-PLEASE READ-
Sup, guys! Happy New Year! This is an announcement that three days after the next chapter, I will change the categories for this fic. It will no longer be labelled as a Dragon Ball Z and Max Steel crossover. Instead, it will be labelled as a Dragon Ball Z and Cartoons X-Over crossover because I feel that that would be more accurate for labeling. I just wanted to give you guys a heads up to avoid confusion when my fic doesn't show up here anymore. Aight, pressing necessary part is now over.
Regular A/N:
A/N: Also, I just wanna say that things are gonna start getting real, real dramatic from here on out. I'm talking heavy anxiety, drama, and romance from here on out! So, essentially, the fun begins! *cue evil laughter*
Chapter 13: Desperation Murmur of a Heartbeat
The night was long and quiet. The sun had long since set, and it was now an hour or two past midnight. Aside from the bustling of N-Tek soldiers going about their night shifts, it was peaceful. The gang was asleep in their rooms as he wished that he could've been. But he couldn't, not tonight.
They had no idea what Gohan was planning for that night.
He was sure that they weren't going to be happy with his decision. He'd definitely be getting an earful from Forge and Jazz after it was over, but it'd be worth it for what he'd accomplish. If he ever told Vegeta, he laughed to himself, he'd be disgusted at his plan, calling it cowardly. They would understand, eventually. They had to.
The people of Copper Canyon were getting antsy. From his understanding, they'd dealt with serious threats in the past. Villain rampages and alien invasions, sure, but even the out of the loop civilians seemed to recognize the gravity of the situation. People had been trying to leave Copper Canyon for days now with only a select few staying behind since Cell's declaration. He had to take Cell down immediately for their peace of mind. Mankind had already suffered enough of Cell for three lifetimes.
Gohan slipped out of his room, unnoticed and carefully sped his way through the halls and out of the facility. He carefully made his way past the front guards and out of the Canyon before speeding away at speeds faster than the eye, making sure to avoid creating a sonic boom.
Racing along the ground, a glare settled onto his face as a tingling feeling danced in his stomach. The jitters of his impending attack had been consuming since morning. He'd long since stopped fighting the feeling and instead used it to heighten his awareness and keep him on his toes; a weakness transformed into another weapon against Cell.
One way or another, Cell was going to die tonight.
"Man, things sure have gotten heavy around here, huh?"
Forge snorted as he raised his mug of coffee to his lips. He would've liked some Allagash White Ale, but he drew the line at drinking on duty, which he seemed to be on a permanent shift nowadays. "You're telling me. I'm starting to think I'm getting too old for this."
"Sir, with all due respect, we're way too old for this."
"I hope you two are speaking for yourselves."
Forge glanced up with a grin to see Kat strolling towards them, smirking all the while. "We wouldn't dream of roping the great Kat Ryan with the rest of us mortals, don't worry."
Kat chuckled as she pulled up a chair next to them. "Jefferson's not being a bad influence again, is he? I could've sworn you were cracking a joke just now."
Forge took a long gulp of coffee. "I can be humorous. I just choose not to be. I have to maintain professionalism, y'know."
Kat and Jefferson exchanged a look, a smile worming its way onto their faces. Forge rolled his eyes. "Whatever, how are your families? I haven't gotten to check with you guys in a while."
Kat heaved a sigh as she leaned back into her chair. She looked like she aged a thousand years in the span of a moment. "Well, physically, they're all doing great. My niece just got herself a full-ride scholarship into Stanford, and my older brother got that promotion he'd been hoping for. I can't sugarcoat it though, Commander. My family is scared out of their wits with this whole Cell tournament. Especially my mom. I can't imagine how terrified she'd be if she knew I was still in Copper Canyon, much less a part of the agency prepping to fight that monster."
"She thinks you've left?" Forge asked.
"Yeah, I told her that I managed to get transferred to another job in Wyoming and that I couldn't leave even though she wanted me to come back home."
Jefferson sighed. "It's pretty much the same situation with my family. It's been tough on them, but they're managing. I know if my momma could chain me to her with the way things are now, though, she likely would."
