Piccolo watched the Cyborg closely, not wanting to make a mistake at this point in the fight. He was rather curious as to why Tao had yet to make a move, it had been a full two minutes since the Cyborg had lost his arm and so far he'd done nothing but stand there, scowling, with sparks coming from his arm. And then he noticed that the actual exposed portion of his insides through the arm wasn't as big as it had been and was still shrinking. A layer of metal was growing over the damaged arm, sealing it away slowly.
/Some sort of repair system./ he realized. /Not good enough to fix a missing arm but it could be a problem. I'll just have to make sure there's nothing left to fix when I'm done./ "Are you just going to stand there or are we going to fight?" he called down after a moment longer, the arm now sealed up.
"I thought I'd give you a fighting chance, let you recover a little." Tao replied. "Make things more interesting."
"Sure. Or maybe you're scared?"
"I don't get scared. Especially not from the likes of you." he tilted his head to either side popping his neck. "Very well then. If you are in a hurry to die I'll end this now." Tao pushed off and charged up toward Piccolo once more, his good arm pulling back and readying for a punch. The Namek smiled as his target neared, it was time to put an end to this fight. Just before Tao reached him he dropped down lower, spun around, snapped out his leg, and smashed his foot into the Cyborg's stomach. He then thrust his right arm forward slamming his open palm into Tao's chest knocking him sailing away.
Pulling his arms back he let out a growl, his green aura flaring up brightly. His hands clenched into fists and started glowing. Gold and blue energy started to circle around his left hand while red and black circled around his right. His smirk grew as the attack formed. Having a connection to the Otherworld had it's combat applications, even if it was a severed connection. "Time to put an end to this fight!" he called, as Tao recovered from his attacks.
"Heaven's Gate!" He cried spinning around in a clockwise circle and then thrusting out his left arm, the golden and blue energy around his hand swelled to eight feet in diameter and shot across the way toward Tao. The energy arced out and hooked back in surging toward the Cyborg. The mercenary shot up into the air higher in order to dodge but the energy changed course and followed, gaining quickly. Finally he stopped and thrust his arm down intending to catch the attack. Only, it passed right along his arm and soon he was in the center of the ball of energy.
Piccolo grinned, spun the other way, and thrust out his right arm. "Hell's Gate!" he roared. The blast didn't expand like the last, simply surged toward the encased Tao. It slammed into the other energy a second later and the entire thing flashed as the four colors swirled around. The powerful Namek held his arms out, palms open, and smirked. "And now it ends. Judgement!" he cried, hands clasping shut.
The clouds above Tao swirled around rapidly and started getting pulled down toward the energy, the rocks below him and even a few of the Sentinels lifted up into the air. And then the energy flashed, the pull from the attack switched rapidly into an outward rush of force. A thunderous roar sounded, the planet shook, and then it all reversed once more, for a split second, and then it was gone. Not a trace remained of Tao or two of the six Sentinels that had been pulled up into the air.
Piccolo dropped down to where his cape and turban had landed when he tossed them and picked them back up again before joining the others once more. "I believe it's time to start the next match." he said, looking over to Cell.
"Impressive, but it wont be enough to win." Gero said, walking into the ring. His eyes turned from Piccolo to his opponent, Goku, who was just stepping up into the ring as well. "At last, I get to fight you myself. Revenge always is sweeter when done in person. By the time this fight is over this ring will be covered in your blood."
"I doubt it. This is just going to be a warm-up for me." Goku said smiling, as he took his fighting stance.
"In case you hadn't noticed, you are weaker than Piccolo now. I, on the other hand, am about twice his power."
"Begin!" Cell called.
Suddenly Gero launched across the few feet of ring between him and Goku. His fist smashed into the Sai-jin's face with a crack knocking him back and away. But the powerful warrior pulled to a stop after only a couple of feet, his aura flaring up around him in a flash and his power jumping up rapidly. A moment later his aura faded a little as he relaxed again, finishing with his power up. Now Goku was more than twice the power of Piccolo as well, which should put him on an even footing with Gero.
