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Chapter 4:

NIGHTMARE BECOMES REALITY

The young half-Saiyan couldn't keep his emotions in check anymore. His mind was swept by an enormous storm of different emotions, which were fueling his feeling of incompetence and sadness. He heard voices of his friends, echoing through his mind.

Why Gohan? Why have you let us down? Why didn't you help? GOHAN, HELP, HELP! They've killed everyone, you're the only one left...why weren't you strong enough?

Gohan's mind couldn't take it anymore; tears were pouring on the ground, and then... he snapped.

"I-I WON'T... LET... ANYONE... HURT YOU AGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!

Goku's expression changed in an instant as he felt an instant surge of Gohan's power. The ground started shaking violently and a bright flash of light emanated from Gohan which blinded even Goku. As he regained his vision, he set his eyes on his son, who kept powering up and screaming. Gohan was not a mere half-Saiyan boy anymore... a yellow aura surrounded his body, yellow hair replaced his black... and his eyes, although green, were still full of tears.

He quickly ran up to him: "You did it Gohan! You're a Super Saiyan! Now calm down and just try to maintain this state."

Gohan just looked at him in tears: "... I DON'T WANNA LOSE YOU AGAIN!"

His power is unbelievable. I gotta calm him down. "I know son, I know! Calm down Gohan. I'm here, you're not alone!" yelled Goku.

"JUST... JUST DON'T LEAVE ME... again... please..." said Gohan, starting to calm down and lowering his power. After he had said that, he turned back to normal and fell on his knees. Goku rushed towards his son, hugged him and wiped the tears off his face.

With that, he calmed his son down and then said with a smile: " I've always believed in you and I don't want to lose you or your mother either." Then he continued: "I think that's enough training for today. What do you say we take the res of the day off and relax and have fun, huh?"

The little Saiyan finally calmed down and smiled back at him, which meant he really liked the idea. They both slowly walked back towards the building, smiling and chasing each other. When they had arrived back, Goku prepared a big feast to celebrate Gohan's milestone. After that they spent the whole day having fun, Goku trying to catch Gohan and the other way around, telling funny stories and just laying on the ground talking. He wanted Gohan to relax and enjoy to let his mind heal from all the strain it had gone through since they've entered the Room of Spirit and Time. At the end of the day, they had dinner, talked a bit in the kitchen, but Gohan was too tired and fell asleep, leaning on the table. He picked him up and put him to bed.

"I'm proud of you," he whispered to him.

Despite having a hell of day, Gohan didn't sleep well. Sometime during the early morning he started having nightmares. All that twisting and turning in bed and heavy breathing had woken up Goku. He got out of bed and tried to wake up Gohan, who had sweat dripping from his forehead.

"No, no, noooooo..." yelled Gohan and almost jumped from his bed.

"It's ok Gohan. You we're just having a nightmare," were the comforting words from Goku.

"It was horrible dad. Cell had absorbed the androids... and.. we were all killed", said Gohan with a panicking voice.

"It was just your imagination, a dream," explained the older Saiyan while he was getting a wet towel and then wiping Gohan's forehead.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks dad."

"Now that we're both awake, there's no sense in going back to sleep. Why don't you take a nice refreshing shower while I prepare breakfast?"

The little Saiyan was thinking the same thing, so he rushed to the bathroom to take a shower and Goku started preparing breakfast. Rice, vegetables and fruit were the first thing on the menu, followed by a miso soup, bacon, eggs and bread.

That nightmare really frightened him. It's true that Cell had absorbed #17, but I really hope that won't be the case with #18. I can't imagine how powerful he would become then. Uhhh, this is not the time for these kind of thoughts. My first priority should be Gohan and our training. Speaking of him, I wonder what's taking him so long in the bathroom?

Meanwhile in the bathroom, the demi-Saiyan was looking himself in the mirror, thinking.

After all what happened yesterday, you'd expect to get a good night's sleep, but no, I had to have a nightmare... about Cell and everyone dying.

He got undressed and went into the shower, opened the water and continued thinking.

