Vegeta:

Vegeta still couldn't believe it. Trunks, his own son, had kicked him and catapulted him out to sea to fight himself. How had he dared to do it? He absolutely had to teach little Trunks respect from the start, and Saiyan pride. No one was allowed to stand between the Saiyajin and his opponent in a fight. It was a fight to the death that only the strongest could win.

He flew back to Trunks and Cell. He felt the change in the energy. The sea seethed, wind roared. Just before he reached the island, nature calmed down again.

When he landed, the dust was just settling. A changed Cell appeared. He now had more human features and the change in his aura was so strong that the air around him seemed to crackle. Vegeta's body vibrated with anticipation of the fight.

"Well, that doesn't look too great," Vegeta remarked dryly as he looked the other up and down.

Cell didn't seem to notice him at all. Or he was deliberately ignoring him. That arrogant asshole! He wouldn't treat the prince of the Saiyans like that.

But before Vegeta could strike, Krillin came rushing from the side, jumped off just before Cell and swung out with his right leg to kick him in the neck, but Cell raised his arm almost casually. With this he hit Krillin. The force of this seemingly casual move hit the little man so hard that he left a swathe on the ground and lay motionless.

Vegeta had to swallow involuntarily. But good. That only goaded him even more. "That's why you turned? So you can go after weaker ones?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Trunks hurrying over to Krillin and giving him a Senzu Bean. So he had taken the two beans Kakarrot had offered him after all. So now he only had one. Quick action was required.

"Hey, you cellular heap, didn't you want to take on the strongest warrior on this planet? Then come here!"

Cell did nothing. He looked at his hands as if he had just discovered he had them. Had this transformation given him more strength, but forfeited some of his sanity?

Frustrated, Vegeta cried out and jumped towards Cell. He could hear Trunks yelling at him, but he ignored it and put all his strength into a kick that hit Cell in the neck.

But Cell did not even seem to feel it. Enraged, Vegeta moved away and focused his energy into an energy attack.

"My Final Flash will pulverise you!" With a shout, he released his gathered energy and sent it hurtling down on Cell. Breathing heavily, he waited for the dust to clear and inwardly triumphed when he saw Cell's right half of his body disappear.

Two seconds later, his sense of triumph was gone again as he saw Cell's half of his body regenerate.

"Shit!" He saw Cell rushing towards him, but he felt paralysed by the fact that this being was so strong that nothing seemed to be able to harm him. Moreover, he was so exhausted that it was only with the greatest effort of will that he could still stand.

He saw the blow coming and tried to raise his arm defensively, but he was too slow. Cell hit him hard on the solar plexus. He was thrown backwards, felt the impact on the hard stony ground, then blackness enveloped him.

Kera:

Kera flew as fast as she could. She had to protect Vegeta from himself. They would defeat Cell somehow. Somehow. But not right away. They had to team up for this. She had to make him understand that they could work together for once. Her Saiyan side resisted, but her rational side begged her to at least try.

She felt a surge of an energy some distance away. Trunks. She had to pause for a moment. The energy was insane. Trunks' aura surpassed even Vegeta's. He had surpassed the level of a Super Saiyan as well and had, by the feel of it, gone one step further. So that was what could be achieved in the space of mind and time.

Kera flew on, but she did not reach the island where Vegeta had fought Cell, because Krillin came towards her in the air. He had thrown Vegeta over his shoulder.

In shock, Kera let out a scream and raced towards him. "It's okay. He's just unconscious." Krillin raised a hand placatingly. Slowly, he let Vegeta slide into Kera's arms.

She cursed. She hadn't come in time to stand by him.

"What are you doing, my prince?" She sighed and looked at Krillin. "What happened in the last few minutes?"

"The short version? Cell absorbed 18 and knocked Vegeta unconscious."

"Do you have ...?"

"A Senzu Bean? I have."

"Good, then let's find a place to land." She didn't say she feared Vegeta's wrath if he woke up in her arms. Weak and helpless and then in front of Krillin's eyes. No, better to land so she could put him down.

It seemed like an eternity until they finally found a piece of land where they could land. Part of her senses followed Trunks' fight against Cell. He was losing. She wanted to fly to him to stand by him. If Vegeta found out she hadn't protected his son, he would be even angrier. She doubted if anyone would ever be strong enough to defeat Cell.

