Chapter 18: The Wall

"Randy, cover my back!" Max shouted. "Danny, you're with me!"

"Gotcha, cap'n," Danny said with a mock salute. He didn't bother turning invisible as he soared towards Gohan. He already knew that Gohan (and by proxy Cell) would be able to track him regardless, so he just flew unimpeded. When Danny got within striking distance of Gohan, he let himself split into four clones. He'd been able to make up to six clones with his current training, but he thought it'd be best to dial it back and conserve power.

Against the juggernaut that Gohan was, Danny was gonna need it.

Gohan easily phased through the clones, reappearing behind them before leveling crushing blows at each of them and blowing the original Danny away with a Kiai wave. A Max clone had easily caught Danny and righted him while several other Max clones charged ahead. Several Max clones leaped at Gohan but were quickly blown away by a series of Ki blasts while the rest continued to rush him. Max continued making more clones from within the swarm, wincing at the effort. He could make more clones faster and better than he used to thanks to Berto's invention, but it was still taxing to push his new limits.

"Just a little bit more. . ." Max murmured. He sincerely hoped that Danny was getting close to fulfilling the next phase of the plan.

The onslaught of Ki blasts faltered for a moment before resuming. A Danny clone (or maybe the original) flew over to him, panting slightly. His entire hazmat suit reeked of sweat and clung to his skin like. . . well skin. "It didn't. . work. He was. . able to feel me immediately."

"Damn," Max cursed, turning to his right where Randy was waiting at the ready. "Randy, you're up! Danny, keep at it! I'll see if I can't give you a better opening!"

Danny nodded and was off like a rocket. Max sucked in a deep breath as he cried out, "Let's go T.U.R.B.O. Speed!"

His clones regretfully evaporated, but he was on Gohan like white on rice. He threw a jab at Gohan's head which he deftly dodged with a weave. Undeterred, Max aimed a jab at his gut that Gohan quickly sidestepped. Grunting, Max let his T.U.R.B.O. energy build up as he continued his flurry of punches, alternating with a few well-placed kicks. To his growing frustration, Gohan easily dodged or parried every blow that came his way. The teen moved like a well-oiled machine.

'Let's hope this works. Steel, you're up!'

'You got it, Max!'

With a high-pitched whine, Steel released the supercharged T.U.R.B.O. energy from Max's chest in a powerful beam of light. Gohan's eyes widened for a split second before crossing his arms together, bracing for the attack. Max grit his teeth as he tried to keep himself from blowing back from the recoil. His body was groaning in protest, but he kept it up. He'd never before unleashed anything near the level of power that he was currently exhibiting. Still, he pressed on. If he was truly going to help in the fight against Cell, he'd need to push well beyond his limits.

Gohan had finally had enough of their dance as he sent Max skidding backwards with a shout. Max was barely able to catch a glimpse of Randy as he leaped over him, seemingly drawing two sais from nowhere. "Ninja Double Sai Throw!"

Gohan easily snagged each sai out of the air, gripping them by the blade. He flung them back at Randy, who deftly caught them in his scarf. Returning his sais back to wherever they'd come from, Randy charged Gohan, whipping out two hot balls. Max geared himself up to charge back into the fray when he noticed Danny sneaking up behind Gohan, his hands aglow with cryokinetic energy.

Uh oh.

Max's eyes widened. "Randy, no!"

"Ninja Hot Balls!"

The fire erupted from the spheres at the exact moment that Danny released his ice. The halfa yelped as his attack was canceled and the flames began to bite at his arms. His cries were cut short as he had the wind knocked out of him with a back kick to his solar plexus.

Gohan went on the attack as he shot through the flames. Max could only catch the barest glimpse of Gohan's charge before he reappeared in front of Randy. Max quickly shifted into Speed mode as he tried to beat Gohan before he could attack, but he was too slow. Gohan buried his fist into Randy's gut. The teen crumpled around the powerful fist before getting launched several yards away, coming to an unceremonious stop after crashing against the canyon wall. Max reached Gohan a hair afterwards only to get knocked back as Gohan simply threw him to the wayside after a shoulder grab.

Max managed to roll with the momentum before skidding to a stop. He looked up in time to see an Ice Ball flying from Randy's outstretched hand. Just before it could hit Gohan, though, the man spun a dime and knocked the ball away with a Kiai.

Max blinked in surprise as he was only able to barely register the Ice Ball's new trajectory before it crashed into him. He was trapped from the neck down in ice before he knew what hit him.

"Alright, everyone," Forge's voice echoed out from the intercom. "Take five."

