind a veneer of simplicity. "You may want to keep your eye on him yet, Lord Beerus."
The Hakaishin eyed Whis warily. "Do you know something I don't, Whis? You know I dislike secrets."
"Ohohohoho! Never you mind, Lord Beerus! Though I must ask," the attendant turned the interrogation back on Beerus. "I'm quite surprised that you didn't insist we head to Earth ourselves. If this Cell destroys the entire planet, why, we may be out of delicious delicacies to enjoy, and I know you'd find that unsatisfactory."
"Hmph! It's not my business if these fools can't protect their own planet!" Beerus snapped, turning his attention back to his lunch — though his eating noticeably slowed, almost as if he wanted to savour the meal — and through another mouthful of food, continued, "If we help them once, they'll come to depend on us again. The Hakaishin's job is to destroy. Besides, now that we know the best food in all creation comes from Earth, it's a small matter to find a talented Chef from Earth in the afterlife! No, Whis, I believe this entire situation should be solved by them!" In spite of this claim, the Hakaishin's yellow eyes flickered back towards the projection of Gohan battling Cell, and his body stiffened.
The eyes of the highest gods were now watching the battle for the fate of the Earth.
Brilliant crimson hair. An aura of flames that to the mortal eye appeared entirely unearthly, emanating from Gohan yet simultaneously disconnected from his entire being. A thinned frame and gentle countenance that carried with it a sense of control and careful measure by his mere presence. A strength that, to those not releasing the aura of a god themselves, seemed to generate a pressure that enveloped the entire world, yet the planet itself was at peace.
This was the Super Saiyan God, and Cell was bearing witness to it for the first time. His face, however, still had the smirk of a confident man. A pale white hand, raised in front of him to take his stance, trembled at the anticipation of the blow; pink eyes peered upwards, locking with ruby-hued orbs. Neither one of them exchanged words, though it could be said that the two combatants didn't need to speak anymore.
Gohan's family and friends, now willingly acquiesced to the part of spectator, leapt back to gain some distance, reaching a more distant part of the island not yet destroyed. They, as well as anyone else, knew that the battle before this had simply been testing the waters. Now, it was time for the real event. Gohan descended to the ground, his white boots touching cracked earth. The divine Saiyan-half lifted his arm - reminiscent of Hakaishin Beerus in his slow, methodical manner - and Cell, to everyone's amazement, was thrown back instantaneously by a kiai. The resultant wind whipped Gohan's crimson hair against the wind.
Then he vanished.
Cell's mind blanked.
It had been whirring only moments previous, taking in Gohan's godly form, working on strategies and means to overcome that which stood worlds above his current strength.
In the instant Gohan's kiai had pushed him off his feet and into the air, however, Cell's brain returned to the emptiness of neutrality, shock robbing him of thought. The next thing he saw was a crimson blur, Gohan manifesting in front of him, fist raised. The single blow that followed sent shockwaves through the ocean, causing waves to tremble and push against the island. Cell's eyes rolled back, but he did not black out, even after crashing dead into the island, splitting it straight down the middle.
The plume of dust and debris from Cell's collision erupted further, igniting in a flash of light, the Bio-Android forcing all traces of the land from within a set radius. His eyes frantically scanned the area, trying to detect a deity whose power he could no longer sense; the pressure, however, was everywhere, and only served to distort Cell's senses. The second round had hardly begun, and yet Cell was feeling the metaphorical and now very literal pressure.
THUD!He felt the collision before his eyes could track Gohan, but the crimson Saiyan-half practically materialised in front of Cell, his boot wedged firmly in the Bio-Android's gut. The air forcibly ejected itself from Cell's body - not that it he could suffocate so simply, but it only continued to add to his dizzying perceptions - and Cell was left unable to entirely concentrate on what came next. Gohan pulled his leg back, suspending himself in the air, he spun, bringing his right leg into the side of Cell's head.
The Bio-Android staggers back, his balance wavering, in time for Gohan to flicker behind him with the speed of a god.
"So this is Gohan's power...!" Trunks gaped, watching as Gohan was pressing Cell against the metaphorical wall. The two of them had seemed so even prior, but now Gohan was firmly on the offensive, with Cell unable to keep up with the god form. "His Super Saiyan God form is completely different from ours!"
"It's amazing," Goten grinned. "And he's so fast! I'm trying to keep up, but I'm missing quite a bit!"
"This is Super Saiyan God on a different scale," said Piccolo, agreeing with the young mens' assessment. "Though your training is lacking if you can't see him at this level.