Forge and Kat cracked a smile at that. Even with Jefferson's upbeat humor, Forge couldn't find himself completely assured. He had faith in their ability to take Cell down. He felt that he had to be as the leader of the agency, but he also had to admit that it would be a tall order. The raw power and destructive capabilities the android had was simply. . . bone-chilling. It was hard to imagine it, much less anything that could stand against it. But they'd have to. "We'll get him. The boys and Berto have been working non-stop."
"I can imagine," Jefferson agreed, "I can hardly remember a time that I haven't seen Gohan or Randy in the gym. I'm starting to think that they sleep there."
"I just hope they don't overdo it," Kat muttered. "All that constant stress on your muscles wouldn't be good for you, superpowered or not."
"Do ever not think like a medic, Kat?"
Kat rolled her eyes, before responding almost defensively, "Well somebody has too around here."
Sensing a potential bickering match coming along, Forge intervened. "They'll be fine. They're very passionate about this, especially Gohan, but they know when to take a rest day. In fact, I might let them have the day off from sparring tomorrow. They've most definitely earned-"
"Sir!"
An agent was making a beeline towards him, barely avoiding running into the hydraulic doors before they could fully open, his facial expression appearing dire. "Commander Forge, there's been a disturbance coming from Cell's last known location."
Forge shot out of his seat, his heart pulsing uncomfortably loud in his ears. "What do you mean a disturbance? What's going on down there?"
"We're not quite sure yet, but we're picking up some major sonic booms. The wind gusts coming from the area are astronomical."
Forge turned to Kat and Jefferson. "Ready your jets. I'm going to need you guys down there with the other pilots." He turned back to the messenger. "Wake up the boys. It sounds like we're gonna need 'em. We don't have to lose."
Eight Minutes Earlier. . .
Gohan dropped his power level a few hundred yards outside of the battlefield. It had been painstakingly difficult to walk that entire way, just mildly speed walking and not running, but it had been worth it. From the looks of it, Cell hadn't noticed his approach. The bio-android merely stood in the center of his ring with his arms crossed.
The bastard didn't even need to sleep. It would be hard to surprise something like that but he would catch him. He had too.
Taking a slight breath to steel himself, Gohan sprung, turning Super Saiyan 2 in a heartbeat, launching a soaring punch at Cell's face. Gohan caught the slightest hint of a smirk before Cell dipped his head, dodging the blow.
Gohan's aura flared as he stopped his momentum and followed up with an uppercut. Cell tilted away and hopped backwards in one fluid move. Not wanting to give him an ounce of reprieve, Gohan followed him, sending blow after blow the perfect lifeform's way. Not a single hit found its mark as Cell blurred, bobbing and weaving.
Snarling with frustration, Gohan swung a harsh roundhouse kick at Cell's rib cage that was stopped cold with a raised forearm. Cell watched him carefully through interested, though slightly perturbed, eyes. "Are you finished yet?"
"Hardly."
Gohan threw a hook at his jaw that was easily caught. Gohan tried to pull his arm out of the android's grip to no avail. Giving up on that effort, he jabbed an elbow at Cell abdomen. Cell didn't even bother blocking that one; he simply absorbed the force and grabbed hold of his other arm.
Gohan grit his teeth, practically shaking with frustration. Why wouldn't the android fight back? Was it some form of taunting? Was he trying to get into his head or something? He knew that Cell was hardly above psychological tactics, but it wasn't his main MO. "Why aren't you fighting me?! Isn't this what you wanted?!"
Cell shook his head with a low chuckle, still keeping a tight hold on him. "Not too bright are you, Gohan?"
"Enlighten me, then!"
"I already told you. I gave you three lives: three shots at fighting me. If I fought back now, I'd have to count it as your last. And then, I wouldn't be able to fight you on the televised stage! A stage you almost destroyed by the way. You're lucky that I had good sense to draw us away from there. It would've been a pain to recreate."
Gohan stopped struggling and noted that they were in fact a good way away from the tournament ring. He felt his confidence start to wane at how easily he'd been led astray before he doubled down on his courage. Relaxing his tension completely, he let himself stay in Cell's grasp, searching his expression for any clue he could use. Any weakness. "How are you here?"
"Hm? I already explained to you that you opened-"
"The breaches. Yeah. I've heard. I mean, you remember the Cell Games. I killed you there."
Cell laughed. "Clearly you did not."
