*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.
Warning: Violence, self harm, suicidal thoughts, angst and character death.*
Goku smiled, watching as Trunks and Goten sparred. Goten was getting a lot better, though Goku could notice that the boy received his training from Vegeta. The prince had tried to convince him to spar with the man, but Goku had declined, saying he wanted to save his strength for when the real fight began. Everyone was gathered around, sitting around on blankets, happily chatting and munching on some snacks Chi-Chi and Bulma had prepared while they wait for Gohan to wake up. Eighteen smiled as she watched Marron chase after a butterfly. Reacting quickly, Eighteen jumped and just barely managed to protect Marron from an oncoming Ki blast and it was powerful, too.
"No! Eighteen, Marron!" Krillin yelled, sighing in relief once he noticed that his wife and daughter were just fine. Goku glared up into the sky, noticing a group of alien like figures hanging in the air before they descended, landing gracefully in front of the Z warriors.
Goku clenched his fists, glaring at his previous enemies. Why now of all times, dammit where's Gohan?! Eighteen handed Marron to Bulma and Chi-Chi, asking them to take care of her daughter as the child cried for her mother. Eighteen looked over every enemy that stood before them. She didn't personally know all of them, but from what Krillin had told her she could just about recognize the people in front of her. From the left, a short green alien with four eyes stood. Guldo. Next to him, stood an alien with bright red skin and long white hair. Jeice. Next, was a rather large, more human like person with orange red hair. Racoome. A large blue lizard like being, Burter. Ginyu was the purple alien with horns. Freeza and his brother Cooler stood next to each other, looking very much alike. Cooler's henchman, Salsa, a blue alien with blond hair. Two human like beings, Raditz and Nappa, as she understood, they were also saiyans. And in the very middle of the group, stood the only enemy she personally recognized.
"Cell," someone called from behind the tense group of human warriors. Goku turned and looked over his shoulder, shocked at Gohan's appearance. The teen slowly walked to the front of the group, his hair a lot messier than usual, but most shocking of all, was that he was covered in blood. His arms and hands mostly, but there were a few random smudges on his face, neck and chest.
"Gohan," Krillin whispered, his horrified gaze following after the boy, stopping once the boy halted at the front of the group. He paled, noticing the cuts that littered Gohan's arms.
"Gohan! Well isn't this a nice surprise! It's been, what? Years? Since I last saw you and you haven't changed a bit," Cell spoke, chuckling to himself. Gohan stared blankly at the android, waiting for him to quiet down.
"I've been dead," Gohan said, voice holding no emotion.
Cell frowned slightly, looking the boy over. He was a little shocked to see the boy covered in blood.
"My, Gohan, you look like you've murdered someone with your bare hands," Cell smirked.
"Maybe I did, you don't know me," Gohan answered, his brow twitching in annoyance. Goku could only stare at his son, his eyes reflecting his shock and absolute horror. Did Gohan do this to himself? Goku was so distracted, he didn't notice Janemba appear behind the group of their enemies. Cell's smirk widened as he placed his hands on his hips.
"Alright then, I challenge you to a fight and if you refuse, I'll blow up the planet," Cell stated, staring at Gohan. He was convinced that after all his training in hell, that he was ready to finally get his revenge on Gohan, but what he wasn't expecting, was for the boy to be so different.
Gohan bowed his head, staring at the grass where his own blood was falling. Gohan raised his head, a sadistic smile on his face, complemented by the cold look on his face and already being covered in blood, Gohan looked slightly, if not a lot, crazed. Cell stared questioningly at the boy. The Gohan he had fought previously, would have instantly attacked him after he had threatened him. New plan then, threaten his family.
"Oh, I see, so you won't except my challenge? How about, if I threaten to torture your friends and family, mmm? Your baby brother?" Cell threatened, waiting almost anxiously for any type of response.
Gohan tilted his head, adding to the creepy feeling he was giving off.
Cell was getting frustrated now.
"Or I'll just kill Goku again, hmm? Last time your precious daddy died, you took it pretty hard, huh? Let's see how you'll react when I tear him limb from limb!" Cell yelled, finally gaining a reaction from Gohan, though not exactly one he was expecting. Gohan chuckled to himself, taking on a fighting stance. Goku snapped out of his daze, finally noticing Janemba.
"Gohan, no!" Goku yelled, gaining the teen's attention. Gohan raised a brow in question.
"I want you to fight Janemba, son. I'll take care of Cell," Goku said, trying to smile reassuringly at the boy, though it was hard seeing as Goku had noticed the cuts on Gohan's arms and could only assume that they were self-inflicted.
