THE CELL GAMETRIX
It was a beautiful day on Earth--or so Son Gohan thought. Before he knew it, he had been whisked away to a barren, white area with nothing all around.
"What is this place?" he asked, turning to his mentor, Goku.
"This," said Goku, spreading his arms wide, "is the Room of Spirit and Time. This place is ideal for training away from the prying eyes of the machines."
"The machines are our enemy?" asked Son Gohan, a bit confused.
"Yes," said Goku gravely. "You think it is a certain year. The fact is that many years ahead of the time you live in, humanity had a terrible war with the machines. We don't really know who started it, but we do know that it was us who scorched #20's laboratory. We thought that the machines needed supplies from the lab to survive. We were wrong. For a biological creature who did not rely on machine parts was lurking, and now he has come out: Cell."
"But what does this all mean?" asked Son Gohan. Where does Cell come into this? Where do I come into this? Why did you take me from home?"
"You think that's really your home? It might as well belong to the machines. You think your name's really Son Gohan? From now on you'll be known as Gohan. I'm going to explain the Cell Game to you." Gohan listened, ready for anything.
"Now, Cell takes his energy from humans and sometimes even machines," began Goku. "He mostly co-exists with them as an agent of the machines. A machine created him, after all. And he has created his Cell Game to lure the humans into a false sense of security. He will destroy humanity and make it look like they are living their normal lives, all by pretending he has created a fair tournament. But it is a lie. The Cell Game isn't real. It's only an illusion, a thing designed to trap the humans. Only a small group of us know the truth, and we are prepared to fight. I have recruited you, Gohan, because I sense great potential in you. You have the potential to be The One who can defeat the machines. Now, I shall train you."
He extended his hand and beckoned to Gohan. Gohan lunged, but Goku easily blocked his assault. Gohan punched and kicked furiously, but Goku blocked and dodged it completely. "Come on, stop trying to hit me and hit me!" yelled Goku as he continued to fend off Gohan. Eventually Goku struck back, stopping his fist an inch from Gohan's face. He relaxed.
"That's not bad for starters," said Goku sternly. "Now we've got an entire year to train before you combat the machines and their agent, Cell. Can you do this, Gohan? Can you become The One?" Gohan gulped and nodded. "Whoa," he breathed.
Later, outside the Room of Spirit and Time, the small band of Z Fighters watched Goku and Gohan emerge. Piccolo, their elder, stepped forth. "Well?" he asked, looking at the young warrior.
Gohan looked at him. "I know Kung Fu," he said.
Goku smiled. "Let's go," he said.
From a distance, Vegeta watched Goku and Gohan fly off. He turned his head in disgust, partly at them, partly at himself. He brooded, recalling the treacherous decision that had led to the corruption of the Cell Game...
"No!" cried Cell as Vegeta's might proved too strong for him. "If only I could fight you in my complete form! Then I could win!"
Vegeta considered the matter carefully. Finally he spoke. "I know that Cell is just using my arrogance to further his own goals. I know that Cell's logic is telling me that my power is juicy and delicious, but that it's all a lie. But I've decided something: ignorance is bliss."
"So, you can give me what I want?" asked Cell. "You can let me become Perfect and still provide me with some semblance of a challenge?"
Vegeta hesitated. "No, I told you, I can't do that," he said. Cell stared pointedly at him. "I can get you the man who can," Vegeta added nervously.
Cell smiled. "Goku," he whispered.
Vegeta helped the enemy. He helped Cell gain a major advantage for the machine side. Even when a member of his own team, Trunks, tried to stop him, Vegeta blasted him, just so he could pursue some shallow gratification.
Just as Cell was about to achieve his victory, something happened that Vegeta hadn't counted on: Trunks was still alive! "Take this, you bastard!" he choked, blasting Vegeta with everything he had. But it was too late: Vegeta's damage had been done. Cell was practically unstoppable.
Goku and Gohan flew off to confront Cell for the showdown. Vegeta watched them leave, then flew off on his own. After what he'd done, he couldn't bear to face the other Warriors of Zion (or "Z Fighters," as they called themselves for short).
Down on Earth, Cell was waiting. The Cell Game was set to begin. Who knew the truth, and was willing to fight for it? Only time would tell.
Cell watched the Z Fighters fly up to meet him. He greeted them with an arrogant smirk.
"So nice of you to come," he said carelessly. But his expression changed when he saw Goku standing there, smiling as if he knew something Cell didn't. Cell's lip curled. He longed to wipe that overconfident smile off Goku's face. Goku smiled at Cell and said, "Well. Let's get started, shall we?"
