Chapter 34: Broken
So some people weren't happy with the Gohan vs. Broly fight. Well, neither was I, in retrospect, and I've edited chapter 32 in two ways:
1. Fixed a thing that said Goku had the power of 'four' Super Saiyans inside him-Gohan was too scared to give energy, so that's been changed to 'three'. And that's why it didn't work, by the way.
2. Basically rewrote Gohan's fight against Broly. The outcome is the same-the events themselves are basically the same-but it's presented differently, with a little more...drama, I guess.
Thanks to Bringer of Death's davidstarlingm for suggesting the basis of the alternative approach I used. Finally, before I start this chapter properly, I'd like to thank you all for sticking with me even though the android saga so far has been a bit by-the-books. As in, it's stuck rather close to canon. I mean, obviously there were differences, but compare it to, say, the Namek arc, and...well. That was mainly due to the pressures of writing these things so quickly, it was just easier, I guess. So to help improve the quality of this story in future, and to give me more time to think of more original plot developments, I will unfortunately only be updating on Sundays from now on. More about my schedule at the end of this chapter.
Goku
Awake. It's the day. Cell. Stay calm. We can do this. We have Gohan. Chi-Chi reassures me, but I can see the fear behind her eyes. She doesn't want Gohan to fight. "I don't either. But don't worry. It won't even be a challenge. He'll wipe the floor with Cell with this new power." I wish I believed that.
Breakfast. Dressed. Second breakfast. Warm-up. Third breakfast. Okay. Ready as I can be. Super Saiyan—no, I'm already transformed. I'm getting nervous. Losing focus. Calm. It's going to be—wait…Gohan, what's—?
Raditz
Couldn't sleep. Cruised over the ocean. Back now. Roshi's up. Good luck, he says. Luck isn't an issue here. Gohan is stronger than Cell, or he isn't. Why am I even going?
No, don't think like that. This is important. Dress. Armour? I stopped wearing it when fighting Cooler—didn't want to wear his symbol—but, you know…I could use every advantage I can get. Three mourning bands. Bardock. Goku. And…what was her name? Why can't I remember? How long has it been since I've been able to remember her name? Put it out of my mind. Focus now. The battle approaches.
Is Break concealing something? I can't help but feel she hasn't quite got the same level of control over Super Saiyan as we have. The occasional flicker, and the rage resurfaces momentarily. Never mind. We can worry about it later. She's up. Oh, she cut her hair back to shoulder-length. Eh. I imagine it could be inconvenient—I guess I'm just used to it.
Break
Raditz was already awake and dressed for battle. Typical. I roll out of bed, climb to my feet. Clothes. Going to need something to fight in…ah. There it is. I remember—Bulma was annoyed at having to make it at the last minute, but she came through. It's a set of saiyan armour. And not just any armour—it's an exact copy of the set one of my grandfather Bardock's comrades wore. Her name was Fasha, I think? Finally—I've been in civilian clothes for too long. I discard them, and put it on.
It feels good. The fabric is an alien make, stretching to perfectly fit any size (I couldn't wear Raditz's—they were tailored exactly to him, and while they can stretch to become larger, they can't get smaller). It's a dark shade of pink, a colour I never liked much, but I think it must have been by association. Here, it looks fine. I tap on the armoured chestplate a couple of times—durable, but not heavy at all.
Now I look the part. I feel like a warrior, possibly for the first time. Just remember what he's taught me. Saiyan, but still human. If that makes sense.
We raid the fridge, prompting cries of protest from the others. Whatever. Time to go. The world isn't going to wait.
Launch.
She stands in the doorway, holding back tears. They share a moment. I try not to look. Then it's my turn. Lingering. I don't want to leave, but I don't want to stay. Goodbye? Maybe. I hope not. Please, come through for us, Gohan.
Nail
I've been meditating for 12 hours. I can feel Cell like a distant pressure on my mind. It's time. They're awake. I stand. Leave the Capsule Corp building silently. Take off. I'm just going to observe, really. Gohan will win. I've been studying his power, and Cell's. It's hidden, but no amount of concealment can defeat the level of searching I've been doing.
Gohan will win. I know this. So why am I still so worried? What could happen?
Krillin
It's time. Oh man, I'm gonna die, I'm too young to die...No, we'll be okay. We've got Gohan. Apparently he took down this Broly guy like it was nothing.
But Cell…ah, who am I kidding, we're all doomed.
Are we?
What am I doing? What difference can I make? Cheering them on? When even the Super Saiyans might not get a shot? Well…I can't just stay home and let them go out and fight. I guess that settles it. My conscience won't let me stay behind. It doesn't matter, anyway—we're all dead if Gohan loses.
Why is Eighteen stuck in my head? She's gone. Forget her. She was probably going to kill me sooner than talk to me, anyway. Forget her…but I can't.
Zarbon
Yes, I could leave.
I could just up and leave this planet to get destroyed. But I won't. Because I know Bulma wouldn't. And I wouldn't abandon her for the entire universe.
You think I'm exaggerating? I could own a fairly large chunk of said universe, if I wanted. There really aren't many people out there who could stand up to me. But I'm here, on Earth. Here at the end of the world.
What? Yes, I said it. The end. We're going to lose. I'm not kidding myself-I experienced Cell's power myself, however briefly, and I know what I'm talking about. But I'm going to be there when it happens. It's a better end than some I can think of.
Bulma
It's not finished!
Well, it is. Sort of. I mean, theoretically it might work. But I haven't had time to perform even the most preliminary tests! Dad says it'll work. He would. I guess we won't know until we try.
Still, Raditz's last-minute armour request for Break gave me an idea. I've got a little gift for him. Eh, I'll give it to him when we get there.
