A word from Moi: I was going to post both chapters at the same time and not leave you guys hanging for a day or so, but I'm tired of going through this chapter. It's as done as its going to get. The last chapter is still debatable at this point, so bare with me. I'm trying to get the story told as I think it should be, but disappoint you guys at the same time ;) Anyway, again, I've borrowed lines from the episode(s) and I do not own anything except Layrial at this point. Also, all the fighting sequences are not there, but I picked through what I thought was cool and/or useful. Oh and here's some useless trivia—the chapter title has been changed at least a dozen times, but I ended up back with the original. I'm still not thrilled with it though ;)

Chapter 20: Divided

The air was silent and full of uncertainty. The group of men and the one boy adjacent to where I sat looked on steadily with an air about them that said they could only hope this Goku guy was able to finish Cell off before they had to have their turn. Well, perhaps not all of them; the one that had arrived first, the one with the stand-up hair style seemed anxious. He actually looked as if he wanted to get out there and show everyone what he was made of.

Hercule and Gerald and poor Tom were in their own little world across from me. I pitied them. If they actually had a clue as to what was going to happen in a mere few hours then they wouldn't be joking around like they were at that moment. Then again, I didn't see much concern on Goku's face. He seemed calm, as if this was something he did for amusement. Whatever the case, he stood prepared to fight as Cell flexed his hands.

"Ding."

Cell gave the signal and Goku was off. He flew straight at Cell, his arm outstretched and ready for the punch. Cell blocked it easily. And so they were off. Punches dashed, kicks smashed and they moved so quickly that I couldn't even keep track as to what was going on. The friends of Goku seemed to understand everything; I, on the other hand, fell into the same, clueless category my human counterparts did, having no idea what the hell was going on and what to expect next.

Out of nowhere they appeared some fifty feet above the arena, hands seemingly interlocked as they challenged their strength against the other. Cell leaned forward to overpower the blonde man, but Goku kicked Cell higher than they hovered at that point. Then they disappeared once again.

My eyes were starting to get sore from searching and a small kink in my neck formed from holding it back so I could look up. Thankfully, they appeared on the surface of the ring again, arms and legs flying everywhere in a fearful battle. Then, as suddenly as it had all started, they had paused and stood only a few feet apart, a smile on each of their faces.

"Nice work Goku," Cell comment, his voice not giving an ounce of a clue that he was tired in the least.

"You're not so bad yourself," the other replied as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, but before either could inhale again they were locked in a second round of defensive and offensive movements. For the most part they were remaining on the ground….

I take that back; they were everywhere. I wondered how it was possible to bend the rules where the players could leave the stadium all together and still not be disqualified. Then again, this was Cell we were talking about—he would probably make up the rules as they went along.

They were now both in the middle of the ring, but before I knew it Goku was gone and Cell stood alone. I missed the part on what had happened to him, but Cell looked straight ahead—in my direction as a matter of fact. Though, I knew he wasn't paying the slightest attention to me. His eyes were focused on something else, frozen and unblinking.

Out of nowhere Cell's arms and hands moved around as if blocking invisible attacks. It would appear that he had gone crazy with the heat, but Goku must have been moving so fast that someone like me couldn't see him swishing around even with the bright orange outfit he was wearing. Now that was something else.

Cell kicked out and suddenly Goku appeared skidding across the arena. I don't know where he came from, but it was actually pretty nifty. I'll admit I was getting a kick out of this. I suppose it wasn't a bad way to be spending the last hours of your life. But those thoughts that trailed through my head were washed over with the prospect of the fight before me. Goku flew across towards Cell who held up his arms in defense. However, Cell's guard was let lose when Goku seemed to magically disappear…and then reappear to start pushing Cell to the edge.

I inhaled quickly and sat up straight. Cell was being pushed to the end! And when Goku jumped up and came around with a kick, I could have sworn it was over. I should've known better though; Cell stopped himself in midair, not even his outstretched wings having a chance of touching the dirt ground. He folded his arms and smiled broadly as he rose to a full stance.

"Sorry," he said dramatically, "but did you think you had defeated me?"

"I won't fall for you cheap pranks," Goku replied. "I knew all along that it wouldn't be that easy to take you out, Cell."

"I thought it'd be appropriate to play a little joke since you aren't fighting me seriously," the android replied.

