His head.

The pink spot glistened in the sunlight almost mockingly. It twisted and turned as he drank Goku's life energy, it sprung like flowers being given water after a drought. She wasn't sure if the exact spot she needed to hit was the spot exposed, but the fleshy membrane beneath his hardened skin was the best shot they had. This opening allowed them to actually get inside of him.

If the nucleus wasn't inside his head like she thought it might be, at least a hit would rip him open even further. And maybe it would disable him long enough to finish him off.

Relief washed over her, mixed with slight embarrassment that it took her this long to figure it out. The spot pulsated as the monster consumed Goku's energy. An evil howl emerged from Cell as he took in the increasingly battered Goku limp at the end of Cell's tail.

"The great and mighty Goku," he sneered. "How mighty are you now? I will consume every last drop of you, I will enslave this planet and I will make you the villain. When people ask who created me, it will be you, and your good name will be nothing—even in death."

Slowly, Goku's skin turned ashy white. Straining against Cell, his chest fell and rose rapidly. If she didn't do something now, he was going to die.

For what felt like forever, she watched the spot on his head. It glistened and glowed as Cell finished absorbing the last of Goku's energy. When the tail retracted, Bulla swore it glowed again. It was possible she was imagining it, but something in her swirled. Even if she was wrong, she knew this was the best chance they had.

The spot was calling out to her, shining like a beacon and beckoning Bulla to crush it.

But before she had a chance to jump in, someone else was coming to Goku's aid. From behind, a bright light swirled past Cell's head, distracting him enough to release Goku. His tail slinked up, plucking itself from Goku's side, and mindlessly slithered beside Cell. Goku sailed downward and landed on the hard ground and released an almost inaudible groan.

Cell watched as Goku hit the field. Gone was his satisfied face. Now, he looked as though he was possessed by some otherworldly being. His face contorted and seethed and his eyes now danced with a fury that even gave Bulla pause. The monster slowly turned to see who had been brave enough to throw the shot. From the other side of the ring, Gohan had gotten to his feet.

"The boy lives," Cell hissed. "I thought I killed you."

Dirt and blood coated Gohan's battle ravaged body. Gohan had clearly been hit by Cell's energy assault from moments ago. From the ridge line One arm hung beside him completely disabled, swinging in the wind like a pendulum keeping time.

"Leave my father alone," Gohan said.

"Or what?" Cell said. "Going to fight me again? Your daddy won't be here to save you this time."

On the sidelines, Bulla had now managed to find enough strength to brace herself on her knees. The others were lying in various states of pain: Yamacha and Tien were sprawled out motionless a few yards away, but she could still feel their kis. Krillin had managed to cock his head up enough to look at the ring, and Piccolo and Vegeta looked as though they, too, were preparing to enter the melee once more, even though they could barely stand.

"Leave my father alone!" Gohan screamed as he powered back into a Super Saiyan. A wave of power swept through the ring. Whatever reservoir Gohan kept was proving to be useful. Light flashed as Gohan charged, his still-functioning hand letting out a blast. Cell easily dodged it, but Gohan's newfound determination annoyed him more than amused.

Each swipe at Gohan twisted Bulla's heart just a little bit.

Violently Cell thrashed his arm, Gohan ducking just in time to miss it. Fists flew, clashing in a fervor that the regular Earthling could not possibly have the eye to follow. Bulla was impressed at how much Gohan was holding his own.

Through his rage, he found a second wind. His punches weren't connecting, but Cell wasn't able to throw back any offensive shots. Heaving forward, Gohan dove for a tackle, but Cell went flying into the air.

Overhead, the sun was beating down. How long had it been since the fight began? Bulla wiped her brow, and steadied herself on her feet. If she didn't figure out what she needed to do soon, they were all but done for. In order for anyone to penetrate the skin further, they would need to get a clean shot off. If the nucleus was inside his head, like she suspected it was, a strong, concentrated beam right into his exposed skin would do the trick. With Cell parading around the ring the way he was, that wasn't going to be an easy task. Cell was fast and his fluid movements made him a moving target. She needed a way to hold him in place…

It hit her like a ton of bricks. Holding him in place. Someone—not something—would need to hold him in place.

One of them would hold while the other shot. And as there were two fighters left standing to enact the plan, it was deciding which one would pay the price. An ache throbbed through her stomach and a lump formed in her throat.