"You can track this?" Videl eyed Piccolo, amazed.
"You should be able to as well," Piccolo admonished.
Erasa internally agreed. While she didn't know how much Piccolo could follow, she assumed it was similar to what she could see - everything. Her husband wasn't making any move to complex for her eyes to follow. Granted, she wondered how much of it came down to their respective combat strengths and how much came down to their own senses. Arms folded, face set, Son Erasa watched Cell emerge from the cloud of dust and debris, confusion more than anger etched on his face. Whatever he made of Super Saiyan God, Erasa could tell he wasn't thinking fondly of it.
It happened in a flash. Cell burst forth from the wreckage, sending rock and debris flying in every which direction. His wing spread, though they had no use for flight, the insectoid devil bursting towards Gohan. He thrust forth a powerful punch, which Gohan caught with a backhand motion before release. He struck back hard with a chop to Cell's neck, bringing his leg up to follow in the exact same place, and finishing with a powerful blow to the gut. Cell could not keep up, he couldn't track Gohan's movements, and each blow struck home with immense power.
Cell shook his head, trying to recoup, and launched a strike which Gohan avoided, deflecting using the back of his palm. Cell broke away, attempting to take to the sky, his body immersed in powerful light. Whether he was trying to escape, blow up the planet, or simply attack from the sky using the sun to his advantage, no one would figure it out. He felt a hand grip his exoskeleton with the force to crack it, and had mere moments to register that Gohan had gripped him before air pressure overwhelmed him, having been thrown by the divine Saiyan back down to Earth.
"HAH!" Cell shouted violently, his wings spread, emitting a body-wide kiai to steady him. Casting his gaze upwards, Cell angled a hand towards Gohan.
The sky was alight with a flurry of kikōha. Cell's arm extended, he released from his spread palm a flood of ki; spheres of various sizes and velocities burst forth determined to catch Gohan off guard and bring him to his knees. Through the sea of ki, Gohan's body weaved and spin, avoiding with grace unseen in his traditional style. The kikōha he avoided whizzed and flew through the air, some in different directions, but others more frequently into each other, resulting in explosions bright enough to make the sky glow.
Cell's face worked in frustration; he couldn't sense Gohan, he couldn't track his movements with his eyes either, and now he was moving so illogically that Cell was beginning to think it wouldn't matter even if he could. But he had a technique, one that he knew would kill this boy if it hit. And he wouldn't even need to squander his own full power to do it. The Bio-Android placed two fingers to his forehead, beginning to focus his ki towards that central point. His fingers began to glow, crackling with vibrant electricity.
Gohan, Videl, and Piccolo all recognised the stance recognised it from her training sessions under Piccolo, and Gohan had faced down the technique when Piccolo had fallen under Babidi's spell during the Majin Bū incident. Piccolo had expected Cell to be able to use the technique, but hadn't expected to see it here right now. The technique Cell was charging was the—
"MAKANKŌSAPPŌ!"
A vivid bright light was expelled from Cell's fingers, twisting and tangling itself into a beam of light encased in a spiraling second beam which created a drilling effect. Cell, Piccolo, Gohan, and Videl knew one thing for certain: the Makankōsappō was a special kind of beam cannon that distinguished between nothing. In the instance between charging and release, it surpassed the limits the current user was capable of, and could pierce anything, even if there was a slight delay. Gohan being a God meant nothing.
The Makankōsappō, if it connected, would kill him.
"Ka..."
"Me..."
"Ha..."
"Me..."
Muttering these words, in spite of the gasps of everyone watching, Gohan fearlessly dove straight towards the spiraling light of death. Seeming to meet it head-on, if only for a moment, Gohan swerved swiftly, igniting his burning aura and spiraling around the Makankōsappō. The technique began to slow as Gohan passed over it, and the crimson-haired man closed in on Cell, just in time for the Makankōsappō to be forcibly dissipated by his movements, the divine Saiyan's crimson eyes staring Cell down.
"What did you—"
Cell's speech fell short when Gohan thrust his arms outward the moment he destroyed any notion of distance between himself and the Bio-Android. Blue light engulfed Cell instantly, Gohan's Super Saiyan God-enhanced Kamehameha expelling itself from his palms, racing across the ruined island. It breached open ocean, splitting the sea in half before Gohan reeled the blast upwards, arcing it towards the sky before it could progress towards a populated area.
"How..did he do that?" Goten was practically gaping. Gohan had not only dissipated the Makankōsappō entirely, he'd moulded the ki needed for a Kamehameha while doing it, and made it look so effortless.
