Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty
Written by: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner
Edited by: StevenBodner and SparkerLightning
A/N: And now, I share my opinion on something that I've had a few people talk about with me before. I feel that Dragon Ball Z's biggest fault is that they went away from the fighting set-ups of OG Dragon Ball. In battles like these, with terrifying villains such as Cell and Frieza (and yes, eventually Buu, Beerus, Hit, and beyond) I would like to go back to those roots and make something really exciting. So, I hope you all find a lot of joy in this.
And yes, I'm aware this took a while. But I feel that quality in situations like these is much more important than quantity. What kind of Dragon Ball fans would Steven, Sparker, and I be if we didn't give important battles like these our A-Game?
Chapter 97: Goku vs Cell, Part 1
At King Furry's Castle...
King Furry solemnly slumped in his throne, disheartened by the easy defeat of Mr. Satan. However, unlike his guards who immediately began to panic, the King was not ready to fall to despair quite yet. The current World Champion might have lost, but King Furry was still hopeful that another might be able to win in his place.
The King stared at his television, studying the face of the golden-haired man standing across from Cell. He nodded. "That really is you, isn't it Goku?"
King Furry closed his eyes and remembered back to that heroic scene, a battered young man giving it his all and piercing the wicked heart of a monstrous demon. That boy, with only his strength and ideals, struck down the terrifying King Piccolo and saved the Earth from the terrors of pure evil.
The canine monarch clasped his hands in front and huddled over in prayer. "I know that the world has already asked too much of you, son. But all I can do is beg...please save us just one more time..."
At the Cell Games Arena...
Lumbering back from his crater across the wasteland, Mr. Satan assumed a position at the commentary table next to the ring. The World Champion glared at Cell and Goku, and then took a glance past them at the other Z-Fighters. No one was paying him any attention, and that bothered him a lot.
As he sat there, stewing, Mr. Satan was suddenly engaged from both sides by Jimmy Firecracker and Miss Piiza. Firecracker was shaken. "Mr. Satan...it would appear to the audience at home as if you have fallen victim to the Machiavellian machinations of the insidious insectoid Cell! But hope is not lost yet, is it sir? We still have one World Champion left, Son Goku!"
Jimmy Firecracker sounded as if he were about to break down weeping. "So, for the people at home, please give us your thoughts on your peer's chances at success, Mr. Satan..."
Mr. Satan crossed his arms over his chest, looking annoyed. Miss Piiza rolled her eyes. "Even if that guy is a former World Champion, he's nowhere near the level of Mr. Satan in terms of fighting ability. He's nothing more than a flashy, showboating punk! Right, Mr. Satan?"
The Champ closed his eyes and took a deep breath. And then, he spoke into the mic. "I will admit, I lost some respect for Son Goku's capabilities as a fighter when he and that Ma Junior creep turned the World Martial Arts Tournament into a pathetic light show...but, at the end of the day, one Champion must recognize another in the sacred ring of martial arts. And, furthermore, Son Goku is an extraordinary martial artist. His performances in the 21st and 22nd should more than assure us of that. I can't say whether he'll win or not, but we must show him respect for being willing to put himself on the line in a situation like this."
He glared over, out of the corner of his eye. "Got it, Piiza?"
Miss Piiza blushed and crossed her arms. "Hmph."
At Mr. Satan's mansion...
Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Videl looked confused and slightly off-put as she stared at the image of Goku and Cell on the screen. She turned to her mother and pointed. "Mommy, Daddy just said that guy is strong, right? Does that mean he can win?"
Miguel pressed her hand over her mouth. "I'm not sure, baby. I've only ever really heard about Son Goku from your father's complaints against him and how he fights..."
The ailing singer stared at the television, looking at the fire burning in Goku's eyes as he stared down Cell. She recognized that burning determination. It was the same determination she had seen in Mark's eyes before the fame started going to his head. She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Videl, if your father says we should be showing support for this man as he stands up to that monster...then it's our job to cheer him on~"
Videl nodded, taking on a serious expression and pumping her fists into the air. "Go Goku! Squish that mean ol' bug!"
At Goku's house...
Chika and Goten both squealed and cooed at the sight of their father's face on the TV screen. Trunks and Ranch, meanwhile, stared at the screen with subdued expressions. The Ox-King held them all close. "You kids are in for a treat! Watching Goku fight a baddie is always such a thrill!"
Moving out of her fearful funk from before, Chi-Chi was now in a desperate rage. She clenched her fists and angrily shouted at the television. "You can do it, Goku! Destroy that hideous monster!"
Bulma sighed. "I guess we shouldn't be surprised he stepped up first. With how...un-Goku...he's been acting for the past 10 days; I had assumed he'd want the first punch. It's been kind of worrying, watching him act so strangely..."
Future Bulma smiled. "That's our Goku. It's nice to see him standing so tall again~"
Master Roshi and Korin both studied Goku as he took his stance. His form was loose, but still quite solid. They looked to Cell and saw a fighter approaching his battle with a carefree air. These were two very different types of opponents in the ring. Korin growled. "Goku is looking at every point on Cell. You can see how hard he's studying plastered all over his face..."
A bead of sweat went down Master Roshi's face. "Meanwhile, Cell might as well be cloud-gazing..."
Korin nodded. "Goku is looking for advantages. I see a few loose spots, but no definite place to take the advantage. Cell is carefree, but that doesn't mean he's unaware..."
Roshi gritted his teeth. "It's baffling to see a fighter that is both so relaxed and so focused. It would take a true master to even budge such a beast..."
Korin nodded. "Then, I suppose it's a good thing that Goku is the one doing the fighting..."
Suddenly, Yajirobe spoke up. "Something is up with him. Can't put my finger on it, but it's super easy to see..."
Master Roshi, Korin, Chi-Chi, Ox-King, and Mr. Popo all flinched. Master Roshi nodded. "I agree, fat man. Something is strangely familiar here..."
As the front-row crowd talked among themselves, Gine and Android 18 both viewed from the background. Android 18 stared with utter hatred at Cell. Gine, meanwhile, studied her son with a concerned, motherly look. "Kakarot..."
Back at the Cell Games arena...
The Z-Fighters were all sat in the stands that Cell had constructed. They all stared at the ring with fierce expressions. None of them were making so much as a sound. They were all doing what Goku was doing, using their experience as seasoned warriors to read Cell and try to find an opening in the monster's subdued stance. Each weak point they thought they could find was quickly simulated within their minds and shown to be fruitless.
Tien pictured himself go for a leg take down, only for Cell to sever his head off with a high-speed chop. He swallowed a lump in his throat.
Piccolo narrowed his eyes and thought to himself. 'He might be a carbon copy of all of us...but that doesn't detract from the talent he's stolen by using our genes...'
Android 16's eyes flashed. He thought to himself. 'Son Goku and Cell are both giving off identical energy levels...but they are both still clearly hiding more...'
Vegeta tightly gripped his bicep. 'His stance is perfect...'
Gohan, meanwhile, was largely ignoring Cell. His attention was focused on his father. 'You've got this, Dad.'
The sheer intensity was putting a stifling sort of pressure into the atmosphere around the ring. The air was as thick as soup and hard to breathe. Yamcha's eye twitched, a bead of sweat forming on his head and trailing down the side of his face. Rolling over his cheekbone, the sweat droplet beaded on the former bandit's jaw, dangled, and then eventually cut loose entirely.
Unnoticed by anyone else, the bead of sweat seemed to fall in slow motion towards the ground.