Gohan shook his head. "No, I mean. I killed you. Without any major timeline interference. Trunks had already been there for a while at that point. He came back when the androids first showed up three years later. He'd been with us that entire time. There was nothing to disrupt the timeline. No extra time machines. So, I'll ask you again. How are you here?"
Cell smiled a savage grin, befitting of his character. "The Cell from your timeline. He killed Trunks and took his time machine. Your Trunks realized that and decided to destroy me along with the Androids when he returned to his timeline. The little tyke almost succeeded too!"
Gohan could feel his blood run cold. He didn't even want to ask. "Th-There's no way you killed-"
"I didn't." Cell was scowling now as if disgusted by the thought of not killing Trunks. "He was much too strong for me. I barely escaped with my life that day."
Gohan frowned as his mind raced. "But if you didn't kill him then how did. . ? You snuck in and-!"
"Stole the time machine right under his nose," Cell finished with another rumbling laugh. Gohan could feel the reverberations coursing through him from their contact. It felt sickening. "I was unfortunately scared out of my wits once I'd finally got there, though. I barely had time to save the Cell you know."
"Save him?"
"Yes, I managed to transport myself to the tail-end of your battle with him. I watched the beam struggle that almost took him out. I tried to pull him away from the beam struggle with my telekinesis, but he resisted." Cell chuckled a bit. "In hindsight, it wasn't my smartest idea. I probably ensured his demise even before Vegeta distracted him. Anyways, I instead carved out a tiny piece of him from afar, and I brought him to myself just before he was swallowed whole by your attack. I didn't waste much time after that. I took those precious seconds and escaped in the time machine."
"But he could regenerate back and come back stronger? You had to have known that so why didn't you stay and fight?"
"Well, for one, I had no quarrel with your time period's friends. Secondly, I would've been obliterated had I stayed. I had no way of knowing that your version of Cell would save me."
Gohan scowled but nodded, trying to process all of the new information. "But why didn't you come back to my timeline? Where did you go after you left?"
Cell chuckled yet again. "I destroyed the blasted thing to ensure my own survival. I was pissed."
Gohan could feel a headache beginning to chew at his patience. Why the heck would he refer to himself and the other Cell as "I"? "What happened to Trunks?"
"He found us the second I destroyed that machine. I proposed that your version of Cell allow me to absorb him as he was still remarkably weakened. When I tried to absorb him, it didn't work as planned. I wasn't able to absorb him manually with my absorption tail. We merely. . . fused I guess you could say."
Gohan felt his mouth dry up in horrified curiosity. "Fused?"
"Yes, it was the strangest thing. Both of our bodies compressed together and created this body. My personality won out overall, but I still feel traces of the Cell you know."
Gohan was instantly reminded of the time Piccolo and Kami had fused. He did suppose that since both Cell's had Piccolo's cells that they'd be able to achieve the same feat. Except for the fact that they weren't separate halves. They had both been separate wholes from different time periods that had never once been joined together. "How?"
"Hm?"
"How did you fuse?"
"I don't know for certain though I have my theories. Gero really did have a genius beyond his own understanding."
Gohan glanced up at Cell with a smirk. His eyes were unfocused, likely reminiscing on other times or those very theories he'd mentioned before. Either way, what had distracted Cell was of no concern to Gohan. He only saw an opportunity to strike. Gohan had taken great care to not drop out of his Super Saiyan 2 form, although he had ceased his resistance. It paid off in dividends when he suddenly flared his Ki in a wide twin Masenko.
Both of the android's hands were seared off, along with a good majority of his abdomen. He grunted with slight shock and alarm, hissing from the pain losing a fine amount of your body wrought. To Gohan's dismay, he wasn't able to see the full extent of the damage due to all the smoke and dust. "Wh-Why you-!"
A sharp crack rang out as a blur of blue and white raced into sight, a small crackle accompanying an indignant cry. By the time, Gohan's shock wore off as his brain finally caught up with his eyes. Max was standing with his fist out just in front of him, taking up the space Cell had occupied once before. "What the-? Max?! What are you-?!"
"Are you alright?" Max asked. "What's going on?"
Gohan glanced over at the reforming Cell before turning back to Max. "Get out of the area. Maybe 50 or so feet. Something big is about to happen. I'm gonna try to keep the blast radius to a minimum."
