Chapter 6: The Cell Games
Gohan wore a shocked expression. "You were looking for me? Even today? Shouldn't you be at the Cell games?"
Piccolo stood up and ruffled Gohans hair. "You're more important than the Cell games. There was no way I was going to stop searching until I found you."
Gohan smiled slightly. "Lime you can come out now."
Lime came around the corner and hid behind Gohan.
"Whats been going on Gohan. I couldn't sense you and our mind link disappeared." Piccolo asked.
"Its a long story Piccolo. I'll fill you in later. Right now I have to deal with Cell." 'Nothing related to Gero will survive if I can help it.' Gohan thought to himself.
They started walking towards the exit when Piccolo couldn't keep quiet anymore. "I know you said you'll fill me in later, but for now can you give me the short version. And who is the girl?"
"Long story short is that a scientist captured people and tortured them to death. Lime here hasn't been tortured yet, but her grandfather was." Gohan answered.
"What about you kid?" Piccolo asked already knowing the answer.
"Well I was gone for about nine days, so that should answer your question."
Piccolo wisely kept quiet knowing to save the questions for later. They reached the hatch and opened it up. Gohan stepped outside and basked in the sun.
Piccolo walked over and put his hand on Gohans head. Gohan tensed at first, but relaxed himself. Piccolo noticed and stowed away that piece of info for later. A bright light consumed Gohan and he was now wearing the gi that he had after he left the hyperbolic time chamber.
"You needed some new clothes kid. Yours were torn and ragged" Piccolo stated.
Gohan nodded and turned to Lime.
"Lime do you have any family you can go to right now?"
Lime shook her head. "My parents were killed by Cell. All I had left was my grandfather."
Gohan sighed. "This makes things difficult. I need to go fight Cell, so I need to take you somewhere safe for the time being. I'll take you to Kami's look out. Is that okay Piccolo?"
Piccolo nodded." Thats fine kid."
Gohan picked Lime up bridal style causing her to blush. "Hold on Lime." Gohan blasted off with Piccolo following behind.
Piccolo could barely keep up with the young saiyan. 'He's gotten so much stronger in the past nine days. What happened to you kid?'
Lime buried her face into Gohans gi to avoid the wind. They landed on Kami's lookout in no time. He set Lime down. "Okay Lime I know this is weird and you have a lot of questions right now, but can you save them for later? I have some business to take care of and by business I mean Cell."
Lime could only nod in agreement.
"Good. You'll be safe up here. I also need you to hold on to this for me." Gohan handed her the drive. "Keep this safe and don't show anyone ok?"
Lime nodded and shoved it in her pocket.
"Gohan!" Dende yelled as he ran towards him. He threw his arms around the young saiyan and laughed joyfully.
"I missed you a lot Gohan. I was so worried when I found out you were missing!" Dende said. Mr. Popo walked out and smiled at the scene.
Gohan gently removed Dende off of him. "Hi Dende."
Dende backed up and his facial features fell. "Gohan whats wrong? You don't seem like yourself."
"Thats because I'm not myself anymore." Gohan said in a monotone voice. "Things have changed. I changed."
Dende tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"Lets just say the Gohan you knew died. How you've seen me before is something you will most likely never see again. I've been through some...things."
"What kind of things?" Dende asked?
Gohan shook his head. "Things I don't want to talk about." He walked looked over to Lime. "Dende this is Lime. I saved her from some crazy scientist. Can you keep her company while I go squash a bug?"
Gohan looked to Mr. Popo. "Mr. Popo can you answer any questions she has for you? "
Mr. Popo nodded. "Of course I can do that."
"Thank you." Gohan turned to the edge of the lookout. "Come on Piccolo lets go." Gohan jumped over the edge and started flying towards the battle with Piccolo by his side.
"So I see staying in super saiyan form made some of your hair permanently blond." Piccolo stated.
Gohan grabbed a lock of his hair and pulled it in front of his eyes. "Its not the super saiyan transformation that caused this Piccolo. Some locks of my hair color just changed to white within these past nine days.
Piccolo's eyes widened. "But how?"
"You should have Kame's wisdom now right?" Piccolo nodded. "Well what happens when a human is subjected to extreme stress?"
"It turns the hair grey, but your hair is white. That doesn't make sense?"
"Maybe it has to do with my saiyan heritage. I'm not too sure myself. I'll just buy some hair dye once this is all over, so its not a big deal." Gohan said as they continued the flight in silence.
(Cell games)
"So now that the trash is dealt with who will challenge me first?" Cell said after smacking Hercule away.
"I will go. Its time I put that bug in his place." Vegeta stated.
Goku stepped up. "Guys let me handle this."
"Oh no Kakarot. Why do you get to go first?" Vegeta complained.
"Think about it like this Vegeta. If I fail and you clean up after my mess that would make you superior and stronger than me."
Vegeta smirked. "Fine then you go first."
Goku flew down to the ring.
