All For a Few Moments

by Paradoxical Fool

When the time came for him to die on the planet Namek, Vegeta falls unwitting victim to a small hiccup in the Universe. Now, alive despite Frieza's best attempts, he has to establish just where he stands in the grand scheme of things; pre-determined pawn, or writer of his own destiny?

20. -20-

AN: Okay, so I promised myself that I wouldn't try to peddle the works of anyone else on you, seeing as I'm damn lucky any of you are even reading this story, but I feel that I really must put this out there. Nearly all of my work on 'WiaM' has been influenced by the works of youtuber "Darkmonolith". Specifically, his four DBZ tribute videos; "End War", "Validus", "Tempest of the Gods" and "Allegory of War". These are all phenomenal videos that I highly recommend to any 'Dragon Ball' fan out there. If you watch them and then see corresponding tones in my story, then I would be incredibly honored by the comparison. As my editor Super-Chief-Saiyan-Science-Officer-In-Charge-Of-All-Things-Kami-Guru and I would say, they're RoN approved. What exactly that means isn't important, only that it is the highest praise that can be given by this author.

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The sad truth was, that even though they had given their all, Tien and Yamcha had both been on a level so far below Sel's level that even if she'd used the Multi-Form technique half a dozen times, any one of her duplicates could still have easily overpowered either human as soon as they used anything more than half their power, regardless of their Kaioken levels.

So it was that when Gohan charged her at a breakneck speed and succeeded in sucker punching her, she couldn't have been more thrilled. Taking a few more blows before she could put up a defense, she was grinning widely as the young Super Saiyan hammered against her arms like a machine. This was definitely more along the lines of what she had been hoping for in these fights – not embarrassing little squabbles like what she'd already had to wait through. She was all for courtesy, but seriously, if she had known the first two atches of her little competition would be that boring, she would have skipped them altogether.

(Somewhere, in a different timeline, Perfect Cell was feeling discontent as a vain pretty boy and a heavily accented mountain of a man took up the first two rounds of his Cell Games.)

"My, my, look at all this anger!" Sel sneered derisively as she grabbed onto an oncoming fist, pulled it past her head, and slammed her other hand into his opened side. Gohan merely grunted before he swung one leg up to catch her in the nose, then freeing himself from her weakened grip by kicking her armpit with the other. Momentarily upside down, he held out both hands and loosed a large, wide blast of golden ki that knocked her back a few feet, plenty of room for him to regain his footing. "Hn, you've certainly changed in the past few weeks, haven't you, Son of Goku?"

To her delight, Gohan openly gritted his teeth at that, clenching both fists tightly enough that it must have ached. She seemed to have plucked a nerve there, and that promised quality entertainment if she played her hand well enough. For the moment, she settled on jumping toward him and nailing him with a spinning backhand, a move that screamed disrespect towards the recipient. Bouncing right back, Gohan snapped his arm out and straight punched her cheek hard enough to rock her head to the side.

The next several moves were a blur to those watching, both combatants pushing themselves further than what had been seen thus far. Goku and Trunks had both ascended when Gohan had entered the ring, so, once again being the strongest Z-Fighters, they had the easiest time tracking the fight as it pushed its way toward the edge of the ring, where a large chunk of the stone was absent. Goku was watching with a critical eye, noting every single move and position that happened, seeing where Gohan excelled and where he was strained. He had trained his son to fight against single opponents, as he had been, and it seemed to be paying off in helping him counter Sel's use of various forms and techniques.

For her part, Sel was keeping pace without any problem, matching the boy's attacks with her own and countering his strength with her speed, and vice versa. They really did seem to be evenly matched, both at a peak of power unthinkable to most.

"Goku didn't say it, when he and I fought, but I had guessed that you had also achieved the same state of power as he had in your training." Sel slashed her arm horizontally, throwing out a razor thin wedge of purple-pink energy. Gohan jumped and twisted, arcing over the beam like a pole-vaulter and firing off a ki blast of his own from an opened palm that Sel opted to dodge rather than block. Both of their attacks flew away from the arena and detonated with terrifying force off the shore of the island, showing just how much these two titans were putting behind every attack. "Now I see that I was correct, and you are indeed as powerful as your father! But there is something missing. Experience, perhaps?"

A fist narrowly missed her temple, avoided with a slight nod of her head. Gohan was coming at her with ferocious tenacity, and it seemed that he was steadily becoming angrier with every jibe she sent his way. This was great, since she hadn't had the chance to really mess with someone's mind in far too long. Already she could see that there was something of a raw nerve for Gohan where his father was concerned, and she bet she knew exactly why; after all, she had been the one to turn father against son in the first place.

"I hope you don't mind a bit of critique, but your form is somewhat sloppy. I imagine it's because you're trying to balance Piccolo's teachings with Goku's. If it were me, I'd stick with what Goku taught since he at least has a decent track record for winning fights."

This time, when the punch landed, she actually saw little stars of light for a second. In response, she slipped under his next strike, grabbed a fistful of the hair at the back of his head, and slammed him face first into the arena, firing a ki blast as she did. She jumped away from the small explosion skimming the ground with one foot as she propelled herself through the air. A flash of movement was her only warning, but it proved a split second too late as Gohan's kick completed its revolution and cracked against her shoulder, dislocating it with a sickeningly muted click.

Biting back against the intense surge of pain, she turned to absorb the next kick with her side. Keeping her injured limb out of danger, she backed away from the relentless demi-saiyan while trying to deflect what she could as she summoned up enough concentration to direct her healing ability towards the misaligned socket. But Gohan had opened a glaringly wide weakness and wasn't about to pass up what may very well be his best chance at putting her down.

As his son succeeded in pushing Sel across the arena, Goku's eyes widened marginally. He hadn't thought any of them were anywhere close to her level, but watching Gohan now, he began to realize that Sel must have been bluffing about her strength to dissuade any real attempt against her. If he or any of the others joined in now, they might actually have the power to overwhelm and destroy Sel once and for all.