Her whole life had been inextricably intertwined with the androids. They defined her, controlled her, taunted her. Now a new foe had come to challenge her, but he wanted just the same. As much as she feared the reality before her, she knew life under Cell's thumb would be much more burdensome and fearful than that of the androids.

In her time, they had kept the androids at bay for nearly 20 years. It wasn't ideal, but it worked. The androids liked messing with people more than they liked killing them. But she knew that would not be the case with Cell. He would torture and kill for sport, he would dismantle the world and turn it upside-down and paint it black. Survivors would know nothing of love or happiness, they would be enslaved to him until he sucked the planet dry.

She could no longer allow herself to bow to someone's unbridled bloodlust. She could not allow Cell to take anything further.

She had survived this far because of her determination to live, but now it seemed life was forcing her to take a different path. To live, someone would have to die.

Wind whipped at her face. Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, she shifted her weight and moved closer to the ring, but Cell didn't even notice. He was too busy playing a sick game of cat and mouse with Gohan for him to see. Determination burned through her skin, a knowing look in her eye roaring and she took a deep breath in.

Forming a ki blast in her hand, she aimed it to the fair left side of the ring, far away from Cell and Gohan. When it connected it, let out a roar. Cell whipped his head around to see it, then careened it back to Bulla with confusion in his eyes. Using super speed, she scuttled across the ring, back and forth and back and forth.

His eyes followed her, and he continued to twist around to see what she was doing.

"You useless girl!" He shouted. "Trying to distract me, huh?"

Turning back toward Gohan, he let out a low growl.

"Well, you won't have your way, I'll make sure of it!"

An energy blast zoomed toward Gohan, and he rolled out of the way. Bulla still made furtive movements below, waiting for the perfect time to surprise Cell with a trick of her own. She only needed a few seconds to disable him. Her plan only hinged on one crucial detail: Gohan had to shoot, and he had to do it without much protest.

Cell's eyes followed Gohan has he avoided each of Cell's blasts, and Bulla saw her opportunity. Springing up, she latched onto Cell's back. Wrapping her arms and legs around Cell, she gripped onto him from behind. She had him pinned, but not for long. His tail whipped around in an attempt to break free from her, but with every twist she forced herself to move forward and backward to send him off kilter.

His head jerked back and forth. Bulla's grip tightened underneath his arms. Her body was flushed against his, and she knew the only way to keep his head directly forward was to press their two skulls together. Her forehead shored up against the center of his head and she pressed forward so it tipped down just slightly.

Her hands cupped the back of his neck and her entire body contracted, her muscles stabilizing the furtive movements of this strange creature. His head was stiff, but Cell was fighting it tooth and nail. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hold him like this.

"Gohan!" She screamed. The young Saiyan was up on one leg now, the color returning to his face "His head! The exposed skin - that's the nucleus!"

"Get off of me and fight me, you brat!" Cell hissed. But this caused Bulla to only grip harder. As he struggled against her, she kept pushing and pulling.

"Aim at his head!" Her voice cracked. "A precise, single shot!"

Gohan was stunned. Yes, he noticed the spot now too. It was beating like a heart. He tried to remember the drawings from Bulma's lab—was one of the spots truly the head? Did Gero make it that easy? For the first time during the fight, Gohan's heart soared. He should've known his brilliant friend was going to figure it out. His excitement quickly turned to dismay: Shooting Cell in the head meant…

"Gohan!" She screamed. "I can't hold him much longer."

"Bulla, but…" his heart sank.

"Don't worry about me," she said, Cell writhing against her. "Just get him!"

"You'll die!"

"You died for me once," Bulla replied, gritting her teeth. "It's my turn to repay the favor."

Gohan hesitated. Piccolo and Kami were one, the dragon balls were no more. If he killed Cell, it meant killing her too. It meant she would never come back to this time, or go back to hers. Would Bulma of the future know what happened when she never returned? His heart ached. Bravery always has a price, and it's usually paid in blood.

"Please!" she begged, tears now forming. "Please!"

Gohan formed a ki blast using his two fingers—just as Piccolo did—and pointed it at Cell. If he aimed carefully, maybe it would miss her. Maybe it would go through his head and somehow avoid hers. But he could clearly see they were perfectly in step, the back of his head perfectly intertwined with her forehead. Power thrummed through his fingertips as the beam formed and Gohan's heart raced. The taste of bile rested on his tongue as his stomach thrashed against his insides and he choked out a tear before allowing the blast surging through him to release.

As the beam left his fingers, Gohan's heart surged with an ache so acute, he swore he might die, too. This was his friend. His ally.

