Everyone stood perfectly silent.
Wind whipped through the field and a low groan came from Hercule, who had slumped down into the hole surrounding him. Some of the fighters had retreated even further away from the trench separating them from Cell. One lone man was sitting beside Hercule trying to lift him up and move him away from the battlefield.
Many of them had fought Hercule in the last tournament, and all of them had failed to overcome him. If Hercule had so easily been bested by this monster, what chance did they stand?
"I'm waiting," Cell purred.
Bulla looked over at her father, who remained motionless, and then to Goku who stood on her other side. Behind his eyes a storm was brewing, but he did not act.
"What are we going to do?" Bulla whispered to him.
"We can't get into it with Cell like this, not now," Goku's tone was alarmingly serious. "It gives him an excuse to start sending energy blasts. We need to get these people out of here."
"But how?" she asked.
Goku shook his head. "I'm not sure."
An agonizing few minutes passed with Cell just staring and the human fighters cowering. Cell impatiently drummed his fingers on his biceps, waiting for someone to take the first strike. He looked over to the Z Fighters who had not moved from their position next to the trench.
"Waiting for something?" Cell asked, looking directly at Goku.
"Let these people leave here, Cell," Goku said. "This fight is between you and me and you know it."
Cell smirked. Goku was the main event, but he was still having fun with the pre-show activities. Asserting dominance was important to his plan, and Cell wasn't so sure simply knocking that buffoon out of the ring would be enough to make Earthlings around the world cower.
"You might be right," Cell laughed. "But I promised them a show."
Cell extended his finger and aimed it at the sole fighter tending to Hercule's injuries. The man was muscular, tanned and tall—a picture perfect paragon of a man who undoubtedly was the strongest of his community. When he noticed Cell's attention, he tried to hide his worry.
"You're next." Cell said. Before the man even had the opportunity to register Cell's words, a beam of energy had pierced his core. Shock filled his eyes as his hands roved down to his chest, his fingers drench in his own blood. He looked down, then back to Cell, extending his fingers out into the air as if they were aflame.
The other fighters stood in fear.
"What…" the bleeding man said aloud. "What did you…"
Cell extended his hand once more and let out another beam that pierced the man's head, hurling him backward. Blood gushed out from the front and the back, and his eyes rolled. His heaving body collapsed on the dirt and a plume spat up into the blue sky. An audible gasp ripped through the fighters as the man's body twitched on the ground.
Beside him was Hercule, who despite being badly injured was transfixed on scene before him. His eyes shifted back over to Cell.
"What are you?" he said, his voice drenched in fear.
"I am the ultimate fighter," Cell smiled. "And I won't stop until all of you are dead."
"Cell, that's enough!" Goku yelled. Leaping across the trench, he landed firmly in the ring, just a few feet from where Cell stood. "Stop toying with these innocent people!"
"Well, Goku, I'd much rather fight you instead anyway," he smiled.
"Let these people go—let them leave here—and I can promise you, you will get to see all of me," Goku said. "You will see my ultimate power and I won't hold back. But if these people get in the crossfire, they will die."
"I have a better deal for you," Cell said. "Power up here and show me your power. Then I will let these people walk away."
Goku gritted his teeth. When he was younger, he had no issue with people knowing his strength. But things changed when Raditz came to Earth and the truth of his heritage was revealed. Back when he was a child, his power was a novel anomaly that people found endearing. Now he knew he was an alien living among Earth's people—an outside in sheep's clothes. Would they think that still when they felt the surge of his ki, or when they felt the unbridled energy he could release?
He wasn't so sure most Earthlings would be able to understand that. They would worship him or fear him—and he wasn't sure which was worse.
Innocent people were already dying at the hands of Cell, and he had to do something.
"Fine," he said. "I hope you keep your end of the bargain."
Goku let out a grating yell and unleashed a wave of power. It hit the ground and washed over the dusty field, kicking up rocks and dirt that flew in a surging tornado. A powerful light flooded the ring and a glow emitted around Goku's body as his hair changed from black to blonde. He screamed harder and the aura around him pulsated again, beating like a heart caged against a chest.
The wind he created pushed over several of the makeshift towers the camera people had been using to transmit their video, and it destroyed several of the canopies on the north side. People scrambled to their feet and examined their bodies to see if they had been hit like the dead fighter.
The other fighters got to their feet now, terrified of what they were looking at. The dozen or so men rushed whatever way they seemed to be facing: some back toward the north end of the ring, some off into the distance and a few scaling the rock face that shielded the field from the greater landscape. Hercule remained stunned, his head spinning with confusion and fear.
The spectators saw the commotion and chaos ensued. Feet stampeded in every direction with chairs and tables being shoved aside. A cameraman was trampled in the ensuing calamity. Several camera crews quickly threw their equipment in their trucks and high tailed it out of the area, while a few remained behind. Unbeknownst to those who remained, their feeds had been knocked out thanks to Goku's energy push and TV screens across Earth went black.
Goku didn't want this to be the way the people left, but it served his purpose. Just as he was about to kick down his energy gain and begin his assault on Cell, he caught the monster flashing a devious grin.