Trunks, being the one standing directly to Goku's left, felt the subtle increase in ki from the older saiyan and looked questioningly at his boyhood hero, Without taking his eyes off the fight, Goku spoke in a hushed voice. "I'm going to help Gohan. If it looks like we can't handle her by ourselves, get the others to jump in as well."

Trunks gawked. He had always been told that Goku had an intense respect for the honor of a one-on-one fight, second only to Vegeta's ironclad pride. To hear the Earth raised saiyan now say that he was going to intrude on such a fight to steal a win was mind boggling, but not impractical. Rousing himself, Trunks gave a single nod of agreement, taking a step away to give Goku space.

Sel still hadn't managed to heal her arm under Gohan's barrage, and she was starting to get a little nervous. It was one thing to take a hard punch or three, but another entirely to sustain an injury and then be unable to fix it. And despite the obvious anger that was fueling every single blow, she could see only a cold, determined fire in the half breed's eyes. It was...unnerving.

And then there was a second golden missile headed her way at incredible speeds. Looking up at the nebula of light rapidly closing the distance in startled shock, she didn't immediately notice that her opponent had halted his attack. As the straight-edged face of Goku approached, for a single instant, Sel felt a flower of fear blossom in her stomach and turn her blood cold.

And just when it looked like she was to receive a devastating straight punch to the face, another fist came from the side and blindsided the full-blooded saiyan, knocking him to the arena floor. Sel wasn't alone in her surprised gasp as the Z-Fighters all looked on as Gohan hovered over where his father had fallen, glowering dangerously at him.

"Gohan?!" Goku stared with disbelieving eyes at his son, unable to o more than stutter. "Wha-what are you-"

"Enough dad!" Gohan's bark held enough venom to kill, and right now all that malice was directed at one person. Goku instinctively flinched. "Isn't this what you wanted from the beginning?" Now Gohan's words were spitefully sarcastic, merciless as they gouged deeper. "When you beat me down just because an android said 'please'? When you betrayed all of us because you were just too damn weak to do what needed to be done and live with the consequences? Didn't you want some dramatic fight with the enemy so you could prove just how strong you are to everyone? Huh? Isn't that what everything's about with you? 'Goku the Hero flies in at the last minute to save the day'!"

While the drama taking place was beyond fascinating, Sel had enough presence of mind to fix her arm before her window closed again. Foregoing healing it slowly, she went the direct route and flexed her arm as hard as she could. Coil like muscles tensed and danced beneath her skin, which was obscured beneath the chitinous armor, but as she jerked her arm up slightly, she managed to shift the ball of her humerus back into place with the matching scapula, reforming the glenohumeral joint to it's usual functionality. Her healing factor cleared up the inflammation, bruising and torn ligaments cleanly.

Goku had regained some of his wits in the few seconds she had been distracted, now standing and glaring back at Gohan, though not with a fraction of the cultivated rage and resentment. "Gohan, we don't have time to discuss this now! If we work together then Sel-"

"Of course we don't have time! You guaranteed all of our deaths when you let her get into your head! You think that you can turn the tables yet again? Think again dad; I can tell that even now, she's still been holding some of her power back."

The look of alarm on all the others faces was too good for words. Smirking, Sel looked from each of them, seeing that flame die out one by one. Only Goku remained resolute, being the only other one to have felt Sel's upper limits in combat. He had had a suspicion to that effect, and was something he had factored in to his desperate charge, hoping that their combined strength would trump her hidden reserves.

"Gohan, we can't argue about this now! We need to finish her before she can destroy the planet!"

"Technically," Sel spoke up, grabbing everyone's attention with ease, "I now have the right to destroy the planet. I did specifically state that Goku couldn't attend or interfere with any of the matches or else there would be repercussions." The way Goku's face paled was something she had never really thought she'd ever see. Then again, he had never been in a situation where he consecutively kept digging himself and the whole planet further and further into their grave with every word from his lips. Like Gohan had said, he was so used to always being the hero that he never considered that he might just be the menace this time. "Shall I take it that the games are over and I can just get on with this?"

Goku looked like he wanted to say something, to protest most likely, but was preemptively cut off as Gohan dropped to stand right in front of him, glaring up at the fallen hero. "Get out dad. I would rather die fighting Sel than have to die from your mistakes."

This time, his words struck all the way to the core, rattling Goku enough that he lost his control over his transformation, returning to his base form. He could only stare with wide and wounded eyes at his son, pleadingly. But Gohan refused to bend, and, after several long seconds, Goku took several steps backwards, nearly tripping over the broken tiles before turning and stumbling to the edge of the arena, climbing down with leaden arms and returning to stand with his friends, none of whom moved to comfort him.

"Fantastic – the game's still on. Now, shall we resume, Son Gohan?" Sel cocked her head impertinently while smiling mockingly, amused more than anything by that little interruption. Gohan turned back towards her, eyes aflame.

"Don't get the wrong idea; I will be the one to kill you. You may be stronger now, but that won't be the case soon enough. I'll destroy you to make up for my father's sins, and because I want to."

Sel opened her arms wide as if to offer an embrace, grin broadening. "Now THAT'S the spirit!"

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"Well, that's not good," South deadpanned. All five kais were training their senses towards Earth and were watching events transpire telepathically. Vegeta, obviously without such an ability, had been instructed to lay a hand on King Kai's back to piggyback his telepathy. But the results had been varied: while he could see what the kai saw, he could also see half a dozen other, unrelated things as his soul lost cohesion with his concentration split. It was only with a dedicated effort that he maintained a single focus on the battle for Earth, though his form reverted mostly back to a cloud as a result.

"No kidding," West agreed, his monocle clutched in a sweaty hand to protect it from falling to the ground. "This Cell creature really is something else, though I wouldn't go so far as to say that she's more powerful than Bojack at his prime."

East glanced sidelong at the braggart. "Really? You're going to nit-pick now? She already has enough power to destroy a solar system with a single attack, what more do you want?"

West bristled at her snide tone. "I was just saying that we were a little oversold on this matter, not that it isn't of importance!"

South rubbed his face in frustration, getting more than a little fed up with the constant bickering between his shorter counterparts. Grand Kai couldn't help but feel much the same, though his patience was considerably longer than any of his subordinates'.