What? Yeah, I'm going. This is everyone's battle. I'm not getting left out. Besides, I might be one of their best chances for winning this thing. Bulma Brief, saviour of the Earth...has a nice ring to it, don'tcha think?
Wave to mom and dad. Anti-Cell device stowed away. Capsule—jetbike. Time to go to work.
Gohan
Oh. It's the day. I should be confident. How can I fail? But I'm terrified. Can I— Woah. Almost tripped getting out of bed. Not a good start. Heh.
Still. That was weird. Not like me to lose my balance like that. Oh well. Probably just still tired. Eh. Getting dressed. An outfit just like dad's. I like that. I know they expect a lot from me. I'll try and deliver. I can't help but feel a little resentment, though…why should a kid be expected to save the whole world by himself?
No, don't think like that. They're only depending on me because they don't have anybody else. And this is going to be easy, right? I mean, Broly—uh…whoa.
Room's spinning. I'm not a Super Saiyan, when did that—
I'm on the floor. How did I get here? And why do I feel…
"Dad!" My voice sounds so distant. Hot. Cold. Colours starting to distort. Can't…
Goku rushed into the room. "Gohan! What's—oh, no!" He saw his son on the floor, bent down to pick him up. Chi-Chi beat him to it, sprinting downstairs carrying the boy. She laid him on the couch, scurrying around fetching wet towels, tablets, medicines. Gohan groaned. Goku felt his forehead—extremely high temperature. It was so sudden! He was fine yesterday…what kind of disease could have done this? Gohan gritted his teeth, his hand desperately clawing at his chest. Goku leaned down. "What is it, son? Does it hurt there?" Slowly, as though only half-awake, Gohan nodded. Wait…his…heart? Could it be…
"Chi-Chi! I know what the problem is!" He snapped his fingers. "It's the heart virus Break warned us about!"
Chi-Chi skidded to a halt, dropping the armful of medicines. "I thought she said you were going to get it…actually, when you didn't, I forgot about the whole thing…" her face lit up. "But she gave you the cure, didn't she?" Without waiting for an answer, she headed upstairs. "Don't worry, I'll get it! Our little boy will be just fine."
"Right…" Goku sat down next to Gohan, who was breathing heavily, his body violently convulsing. The timeline must've altered even more than we thought! What next? "It's okay, son. You're going to be fine. Just hold on, Mom's going to…" His eyes widened. What's this I'm sensing?! No, that's impossible, he wouldn't— There was a crash from upstairs. Goku sprang to his feet and climbed the stairs with superhuman speed. He was too late—Chi-Chi was in her bedroom, looking startled. The room was half-destroyed, one wall ripped out and the cool air blowing gently inside. "Chi-Chi! Don't tell me…"
"C-C-Cell…" her teeth were chattering, her pupils dilated. "He took…he took the…" she gulped. "Goku, he's got Gohan's medicine!"
Goku growled. "Not on my watch!" He leapt into the air, taking off after Cell's receding energy trail as his golden aura burst into life. It took less than a minute for the high-velocity chase to end up with both standing at the base of Korin Tower, Cell having beaten his pursuer by several seconds.
"Ah, Goku," Cell said, nodding to the Super Saiyan. "You're just in time…"
Gohan's tortured, anguished face filled his father's mind. "Give me that medicine, you bastard!"
"Heh." Cell sneered. "You can have it, if you like…it's hidden underground, a few miles from here, along with the Dragon Radar. Of course, you've got no chance of getting time to search for them while I'm still alive—call it insurance. I did take one other item of interest, while you were all gallivanting off into space, but I'm keeping this one closer to hand…" he held up a standard-looking capsule.
"Huh? What's inside?" Goku asked.
"That's for me to know…" Cell closed his hand, concealing it again.
"How did you know where the medicine was, anyway?" Goku demanded. "And why steal it now?"
"Simple!" Cell shrugged. "I knew how you died in my timeline. I reasoned Break would want to prevent it, and there's only one known cure. I sensed Gohan's energy drop in that particular way—the amplified Super Saiyan metabolism actually making it worse. Clearly the virus striking. Then, using the schematics of your house in Dr. Gero's database, I isolated the most likely area for you to store it."
"I get it." Goku nodded. "You felt Gohan's power when he returned from Earth. You know what he's capable of, don't you? You're scared of him."
"Don't be ridiculous!" Cell snapped. "I fear no being."
"Sure."
Raditz and Break arrived at this point, shortly followed by Zarbon and Nail, and finally Krillin. "Ah, the gang's all here," Cell said with a soft laugh.
"What happened to Gohan?" Krillin asked.
Goku sighed. "Heart virus. Cell took the cure." There was a pause as this sunk in. They were on their own. Despair began to take hold.
"Let's not waste time." Goku told them. "I won't lie, I don't like our odds. But I know all of you. You're great fighters, and we won't let each other down. Fight hard. Don't die easy...uh, where's Bulma? And Kuriza, for that matter..."
"I don't know." Zarbon shrugged. "They should be here by now. Maybe they had to stop and do something...or they forgot something...I don't know. We'll have to do this with who we've got."
"In such a rush to get started?" Cell asked. "One moment." He grunted, his power fluctuating wildly, and his tail (hidden under his wings in his perfect form) flared out into the funnel shape. Something shot out from within…and stood up, grinning maliciously.
Raditz's eyes widened. "What the…it's like a miniature Cell!" It was followed by six more, emerging in a staggered line and grinning like idiots. Each stood no more than a couple of feet high, its pale blue coloration contrasting with Cell's green.