Max switched into Strength mode to easily break out of the ice holding him. He could immediately see Randy approaching him with his mask long since pocketed, allowing his sheepish grin to be on full display. "Hey, man, I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking using a Hot Ball like that."

'Well, we can agree on that' Max thought, dryly.

"That's what practice is for, right," Max responded as his face mask retracted.

"Yeah."

Max looked at him with narrowed eyes. It didn't take a genius to notice the ninja shifting from foot to foot while not meeting his eyes. "Do you have something on your mind, man?"

Randy finally locked eyes with Max with a startled jolt. It took him a couple of seconds to seemingly process the question though. ". . . Yeah, I just. . . I'll tell you after the practice session is done for today."

Max nodded. "Alright man, I'll be waiting."

The practice carried on for another hour after Randy and Max had agreed to meet. The duo finally met up inside the locker rooms. Max didn't need to do much to dry himself thanks to his suit basically having its own filtration system (weird but hey convenient), so he just hung by as Randy got himself freshened up.

"So what's been up?" Max asked.

Randy laughed bitterly as he chucked his towel into his locker. "What hasn't been? That's a better question. Uh. . . dang. I don't even know where to start."

"First thing you can think of?"

Randy paused for a moment, leaning against a nearby locker. "Gohan's plan. I feel guilty about not going along with it."

"Randy, you did the right-"

"He came up to me, y'know? I tried avoiding him for a while, hoping he forgot or something. Of course, he didn't. This stuff with Cell, everything that monster did to him, it's personal. Like everything with the Sorcerer is personal. Hell, it's probably even more personal for him. He truly believed that that was the right decision to finally put Cell down for good."

Max didn't speak so Randy barreled on. "I actually acted like I was gonna go along with his plan. And when the time came, it was like I got cold feet." He laughed to himself, shaking his head. "I let him get his hopes up for nothing."

Max put a hand on the teen's shoulder and gave him a small smile. "This isn't your fault. It isn't Gohan's either. It's Cell's. He's trying to get in our heads. We can't afford to let him."

Randy gave a non-committal grunt but didn't say much else.

For a moment, the two of them just stayed in that silence. Later, Randy cleared his throat, drawing Max's attention. "I. . . I have this girl that I like. Well, more like these girls."

Max looked at him carefully. "And do either of them know this?"

"H-One of them knows that I like her. The other. . . I dunno."

Max pretended like he didn't catch Randy's slip-up. "Well, how did the one that knows take it?"

"They like me too."

"That's great!" Max said with a grin, clapping him on the back. Randy returned a small smile. "You should try dating her."

What was left of Randy's already small smile faded. "That's what I wanted to do, but then she asked me if I still liked the other girl."

"And you said?"

"Sorta?"

Max winced. "Yikes."

"I know. . ."

"Well, maybe you can figure all of this out after the tournament. I mean, I'll help you as best as I can, but this might be too tangled of an issue to handle right now."

"Yeah. . . Yeah, you're right."

"Hey, I don't wanna sound like a stick in the mud, but this has to come first. We can't afford to lose sight of Cell."

Randy nodded. "Yeah, I get it."

Max could see the hesitancy and discomfort written all over Randy's face. He felt bad seeing Randy like this, a fellow superhero or not. Max slid a little closer to him and gave him a little nudge with his elbow. "Besides, this can give you more time to think. You and the girl."

Randy nodded a bit more confidently, flashing Max a smile as he nudged Max back. Max just grinned back. "Thanks man."

"No problem. What are friends for?"

"We need more time."

Forge didn't even bother to look up from his many holographic notes as he gave his response. "In case you haven't noticed Dread, time isn't something that we've got a high supply of right now."

"Surely you're not so naive that you can't see the massive disadvantage that we're at here."

"I can see that we're wasting time talking about conjecture instead of having meaningful conversation."

Dread glared for a moment before shaking his head. "So, it's your old stubbornness then. Great."

"Do you want to actually get to work or are we just going to do this the entire day? In case you haven't noticed, tournament day is tomorrow. We ran out of time somewhere around five years ago. Now, if you want to go over our countermeasures, then be my guest. Otherwise, the door is right over there."

Dread gave a huff. Forge just rolled his eyes. It was a wonder how either of them had ever gotten along, let alone became friends with each other. "It is precisely because I have been paying attention that I know your plan isn't going to work. Your fighters haven't even been facing their own freak at full power. How are they going to even touch Cell?! Not to mention tournaments are typically one-on-one fights. Who's to say that he doesn't destroy the entire planet out of anger that his rules weren't being followed?"

Forge frowned at him before going back to his holograms. "That's just a chance we're going to have to be willing to take."

