Lingering steam drizzled softly over the battlefield. Two halves of a giant, brown sphere sat slumped near each other, buried partway into the ground by rubble.
Several feet away, Vegeta struggled to his feet, blood running down his mangled form. His blue jumpsuit already torn from his chest, the Saiyan's right arm hung limply at his side.
"You have no idea who you're dealing with, you bubblegum bastard!" he shouted. With a furious yell, he powered up until the familiar golden glow engulfed him.
"La, la, la-la," Buu sang happily.
The obese, pink creature skipped toward Vegeta, eyes closed, without a care in the world.
"Finish him!" Babidi screeched, thin arms waving wildly through the air. "Finish him, Buu! I command it!"
Trunks dove for the little green wizard, who narrowly managed to avoid being tackled.
"Trunks, stop!" Shin shouted. "Babidi is the only one who can reseal Buu. We can't risk killing him!"
Ignoring the deity, Trunks put on a burst of speed as he changed directions, grappling Babidi into the dirt.
"No! Kill the Saiyan, Buu!" the Babidi screamed. "Kill him, you stupid puffball! Kill him or I will seal you away forever!"
His smile turning down into a frown, Buu turned toward his master. "Buu no like ball," he said, in his shrill, childlike voice. "Buu listen to Babidi!"
"Now, Trunks!" Vegeta growled.
Charging an energy blast in his small hands, Trunks aimed right for Babidi's short torso.
Dark blue blood squirted over the child, who promptly fell back in shock. Peering at the burnt and goring opening he made in Babidi's chest, he panicked. "Dad?" he said, stammering. "Dad?"
"Damn it, Vegeta!" Shin cried out, tugging at his hair in aggravation. "Babidi was our only hope!"
"Like he would've willingly locked that thing up again," Vegeta scoffed, his chest heaving as he fought to remain standing.
"Dad! I didn't think he was that weak!" Trunks yelled, tears pouring down his young face. "Help, I think I killed him!"
"Pull yourself together, Trunks!" His father commanded. "This battle is not over yet, son!"
Scrambling backwards on all fours, Trunks hurried away from the prone wizard, horrified at the thought of actually taking a life. Martial arts had always been fun and games- nothing could've prepared him for the harsh reality of war.
"You never said I would have to kill someone!" Trunks wailed once more, his large ego quickly melting away to reveal the naive child within.
Flying toward the Majin monster once more, Vegeta found himself knocked over again from a simple backhand. He laid sprawled, the sand and dirt beneath him quickly becoming saturated with his blood.
"You fat bastard!" he seethed, grimacing in pain. Attempting once more to lift himself, the man howled as he flopped back into the earth, his energy completely drained.
"No, this can't be happening!" Shin thought. With a quick glance behind him, he confirmed that Kibito was still lying in a mangled heap, bleeding heavily. And with Vegeta now out of commission as well, Shin gritted his teeth.
"Come with me!" he shouted, grabbing Trunks by the back of his green gi. The boy struggled for a bit, crying out for his father before Shin silenced him telepathically.
"You need to be strong for your father," the Kai said. Reading the boy's mind, Shin fed him the words of comfort the child so desperately needed to hear, all while flying them away at top speed.
Piccolo paced the edge of the lookout, silently cursing himself for taking up the mantle of Guardian. After fusing with Kami before the Cell Games, he had been the obvious choice. But now, as the intense battle raged on miles below him, he felt the inexplicable urge to jump into the fray himself.
"They're almost done," Mr. Popo said.
Peering off the edge, Piccolo saw that Mr. Popo was correct. Bulma and Yamcha were indeed almost finished in collecting the seventh dragon ball. They had collected six of them beforehand, in case they needed to use them quickly. They left the last dragon ball, the four-starred ball, at the Son house for insurance that whatever enemy they faced couldn't steal them all at once.
The Guardian of Earth now regretted that decision. He could feel Gohan's energy drop slightly, as if taking a particularly hard blow.
He could barely feel Vegeta anymore.
"Why us?" Piccolo thought to himself, angry at how helpless he felt. "Why is it always Earth?"
Meanwhile, Krillin had raced to assist Gohan against Cell. For some reason, the boy had only transformed into the first level of Super Saiyan.
"He's afraid," Krillin realised. "Gohan hasn't had to use so much power in a long time, and he's afraid to ascend."
Urging himself to move faster, Krillin arrived just as Gohan sent a powerful kick to Cell's exposed abdomen, forcing the overgrown insect to release his grip on the teenager.
Landing nimbly, Gohan yelled, "Mom! Get Videl and get out of here!"
Frustrated at knowing she wouldn't be a match for this version of Cell, Chi-Chi gathered Videl in her arms and raced over to the competitor's area entrance. Setting the girl down on a bench, away, from the action. She briefly contemplated giving the girl a senzu bean, but decided against it. She would rather the child be hurt but alive. She feared that if Videl was fully healed, she might fulfil Gohan's vision and challenge Cell head-on.
Covering the girl with a discarded jacket, Chi-Chi flew back to the non-existent ring. Krillin was attempting to fight alongside Gohan, but it was clear that this Cell was much stronger and faster than the bioandroid they had squared off against five years ago.
"Gohan!" Krillin shouted. "You need to ascend!"
Suddenly Cell stopped throwing punches, confusing the pair of Z-Fighters.
"Wait," he said. "Are you telling me this boy is still holding back?"
Seeing Gohan's Adam's apple bob with a hard swallow, Cell grinned maliciously.
"Oh, well, we'll just have to rectify that." Cell hovered a few inches off the ground, hands pulled back to one side as if ready to launch a Kamehameha Wave.
"So, tell me, Son Gohan," Cell continued, much to the boy's horror. "What makes you angry?"