"These are my Cell Juniors," Cell explained, indicating the chattering group as his tail retreated back under his wings. "Don't be fooled—each is nearly as powerful as I am myself."
"What's this?" Nail demanded. "Going to have them do your work for you?"
"Nothing of the sort," Cell replied. "But there's so many of you, and just little old me…I'll fight one of you at a time. If the rest try to interfere, my Cell Juniors will step in." The seven Cell Juniors stood in a row in front of Cell, with an opening in the middle of their line. "Now, who will fight me first? Step forwards."
One on one? Goku thought. This day just keeps getting worse. He opened his mouth to volunteer. No particular reason—it was just the kind of thing he did.
"I'll go first." Break stepped forwards.
"Break? Are you sure—"
"HAAAAH!" She responded by almost instantly powering up to her maximum, flooring Zarbon and Krillin.
Goku blinked. Her power…it's like I suspected when we fought Broly, she's as least as strong as me…
"I need to do this," she told them. "This whole mess is partly my fault. And you've all shown so much kindness to me…" she smiled. "I've got to meet my parents. All the great heroes I've heard about. And I've been able to see what the world should be like. Thank you all." With that, she turned and walked up to Cell. "Let's go."
"Very well." Cell raised his arms in his peculiar stance, one hand over the other. "Start when you like."
"Hah!" Standing only a couple of feet away to begin with, she started with a low kick that he jumped over. Again…his speed never fails to amaze me… She leaned to the side, blocking Cell's first punch and launching a jab at his side, which he caught, swinging his knee at her face. She broke away, jumping several metres back and coming to a halt.
"Ah, quite impressive." Cell smiled. "This will be entertaining. The girl from the future…my first challenger. This day is starting out rather splendidly!"
"Does anyone else hear that?" Zarbon asked.
"Yes…" Raditz spat. "There's no mistaking the sound of an ego that large."
Goku put his head in his hands. "It's Mr. Satan, isn't it?"
"Unfortunately."
"The atmosphere here is incredible!" The commentator boomed. "Hercule Satan, Earth's greatest hero, is about to confront the monstrous Cell! How do you feel, champ?"
"How do I feel?" Hercule flashed a grin. "I feel like kicking some ass!"
"Simply astounding! Even in the face of death, his confidence never falters for a second! I…who's that?" Raditz, powered down into his normal state, stood blocking their path. "Hey! Get out of the way! Hercule's on his way to—"
"Yes, yes, defeat Cell and save the world." Raditz frowned. "Go home."
"Uh…"
"You heard me." Raditz pointed away from the battlefield. "Go."
Hercule marched up to the saiyan. "Oh, really? Sorry, mister, I'm here on business. Now get out of my way, or this might have to get ugly."
Raditz sighed. "You're not going to listen, I guess. You're completely in over your head, you know. Cell's far too powerful for you to stop."
"Are you questioning my abilities?!" Enraged, Hercule swung a fist at Raditz, who didn't bother to lift a hand to stop it. The punch connected with his jaw, to no effect.
"'Questioning' would be an exaggeration."
"Wha…what kind of trick is this?" Hercule spun around, delivering a powerful kick to Raditz's stomach, again to no avail. The saiyan just flared a tiny amount of ki, throwing Hercule to the ground. "I see…" Hercule jumped back up. "You're pretty good with all that smoke and mirrors stuff, huh? But your cheap tricks can't fool me!"
Raditz snorted. "Trick? Nothing of the sort. I'm just a real warrior—something you wouldn't know anything about."
"Go on, prove it!" Hercule shouted. "Stop standing there and fight!"
"Fine. But remember, you brought this on yourself." Raditz stepped forwards, closing the distance in the blink of an eye, the lightest tap from one of his knuckles flinging the martial arts champion several metres back. "This can go on as long as you want it to, or you can recognise the truth."
"What…I…it's a-a trick, that's all!" Hercule told the cameraman following the fight. "You don't believe him, surely?"
"Uh…" the commentator looked at the camera, which was relaying the footage live to millions. "No comment. You've seen it with your own eyes, folks—it's up to you to decide. Parlour tricks? Or is this superman for real? Either way—whose side is he on? Is he in league with Cell, or is this Earth's true hero?" Raditz remained motionless. I don't care what he thinks. All that matters is that he isn't going to get himself killed.
Break charged again, but Cell ducked her kick. She spun in the air, swinging her other leg down and knocking him to the ground. Cell shot bursts of ki from both hands, propelling himself into an upwards shoulder-charge that took Break by surprise, winding her. She fell away, righting herself in mid-air and blocking Cell's follow-up punch. He pressed the attack, pushing her slowly back. "Well, this is a surprise!" Cell laughed. "You may well be the strongest of the lot…"
But still, she realised, I get the feeling he's holding back, even now. Just how powerful is he? Only one way to find out, I guess… "Okay!" She started dashing left and right at random, putting on bursts of speed and throwing out afterimages to confuse Cell. He hesitated, his eyes flicking back and forth between them. The real Break appeared behind him, and he noticed at the last second, turning just in time to raise a hand to block. The punch never came—instead, a volley of red-tinged energy bullets from her other hand drove him into the ground. She dived down at him, aiming for his exposed midsection with both feet, but he caught her by the ankles and threw her away into the air.
Stopping her flight, she floated down to Cell, who was standing up with apathetic slowness. "I have to admit, Cell, you're a fighting genius," she told him.
He smiled. "I didn't declare myself 'perfect' for nothing. This is the combined tactical knowledge of all your greatest warriors at work, combined to form the ultimate combat machine!"
"Let's test that, shall we?" They disappeared, loud crashes reverberating around the landscape.