The room went quiet aside from the whirring of computers and the hum of the hologram projectors. "We're hinging this all on a chance?! We need something more concrete."

Forge sighed and glared at Dread, pointedly. "Well, if you have any bright ideas for a sure-fire way to put an interdimensional, solar-system level threat into the ground, I'll be glad to hear it."

"T.U.R.B.O. energy."

Forge scoffed. "You think we hadn't thought of overloading Cell with T.U.R.B.O. energy? That thing is practically toxic, look what it did to you!"

"Which is why it would be perfect to use on Cell! It doesn't work well with technology either. With any luck, it should short out the androids inside of the bastard."

"Yeah, it probably would, but Cell has something you don't. A wickedly stupid healing factor and the ability to acquire new abilities. Who's to say when introduced to T.U.R.B.O. energy that he won't adapt to it?"

Dread just crossed his arms and scoffed. "It's a better idea than nothing."

"Yeah, well it's a good thing that we don't have nothing to fight Cell with. Overloading Cell should only be used as a last-ditch effort."

Dread simply grunted as he finally returned to his set of holograms. Likewise, Forge returned to his. The information was identical; the plans for tomorrow were hashed out on each screen. They had everything from Plan A to Plan O properly listed (A being the best and safest option while O was the worst). Considering what Gohan had told them, he was sincerely hoping plan N would not have to be enacted. If he was being honest, he hoped that he wouldn't have to initiate any of the other backup plans, but if he'd learned anything over his years of being a commander, it was that shit always went sideways.

"The T.U.R.B.O. Bomb, how is it coming along?"

Forge's jaw went taut. It was plan M; in the event that all of the other plans before that one didn't work out, they would unleash a bomb that would make the Tsar Bomb look like a child's plaything. It had been partly infused with some of Max's T.U.R.B.O. energy from when he'd been going haywire a few weeks back. It wasn't as powerful as they'd need it to be, but it wasn't the power that would be the kicker. That much T.U.R.B.O. energy, barely restrained, only to be released all at once?

The results wouldn't be pretty for anybody.

"It's still stable."

"You should have Max feed more power into it."

Forge stared at Dread with wide eyes. He knew that Dread was a piece of work, but there was no way that he was that loony, right? "No way! It's way too risky! We barely have it contained as it is!"

"Please, it's either you risk it, or we die."

"If it goes wrong and takes more energy than it can handle, we'll die!"

"Well, it would just be a risk that we'll have to be willing to take."

Forge ground his teeth as he glared at Dread. He was only barely holding in his contempt. He didn't know when he'd walked up to Dread, but he currently found himself within spitting distance of the man. He swallowed back the retort that he was dying to levy at the man and instead took a deep breath, glaring up at the man's visor. "We aren't adding any more energy to that thing and that is final."

Dread was quiet for a moment before walking away with a scoff. "Fine. If it's all the same to you, I'll be heading back to THI. The plans seem to be in order, if a little weakened by morality."

"Good to know."

Forge glared at Dread's retreating back. With a hydraulic hiss and a muffled thud, Dread was out the door. He dragged his non-metallic hand down his face as he tried to expel his anger for Dread. That man always seemed to bring out the worst in him. Forge shook his head as he looked back at his screen, specifically the one that housed the dreaded Plan M. He had an announcement order ready to be sent out to the President in case it needed to be deployed. "Here's to hoping I'll never have to send it."

"Focus. You can't force your way into lowering your Ki signature."

"I know. . ."

Gohan fell silent for a moment. Danny felt bad, but he knew that he could apologize later. He just needed to get this stupid technique down. It would be crucial in stopping Cell. He felt deep within himself, down to his core. He could feel the power easily; he manipulated it all the time since Frostbite trained him, after all. He pushed deeper and deeper, becoming more and more aware of the chill within him as he forged ahead. He tried to ignore the memories of the chaos that had caused him to search for his core in the first place as he tried to suppress the energy.

He could feel his core respond, biting back at him. It felt like a blizzard within him, unrelenting and unyielding. No matter how he tried to subjugate the power. He pushed harder, biting back the winds as he surrounded it. The winds clawed back against his efforts and it felt like they were winning. His hold was ripped from him as the winds returned full force. His core was laughing at him. He just knew it was.

"Danny!"

Danny jerked in surprise, turning his head as he saw Gohan crouched down next to him. "What?"

"You were forcing it again."

"Really? Again?"

"Yeah, you were sort of growling for a second there."

Danny's cheeks flushed. "It's just so. . . frustrating! I don't understand why I can't figure this out!"

"Hey, I'll tell you what?" Gohan responded as he stood back up. "How about we take a break? It could help you clear your mind and get you back on track."

