The Sai-jin's right fist slipped only inches passed Cell's head as the Bio-droid dodged. He then countered with a powerful punch of his own, directly to the other's abdomen. That was followed by an elbow to the side of his head and then a heel to his back that drove him down toward the ground. Cell turned and fired a blast of golden energy after him but the Sai-jin vanished.
A bright flash and loud crack sounded as Goku appeared behind the bio-droid and slammed his knee into the back of his head. He then spun about and snapped his leg into Cell's side. Lifting up a bit higher, he then pounded his left leg into the side of his head once, twice, three times. Then, twisting around the other way, he smashed his right leg into his head knocking him sailing away.
As soon as leg and head parted contact, Goku vanished again appearing behind Cell and thrust his foot out. Using the bio-droid's momentum coupled with his own power he landed a thunderous blow to his back, just above what remained of his tail. He then fired a punch for the back of his head but the green warrior spun around and brought his arm up in defense blocking it.
He then reached out and grabbed the Sai-jin's arm, yanked him closer, and then pounded his knee into his chest and his elbow down into Goku's elbow. There was a sickening crack accompanied by a loud scream from Goku as his elbow shattered. Cell then smashed his open palm into the Sai-jin's face knocking him back.
Goku pulled to a stop panting, grimacing, and holding his arm. Cell smirked. "Aww, did I break it?" he asked in a condescending tone. "Here, I'll fix it for you!" Suddenly a pink energy disc flared up above his arm and he pitched it toward the Sai-jin. The pain shooting through Goku's arm delayed his reaction and his dodge wasn't fast enough to avoid the attack, it sliced through his arm just above his elbow.
Crying out in pain he grabbed his arm and scowled at Cell. The bio-droid merely continued to smirk. "Oh, I'm sorry, did you need that?" he asked laughing.
Suddenly Goku's mix of grimace and scowl turned into a smirk of his own. "No, not really." he said getting a raised eyebrow from Cell. The Sai-jin held his arm straight out to the side and focused. Among everything else he'd done during his stay in the RoSaT he'd also trained and practiced at the skills he'd learned from the Yardrat's.
Cell watched curiously as energy began to seemingly seep out of the stump of an arm Goku had left. It twirled and stretched snaking along almost like living smoke. After a few moments the energy took an obvious shape, that of the Sai-jin's missing limb. Then it grew brighter, flashed and cracked, and the energy vanished revealing a restored arm.
"How did... that's..." Cell stammered in shock.
Goku grinned. "A little something I picked up in space." he explained. "Mix in just enough energy and air and focus just right and voila, instant arm. So, shall we get back to things?" Goku didn't wait for an answer, just shot in at Cell.
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Otherworld, King Kai's planet:
King Kai stretched his arms and yawned as he sat up in his chair waking up from his nap. Things had been nice and peaceful the last few years, now that his small planetoid was empty of visitors again. It had been fun having students again but he had to admit, the peace and quiet was definitely an improvement over the presence of Goku or even Yamcha. Piccolo was more his type of student. Quiet and non-invasive on his sleep.
Climbing to his feet, the short and pudgy Kai twitched his antenna about and swapped his blindfold for his sunglasses. Walking out of his small house he glanced about at the tall grass and blinked. "Aww, darn it. I did it again. I must have been asleep for at least a month for grass like this!" Sighing the Kai moved over to his small shed and, a moment later, rode out on a lawn tractor.
"Well, first things first. I'll cut this grass and then I'll take a poke around the galaxy. See how Goku and the others are doing. They must be enjoying all the peace and quiet."
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Earth, Cell Games Ring:
Goku slammed into the ground hard blasting out a crater nearly a hundred yards across and fifty deep. And then the large golden energy orb he'd tried to deflect, the one that had been the cause of his sudden impact with the Earth, swelled and exploded savagely. The force of the blast enlarged the crater making it's orginal size look like nothing by comparison.
Vegeta and the others landed gently at the edge of the blast range, Piccolo having noticed the danger they were in first and warning the others. There was nothing left of the terrain they'd been standing on only a moment ago, a massive scar nearly a mile across and half a mile deep now stretched out across the expanse.
The dust still reached nearly a mile into the sky as it settled slowly, the lack of any wind delaying it's descent and allowing it to float gently to the Earth. As they watched the settling debris, the larger chunks of un-pulverized rock finally beginning to rain down over the area, a golden glow began to form within the dust.
Suddenly a sphere of golden energy shot out of the dust cloud followed, a moment later, by another and then another. In seconds a hundred of the golden orbs were outside the dust surging toward Cell with more on the way. High in the sky, several hundred feet above the dust cloud, Cell began weaving and dodging around the incoming blasts, deflecting those that came too close.