Carefully, Kera placed Vegeta on the ground and held out her hand for Krillin to give her the Senzu Bean. She bit down on it once briefly to crack the shell, then slowly pushed the bean into Vegeta's mouth.

"Here, chew, my prince."

Slowly Vegeta opened his eyes. "What ...?"

Kera's eyebrows drew together. "Your son is fighting Cell."

Vegeta jumped up. "I'm going to get that son of a bitch."

"I don't think you're up to it right now," Kera held him back.

Vegeta growled at her. "My son fights alone."

"We have to think of something!"

But Vegeta paid no attention to her and flew off. Kera immediately jumped after him. Krillin followed them.

Kera flew close beside Vegeta. "Please, don't rush it now. You have experienced first hand what Cell is capable of. We need to team up!"

Vegeta gave her a dismissive look. "That from your mouth. I thought you were a Saiyan. I thought you'd be prouder."

She growled. "I am. But I'm not stupid either. None of us stand a chance against him."

"I grew stronger ..."

"... because you were close to death. Yes, I noticed. Believe me, your strength still won't be enough."

Vegeta grumbled, but said nothing more until they reached Trunks. Kera hoped he would show some insight, but she didn't want to get her hopes up too high.

Kera, Vegeta and Krillin landed near Trunks. Motionless, he stood on what could hardly be called an island and stared ahead. His long hair blew in the wind. His shoulders hung limply down as if he had lost all motivation. He only looked up when Kera cleared his throat. He fixed his gaze on Vegeta.

"Father. I'm sorry. I couldn't defeat him." It sounded powerless.

"That you even thought you had a chance against him ..."

"You shut up, Vegeta. You haven't exactly covered yourself in glory," Kera interrupted Vegeta's arrogant speech.

"Kera, give it a rest." Seeing Trunks' pleading expression, Kera stifled her next remark and crossed her arms in front of her chest defiantly. His problem, not hers.

"What happened, anyway?" asked Krillin, drawing attention back to the important issue at hand.

"Cell wanted to know how father and I could become so strong in such a short time, and if we could become stronger with more time. I told him I didn't know and that Goku would come tomorrow to defeat him. Then Cell said that he wanted to hold a fighting tournament. Anyone who wants to can fight him individually. The more the better, he said. For in that time he would not kill people." A bitter tone mingled in Trunks' voice.

"That cluster of cells! He's just playing with us!" exclaimed Vegeta angrily.

"I'm going back to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber," Trunks said.

"You can kiss that goodbye, boy. I'm going in there alone."

"When is this tournament supposed to take place?" interjected Kera before this discussion got any further out of hand.

"In ten days. He'll announce the place on TV. We're supposed to bring Senzu Beans." A mirthless laugh mingled with his words. "Before he flew off, he said he hoped it wouldn't be too dull. If we all lose to him, people will be terrified because then no one will stand a chance against him."

"I will fight with you." Jerkily, all heads turned in the direction from which the voice had come. The android 16 was standing there. Part of his head was missing, revealing his circuitry. The rest of his body also looked very battered.

"Get off!" Trunks directed his hand at 16, who stopped abruptly.

"Please, take me to Capsule Corporation. I'm sure they can fix me there and then I'll help you."

Krillin took a step towards the android.

"Krillin, don't get too close to him!" Trunks was still in an attack stance. Krillin didn't let that bother him and stood in front of 16.

"I don't think the androids are as bad as we feared. They are not the same androids as in your timeline, Trunks." He turned to the android. "Come, I'll take you away." He took one of the android's arms and put it over his shoulder.

Trunks was still tense. Kera put a hand on his shoulder soothingly. "It's alright. I think Krillin is right."

Only slowly did Trunks release himself from his fighting stance. Krillin nodded briefly at Kera and rose. Kera, Trunks and Vegeta followed him.

Together they flew to Bulma's parents' mansion and landed in the garden after a long flight. Mrs Briefs was watering the flowers in a raised flowerbed. She turned to them when she noticed them.

"Oh, hello, Vegeta. Well, it's nice to have you back." She chuckled behind her hand. "And who is this handsome young man?" She walked up to Trunks and regarded him closely.

"Uh, nice to meet you," he stuttered sheepishly.