"You? Fight me? Last time we fought you couldn't even dream of defeating me! You had to force your own son to fight your battles for you! It's a little late to take responsibility now!" Cell yelled.
Gohan stared at his father's face, noticing how the man's dark eyes would sadden at Cell's words. There was something else along with that sadness. Guilt. Gohan fazed out and appeared behind Cell, the android turning in time to receive a kick to the face, sending him flying backwards. The force Gohan had used caused a strong wind to whip at the fighters as Cell flew between them, skidding to a stop a few feet away from the group of fighters. Gohan raised his hand, forming a powerful Ki blast in his hand and aiming it at the fallen android. His father yelled at him, telling him to leave Cell to him. Silently sighing, Gohan quickly moved his hand, shot the Ki blast at Freeza, it hitting the alien in the face. Cooler could inly laugh at this as Gohan fazed out once again, appearing in front of Janemba, he threw his leg out to kick the red alien, but it was blocked. Janemba raised his fist, aiming to punch Gohan in the stomach, though that was blocked as well. It would continue like this as the two raised from the ground, effectively starting the battle.
Trunks and Goten did their fusion dance, a bright light briefly flashing before the warrior rushed forward, choosing his enemy and attacking. Cooler just barely managed to block the child's powerful attack, smirking once they pulled apart and charged at each other, kicking, punching and dodging. Gotenks landed a powerful punch to the alien's face, sending Cooler rocketing back to earth where he crashed, but he didn't stay down for long as he almost instantly charged at Gotenks again. Pikkon briefly analyzed Freeza before attack the alien. Freeza slammed his tail on the ground before he dodged Pikkon, managing to knee the man in his stomach. His small victory was short lived as Pikkon punched him in his chin. Piccolo grunted as he was punched by Raditz and then kicked by Nappa. He twisted his body, slamming his foot into the side of the bald man's face, knocking the saiyan off balance long enough for Piccolo to manage an attack on Raditz.
Olibu smirked as he dodged an attack from Burter, jumping and kneeing the alien on his chin. Olibu turned, bending backwards as he dodged yet another attack, though this time from Ginyu. Olibu had luckily faced off against stronger enemies and with the help of Goku telling him and Pikkon about his previous fights with these enemies, he truly didn't believe that he had anything to worry about. He did keep an eye open for Ginyu's special technique. Vegeta smirked as he kicked Racoome into the ground. Last time he had faced the man, he was nearly beaten to death. This time, however, it was the other way around. Remembering what Krillin had told her, Eighteen chose her enemy, knowing she stood a chance of defeating him. Salsa smirked once he noticed that the blonde woman was eyeing him. This ought to be fun. Eighteen fazed out, appearing behind Salsa and kicking him in the back, catching the alien off guard. She flew after him, punching him as fast as she could, wanting to finish her fight with Salsa so that she could help Krillin
Goku stared, waiting for Cell as the android stood up slowly, whiping away blood that had dripped down his chin. He briefly glanced at the stain before smirking at Goku.
"That son of yours really has a bad temper, doesn't he?" Cell asked as he stretched his wings.
"No, he's just not very fond of me at the moment," Goku answered, anger slowly starting to rise in his chest.
"Oh? Well that's shocking. I remember clearly how distraught he was when you instant transmissioned us away, how heartbroken he was when he realized that your sacrifice was in vain," Cell said, wanting to aggravate the saiyan, though he was really just bringing the man down.
"I could literally see the life leave his eyes. Surely you noticed? They're not quite so bright anymore, are they? And those wounds on his arms? Clearly self-inflicted," Cell stated, laughing quietly to himself.
"I blame you for this, Cell," Goku said softly. Cell looked at him questioningly.
"I blame you for all of this! If it weren't for you, then I wouldn't have had to sacrifice my life and leave Gohan in the first place! If it weren't for you, then none of this would have happened!" Goku yelled, screaming as he quickly powered up before charging at the android, clearly angry.
Krillin cried out in pain when Jeice sent a particularly powerful blow to the back of his neck. He hoped that someone would hurry up and help him. He hadn't fought this tough a battle in years and it's safe to say, he has lost his touch. He could hear Eighteen shout for him as Jeice charged a powerful Ki blast, knowing himself, that was probably going to kill him. Just as it was sent to him, Krillin preparing himself for the impact, someone intervened, slapping the blast away. At first, Krillin thought it was Eighteen.
"Seventeen!" Eighteen yelled, happy to see her twin brother.
"Go help your friends, I got this," Seventeen told Krillin, nodding at the shorter me before launching an attack on the red alien. Krillin flew in to help Tien and Yamcha fight the smaller alien. Guldo might not look like much, but really, with his special abilities, he was quite the formidable foe.