He was just about to launch a counterblast down at Goku when a cry from within the dust sounded, followed by a rush of wind that blasted the cloud apart and also marked the end to the energy barrage. The Sai-jin stood, arms still held above him toward Cell, a golden glow enveloping in his hands. And then, with another cry, he yanked his arms back in toward his body, closing his fists.
Cell's eyes widened and he turned quickly. Behind him all the energy blasts he'd dodged had merged into one large ball and it was now charging down toward him at incredible speed. "I can't dodge it!" he cried, thrusting his arms up toward the ball and bracing himself. It had just impacted his hands and started driving him back down toward Goku when he heard a new sound calling up from the Sai-jin's position.
"Kaaaaaaaa Meeeeeeeee." The Bio-droid turned his head and looked back down at the ground. Goku's hands were cupped at his side, blue energy sparking to life between them. "Haaaaaaaaa Meeeeeeeee." Cell shifted his position, adjusting his grip on the massive orb of energy so that he could hold it off with one hand. Quickly he aimed the other arm down toward Goku. "HAAAAAAAAAA!"
The ground beneath Goku, already battered and broken from the previous assualt, shattered and exploded from the rush of power emanating from Goku. The massive blue beam of Ki washed up through the sky tearing it's way toward it's target rapidly. There was a crack and flash of blue as it impacted the other's outstretched arm. The Bio-droid strained between the force of the two attacks, his elbows both threatening to give out.
A loud yell sounded from Cell, his power flared and pulsed and began to grow again. His muscles expanded increasing in size by about 50 by the time he finished. As his power stablized again he was holding off the twin attacks with no difficulty. "Oh no you don't Cell!" Goku called up from below. "I will beat you, no matter the cost!"
Cell turned his head toward Goku and smirked. "Is that so? And just what do you plan to do to stop me now? My power exceeds yours considerably! You have no chance against my full power!"
"I wouldn't be so sure of that Cell!" Goku yelled up. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath. /Chi-Chi... Gohan... I don't know if I can survive this. It could be too much strain on my body, even with the training I've gone through. Doing this... it could kill me. But even if it does... it will be worth it to stop Cell, so that he can't get to you. So... good-bye... and forgive me./
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Son Home, Living Room:
Sango still hadn't come back in yet but no one had particularly noticed. Their eyes were all locked on the battle before them as they watched the golden orb form behind the unsuspecting Cell. They were deathly silent as they watched Cell turn to hold it off. As they watched Goku begin his Kamehameha attack. As they heard their exchange.
As Goku went silent Chi-Chi's eyes widened slowly, a feeling she didn't like running through her body. Goku's voice echoed softly, faintly, gently, inside her mind. A lump caught in her throat and tears burned her eyes. "No..." she managed softly. The others barely heard her but soon she repeated it again, louder, and they looked at her. As a blindingly bright light filled the TV screen Chi-Chi screamed. "GOKU!"
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Son Home, Gohan's Room:
Gohan and Videl were doing something they'd not done yet this day. They were smiling. As soon as they'd seen the attack taking shape behind Cell small smiles had crept their way across their young faces. They'd reached full size, going from ear to ear, as Goku had begun his Kamehameha. Hope clearly evident on their faces. And then Cell had powered up.
The smiles faded right along with the hope. And then as Goku went silent after his exchange with Cell, Gohan blinked. He could feel his father, feel his emotions and sense his thoughts. And then the powerful Sai-jin's voice reached his mind, soft and gentle, and slitghtly sad. "No... daddy..." Gohan said softly as the light from the TV began to intensify. And then, as the room was bathed in red, his voice joined his mother's. "DADDY!"
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Cell Games Ring:
Goku spread his feet a little to get better footing as he opened his eyes. It was all or nothing now. "Suuperrrrrr..." he started, red light trailing along in his aura. "Kaioken!" The Sai-jin's golden aura vanished in a blinding flash of red, the Kamehameha wave swelling to massive size as it, too, turned red.
The bright glare of red hid Goku from view, his massive power the only thing that marked his continued existance. Up in the air the new rush of power reached Cell before the creature even fully registered it was coming. The attack he'd been holding off instantly overtook and engulfed him. The energy orb exploding on contact with the wave which then faded away.
The sun-like glare of red on the ground faded away then as it flared up in the sky instead. The massive rush of wind, power, and energy from the explosion knocked the Z Fighters over nearly half a mile away. The clouds around them were blown apart by the force of the blast. And then the rumble began to fade from the land and their ears. A moment later the glare faded away as well and they opened their eyes.