"Uh…" Nail glanced back and forth. "Can…can you keep up with their movements?"
"Of course!" Goku looked faintly puzzled. "Can't you?"
Break…I wish I could help… Nail looked at the assembled Cell Juniors. But I fear any intervention we made would just make things worse. Besides, I think this is how you'd have wanted to do this—alone. You do take after your parents…
The fighters reappeared as a quick energy blast from Break's eyes took Cell by surprise, and his last-minute dodge left him open to an elbow jammed into his shoulder. He fell away, gritting his teeth, and she pursued relentlessly, a double-fisted swing smashing him to the ground. This time, he was on his feet in an instant, becoming slowly more wary of her abilities. "I have to admit, this really is a pleasant surprise." Cell smiled. "But let's be practical. You don't have to do this. You could just leave…if you had this, of course." He held up the mysterious capsule again.
"What's that…?" She dropped to the ground, cautiously edging closer. Cell pressed the switch, throwing the capsule to the ground, the miracle technology opening out and revealing the much larger contents—a multi-legged yellow vehicle. "Hey!" Break gasped. "That's…my time machine? How'd you get it?"
"Simple. Anyone fast enough to notice my passing was in space, so I took the liberty." Cell indicated the machine. "You don't have to remain in the past. Go ahead, leave—you're now easily powerful enough to destroy both the imperfect version of me, and the androids, in your timeline."
"You'd…let me leave?"
"But of course." Cell shrugged. "I'm nothing if not practical—the less fighters who oppose me, the better. We'd both gain something from this."
Her mind, of course, was already made up. "You know I can't abandon these people."
"But what about your family? Your real family, in your time." He studied her reactions carefully as he spoke. "Bulma? Trunks? Gohan?"
Break took a deep breath. "The last time I saw them…Trunks was dead. Android Eighteen was beating Gohan into the ground. Bulma might have got away."
"You see? Why don't you go help them? If I kill you here, there'll be nobody to save them…"
"I can't do that." Break smiled. "I'd be betraying Gohan's trust!"
"What? That doesn't make sense…"
"He'll find a way. There's always a way. I have complete faith in him, he won't let himself lose. And even if they get past him, Bulma will think of something. She always does. Here, though, things are different. You're a much greater threat than the androids ever were..."
Cell scowled. "You're delusional."
"Gohan and Bulma will come through. They'd all want me to stop you. If I run now…I've let everyone down. Here and there. And one more thing…" She waved a hand with a ripple of ki, and the time machine abruptly exploded.
"What?!"
She grinned. "…I can't fight you at my full potential with that kind of distraction there! I won't allow that temptation to exist in my mind—now I can be completely focused on victory. The here and now."
"You…fool!" He hissed.
"Maybe so. But I'd rather be a fool than the kind of person who'd betray all these people." She raised her guard. "Billions, Cell. There are billions of people on this planet. And thanks to my father…I now appreciate how important every single one of them is! And you threatened to wipe them all out…just because you were bored? There's no way you're going to win!"
"If you say so…" he charged her, alternating high and low strikes to keep her on the move. She stepped back, dodging out of the path of his latest attack, but he just continued the movement of the punch, dropping forwards onto his hand and springing off the ground towards her, kicking with both feet. Crossing her arms in front of her face, she took the attack head-on, sliding back with the force of it. Then she jumped, Cell's charge carrying him further on underneath her, and she slammed him down into the dirt again, leading with her knee. Cell threw his ki outwards in a sickly green flare of light, knocking her off and springing into the air.
"Get back here!" She blurred as she chased after him, their soaring forms colliding in mid-air and trading furious, high-speed blows. She landed a punch to his jaw, he kneed her in the gut. He kicked her in the side, she hit him square in the chest. Neither seemed about to give way.
Hercule was flat on his back, panting. He'd been trying, without success, to get past Raditz, for several minutes. Raditz shrugged. "I'm going back to watch the fight now. Be warned—that was just a tiny fraction of what I'm capable of, and I'm pretty sure Cell's a lot stronger than me."
"Well…" The commentator shrugged, almost lost for words, as Hercule lost consciousness. "You saw it here first, folks!"
Break ducked under an overhead swing, landing a solid kick to Cell's abdomen, doubling him over. She grabbed hold of his crown-like head structure in one hand, shoving him face-first into the dirt, but he took hold of her attacking arm in both hands and levered himself up, forcing her down and kicking off of her. Cell somersaulted away, only to see Break's afterimage fade—and a concentrated energy wave fly at him from behind. Cell spun quickly, grimacing and kicking it away into the air with some effort.
The battle resumed in full, each attack shaking the surrounding hills. Finally, the pair came to a halt a few feet a part. "Heh heh heh…"
"Still laughing?" She brushed some dirt off of her shoulder, rubbing a painful spot where she'd blocked a full-force blow with her forearm. That's going to bruise tomorrow… "I can tell you're holding back, Cell." The saiyan battle-hunger shined in her eyes. "But knowing what I do about you…you're going to save your reserves for the most satisfying moment. So—all I have to do is give you a challenge, and I'll get to see the greatest power in the universe…"
"So ready to die?" Cell sneered. "But you're right…with so many fighters to take care of, I can't reveal everything straight off the bat. So for the moment, indulge me…there's a technique I've been wanting to try." He raised a hand into the air on each side of his head, palms facing the sky. "Actually, I only just thought of it while we've been fighting."
"Do what you want…" Break settled into a more defensive stance, waiting for Cell's next move.
"Oh, I intend to. I think I'll call this one…the SOLAR KIENZAN!" With that, two reddish-purple discs of energy sprung into life above his hands. His eyes narrowed, and the discs began to grow brighter until they were too brilliant to look at.