In the ring...
Yamcha's bead of sweat silently fell further and further until it finally collided against the ground with a near-mute splat. The entire area was so silent that it sounded like a bomb going off. And, once it did, Goku and Cell immediately clashed.
Their hands locked together in the middle of the ring, Goku sneered and Cell smirked as the two of them engaged in a test of strength. The Cell Games were now officially under way!
Jimmy Firecracker called into his microphone. "My word! They moved so fast we didn't even see them clash! The call to battle has seemingly roused the fiendish Cell awake!"
Mr. Satan commented. "Good strategy on Goku's part! Being so close to that creep will prevent him from unleashing any explosives without also injuring himself! Now Goku just has to keep up the intensity!"
Goku and Cell both grinded their teeth as they pressed against one another. Neither could make the other budge. The sheer force of their almighty strength sent hostile winds billowing out of the arena, making everyone's clothing rustle and causing Piccolo and Gohan's capes to flutter.
Both of them satisfied with this initial test, Goku and Cell each leapt back and charged against one another, striking each other with their forearms and sending an even harsher surge of wind shooting out.
They glared into one another's eyes, and then Goku went for the first true strike. With a rapid-fire speed, Goku launched a flurry of punches against the monster. Cell scoffed and raised his hands, deflecting each punch with a left-handed parry and then going in with a right hook of his own. Goku ducked the punch and then shot his leg forward to sweep Cell's legs. Cell jumped, but Goku immediately went for a rising axe kick.
Cell met the axe kick with a falling knife chop and the two clashed, releasing a sonic boom that tore the leaves off of the surrounding trees. Separating again, Cell went for a right-handed punch but Goku redirected it into the air with his forearm. The Saiyan from Earth immediately shot his hand out, grabbing Cell's right wrist and using it as leverage to flip over the monster. Moving quickly, Goku wrapped his free arm around Cell's throat, dragging him down in a reverse headlock and trying to slam him into the ring.
But Cell proved to crafty for such a middling maneuver. Taking a deep breath, the monster exhaled a gust of air against the ground and created a cushion to bounce himself off of. And then, in Goku's shock, Cell launched forward and drove his elbow into the Saiyan's gut. Cell chuckled. "The first strike is mine, Goku~"
Goku snarled. Cell shot forward and went to knee his Saiyan foe in the jaw, but Goku quickly corrected and caught the knee with his hand. Using only a portion of his strength, Goku shoved Cell's knee back down and stumbled the monster before leaping into the air and delivering a double-footed drop kick to the monster's face. Stunned, Cell went flying towards the edge of the ring. Everyone stared hopefully, but then Cell dashed those hopes by driving the tips of his razor-sharp, ebony wings into the ring.
Righting himself, Cell got back to his feet with a stereo, metallic clomp and wiped under his nose, finding his fingers stained purple. He glared at Goku and Goku took on a fighting stance. "Keep your gold, I'll settle for silver and bronze."
Cell chuckled. "Oh, this is going to be fun~"
Goku frowned, tightening his stance. "If you say so..."
Cell cocked his head. "Oh, come now Goku. Are you telling me that your body isn't screaming with pleasure right now?"
Goku closed his eyes. "My body and soul are both roaring with joy..."
He opened them again, with a truly furious expression. "But my head and my heart just want to be done with you!"
Goku charged against and he and Cell caught each other in a hefty clash, their forearms grinding against one another in a furious display of strength. Cell laughed. "Since when has the great Son Goku listened to his heart or his head?! Don't all of your friends and family consider you a brainless idiot? A selfish child? One that can only be relied upon to fight and eat?!"
In the stands...
Future Trunks sneered. "That bastard is doing it again! He's trying to prey upon the insecurities of his opponent!"
Future Goten pressed his hand against Future Trunks' chest. "Calm down, dude. No reason to think this is a turning point..."
Future Trunks looked confused. He turned to see Future Ranch and Gohan both smiling. Future Goten smiled as well. "We have to have faith in my Dad. He knows what Cell has hidden in his little bag of tricks..."
Back in the ring...
Goku nodded. "Nah. They're right. I'm really dumb and really selfish sometimes. I own up to that..."
He rolled his eyes at Cell. "But at least I don't fight like an amateur."
Cell's eyes went wide. "Wha-"
Goku hammered the monster across the face with a mighty punch. Cell was thrown for a loop and skidded back, feeling his teeth rattle inside his mouth. He glowered at Goku. "Wh-What the hell did you say to me?!"
Goku remained stone-faced. "I called you an amateur. Cuz that's what you are, an amateur..."
Cell gripped his fists tight. Goku continued. "I mean, I'm not saying you don't know how to fight, I'm just saying that you don't know how to fight well. You're entirely reactive in your stance and your approach. You never move first. Even in our first clash, you took off just a second after I did-"
The monster sneered. "You're scolding me for fighting defensively?!"
Goku shook his head. "Not scolding, just pointing things out. I can't blame you for fighting that way. That's how all kids fight when they're still learning. And you weren't born that long ago, all time travel stuff being accounted for, right?"
Cell was fuming. Goku cracked his knuckles. "You fight defensively and reactively, like you're having to reference the programming Dr. Gero put into you for what to do next. And that's fine...for a factory-made skeleton with our stolen meat stapled to it."
Before Cell could react, Goku charged in. He went to deliver a roundhouse kick to Cell's face, but the furious Android dodged backwards. He shouted at Goku. "I don't know where you get off critiquing me when I've already defeated all of your friends!"
He charged forward and, with a seething kind of fury, he threw one hell of a left hook at Goku. Goku dodged out of the way, allowing the force of the punch to explode in the distance, and then he grabbed Cell and arm-dragged him down into a lightning-quick kick to the throat. Cell gagged and fell to his knees and Goku punched him in the back, knocking him forward onto his hands and his knees. Cell wheezed and glared at Goku. Goku shrugged and looked down on him. "I see why you fled here from the future. You like living in the past, don't you? Is that why you constantly bring up fights that happened days ago?"
Cell's pupils shrank and he did a backflip off of the ground. Upside-down, he flew towards Goku and tried to cross-chop the Saiyan from Earth in the face. But, with two fingers, Goku blocked the cross-chop directly in the center of its force and responded with a mighty uppercut to the top of Cell's head. Cell went flying into the air, but then Goku grabbed him by one of his head protrusions and slammed him flat on his back.
Cell laid there, looking stunned and staring up at Goku. "You...how did you do that...? You blocked all of the force...of my attack...with two fingers..."
Goku held up his hand, gripping his fist and talking down to Cell. "That, Cell, is something that can't be programmed or harvested. It's called experience. You might have a vast pool of genes and techniques at your disposal, but raw power and speed is only worth so much. There's a reason Chi-Chi uses a kitchen knife instead of a wood axe when she's cooking, and that's because being a real master of what you're doing take precision and skill!"
The Saiyan narrowed his eyes. "Face it, Cell. You're green. And I'm not talking about your outer-skeleton."
Cell snarled; his eyes overshadowed. "You..."
He leapt to his feet. "You..."
The entire ring began to tremor as it seemed Cell's power was starting to leak out. "You son of-"
But then, to Goku and everyone else's shock, Cell began to chuckle. "-a bitch~ You son of a bitch~"
Cell turned and pointed at Goku, laughing out loud. "You son of a bitch~! You're doing what I do in fights~!"