'She's apparently already killed Tien, and Krillin and Yamcha look as though they've taken a beating.' Vegeta, as ever, had paid attention to the whole battlefield rather than just the main event, drawing every conclusion he could from the overlooked details.

"What's this tell us?" Grand Kai inquired, interested in seeing if the saiyan could arrive at the same conclusion he had. So far, he was mightily impressed, but impressions weren't everything if they were going to toy around with the fabric of dimensional reality.

'She's drawing this out, making a sick sport of crushing them one by one.' He was silent for several moments as he sorted out the threads in his mind, finding the invisible one that he needed to pull. 'She's...procrastinating.' Another beat, and then a small wave of realization coursed through his being, making King Kai jump in surprise. 'Of course! She's making it easier for us and she doesn't even know it!'

Grand Kai smiled encouragingly, glad to see that there was indeed a strong mind behind that bravado. The others all nodded in understanding, seeing just what was meant by that observation.

"She's making it easier, but not guaranteed," East reminded them. "While our chances are higher the longer she draws this out, we still do not have the opportunity we need to enact the ritual."

This was true, but the underlying tension and nervous excitement wouldn't be deflated so easily. Now that they had finally come to an agreement over King Kai's plan, it was just a matter of waiting for the right moment. They were even already arrayed in the positioning of the ritual, with each kai standing at their respective point on an imaginary compass rose and Grand Kai in the middle. The reason that their seating arrangements didn't mirror this was simply because it inherently held too much power, creating a flow, a chain of energy between the deities that held the collective potential to achieve something only a Supreme Kai could. Also it was extremely draining over long periods, but that didn't seem to be much of an issue right now.

"We must be ready at a moments notice," King Kai warned them all, never breaking his concentration over his astral observation. "That may be all the time we are given."

The others quieted down and resumed their watch, not willing to botch this now. It might take everything they had, but the kais of Universe Seven were going to do everything they could to head off a potential threat to their sworn kingdom and save as many lives as they could.

The only other option was too terrible to dwell over.

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On a planet with a long forgotten name, a young boy looked on with true horror as a pair of titanic, disembodied legs manifested from the mist around him. He had only a few seconds to wallow in that fear before one of the legs reared up and brought one mammoth foot plummeting down straight towards him, his last word swallowed by the crash:

"Hirude-"

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Sel and Gohan were meeting each other punch for punch, blocking one with another. They were a hurricane of movement, and everyone else was left watching the afterimages in their wake. Despite the futility of the action, Sixteen was recording and cataloging everything he could. It was just something he had been programmed to do, and something Bulma hadn't deleted in her digital inquisition.

He knew far too well that this was perhaps his last day of existence. When he ceased to function, there was no place for him to go afterwards, no afterlife for machines. Despite the fear, or perhaps because of it, Sixteen wouldn't have traded a single second he'd spent awake for anything. He had been given the chance to see and experience the wide spectrum of life, from innocent forest creatures, to evil creations of man, and it was just so much more precious than any directive or objective could ever be. This planet was full of such vibrancy, and he wanted nothing more than to protect it, so others too could enjoy life as he never could. He did not begrudge anyone their ignorance to the treasures all around them, but he just wished that every so often someone would take their eyes off the oath and marvel at the sights and sounds surrounding them. That was his reason for fighting.

Moving for the first time since arriving, the towering android strode over towards Trunks, resting a hand on the young man's shoulder to get his attention. Looking first over his shoulder, and then upward to actually meet Sixteen's eye, Trunks blinked in surprise.

"I am sorry that those of my kind destroyed your timeline, but always remember your mother's words. If you always hold on to that hope and pass it on, then you will never be defeated. Thank you for what you have done." Then he was walking past him, to stand within a few yards of the arena. Trunks kept staring at the back of the android's head, a strange sense of dread filling the bottom of his stomach.

He still harbored an intense hatred for the androids, and he suspected that he always would, but even he couldn't ignore the pain in Sixteen's eyes. He was entirely mechanical, and yet he had suffered through a tragedy and felt it just as acutely as any living being. If Trunks were to ignore what that meant...was he any better than the monsters that had decimated his home and killed his family? Did he really have the high ground anymore?

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On the other side of the group, Piccolo was standing next to Yamcha, who was only able to sit up to watch the ongoing fight. The namekian was doing an admirable job of hiding his distress beneath his usual stoic nature, but some of that concern managed to leak through.

"Gohan's changed," Yamcha observed, bluntly. "Ever since Vegeta died he's been angrier and withdrawn."

"It's not because Vegeta died, but rather how Goku responded to that," Piccolo surmised, narrowing his eyes with poorly disguised resentment. "He went to pieces because he believed Vegeta's death was his fault, allowing himself to become apathetic and numb when Gohan needed him most. And then, when it seemed that he was finally beginning to come back around, Sel manipulated him into helping her achieve her perfect form. In Gohan's eyes, that was the greatest betrayal Goku could have done to him; turning against his own son and destroying his faith in him."

Yamcha brought the back of his hand up to his eyes, holding it there while his broken body shook minutely. "I know that Goku was only doing what he thought was the right thing, like when he stayed on Namek to fight Frieza, or before that when he spared Vegeta's life; and even though it turned out for the worse, I can still forgive him for it. But-" He slid his hand down over his mouth, calluses scraping the skin along the way. "But I'm not sure Gohan ever will, not entirely." He was silent then, watching as the prodigal half-saiyan and Sel fought tooth and nail for the fate of the Earth and her people, neither giving an inch in the absolutely monstrous battle for superiority. "I don't want to die again Piccolo. I don't want to see the end of everything we've ever worked for."

The namekian shut his eyes and squeezed his fists tighter. "Neither do I, Yamcha. But I will do what I must."

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The kais watched in wonderment as the yet adolescent Gohan battled Sel to a standstill, each of them marveling at the power that they both held. It was beyond any of them, even Grand Kai, to match what they were witnessing, and they couldn't fully suppress the thrill of fear that ran up their spines and set their skin into a piercing chill.

