Chapter 063 - Goku vs Cell
The tension started to rise as Goku stepped onto the Cell Games ring, his back now turned to his friends, many who were eager to see what the Super Saiyan could do against the android. Cell stood with his arms folded watching Goku as he moved against the tiles before finally coming to a stop.
"It's about to begin," Gohan muttered quietly.
"Yeah..." Krillin acknowledged the young Super Saiyan watching the ring carefully. Corset did not speak, too busy attempting to still her wild heart which pounded in her ribs. She felt so anxious for Goku, would all the resting he'd recently done since they came out of the Room of Spirit and Time come to haunt him or help him? What was Cell capable of now he was in his complete form? She hadn't properly laid eyes on him before, only seen him on television. His power felt incredible and she knew this was only the tip of the iceberg. There was no way this was all of his power, he'd be conserving.
'Good luck, Goku...' She took in a deep breath.
In a flash the fight had started as Goku dashed forward. A couple of blows were traded between him and Cell, both blocking the other's attacks with relative ease and competence. Goku leapt backwards dodging one of Cell's punches, back-flipping several times as Cell closely pursued. Landing on both his feet, Goku defensively placed both arms over his forehead blocking Cell's head-butt. In an instant the Saiyan flipped backwards aided by the force of Cell's hit and kicked the android high into the sky. The Saiyan jumped up after his opponent and charged up a Kamehameha, firing it up at his adversary. Cell saw it coming and slapped it to the side effortlessly. Then suddenly Goku was behind him; a punch to the off-guard android's back summoned a yelp of pain from Cell yet he retaliated sharply as his fist swung out and struck Goku in the face. Two fists slamming down into the Saiyan's body sent Goku shooting down rapidly towards the ground. Goku quickly regained control and landed on his hands and feet with a forced impact, cracking the tiles below.
Cell landed not too far from Goku as he rose to his feet. "I think that should be enough for a warm-up," the android mused.
Thankfully the reporter and Mr Satan were staring at the ring gobsmacked! Corset smiled satisfied and averted her eyes back to the ring.
"Now the real fighting will begin," Krillin muttered.
Whilst the television reporter and 'world's savour' muttered some unimportant words to each other Corset kept her eyes peeled on the two competitors. Goku's posture changed.
'He's gotta be getting serious now,' Corset noted to herself.
The Saiyan's ki began to increase, his aura expanding around him brightening the immediate area in a sea of yellow. The sudden shockwave and strong winds pushed against those surrounding the ring, dust whipping up and flying through the air. Corset stood calmly, waiting for Goku to hit his full potential. As his ki continued to rise it passed the point Corset'd once witnessed Goku climb to during her training; whatever happened now was new to her...
Eventually Goku's rising ki levelled off and he stood before his opponent, body shimmering in a golden glow.
"Unbelievable... Goku is just unbelievable," Trunks spoke in awe.
"His ki is immeasurable," Krillin grinned. "It's way beyond all of us!"
Corset wasn't sure if she agreed. She was certain Goku was still holding something back but couldn't be too sure. It felt as if this wasn't all he had; Goku still had more power to give if needed.
Now it was Cell's turn. The android created an equally strong shockwave knocking the unsuspecting human spectators off their feet and several metres away! Quickly his power reached Goku's level. It had to be true; neither of them could be at full power as they were both on equal terms...
Goku approached the android and the two stared down at the other for a brief moment.
"Bring it," Cell jeered.
"Alright..." Goku's fist lodged itself in Cell's abdomen, elbow striking down Cell's head before his kick sent him soaring up into the sky. A punch decked the android and sent him rebounding off the arena floor and over towards the edge-
Cell abruptly stopped and floated in mid-air, a peculiar smile on his face as he altered himself to an upright position. "Good... It's no fun unless you're on equal terms!" He landed a couple of feet from the edge of the ring, drawing his hands back in a familiar fashion. "Ka... Me..."
"Wait!" Goku gasped. "Don't shoot a Kamehameha while you're so high revved up!"
"Ha... Me..." The cry had fallen on deaf ears and Cell seemed to have a taunting smirk on his face.
Corset gulped and began to worry; an attack at this magnitude would severely damage the surrounding area and easily kill them all!
"He's going to fire it!" Vegeta cried.
"Cell - up here!" Goku bellowed jumping up into the air.
"HAAA!" Cell fired off his Kamehameha straight for the fleeing Goku, narrowly missing the on-looking spectators! Corset found herself being pushed back on her heels, putting up her guard and attempting to defend herself against the powerful gusts of wind, slowly stumbling backwards. The bright blue beam shot up into space closing in on the now trapped Goku...
For the briefest of moments she could have sworn Goku's ki had vanished.