"Gah!" Break stumbled back, shielding her eyes, and this sudden staggering movement saved her life—the first disc hummed past her to the right, exactly where she'd been standing moments before, cutting through several trees before curving around and shooting back at her from behind. At the same moment, Cell released the second disc, flinging it at her head-on.
"I see…" Goku muttered. "Cell's combining techniques. Krillin's sharpened Kienzan attack…he can direct its movements, like Yamcha's Spirit Ball…and he's imbued it with the same blinding property as Tien's Solar Flare!"
"Break!" Krillin shouted. "Don't look at them! Try to feel their position!"
Break jumped as the discs passed inches beneath her. "Is this a bad time to mention my ki sense has never been the best, exactly?"
"Oh, wonderful…" Krillin shook his head. "Just wonderful."
Break twitched to the side as a ki spike behind her warned her of an incoming disc, the twin attacks directed by Cell's expert control and precision. The second disc flew around from the left, heading straight for her neck. She heard the deadly hum at the last moment, and flung herself out of the way, but the edge of the disc caught her as she moved, shearing off a lock of hair and slashing right through her armoured shoulder-strap, biting into her flesh. It was only a shallow cut, but it stung like crazy—the Kienzan was almost impossibly sharp. "Aagh!" she cried, resisting the urge to grab onto her injured shoulder and stem the bleeding. Such a clean cut wouldn't bleed too much anyway, and she needed to be alert to stay alive—full concentration.
"It's like I feared…" Nail said. "Just one direct hit from those things, and it's all over…and if you so much as look at them, you're blinded and an easy target."
The discs came around again, and she dived towards the ground, flying low, straight at Cell. The discs, gaining on her from behind—as if things weren't unfair enough, they were faster than her too—throwing up huge dust clouds as they carved thin lines into the rock beneath.
"Ah, I see," Cell gloated, "you're trying to make me choose between having to dodge my own attacks, or dissipate them to fight you hand-to-hand. But you underestimate me. I'm not limited by your inferior minds! Maintaining those attacks while fighting you face-to-face is no problem!" He held up his hands in a triangle shape. "Like this—TRI-BEAM, HAAA!" A massive beam of yellow light raced at her, and she pushed off the ground with one hand to quickly change directions, dodging the Tri-Beam. But as she rolled and stood up again, one of the pursuing discs flashed in the corner of her eye, the blinding light forcing her eyes shut. In a panic, she jumped back, hearing the telling hum of a disc just missing her in front, but the clumsy movement made her easy prey for Cell—he appeared behind her, punching her to the ground. As she fell, she caught the edge of a disc again, but this time it was no clean cut—she twisted as she landed, opening up a ragged gash in her leg.
Cell grinned, recalling the discs to hover above his outstretched hands. "If that's the best you can do, I don't think you'll get to see much of my power after all…"
Damn it! She pushed herself off the ground, breathing heavily as she stood. "I'm getting tired of this crap…" she eyed Cell, his shadowy outline just visible underneath the blazing discs. There's got to be a way around this…every technique has a weakness! Come on…I can't lose like this—it's not even a straight fight!
"Well, time to wrap this up. You've got impressive power, but your tactical ability is limited—and that will cost you your life!" He hurled the discs again, already smiling in anticipation of his next opponent. Who will it be? Goku? Raditz?
"Don't count on it!" She smiled. I've got it. She ran straight at the discs, looking down at the light they cast on the ground to pinpoint their position in the air, and making sure to focus her ki sense to get an exact lock on them. Timing would be everything here. She ignored the pain in her shoulder and leg, both of which were bleeding steadily, as she ran. Exactly twenty-five paces away, she jumped into the air, somersaulting and landing right on top of the centre of the razor-edged disc. She crashed feet-first into it, shattering it into tiny fragments, which quickly faded as Cell lost control. Then she dropped to a sitting position as the second flew overhead, placing her hands on the ground behind her as leverage and swinging a two-footed kick upwards, smashing the second disc in as many seconds.
Continuing the movement of the kick, she back-flipped to her feet. Acting on some instinct, she immediately spun and raised a hand, catching Cell's wrist as he appeared behind her in mid-swing. They struggled silently against each other for a moment before she spoke. "You know, you're actually pretty predictable. You've got a taste for the dramatic—so it's only natural that you'd want to get me down as soon as I'd beaten your attack like that. Yaah!" She brought her knee up into his chin, knocking him several steps away. He rubbed his chin, scowling.
"That was quite a clever trick, destroying my attack like that."
"Simple, really." She smiled. "Why would you bother concentrating energy into the centre? You can't, anyway—that much surface area would require way more power than any of us have to make a properly concentrated disc."
"Hmm…I guess I was wrong. You do have some fighting sense. But still, you're injured now—clearly at a disadvantage. Are you going to continue this fight?"
"What kind of a question is that?!" She dived back into the fray. "I'm not finished with you!"
Raditz walked over to the other fighters. "Hey, you didn't miss that, did you?" Goku asked. "I mean, your daughter…"
"Don't worry, I saw it." He beamed. "I admit I had my doubts, but I'm proud of her. She's actually holding her own against that monster…"
"So, where's that Hercule guy?" Krillin asked.
"Lying in a pile of dirt, bruises and shame," Raditz replied.
Cell punched Break in the stomach—her armour absorbed some of the impact, willpower the rest. Willpower, as a matter of fact, was about to be the only thing she was running on—her energy reserves were draining, fast. She swung a spinning kick at him, but it hissed through his afterimage, and he appeared behind her, a targeted kiai to the ankles taking her off her feet. She rolled away, avoiding a stamp aimed at her head, and jumped back to her feet, just in time to raise her guard and stop another punch. She grunted as the impact threw her away, stumbling back to keep her balance.