North was quiet, observing not only as Overseer of the planet, but also as somebody personally invested in the outcome of the fight. Despite himself, and all the other thousands of planets in his jurisdiction, Earth had become his prized jewel of the bunch, the place that would draw his attention and give him something to think about – a distinction he hadn't experienced in centuries.

He had only taken on a few apprentices in his time, and most of them proved to be only moderately talented. But then a saiyan from Earth had landed face first on his planet, and from there on everything was on an entirely different level. Goku had graduated his training in only a year, then Tien, Piccolo, Yamcha and Tien had blown even that record out of the water, far surpassing the kai in months of intense training. And when two of his star students fought against Frieza, the reputedly invincible galactic tyrant, he had to re-access what he believed to be impossible and what wasn't.

The saiyans inspired true strength wherever they went, in one form or another influencing the rise of some of the strongest mortal fighters this galaxy or the next had ever seen. To have been a part of that legend...well, North didn't want it to end just yet.

"Vegeta," he began with a hushed tone, trying to avoid getting the others embroiled in his discussion, "what do you think?"

The prince was contemplatively silent for a beat before answering. 'Gohan was right in his observation that Cell is holding back...but so is he.'

North's eyes widened under his shades and he involuntarily straightened from the half hunched position he usually took when sending out his senses. "W-what do you mean? How could he be holding back at a time like this?"

'The boy has always had a portion of his power hidden away behind his human instincts, but when he's enraged he becomes stronger than anyone else on his level. He showed this when he fought against Nappa, myself, the Ginyu Force and even Frieza. I've known for years that he had the potential to be the strongest of us all, but my pride prevented me from seeing this become a reality – I was too focused on my training, to be the one that ended the androids so that Kakarot and I could have our rematch and determine who was superior. For a mere boy to threaten that...I was frustrated beyond compare, but there was also some pride in seeing the legacy of the saiyan race live on in a new generation, even if diluted some.'

"So...does he actually have a chance?"

'I would say that Gohan is the only person capable of defeating Cell at this point. If both he and Kakarot master Super Saiyan, and yet he can still go higher, all he needs is that final push to unlock his full potential. If that happens, we would not even be needed to interfere after all. Let us hope it comes to that.'

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Jerking his head to the side, Gohan managed to dodge a lightning fast kick that actually outpaced its own sound for a fraction of a second. Throwing a hook, he wasn't at all surprised when the femme fatale caught it with an opened palm, halting it before causing any damage. She gave twist of her arm so that Gohan's turned with it before she flung both of their hands up, creating a massive hole in his defense even as she struck with her other arm.

Impressively, the boy managed to bend his body to just narrowly dodge the attack, his replicated saiyan armor not impeding his flexibility at all. But then he clamped down on the outstretched appendage with both of his and twist away from her, using both her momentum and the leverage his position provided to pull her into a very abrupt half-spin and launch her, backwards, towards the other side of the mostly demolished arena. She tried to abort her flight and reorient herself in time, but she wasn't fast enough to avoid the punch to the ribs that forced some purple blood onto her lips.

Growling, she ignored the pain and punched the half breed in the face, stunning him for a brief moment, and then burying her fist into his gut, doubling him over and making his eyes go blank. She interlocked both hands and brought them crashing down towards his back, but stumbled forward when she hit nothing, Gohan's afterimage dissolving with a static whir. Then a white boot collided with her neck and she was forcibly shunted sideways.

She recovered fast enough to leave her own afterimage for him to attack while she flipped overhead to land with both feet against his shoulders, crushing him into the ground. Launching back upward, she collected a volleyball sized orb of purple ki between her hands and flung it down at the prostrate saiyan. Enveloping him inside a cloud of fire.

Not a second later, he shot out of it, just a foot away from her and charging an energy attack of his own. Firing point blank, he scored a direct hit to her torso, blasting her away from him and through the air as a trail of dark smoke streamed off of her. She flipped over to land on her feet, sliding back a good ten feet before coming to a rest. She looked up just as Gohan came barreling towards her, intent to ram her with his shoulder.

With a cat-like grace, she sprang to the side, posture wide as she landed on one foot and pivoted, arm outstretched to keep her balance, facing him again and kicking off with the same foot so that she flew in a short arc, other foot fanning overhead to hammer down towards his head. The half-saiyan managed to catch the kick in the crux of his crossed arms. For half a second, there was the shortest of lulls, a space of time wherein they both took a single breath. In the moment of suspended time, the two combatants locked eyes; one grim and determined, the other lively and exuberant.

Then they pushed apart, opening a space between them wide enough for a car to easily pass through. Refusing to take a moment longer than necessary, they kicked off from the uneven stones underfoot and launched back into their melee, furiously trying to land more blows on the other rather than simply defend. This exchange took no longer than a handful of seconds, but they both jumped away with new bruises and split lips, breathing heavily.

"Okay, NOW I'm feelin' it! This is what a fight was meant to be!" Sel crowed, chuckling even as she drew her forearm across her mouth to wipe away the blood. "I think that saiyan blood in me is really starting to fire up. Is yours?" Gohan said nothing, glaring at her with resentment and resolve. "Don't try and hide it Gohan, I know that you're relishing this fight just as much. It is your heritage, as it is mine."

"Enough," Gohan spat, baring his teeth at her. One of his gloves had fallen away at some point and the other was shredded, so he tore it off without taking his eyes off of the android. "I have to keep listening to you go on about all these things that you inherited, but the only thing you have is blood on your hands. So long as you're alive, I can never allow myself to rest or relax, not until I've burned away every atom of your body from this earth."

"My my, pessimistic and wordy. Seems you got a lot more from Piccolo than I thought." Sel narrowed her eyes to squint at him, slivers of garnet peeking out from barely there lashes. "Should we test if you adopted his style as thoroughly as his demeanor?"

Gohan shouted wordlessly as he charged her, hand held back with hooked fingers. He swiped at her neck, a weakspot Piccolo had told him to never be afraid of taking advantage of, but quickly found his wrist locked in a crushing grip inches away from his target. Then he was swung overhead and released, unable to move in time to avoid the kick that knocked him back into the air. Sel didn't pursue, however; instead taking four steps back and crouching in an unfamiliar stance.