Hmm, I wonder if he really looks like that in real life? ... What's wrong with me, asking myself these kind of questions. I'll be able to see him in about 10 months and I'm definitely not looking forward to it. Or maybe I am? I have to admit, becoming a Super Saiyan was the most difficult thing in my entire life but now that that's out of the way, I should concentrate on increasing my power and training my abilities as much as I can. I've never imagined the transformation would bring me this much power. At least now dad will be able to train with me in his Super Saiyan state. It only took me like 2 months to reach Super Saiyan... way to go Gohan, you're learning super fast... NOT!

He got out of the shower, dried himself with a towel, put on a fresh pair of his favorite boxer shorts and before exiting the bathroom, looked himself in the mirror again.

I shouldn't complain. I'm the youngest Super Saiyan ever and I'm complaining. I need to get rid of these bad thoughts with some intense training and focus only on that... and food. Mmmm, something smells delicious...

As he returned to the kitchen, Goku had noticed him.

"I guess you needed a shower really badly," laughed Goku.

"It's not what you think dad. What's that delicious smell?" replied his son, a little embarrassed.

"That, Gohan, is something your mother, believe it or not, thought me a while back. Can you guess what it is?"

"No way. Are those... pancakes?"

"Yep, that's right. How many you want?"

Gohan jumped to the table and sat down, readying his plate: "10 would be good for a start."

"But I only made 15. Oh maaaan, can't we split 50:50?"

"No dad. Firstly, you can't divide 15 by 2 and secondly, I'm still growing and need more food than you. There's still plenty of other food on the table you can eat."

"Geez, you sound like your mother. Ok... I guess I can let it slip... this time," Goku laughed.

Gohan laughed back and they both started enjoying their breakfast. The young Saiyan was starving, even more than Goku, so those 10 pancakes we're gone in a blink of an eye. As Goku was eating his, he couldn't stop thinking what's happening in the real world and how are Vegeta and Trunks doing against Cell and the androids.

At the exact same time, somewhere on an island.

Vegeta had already surpassed the Super Saiyan form and started his battle with an improved (Imperfect) Cell who had no chance against the mighty Super Vegeta. Punch after punch and kick after kick Cell got beaten, blown up and everything else in between. During the battle, Krillin, carrying the remote control, created by Bulma, to deactivate #18, found where the two androids were hiding. As soon as he was in range, he wanted to use it, but couldn't force himself to, so he dropped the controller and smashed it. A big, big mistake indeed. Meanwhile, Vegeta was getting bored and Cell was getting desperate.

"Vegeta, let me absorb #18 and then you'll have an equal opponent," suggested Cell.

"Go ahead, absorb the big guy too for all I care. You'll never compare to me." said the Saiyan prince with a smirk on his face.

As Trunks had heard what his father agreed to, he yelled: "Don't let Cell get #18! You have no idea what kind of power he'll gain!"

"Quiet Trunks, this is my battle. You're just here to observe, nothing more." Then he looked at Cell: "What are you waiting for? Or should I just blow you up this instant?"

Trunks couldn't be quiet: "I can't let you...," but before he finished his sentence, Vegeta had appeared behind him, giving him a precise hit to his neck, making Trunks lose his consciousness.

"I'll even make it easier for you Cell. See down there? That's where they're hiding," pointed Vegeta with his finger. "Hey, bald guy, take Trunks somewhere far away so he won't be able to disturb us."

Krillin was shocked by the fact that Vegeta had given away the androids' position AND knocked out Trunks. But since he couldn't do anything about it, he picked up unconscious Trunks and made his way to the Lookout.

"Now, do I have to repeat myself?" said Vegeta angrily.

Cell quickly landed near the androids, but #16 jumped in front of him, to protect #18. He stood no chance as Cell blew him to bits. #18 tried attacking him to, but he just KI blasted her into a rock wall and a few seconds later, absorbed her. The transformation had begun... green aura around his body, occasional lightning... his body began changing and transforming to a more human-like appearance. At the end a bright flash emanated from him... now, he was PERFECT.

Vegeta started walking towards him: "Hmph, all that light show and you don't look stronger at all."

Having said that, Cell just smiled and disappeared. Vegeta lost track of his movement before it was too late. His opponent had appeared in front of him, slamming his fist deep in Vegeta's stomach, which sent him flying backwards a few dozen meters. As he regained control in mid air, Cell was gone again, but this time, appeared behind the Saiyan.

