Gohan stood before them all, so different it seemed to Piccolo in his new transformation. His hair was longer, all of it standing tall except for one unruly chunk that hung in his face. His face was determined and cold as he stared at Cell.
"So, that's what you've been hiding. Impress-" Cell didn't even get a chance to finish his sentence as Gohan moved faster than lightning and knocked the wind out of him with a violent punch to his stomach. Cell's arms went around his middle as he bent over, gasping for breath.
"I will never forgive you," Gohan snarled.
"Don't just stand there and stare," Cell growled at his Juniors. "Kill him. Kill all of them!"
The two Juniors scrambled forward at the command, abandoning Vegeta and Piccolo. Vegeta instantly struggled to his feet, reaching down and grabbing Piccolo's upper arm and hauling him up, letting him go as soon as he was steady on his feet.
The Juniors phased out of sight, and Vegeta and Piccolo whipped their heads around frantically in an effort to sense them before their next attack. Gohan, however, kept his cold eyes on Cell. Suddenly, he whipped his left arm out to the side. Something thudded to the ground.
One of the Juniors lay in the dirt, decapitated.
Cell's face hardened and angered. He struck out with leg, but Gohan merely held up his forearm, effortlessly blocking it, not moving an inch.
A flash of blue skimmed in front of Piccolo's vision. He locked onto its energy, seeing its trajectory towards the seemingly oblivious Gohan. Panic laced his stomach and he prepared to warn the boy, drawing in breath to yell...
Only to let it out in a rush as Gohan's hand lifted and shot off a blast of ki, blowing the Junior to dust without so much as glancing at it. Cell made noises of anger and disbelief.
"Unbelievable. Here we fight for our lives against those little cretins, and he doesn't even break a sweat in destroying them," Vegeta said incredulously.
"He didn't even move," Piccolo said softly.
Cell, furious, aimed a punch for Gohan, who merely stepped out of the way and returned the gesture, landing it solidly on Cell's cheek. Cell tried again, this time shooting off a high-intensity blast at close range, only for Gohan to catch it in his palm and extinguish it.
"You little... ha!" Cell spun quickly, throwing a blast towards Piccolo and Vegeta. It barreled towards them at an incredible speed, when Gohan phased in front of them and knocked the blast away.
Cell growled loudly and took to the air, where he assumed he had the advantage.
"Idiot," Piccolo muttered.
"What?" Vegeta asked as he watched Gohan rise to the bait.
"That's Gohan's advantage, too. On the ground, he can be a little slow. Put him in the air, and he's nearly unbeatable."
"Well good then. We'll be out of here in no time," Vegeta said, almost begrudgingly as he, yet again, had to admit the boy's power surpassed his own.
The two warriors watched in silence as the opponents circled each other threateningly. Then, they went at it, and if Piccolo hadn't been so attuned to Gohan's ki, he may not have seen the battle at all with the speed at which they moved.
At first, the two matched each other blow for blow, fists deflecting, legs blocking, blasts clashing like thunder. Slowly, Cell's movements began to get more erratic, with Gohan seemingly moving in for the kill.
"Look, he's panicking! He's getting sloppy!" Vegeta pointed out.
And then, in what appeared to be a last-ditch attempt, Cell turned his back and flew as fast as he could for the sun, aligning himself in front of it.
"No, no, no! Namek, use your cape and cover your eyes!" Vegeta cried out, grabbing Gohan's discarded one from the ground. "That's Solar Flare!" He then raced for Gohan, grabbing the boy, throwing the cape over his head, and burying his face against the armor of his chest. Blinding white light began to close in, and he buried his own face in Gohan's thick hair.
"Vegeta's, what's happening?"
"Shut up. Can you sense him still?"
"Yes. Yes, he's-move!" Gohan cried, twisting them so that he could take the brunt of the impact from the impending blast, and not Vegeta. The blow knocked the pair to the ground, and threw the cape off Gohan's head. The world was still too bright to see, yet he reached out with his senses and caught Cell's fist all the same, holding him there until he could see.
"I wouldn't try that again," Gohan warned lowly. "I may not be able to see you, but you have Piccolo's DNA, and I can sense him over anything. Blind me all you want, but I'll always know where you are."