With that said, Gohan quickly sprung his plan into action. Dropping into a low stance and crossing his arms into an X pattern, Gohan spread his Ki throughout his body. This technique had taken a while to learn, but he was glad to have pestered Tien about it. If everything went well, the fight would be over quickly. "Multiform, ha!"
Three clones materialized next to him and raced off to do their jobs. By the time the three reached Cell, he had completely reformed. He blocked the first clone's strike before catching another's punch aimed for his face. He took another's kick on his ribs, quickly drawing his arm down to hold the leg in place. Cell quickly found himself having to let go as another Gohan jabbed at his head. He stopped the blow cold with a quick palm grab. The now freed Gohan flew level with Cell, raising his hands to his face. "Taiyōken!"
"Gah!"
Cell tried to rub at his face, but the clones held strong to the android's wrists, their auras flaring a bright gold. It wouldn't hold forever, but it'd last long enough.
"Gotcha," Gohan murmured. He'd snuck behind Cell, using the commotion to his advantage, and he began to charge up the most powerful Kamehameha as he could manage in that span of time. It had reached a respectable size and sharpness by the time the Taiyōken had been fired. He let the attack build up for several moments longer before he fired the planet-shattering blast with a shout.
The blast connected with a deafening explosion. Smoke sprung into the air as hurricane-like winds buffeted about. He fired another Kamehameha after that. And another. And another.
He could hardly remember when he stopped, but when he did, he could finally feel the fatigue settle in. He cursed as he dropped out of Super Saiyan 2 form and into his standard Super Saiyan form. "Shit. . . Pu-Put a li-little too much. . . into that."
He couldn't sense too much coming from the android, but he could feel his heart sink when he noticed a little flicker. It descended even further when he could see Cell's hand followed by half of his abdomen crawl out of the smoke. He floated up, hovering just over the ground, as a scowl sitting upon his marred and disfigured face that was quickly healing. "Well, Gohan. You've certainly gotten creative."
Gohan scowled. That android was worse than a damn cockroach. "Not creative enough to put you down, apparently."
Now fully healed, Cell shrugged. "Maybe you'll get me on tournament day? Speaking of which, you've probably destroyed my ring with your light show."
Only then did he fully grasp the carnage his attacks had brought. What had once been a large forest was a barren field with a crater wider than two busses put together, probably deeper than one too. He could only hope that Max had gotten out of the blast radius. "Oh, poor you."
Cell scoffed as his eyes flitted upwards, so quickly that Gohan had almost missed it. "Well, it looks like more of your friends have come to play."
"How're we looking?" Forge demanded.
"We should be there in about a minute!" a soldier barked out over the wind. "They've switched locations, but we should still be able to reach 'em in time!"
Forge tried not to get too impatient. His personalized chopper was top of the line, in terms of speed. He was fortunate to have a large enough cockpit to house himself, his pilot, and some of his best tracking agents and still have room for a few more. Yet, he couldn't shake that impatient feeling in his gut. He hated not knowing what was going on.
"What Gohan could conceivably be up-"
"Uncle Ferrus!"
Immediately, Forge pressed a finger to his earpiece. "Yeah, Max? Do you have eyes on Cell and Gohan?"
"I, uh, I did, but he told me to get out of there. He said to keep about a fifty-foot radius out from his location."
Forge turned to the soldier next to him. "How close are we to their location?"
"We're about 75 feet out and closing, sir!"
"Shit," Forge hissed, tapping his earpiece again, transmitting to all pilots. "Everyone pull back, immediately!"
BOOM!
The jet lurched and Forge was nearly thrown from his seat. The world felt like it was spinning. No. That wasn't right. The helicopter was spinning. He could scarcely tell which direction was up as he struggled to keep his balance. Forge gripped the front passenger seat of the jet for better leverage. "Get us the hell out of here!"
"On it, sir!"
The helicopter slowly began to right itself just as another explosion rocked the Earth, sending powerful gusts of air bashing against the aircraft. Thankfully, it was weaker than the last one. Forge sighed and pressed his earpiece again, reaching Danny's frequency. "I didn't want to have to do this, but Danny, I'm gonna need you to head in. Keep me posted on what's happening!"
"On it, captain, my captain."
Holding back a grumble, Forge turned back to his soldier. "How far are we from the battlefield?"