Goku remained calm, but his eyes looked taken aback. Cell let loose a deep, joyful belly laugh and squeezed the bridge of his nose, laughing as he wiped welled-up tears from the corners of his eyes. "You were trying to get me angry. Get me to lose focus on what I was doing. You were trying to gain an advantage~!"
Cell sighed. "And the worst part is, it might have worked. Between Vegeta, Bardock, Piccolo, and so many other gene sources, I've inherited quite the volcanic temper~"
The monster smiled at Goku. Goku sneered. Cell clapped his hands together. "See? This is why I wanted to fight you so badly, Goku. Unlike the other fools, you're creative. You find ways to surprise people. You'll use my own tactics against me in such a way that it takes me a little while to even realize what's happening! I love it! This is great! No... THIS IS PERFECT!"
Goku sighed. "Fine. You figured me out. But that still doesn't change things, Cell..."
The Saiyan took on a fighting stance. "I'm a more skilled hand-to-hand fighter than you!"
Cell nodded. "So, you think. But, let's put that to the test~"
The monster sped towards Goku; his fist drawn. Cell pulled his arm back and Goku went to block, but the Android shot his leg forward instead. "Faked you out!"
Goku slammed his knee into Cell's knee, stopping the leg. "Hardly!"
Before Cell could respond, Goku shot his hand forward and jabbed his middle and index fingers into the joint that connected Cell's arm to his body. The monster's entire arm instantly went numb and Goku kicked him in the face. Cell skidded back and then charged forward, going at Goku with a wild haymaker. Goku responded to that with an easy shoulder toss.
Slamming Cell into the ring, Goku stomped his foot down onto Cell's back and wrenched his shoulder out of its socket with one, fluid motion.
Over at the commentary table...
Mr. Satan, Jimmy Firecracker, and Miss Piiza all stared in awe at the sight of Goku's martial prowess. Jimmy Firecracker shouted into his microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen! You're seeing it here right before your very eyes! Just the same as he was in his two previous outings, Son Goku is still just as skilled as he showed to be when he was a child!"
Mr. Satan growled, knowing that he was being shown up. "Th-That may be true...but he's wasting too much effort on takedowns and showboating! He needs to stop hotdogging and just throw Cell out of the ring!"
Back in the ring...
Cell stumbled and got back to his feet, both of his arms heavy and dead. He cringed, unable to even grip his fists tightly. Goku glowered and adjusted his wrist bands. "My friends might think I'm a bit dumb, but they all know I'm not stupid. I'm not falling for your tricks, Cell. Cut the act!"
The monster sighed and rolled his eyes. "You're no fun..."
Whipping his arm out as harshly as he could, Cell reset his dislocated shoulder back into place. And then, with a rapid tear, he split his dead arm away from his body and regrew it in an instant. The monster turned to Goku and glared with an annoyed frown. He studied his orange-clad opponent. And then, after a moment, the monster sighed. "I guess you've got me..."
Goku raised an eyebrow. Cell smirked. "I just ran through at least two-hundred different hand-to-hand scenarios in my head and, well, I can tell that you aren't lying..."
The monster cracked his knuckles. "I will admit it, Goku, you are the better martial artist. Your experience...would defeat me handily in any contest based sheerly off of hand-to-hand skill~"
Cell smiled. "But I pride myself on being a quick study, Goku. So, let us continue along and see how long that advantage of yours lasts~"
In the stands...
Tien scowled. "That's a new stance..."
The Z-Fighters all watched as Cell adjusted his stance, tweaking where his hands or his feet rested as he stood across from Goku. Vegeta snarled. "That bastard..."
Bardock gritted his teeth. "He's learning as he goes. And not just unconsciously like Frieza's kind do. It's like he has a computer in his head that allows him to break down fighting stances and techniques..."
Android 17 nodded. "He kind of does. Gero did design him that way, to be able to adapt and overcome..."
Android 16 grunted. "The perfect opponent for a person like Son Goku, one who also is able to develop and improve on the fly..."
Krillin smirked. "It's all right. Goku's got this. He hasn't even started yet!"
Raditz nodded. "I'd like to think so too...but Cell isn't just relying on his own programming here. He's also falling back on his genes. Frieza's ability to improve as he goes along, the Saiyan ability to copy techniques with just a basic understanding of them, the heartiness of a Namekian physiology, and the versatility granted by his human traits...his potential for growth and improvement is truly the most frightening skill that Cell has..."
Back in the ring...
Goku narrowed his eyes and took on a stance. "This feels different. Are you going to give this some real effort, now?"
Cell smiled. "Does that make you nervous?"
Goku studied Cell's new stance, legs splayed wide and in a forward stance and his hands crossed at the forearm in front with his palms cupped. And then, without a word, the Saiyan from Earth charged forward. Cell smirked and, as Goku tried to throw a kick, shot his cupped hands forward and seized his foe. With his left hand, he grabbed Goku by the foot and yanked him forward. And, with his right, he clocked the Saiyan from Earth across the jaw.
Goku was in freefall and Cell went to take advantage, raining down a massive elbow to smash Goku in the face. At the very last possible second, Goku caught the elbow with his hands and was pressed to the ground by the sheer force of Cell's strength. Goku groaned and Cell smirked at the higher effectiveness of his strikes.
The Saiyan growled. Cell's stance had only shifted slightly and yet, with such a minor change, the monster's entire fighting style had shifted. His hits were more aggressive than before, his strength being thrown forward rather than acting as a stalling wall. Pushing Cell back, Goku backflipped away and took a stance, only to find that the monster was already on top of him.
Cell threw a punch and Goku countered with a punch of his own, deflecting the blow. The fight was reinitiated and the two warriors went at it, engaging in an exchange of high speed, but measured blows. Goku was clearly feeling the new pressure as he and Cell went back and forth, but the Saiyan was far from breaking down. Cell reached out and grabbed Goku by the back of the neck, attempting to throw Goku to the ground, but Goku's stance was too firm! The Saiyan did not budge!
Annoyed, Cell made a claw with his other hand and thrusts his fingers into Goku's ribs, making the Saiyan scream in agony as the sound of his bones straining echoed out. With a sadistic smirk, Cell lifted Goku above his head with a single arm. "If you won't fall to the ground, I will force you onto it!"
Goku shouted back. "Not likely!"
And then, painfully twisting his side out of Cell's grip, Goku spun in the air and delivered to subsequent kicks under Cell's chin. The Saiyan then tensed up every muscle in his right arm and, with a mighty push, he launched a shockwave at Cell that took the monster off of his feet. As Cell stumbled back, Goku shot his fist forward again and punched Cell right in the mouth.
Goku landed and rubbed his aching ribs. But then, without more than a second of delay, he rushed at the disoriented Android and double kneed him in the throat. Cell sneered and went to throw a punch of his own, but Goku countered. "Too basic!"
With all of his might, Goku arm-dragged Cell through the air and then, with a heavy elbow drop to the monster's chest, slammed Cell down onto the arena floor. Cell didn't stay down for long, quickly righting himself and returning back at Goku with a punch to the stomach. Goku gagged and was sent flying. The Saiyan was stunned, watching as the white marble beneath him was quickly replaced with brown dirt.
It took a moment, but Goku emerged from his stupor and panicked. Reaching out, he hastily grabbed the nearby ring spire and did a spinning slide down it, landed with a stumble and just barely avoiding a ring out. The Saiyan took a minute to breathe and looked around, finding the ring to be shockingly empty. "Wha-"
"Behind you, Goku~"
Goku turned and was met with a spearing kick to the chest that sent him skidding across the ring. The force of that blow, in and of itself, was nearly enough to send Goku skidding all the way out to the other side. But, before he could fall out, a hand suddenly seized Goku by his dark blue undershirt and tossed him back to the center of the ring. Goku landed with a handspring and got back to his feet, turning and glaring at his savior.