Goku grinned at the shocked expression on Gero's face, and then he shot in toward the doctor, pulling his fist back. With a cry he launched his punch but just before it hit the other's face Gero's arm came up and blocked it. The Super Sai-jin didn't slow as he pulled back a little and then snapped out a spinning kick.
Gero caught his leg with his other hand and then fired off a punch of his own smashing it into Goku's stomach. The Z Figther recoiled slightly from the blow but shrugged it off and smashed the knee of his free leg into Gero's chin knocking him into the sky and breaking the Cyborg's hold on his leg. Goku spun the opposite way of before and snapped out his other leg smashing it into the side of Gero's head.
The doctor rocketed away through one of the ring's pillars shattering the middle of it and bringing the top half crashing down. Flipping around in the sky a second later, he raised his arms and held them out toward Goku. "Impressive indeed." he called smiling. "However, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. Or should I say, in my body!"
Suddenly his palms opened and red glass like surface emerged. His black hat fell toward the ground revealing a similar surface covering the entire top of his head. Lines of the red material reached down from the top of his head and merged in with his eyes which turned red as well. Clenching his fists he pulled back his arms and smirked.
"Wha, what the?" Goku wondered, eyes widening slightly as he saw twinkling lights drifting into Gero's body where the red surfaces were present.
"For Tao and Super 13 the upgrades consisted of improved Power Cores and Energy Units." Gero said. "Nothing more than improved power. I, however, have an entirely new body. It's still a prototype, unfinished even, but more than enough to deal with you. So, let's get this over with Goku, it is time for you to die!" With that he thrust his arms forward suddenly, his palms snapping open again, and red energy shot forth toward Goku.
The Sai-jin cried out in shock and thrust his arms out at the last second catching the blast. Over the top of the energy he saw a flash from Gero and looked. "No way! He's absorbing energy directly from the air!"
"And adding it to my own!" Gero called laughing. "There is no limit to the amount of power I can pump into a single attack like this! You will be incinerated!"
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Son Home:
"This is amazing..." Sango said softly as she felt Goku's power increase.
Roshi nodded. "It's hard to believe I was once stronger than him." He took off his sunglasses and started cleaning one of the lenses with his shirt. "Goku will be the one to defeat Cell if any of them does. You can be sure of that. If he can't do it..."
"He will." Chi-Chi interrupted quickly. "He has to."
Bulma reached over and rested a hand on Chi-Chi's shoulder. "Don't worry, he will. Goku's never lost when it's really counted."
Roshi slipped his glasses back on and kept his face as blank as he could. He wasn't sure that even Goku could win this one. It wasn't Gero he was worried about Goku losing to, even now that the doctor had just unleashed an amazing attack and even gone through a small transformation of his own. It was Cell. He knew Goku would give it his all but he wasn't sure that that would be enough this time.
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Cell Games Ring:
Goku scowled as Gero made his declaration. He doubted the validity of it, that he could really channel an unlimited amount of energy into a single attack. Everything had it's limits. He just wasn't sure he wanted to find out just how high Gero's limit was. Best to end this match quickly instead of using it to warm up his muscles for later, as he'd planned.
"Not going to happen!" he called. Suddenly he vanished, the energy wave speeding off into the distance. Gero ended the attack and started to move to look around for some sign of Goku. However, he didn't get the chance to begin his search. There was a loud crack as Goku's fist punched through the doctor's back and out his chest, sparks showering from the hole.
It only took the Cyborg a moment to recover from the shock and then he jammed his elbow into Goku's stomach. The powerful Sai-jin was knocked back, his arm pulled free of Gero's body, by the suprise blow. The damaged Cyborg then turned to face Goku again, a scowl on his face. "This is impossible! Your power is impressive, I'll admit, but there's no way you could damage me like this!"
