The moment Gohan had woken up, he felt like his body was on fire. Something was tightly clasping around his head and as he groggily felt for it, he felt it to be a rough and coarse fabric wrapped around his head.

"Good, you're awake." Instantly the teen had shot up, feeling almost every bone in his body ache left him wincing as he did. "What-" The previous day came to him almost instantly, and he clenched his fists and launched himself with a growl at an unexpecting Cell. "You! Why did you?!" The hybrid was so angry he couldn't even properly find the words. "Why did I- wrap your head wound I mistakenly caused?" Cell finished the words for Gohan, which made the teen pout in annoyance. "Yeah whatever! That!" He huffed and stood up, he was now fully done with the whole thing of being in hell and being trapped with the only person who wasn't going to get him in trouble, and possibly killed by others. Cell would want that honour all to himself.

As if the universe heard the very thought that crossed his mind, Cell bursted forward the moment Gohan stumbled to his feet, and he grabbed a full head of hair from the boy, clenching it tightly and ignoring Gohan's pained screams as the bio-android flung him into the dirty ground and practically pounced on top of him, pinning down the extremely smaller body by the legs with his own as he punched the boy in the gut repeatedly. Bile rose from Gohan's throat and Cell luckily gave him the freedom to turn over off his back by rotating and shoving the boy face down into the dirt, but the release didn't last long as Gohan felt stabbing in his back over and over again like thick and sharp pins and needles were being shoved down into his skin, Cell's tail now out and the pointer end of it not absorbing the boy in anyway, instead just stabbing the pale skin through and outside of the odd clothing he wore the moment the two met again. Hot flashes and scorching tears ran from Gohan's eyes as he clenched at the dirt and kicked his legs up to get the bug away from him, but the android was perfectly on his knees squeezing the boy's torso and pelvis to keep him from moving, his arms crossed as his tail did all the work. He smirked satisfyingly as the scream from the boy began cracking and wheezes of pain came from his enemy. "Stop!"

"Cell please!"

"Cell I'll do anything just stop!" Cell froze, feeling like the long drawl of pain he brought upon the other was just a few measly seconds all caught up to him when Gohan shouted out those words through dust he kicked and clenched through. His tail scrunched and cracked, retracting back with blood dripping inches off the knife-like tip. "Alright brat, you got yourself a deal." He smirked, his face almost hurting from the grin appearing on his face after making his sole rival, his only perfect rival, say those words. Gohan limped as he felt Cell leave the sides of him, but a second later he was picked up by the head again and dragged to the lake, and he woke up instantly as he was thrown in, so he fought to keep his head up until he got onto shore.

"Clean yourself up." Cell didn't move and instantly Gohan was uncomfortable with his rival watching him strip his attacked top carefully. The water burned his wounds badly, but the feeling of slime in his own mouth led him to ignore it and instantly go to wash his face, mouth, everything above first, including removing the previous botched-headwrap from his very own enemy. Gohan shivered under Cell's judging gaze so he dipped into the water until his shoulders and below were submerged, he doesn't know why he didn't fight harder, but from how much worse his head felt, he assumed the worse, a concussion. His own vision was even dancing in complaint from the pain, and it explains why his limbs felt so slow, why his senses were off to not even see Cell coming from right next to him. He felt so useless in that moment, as vulnerable as the clothes he found in the first place were to his finding. Gohan wanted to be home, eat a senzu and go back to studying, he was done with hell, he was done with fighting, he just wanted to see his mom and baby brother again… "Hurry up brat, we need to head back before the sun sets again." Gohan scowled at him but it was the glare back that made a small noise bubble from his chest, one akin to a whimper that he prayed Cell didn't pick up, although anyone with knowledge of the DNA and structure of the droid knew just how satisfied he truly was to hear something pathetic come out of an equally as-pathetic rival. Though his own thought from earlier before throwing the other into the water, Gohan truly wasn't just his rival, it was one he could brutally torture and then turn around and let him heal, and Gohan would do the same to him, a rival truly unlike what Goku was. Goku gave him a senzu sure, but he didn't truly make Cell feel powerless once unlike the brat did to him, and he knew he made Gohan feel the same. The fight with Goku he could tell, even if he never sent Gohan in Goku would never be his rival, just someone to kill under Gero's orders, but Gero wasn't alive anymore, sure he was in hell and Cell has done his best to avoid him, but Gohan was where his fire truly roared. Gohan wasn't just a glorious rival, and was more than immaculate, so Cell supposed, as he gazed off in thought into the sky above, that Gohan is his perfect rival, through and through.