You died for me once. It's my turn to repay the favor.

For the rest of his life, Gohan would be repaying her, though it would never be enough. She managed to do what Gohan could not, and that was to put the weight of the world on her shoulders with an unsettling ease. For her, there was nothing too hard, no task out of her reach. He thought about the fear that must've roiled through her when she traveled to the past. Could he have done it if asked to do the same?

The daughter of Vegeta, the cold and calculated man. The warrior's daughter. She would trade her life for his, for everyone's, and would do it without second guessing. Encouragement drained from her eyes and then she shut them tight, grinding her teeth in her mouth and preparing herself for those last few seconds.

Please.

Please.

"Please…"

The tabors of her voice sounded like a song. Part of him hoped to never forget the sweetness of it, and part of him prayed he could erase it from his mind forever. Deep in his heart he knew it would become the soundtrack to his broken future, playing over and over, never relenting, never changing.

The beam connected, and the pink, pulsating spot cracked, spewing out black, inky blood upon impact. Behind, though, was a stream of crimson red. The arms blanketing Cell's chest went limp, the legs unfurled. Gurgling, Cell, too, became liquid. For a moment they were suspended in the air still painfully close. Together their bodies fell from the sky, intertwined in a tragically beautiful way.

Blue strands of hair danced in the air as she descended back down to Earth. A plume of dust encased her as she hit the ground. Beside her was Cell, his eyes blank and his body still twitching. He didn't make a sound, he only writhed in an unnatural way that turned Gohan's stomach.

Carefully, he approached the two. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought Bulla looked beautiful lying on the ground. Her hair had fanned out beneath her and her face looked peaceful, but the lifelessness in her limbs was a haunting reminder of what he had just done. Shoving down a lump in his throat, he gingerly approached her.

How could he have done it? His heart was shattered into a million pieces. He hadn't known her for long, but he felt as though they shared a special connection that defied definition. And yet, she died at his hands. Heavy tears formed in his eyes. His aching body throbbed in pain, but it was his soul that was screaming out in pain. He shuffled his feet over toward her, stumbling in his haste to reach her as his eyes swelled.

Once he reached her, he crouched down on his knees to get even closer. At first, he didn't want to touch her because he knew as soon as he did, the reality would hit him. Her chest did not rise or fall with the breath of life, her big, blue eyes did not flutter. The singeing hole at the top of her head was the deepest red Gohan had almost seen—almost black—and her face was covered in both her blood and Cell's. He drew a finger and traced a line on her face.

A few feet away laid Cell. Gohan cast a glance toward his body, and furrowed his brow. He hated him with every inch of his soul. He hated that he had made him do this to Bulla. He hated that Cell took the satisfaction out of destroying him. Just then, as if summoning him, the scarlet red of his eyes flickered back and Gohan let out a gasp.

"I…" he gurgled. "My…"

Black ooze dribbled from Cell's mouth, it's ungodly smell wafting over to Gohan. It reminded him of black licorice and spoiled fruit—a sweetness laced with decay. He wiped his nose and took off. If Cell wasn't done, neither was he. He would take the opportunity now to properly avenge his friend's death.

Quickly grabbing Bulla's lifeless body, Gohan moved away from where they had landed. He pulled her to the side of the ring, a few hundred feet from where she had fallen, and turned to look at the now disarmed monster.

Cell let out another ragged gasp.

"You…" he stammered. "She…But how?"

His voice sent a thousand lashes through him. How could he live while Bulla did not? Why did she deserve to die? Rage swirled beneath his skin, Gohan raised his hand and a ki blast began to form. Cell's eyes widened.

"We had something more precious to protect," Gohan said, his voice faltering.

Before he had a chance to respond, Cell was engulfed in a sea of light. Little by little he faded away in it, his genetic material no longer held together by its center. Like dust, Cell's pieces drifted into the ridge line of the mountains, rippling up into the fluffy clouds. If he didn't know any better, Gohan thought it would be a peaceful way to die.

And maybe, for Cell, it was.

Gohan hustled back over toward the edge of the ring and picked up Bulla's lifeless body. Every muscle had been jellied and her eyes remained sealed close. He made his way across the ring to join the others, unsure of what exactly to say. The past few minutes had gone by so quickly and yet so slow at the same time. Adrenaline was still pumping through him. All he could think about was removing his friend from this horrifying place.

Cell was gone. Bulla was gone. He would somehow have to make peace with that.

Before he made it to the edge, a mournful scream pierced the air.