Danny sighed as he followed Gohan's lead. "Alright fine, but I'm coming back today."

Gohan grinned. "Fine by me. You're getting closer by the way!"

Danny smiled a little before he nodded and headed out of the room.

And right into a wall of purple and black.

"Ugh, sorry about that."

"No, it was- Danny?"

His eyes finally processed just who he was looking at. He caught a glimpse of Sam's surprised expression before ducking his head down and casting his gaze over to a nearby wall. "Yeah. How've you been?"

"Worried."

Danny winced. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. I just. . . I just have something to tell you."

Danny felt like the air had been ripped from his lungs as he turned back to face Sam. "Something to tell me?"

Sam glanced away, rubbing her arm. Danny's alarm bells were ringing out of their minds at this point, but he couldn't quite pin down why. Or rather, what was causing Sam to act this way. "Yeah, I just. . . could I talk to you in private?"

"Uh, sure."

Danny felt something claw at his heart as he followed her. He could feel his palms getting sweaty as he tried to distract himself. He made the mistake of looking down and catching an eyeful of his friend's derriere before he turned his gaze to the surroundings. It didn't do much to stop the rising blood in his cheeks or the mutinous thoughts flooding his mind.

Thankfully (or unfortunately) before long, they finally arrived at her room. He pulled at his shirt's collar, trying to alleviate some of the nervousness that was enshrouding him. He was only partly successful. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

He hoped his voice hadn't cracked just then. It felt like it did, but he couldn't tell with how loud his heartbeat was pounding in his ears.

Sam looked at him with her warm, violet eyes. Some would've called her cold and uncaring and scary, but Danny couldn't agree with those people. At least, about the first two. Her eyes had almost always been so warm. It was one of the many things he liked about her. "I've just been worried about you."

Danny's cheeks flushed, realizing that he'd been staring. "I'm sorry about not contacting you sooner, but I've been fine. How about you?"

"Outside of the whole worrying business, I've been fine too," she cracked a half-smile at that. He chuckled. "All the stuff you've been through, though, this can't be easy."

"It's not, but I'll manage. We'll rip Cell a new one tomorrow, right?"

"Right."

The two stood there in an awkward silence. They didn't take their eyes off of each other, so they were both just kinda. . . stewing in it. At least Danny thought they both were. He was certainly feeling it. 'Why?! I've known her practically my whole life, so why?!'

Clearing his throat, Danny finally spoke up. "So, uh, is there anything else that you wanted to talk about?"

Sam's eyes widened as she shook her head rapidly. "No!"

Danny stumbled back slightly before he caught himself with an awkward laugh. "Oh. . . uh, alright. Tell Tuck that I'm sorry for not speaking to him recently, if you happen to see him." Danny turned towards the door as he spoke. "Everything's just been so busy recently and-"

"Wait!"

Danny flinched as he looked back at Sam. This girl was gonna give him a heart attack. "Huh?"

"I care about you. A lot."

Danny fully turned to face her, his brows scrunched with a frown. "Um, me too? Are you O-?"

"Not like that! I mean, like, I really care about you. I've always liked you from the first time I met you, but it just started to grow and blossom as I've known you. Seeing you with Valerie and fawning over Paulina wasn't enough to give me the kick in the ass that I needed but with everything that's happening. . . I don't know if I'll ever get another chance to tell you that I. . . I. . ."

Danny felt his heart melt. She couldn't get the words out, but he got it. Somehow, his "clueless" brain just finally got it. He could feel that nervousness and confusion that he'd felt before dissipating into nothing. No, nothing was the wrong word. It turned into a warm feeling that encompassed every bit of his being. He didn't quite know what to call it, but he knew that it felt good. "Sam. . ."

She rushed forward and buried her head in his neck. Danny was just a hair taller than her, so she fit almost seamlessly. He felt bombarded. Her scent, the feel of her chest pressing to his, her hair tickling his nose, and above all else, her tears dripping onto his chest. "Sam."

Sam looked up at him, a bit teary eyed. Her dark mascara was starting to run. He almost wanted to look away, but at the same time he couldn't bring himself to do it. A part of him didn't want to. "Yeah?"

"I really care about you a lot, too."

It was true, but it still felt like an electric shock saying it out loud. It made so much sense now that he'd said it, looking back on his friendship with the goth girl, that he couldn't help but wonder why it had taken him so long to see it.

Sam gave him the widest grin that he had ever seen as she grabbed the back of his head with both hands and pressed her lips to his.

Danny was sure that his brain just about exploded. He couldn't think of much other than the kids. The sweet, warm, intimate kiss.