Cell unfolded his arms and grinned. "I thought for certain that you would be my last opponent."
Goku walked across from Cell. "I'm ready when you are."
Cell got into his stance as well as Goku.
Cell and Goku rushed at each other and collided fist in the middle of the ring. The collision caused a small shock wave.
Cell pulled his fist back and aimed a punch at Goku. Goku noticed and ducked under the punch. He responded with a uppercut to the chin.
Cell swiftly moved to the side to avoid it. Cell threw his arm forward and tried to blast his opponent. Goku fazed out of view. Cell looked around trying to find him. Goku fazed back in behind Cell and kicked him in the back.
Cell flew forward with a handspring and threw some ki blasts at Goku. Goku smacked each one away. Cell flew forward with a punch, but it was blocked. Goku fazed out along with Cell. Each one kept it up until Cell landed a punch on Goku.
Goku and Cell eyed each other in the ring. "Cell I'm done with the warm up. I'm ready to get serious."
Cell looked confused. "This early? We barely warmed up at all."
"I have other things to do, so lets get this over with." Goku responded.
Cell nodded. "As you wish."
Goku started powering up as much as he could. He was causing the ground around him to shake as rocks started gravitating upwards. When Goku finished he glared at Cell. "So what do you think?"
Cell smirked. "I think I'm going to get one hell of a fight.
Cell charged at Goku and threw a fist at his face. Goku grabbed the fist and tried to knee Cell in the stomach.
Cell parried the blow with his free hand and jumped backwards. He threw a blast which Goku just deflected upwards.
Goku disappeared using the instant transmission and kicked Cell in the back. Cell fell forward but used his hands to hand spring himself back to his feet.
Goku disappeared again, but this time Cell closed his eyes and stayed as still as possible. When he heard Goku appear behind him he turned around and blocked the punch coming for his face.
Goku was so surprised that he didn't see the fist coming for his face. Goku reeled back with the hit and Cell continued his advantage. He punched Goku in the stomach slightly doubling him over.
He kicked Goku in the chest sending him to the ground on his back. Cell jumped in the air and threw a blast at the grounded Goku creating a huge explosion.
Cell smirked as he waited for the smoke to clear. He was about to throw another blast down, but a boot to the side of his head sent him crashing down. Cell flipped in mid air and landed on his feet. He looked up in time to dodge an incoming Goku. Goku landed in the ring after a missed kick and swung his fist at Cell.
He tried to punch Cell, but he dodged it and threw a kick at Goku. Goku avoided the hit and blasted Cell. Cell was sent flying away, but came flying back in and was knocked aside with a kick.
He launched his way towards Goku and kicked him backwards. Cell continued his assault with a kick to the chest but Goku blocked it by crossing his arms in front of him. He back flipped to gain distance and shot a ki blast at Cell.
Cell deflected it, but he wasn't ready for the elbow to the jaw that Goku delivered. Cell punched him in the jaw, but Goku retaliated with a kick to the chin. Cell reeled back and threw a jab to the jaw.
After his hit connected Goku punched him in the stomach. They both back flipped away and flew forward punching each other in the face at the same time. They flew backwards and stared each other down panting slightly.
"This is crazy! I can't believe how they're going at it. Goku and Cell are so powerful." Krillin said in shock.
"Yeah this is unbelievable. Gokus strength is unbelievable. Not only is he matching Cell blow for blow, but he's actually getting more hits in. He has the advantage." Trunks said getting excited. "Looks like we won't have to fight at all."
"Shut up!" Vegeta yelled. "Can't you idiots see that Cell still has more power! This fight is far from over."
Yamcha hung his head. "So you're saying Goku can't win."
Vegeta shook his head. "I'm not saying that. Cell is still holding back, but its possible that Kakarot is too. This fight can go either way, but if anyone has the upper hand its Cell."
Goku and Cell disappeared from view. The only thing that could be heard were the shock-waves from the blows the two fighters were landing on each other.
Cell fazed back in view when he was shown hurtling towards the ground. He stopped himself and floated back towards the ring.
"I'm tired of these pesky rules. Its time to do away with them." Cell said as he pointed his hand downwards towards the ring.
Goku's eyes widened as he turned to face his friends. "Everyone back away now! He's destroying the ring!"
Cell let the ki blast go and destroyed the ring.
"Now that the rules no longer apply to us we can go all out!" Cell said as he and Goku went at it again.
(With Gohan)
Gohan and Piccolo were still flying towards the Cell games. "So do you really think you can take on Cell?"
Gohan narrowed his eyes. "No I don't think I can. I know I can. I will kill him."
Piccolo's eyes widened a little. "Kill? That's never been part of your vocabulary. You never willingly wanted to kill people."
"People change Piccolo. There are some people who deserve death and Cell is one of them." Gohan answered.
Piccolo was at a loss for words. 'What happened to you kid? What caused you to become like this?'