Cell growled deep in his chest, wrenching his fist from Gohan's hand. Vegeta rubbed at his eyes, flying for relative safety as the two opponents circled each other. Cell, guarded like a wounded animal, and Gohan lithe and lethal as a predator.
Oh, how the tables had turned.
Cell struck first in an attempt to throw off the boy, his fist flying for Gohan's cheek. The Saiyan whipped his forearm up, deflecting the blow and lashed out with his leg, causing Cell to stumble. As he tried to rebalance himself, Gohan struck him in the face. Cell landed promptly on his behind in the dirt as he held his face.
And began to laugh.
Slowly his body began to expand, ballooning up to ridiculous proportions.
Gohan's face contorted to one of confusion and he cocked his head. He reached out to touch the bulbous Cell, when the monster began to laugh.
"Don't even think about it! Failure was never an option. So now, instead of just killing you and your little friends, I'll kill you and everything within the galaxy, and possibly the next one over!" Cell cackled. "One touch, little Saiyan. That's all it will take to make me explode. You've essentially sealed your fate."
"What? But... but..." Gohan dropped to his knees. He looked over at Piccolo and Vegeta.
"You have thirty seconds to say your goodbyes," Cell said haughtily as his body unbelievably continued to expand.
Piccolo held an arm out and beckoned to the boy. Gohan's shoulders slumped as he skimmed over to them. He immediately went to the Namekian, resting his forehead on his torso as Piccolo held an arm around his shoulders. Vegeta looked at the ground with furrowed brows.
"Thirty seconds. I wouldn't make it back in time..." he muttered.
"I'm...I'm so sorry..." Gohan whispered brokenly. "So sorry..."
The three said nothing after that, each silently counting down the seconds. Piccolo ran his hand through his boy's hair, trying to memorize the feel. When they died, Gohan would go to the heavens of the gods. And he, well, he'd go who knows where. They'd be separated, and he'd never see the kid again. His breath hitched in his throat.
"Ten seconds," Vegeta mumbled.
Sudden movement caught the Namekian and Saiyan's eyes, and they whipped their heads towards Cell. Gohan sniffled, and then looked over as well.
Standing directly in front of Cell's bloated body was Shin. And there, standing next to him with his hand on his shoulder, was a taller figure, somewhat incandescent, with spiked black hair and a halo. The figure looked over and waved before placing a shadowy hand on Cell. His eyes locked on Gohan and he smiled, before the three beings disappeared.
Silence.
Gohan was the first to break the quiet. "Mr. Piccolo, was that... was that my dad?"
"Yes, kid, it was."
"Alright, someone explain right now why the hell Cell didn't blow up when he was touched, hm?" Vegeta snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. "If that was all some big ruse, I could've killed him while he was sitting there like an obese beetle."
"Because, imbecile, Goku is dead. His body wasn't here, that was Shin bringing his soul to Earth, or so I assume. That's why he could touch him, because his hand isn't of flesh. Who knows where they took him..."
"Who cares. He's gone. Let's go," Vegeta said flippantly.
"He smiled at me," Gohan whispered.
"Of course he did. You're his son," Piccolo said.
"Do you think he misses me?"
"Yes. How could he not?"
Gohan smiled.
"Enough prattle. Let's go," Vegeta said again.
"Alright, alright, we're leav-"
There was a sudden flash of light and a loud bang that thundered through the desert. Dust swirled in a thick cloud, obscuring vision.
"What the hell is tha-" Vegeta started...
Light barreled at the trio faster than any of them could react, cutting Vegeta off as it passed through his body. He swayed on his feet for just a moment, his hand coming to the hole in his stomach before he fell backwards. As his body collided with the ground, he coughed harshly and spat up blood.
There was white noise in Gohan's ears as he stared in shock at his friend dying on the ground. And then, he was screaming. Screaming with rage, screaming with hurt, screaming with hate. His aura flared angrily, pushing Piccolo away with its intensity.
"It'll take more than a little explosion to kill me. My name is Cell for a reason. Every little, tiny cell of mine must be obliterated, or I'll just reform. My self destruct merely scattered my cells, and now, now, dear little Gohan, you have much to contend with. For I have the DNA of a Saiyan, and I'd very much consider a self-destruction a near-death encounter, wouldn't you? And what does that mean? Oh yes, that my power level has near doubled. You're doomed, you fools."