"Thank you, Goku, for that spectacular show," he smiled. "Now, it's time for my little show."
Cell's tail spiked at attention, its tip dilating larger and larger. Cell closed his eyes and grunted. His face had contorted into one of concentration and slight pain, as if he was physically bracing himself for a large push. From the tip a small, spherical white blob covered in slime appeared and popped out onto the ring. Another appeared, and then another.
"Are those...eggs?" Gohan gasped. Bulla shook her head.
"I have no idea," she replied.
Thick, black veins covered the surface of the object and it trembled on the ground as it rolled back and forth. Suddenly, the shell cracked and a claw jutted free from it. The creature inside looked somewhat like Cell, but unlike him had long, strange limbs and fangs and claws that looked sharp.
Each egg began to split now, and the tiny creatures inside congregated together smacking their lips like they were about to eat a delicious meal. Bulla counted seven of them.
"Do you like?" Cell said. "I made them myself."
"What are you doing, Cell?" Goku's voice was coarse.
"The agreement we struck, my friend, was that I would let these innocent people go," Cell said. "But I didn't say anything about them."
As if triggered by a command, the miniature Cells jumped into the air and began picking off the stragglers left behind. They were small—only about three feet in height—but they were fast. One grabbed a TV reporter by the waist, his claws tearing into the bright pink dress she had been wearing. She let out a scream that rippled through the air. Another pursued a group of fighters who had opted to climb the ridge. Two managed to scoot away by using their legs to kick it in the face, but one unfortunate man had been dragged down and lost his footing. He hit his head on a rock and the creature sunk its claws into his flesh.
"We have to stop them!" Piccolo shouted. "Split up everyone! Take out these creatures before they kill someone!"
The Z Fighters sprung into action. Bulla immediately flew across the field and wrangled the monster off the woman, who was bleeding but still alive. Gripping the monster by its head, she pried off the creature's jaw from the woman's stomach. The monster snapped at her and Bulla tossed it up in the air, sending off an energy blast to disintegrate it.
"Well that wasn't so hard," she said aloud, before realizing the monster was sailing back down with vengeance in its eye.
It swiped at her leg and the tip of its claws grazed Bulla's pants. They were razor sharp and left an open gash in the fabric, but luckily didn't draw any blood. She reached out her hand to block and grabbed the creature by its head and released an energy blast directly into its skull. Careening backward, the creature's headless body fell to the ground and twitched, its arms still swinging out to cut its victim.
Bulla rushed over to the woman who was lying on the ground. "Are you alright?"
The woman looked up at her, her eyes wide in shock. She looked down at her torn dress and inspected where the creature had punctured her skin. Dark red stains spotted the waist near the rip, and the woman ran her fingers over her skin.
"I…" her voice was heavy. "I think so. I don't think he got very deep."
"You need to get out of here, now," Bulla urged. "It isn't safe for you here, okay?"
The woman nodded. "How did you…" Her eyes drifted to Bulla's hand.
"There's no time for me to explain," she said ."You need to go."
The woman nodded again, and color started returning to her pale face. Bulla offered her a hand, but the stranger bristled at it. Slowly she stood up and attempted to tie her dress back together as if to preserve her modesty. Bulla watched as she rushed into her news van. Only when she heard the ignition turn did she return to the battlefield.
Krillin was taking on one of the creatures, as was Yamcha and Tien. Piccolo had already killed the one on the ledge while two double teamed Vegeta. On the other side, Gohan pulled one off a fighter who appeared to be dead. Among the madness, Hercule was shaking like a leaf.
These creatures were not particularly strong, but they were scrappy, making them hard to destroy quickly. Bulla rushed over to her father and threw one of the creatures off Vegeta's back. It sparred with her, trying to lunge its claws toward her eyes, and then moved its taloned feet to press against her abdomen. She turned to avoid it and grabbed the creature by its arms.
"These little demons are tougher than I thought," Vegeta growled.
He kicked the creature forward and jumped in the air, sending a ki blast pummeling into it. Simultaneously, Bulla threw the creature she had by the arms into Vegeta's path and the two disintegrated together.
Nearby, Krillin let out a yelp. The creature attacking him had got a good hit to his head and sunk its teeth into his shoulder in a vampiric rage. A stream of blood trickled down Krillin's neck as he pried the monster off of him. Piccolo swooped it, chopping the creature at its sides, causing it to welp and unclench its jaw.
Piccolo punched the creature from the side again and it tumbled across the dirt. He let out a ki blast that enveloped it. Yamcha and Tien were also holding their own, managing to take down the two monsters challenging them. As each creature fell to the Z Fighters, Cell remained stoic in the ring. He watched the madness unfold and smiled to himself as Goku looked on with a burning intensity.
"I will destroy you Cell for all the things you've done," Goku said.
Cell shrugged his shoulders. "Is that so?" Laughter danced on his tongue. "You keep saying that, and yet there you stand doing nothing."
"I've had enough of you Cell," Goku seethed. "It ends right here, right now."