Looking down at the boy who winced at running water over his back and back of his arms, the android's mind ran with just how flawed the wannabe-pacifist was perfect, it ruined his mind to think of it that way but he felt satisfaction in watching the other build up again like he was now before getting slammed into a wall, or wherever Cell may decided he was going to lay the boy down for another beating, at least with each one, the boy would grow stronger and make each new experience fun that he hoped to see through. His thoughts were interrupted by Gohan walking onto the red sand, now outside the water and pants soaked completely, his upper half no longer dirty or bloody, although his back was slowly clotting up the wounds, they still oozed crimson very slowly. "Couldn't make the bleeding stop. Now what is your next big-grand torture scheme?" That spark of rebellion and anarchy in the other's onyx eyes made Cell smile crazily. It was good to see that the other wasn't giving up anytime soon, because that would make this next part so much fun.

"Well since you asked, oh so kindly, I want you to remember what you said to me just before I chucked you into the water." Gohan's eyes squinted and he snarled looking up at the smug-bug. "I didn't even think that would work, first of all, and second like I would actually ever listen to anything you or anyone has to say." He clenched his fists, looking like he was on the verge of blowing up again, but if he didn't want to get caught he would keep his power in check, and the saiyan hybrid kept this in mind. Gohan's face was beat red with annoyance and it made the android think of how cute it was that the boy couldn't do anything powering wise much if he didn't want to be caught by hell-goers, he only hoped with latching the boy onto his hip often guarded the young one's energy with his very own, perfect, ki. "I would watch your mouth, boy, after all you said anything- so I want you on your knees." Gohan stood silently, glaring up at him. Cell scowled and his tail protruded from his back again, making the other's eyes shrink. "Knees." The playful tone from the android's voice left fast, and it was now demanding instead of simply requesting.

The demi-saiyan blushed in embarrassment as he slowly, and achingly, fell to his knees on the moist-sand below. "Good, now bow." Cell was unamused outwardly, but internally he was excited to see if the boy would listen. "The hell I will-" Cell stomped forward, interrupting Gohan from continuing and lifted his leg, practically stomping Gohan's head down into the dirt, the pressure from the foot above his head and the harsh stone below the couple of centimetres of sand created a mini crater, and another ear-splitting headache to come through, his vision now white. "Well at least you listened to the first half, but next time I tell you to bow to me I expect it." Muffles came from the sand below and Cell laughed. "If that was anything in retort I want you to know-" He pressed down further with his foot, and using his still flowing tail he gave one last big stab directly into Gohan's exposed spine, isolated screams radiated from below in response. Gohan's body was lit on fire, as if he was a witch being sacrificed, and everything below in his body limped, sinking further into the sand after Cell removed the tip of his tail with a horrifying nasty squelch and pouring of blood down his back. "You'll regret it." Cell laughed as Gohan managed to barely push himself to his side to breath after the android backed off, and the teen found himself hyperventilating in attempts for air, but also because he couldn't move.

"Now get up, you can walk at least to the bottom of the mountain our cave is on?" His smugness went away mere seconds after realising the boy wasn't responding. Gohan's eyes were completely bloodshot and his pupils were un-dilated to a painful level, his back seeping blood and his arms twitching every few seconds, but his bottom half was completely immobilised. Cell remembered that with human anatomy, the spine controls most of the body functions, and where he struck finally clicked in his memory. He paralysed his enemy.

He mentally face palmed himself as he retracted his tail once more and swooped down to pick the boy up bridal style, and he instantly took off to the cliffside his 'home' resided on. Gohan didn't even seem to see where he was, all he could do was breathe intense and hastily, and Cell couldn't have his punching bag dead or out of the game just yet.