Too soon for him, it was over with both of them greedily taking in breaths. They barely acknowledged it though as they laughed. Sam was holding the sides of his face while Danny awkwardly had his hands on her hips.

"Sorry about that," Sam giggled.

"N-No, it's fine. You were great. Did great. Uh, is saying that weird?"

Sam gave a full belly laugh, the type of laugh that would have you clutching your sides. "Your face is so red!"

Danny rolled his eyes and averted his gaze. Try as he might though, he couldn't keep a smile off his face. "Shut it, Manson."

Sam flicked him on the nose with a few more chortles. "Never gonna happen, Casper."

Gohan's hearing was quite keen, so he picked up on a lot of things that others might have missed. Growing up, he'd heard much of his parents' conversations when they'd thought he was out of earshot and studying. Thus, he'd overheard a fair amount of the conversation between Sam and Danny before they'd walked away (no matter how much he'd tried not to). It seemed quite serious. He hoped everything would be alright with those two.

He frowned as he thought of the upcoming battle. It was clear that it was affecting all of them, even without the information Sam and Danny had unknowingly supplied him. His fist tightened at his side, making his nails dig into his flesh. "He's going down tomorrow. Permanently."

He meant it wholeheartedly. He had too many people precious to him on this Earth to fail. His new friends were staples in his mind, but his mind focused on one friend in particular.

He couldn't fathom how quickly she'd wormed her way into his thoughts. Sure, he hadn't had a lot of friends his age growing up, but he hadn't even warmed up this quickly to Danny, Max, Randy, and the others. Maybe it was due to the shared interests that Jazz and himself had. Maybe it was their similar ages or their upbringings with strange families and their commitment to academics. He wasn't quite sure which of these factors lead to their blossoming friendship, but he was simply grateful that it existed.

And he would absolutely protect it.

Once he could hear Danny and Sam were sufficiently out of earshot, he stepped out of his room.

And nearly knocked Jazz over.

"Sorry about that Gohan!" Jazz said with a smile. "I was just coming by to see how you were doing."

Gohan felt his heart soar for a moment before he fully processed her statement. "Oh, I'm fine. I just wrapped up my training session with your brother. He's coming along great! He's a real natural with Ki manipulation."

Jazz smiled. "That's Danny for you. Talented and driven, whenever the inspiration hits, that is."

"Yeah, he's kinda like you that way."

Jazz flushed slightly as she beamed at him. "Aw, thanks. You're too kind."

Gohan smiled even wider. "So, what were you planning on doing today?"

Jazz shifted her weight as she rested a hand on her hip. Her hair followed her movement, shifting over the lowered shoulder and cascaded in waves, partially over her back and front. The auburn hair on her front draped over her chest, rising with the noticeable swell of her-

'BAD! Bad Gohan!'

"Some reading and planning with Sam," Jazz answered, returning his attention back to their conversation. "We've been trying to think of some ways that we can help you guys beat Cell. The ideas are looking promising so far!"

"That's great."

Jazz's eyes narrowed at him. "Gohan?"

Gohan laughed nervously, waving his hands in front of him. "It's noth-"

"Gohan."

His shoulders sagged with a sigh. There wasn't a thing under the sun that he could hide from Jazz. "This is all my fault. Cell wouldn't even be here if it weren't for me."

Jazz frowned at him before she grabbed his arm and dragged him towards his room. Gohan felt his face heat up slightly. 'Were her hands always so soft?!'

"Wh-What are you doing?"

She looked at him with a determined stare, not letting go of him even as the hydraulic doors slid open. "You and I are going to train. We're going to talk and train through your problems. Do you have a problem with that?"

Gohan nervously chuckled. "I guess not."

"Good."

"I should talk to him," Theresa started, pacing forward. Until she stopped and turned around. "But what will I say?"

That gave her pause for a moment. What would she say? What could she say? She took another couple of steps. The last time she'd seen him, she'd run away. She couldn't help herself; the object of her desires standing right in front of her with his big, doe eyes looking down at her with concern and his scent so close. . .

She felt herself shiver with a light sigh. He was perfect.

'Now, if only I could tell him that. . .'

Theresa slapped her hands against the sides of her face, focusing her mind. "Look, Theresa! After Randy beats the breaks off of Cell, you are going to tell him how you feel! No ifs, ands, or buts about it!"

She nodded to herself as she stepped out of her room. It wasn't much of a plan, but it would do for the moment. Tomorrow she would tell Randy everything.

A/N: We are getting closer and closer to the end! I'm starting to get to the year that I'll need to transfer colleges, so I may be writing around this pace for a while. However, rest assured, I will keep writing.

Uploaded: December 13th, 2022