Cell shifted his stance. "You're not getting tired, are you? Shall we break for lunch? Pun not intended."
"Just stop talking, okay?" She brushed her hair out of her face, feeling her aura evaporating streams of sweat on her forehead, surrounding her with a miniature heat haze. "That Solar Kienzan is now officially your second-most annoying technique, next to running your mouth."
"'Annoying' is a bit of an understatement for my attempts on your life, I'd have thought…but perhaps you're right. Maybe I should let actions speak louder than words, eh?" With that, Cell disappeared from sight.
Not this again! Break frowned as she spotted the occasional glimpse of movement, but it seemed to come from every direction at once, with no discernible pattern. He's even faster now…is this just a demonstration of his real speed? I wouldn't put it past him… "All right, I get it. You're pretty quick. Now are you going to—" Cell suddenly appeared in front of her, inches away, grinning. She lashed out on instinct, but he was already gone again. He materialised again, this time behind her, and she swung an elbow, but again he danced away before she could hit him. "Hey!" she protested. "Stand still!"
"No thanks," came the reply, as he appeared to her right, vanishing again before her attack hit him. This happened three more times before she finally decided to just wait—no point tiring herself out and never getting a hit in. In this precise moment of hesitation, before she had put her guard up, Cell struck, ramming his elbow into the small of her back. She cried out, staggering forwards, only to be met with a kick to the face that knocked her to the ground. Feeling blood rise in her mouth, she pulled herself up, trying to focus. Okay, just focus on defense… He appeared again, and she blocked a punch. Then a kick from the side. Then another punch. This continued for five minutes straight, Cell popping up and attacking, Break successfully defending, and Cell vanishing into his high-speed dash that made him impossible to hit again.
Finally, she began to tire. She was getting dizzy from constantly turning to defend from different angles, and the blood loss from earlier was slowing her reactions. He threw a straight jab at her, and she unthinkingly blocked it, but it was merely a feint—his knee smashed into her side, knocking her away.
She bounced painfully three times before managing to control her fall and right herself. "Ah…huh…" she looked up at Cell, who was now hovering in the air with his arms folded.
"So, just out of curiosity, how much longer is this going to go on?" Cell asked. "You don't look like you've got much left. I mean, are we talking thirty seconds here, five minutes, what?"
"As long as it takes…" she growled, launching herself up at him. The battle rejoined, going back and forth through the air high above its observers.
Raditz glared at the seven hopping, laughing Cell Juniors. "Hey, Goku…"
"Yeah?" His younger brother looked over at him.
"Do you reckon we could take those Cell Juniors? If we all attacked together?"
Goku sighed. "I know you want to help her, Raditz. But it'd just make things worse. Each of those things is about a match for you or me, I reckon. But we're outnumbered, and most of our guys are less powerful than either of us. The only other people who could take on of those little guys on one-on-one are our kids…and one of 'em is lying at home on death's door, and the other is up there fighting the Original Recipe Cell. So…I don't think it would go well." Krillin, standing nearby, stifled a laugh as this comment made him imagine various flavours of Cell. What would Cheese & Onion Cell look like, I wonder?
Break and Cell collided, her kick being blocked by his forearm while she held back his punch with both hands. Cell smiled. She's weakening. Now is the moment to strike… he slipped away to the side, simultaneously driving the edge of his hand into her shoulder and his foot into her thigh, hitting both of her wounds from his Solar Kienzan attack earlier. She dropped to the ground, landing heavily on her hands and knees, gasping as her injuries burned.
"And now, the moment I've all been waiting for!" Cell boasted, throwing both restraint and grammar to the wind. He almost instantly flew over to Korin Tower and placed both hands on it, anchoring himself to the enormously tall building with his ki. Tensing himself in preparation, he ripped the gigantic tower out of the Earth. He leapt up into the air, wielding Korin Tower like a weapon.
Two tiny specks tumbled out of the tower, falling towards the Earth. Goku frowned. "Raditz—"
"I'm on it." Raditz used Instant Transmission to instantaneously travel to the falling figures, snatch them out of the air and return to Goku's side, carrying the tower's two inhabitants, the cat sage Korin and portly samurai Yaijerobe. He dumped them on the ground. "What am I, your courier?"
Goku looked up at Cell, ashen-faced. "This doesn't look good…it's not hard to guess what he's got planned. Come on, Break, if you're going to dodge anything he does, now's the time!"
Cell swung Korin Tower around until the base was pointing straight down at Break, then—flaring his wings out for effect—he flew downwards, throwing Korin Tower at her with all his might.
Break grroaned as she began to move her battered body, feeling every cut and bruise. Something seemed to edge into her awareness. "Uh…where'd Cell go? And what's that sound? Coming from up…there…" the tower grew larger in her field of vision, blocking out the sun, as she finally noticed it. "Well, I'm f—" her voice was drowned out as the huge structure crashed into her. Cell pushed down on it from afar with his ki, driving it into the ground until it was completely ground into rubble.
"And it looks like the battle is really heating up!" The TV reporter shouted into his microphone, over the deafening noise. "I don't know who's fighting Cell—maybe the mystery warrior who knocked out Hercule—but it doesn't look like they've won, at least not yet…" he pointed into the sky at Cell's distant figure. "Cell appears to have taken to the air, and seems to be alive and well! More as it occurs. This is Harrison Kirby, ZTV news. We'll be back in the studio with George, after these messages."
Break struggled to stay awake. I'm not…done…got to keep…fighting… finally, she lost her internal battle, collapsing into unconsciousness.