"I know what you're thinking Piccolo. What happened to make me like this? How can such an innocent little boy change in just nine short days?" Gohan said as if reading his mentors mind. "Well a lot has happened. Like I said to Dende. The Gohan you knew is dead and in his place is is a monster."
"You're not a monster Gohan. You the furthest thing from one." Piccolo said in a serious tone.
"Tell that to Jason." Gohan answered.
Piccolo looked confused. "Who is Jason?"
"Jason is the scientist that captured me. He tortured me for nine days. I ended up killing him to escape."
"I don't know the whole story yet, but it was either you or him. You valued your life and that girls life over his. I find that normal. That doesn't make you a monster."
Gohan chuckled dryly. "Yeah that's normal, but that's not what I'm talking about. I could've easily just knocked him out, or killed him instantly. You want to know how he died? I snapped his arm and leg in half. I broke his fingers. crushed his ankles. I broke his nose with a punch to the face. I took a power drill and shoved in his ear and pressed the button. I drilled into his eardrum. I used my own hand to chop his arm off. Then after I questioned him for a few seconds I blasted him to death."
Piccolos eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. This didn't sound like the Gohan he knows.
"Not too normal is it Piccolo?" Gohan asked rhetorically. "You see? I am a monster and not just because I did that to him. Its because I enjoyed doing that to him. I enjoyed taking power into my own hands and ending his life. He was a low life who deserved a more painful death." 'At least until I found out it wasn't really him.'
"Gohan...I'm sorry." Piccolo said as he looked down. "I'm sorry for letting this happen to you. I should've found you as soon as you went missing. This is my fault."
Gohan smiled slightly. "Stop it Piccolo. It's no ones fault that this happened. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nobody could've really prevented this. The room was ki proof. Nobody could sense anything in the room I was in. I'm sure you tried your hardest to find me. "
"But..." Thats all Piccolo said until he was interrupted by Gohan.
"Enough Piccolo. I don't want you blaming yourself with what happened to me. If anything its my fault for being in the northern mountains anyway. "
Piccolo nodded. "I still don't think you're a monster kid. There is no way I would ever think that."
Gohan nodded. "I know Piccolo, but lets see if you think the same way after I rip Cell apart." Gohan turned super saiyan and kept flying on alongside Piccolo.
(With Cell)
Goku was panting heavily with sweat and blood running down his face. He had bruises and cuts all over himself. Cell was fairing just a little bit better.
"I knew you would give me a true fight Goku!" Cell exclaimed as he tried to catch his breath.
Goku scowled. 'I won't win at this rate, but I need to keep fighting. If I can wear him down enough then maybe Vegeta and Trunks will be able to take him out.'
"This fight has been great Goku, but I'm afraid its time to end it. Your power has been draining steadily throught this fight. You are no longer a challenge anymore. It would be pointless to keep fighting you."
Vegeta tensed up. "Get ready boy. One of us is up next. Kakarot won't win this fight. Its over for him."
"We can't just leave him out there to die then. We have to help him." Tien yelled.
"We'll do no such thing." Vegeta snarled. "You may not be aware of this, but Saiyans hate when others intrude on their fights. Saiyans would rather die in battle than to disgrace themselves by accepting help. Kakarot is no different from I in that aspect. We must respect his wishes to die in battle."
Yamcha narrowed his eyes. "I don't care how much disgrace he suffers. There is no way I will watch my friend die here without lifting a finger to help.
"Its not like we could do much anyway. I hate to admit it, but Kakarot is a lot stronger than I am. He's most likely wearing Cell down right now so one of us has a shot at him. If we jump in now everything he did will be for naught. If you want the world to survive then we must honor the sacrifice he is willing to make. No matter how painful it is." Vegeta stated causing everyone to stare slack jawed at him.
Goku tried to kick Cell, but Cell fazed out of view. He fazed back in and kicked Goku in the back. Goku turned and swung his foot only to hit air. Cell reappeared in front of Goku and punched him down towards the earth.
Goku landed on his feet and cupped his hands to his sides. "Kamehameha!" Cell stopped the blast in its tracks and threw it out the atmosphere.
"You're getting weaker and weaker Goku." Cell said as he appeared in front of Goku and punched him in the stomach. Goku doubled over. Cell punched him in the face making him hit the ground. He stood over top of him and started stomping on his chest repeatedly causing Goku to cry out in pain.
"This is so hard to watch. I can't just sit here." Trunks said with grated teeth.
"Endure it boy. We will strike with the time is right." Vegeta answered.
Cell looked at the other Z fighters. "Will no one help him?" He looked down back at Goku. "It looks like you're by yourself Goku." He outstretched his arm and opened his hand. "Thanks for the fight Goku, but this is where we end it."
Cell was about to fire when a foot connected with his head sending him flying.
Goku looked up as his sight came back into focus. He focused on the face of the person who saved him only for his eyes to widen. "Gohan!?"
A/N: End of Chapter.