"What's the matter Vegeta, am I too fast to the Saiyan prince?" laughed Cell.

Vegeta turned around, trying to hit him, but Cell grabbed his arm and threw him into a rock wall, shooting a KI blast right after that which destroyed the whole rock formation. Luckily, Vegeta had dodged the attack and was preparing his own. Before Cell could locate him, the KI blasts were already flying towards him and hit Cell directly, causing a big explosion with lots of debris and smoke in the air.

"No, Cell, you're not," said Vegeta.

As the dust and smoke settled, he couldn't believe his eyes. Cell hasn't moved an inch and the KI blasts did nothing to him. Cell just smiled and rushed towards the Saiyan, hitting him in the face hard and then, using a series of fast punches and kicks, gave him a good beating. Vegeta managed to break from his attacks, powered up to his maximum, but nothing changed. All his attacks missed Cell and all of Cell's attacks hit him. He was bruised pretty badly and was losing stamina fast.

"I'll show you what true power is!" he said.

He jumped away from Cell, putting a lot of ground between them and started doing his ultimate attack. When it was fully charged, he yelled: "Defend against this! FINAAAAL FLAAAAASH!"

A huge bright beam of yellow energy rushed towards Cell.

"Gladly," replied Cell with a smirk on his face.

As Final Flash had left Vegeta's hands, Cell started doing his own attack: "Ka-me-ha-me-HA!" he screamed.

A beam of blue energy shot from his hands and collided with Vegeta's, creating a beam struggle which lasted only for a short time.

"Not bad Vegeta, I wasn't expecting anything less from you, but you're NOTHING compared to me. Now, DIE!"

The Kamehameha shot through Final Flash, engulfing Vegeta completely and exploding. Moments later he was seen lying on the ground, motionless, losing his Super Saiyan form. Cell walked to him and said: "Too bad it's all over. And you didn't let me have any fun with Trunks either. I guess it's Goku's turn now."

He picked up Vegeta's lifeless body and flew to West City, dropping him in front of the Capsule Corp. Bulma and Yamcha rushed outside, standing in shock and awe.

"I'm not done with him or Trunks yet. I'll be holding a little rematch tournament in about 2 days. By then I hope Goku will have finally completed his training too. I expect all of them to meet me at the location where we just fought. If they don't, I'll find them myself."

As he finished his little monologue, he disappeared. Bulma quickly checked Vegeta's life signs.. and thank god, he was alive, barely.

"We need to take him to Dende fast," said Yamcha.

"But, where's Trunks? What did he mean by "he's not done with them yet"?" panicked Bulma.

"I don't know Bulma. If anything had happened, I'm sure Dende is the first place we need to look. I'll take Vegeta because I'm faster and you follow me."

He picked up Vegeta and flew to the Lookout with high speed. Bulma followed him a few seconds later with her own transportation. When they had reached the Lookout, Trunks was already conscious and Krillin and Tenshinhan were there too.

"Quickly, put him on the ground. I'll heal him," said Dende when he saw Yamcha with Vegeta.

Bulma was really happy to see Trunks alive and well: "What happened?" she asked.

"Cell absorbed #18," said Krillin, looking at the floor.

"What? How? The device didn't work?" asked Bulma.

"Ummm no... it didn't," lied Krillin and went on: "Vegeta and Trunks were no match for his Perfect form."

In the mean time Dende had healed Vegeta, who regained his consciousness.

"Damn that Cell. I'll blast him into a million pieces," he said furiously.

Bulma then explained: "Well, he said he was going to hold a rematch tournament in about 2 days, where you two had fought him."

"The nerve of him! I'll finish him off for good this time," ranted Vegeta.

Trunks couldn't believe Cell almost managed to kill his father. His power must be beyond anything they have ever seen. He then looked at a specific doorway leading to the interior of the palace.

It's all up to you Goku.

Note: I know, I know, it's similar to what actually happened in DBZ, but as I have said in the previous chapter, some bits will be the same, just so the story can evolve. And yes, android 16 is no more. I'm focusing more on Gohan's "guilt" by not being able to help and protect his family and friends. That's all I can reveal... for now :). Hope you liked this chapter and as always, feedback is much appreciated.