But Piccolo was not so easygoing. The elder of the Z Fighters, he tended to notice things others didn't. And he noticed this: Cell was supposed to be an agent of the machines, a tool used by them to further their goal of domination of the human race. But the only machine in sight was #16, who was not in a position of leadership among them. His eyes narrowed as he began to comprehend. Cell took notice.
"Ah," he said, his smile returning to its place. "I see you've noticed. Didn't you ever wonder why the machines would let me become more powerful than they? They are gone. I've absorbed them and I intend to stay in charge of the Cell Game."
Goku's confidence faltered slightly. "W-what?" he stammered. "But that would make you like a virus in the Cell Game!"
"That's right!" crowed Cell. "The Cell Game will soon belong entirely to me, after I rid it of you insects. Now," he said, turning his attention to Gohan. "Mr. Son. Would you like to indulge me in battle?"
Goku stepped between them. "You will not touch him," he said.
Cell sneered. "Fine," he said, and grabbed Goku, preparing to fight him until he revealed the location of the Z Fighter's headquarters. Cell lunged, and Goku was knocked aside, Cell's new power too much for him. Goku took blow after blow, his face bruised and bloodied, but remained steadfast. He would never tell Cell about Kami's Lookout.
"You Earthlings are a disease," Cell spat at Goku. "You multiply yourselves until you are too many for one area, then you move on to another. I hate a disease like you. You all deserve what's coming to you." He punched Goku in the face.
Gohan prepared to go down and fight Cell; he could hardly take any more. Neither, it seemed, could Goku. "I give up," he managed to say. "I lose. You've beaten me, Cell."
"Oh?" smiled Cell. "And who will face me in your stead? I will destroy you all now if there is no one else."
Goku's eyes met Gohan's. They reached a silent agreemement.
"Gohan," said Goku.
"Mr. Son," Cell said, his smile widening horribly. "So glad you decided to fight. I want to see what Goku is so proud of. Before you both die."
"Let him go," said Gohan angrily.
"As you wish," said Cell, kicking Goku's bloodied body over to where the Z Fighters waited. They helped him to his feet, and he was just conscious enough to watch Gohan fight.
"Goku knows something about you," said Cell, all pretext abandoned. "Tell me. What is it?"
Now it was Gohan's turn to smile. He crouched in a fighting stance.
"Arrogant fool!" growled Cell as he lunged. Gohan was shocked; he hadn't expected Cell to move so soon, or with so much speed. He blocked just in time. Gohan and Cell traded blows like lightning, Gohan puring everything he had learned into this battle. What was troubling him, though, was that Cell didn't seem to be trying at all. How powerful had he become?
The Z Fighters watched as Gohan and Cell leaped horizontally into the air and, as if in super-slow motion, shot ki blasts at each other. They landed on the ground, each one's hand pressed against the other's head.
"You're out of ki blasts for the moment," Cell said.
"So are you," Gohan remarked.
They leapt to their feet and began fighting again. Piccolo, standing next to Goku, atched them with a troubled look on his face.
"What keeps you so confident about this war, Goku?" he asked. "What secret weapon do you have planned?"
Goku turned his head to Piccolo. "Gohan," he said.
Piccolo looked sharply at him. "Not everyone believes what you believe."
Goku smiled serenely and returned his attention to the battle. "My belief doesn't require them to."
#16, however, seemed to agree with Piccolo. Before Cell knew what was happening, the hulking machine's arms were around him. "You deserve this, you scum," said #16 gravely. "You virus. You destroyed my comrades, and as the last remaining machine, I will purge the Cell Game of you!" Gohan braced himself for the explosion, but it never came. Cellturned around, quick as lightning, and thrust his hand into the machine's body. A blackish ooze began to creep over #16's body. Rather than let Cell have his way, #16 detonated himself; but it was to no avail. Cell was still alive and powerful.
Cell rushed over and put Gohan in a headlock. "And now we will wait here for your death," he said, wrenching Gohan's head upward. Gohan saw what Cell intended: #16's head, still intact after the explosion, had flown sky-high and was in danger of explosion on impact. Now it was speeding down toward them like a subway train. "This is the end for you, Mr. Son."
The anger bubbled up inside him. "My name," he said, gathering a hidden reserve of strength, "is Gohan!" He threw Cell from off of him and ran away as fast as he could. There was no alternative now, he'd just have to regroup, retrain, and live to fight another day, He dashed behind a rock--and came face to face with Cell. How had he moved so fast?
Cell didn't give him time to think about it. He put his hand against Gohan's stomach and fired. Gohan stared down at the bloody hole in his stomach, and watched as five more were blown in him. He stared up at Cell as the world around him began to grow hazy, and he fell to the ground.