Gohan snarled and took off for Cell before Piccolo could stop him. He looked on as the two assessed each other, circling again, waiting for the other to make the first move. There was a gasping noise behind him, and he looked over his shoulder to see Vegeta hack out more blood, so red against the paleness of the desert. He went to his side and kneeled down, stealing another glance at the pair preparing to duel.
In a clash of thunder, the pair met head on. Fists met cheeks, knees met abdomens. Neither seemed to be letting up, neither backing down.
A gurgling noise came from Vegeta as he tried to draw in a breath, fully earning Piccolo's attention. He reached for his belt for the senzu beans, only to find it missing, the scuffle with the Juniors seemingly having destroyed them.
"No, don't you dare die, Vegeta. Don't you dare make Gohan lose another. He can't. He can't handle it. You stay here, warrior! You stay here!" Piccolo snarled at the Saiyan, shaking his shoulders. His head whipped around almost frantically as he searched for the bag of senzus, hoping beyond hope that they had just been knocked loose from his belt.
There!
In his eagerness to find the beans, Piccolo dropped his other senses until it was too late. Suddenly there was light coming at him and a small body collided with his, knocking them both to the ground.
Gohan!
The boy was laying on him, eyes closed, arm bloodied. Piccolo sat up quickly, trying to rouse the kid. To his immense relief, Gohan opened his eyes and sat up as well. He struggled to his feet, his arm useless, hanging, bloody at his side.
"Impressive, Gohan. Not many would be able to get back up after something like that. But can you hold back a Kamehameha with only one arm?" Cell taunted, forming the deadly blast between his hands.
"Mr. Piccolo, move!" Gohan ordered in a panicky voice as his own Kamehameha formed in his lone hand.
Piccolo didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled to his feet, grabbing the bag of senzu beans as fast as he could, barely out of the way when the two blasts collided. He raced over to Vegeta, grabbing a bean from the pouch and shoving it in the Saiyan's mouth.
"Come on, chew!" he snapped when the bean remained whole in his mouth. "Come on! That thing only works if you chew it!"
Still nothing.
Piccolo sighed. "Why me?" He took the bean out of Vegeta's mouth and placed it in his own, chewing it to powder. Glancing around, as if it mattered at this point, he opened Vegeta's mouth and lowered his mouth to his, transferring the powder and then blowing a large breath into the Saiyan's body, making him instinctively swallow. Pulling away like lightning and nearly gagging, he turned his attention back to Gohan and noticed with chagrin that the blasts were no longer at a stalemate, and that Cell's was gradually taking over.
Vegeta still lay still and silent. "Listen Vegeta. I don't know how much that will work with Cell being made by a god, but you damn well better wake up soon. Gohan needs our help." And with that, Piccolo stood and flew for the boy. He placed himself behind Gohan, his chest pressed against his back as he tried to support and anchor the kid down.
"Mr. Piccolo, I can't hold it much longer!"Gohan ground out through clenched teeth. The blue blast loomed towards them in a promise of death.
"Yes, you can. Whatever is holding you back from releasing everything you have, forget about it! We have Tsuki. She can fix whatever will need to be fixed. Let it go!"
"I'm trying!"
"Think of all the pain he's caused, the pain he will cause. Now make that your power!"
Gohan's blast grew larger, equalizing the balance once more.
Piccolo could hear Cell grunt in annoyance. "Say goodbye!"
Another blue light caught Piccolo's attention as it spiraled in from the left, where Vegeta lay, his hand outstretched in the formation on a big bang. It was weak, but in that moment, Cell turned his head to see what had hit him.
"What? Vegeta!"
"Now's your chance!" Piccolo shouted.
Gohan let out a powerful yell, releasing all the energy he had into the blast and beginning to walk forward with Piccolo's support, driving all the power at his opponent. In a flash of blue light and a scream, Cell's ki disappeared completely, every last cell obliterated.
Gohan smiled and breathed out heavily, falling to base form. He fell backwards, and Piccolo, hardly having the energy to support him, fell back as well. The three warriors all lay in the dirt, breathing heavily.
"I felt something on my lips earlier and there's a weird taste in my mouth. I swear to god, Namekian, if you kissed me, I will murder you," Vegeta said between gasps.
Gohan laughed.
Okay, so I hope that was somewhat satisfactory. Those of you who know me should know by now that my battle scenes are usually quite subpar.