Cell chuckled. "No no. This doesn't end with a ring out, Goku. Not yet at least. I'm having too much fun for that~"
Goku growled and lunged at Cell. The monster chortled. "Are you really making this so easy...?"
And then, Cell turned and elbowed the air behind himself, catching Goku on the side of his head. "Of course, you aren't~! You and that Spirit Control technique of yours! I must learn how to-"
Not even allowing Cell to finish his little speech, Goku wrapped his arms around the monster's torso and performed a snap-suplex, smashing Cell's head into one of the ring spires and snapping it right off of its pedestal. Cell was stunned and Goku took advantage, turning the opposite way and suplexing Cell hard into the ring. For any normal foe, this would have been a devastating blow. But, Goku knew Cell better than that. The Saiyan rolled over his opponent and snatched him off of the ground for another suplex. And then he repeated that same process again. And then again three more times.
With the final suplex delivered, Goku did and flip and landed across from Cell. He gripped his fist tight. Cell leapt to his feet and turned; his own fist gripped. The two warriors glared into one another's eyes and their fists met in the center, sending out a shockwave that caused a loud sonic boom.
The two of them stood there for a moment, sharing an intense glare between one another. And then, they each withdrew their fists and hissed in pain. Goku looked down at his fist, seeing two dislocated fingers. Cell looked down at his, seeing three. Cell scoffed. "You only did a bit more damage than I did. Hardly anything worth-"
And then Cell's lip split open and purple blood leaked out. He pressed his fingers to his mouth and then looked down at them. "When in the hell did you..."
Goku was catching his breath, watching as not only did Cell's lip split open, but his brow as well, sending purple blood rushing down the monster's face. The monster was in deep thought, thinking back to the previous exchanges. As he thought more and more over then, and slowly combed through the mental images in his mind, he saw the moments where he and Goku were fighting. Moments where the monster let his guard down quite significantly against such a seasoned opponent. Moments where Goku, perhaps through training or perhaps through instinct, was able to score extra strikes against his foe. Goku nodded. "You're a fast learner, Cell. Can't deny that. But...you ain't fast enough to catch up with me in this fight..."
Cell was quiet for a moment, reflecting on the entire fight up to this point. He had a solemn look on his face. But, eventually, the solemn look was replaced with a light-hearted smirk. "Goku...I am afraid...that I must concede~"
Everyone surrounding the arena flinched in shock. Goku didn't budge. He and Cell glared at one another, Cell ripping off and regrowing his damaged fingers, Goku forcing his back in place. Cell sighed. "My friend...if this were to continue as just a battle of hand-to-hand combat and nothing more, then I would be forced to surrender. I will admit to you Goku, though the words are poison in my mouth, you are a better martial artist than me by far~! Not admitting so would be little more than a searing indictment against my own intellect..."
Cell chuckled. "But, winning a warm-up scuffle is not the same as winning an actual fight. And we both know we have a lot more up our sleeves than just basic physical maneuvers~"
Goku sighed.
In the stands...
Yamcha was baffled. "Dammit...you're telling me that, even after all of that, Cell is still ready for more?! I thought Goku had this one in the bag..."
Piccolo scowled. "Don't be naïve. Cell clearly has more than just physical attacks under his belt. He has all of our techniques at his disposal, so I get the feeling that we're about to be seeing a lot more of them..."
Back in the ring...
Cell smirked, taking a deep breath and letting it out. And when he let it out, his power began to unfurl. The sheer quality and force of Cell's ki dragged over the ground like a razor blade, vaporizing and obliterating the dust sitting atop the ring. The monster cracked his neck. "So, what say we cut loose now, Goku?"
Goku nodded and pumped his fists to his sides. "Alright..."
And then, shocking everyone including his opponent, Goku unleashed his stored up Super Saiyan strength in a massive, golden explosion. The Z-Fighters were all in awe of the power of their strongest warrior, the Commentary Table was rendered speechless by this spectacle. Cell, meanwhile, shuddered with a twisted smirk on his face. "So... that's what you've been hiding all this time~"
The two warriors each took on a stance and Cell let loose a deep chuckle from his throat. "Okay then, Goku..."
He held out his hands and summoned two ki spheres. "LET'S PLAY!"
Cell thrust the two spheres forward, sending them flying directly at Goku. In response, Goku thrusted both of his palms forward to dispel the attacks, only to find them quite solid. He flinched. "Spirit Balls?!"
The bio-Android smirked. "I thought we'd start off with a warm-up! Surely Yamcha's attacks aren't what will end you, are they?!"
Goku leapt into the air, watching as Cell used his index fingers to direct the Spirit Balls to give chase. Rather than focusing on the Spirit Balls, Goku kept his gaze locked onto Cell's digits, dashing and twisting nimbly through the air to avoid being struck. Watching his foe dance around, Cell laughed. "Very good, Goku! An excellent dance~"
And then, passing control of the Spirit Balls in the air to his left hand, Cell splayed out his right and fired dozens of the compressed, ki spheres towards Goku. Goku looked down at the approaching hail of ki spheres and grunted, clapping his hands together and then thrusting his middle and index fingers forward. Firing a single beam of ki from his fingertips, Goku pierced through the closest Spirit Ball. With an anchoring point established, Goku directed this thread of energy through the surrounding Spirit Balls, entangling each and ensnaring them all into a giant web.
With each sphere trapped, Goku very suddenly changed his upward ascent into a descent speeding towards Cell and yanking the dozens of Spirit Balls along with him. And then, with a mighty swing, Goku pulled all of the attacks into a single, massive club and swung them at Cell. Cell met the cluster of Spirit Balls with his fist and smashed them all to pieces, creating a burst that sent him and Goku both skidding backwards.
As the dust kicked up by the burst began to settle, Cell laughed. "Excellent, Goku! I would expect no-"
Cell's eyes widened and he quickly dodged as a massive bolt of energy nearly crashed right into his face. He glared through the dust and saw Goku standing there, looking coldly serious. Cell nodded, his eyes narrowing a bit. "Ah, I see...that was Bardock's former technique, the Riot Javelin, right?"
Goku gripped his fist. "A bit crude, but it always got the job done for him."
Cell nodded. "I see."
And then, the bio-Android charged across the ring and tried for a heavy smash. As his fist flew forward, however, Goku vanished from Cell's sight. The monster scowled. "Behind!"
He turned just in time to catch a blue boot to the face. As Cell recoiled back, Goku spun around to deliver a second kick. Unfortunately, however, Cell responded to this by grabbing Goku's leg and delivering his original punch. Cell pulled his leg into the air to deliver a second devastating blow, but Goku was able to recover and strike back, smashing a ki-coated fist against Cell's jaw. Stunned, Cell's grip on Goku loosened enough for the Saiyan to twist free of the monster's grip. With his newfound movement, Goku turned as fast as he could and whipped his tail right across Cell's face, knocking the monster harshly onto his shoulders and flooring him once more.