"I'm not done yet." Goku replied evenly. There was a flash of gold as he surged in at Gero once more. Nearing the doctor he spun around and snapped out his leg. His heel smashed into the side of the Cyborg's head and then broke clear through, completely shattering it. The headless body floated there for a moment longer before falling to the ring floor. Goku closed his eyes as it hit the ground and just floated there, his power dropping back down to its resting level once more.
"Well now, I'm impressed. We may actually have a tournament now after all." Cell said clapping slowly. "13, it's your turn. And get that trash out of my ring, would you?"
13 walked up into the ring as Goku floated down to join the others again. The Android gave the broken mechanical body a hard kick and knocked it several yards away. Meanwhile Sakura made her way up into the ring. The blue machine smirked. "I've been waiting to finish our fight."
"So have I." she replied, an orange glow forming around her body. A second later she was hidden from view by the glow which then shattered apart like glass revealing that she was, once again, in her second transformation. "I'm not going to bother with a warm-up. My first attack will turn you into scrap."
"Doubtful." the Android replied. "But I will have fun ripping you apart."
"Begin!" Cell called once again.
Sakura smirked and started to brace herself but 13 was already on the move. Before Sakura had the chance to do anything she had a gloved fist smashing into her face. The blow knocked her sailing away right over the other Z Fighters. The Android shot after her instantly and quickly passed her, slipped below her, and then jammed its knee up into her back knocking her skyward.
After going a couple hundred feet she managed to flip herself around and pull to a stop. Her body hurt like hell already but she knew it could be worse. The machine was holding back, toying with her. That would be its last mistake. Just before it reached her again she called out. "Sanjuu Kinryoku!" In a flash of silver the attack flared up around her, her power jumped through the roof as her muscles bulged slightly in an effort to contain her new strength.
There was a flash of blue and a loud crack as 13's fist was caught by her hand. Her other hand reached out and she held her palm only a couple inches from the machine's head. "Like I said, my first attack will turn you into scrap. Final Blaster!" There was a sudden spark of red from her hand and then a stream of energy surged out and incinerated everything from the middle of its chest up.
What was left of the Android's body fell to the ground beyond the edge of the ring with a thud. Sakura's aura sputtered and then vanished. The whole exchange had happened so fast that no one was quite sure just how much power she'd put out but Vegeta still had a scowl on his face. The others had more of a shocked look on their faces, including Cell.
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Son Home:
"See Gohan!" Videl said happily. "They'll win, no problem!" The two kids had just watched Goku easily dispatch Gero. "There's no way your dad could lose!"
Gohan nodded lightly but didn't really mean it. He still wasn't convinced. He'd need to see just how strong Cell was first. The fact that neither his dad or his grandpa were sure they could win was what had him so cautious. Even on Namek, despite their circumstances, he could tell his father was sure of himself, sure he could handle the situation, sure he could win.
During the fight with Slug too, his grandpa had the same air to him. Especially after their escape from captivity. Even though everything had been stacked against them in those two battles, everything said that they should lose, they had won. And in both cases, his father and grandfather had been sure they could win. Now, they weren't. Now, even they were worried. That wasn't a good sign to the young half Sai-jin.
"I hope so." he said softly.
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Cell Games Ring:
As the half Tanarian touched down with the others once more Vegeta turned his attentions from her to his opponent. Still with his arms crossed he walked up into the ring. "Alright Cell, let's go!" he called. "Now it's your turn to be destroyed."
"So then, I am the last of the Red Ribbon Army." Cell said as he stepped up into the ring. "Unfortunately for you, Vegeta, I am also the greatest."
"And unfortunately for you my power is unsurpassed." the Sai-jin Prince said with a smirk. The ring floor beneath his feet cracked and then collapsed a few inches. A second later there was a flash of gold as he transformed. "So, let's get this started, shall we?"
Cell grinned. "By all means Vegeta, let's go. The sooner I've finished with you the sooner I can get to the real competition."