"Three miles, sir!"
"Alright," Forge said, pressing his earpiece once again. "All jets hold your positions and wait for my OK." Switching communications again, he called out to Danny. "What are your visuals?"
"Hold on. . . almost there! Alright, uh, Gohan's just standing there? There's a lot of smoke, but I don't see Cell anywhere."
Forge felt a little sliver of happiness leap in his chest. Only for a second before he squashed it. He quickly chided himself for allowing such childish, unbecoming emotions to exist. He could celebrate once Cell was confirmed dead. "Can you sense Cell?"
"Ah. . . Gohan hasn't taught me that trick just yet. Oh wait! I see something crawling out of the- ew. . . ! That's just messed up."
"Danny."
"Right, sorry. It's Cell, he's alive."
"Well, we're gonna have to go back then," Forge muttered, switching communications again. "Alright everyone, converge back onto Cell's location as quickly as possible. Including you, Max."
The helicopter turned in the air before blasting back in the direction of the smoke. Within seconds, they were situated back onto the battlefield staring down the two titans. Pressing a finger to his earpiece, Forge addressed Danny once more. "Alright, Danny and Max. Try to engage with Gohan and Cell. Find out what you can. We'll back you up from the air."
"Got it."
"Hear you loud and clear!"
Forge leaned down in his seat to pick up his gun. It had been specifically upgraded to fight Cell. All of their weapons had been upgraded after Cell and Gohan had first tussled; it had been one of their many steps to creative a stronger defense for Earth. The repulsors on the gun were supposed to be a thousand times stronger than the older models, Berto had assured him. He didn't get too much of the science behind it, but he hoped that it would be enough.
Gohan scowled at the aircraft above his head. There was enough that it was starting to get a bit challenging to see the night sky without spotting a battle jet. "No, no! Why are you guys here?!"
"I would presume, for me and you, but mostly me."
Gohan returned his glare back to Cell. "Shut it."
Cell shrugged and shook his head as if he were taking pity on a senile patient. "They were supposed to show up on tournament day. All of you were supposed to show up on tournament day. I can't suppose that I blame you all. I get the urge to stretch my legs every now and again as well."
Before Gohan could retort, a voice called out to him from his right, "Gohan!"
Gohan turned with a look of surprise. He could feel the dread building within him. Everywhere he looked, there were more targets for Cell. Targets he wouldn't hold back on. "Danny? You need to get everyone out of here!"
Danny reluctantly faded into sight, throwing a wary glance Cell's way. "What's going on? This isn't part of the plan, man. I may not be the best at remembering things, but I can remember that much."
Gohan stared at Danny. What was going on? He couldn't land a meaningful hit on Cell. He couldn't kill him. He hadn't even killed him seven years ago. When he'd ascended to the level beyond Super Saiyan, thrown aside his distaste for battle, allowed his father to die for his mistakes, it had all been for nothing. The bastard hadn't died. All he'd managed was to make his mother a widow and his brother, fatherless.
What was going on?
He was being useless again.
Nothing had changed.
They were all dead.
There was nothing to be done.
Nothing at all.
They would never be going back home.
He didn't even know if they'd even see the afterlife.
They-
"Gohan!"
"Huh?"
"While I let you both talk out your differences, I'll be chatting with your other friends."
Gohan's eyes refocused on Cell who'd lifted his hand, index finger alight with Ki. The world slowed down as his heart dropped. "Wait no!"
Cell fired off a beam like a bullet. Gohan's aura flared to life as he took to the skies, but he knew in his heart that he was already too slow. He knew that he wouldn't make it in time.
The beam hit its mark as a jet exploded as did the one next to it. Only a fireball remained.
The fly back to N-Tek was a quiet one.
The jets had been the first to leave while Max and Danny held Cell off, but even they had to back off under Cell's might. Gohan had bought them time with a scattershot of Ki blasts before he escaped as well. He trailed a good deal behind them instead of flying with them. They allowed him his space, but Gohan was too wrapped up within himself to care.
When they finally landed, Danny and Max glanced back at Gohan. Max let his mask recede as his mouth opened and closed. He hated feeling tongue-tied, but what was there to say? What could he even tell Gohan in that moment that would help anything? He couldn't imagine what was going through his mind to even challenge Cell without them-
Oh. Max fought the urge to grimace. He did know. How had he not realized? How long had Gohan been thinking about doing this? If their conversation in the gym was any indication, he'd been planning on doing this for a long time.