Goku landed on his feet, striking a battle stance, and it didn't take long for Cell to join him. The monster leapt back to his feet and thrusted his finger at Goku, firing off a rapid-fire Death Beam Barrage. Goku scoffed and, coating his palm with ki, slapped each beam away effortlessly. He glared at Cell and Cell chuckled. "Fine, I suppose I should try a bit harder than that. It's a good thing I know a big weakness of yours~"
Goku flinched and then, before he could react, Cell raised his hands and trapped the Saiyan in a telekinetic lock. Utterly paralyzed, Goku was struggling. For the first time in the fight, he looked truly caught off guard. Cell laughed. "Whether it's this move that I received from Chiaotzu, the Turtle School Last Resort, or Frieza's Imprisonment Ball, you have always had a weakness for paralyzing moves that inhibit your movements! You never see them coming! It's such a shame you've never bothered to train such a weakness away, Goku~"
The monster clapped his hands together, tenting them out and forming a diamond shape. "Now! Eat this! NEO TRI BEAM!"
Unable to move, Goku could only watch on in horror as Tien's strongest technique charged for Cell in less than a second. The beam shot towards Goku and hit him dead center, engulfing the Saiyan in a burning light and causing a massive explosion. Stumbling forward out of the smoke, it was clear that this attack had actually caused Goku a significant amount of pain. Unfortunately, the Saiyan was given no quarter to rest. Cell charged forward and smashed his ki-coated fist right into Goku's jaw, ripping the Saiyan off the ground and making him spin around in the air.
Moving quickly, Cell shot his knee up and cracked it directly into Goku's spine, sending the Saiyan shooting up into the air. Cell adopted an excited grin and gripped his hands together in a serving stance. "Now then! Let's-"
The grin faded and was replaced with a look of consternation as Cell stared up into the air. Rather than fall back Goku, Goku had righted himself and was floating directly up above. Cell frowned. "Oh, come on...I wanted to do the Volleyball Fist..."
Watching as the monster childishly pouted below, Goku couldn't help but be enraged. He shouted at Cell. "Is this really nothing more than a game to you?!"
Cell was taken aback. He thought for a moment, and then he smirked. "Yes, Goku, this is a game to be. That's why I called it the Cell Games. I'm here to play around and have fun with my toys..."
And then, shocking everyone, Cell's left arm suddenly increased tenfold in size. The bio-Android's massive fist wrapped around Goku and squeezed him tight, making the Saiyan cry out in immense pain. Cell laughed. "So please, do be aware that I tend to play with my toys until the break into dozens of pieces~!"
Cell whipped his massive arm down and smashed Goku face-first into the ring. "Do you, by chance, recall Piccolo's Great Namekian technique~?"
The monster lifted Goku up to slam him down again, but Goku was not having it. "Yeah! And I remember what weaknesses it has too!"
With a burst of energy, Goku blew Cell's hand apart and sent a massive gusher of purple blood splattering everywhere. Cell didn't care, shrugging and charging at Goku for another attack, only for Goku to scoop up a handful of Cell's own blood and sling it right into the Android's eyes. Cell snarled in pain and consternation, frantically rubbing his hand over his face. Goku smirked and took advantage. Reaching down and grabbing one of Cell's massive, severed digits, he charged at the Android and used it like a club, battering Cell around and ending the assault by crashing the engorged extremity down onto Cell's back.
This, however, did not keep Cell down long. The monster slammed his remaining palm down onto the ring and sent a shockwave of energy across the surface, engulfing the remains of his giant hand in flames and burning it away.
Cell stood, ready for more, but was quickly met by a flurry of ki spheres launching at him all at once. Moving quickly, and without really thinking, Cell slapped each blast to the side with a smile. "You really must try harder, Goku~"
He regrew his hand and caught the last of the blasts with it. "Don't make this two easy~"
Goku nodded. "Fine!"
And then, the Saiyan from Earth splayed his arms out wide and sharply pulled them inward. Cell was confused, until he looked around and saw hundreds of ki bolts all surging towards him all at once. Goku smirked. "I think Piccolo calls that the Hellzone Grenade!"
Cell scoffed. "I know what he calls it!"
And then, his left arm growing to a massive size once more, Cell spun around and rapidly collected all of the blasts into his palm. "I thought I told you not to make this too easy!"
Having collected all of the blasts into a massive blast in his palm, Cell looked up at Goku-
*POP*
-and then appeared behind him and swung the ki-filled hand towards the Saiyan. Anticipating this, Goku immediately dodged to the side, allowing the hand to harmlessly swing by him and crash into the ground below. Goku drew his hand to the side and charged a handful of electrified, purple ki. "Saturday Crush!"
The blast crashed into Cell and the shocks echoed through his body. As the monster attempted to get control back over his body, Goku charged in and punched him about the face. Cell was battered left and right like a sandbag. Goku went for a kick to finish the monster, but Cell was finally able to regain control of his faculties. The monster caught the kick and jerked Goku's leg to the side. His eyes glowed with energy and he fired a pair of beams directly at Goku's chest, but Goku quickly bent back and allowed the beams to fly over him. Goku twisted in Cell's grip and threw another kick, this one hitting the mark and allowing Goku to kick Cell in the back and launch him across the sky.
Goku drew in a shallow breath and then shot towards Cell like a bullet. He went for a hammering blow, but Cell blocked. Goku shouted. "You're not going to get anywhere just throwing stolen moves at me! I know all of my friends and their fighting styles just as well as you do!"
Cell smiled. "I'm sure you do~"
And then, to Goku's surprise, he was suddenly seized from behind and held tightly in place in a harsh, full-nelson. The Saiyan looked behind himself and gasped at what he saw: it was Cell! With Goku held in place by a multi-form clone, the original Cell landed down in the ring below. "Tell me, Goku, do you remember this?"
Cell pressed his fingers to his forehead and quickly charged a technique. The monster thrusted his fingers towards Goku and shouted. "SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!"
Goku grunted in annoyance and, with a showing of force, quickly freed himself from the multi-form clone's grip. Moving quickly, the Saiyan reached behind and grabbed the extra Cell by his horned crown and yanked him forward. The multi-form clone was harshly tossed into the Special Beam Cannon to block it and then Goku tossed a blast after for emphasis. The explosion destroyed both the clone and the Special Beam Cannon and Goku sighed in relief.
And then the smoke cleared and revealed Cell standing there, another blast charging between his hands. "GALICK GUN! FIRE!"
Goku scowled and drew his hands to the side. "KAMEHAMEHA!"
The two beams rocketed towards one another and crashed in the center, beginning a truly epic beam struggle between the two warriors. Goku applied as much pressure as he could from his end and Cell did the same from the ground below. But it quickly became clear that neither man was going to come out on top with this. So-
*POP*
-Cell appeared behind Goku and delivered a scooping kick directly into Goku's solar plexus. Goku gasped and wheezed and was thrashed downward by a rapid strike from the monster. Goku went spiraling down, but managed to hit the ground feet first. Cracks spider-webbed across the ring directly under Goku's feet. He took a deep breath and coughed, gripping his chest.
Goku looked up and saw Cell crashing down towards him. He responded by immediately dodging out of the way and allowing Cell to crash into the ground. With the area already damaged, the pressure of Cell's weight proved to be the last straw and the ring crumbled under his feet. Cell yelped and fell into the hole that he made. Goku ran up to the hole to see what happened and found Cell, propping himself up with his arms, his legs just barely dangling over the ground below. That was nearly a ring out, but the monster saved himself at the last second. Cell sighed in relief. "That was close...that's twice you've nearly ringed me out, now..."
Goku took a fighting stance. "To be fair, I only did it once. You nearly ringed yourself out this time."