"I don't know when that boy got this good," Piccolo grinned, almost baring his fangs. "He's only seen the Makankōsappō once, but he must have been working this out over the last few years perhaps more frighteningly, he may have figured it out right then on the fly." The Nameccian sighed, unable to suppress the pride in his former student. "The Makankōsappō's greatest strength is its piercing nature; the spiraling form allows it to break through almost anything. By applying his own ki in an opposite flow of the Makankōsappō's rotation, and at greater speed, he completely nullified it. There were probably less dangerous ways to have done that, but Gohan needed to get in close to release that Kamehameha."
"This level of combat...I hate to admit it, but it's insane," Yamcha chuckled weakly. Watching the way Gohan was fighting, he felt the same way he used to feel watching Gokū back in the old days. Individually, each and every person here had the capacity to use god ki: however, in terms of sheer power, Gohan was just unmatchable.
"It just goes to show how far Gohan has come," Tenshinhan grinned, arms crossed. "It makes me want to redouble my efforts."
"That wasn't enough to kill him, though," Erasa noted, her eyes on the giant plume of smoke that was obscuring Cell from their vision. "Gohan had to angle that blast away from both the planet and any possible innocents. He's wounded but still alive."
Almost as if the universe wanted to prove her statement, a stream of light shot into the sky from the smokescreen, utterly blowing it away. The light was revealed to be Cell himself, who had taken high into the air, showing no trace of a wound of any sort — Piccolo's cells at work, of course — but if the fighters on the ground could see Cell's face, they would have noticed an expression of rage and fury.
"I'll admit it, Gohan!" Cell called down. "Your godly powers are more than I expected, more than perhaps even she could have thought. But I have numerous contingencies to fall back on...such as this!" Cell thrust both arms above his head, as if his was reaching for the stars. "Thank you for supplying me with such a ready source of energy! You won't need to lend me any, Earth — I'LL TAKE MY FILL!"
Piccolo gaped, wide-eyed from the sidelines. He recognised the posture, being the only one present besides Gohan who had seen the technique itself. "He...he was serious back then?! It's the Genki Dama!"
"The Genki...Dama...?" Erasa repeated the name of the unfamiliar technique. "Piccolo, can you explain?"
"The Genki Dama is the ultimate technique of the North Kaiō," Piccolo replied, eyeing Cell with wonder, fear, and trepidation. "It allows one to borrow the ki from the living creatures around them, and coalesce it into a powerful, volatile sphere of explosive ki!" A bead of sweat dripped down Piccolo's bald head. Cell had told him, years ago, after he had first merged with God:
"I'm not limited to the Kamehameha, Kuririn! I could even perform the Genki Dama if I wanted to!"
"I thought he was kidding, all those years ago. He shouldn't be able to use that technique without a pure heart, undisturbed by thoughts of malice! That's why the North Kaiō didn't teach it to any of us!"
Gohan too knew that the Genki Dama was unable to be used by those whose hearts were filled with impurities; Cell's very attempt to use the technique was brazen, and should have been impossible. Yet there Cell was, taking the stance he knew well from his father during the battle on Namek. At first, nothing happened.
Then Gohan felt it. His senses as a god made sensing ki second nature, and he could feel it. Whatever Cell was doing, he was draining the ki from the Earthlings, the animals, plants, and the world itself. The divine Saiyan's crimson eyes saw the ki rushing towards Cell, coalescing above the Bio-Android's body.
"Erasa!" Gohan called out, turning his back on Cell for the brief moment. "Throw up a barrier! Protect everyone! He's not merely gathering the energy from willing donors; Cell's forcibly taking it!"
"Right!" Erasa confirmed, and beckoned towards her friends. "Everyone, gather around me, quickly!" The Dragon Team doing as instructed, Erasa's body was bathed in ki, taking on a shape that resembled energy in human form. Gradually, Erasa's form soldified, the encasing of crimson ki around her body fading away; it lingered only around her clothing, hair, and eyebrows, all giving off a brilliant red hue. Her formerly blue eyes, having skipped the black phase of her mortal transformation, narrowed, the iris spread out over the whole of eyeball, adopting its concentric circle pattern, and her orbs manifested around her neck as an adornment.
The Dragon Team balked. This was Erasa's god transformation? It was beautiful.