Cell laughed deeply as he came to rest on the ground near his defeated opponent, among the ruins of Korin Tower. "Well, that was a nice little warm-up. Shall we continue?"
Hope you liked it. Anyway, I said I'd say more about my schedule, and I shall:
Break Through the Limit will continue to update every Sunday, except on holidays-but fear not, because...
A story I haven't named yet will come out weekly during holidays. It will begin in the Buu saga, and involve Kid Buu absorbing Goku, but Goku transferring his essence to Buu like the Grand Kaioshin did and causing Buu to gain his morality and have a change of heart. It won't be arbitrarily 'Buu decides to absorb Goku', it happens because...well, you'll find out in a couple of weeks, because Christmas is coming up.
Best Served Cold will update...eh, whenever. I'm working on it with NinjaGin87, who is awesome. We've finished the first chapter, but due to lack of title, it isn't uploaded just yet. It will follow the Ginyu Force (and the saiyans will be recruited) as they are assigned a special mission by King Cold-eliminate Frieza!
So all those things are happening. Break Through the Limit Kai will continue when I think of enough jokes.
And an announcement thing (I may sound like a small child at Christmas during this paragraph): I have some more fanart! Fael955 (on deviantart, also known as Rafael on the DBM comments section) has done an awesome picture of Super Saiyan Vegeta in his outfit from chapter 33! It's kickass (what? That's a word), and you should all go check it out and tell him that he's an amazing person. This makes three (count 'em) pieces of fanart I've got so far, which is just so cool. It's like, I'm just throwing words at the Internet and people are drawing them. It's really a great feeling.
Inevitable question: What about Vegeta?! Why isn't he in this chapter?
Answer: Because of reasons!
Q: Wait, did we ever find out what happened in Break's timeline when she left did we? All that happened was that Trunks blew himself and Seventeen's arm (and possibly the rest of him) up. She left before seeing the resolution.
A: Exactly. She went straight to the androids' arrival in the past without stopping by the future.
Q: Unless either Vegeta's a lot stronger or smarter or Bojack's a lot weaker Vegeta is completely doomed. After an extra year of training (HTC), backup from other Super Saiyans, Piccolo, Superhumans and Yamcha, Cell Games zenkais, etc. Bojack was pretty much curb stomping the Prince. So barring new alien techniques, Super Saiyan Oozaru (did he ever lose the tail? I dunno), or raw dumb luck which is it?
A: He did lose the tail. Gohan cut it off. Anyway, Vegeta is stronger than an initial, Namek-era Super Saiyan, but how much we'll see in the next chapter. Or whatever chapter he next appears in.
Q: Solid chapter. Character development isn't a bad thing at all. Nice to see Vegeta up and about. I'm also glad you didn't put Bojack's crew in King Kai's planet. So stupid, and only begs the question 'Why didn't the Kai's do this to the Cold Family?'
A: And to anyone who wants to know why I changed Bojack's backstory, that is why. To anyone who wants to know where the hell Bojack and his gang have been (and why they never conquered the Cold family's empire), um...keep reading. I totally didn't completely forget about that but luckily think of a good explanation just now. Right.
Q: I liked this. It was filler-ish even if timing was a bit off. But I see what you did. Hazard to guess Gohan has some disease that will impede his fight with Cell and someone else will step in to save the day.
A: You win! Seriously, congratulate youself, Supersaiyaninfinitygohan, you're the only person to tell me they've noticed this. It's like the first time you found Waldo or something. Did anybody else spot this? And did you get all three times over chapters 32 and 33 I was hinting at it?
Q: what is Vegeta planning.
A: To hit things until they die.
Q: I just starting reading this about three days ago, and I am HOOKED! Brilliant writing sir, I love how its all very familliar, but its still a guess as to what is going to happen. My only gripe is Raditz's constant I'm not good well maybe, no I'm not I'm quasi good, thing. It seems like you wrapped up his moral dilemma, and I hope you did cause that was the only thing I didn't like, other than that keep on keeping on and continue to pump out my favorite thing to do while I'm supposed to be working!
A: Yeah, that issue's just about been resolved. Thanks very much-I love getting these kinds of reviews. It's like, 'another satisfied customer'.
Q: Hmmmm. I will say that i liked the chapter. As for the fight between ssj2 Gohan and Broly...i completely disagree with your outcome. It's pretty obvious with the first 2 Broly movies that he is more powerful than a ssj2. But it is your story and at this point all i can hope for is that Broly has his second coming. Maybe her could come back a changed saiyan and at least fill the role of the anti-hero.
A: Well, this person and I had a lengthy debate via PM and neither of us could convince the other of our viewpoints, so in the end we agreed to disagree (and thanks for remaining civil throughout, by the way). I'm glad you liked the chapter, at least. And of course, note I gave Broly one of those inconclusive never-found-the-body deaths, so...if I decide, later on, to bring him back (*cough*whichImighthavealready*cough*), I can. So if anybody else disagrees with the outcome of a fight...let me know! I don't mind hearing your opinions, however what I don't enjoy is debates which drag on and on with no end in sight, which is why that one was inconclusive. I'll still discuss things.
Q: Just reading the reviews and,I've gotta say no Hatchiyack,up to Cell?
Anyway,really good work with your fanfic,I'm really liking the direction it's taking _Wonder what you're gonna do with Buu Saga...
Anyway which movies you gonna adapt(I hope you do the new one)?
A: Hatchiyak...Buu...movies...indeed. Buu saga should be fun. Hatchiyak I'm going to count as a 'movie character' (OVA special, whatever) for the purposes of the following statement: "there will be quite a few more movie characters in Break Through the Limit. But probably not all of them."