He…wasn't….what! There was no way in Heaven or Hell that they were just playing around. The way they were moving and hitting each other…surely they had to be doing something that required effort! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It couldn't be possible…

"Hey, you're holding back as well," Goku said and I strained my ears to follow their conversation.

"Little by little I shall reveal to you the perfect power that lies within me," Cell said assured. They were silent for a moment, but Cell continued further. "You seem to be enjoying yourself very much. I'm not surprised; as a Saiyan fighting is all you live for."

"Are you saying you're any different?" Goku asked.

Cell chuckled and started to walk forward. "Well it depends on who I'm fighting…"

I didn't know what a Saiyan was—maybe some sort of tribe, which would explain the wild hairstyles these guys had, but I knew that he was enjoying himself more-so than the average man. I couldn't tell you who was getting a bigger thrill out this—Cell or Goku. They seemed to be equally matched, but I don't think either of them cared. They were once again everywhere the eyes could and couldn't see and it was starting to get tiring. Across from me Hercule and Gerald seemed to be in the same boat as I was, and Tom just kept the camera focused on the arena instead of tossing it all around. I wasn't much into that because whoever was watching this on T.V. would see me sitting there like a total loser.

At one point both fighters had stood still, both yelling out loud and clenching their fists as the air around them swirled like a tornado and a bright glow surrounded their entire body. I had never seen Cell do this before, so whatever was happening was new to me.

They were now in the clear and I watched as they appeared to be taking turns on hitting each other. It looked as if it was nothing but a game to both of them, which boggled my mind. Here they were fighting, supposedly determining the fate of the planet, and they're taking turns inflicting pain! Cell kicked Goku, but Goku fell only to swing his body around and kick down Cell. The android did a back handspring and shot out a beam of light which was tossed away like it was a soccer ball.

What scared me, though, was when they kept jumping from one point to another, disappearing and reappearing for only a split second. It was when they appeared literally on the edge of the right in front of me that I realized that they just weren't performing normal martial arts. I couldn't pinpoint what it was, but I could feel some sort of force driving from them and as soon as they left it had disappeared. For that short moment my head felt like it was being squeezed and I couldn't remember to breath. I didn't know what to make of it…Strange….

Before long they were standing still in the center of the arena. Cell had his back to his opponent, who seemed a bit satisfied at his performance, but without a reason that I knew of Cell started to laugh openly. It was humorous yet boastful. He turned around, his arms crisscrossing and rising to his face. "I have a surprise for you," I barely heard him say.

Goku did look a little surprised…but not half as surprised as I was when I saw Cell actually separate himself into four identical clones. They all stood proudly, each laughing and smiling at Goku.

"This won't work on me," Goku replied, but Cell didn't seem to notice. All four of him attacked at once and soon the five figures darted off and into the air, fighting all at once.

My mind was so mixed up and confused I wanted to cry. I had no idea what was going on or if I was just dreaming. I had seen Cell blow up a mountain with some sort of light in his hands; I had flown with him and I had seen his strength…but never could I even imagine in my wildest dreams that stuff like this were even possible. Seeing all four Cells fall back down to Earth and pile up gave me a scare, but to see them all merge into one like someone waved a magic wand was too much. I wanted to go home now, thanks.

Cell got to his feet and smiled. "Good work, Goku. Perhaps you are a fighter worthy enough to fight me."

"Oh boy…"

I seconded that statement, Goku…Cell was starting to become a little too much. Although, seeing him perform like this was making my heart race. Was it because I…had that 'fling' with him? Or was it because it was just heart-stopping to see such ability displayed before my eyes? I wasn't about to sit and figure it out while they…played….

Now, though, they were starting to get serious in my book. The little balls of light started to fire and shoot towards the other. I sat in a position that would allow me to jump to my feet as quickly as I could in case one started heading towards me. Although, I think they were pretty much aware of what they were doing. Nothing came remotely close to hitting us. And besides, they were so far up in the air that I figured by the time something did start down here it would dissolve or…

"Hey! Get away from the ring! NOW!"

I had barely heard it, but obviously it didn't sink in. I looked up and saw Cell doing some sort of thing with his hands that formed the largest ball of light I had ever seen. The others had started to move away either by foot or flight. I got to my feet, but that was all I managed to do. The light became brighter to the point I couldn't see anything else around me. What the hell was going on?