Then Goku appeared behind Cell. The move caught the android by surprise along with everyone else; Goku lodging a kick to the off-guard android's face and sending him to the tiled floor once again. Cell quickly flipped back onto his feet ten metres across the ring.
Corset breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment she was sure Goku would be caught by that Kamehameha. Then again Goku was a master of fast movement and thinking during battle, no one else would have been able to escape it.
"That Kamehameha couldn't have missed!" Cell snarled. "You disappeared like that once before too..."
"It's called Instant Transmission," Goku explained, "I guess you didn't know I could do that."
"I see. What an annoying technique..." Cell muttered.
"...Tell me, would you have let that Kamehameha destroy the Earth if I hadn't jumped?" Goku asked.
Cell smirked, "... I knew you would jump. To answer your question though, I'd destroy the Earth without batting an eye... It would just cost me a little fun, that's all."
'Just a little fun?' Corset repeated in shock. 'Is this all this is about? Cell's killing people and threatening to destroy this planet because it's fun?'
Cell went on the attack, this time striking Goku down more than receiving hits. The small scuffle didn't last too long as Goku crashed down onto the floor, Cell teleporting behind him clearly outmanoeuvring his opponent. "I think I'm pretty fast myself," he smugly jeered.
The next couple of minutes saw neither fighter gain much of an advantage for long. Both fighters' energies were slowly being beaten down albeit Corset'd noticed Goku's was falling a lot faster than Cell's. She'd crossed her fingers by her side as she watched, hoping Goku would pull out something to surprise Cell with. They couldn't afford for this to continue.
Goku had to do something drastic and fast!
The Saiyan warrior was struck in the face and sent down onto his back; he landed on his hands and swung his legs up, kicking Cell back up into the sky. Hurriedly Goku flipped upright and teleported. Both fighters were moving incredibly fast, Corset just about able to keep up with their movements. The fight moved high up into the air as both continued to teleport, dodging the others moves before finally they reached a small break.
From their lack of moment she guessed they were talking again though it was hard to tell considering how high above them the two of them were.
"Those two are ridiculously fast!" Krillin cried astounded.
"W-Where'd they go?" She heard the reporter cry; it looked like he, Mr Satan and the camera man were still alive but had no clue where Goku and Cell had vanished to.
"EVERYBODY! GET AWAY FROM THE RING!"
Goku's frantic yell caught her attention and she stared back up; Cell's ki was charging and he seemed to be holding his hand towards the ground before them or possibly straight towards them!
Without any second thoughts, she pushed herself away as fast as she could turning in the air. The explosion from behind pushed her forwards and sent her tumbling head over feet, rolling across the ground with a lack of control. The roar was almost deafening and she could barely see through the bright light and dust. Through the confusion she scrambled to her feet and looked back behind her, stunned to see the place where the tournament ring had once been was now a gaping big hole in the ground!
"You alright?"
Gohan wasn't too far from her; Corset looked over to him and nodded, "Yeah, just got caught in the wind, that's all."
"That was close..." Krillin sighed in relief as he emerged from the light coating of dust that now covered the ground.
Corset looked around; it seemed everyone else was ok and still in one piece. Her attention turned back to the sky and then to where the attack had struck, surprised and shocked to see the entire arena ring had been destroyed. The action puzzled her; why had Cell destroyed his own ring?
The two fighters made their way down onto the ground, talking a little more. Corset felt perhaps it was safe to say all those rules that had once applied were now obsolete since they didn't even have a ring anymore! Perhaps the android had different ideas for how the tournament should end. He had been wanting to fight Goku after all.
Cell jumped forwards and fired off a barrage of energy blasts at Goku, the Saiyan dodging and diving out of harm's way. The battlefield quickly became coated in dust as the attack continued, Goku on the move as Cell fired blast after blast.
"Get outta there Goku!" Krillin cried.
Corset watched anxiously; Cell's blasts were fast and were just missing Goku by inches. It would only be a matter of time before he made a successful hit, she was sure of it. He had to make his move now.
Goku suddenly jumped straight up for the sky through the smoke, hovering high above them.
"What's he up to?" Krillin asked no one in particular.
Goku drew his hands back behind him.
"Everyone take cover!" Piccolo gasped, "Goku's about to unleash the Kamehameha!"
"From way up there?" Corset wondered. If she wasn't mistaken, the blast would surely make contact with the ground; Goku was still revved up pretty high. A blast at the magnitude he was at would destroy the Earth! This baffled her; Goku wouldn't ever put the Earth in danger like that... right?
"He won't do it!" Krillin smiled, "not with the Earth in his line of fire!"
Cell didn't move from his spot as Goku continued to charge, almost as if he was calling his bluff. Yet with every second that passed the more nervous Corset got! Goku was still charging up power!
"He's doing it!" Vegeta gasped.