The demi-saiyan flipped around and ignited his ki, rocketing back at her with one booted foot leading the way. Sel waited until he was just about to connect before she brought both arms in very quick arcs down onto his leg, forcibly re-aiming his attack so it landed without harm just between her feet. Quirking a brow in amusement, she whipped her hand out and grabbed him by the neck as she jumped forward, spinning once before shoving him into the ground as they came back down.

With a negligent flick of her wrist, she cast the boy away like a doll. Gohan was almost instantly back on his feet, anger coloring his cheeks. Throwing a hand forward, he fired off a wide, golden beam that crossed the distance in a heartbeat. Sel didn't hesitate in kicking at it when it got close enough, redirecting it almost straight up. She thought for a second that it would split apart and come raining back down toward her, but she dismissed that fear, seeing as that was one of Krillin's techniques.

Sure enough, the beam continued on without surprise, but Gohan was far from done with that track. Pistoning both arms, he fired off as many blasts as he could as fast as he was able, filling the air with the smell of ozone and electricity and creating a sizable smoke cloud around where Sel had been. A few blasts missed their mark and traveled out of the ring, but he was facing away from his friends, so he didn't feel the need to hold back because of it.

Eventually, he cut the stream of energy bullets, huffing and unable to close his hands due to the heat still present. He and those watching waited as the smokescreen thinned out and vanished, revealing Sel, unmoved. She had a few dark spots along her body, and the tiles all around her were blackened like charcoal, but she seemed mostly unhurt. Interlacing her fingers, she pushed them out until most of them cracked with dry satisfaction.

"Do you want to know why that little stunt didn't work?" She inquired teasingly, still smiling. Gohan looked taken aback, eyes widened and slightly recoiled away from her. "It's because that's more Vegeta's thing than Piccolo's or Goku's, and deviating from your training into untested waters in the middle of a fight is a sure way to lose. Then again," she admitted as she cracked her neck in much the same manner as the namekian warrior often did, "sticking with your training is also a good way to lose too. See, this whole time I've been keeping my style fluid so as to match yours and make a fight of it. But if I so choose, I could rip your style apart without you ever laying a hand on me, kid."

Gohan grimaced as he hunkered back down into a fighting stance, opting to let her make the first move this time. What she did instead was calmly walk towards him. Unnerved, she set his jaw and waited, expecting a surprise attack. But she just kept walking and was quickly right in front of him, reaching towards his raised arms. He jerked them back, but her reach was longer and she got a hold of them securely. Gohan was livid with himself; why had he just let her close the distance like that?!

Answering his thoughts, Sel drew him in close so their faces were level. "Namekian Demon style is rigid, inflexible, and often relies of counterattacking. If denied the opportunity to react then the user will often forego the initiative, leaving them very," her grin grew huge, deadly, "vulnerable." Then she slammed her knee into his stomach as hard as she could, cracking his armor with a sound sickeningly similar to bone crunching. The half-breed was stunned, eyes and mouth wide open and a weak sound of pain managed to crawl up his chest and out into the world.

Sel dropped him, allowing his limp form to crumple to the ground. On the sidelines, everyone had tensed, alarmed to see the young fighter brought down in one move. They waited for him to get back up, but, to their collective horror, the only thing that happened was his hair returning to its normal black and drooping down, rendering him without means of defense. The female android waited a moment before slowly pushing him over with the toes of one foot. Gohan looked unconscious, but he was breathing too heavily for that to be the case. A fat trickle of blood stained his chin and had collected in a small pool where his face had lain.

"Looks like you DQ out of here," Sel mused with a sardonic tone, prodding him with a foot to see if he'd move, but it seemed that he had lost all of his strength from her crippling blow, and wouldn't be fighting any longer. "But then, there are only two ways out of here." She moved the foot to his head and began to slowly push down. It didn't take long at all before he was screaming in agony as his skull was slowly crushed like an eggshell.

All of the Z-Fighters began calling out in panic, demanding that Sel stop, but it was Goku that jumped to the edge of the arena, half hanging over it. "Gohan! Quit! Quit now! Gohan!"

But Gohan just kept screaming, hands weakly scrabbling at Sel's leg in a futile attempt to save himself that way. Sel just kept applying the pressure, not looking away from the adolescent she was killing.

"GOHAAAN! YOU'VE GOT TO FORFEIT NOOOOW!" Goku roared, slamming both fists hard enough against the tiles that they, tears leaking down his face. His son cracked open his eyes, staring straight at Goku with pain addled eyes. It was a heartstopping moment for the older saiyan, believing he was about to look into his son's eyes as his head was crushed, and unable to intervene or else it would happen anyway.

But somehow, through the screams, Gohan managed to slap at the ground, tapping out.

Immediately, Sel backed off, relieving him from the killer pressure. He was trembling, still in a debilitating amount of pain, but his mind slowly began to focus enough for him to roll himself over and push himself onto all fours. Fresh tears burned down his face as he fully felt the frustration and shame at having surrendered like a coward. Sel said nothing, standing just behind him and watching him recover himself with an unreadable expression.

Eventually, Gohan managed to stagger to his feet and stumble towards the arena edge, towards Goku. When he got there, he fell back to his knees in front of the other saiyan, slightly higher than he was but meeting his concerned gaze with a pained one. He was silent for a long second.

"Dad," he finally started, but then-

"GOKU!"

And then he was falling backwards, a small hole burned through the right side of his chest. His gasp of surprise was unheard by his deaf ears. Hyperaware of only what he could see, he recognized the fading pink trail of a Death Beam, the likes of which favored by Frieza, leading from his wound straight to-

Even as slow as the world seemed to be going for him, Goku's eyes widened in horror as he saw that the beam that had only wounded him...had first gone through Gohan's left side, right through his heart. The boy looked as though he was about to say something,eyes fluttering closed, but he was already slumping forward and off the arena...dead.