Son Gohan's wife can use god ki as well? Cell thought, his face not betraying his astonishment. It seems that woman's intel was off; I thought only Gohan was capable of such strength. But it means nothing! There was more than one way to employ the Genki Dama. That foolish Kaiō was shortsighted when he constructed this technique, thinking that creating the base technique with the restriction of "pureness of heart" would prevent it from falling into the hands of the wicked. Techniques were meant to serve as a foundation to move forward, and Cell had done so with the Genki Dama: one could already draw more than a being was willing to give if they were forceful about it, and through adept ki control, the alignmnt of the gathered ki could be warped to suit a malicious user.
The Genki Dama forming above Cell's head was a manifestation of impurity, hatred, and negative thoughts. The North Kaiō would be horrified by the idea, and Gokū could never have conceived the idea.
"I'm...starting to feel weak..." Trunks was the first to notice his condition; the strength was leaving his body by the second, at a rapid rate he could do nothing to prevent.
"What's...happening...?!"
"He's stealing our ki!" Piccolo realised.
"Don't worry," Erasa pulled the orbs from around her neck, arranging them each in a pattern that would be familiar to those who knew her fighting style well now. The spheres ordered themselves around Piccolo, Videl, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Goten, and Trunks, even embedding themselves into the ground. Through thin lines of ki connecting each sphere, flat panes of ki, akin to glass, formed, creating Erasa's signature geometric barrier. Within the confines of this barrier, augmented by Erasa's god ki, the draining effect of Cell no longer held its sway; Erasa had completely cut them off from the Bio-Android.
"It's...gone...?" Videl looked down at her body, the sensation of growing weakness disappearing all but completely. "Erasa, what did you—"
"The quality of this technique," replied Piccolo before Erasa could answer. "Cell's Genki Dama seems to be a twisted varation of the actual technique. Rather than gathering the ki being given to him by willing donors, he's forcibly taking the ki from every living creature on the planet, and bending it to his will. He wouldn't be able to use the technique otherwise. But this barrier of Erasa's is made from god ki; Cell can't even make it through."
"We're lucky Gohan caught on so quickly," Trunks exhaled, his relief apparent.
"But why isn't it affecting Gohan?" Goten inquired the obvious, gesturing to his brother who stood tall amidst the tendrils and wisps of ki rushing their way towards Cell. "He isn't being phased at all!"
"Super Saiyan God casts the aura of a god," said Erasa. "Gohan was the only one already in a godly state, so Cell wasn't able to take energy from him. We weren't so lucky; Gohan felt it before any of us did, but Cell was able to siphon some of our ki regardless. And none of you have utility techniques like this-" she tapped the plane of her barrier, smiling broadly, an effect that accented the haunting look of her eyes "-so having me act fast was the best solution."
Gohan was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Erasa had acted quickly, and her barrier prevented Cell from sapping everyone of their ki before they could realise it. His concern for his family had cost him valuable time to counteract Cell's technique, however, and to Gohan's surprise, the Genki Dama was nearly complete. The ki was pulsating, almost as if the very life energy Cell had forcibly taken away from the planet Gohan was meant to protect was screaming out in pain. The deified Saiyan watched as the last portions of energy cycled their way into the completed sphere, a purplish-black mass that dwarfed Cell and everyone in its size.
"YES! THAT'S IT! I CAN FEEL IT!" Cell's voice roared out over the island, cackling mad with glee. "I WILL RELISH THIS MOMENT, SON GOHAN, AS YOU ARE DESTROYED BY THE KI OF THE WORLD TO WHOM YOU WERE MEANT TO BE SAVIOUR! FELLED BY YOUR FATHER'S OWN TRUMP CARD!" The Bio-Android thrust his arms downward, and with it, the Genki Dama followed suit. The gargantuan mass of ki descended upon Earth, looming right over Son Gohan.
"Gohan!"
"What is he going to do!?"
As if in response towards the question thrown out by one of his comrades, Gohan raised a hand towards the Genki Dama, five fingers spread and outstretched.
"Is he...going to stop it with one hand?!" Trunks almost laughed, unable contain his shock. "That's the same attack that destroyed Majin Bū, right? Gohan, you can't catch that thing!"
Cell, meanwhile, felt elation at what seemed like an act of insanity on Gohan's part. "I would say you should listen to Trunks, Gohan! But if you save yourself and dodge it, the planet will be destroyed, won't it?! You don't have any choice but to confront the Genki Dama head o—" What the Bio-Android saw next caused him to fall short of speech. The Genki Dama, which had been steadily descending, threatening imminent death upon the entire planet...
..had stopped dead.