The moment they arrived he didn't hesitate to gently set Gohan onto the floor for a split moment as he grabbed the itchy and old makeshift-blanket from the slab bed and using one arm lifted the other up, who screamed in response, although Cell didn't find the time to complain, he did wish the brat would shut his mouth. Ripping up the blanket in a long, crooked strip, he lifted the boy's arms and wrapped the entirety of his torso, focusing on the hole he created in the hybrid's back. Picking him up once more as he did before, he laid the boy on his bed. "Wait here, or- nevermind, I'll be back, don't die brat." Cell scoffed, Gohan though couldn't hear it, nor could he see very well as his vision went in and out of darkness and blurry, what he did feel was the sudden warmth of the carpet-textured wrap around his torso which led him into a sleep that went unnoticed by the bug who flew out the cliff to a trustworthy source he could see whenever damage like this happened.

Although he would hate whatever conversation would come from it from the decrepit monk of hell who guarded the Yemma's Fruit Tree.

—

Cell landed in front of the old man, who was ready to face him with a smile. "Health troubles?" He asked, tapping at the one devil horn protruding from his forehead. "I need something that can heal up a giant hole in someone's body… and maybe paralysis." Gohan was no use to him being paralysed, not like he would say that though. The old man hummed, his creepy unsettling grin never leaving. "Here, take this to the young captive you have, and I better not see you again. Consider it a warning." Cell hated the chuckle that came from the other, his shock unhidden as he reached for the strange, blue and spiky fruit he was handed. The android didn't even say thanks as he flew off to Gohan with the fruit in tow, not wanting to be near the old man any longer.

"That bug is going to get us all in trouble, too bad I want to see it." The old man cackled watching the android fly further and further out.

—

Gohan coughed as he sat up, the taste of something bitter in his mouth but whatever it was, his aches went away almost immediately. He sat up and shot his head to the side where he saw a crouched Cell holding a bit into fruit. "Thank fucking god that worked. Thought that man tricked me for a moment…" Cell sighed in relief and stood up. "How's the back, brat?" Gohan raised a brow in suspicion to whatever he just ate, but he moved his legs and they flexed just fine and bent perfectly. "No pain, and they can move now so-..." Gohan stood up off the bed and looked up at Cell with an unreadable expression. "Any thanks or are you going to just stare at me all day?" The saiyan inhaled and opened his mouth slightly, but instead of speaking, he pushed Cell to the side and bolted out the from the depth of the cave, but as he began to lift off from the cliff side, his leg was caught by Cell and he was slammed into the ground, almost too softly, and was dragged back into the cave by the android, the hybrid clawing at the ground in attempts to leave and even heightening his power. "I wouldn't do that brat! Who knows what monstrosity would come if you powered up next to me!" Gohan's mind screamed to ignore him, but he obeyed and was almost instantly thrown back into the parallelled to the opening cave-wall. "Fuck you!" Gohan yelled as he stood up, although two hands slammed over his mouth in shock of what he just said, and Cell couldn't help but break the minute silence with laughter as he closed in. "Look at you! The so-called perfect scholar and son cursing out someone! First time judging off your face?" He couldn't hold in his boisterous voice anymore from the absolutely horrified look on the other's face as Gohan clenched around his mouth. "I- I didn't mean to-!"

"Didn't mean to what?! Get mad?" Cell cackled harder and doubled over, arms self hugging his gut in pain from it. The sun was setting by now behind the bug, but he wasn't tired from the day in the slightest, neither was Gohan, yet the lively teen sunk against a wall and just clenched at his hair, putting his head down into his knees. "You heal me and then laugh at me?" He muttered, not understanding the whole situation. "Well, whose fault was it for not obeying me, hm?" Cell was closer now, towering over the other. A blank stare craned its neck up painfully to look up at the standing droid. "Get some sleep brat, because this is only going to get worse from now on." He smirked and turned, and sat himself to meditate outside of the cave, right where the exit is, and Gohan knew the bioengineered being needed no sleep at all, so it would make said want of escape again impossible. Gohan didn't say a word as he laid on the slab and went limp, mind wind awake but the sky outside slowly turning into it's deep and dark, purplish-crimson, he would just close his eyes but he dare not lose track of feeling where Cell's energy was at all times.

Supposedly though, it wouldn't hurt to relax for just a minute…