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As one, the observing kais all yelled out in shock and horror. North fell to his knee, numb. Vegeta was beyond words, sinking fast into the pit of despair that engulfed his soul. He felt all of his ill-gained hope being torn away, leaving him raw and exposed, like he had been stripped of his flesh.

His inner light dimmed until it was barely there.

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Chi-Chi dropped the plate she had been holding, not even noticing as it shattered against the kitchen floor. Though her father was worriedly calling to her from the other room, she heard none of it, too engrossed by the sudden feeling of absolute loss that had just crushed her heart like a fist.

"Goku...Gohan..."

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Goku's body felt like ice as he threw himself along the ground to catch his son, biting down on the fresh surge of anguish from both his wound and his heart. Cradling his son in his arms, he desperately rocked the limp form, calling his name over and over, hoping beyond hope that there was still a chance, siphoning off as much of his own positive energy as he could and feeding it into the rapidly dwindling pool that had been his son's.

Gohan didn't move.

"RAAAAAAGGGHHH!" Piccolo flew through the air at Sel, grief and rage giving him an edge as his Kaioken wordlessly flared up as high as it could go. He even landed two punches against her before she swiped her hand against him, breaking his offense, and grabbing him by both shoulders. Twisting him about, she brought a leg up and lashed out with a kick at his back, audibly breaking his spine and paralyzing the namekian. Tossing him away from her, she strode demurely over towards the shell shocked Goku, crossing her arms as she looked down at him.

"I warned you that there would be consequences for your intervention." She hissed, devoid of her previous humor. "Though, he did say that he would rather die fighting me than go up with the planet. Wish granted."

All of the pain, all of the anxiety, the doubt and self-loathing Goku had been struggling with for over a year finally burst past his wall of defense and crashed down on him. Bringing Gohan's head up to his face, Goku sobbed uncontrollably into the hair of his slain child, a broken man.

Sel blew a breath of disappointment. She had honestly not wanted it to go like this, not in the least, but she couldn't very well have let Goku's transgression go unpunished. If she could teach him one thing before she ended it all for them, she wanted it to be that he was not the infallible hero he and everyone else thought him to be. There were consequences for acting without regard, and oftentimes, others suffered for your mistakes.

"That's that then," she murmured, looking away from the devastated father and towards the shoreline. "I won't drag this on any more. I'll put this planet, and you, out of your misery. Chin up Goku; you'll be reunited with him in moments." She smiled, sadly this time, as she brought one hand up by her face, palm up. A pale green orb of energy appeared, growing larger for a few seconds, but continuously inflating in power as she crammed as much ki as she could into the small package. She'd destroy the Earth quickly, without any Armageddon show like on Namek. "Bye-"

Two very large arms encircled her, cinching her tightly. The orb vanished instantly as she gasped in surprise, completely stunned. She hadn't sensed anybody else coming at her, so who-?

"Sixteen?!" She jerked her head as far to the side as she could to try and see the much larger android's face, but she was far too constricted for that kind of leeway. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I am going to self-destruct, and destroy you."

Unbidden, knowledge on the bomb he was carrying flashed into her mind, and she knew that she was in trouble. Squirming desperately, she tried to pry an arm loose, but the giant somehow stayed strong against her superior might, his very will forcing his body to hold out as long as it could.

Watching helplessly, Trunks clenched his jaw, remembering back to one of the days he had been hanging around his mother's lab several weeks past.

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Humming to himself, Dr. Briefs squinted at the digital recreation of Sixteen's skeletal workings on the monitor, Scratch at his usual perch on the inventor's shoulder. Something peculiar caught his eye. "Hmm, that's odd."

An exhausted Bulma turned in her office chair to glance questioningly at her dad. Though he didn't see her, he kept talking.

"Bulma,could you run a second level diagnostic on his left chest plate?"

"Just a sec," the heiress mumbled, wiping at her her eyes before typing in the request on her terminal. On both of their monitors the close up of Sixteen's metal ribcage took center stage, the Red Ribbon Army emblem obscured by the metal collarbones. And when the computer zoomed in, they both got a very good look at an egg-shaped device, no larger than an apple and also proudly bearing the symbol for a long failed empire. The system went through some very quick readings before a big, red warning alert popped up on the screen. 'EXPLOSIVE'.

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Krillin and Yamcha, the only other Z-Fighters still conscious and paying attention to the battle, were both in no condition to help or intervene, frozen in place from the horrifying chain of events. Trunks, the only one yet to fight or be injured, remained in place, eyes fixed on the two androids.

"Sel, no matter how strong you've become, you will not survive this explosion," Sixteen promised. The other knew this all too well and was giving her all to break free, without any results. "You've destroyed life. You are a parasite to this plant." Sixteen looked, perhaps for the first time, truly angry, furious that he had failed to save Gohan, or any of the others before now. "I see now that this is the best way to destroy you."

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"My," Dr Briefs tried to keep the alarm from his voice and only succeeding marginally, "that would certainly bring down the boom."

"Look at these neutron readings!" Bulma was typing again, bringing up a more detailed examination of the bomb. "It's practically a nuclear warhead! It's a miracle it wasn't accidentally triggered in his fight."

"Hm, you're right about that. If I had to guess, I'd that that Gero designed this android for a suicide mission."

Bulma glanced nervously at the still form of Sixteen on the examination table, offline while his new power routers charged up his equally new battery cores. "I guess it was intended as a last ditch effort to kill Goku."

Dr. Briefs lowered his head grimly, the cigarette he was currently working on seeming to droop. "There's always the chance that it still is." He looked back towards his daughter. "It's too large a risk – let's take it out."

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"Dr. Gero's sick ambitions die here, with us, and by his own creation!" Sixteen seemed to have completely accepted his fate, perfectly willing to sacrifice what life could be claimed as his for the lives of countless others. He took one extra second to close his eyes, reveling in the feel of wind against his face and the almost drowned out sound of distant waves.

Then he began the self-destruct process, allowing his body to channel all of the artificial ki that powered him. The effect was that he started to glow blindingly bright until his was completely obscured by luminescence. Sel panicked and started swinging her legs at him, desperate to break free, but she had run out of time.