Q: There's only one mistake in today's chapter: Chaozu isn't a child. Chaozu is a Jiangshi, a cross between a vampire and a zombie. Also he's at least as old as Krillin, because in Dragonball, Chaozu fought Krillin when Krillin was a kid. The complex he's developed around Tenshinhnan is accurate though, thanks to Akira Toryama and TOEI
*the more you know*
A: ...Huh.
Q: I think Break makes since but I don't like it as a name how about Rachia it's pun off lunch in Japanese, or Yabura it means break in Japanese or Baizuna spun off double in Japanese because she has double personalities :). Nice chapter again I literally sat her and read so many back to back.
A: And 'another satisfied customer' (this person left a bunch of reviews in a row as they read through the whole thing). But okay. Good name suggestions. It's too late to change it now, of course, but if I need another character (and I haven't yet decided if I will) then I might use some of these.
Q: Stupid questions time (my most cherished hobby) - remember, when in the middle of Buu saga Gotenks was born?
Now, with Break being girl it means Gotreak (Goteak, Broten?) gonna be girl, boy or what?
Yeah, you can always make Goten girl, i guess, but will you?
A: I don't think there'd be any reason for Goten to be a girl. But I don't think I want opposite-gender characters to fuse. I mean...maybe you could say it's the gender of the dominant personality? I don't really want weird half-male half-female fusions. Oh, but look at this, it's labelled "vague plan for the Buu saga I've had for months that deals with the issue" So worry not! I got this.
Q: I just wanted to let you know that you have written what has become my absolute FAVORITE dbz fanfic.(BOD and HT are also up there, but yours is still my favorite.) I would have reviewed every chapter but I haven't had a working keyboard for a couple months. It also seems like you've slowed the pace down a bit which seemed to be everyone's only problem with the story. I also like what you've done with Break, and your character development has gotten really good(especially with Raditz) Anyway, keep up the good work and I'll definitely be patiently waiting for the next update.
A: (triumphant music)
Q: They stopped by New Namek, so what was the excuse to have one of the 'useless' allies get the Dragon Balls? They wouldn't have to look for 'em, each ball is guarded by a Namekian village, they wouldn't abandon this tradition. Plus, King Kai could simply tell the Namekians to summon Porunga and wish back Yamcha and Tien. On the topic of Yamcha, is he finally undergoing Kai's training? Cause there isn't a reason for him not to be.(Also, since you've brought in Puar, where the hell is Oolong?)
A: They're saving the Dragon Balls on Namek for an emergency (which is pretty likely at this point, to be fair).
Q: Also, Cell's first form isn't stronger than both 17 & 18, so Nail should've annihilated the insect, after fusing with Katas Jr.(regardless of how many humans Cell absorbed, they wouldn't make a difference).
A: Yes it is, after absorbing all those people. Remember when it kicked Piccolo and 17's asses in canon? It was as strong as 16. That is about how powerful Nail is.
Q: Also the solar-flare/kienzan combo should kill AT LEAST one Big Bad in this series. Honestly, you are pretty good at coming up with original and sensible fight scenes. So don't use the old "it's anti-climactic" excuse. Against Buu and Cell such a thing obviously wouldn't work, but on a dude like Frieza or Garlic Jr., it would be death. Characters acting like retards should never be the driving force behind the plot and all these fights, this ain't the movie Friday the 13th.
A: It might just be that enough people have asked me this that I might have considered doing it! Perhaps.
Wait and see.
Q: And here is some humor:
ROSHI & CO. ENCOUNTERED A WILD CELL!
GOKU USED DISTRACTION!
CELL WAS DISTRACTED!
BREAK AND RADITZ SNUCK UP ON CELL!
BREAK AND RADITZ USED GRAPPLE!
BREAK AND RADITZ HULKED OUT!
CELL CAN'T FLEE!
ZARBON RIPPED OFF CELL'S EYELIDS!
KRILLIN USED SOLAR FLARE!
CELL SPUN AROUND!
GOKU USED SOLAR FLARE!
CELL WAS BLINDED!
ROSHI USED MAFUBA!
BREAK AND RADITZ LET GO OF CELL!
CELL WAS SEALED IN A MAGIC JAR!
CELL CAN'T BREAK FREE!
GOHAN PUT THE JAR DEEP IN THE HTC!
GOHAN LEFT THE HTC!
PICCOLO DESTROYED THE DOOR!
CELL WAS DEFEATED!
ROSHI DIED!
NO ONE CARED!
MACGUFFIN BALLS FIX EVERYTHING!
EL FIN
A: Yeah, we're not doing that. (And the reason is, Cell Jrs.! Also, Cell probably wouldn't be distracted that easily, and after being grabbed could still hit Raditz and Break with energy blasts. I know I'm nitpicking a little, and it was funny, but there does have to be a reason they don't just do that. Although I did think of bringing out the Cell Jrs. this early on for other reasons than just this review.)
So, who's going to fight Cell next? And will it go well? Does this help: A 'power levels' list...sort of. It is not actual power levels, it is an arbitrary, non-linear scale. As in, a 4 on this scale is not necessarily twice as strong as a 2. It's just a scale of 'higher=more powerful'. Okay? Here you go.
Semi-Perfect Cell-1
Ascended Super Saiyan Raditz/Break-1.5
Perfect Cell (power initially used against Raditz and Break)-2
And by the Cell and Broly fights:
Break-3
Power used by Cell so far-3
Gohan-2.5
Goku-2.75
Canon Goku-3
Raditz-2.5
Nail-1
Cell Jrs.-2.75
See you in a week!