"Don't do it, Dad!" Gohan bellowed.
'Goku!' Corset felt her breath hitch in her throat terrified.
Goku vanished.
In the blink of an eye he stood inches from Cell, tossing his hands forward "HAAA!" He fired the blast at point blank on Cell before he'd even had a chance to move. The Kamehameha quickly engulfed the violently shaking ground, Corset once again finding herself being pushed back from the force of the shockwave...
When the dust settled, Goku stood panting with his hands still held out, body drooping slightly under the toll it had taken from using so much energy. A couple of feet away from him was Cell... or his remaining lower half! The top half had been completely disintegrated in the attack.
"He did it!" Yamcha cried happily.
"Of course, he used Instant Transmission!" Tenshinhan realised.
"We won!" Yamcha laughed, looking at the others. His laugh came to an abrupt stop. "... Hey, what's wrong?"
Corset carefully observed Cell's body confused. He'd been hit at point blank and his head and arms destroyed... so why was she still sensing his ki?
"Watch out, Goku -" Krillin bellowed frantically, "- Cell's gonna regenerate!"
Corset gasped and stared at the bald warrior, "regenerate? You mean like Piccolo can?"
"I mean exactly like Piccolo can," Krillin nodded, "Remember, he's got Piccolo's cells inside of him!"
As if on cue Cell's lower half suddenly sprung to life, jumping onto his feet startling several of the witnesses! Just as Krillin had predicted his body began to shudder and squirm before finally a new and reformed Cell sprung free from his carcass! Corset winced and tried to hold down the lump in her throat; that hadn't been the most pleasant thing she'd ever seen!
After a few exchanges of words the fight quickly resumed, both fighters now taking heavy blows. The pace of the fight had slowed somewhat which was understandable since both warriors had used up so much energy, though Goku was still far shorter of ki than Cell and the gap seemed to be worryingly increasing.
Corset gulped nervously. This was bad. That Kamehameha had drained Goku of a lot of his energy and although Cell had lost a lot of his own energy through the attack and regenerating, his power was still higher than Goku's. He even seemed to have a slight advantage now as Goku was punched straight into a nearby boulder and vanished behind the rocky pile.
With a terrific yell, Goku expelled his rocky tomb and began to rapidly fire energy attacks at Cell who hovered above, bombarding the android with every attack. In an equally powerful display of his strength, Cell suddenly emitted a strange glow as something circular began to expand in all directions, slowly pushing the impact of Goku's attacks away from him.
The strange energy grew closer and closer, Corset having to step back as it struck the small outcrop she and the others watched from!
Goku ceased his attack, now looking tired and worn down much to everyone's horror.
Cell cancelled his force-field and glanced down at the warrior below him, his voice loud enough for Corset to pick up on. "You've lost a lot of strength Goku. Why don't you take a senzu bean; it'll make for a more interesting battle!"
"He's right," Trunks gasped, "We should give Goku a senzu bean and all turn on Cell; he should be weak enough by now!" His attention had fallen onto Krillin though the short bald fighter seemed reluctant to reach for the senzu beans which baffled both Trunks and Corset, though Corset had an inkling she knew why...
"Come on, Krillin!" Trunks protested.
"Shut up, Trunks!" Vegeta barked.
Corset looked over at her dad curiously; he'd been rather quiet throughout this whole fight considering it was Goku and Cell fighting.
"I guess you don't have a Saiyan's pride!" The Saiyan Prince snapped sounding disappointed. "I'm sure Kakarrot would rather choose death than disgrace himself with those beans! He's no longer fighting to save the Earth... Remember that."
"... But at this rate...!" Trunks stuttered.
"Yes," Vegeta nodded, "He'll definitely lose."
So her suspicions had been right after all. Corset gulped and glanced back over towards Goku; he was still trying to catch his breath back and hadn't made a move to attack Cell, probably thinking of his next move.
"I hate the thought but I'll admit it," Vegeta continued, "I've trained hard but I could never beat Kakarrot; he's brilliant! Unfortunately Cell was a couple of steps ahead of him!"
"So what are we supposed to do? Just stand here and watch?" Trunks demanded horrified. "I won't be a part of it!"
"You said yourself he must have a plan!" Vegeta answered. "Place your hopes on that..."
Goku's ki suddenly lowered. Corset's head spun away from her family as she looked back at towards the warrior. His defences were down and he was smiling. Was he about to pull off some new, amazing transformation or technique? If he was, why had his energy gone down instead of up?
"I lose," Goku shouted up to his opponent, "I give up. You've shown me how strong you are."
Corset gasped in disbelief. "What?"
"H-He's giving up?" Krillin exclaimed.
"What is he thinking?" Piccolo barked.
"No Dad, don't give up!" Gohan cried horrified.