Slowly, they began to lift into the air, ascending straight up. Sixteen didn't want to kill anybody but Sel, and the island would have been engulfed by the setonation.

"Sixteen!" Trunks shouted into the sky.

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"No, leave it."

Both scientists started and looked around at where Trunks stood in the entryway. "Leave Sixteen with the bomb."

"Trunks!" Bulma stood up, rightly concerned. "I'm not sure you realize the danger that this thing poses. It could easily kill any of you, even Goku!"

"Yeah, I got that. I know full well that he's still a threat to us, and that he could still try to attack Goku at any time. But at this point it really doesn't matter; we're all dead anyway and just living on borrowed time. If he does try to kill Goku, then the rest of us will be there to stop him. And he just might even try to use the bomb for a good purpose, who knows. But the bomb stays, and I'll stand by that, no matter what."

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"Goodbye." Trunks was surprised he heard Sixteen's voice at all over all the noise and distance, but he had. And those were Android Sixteen's final words.

With a noise unlike anything any of them had ever heard before and a light that was a miniature supernova, the bomb erupted with a hurricane of force, flattening all of the warriors to the ground, Goku resolutely shielding his son's body with his own. The roar that filled their ears was incomparable and came at them from all directions at once, disorienting them and leaving them clutching the ground for reassurance. Fiery hot winds whipped across their backs as another heat blossomed above, elevating the temperature around it to suffocating levels and beyond.

The explosion was relentlessly intense, but it didn't last very long, the fire and force breaking apart after only a few seconds. Smoke was everywhere in the sky, blotting out the sun and creating a dusk on the island. Fireballs fell towards the ground but didn't have enough mass to truly burn and quickly faded away to nothing long before landing on earth or water. Of Sixteen and Sel, there wasn't a trace, both completely eradicated beyond any recovery.

Slowly, Trunks, Krillin and Yamcha stood, the latter being supported by the former, they didn't say anything, looking from the deserted sky, to the devastated arena, to Goku, still clutching Gohan close to him and crying without reprieve. Krillin slowly limped over to his oldest friend, uncertainly laying a hand on the saiyan's shoulder, simply lacking any words of comfort for a father that had just lost his son.

The battle was over.

And the cost had been great.

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The three other kais were talking to each other, visibly relieved that the crisis was over. Grand Kai had sat down at the center of their group, suddenly feeling his age, and pulling out an outdated, blocky cellular phone from a pocket on his jean shorts. North and Vegeta both refrained from talking to the others, keeping to themselves.

"So, we really weren't needed," North surmised, thankful despite the fact. It really had been a last-ditch kind of plan anyway, one that could have had any number of effects on the Universe, more than likely really bad ones at that. "I'm surprised that it really came down to that Android; he didn't seem like the kind of guy to have any tricks up his sleeves." If King Kai only knew...

'Yes, it's over. They can now wait for the Dragon Balls to re energize and wish back their fallen. But I'm worried about Kakarot.'

King Kai nodded morosely. "I know what you mean. I've never seen Goku so demoralized, not even in his most dire fights. I'm not sure his natural cheerfulness will really ever come back from this."

'That is up to Kakarot and Gohan to settle when they see each other again. Our meddling ends here.' Again, King Kai nodded, understanding that some things even a god couldn't fix. 'Will Cell be properly contained in Hell? She was hardly a trifling matter.'

"Oh don't worry about that. We have Pikkon to to keep the more powerful denizens of Hell in line."

Vegeta was silent a moment.

'Is Pikkon a tall-green skinned being without a nose and wearing a tall hat?'

"Yeah, actually. You know him?"

'Oh ho ho, I know him alright, and I fully intend to hand him his own ass the first chance I get!'

King Kai looked at the spirit of the saiyan blankly for several seconds before turning away. "I really should have guessed you were going to say that."

"Uuuh, people? Everybody?"

All the conversations immediately died off as the kais and Vegeta looked towards an ashen Grand Kai, who was holding his phone in a slightly trembling hand. "I just called my son and … he tells me that Cell never arrived in the Check-In station." They were all silent, no one wanting to actually voice the conclusion of that thought, so it fell to the leader of them to say exactly what he didn't want to. "Cell is still alive. She is still on Earth."

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Piccolo had just fully healed and was hurrying towards his fallen student and friend when the burst of power blew everyone down again. Their first thought was that something else was exploding, but this concussive wave didn't let up, and they quickly began to realize that this force had a ki signature. And it was unmistakable, even if it was the stuff of nightmares.

"No...no no no NO NO NOOO!" Trunks screamed, even as Sel descended from the sky and back onto what was left of the arena, delicate and poised.

She was completely unharmed, even lacking the damage from the fight with Gohan. She was smiling even wider than usual, true amusement and threat. And her power...it was simply staggering, far surpassing anything she or anyone else had exhibited up to that point overshadowing the Full Powered Super Saiyans to a mind boggling degree. Instead of the forrest green she had previously boasted, her rippling aura was now a startling gold exactly like a super saiyan's, with crooked arcs of electricity crawling across it like demented snakes. The sheer magnitude of her might was enough to whip away the smoke cloud above, revealing that the whole world had been plunged into premature night, bolts of pale blue lightning cracking down sporadically.

"Well now, I'm sure I'm the last person you expected, or wanted, to see again, right?" She inquired, cheekily leaning forward with her hands held behind her, like an expectant teacher. "And I'm sure you're all just dying to know where all this power came from, hmm? Well, I'm in such a good mood that I'll actually tell you before I wipe this useless planet from existence." She crossed one arm under her bust while the other was lifted skyward, slowly building up a ball of emerald energy that dwarfed her previous one tenfold.

"You see, thanks to the cells in my body, I was able to survive Sixteen's admirable sacrifice, if only just. As a charred and bleeding lump at the bottom of the ocean, I would surely have perished if not for my arcosian born ability to survive just about anywhere, and I would never have recovered if not for the namekian regeneration, and it would never have given me such a delectable power boost if not for the saiyan's zenkai ability. So truly, my predecessors saved my life. How wonderfully ironic, wouldn't you think?"