Those on the ground could see the slight disturbance that Cell couldn't perceive from his lofty perch again. The twisted variation of the Genki Dama generated by Cell, the purplish abomination he'd manifested that went against the will of the gods, was beginning to lose its corrupt light. Where the ki met Gohan's outstretched hand, purple bled into shimmering blue, the ki losing its density and shape, shrinking, as all became clear.
Gohan was absorbing the Genki Dama into himself.
"He...stopped it?!" Videl gasped in shock.
"It's more than that," Piccolo eyed Gohan carefully, who had begun to raise his free hand, two fingers extended, and pointed them towards the sky. A stream of ki emitted from it, intense and powerful before dissipating into a spray that faded from sight. "This is complete ki domination. The difference between Cell's strength and Gohan's strength, coupled with the unique properties of god ki...they must be enabling this. He's completely taken the Genki Dama Cell generated and reversed the flow of ki in the opposite direction...before absorbing it and redispersing it throughout the atmosphere. The stolen ki Cell used...it should find its way back its hosts now."
Slowly, but steadily, the Genki Dama began to lose its size. It gradually shrunk, the entirety of the sullied energy being purified, absorbed, and released by Gohan in a masterful display of ki control. The Genki Dama finally flickering out of existence, Gohan lowered both arms, opening his eyes again; they peered directly into Cell's, almost as if they were confirming that what the monster had just seen Gohan do was in fact what he had transpired.
Gohan's next movement were unreadable by all but the keenest eyes. The Super Saiyan God vanished from sight, reforming right in front of Cell's eyes. He almost seemed to slide across the ground, keeping himself firmly rooted with one leg and landing a powerful, sending Cell careening backwards. As he tried righting himself, he noticed, a second late, that Gohan had pursued him; the Bio-Android tried to react, raising an arm up to strike Gohan at point blank range with a powerful kikōha.
In a swift movement, not only was Cell's kikōha deflected before he could even fire it, Gohan had landed a sharp kick to Cell's jaw which floored him instantly. To Cell, flat on the ruined island ground, Gohan's technique had appeared as one motion — one kick that had performed the miracle of disarming and striking — but it had been multiple kicks. Four in total: one to disarm, the other three to strike his leg, torso, and jaw. This was simply the difference in their speed now.
Cell forced himself to his feet, coming face to face with a hand Gohan had levied towards him. The young man's face was set; Cell could read it in his eyes.
"You think its over, don't you, boy?" Cell's voice came out akin to a hiss. His pink eyes were vibrant with fury, boring into Gohan's own. "I'll admit, I've hit my limit —"
"I know you have," said Gohan. "So why struggle? I'm going to eradicate you now, and end this, Cell."
"—my current limit, that is," the insectoid menace continued on as if Gohan had not cut him off mid-sentence. "She was right: I underestimated the power, the might of the gods. I wanted to defeat you soundly without showing all the cards in my hand. Perhaps it's the Gokū in me, who craves the thrill of a powerful challenge! Or the Freeza in me, who cannot stomach the thought of needing to use his full power against a pathetic Saiyan! Or maybe even the Piccolo or Vegeta in me — you know how they play with their food, Gohan." Steam began to rise from Cell's body, and the air filled with a familiar, and dangerous kind of pressure. One that sent chills down the spine of everyone who could feel it.
Gohan and Erasa, both in their godly states, however, could sense it for what it was.
The ki of the gods.
"Brace yourself, Gohan! I'll reveal to you my true power!"
A/N: Hello, hello, everyone! Its really been five months. I know I start almost every A/N off like this, to the point that it is probably rather meaningless now, but I am so sorry for the long ass updates. My personal life, combined with my job, has been rather hectic in these last few months, and my motivation to write - as well as my general energy levels, actually - fell completely and hit a new low. Its a combination of work, exhaustion, possible burnout, and as mentioned before, a lack of a drive completely unrelated to that burnout. To be perfectly honest, if any of my audience members left, either due to impatience, or due to a lack of anything interesting even when I do update, I sincerely don't blame them. But to those who have stuck around this long - and to the newer readers, welcome, I hope you can put up with me for awhile. I'm not actually sure what to even say about my chapter right now. It took quite awhile to write, and it is largely set-up for the coming chapter. I'm sorry if I didn't get enough written, but I don't believe in fights that last too long, and if it was just Gohan beating up on Cell for 10k words, I think that would have gotten boring. So I got exactly what I think was needed. I'll see you all in the next Erased Chronicles update; we're almost to the 100th chapter, everyone.