There was a flash of gold as Vegeta launched forward, uncrossing his arms as he flew. Cell's eyes widened slightly at the Sai-jin's speed. The Prince reached his opponent a moment later and lashed out with a powerful kick aimed for the creature's side. Cell managed to slip it and slam his open fist into Vegeta's chest knocking him back.
The creature then snapped out a kick but the powerful Sai-jin had his arm up in time to deflect it. He then countered with a punch for Cell's abdomen but the last member of the Red Ribbon Army was ready for it and moved backward quickly, the punch catching nothing but air. It was obvious to the others that the two warriors in the ring were evenly matched.
It was a fact that Trunks didn't like. He knew his father had surpassed his power, and that he was currently at full strength. He also was of the same opinion as Goku and Bardock, Cell was holding back. The half Sai-jin glanced over to the two powerful warriors. So far this 'tournament' had gone considerably in their favor. He just hoped that, when it came time, Goku could make sure it stayed that way.
His attention was pulled back to the ring once more by a resounding crack. Cell now had hold of Vegeta's fists, the crack had been the two of them smashing heads against each other. Vegeta pulled his head back again, followed by Cell, and then they smashed into each other again. The Prince pulled his head back again but it was only a feint. There was a sudden flash of gold from his hands followed by dual explosions.
Cell jerked back with a cry and Vegeta smirked. The creature was now missing both hands, from mid forearm down. "Here, let me give you hand!" the prince said surging forward and smashing his knee up into Cell's abdomen. He then spun and snapped out his leg smashing it into Cell's head and knocking him away.
Vegeta vanished and then appeared again in front of the flying creature. With a cry he thrust his arms forward and a wave of gold energy shot forth. The stream engulfed Cell for several moments before fading, Vegeta's smirk even bigger than before. However, it faded as soon as he saw his opponent again. Cell had managed to pull himself to a stop and bring his arms up to guard.
Lowering his arms Cell scowled at Vegeta. The forearms and hand sprung out once more and the scowl faded away into a smile. "Well, Vegeta, I'm impressed." he said, crossing his arms. "I didn't think you'd even give me a challenge at this level."
"Oh, I'll do more than that."
Cell laughed. "Please, you couldn't hurt me if you tried. Not really."
"I'd say your arms say differently."
The creature shook his head. "I have them back, don't I? To me, that kind of injury is nothing more than a flesh wound."
"Let's just cut the crap. We both know you're not at full power, so let's see it!"
"Vegeta, really, are you that anxious to die?"
"You're the one that will be dead after this fight."
"We shall see." Cell uncrossed his arms and shot forward once more. Vegeta was ready for him and brought his arms up blocking the flurry of punches from the other. He countered with a kick of his own but it was easily dodged. Cell then launched his own counter, backhanding Vegeta on the side of the head.
Piccolo growled as he watched the fight. "Cell's powered up a little."
Goku nodded. "Ya. The speed and power boost will give him the edge."
Vegeta shot up skyward as Cell suddenly fired a volley of Ki blasts at him. The attacks all missed slamming into the ground and exploding, covering the entire area in dust and obscuring both fighters from view. A second later there were a series of cracks and flashes of gold from within the dust and a breeze rushed out from the center of the cloud blowing it away.
Cell and Vegeta floated a good fifty feet above the ground, several yards beyond the edge of the ring now, trading blows with each other furiously. Cell was blocking most of Vegeta's attacks but a few still hit him dead on. The Sai-jin was having a bit of trouble doing the same just barely blocking or dodging incoming attacks with several at least grazing him.
A series of loud sounds like thunder resounded a moment later as Vegeta managed to slip around Cell's defenses and land a furious combo on the other. Three punches to his chest, a knee to the stomach, two kicks to the head, a kick to the chest, an uppercut, and then an elbow to the back that slammed the Bio-droid face first into the ground. Outside the ring.