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'NOOOOOOOWWW!'

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Sel's energy ball was even larger than her own body now, casting a garish light against everything around it and illuminating the looks of pure terror that she was getting from everybody, even Goku.

"In these last seconds, I want all of you to know that I do not hate any of you. Even those whose cells I wasn't created with. In a way, you were like a family to me, nurturing me and helping me to get stronger and stronger until there was nothing out there that could stand in my way. But now it is time for the bird to leave the nest, and isn't it so fitting that the nest be immortalized in that bird's memory?" She had to shout now, to be heard over the crackling of the planet buster she now held aloft, ready at any second to plunge through the Earth's crust and detonate the core.

"Why did it...have to end like this?" Yamcha gasped, tears of frustration slipping from his eyes and sailing back in the winds kicked up by Sel's burning aura. The others were likewise cursing their fate, absolutely helpless in the face of unimaginable strength. Krillin was on hands and knees, fingers dragging bloody furrows in the dirt, Piccolo had to kneel, shoulder turned to stop himself from being bowled over, and Trunks was still standing, golden hair the only other source of illumination, no matter how weak in comparison, and had squared his body in a natural instinct to face death head on.

"So now, our time together has drawn to a close. Farewell defenders of Earth, and I sincerely hope your eternal rest is peaceful after lifetimes of fighting."

This was it – the end of the road.

Sel now lifted her other hand to ready her throw, aiming straight down so that the island would go first, vaporizing the Z-Fighters in an instant.

Everybody tensed, anticipating the blinding light and heat before it struck. Goku looked down at the body he held, at the peaceful expression his Gohan's face had taken in death, as though he was just sleeping.

"I'm so sorry Gohan. I didn't want this for you, and I'm ashamed that our reunion will have to be in Otherworld. But I love you so much, and I'm unbelievably proud of everything you've done."

And then Gohan's eyes shot open.

Goku flinched back in surprise even as his son jerked out of his grasp, breathing deeply of the thin air they were all in and clutching at his heart, eyes wildly taking in everything. He seemed to find his bearings quickly enough, rising to his knees as he continued to heave greedily for breath.

Goku reached out to him. "Gohan!" But stopped as his eyes took in the back of his son's armor, where the death beam had cut a clean hole through the white ceramic. Behind the slightly burnt material of the blue bodysuit, Gohan's skin was... completely unblemished by a wound of any sort. "Wha-? How?" Goku asked of no one, stupefied by his son's miraculous revival and return to health.

Gohan had caught his breath and now took in Sel with her primed ki globe, just a split second away from unleashing it. Without any preamble, the young half-saiyan launched towards her, transforming instantly and crossing the distance in a blur of light.

Sel spotted the incoming advance but was entirely vulnerable as she was, and so took the double kick the chest without any resistance, shocked to find herself shooting backward and away from the attacker. The ki bomb plummeted, but Gohan reacted without pause, flipping in midair to land in a coiled hand stand and then explode outward with another double kick that caught the sphere head on. There was a second of conflict between the two powers before the emerald ball was flung skywards, sailing into the darkened sky and vanishing from sight in seconds before detonating outside of the atmosphere, briefly creating a star visible through the threatening gloom.

Gohan allowed himself to fall forward, landing on his feet and standing back up, turning to face the direction Sel had been sent even as she reappeared in a harsh shriek of supersonic movement. She was growling in annoyance, but was then openly shocked to see just who it was that had delayed her.

"How the hell are you still alive? I shot you through the heart?!" She pointed at the hole in the boy's armor, exactly where his heart lay underneath. Like on his back, the exposed skin was smooth and undamaged. Gohan brushed his hand over the vanished wound.

"Apparently not. How could a dead person just heal themselves like this? Or is it that you now face the dead? Are you now up against something beyond life?"

If possible Sel would have blanched at the words thrown her way, but she recovered almost instantly, scowling at the impudent whelp. She could feel his power and it was the same as it had been during their fight, and that hadn't even been a match for her original limit, let alone this new mountain of power she now possessed.

"I don't fear the dead. They should stay in the ground where they belong, and I'll happily put you back there!" She strode across the distance between them and threw a punch at his face faster than he would be able to perceive. In response, Gohan turned his head at the last second, ducking under her arm and turning back towards her both both palms aimed at her now unguarded chest, firing a burst of ki directly inter her, sending the surprised and confounded android back several steps.

Gohan stood back up, a malicious grin appearing on his youthful face. "Well well Cell, it seems like your lesson went to heart." Then he cackled with spiteful indulgence, openly mocking her. All of the Z-Fighters were simply staring in shock, incapable of understanding what they were thinking. A few of them thought that the Dragon Balls must have been used, but Dende had predicted that they wouldn't be charged for another month at the least.

"What the hell happened to you?!" Sel snarled, feeling like there was a joke being told and she was both the butt of it and the only one ignorant of it. "How could you possibly fight back when I'm at this level!?"

"Simple, really," Gohan sneered at her, carelessly crossing his arms. "You've never fought me before, so you would most certainly be unfamiliar with my tactics and technique. I'm still getting used to all this, so we should actually be on fairly even standing for a bit...until I rip you apart and burn every single piece of you to dust!"

"What do you mean 'I've never fought you'? Did you sacrifice your sanity for a second chance?" Sel was spitting mad, and she wanted answers right now!

Gohan laughed again, derisively and contemptuous. "I meant exactly what I said you idiot. You fought the boy, but I've been dead since before you became a threat, so naturally we haven't been acquainted."

As one, Sel and the remaining Z-Fighters froze in shock and realization.

"No-"

"It can't-"

"That's impossible..."

"But how..."

"That's right," Gohan leered, lifting his chin and grinning dangerously at the android. "I am the one saiyan you should always have been afraid of, the one to inherit the will of our lost planet and people! I am Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans, and I have returned from death to guide you straight to Hell!" His grin became a full on smile, causing an involuntary chill to sweep down everyone's spines. "And I promise...it's going to hurt!"

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Stay tuned for the stunning conclusion in the next chapter of DRAGON BALL Z!