Cell chuckled and pushed himself out of the hole, flipping and landing on his feet. "Fair. I should really be more careful..."
And then, Goku and Cell charged at one another and clashed once more, this time with even greater force. The two engaged a series of blows back and forth to one another, testing the limits of their foe's endurance and then trying their best to go above and beyond that with every punch. Cell tried to kick Goku, but Goku dodged. The force of the kick shot out and sliced through one of the spires, sending it tumbling over. Goku threw a punch right at Cell's head, but Cell dodged. The force of the punch traveled outward and made a nearby rocky structure explode into rubble. The two warriors took to the sky and continued their engagement, performing feats so quickly that they produced sonic booms. Each landed strike sent out a deafening noise. Each wild miss made the surrounding scenery crumble.
At the commentary table...
Jimmy Firecracker was giving it a most valiant effort as he tried to call the action below. However, his untrained, human eyes were not fast enough to even follow the action going on above, much less call it. He growled in frustration. "This is becoming too hard to follow!"
He turned in his chair to the Champion sitting next to him. "Mr. Satan! This must be one of those showboating tricks that you've accurately pointed out Cell uses, right?! Is Son Goku in on the act or, like Caroni and Pirozhki, has he simply been indisposed while Cell puts on his performance?!"
Mr. Satan was stunned silent, his eyes twitching and darting around as he, only somewhat, followed the action going on in the sky above. With him unwilling to talk, Miss Piiza quickly spoke up in his place. "I can't believe you're even bothering Mr. Satan about this, Jimmy! Obviously, this is nothing more than a disgusting subversion of martial arts!"
She scoffed and brusquely folded her arms over her ample chest. "I'd even go as far as saying that Goku guy is in cahoots with Cell! Which makes sense! That loser disappears for years and doesn't even have the common courtesy to show up and face his inevitable defeat at Mr. Satan's hands! So, of course he'd do something like this to get everyone's eyes back on him!"
She smirked. "Personally, I hope that it's scripted that he loses to Cell, just so Mr. Satan can make him look extra bad when he kicks Cell's butt!"
This bit of rude commentary did not go unnoticed. Cell's ear cup twitched and he immediately broke away from Goku. Landing on the ring surface, Cell turned and charged a blast in his hand. He fired it towards the three commentators with a scowl. "No biased commentary!"
As the three of them all sat there, Jimmy Firecracker and Miss Piiza both confused, Mr. Satan freaking out, the blast that would kill them was suddenly intercepted. Goku landed in front of the attack and grabbed it, compressing it between his two hands and throwing it back at Cell. Cell rolled his eyes and slapped the ki away, sending it flying and having it explode in the far distance.
Watching the smoke billow up for just a moment, Cell turned and glared at Goku. "What the hell?! Why would you go out of your way to save people who are doing nothing more than jeering at you?!"
Goku scowled, taking a fighting stance. "I don't care what people think about me. Being rude to me doesn't mean they deserve to die!"
His power flared. "I've already told you; I won't let you kill anyone else!"
Cell smiled and rushed at Goku, the two of them locking up and holding each other still. Cell chuckled. "You say you won't let me kill anybody else? I wonder how those fools floating around in space feel about what you just said?"
Goku growled. "Bastard..."
Cell closed his eyes. "It's okay, Goku. We can't save them all. Sometimes...we just need to save ourselves!"
And then, grabbing onto Goku tightly, Cell delivered a sudden suplex, slamming Goku into the ring with a harsh thud. Goku bounced and did a quick backflip, getting back to his feet. Once he was stable, the Saiyan looked forward and the first sight to greet him was a Destructo-Disc. Cell smirked. "Such a shame~ The attack that kills you is one innovated by your best-"
The Destructo-Disc split in half and flew by Goku, exploding into nothing before it could even hit the ground. Cell scowled. "...friend."
He stared at Goku. "How in the hell did you stop the Destructo-Disc?"
Goku stood and glared back at Cell, holding up both of his hands and revealing the edges of them to be surging with the same type of energy as the Destructo-Disc itself. Cell studied Goku's hands with an intrigued smirk. "So, to counter the Destructo-Disc, you wreathe your hands in a similar type of energy? Impressive~ A new meaning given to the term 'knife-edge chops'~"
Goku focused his stance. "The Rebellion Edge, my father's move."
Cell held up both hands, summoning two attacks that resembled the Destructo-Disc, but were instead bright red. "Tell me...I know this timeline is slightly different from my own, so did you ever get a chance to see Frieza's Death Saucers on Namek?"
Before Goku could answer, Cell tossed forward both of the Death Saucers. The deadly discs shot right at the Saiyan from Earth and, with his expert dexterity and maneuverability, Goku dodged both of the discs. Goku glared at Cell and Cell smirked, motioning with his hands and drawing the discs back towards Goku's back. The monster watched, eager for the discs to hit. But then, Goku turned and smashed both discs to pieces with his Rebellion Edge's. Cell wolf-whistled. "Impressive, Goku!"
He snarled. "Let's amp things up a bit!"
With a shout, the monster used the Multi-Form technique and a second Cell sprang out from his back. This Cell leered at Goku and then spread his arms to the side, making two more Death Saucers. The original Cell did the same and the two of them tossed four Death Saucers at Goku.
Goku growled in frustration, leaping back and avoiding the slicing attacks. Both of the Cells chuckled. Original Cell shouted. "Impressive, Goku! However, can we hope to slice you now...?"
Multi-Form Cell shouted. "Oh! Wait!"
With a bit of strain, both Cells used Tien's Four Witches techniques, both of them sprouting and extra pair of arms and tossing two extra Death Saucers a-piece. Goku grunted, barely avoiding being sliced to pieces buy the four new Death Saucers. Flying as fast as he could, Goku turned to look behind him and saw eight, approaching Death Saucers.
With a groan, Goku stopped and turned to face the attacks. Using his Rebellion Edge's, Goku began to deflect and attempt to dispel the attacks. With his reflexes, Goku was able to destroy three of the discs. But, as he turned to deal with another, three more suddenly came flying in from behind. Goku moved to dodge, but the discs were already to close. The edges of all three of them dug into Goku, two in his ribs and one on his arm, and zoomed by with blood trailing off of them.
This break in Goku's movements was all the two Cells needed to see. They were familiar with the standard strategy Goku resorted to when dealing with slicing disc attacks and they didn't plan to even give him the chance to try and bring the attacks back around on them. The two of them adjusted their hands and flexed their arms inward. This motion drew all eight Death Saucers back at Goku all at once and they dug into him. One into his leg, one into his side, two into his shoulders, one if his back, one into the side of his face, one into his stomach, and one into his neck. The Death Saucers all dug into Goku. But, before they could slice too deeply, Goku pressed his fingers to his forehead and Instant Transmissioned away. The discs, with nothing left to cut into, all simply crashed into one another and burst into pieces.
Using their ki sense, the two monsters turned to where Goku had teleported. He was just above the other Z-Fighters. Slowly, Goku hovered back over the ring. He looked to be in quite a state. He was covered in devastating lacerations and was leaking blood like a faucet. It was clear, just by the look on the Saiyan's face, he had nearly died just there and he knew it.
The Cells, both satisfied with Goku's rather ghastly injuries, all remerged into a single entity. Looking up at Goku floated there, leaking blood from the various gashes torn into him, Cell pulled his hands to the side. "That looks painful. Perhaps...I should put you out of your misery now?"
A yellow energy ball began buzzing in Cell's hands. "This is a technique I've been work-shopping for the past ten days! It's actually a combination of two techniques, both of which I would assume you are quite familiar with!"
