Chichi let Bulma do the talking when they reached the Lookout. She was much to busy tending to her son to be paying attention to the movements of the others. Gohan had passed out (once more) on the way up here, and her worry intensified.
The tiny Namek looked as worried as she felt when she glanced at him, and really... who wouldn't be worried? Judging by Vegeta's reaction, the "elite" Saiyan race didn't out of the blue get cancer! That was a human affliction! Coupled with the fact... the affliction was spreading faster than any known type... According to scans, it was located just at the base of her baby's spine, attached to his brain. It was an impossible spot to reach in terms of surgery.
Dende was their only current hope.
He was kneeling over the boy, soft eyes fixed on him in concentration. His hands were hovering over Gohan, and there was a strange glow coming from the alien boy. Chichi had to ignore her instincts to snatch her son away from the Namek... reminding herself that the race was rather peaceful and that any hard feelings between her and Piccolo were only between them.
As the glow grew brighter, Chichi couldn't stop staring. It was a soothing glow, and it almost made her tired. Gohan never stirred however, solidifying the belief that the glow wasn't harmful.
Dende's expression changed. It was one of surprise, shock, anger and fear, all mixed together. Vegeta shifted in the corner of her eye, suddenly on alert. Bulma was staring at the tiny green alien with an expression akin to horror. "I... I can't fix this..." the soft voice said, barely above a whisper, but loud enough to echo over the Lookout.
A collective gasp went through the entire group. The blue haired inventor collapsed, eyes fluttering in disbelief. The Saiyan Prince growled lowly. Piccolo stared at the young Namek in confusion. Chichi wailed, repeating a stuttered mantra of, "no... no no no no!"
"Why Dende?" Piccolo asked, voice hard with restrained emotion. The boy he had trained... the boy who saved them all from Cell... His first friend... was suffering from a human illness that should have been no problem for the gifted healer to fix... "Why?"
The young Namek was still glowing, eyes still narrowed in concentration. "The cellular mutation... what Bulma told me was happening... it's not quite the same as I've seen in human's suffering on Earth. It's not natural. That isn't an illness I can fix... it has a mind of it's own... and I don't mean a typical mind set of reproduction like most cells. The mass is... a live."
"Eh?" Chichi and Bulma exclaimed before the mother of the afflicted son swooned. Bulma caught her before she hit the ground. But the blue haired woman held a "deer in the headlights" look. "That's impossible!" she yelled, glaring at Dende.
The guardian shook his head, glancing at her. "It has a ki signature. It's very much a living person..."
Piccolo gawked, turning to stare at Gohan. "A ki signature? What exactly are we dealing with?"
Vegeta was the one who answered, also looking at Gohan. The proud Saiyan's eyes were wide, but there was a sense of respect buried within them. "It's Cell. I can sense him now that I know he's there. That bastard... What cowardice!"
"Cell?" Piccolo closed his eyes, reaching his senses over his friend. Sure enough... faint as it was, Cell's energy signature was coming from Gohan. It was tainted severely by Gohan's own ki signature, but there was enough there to know it was him. Infuriating.
"I couldn't place why the brat's ki felt off. Nor did I understand the fluctuations when it was plainly obvious he was too weak to even remain conscious," Vegeta continued, glare intensifying. They all could hear his teeth grinding together as he processed the information presented before him. "It's genius really."
Ignoring the half compliment from her husband, Bulma blinked, "You really think it's Cell? I thought he died in the final confrontation with Gohan... The Kamehameha Wave... You all said that monster was gone!"
"We thought he was..." the once "demonic" enemy stated, clenching a fist discreetly at his side. "Gohan's monster blast was strong enough to kill at the cellular level. None of us could feel Cell's ki afterward."
"And King Yemma confirmed to me the monster had been destroyed," Dende said, furrowing his brow. "Cell is still dead... but he's alive..." The guardian shrugged helplessly, not sure how to take this development. "For all intents and purposes, Cell is in Hell... but a part of him is also within Gohan."
"How?" Bulma whispered, kneeling between the boy and his mother. She brushed his hair back slightly, wincing at the warmth of his skin. The fever had gotten higher, and Gohan looked, if at all possible, even more frail than he had at the house. His skin was stark white, and his eyes had dark rings... evidence of illness. It was painful to see the boy like this.
"Cell came back to life before when one single cell survived his own destruction," Piccolo rumbled, arms crossed and eyes closed. "Who's to say he couldn't do it again?"
"Why wait so long? Why wait this long to attack if that was the case?"
"Perhaps he didn't wait," Dende said thoughtfully. "Symptoms for human cancer, especially close to the brain include headaches, nausea, dissy-ness... all sorts of things. Perhaps Gohan experienced these symptoms to a degree... a small enough one he didn't feel the need to be worried over?"
"The fact a Saiyan half breed has been affected by such things... Felled by something too small for the eye to see! It's incomprehensible!" Vegeta growled out, stomping down hard in frustration. This should have been impossible!
"Calm down Vegeta..." Bulma called, staring at him. He was visably trembling with anger. A deadly combination and she didn't want him to snap. Who knew what he would do? No one here could stop him if he attacked Gohan to get to Cell. She didn't think he would do something that rash... but it was Vegeta...
"How do we get him out?" Chichi's voice rang through the air, jolting them all. Her eyes were hard with grim determination. Her aura crackled with anger, and for a moment, those present who could sense it, it scared each of them. "How do we get Cell to stop torturing my son?"
No one had an answer for her.
A/N : So... yeah. Here's the fourth installment. I know, it's rather short. But you should have seen it on paper! Twas such a tiny little bit! XD
So... I feel I should explain Vegeta's reaction. There was two ways I could write him. He could be a total ass and say Gohan was weak for allowing Cell into his head. Or... he could be extremely pissed at Cell for being a coward. And since I started writing his personality this way in his last appearance, I went with this. I hope I didn't kill his personality for Vegeta lovers. I see him as a big softee somewhere in that hard exterior. Next chapter should be out fairly soon... I'm updating this on my days off, which wasn't the initial plan.. but, yeah.
Lemme know if you like or hate this =D