Before I had a chance to realize what had happened, I felt a strong arm wrap around me and tug me away. I missed the parts between feeling my ribs being pushed together and my head hitting the ground. I opened my eyes to see myself on the ground and a pair of white boots regaining their footing next to my face. My eyes darted up and to my (very pleasant) surprise I saw the lavender haired hunk standing over me.

"Are you okay?"

I wasn't able to find my voice, but I was able to give a slight nod. He was so damn cute!

"You need to be more alert," he told me and then flew off to join his friends.

I got to my feet and looked around. I wasn't too far from were Hercule, Gerald and Tom stood, but far enough to keep their yapping out of my hearing range. What caught my interest, though, was the massive crater ahead of me and the fact that the perfectly structured white arena was no more.

I looked around to find where Cell had gone off to. He stood with Goku several yards ahead of me. I had no idea what was being said now and I had a terrible urge to move closer. Cell and blondie had started once again and I held my breath for they seemed to be more into it. I decided to take my chances and scoot myself closer. There were several rocks that I could use as shields, so running from place to place couldn't do much harm. Unfortunately I had barely made ten steps before the ground shook. I stumbled forward and broke my fall with my arms. That hurt so damn much I wanted to go slap them for making it happen. Both my elbows were now scratched enough to draw blood and I could see the dirt smeared all over the wound. I continued, though, and made it to the spot I had picked out.

I could now tell that Cell wouldn't be walking way from this without a scratch. A clear line of purple blood trickled down the side of his face, but it didn't seem to be bad enough to worry about. I should've known that his blood wouldn't be red, though. Goku, on the other hand, did have red blood like I expected and he too had several scrapes and cuts that proved it. There were both glowing yellow and I didn't know what to expect anymore. They had jumped apart, both breathing heavily, but out of nowhere Goku stepped back and the glow around him disappeared. I heard several gasps from the spectators standing on the ledge above me.

"I see that you've grown tired, Goku," Cell said with a grin, although he was still panting.

"Not much more than you have," he replied, but his smile is what was throwing me off. "I didn't know when I came out here today if I had what it would take to beat you Cell, but now I know that I don't. So….I give up."

I was completely shocked. This was the same guy that appeared out of nowhere and threatened Cell to let me go. He seemed to be the one person Cell was so damn eager to fight and he's backing out that easily? Well, I mean he was getting his butt kicked, but it seemed to me that he was doing just as much damage to his enemy! What gives!

"You can't be serious," Cell said totally stunned. "You can't just expect to give up and walk away."

"Sure I can," Goku said. "You beat me fair and square."

"If you're not going to fight me and if no one else steps up then I'll reduce this planet to rubble!"

Goku shook his head. "Not so fast, Cell. There is one other person that you need to fight, and he's a lot stronger than I am."

"You can't honestly be thinking to go through with this," Cell said. "You don't possibly think that one of them—" he nudged his head to the men on the ledge—"has what it takes to defeat me."

Goku nodded and then slowly rose to where his comrades stood waiting. I craned my neck to see what was going on, but they weren't standing close enough to the edge for me to get a good look. All I saw from where I sat was Cell looking on in total shock, yet utter frustration. For a moment his eyes swept down to me, but it wasn't long enough for me to do anything towards him. His face was melted into disgust and it was clear that he wasn't satisfied with what Goku had done.

Gerald's voice rang in my ears just then. I looked around and saw that the trio had moved closer as well, obviously figuring if I was safe then they would be too. And when I listened in on his broadcast, I understood what was going on. "It appears that our blonde-haired hero has given up and is sending a boy to fight Cell! What does he expect to accomplish by such an act?"

It was true; Goku had sent what looked like the younger version of himself down to face the deadly android. Cell seemed stunned and un-amused. The boy looked scared and shaky, but tried hard to cover it up.

"So, child, you're going to take over what your father couldn't finish," Cell said and then began to laugh. "If that's the way he wants to play it out, then so be it. Most sons aren't willing to die fighting their father's battles, you know. Your devotion is most admirable."

"Hey Cell!" Everyone glanced up to where Goku stood on the edge of the cliff. "Here! It's a Senzu bean—eat it!"

Cell caught what was tossed to him and popped it in his mouth. Whatever it was (although I believe it was the same thing Cell had given me that time when he broke my arm) made Cell yell out in rage and a massive purple light emitted from his body like it had before. "Wonderful! Now let's get started…"