The ball swelled and Cell smirked at his seemingly helpless foe. "The combination of the Kamehameha and the Destructo-Disc! Or, as I like to call it...KI-EN-HAMEHA!"
The blast fired from Cell's hand, buzzing and visibly sharp over the entire surface. Cell chortled. "This is the end, Goku! Prepare to be shredded like lettuce!"
Up in the air, Goku was trying to focus. His shoulder ached and he felt a bit light-headed, but he couldn't let that stop him. He breathed in and out, regaining his composure and his focus. And then, shocking both Cell and the Z-Fighters watching below, Goku charged headfirst towards the blast.
Cell's eyes widened. "Are you crazy?! What the hell are you doing?!"
Goku didn't answer. He focused all of his attention onto the beam. He knew that his mind needed to stay sharp and his movements needed to be perfect for this to work properly. Otherwise, he really would die. This was his chance, his opening! All he had to do was seize it!
With everything in place, it was Goku's time to act. Flipping just as the beam was about to collide with him, Goku focused his ki into the soles of his boots and then landed right on top of the attack. And, adding onto that, the Saiyan from Earth observed how the ki was flowing through the attack and adjusted how his ki flowed to compensate for it. The result: Goku using Cell's own attack as a high-speed ramp leading right down to the monster.
As he shredded down to the ground below, Goku could feel his boots getting thinner and thinner. This was going to be right down to the wire. 'Come on...just a bit more...'
And then, right as his boots exploded, Goku leapt off of the beam and lunged at Cell. His heavy, ki-coated fist was drawn back and he stared with a cold fury at the monster. Finally, with all of his strength put behind it, Goku rammed his fist into the side of Cell's head and smacked the monster directly to the ground. Going along with the follow-through, Goku used all of his strength and weight to carry on with the punch and drive Cell's head not just into, but through a significant thickness of the ring.
The sheer force of the attack against the monster created a sonic boom that caused the entire Cell Games ring to splinter into pieces. Cell's eyes rolled back, purple blood exploding from his nose, mouth, ears, and eye sockets. Goku, meanwhile, was blown high up into the air.
The Saiyan from Earth halted his upward ascent and clapped his hands together. He then splayed his left hand out. Grabbing his left wrist with his right hand, Goku shouted. "Eat this!"
A blue, warbling orb of ki appeared in Goku's palm, and then it fired out. However, rather than just being an energy blast, this attack was special. It presented itself in the form of a jet of high-pressure water. The stream of ki-based liquid, much like a waterfall, crashed down and began to engulf the entire ring. "TURTLE SCHOOL FOUR VIRTUES! VIRTUE OF FLOWING WATER!"
On the sidelines...
The Z-Fighters were all stunned by what they were seeing. Vegeta and Raditz looked to one another with confusion. Raditz scoffed. "What the hell is that?! That's not the technique he practiced with us!"
On the other side of the ring, meanwhile, Jimmy Firecracker, Miss Piiza, and Mr. Satan were all staring at the high-pressure water. Miss Piiza scoffed. "Have these idiots run so low on tricks that they think water guns are impressive?!"
Jimmy Firecracker turned to Mr. Satan. "Mr. Satan! Anything to say on this?!"
Mr. Satan was staring at the cascading water with his mouth agape. "Holy shit..."
Sometime in the past...
Standing in front of his students, a large, muscular man with flowing black hair and large, curved fangs held out his hand. This mountain of a man was Master Di-Enma, the patron of Satan Style martial arts! "The Crane School! The Monastery of the Eight Holy Arms! And the Turtle School! Each of these rival schools have their own secret techniques! Their own skills that place them each onto a pedestal all their own! But it is our style, the Satan Style that has the best secret skills! Better than the Dodon Ray, the Tri-Beam, the Hasshu-ken, the Kamehameha, or even the legendary Four Virtues of the Turtle School! Our techniques are..."
Master Di-Enma suddenly looked quite annoyed. Grabbing a stone ball from the shelf above him, he crushed it with his bare hand and tossed the rubble with bullet like speed at a slumbering student of his in the back. That student, quick as a flash, was able to strike each stone out of the air before hopping onto his feet. He had a strong chin, a curly black afro, and a cocky look in his eyes. Di-Enma scowled. "Mark! You had best pay attention! These skills are ones that could make the difference between winning and losing a competition!"
Young Mark scoffed, rubbing his finger under his nose. "Please...you told us about these techniques before, Master. They all sound like a load of flashy, lightshow nonsense~"
Di-Enma scowled. "You would do wisely to lose that cocky attitude, boy! You might be the best in this dojo when it comes to the fundamentals, but the world of martial arts has so much to offer past that!"
Young Mark rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "Gimme a break..."
Back in the present...
Mr. Satan watched as ethereal, ki-based water crashed down and sprayed off of the surface of the ring right before his very eyes. This was clearly the same techniques that Master Di-Enma had mentioned before. "Holy shit...!"
At Goku's house...
Everyone gathered in the den was stunned and in awe by this new technique of Goku's. This was truly a sight to behold, watching as high-pressure water exploded from the palm of their fearless champion's hand. Yajirobe spoke up and said what everyone was thinking. "When in the hell did Goku learn to shoot water out of his hands?!"
Mr. Popo looked amazed. "That water is so sparkling and clear..."
Master Korin nodded. "It's like the Ultra Divine Water..."
And then, Master Roshi spoke up. "Of course, it is, that's what I based it off of..."
Everyone turned to Roshi and Ox-King, seeing both of them staring at Goku's image on the screen, utterly baffled at what they were witnessing. Ox-King turned to Master Roshi. "Master! When did you teach Goku about the Four Virtues?!"
Master Roshi remained silent. Ox-King continued. "Those are techniques that only a supreme martial artist with a lifetime of experience should ever be made privy to! You wouldn't even let me approach them after so long of training under you!"
Master Roshi gripped his hands on his knees. "That's the problem, Ox. I didn't teach Goku those sacred techniques...I've never even brought them up to him..."
Ox-King flinched. Master Roshi was clearly perturbed. The hulking man scratched his beard. "Then, that must mean that Goku learned to do this from..."
Bulma spoke up. "Will you two quit speaking in half-sentences and explain to the rest of us what the hell is going on?!"
Master Roshi immediately began to explain in a serious, intense tone. "That is the Virtue of Flowing Water. It is one of the techniques that I, as the creator and founder of the Turtle School of Martial Arts, invented. It's a cleansing water, produced from the lifeforce and ki of the martial artist, that burns away the lifeforce and ki of evil and wicked beings that might come into contact with it..."
Roshi gripped his fist. "After Master Mutaito and Fanfan were both killed...and after Shen and I split apart...I put my spirit to the test forging techniques that would be able to slay wicked demons that might want to hurt the things I held precious. I was never able to use these techniques against King Piccolo due to my old age..."
He stared at the screen. "The longer the water washes over a foe, the more their power drains. The only drawbacks to the move being the strain it puts on the body and the fact that it does no physical damage to the enemy. So, Goku showed quite a bit of prowess knocking Cell's block off before going into the use of such a technique..."
Everyone nodded at the end of Roshi's speech and then went back to staring at the television. Ox-King leaned over and whispered to his teacher. "Master...if you didn't teach that technique to Goku, then it must have been Gohan, right...?"
Roshi nodded. "Had to have been. But...if Goku has known about the Four Virtues for this long, why am I only seeing him use them now...?"