He wanted to beat himself up about not doing something earlier, at least then he would've felt productive. But he couldn't. Because he didn't know how any of them could've stopped him.
"I, uh. . . it's gonna be rough in there, man."
Max jolted as he turned to stare at his ghostly companion before heaving a sigh. He'd completely forgotten that he wasn't alone. Gohan stared at Danny with dead eyes before nodding. "I know."
He walked past the two heroes, stepping into N-Tek. Max didn't miss how the guards' stares lingered on his form as Gohan passed.
The atmosphere was quiet, and Forge, Randy, and Katherine were waiting for them. Well, Katherine seemed about to leave, but she stopped short once she saw Gohan. She marched up to him, her deep scowl and red absolutely promising pain. Gohan, to his part, didn't falter. To be honest though, Max wasn't even sure that Gohan was processing her approach with how out of it he looked. "You son of a bitch! We had a goddamn plan! We aren't due to execute that plan until August 27th! We had a week and a half. Two of our pilots are fucking dead, and Jefferson is MIA right now! I swear to God if I don't find him alive, I'll kick your ass!"
She harshly brushed past him and marched out of the entrance.
"Danny," Forge started, without much pause, "Send a clone out there with her. I've already got two others going on a recon mission with her, but they might need your backup. If it goes south, your clone can let us know, and we can send Gohan over."
Danny nodded and closed his eyes. Soon, another him popped to life and flew after the pilots, phasing through the doors.
"With all due respect, Uncle Ferris, why, uh, why didn't you ask for Danny himself to go?" asked Max.
Forge sighed and turned around, beckoning over his shoulder. "Follow me, we've got a lot to discuss."
Max spared a glance at Danny, only to find that he was looking over at Jazz and Sam, who seemed to be trying to ask him questions. They were a bit far away and being held back by N-Tek guards, though, so he couldn't make out much. He could only imagine how much they'd fought tooth and nail to even be allowed entry into the room during such a dangerous time. Despite himself, a certain blonde flitted through his mind before he pushed the memory aside.
He started his walk after his uncle, trying not to look too bothered, as Danny, Randy, and Gohan trailed behind.
The silence was deafening.
They were standing in the Command Room again. Max found himself wishing it was under similar circumstances to their first visit as a group. They'd had no idea what would be coming ahead, but it had been laughably more simple back then. Max stole a glance at Gohan who was, for all intents and purposes, dead to the world. It was alien to see the man so defeated when not even a day ago he'd been the picture of determination.
"We have made some hard errors here and there."
Max snapped back into focus at his uncle's booming voice. It was always so certain and so sure of itself when it came to matters like this. Just as frightening as it was comforting; a sturdy rock.
"There should have been more communication with the weapons we created to counteract Danny, Randy, and Gohan in the case of a necessary cause. Though it was thought to be a necessity, it was wrong. I apologize from the bottom of my heart for that."
No one said a word. Not even Randy made one of his signature wisecracks.
"Then there was the attack Cell levelled on N-Tek. I don't think any of you all listened to me that day."
Max and Danny gave nervous chuckles at that.
"But I didn't give you all much room to operate. For that I am sorry. Everything still managed to work out in the end, no matter how much we all failed to see eye to eye." Uncle Ferrus shook his head, pacing slowly back and forth. "I let it stray too far. And it culminated into today. Gohan, you haven't trusted us this entire time, have you?"
Max turned to the half-Saiyan, instinctively. The teen didn't speak. He simply shook his head without ever lifting it. "There's no point."
"There is. We're here to help-"
Gohan finally lifted his head, his eyes red. "Nobody else here can take him on. I'm the only one. I've fought Danny, Max, and Randy during training, but never at full power. . . never at full power because I would kill them. And I can't stop Cell. So, there's no point. There's no point to any of this."
"Gohan, you can't actually believe that?" Max asked. The words were out of his mouth before he could even recognize them. He could feel his heartbeat starting to hammer in his chest, and his blood beginning to boil.
Gohan just gave a short humorless chuckle. It felt like a slap in the face.
