He ducked under the wild swing, twisting to return a quick jab in response. This battle had become more desperate for both combatants. Cell blocked, sending a knee into Gohan's stomach. Gohan took a breath before sending a few punches into Cell's chest.

"This stalemate shall end now boy," the creature said, dripping in confidence. Violet eyes sparkled with malice. But despite that, the genetic creation looked about as bad as he did. Bruises, blood (both old and new), scrapes, cuts, and swelling littered both of them all over. And both of them were extremely pale.

And "pale" on Cell was interesting to see. The brilliant green had turned a jaundiced yellow and brown, much like plants and leaves when they die.

"You're right Cell… it ends here," Gohan growled out. His voice still sounded weak and breathless, but he ignored it. Defeating Cell was the priority here, not pride. If he didn't beat Cell, the world would be doomed.

They both lunged for each other, grappling against the other's hands. Cell shifted slightly, sending his knee up once more. Gohan, still holding Cell's hands, jumped upward, avoiding a direct contact. His momentum brought him over Cell's head in a flipping motion, and he pulled at the arms in his grasp, causing his opponent to fall backward.

Cell growled, using one of the wings on his back as a blunt object to hit against the boy. Gohan grunted, falling to his knees to gather his wits, blocking as another kick was sent his way. Cell's movements were slower than he remembered they should, but they were still packing quite a punch. He rolled out of the way as two large feet suddenly descended upon him.

He threw himself upward with a half handspring/summersault combo, blocking with crossed arms as a punch flew at him. Letting loose another deep growl, he kicked with a strong round house, grinning slightly as the abomination fell backward with a hiss.

Chichi flipped the page of the magazine she was reading. Really, she wasn't reading it… more just skimming through it. But she made it look like she was reading it. It was either read the magazine, or try to ignore the fact that Vegeta was hovering in the corner of the room, and that had gotten hard to do the last week or so.

The prince had taken up residence in the room almost randomly. He only let for basic, bare necessities, and Chichi was sure he wasn't even "training" or whatever it was he normally did. It was odd, as he never said a word to her or to Gohan when he woke up here and there… just stayed in the corner, seeming to be asleep.

Knock knock

She nor Vegeta even glanced to the door. There was no need. The door swung open slowly, the breeze rushing through the room at the movement. "Hey guys." It was Yamcha's voice, and when Chichi peaked over at him, she noticed Puar hovering above the ex-bandit's shoulder. Both of them were grinning widely. "Got some news from Bulma this morning… The radiation's working. Cell's beginning to die off!"

It was really, the best thing Chichi had ever heard, and she jumped up, catching the startled man in a tight hug. Yamcha merely laughed, returning the embrace just as enthusiastically. "My baby!" she abruptly separated from him and embraced her son as tightly as she could while avoiding the various pieces of equipment he was still attached too.

"There's more…" everyone, including Vegeta, straightened at the sound of Bulma's voice. Each of them shifted, turning their eyes to the woman. She had bags under her eyes, and she looked over all exhausted, but her expression was the happiest they'd seen since the start of all of this. "I've done it. I can remove the bastard without causing Gohan harm. And I mean, any harm."

Gohan watched Cell carefully. They had had to pull away from each other to regain their strength. This was a never ending battle. And although the pain they felt didn't seem to bother either of them very much, it was still more than enough to cause the need for a breather here and there.

Problem was, Cell wasn't really moving at all. Normally, his enemy was the first to recover and would initiate the next rounds of brutal attacks. This time, Cell was just standing in place, breathing hard (just as Gohan was), and staring at the ground. Sweat beaded at the thing's forehead and neck. He didn't even seem to take notice to Gohan.

Keeping his guard up, Gohan took an uneasy step forward. Cell continued to ignore him, even as Gohan took another step. Perplexed, the boy straightened, moving to the other's position. Cell didn't seem to notice at all.

Gohan waved a hand in front of the creature, but it seemed that Cell had lost all interest in him. "Hello? Are you going to give up? Cell! Can you hear me? Hello…"

"Gohan! Oh sweetie! You're going to be ok!"

His eyes widened in surprise and he looked every direction. "Mommy?" How did she get here? This was no place for his mother! "Mom, you need to get out of here! Cell… he'll kill you!"

"You're going to be ok!" the eerie, displaced voice repeated. "Oh Gohan… Bulma's going to save you sweetie! You're going to be fine!" He slumped his shoulders, trying to comprehend what she was talking about.

The landscape seemed to warp in front of him, changing into a ceiling… and his mother's face was above him, smiling brighter than he could ever remember. Tears were falling from her dark brown eyes, but she was genuinely happy it seemed. "You're awake… Oh Gohan… you're going to be ok!"

"Really?" he asked, wincing at the dryness in his throat. His body ached worse than ever, and the room seemed to be spinning. She nodded back at him.

"Hey kiddo," Bulma's voice called, and suddenly she filled his vision too. "We're going to be doing a bit of surgery, ok? You'll be fine, and you won't even have a scar if all goes well. You'll lose a bit of hair though… but that should grow back pretty quick."

"K…" he responded, eyes half lidded. "When?"

"Later today. Once I get everything I need, and your put under, we'll get started. So hang tight ok?" he nodded slightly. "Good. Just to warn you, you're going be feeling like this for a while afterward ok? We'll do one last batch of chemo in three days, but you shouldn't even need that."

"K." The sooner the better in his opinion. He was tired of not knowing the difference between dream-scape and reality. The fight with Cell couldn't end quick enough!

"Alright, well, I'm going to head back to the lab and get everything I need. I'm going to need some help with some of the equipment…" she said, leaving Gohan's vision. The boy heard them all talking, but by that point, their words had become blurred and strung together. It didn't matter.

He'd be free! No more burning chemicals in his body… no more headaches… He felt like flying with joy. With a tiny smile, he fell back into the battle with the angry Cell. Cell, who was glaring with more vengeance than he'd possessed since the start of all of this.

"Damn you boy! You will die!"

A/N : Yeah! Go Bulma! So, this story was meant to move pretty fast (it was originally only five chapters long!). I know I've skipped over a lot of time in this… but oh well. It's almost done. I think one or two chapters left. How do you guys like this one?