In the air above the ring...
Goku winced at the surging pain recoiling up through his arm as he tried to maintain the Virtue of Flowing Water. But he continued to produce the storming, ki-based liquid. He just had to keep it going for as long as he could. If he could drain away a large chunk of Cell's ki, then he might have a better shot at putting down the monster with that other technique he was holding onto. A vein popped out of Goku's head. "Come on...just a little bit more..."
But then, to Goku's shock, a bright red Death Beam came shooting up through the water and pierced straight through Goku's hand. Goku yelped and yanked his hand back, groaning in pain as a small stream of smoke curled from the hole in it. "Damn it..."
As the last of the Flowing Waters crashed down onto the ground below, a familiar form shot up from the ring and zoomed into the air right next to Goku. Goku glared over and saw Cell, dripping wet, and with a snide expression on his face. "Sly dog~! What kind of technique was that?"
The monster gripped his fist. "My energy feels...lesser..."
Goku scowled. This wasn't what he was hoping for at all. He had managed to shave away some ki from Cell's overwhelming power. But, still, the monster's spirit raged with overwhelming force. Goku gripped his injured hand. "Damn..."
Cell sighed with a smile. "I shouldn't have expected any less from you, Goku~"
And then, the monster pointed his index finger threateningly at his foe. Goku entered a stance, prepared to defend himself. Cell fired a beam at Goku. But, to Goku's surprise, the beam simply enveloped around his feet and replaced his shredded boots with a fresh pair. Goku looked confused. Cell smirked. "Magic Materialization. I learned it from Piccolo's genes."
Goku frowned. "But why...? What's your game?"
Cell shrugged. "No game, Goku. Aesthetics just mean a lot to me. You're giving me the time of my life and I don't want that memory tainted by the image of you fighting in tattered footwear like some mud-drinking hick!"
Goku growled in frustration, pressing his face into his hand. Cell cocked his head. "What's wrong? Does your hand hurt?"
Goku snapped. "What is wrong with you?!"
Cell blinked twice. "Pardon?"
Goku gritted his teeth. "You kill without mercy, but you have an honor code. You have all this power, but you're so carefree. You're...you're like Frieza...but like..."
Cell smirked. "You?"
Goku flinched. Cell flew closer, flying gentle circles around the Saiyan with his arms crossed over his chest. "I'm cruel and callous, like Frieza. I'm intelligent and focused, like Piccolo. I'm arrogant and explosive, like Vegeta. I'm calm and care-free, like you~"
He smirked. "I have no real wants or needs or interests. I don't sweat details. And yet, I have a clear goal in mind and the aesthetics of a situation are some of the most important in my eyes. Even if you weren't such a simpleton, I'm a too complicated a puzzle to figure out~"
He stopped. "Trust me, Goku. I know what you're going through. Honestly, I don't really understand me either. So many conflicting voices and personalities screaming from within my soul...it's like a tragic comedy. Like..."
Cell focused his attention down below. He stared with an uncaring, but forlorn grimace at the state of his once pristine arena. It had been split into chunks. The once proud spires were toppled over like trees in the middle of a hurricane and the entire thing was flooded by sparkling, ethereal water. "I don't think that it should matter...but seeing my poor ring in such a state breaks my heart. I love that ring like a child..."
The monster's grimace spread into a manic grin across his face. He whipped his hand forward. "Ohwellbye~"
Goku's eyes widened and he turned to shout to the ground below. "EVERYONE RUN RIGHT NOW!"
And then, Cell fired a truly massive blast down towards the ring below.
Down on the ground...
Seeing death raining down towards them, the Z-Fighters all quickly sprang into action. Each of them charged across the Cell Games Arena and grabbed one of the hapless civilians gathered around it. Each of the camera men for the event were lifted off the ground and carted away by the annoyed warriors, all but one of them being forced to drop their camera in the process.
The Commentary Table was frozen in shock, confused by what was going on. Mr. Satan, Jimmy Firecracker, and Miss Piiza all stared up at the deadly attack raining down on them, only to be surprised as the entire table and stage they were sitting on was lifted from the ground.
Holding the helpless humans above his head, Android 16 went flying as fast as he could from the approaching attack. Just as the Z-Fighters all managed to clear away with their terrified, human luggage, Cell's blast collided with the Cell Games ring and exploded into a massive dome.
The pressure of the attack sent a gigantic cloud of dust flying and the force threatened to blow the Z-Fighters away, but they managed to hold strong in the face of the pressure.
Landing on a nearby rocky outcropping, the warriors, television crew, and announcer's table all stared towards the massive crater that used to be Cell's ring. It had been utterly obliterated.
Jumping to his feet in response, Jimmy Firecracker ran from Z-Fighter to Z-Fighter, getting little more than a cold glare or a scoffing grunt from his various attempted interviews. Coming upon Android 17, the reporter shoved his microphone in the cyborg's face. "Young man, perhaps you would care to share your opinion on what the current state of affairs are?!"
Android 17 scowled. "My opinion is that you people are all morons and that you should take your cameras, take your microphones, and piss off back to whatever nest of idiots you call a workplace!"
Jimmy Firecracker gasped, recoiling back. "S-So rude!"
Android 17 shoved him. "Get lost and get out of my personal space."
As Jimmy Firecracker stumbled back, he crashed into the unyielding form of Android 16. The reporter looked up at him. "Y-You're the person that...that saved us a moment ago..."
Android 16 nodded. "Indeed. And I apologize for the brisk nature of my friend. But you really should grab all of your crew and leave. If Cell were to suddenly focus his attention in this direction, we might have trouble defending you from oncoming attacks..."
Jimmy Firecracker looked contemplative, looking at his disheveled crew. "Well...I..."
"Absolutely not!"
Android 16 and the reporter both looked over to the announce table to see a fiery Miss Piiza gesturing at them. "We can't just up and leave! Not when Mr. Satan still hasn't gotten his clean rematch!"
Shuddering, Mr. Satan grabbed the valet by her shoulders. "C-Come on, Piiza. Just give it a rest..."
Jimmy Firecracker was suddenly fired up. "No, Mr. Satan! She's right! The World acknowledges how exceptionally humble you're being in the face of all of this, allowing your fellow champion to have his bout against that depraved animal, but we need you in this dark hour! If Son Goku is unable to defeat Cell, then you will have to step in and show that monster what real martial arts is all about!"
Mr. Satan had a lump in his throat larger than a Dragon Ball. His fu manchu stood on end as he struggled for something to say in response to Firecracker's fiery rant. Vegeta rolled his eyes as he watched this display continue on. "Morons..."
Piccolo stepped up next to him. "Ignore them. There's more important things going on."
The Z-Fighters all turned their attention back to the battlefield, watching with renewed focus as Goku and Cell both landed in the middle of the barren wasteland.
On the battlefield...
Cell and Goku each took a fighting stance once more. With the stakes having been taken up a notch and the ring having been widened to the entire wasteland; Cell had a wide, wickedly excited smirk on his face. "Oh Goku, are you excited now? Now...the entire Earth can be our ring! Is that not just the most exciting thing?!"
The monster's power flared out and pushed against Goku, making the Saiyan slide back. Goku took a deep breath and then sighed. Admittedly, he knew he was at a disadvantage. In spite of the Virtue of Flowing Water, Cell was still bursting with power. Goku, meanwhile, could feel his own power slowly burning away.
Goku gripped his fists tight and his golden power surged. "This is nowhere near over yet!"