Goku still stood, arms up over his head for a moment, and then he fell onto his back, his hair falling down and turning black before he'd even hit the ground. Barodck shot off toward him first, the others soon on his trail. Reaching his son the powerful Sai-jin knelt and dug a Senzu out of the bag in his hand. Trunks glanced down at his own hand, now empty of the bag of beans. He hadn't even noticed Bardock take them from him.
Bardock pushed the bean into Goku's mouth, the Sai-jin's breathing was laboured and shallow, his Ki was dropping steadily. The strain had been too much on his body, he'd shredded it in that attack and, without the healing power of the bean, would be dead in a matter of moments. "Come on Goku, swallow it..." Appla breathed from the side.
As if hearing her, his mouth moved slowly, painfully chewing the Senzu and then swallowing it. A moment later he took a deep breath and sat up gasping. "Thanks..." he breathed, turning his eyes skyward. He wasn't sure if he'd won or not. He'd sensed Cell right up until he passed out... His eyes darted back and forth in the sky for some sign, any sign, of the creature.
Suddenly his gazed changed from the sky to the ground, the far end of the crater before him. There floated Cell, torso and head only. Arms and legs, from the waist down, missing. But only for an instant. As soon as his eyes fell on him, his legs and arms reformed, sprouting from his body like a turtle's from its shell.
"Damn it... what's it take to beat him!?"
"I am unbeatable." Cell replied, drawing all eyes to him at last. "And I grow tired of this. It is time to end it. It is time for all of you to die." Goku started climbing to his feet, the others started taking fighting stances, Cell started to move foward, and then all of them froze. Goku and the Z Fighters pausing in shock at the sight before them, Cell stopping as a pair of powerful arms and legs wrapped around his body. If he'd been expecting them they'd never have been able to restrain him but, as it was a complete shock, he was frozen in his tracks.
No one had even noticed Sakura leave the group and come up behind Cell's location, too fixated on Goku's condition. She'd followed Cell's fall after the explosion and had made her decision and her move before he'd even hit the ground. Now, as she grabbed him, her body flashed and she transformed. "Yottsu Kinryoku!" she cried, and her aura shifted silver. Her muscles had increased in size and the strain was evident on her face.
"And what, exactly, do you plan to accomplish with this?" Cell asked, nonchalantly. Obviously unconcerned with the girl now clinging to him, even though her power was currently higher than his own.
"Your death." she replied. Light began drifting into her from the ground and the air as her body began to glow and her eyes soon followed suit. -Trunks... I have to do this, I hope you understand. Move away from here. And... Trunks, my love, good-bye.-
Across the way Vegeta had noticed the glow to his son's eyes, something he'd learned the meaning of during his second trip into the RoSaT. "What is it?" he asked, seeing the look on his eyes. "What's she doing?"
He shook his head. "I don't... she just said good-bye."
"Sakura!" Hotaru called turning back toward her daughter. "No!"
Trunks reached out and grabbed her. "We have to get away, now!" he cried taking off, pulling Hotaru with him. The others waited only a moment before following after him.
Sakura had her eyes closed as they began to sting from the tears. /Sorry mother. This is something that... I have to do./ Opening them again she tightened her hold on Cell. "This is the end for you!" she cried. "Wakusei Kujo...!"
Cell's eyes snapped wide as the wash of power emanating from the girl attatched to him slammed into him like a freight train. He'd expended a lot of his energy surviving Goku's attack and he was still recovering. The conversion process was still restoring his Ki, he wasn't at full strength just yet... With a cry he began trying to break free.
Sakura's voice echoed over the blasted landscape, loud, commanding, and full of purpose. "Bakuhatsu!" The Z fighters had just reached the opposite end of the crater when they heard her voice. Turning to look they saw the sudden flash of silver, blue, red, and green come from the half Tanarian in a blinding rush.
A second later the loud thunder-like rumble reached them as the explosion flared up from the opposite end crater and engufled it completely making a blast radius of over two miles. The four colors swirled and flared and pulsed and flashed as the dome of energy bulged and swelled. And then it erupted skyward in a massive rush of power surging forward into the space-time tear were it was destroyed.
Sakura's cry of determination and pain had lasted until this moment, and then it ended. As it came to stop all traces of her energy vanished. Those floating only a few hundred yards away from the attack all registered this at the same time, tears coming to the eyes of both Trunks and Hotaru.
And then the energy began to recede. The column of power narrowed and shrank as it thinned out and, a moment later, vanished. A new crater had now erased and replaced the old one, this one larger and deeper than the last. And within this crater there was no trace of Cell. Or of Sakura. Hotaru swallowed and closed her eyes as Trunks laid a hand on her shoulder.