"So, what? We're just supposed to keel over and spread 'em for Cell, huh?! We just supposed to die? What the hell was this all about today, then?! What was the point to any of it?!"
"It was my plan. I was supposed to take him down in an ambush. All I did was find out that I'm not strong enough. I've never been strong enough."
Max felt the blood roaring in his ears. A part of him could understand the desperation that Gohan was feeling, but the last thing they could afford was to have him give up. He would be loath to admit out loud, but even seeing Gohan like this was terrifying. He couldn't remember a time that he'd ever seen the teen so defeated. "Jesus freaking Christ. . ."
"Max, Gohan, listen to me."
Uncle Ferrus' voice was like a beacon. Not for the first time, he was glad to hear it. He could already feel some of the antsy emotions leaving his mind.
". . . I'm scared as hell."
Max heard a slight sound, maybe a gulp, maybe a gasp. He couldn't say. It may have come from him for all he knew. What he did know, though? That entire room had dropped to another level of stunned silence.
"I barely know what the fuck I'm doing. Between what happened with Makino and what's happened with Cell and what happened to Max not that long ago, I am absolutely goddamn terrified. I don't know if we're going to kill that android. I really don't." He paused and drew a tired sigh, finally ceasing his pacing. "But do you know what you missed, Gohan? You forgot that in all of those training exercises, Randy, Max, and Danny were fighting against you, not with you. I think you and Cell are gonna be surprised by what you'll see when we fight together."
Uncle Ferrus straightened up, levelling a smooth stare. "Now, I can't promise it'll work, but you've tried it your way, I've tried it my way; how about we meet in the middle and try this together? For real, this time. It's like you said, if you can't beat him, we die. He won today, but he didn't fight all of us."
Gohan's eyes looked bloodshot. It looked like a hurricane of emotion was locked within them just waiting to rip out. Max couldn't tell if he was relieved or disturbed to see emotion finally grace the teen's face. Gohan's mouth opened to respond once the doors slid open.
Kat stormed forward, her eyes immediately finding Gohan's. Recognizing a bad situation for what it was, Max grabbed hold of the woman before she could reach Gohan. Gohan seemed to show his first bit of emotion in years as he stumbled away, slightly. Meanwhile, Max tried to stop Kat without injuring her with his strength. "He's dead!" she shrieked. "Jefferson is fucking dead because of you! You and your fucking shitty plan killed him!"
Max almost let go of Kat in surprise as he felt tears prick at his eyes. Jefferson was one of his closest friends at N-Tek. He had always felt like an unshakable rock. To hear that he was dead. . ? It was all he could do to not accidentally crush Kat's arms and fall over and cry.
Gohan looked on, his bloodshot eyes shimmering. His lips quivered as they opened and closed as if searching for something to say.
"I can fix him."
All eyes turned to Randy, most surprisingly of all, Gohan was the one to respond. "A-Are you sure? I though-"
"I can fix him."
The words were spoken more forcefully through taut jaws and narrowed eyes as he strode over to Kat, who'd since grown limp. Max had hardly even noticed in all of the commotion. "He-He's dead. Didn't you hear-?"
"I can bring him back to life. Just take me to him."
Kat searched his eyes, carefully, before nodding. Max let go of her arms but stayed nearby in case she tried anything. She led the way to Jefferson's body as Randy followed after her, leaving the rest of them behind.
Max wanted to follow after them, but he caught himself. He stared over at his uncle, trying not to look too pleading.
To his slight dismay, Forge held up a hand. "We need open communication going forward, and that goes for me as well. No more secrets, lock step. Got it?"
"Got it," Max repeated.
"Got it," Danny affirmed.
Max glanced over to Gohan, who had begun to slowly nod his head. ". . . Got it."
"Alright, you're all dismissed until further notice."
A/N: Yeah, this wasn't the route that I was planning on taking. Well, it sorta was but not really at the same time? Yeah that sounds about right. Also, Cell's origin story was supposed to be different, until I realized that I didn't take into account the continuity of time travel in DBZ. . . so Cell's backstory in this fic went through this change. I'm not sure I like it, but here it is.
Let me know what y'all thought of it! Feel free to follow, review, and/or favorite. Remember that three days after the next update, I'll be moving this fic into the DBZ and Cartoon X-Overs section!
Until next time!
Uploaded: January 4th 2022