She also greeted Kera and Krillin, who inquired about Bulma. Before Mrs. Briefs could answer, Dr. Briefs came over on a bicycle.

"Bulma called to say she'll be here soon," he said.

Krillin explained the situation with 16 to the doctor. He promised to look at the android. As they turned towards the house, a small plane landed in the garden. Master Roshi, Chi-Chi, Yamcha and Chiaotzu got out of the vehicle.

Together they entered the Briefs' house. Mrs Briefs served them cakes, coffee and tea and Trunks explained Cell's intentions to them again.

When they were all up to date, Master Roshi began to reminisce. To those who wanted to hear, he told of the three tournaments Kakarrot had participated in, reaching the finals each time, but only narrowly emerging victorious in the 23rd Grand Tournament. Kera smiled. She already knew the story from Piccolo.

By now, almost everyone had gathered on the large balcony in front of the living room. Kera leaned on the railing and looked down into the garden. She listened to the conversations with only half an ear. Her thoughts drifted to Piccolo. Would he now also want to go to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to train? If so, would she go with him? Could she even stay outside if Piccolo was inside? Piccolo had once told her that the Hyperbolic Time Chamber was in another dimension. A great distance didn't bother her connection, but what about another dimension?

She had not heard from Piccolo since she had left the palace of Kami. She groped for her connection and almost instantly she heard his voice in her head. 'Are you all right?'

'Yeah, everything's fine. I'm just a little beat. Vegeta's pretty stubborn.' She had to grin briefly in spite of herself. She felt Piccolo grin as well. 'We're off Cell for today for now. I'll explain in peace tomorrow.'

'All right. Get some sleep, my pretty one.'

'See you tomorrow, my green one.' Kera smiled. Then the connection broke.

Kera sighed. She looked briefly over at Vegeta, who had sat down on the railing at the far end of the balcony. She was still angry with him. Vegeta, who had apparently noticed her look, pointedly looked away.

Again Kera sighed and then stretched. She entered the living room, murmured a "good night" to those still present, and disappeared into the hallway. She went to the guest room where she had slept during her training sessions at the estate and dropped onto the bed. Before falling asleep, she sent a thought to Piccolo, which was answered with a feeling of warmth and security.

The next morning, Dr Briefs resumed his analytical work on 16 immediately after breakfast. He told them nothing. He didn't even seem to notice that others were present at breakfast.

Everyone seemed a little out of it. No one felt like talking. Trunks had taken up residence in the living room and was changing the TV channels on a regular basis. They were waiting for a message from Cell.

"I'm sick of this waiting. I'm going to train," Yamcha said and left the room. Krillin followed him.

Vegeta looked at Kera and raised an eyebrow questioningly, but she crossed her arms and looked to the side.

They all flinched as a door slammed. Bulma ran into the room with little Trunks in her arms. She stopped just short of big Trunks and looked at him from all sides. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," he assured her. He was visibly moved by her concern.

"It's just that a mother worries." She breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Vegeta, whom she had almost knocked over when she came in. "How are you?" Her voice sounded soft.

Vegeta, flattered as well as the tall Trunks, was in no way going to admit this in front of the others and just muttered, "Fine."

Trunks turned back to the television. He changed the channel again. "Hey guys, come here everyone!" Everyone ran to the TV. Puar got Yamcha and Krillin from outside.

Cell came into the picture from downstairs, where a singer was currently on stage. The singer had stopped singing and was staring at the green apparition. He crossed the picture from the bottom to the top and disappeared again.

Trunks switched on. On several channels they saw Cell until he came into the picture of a newscaster who was reading the weather report. Cell grabbed the surprised announcer around the neck and picked him up.

"Where's Studio B?" Cell's cold voice made everyone's blood freeze in their veins. The speaker could not answer as Cell continued to squeeze his neck. Cell threw the man off him and then turned to the camera.

"Good afternoon. My name is Cell. In nine days I will be holding a fighting tournament. Anyone who wants to can take part. During the tournament, I will not destroy any more cities. So, come in large numbers. The rules are as follows: Whoever falls out of the ring or gives up, loses. If someone dies, they also lose, of course, although I will hold back a little on that. If I win, I will wipe out humanity. See you in nine days." With that he raised his arm and destroyed the camera with a beam of energy. The image instantly went black.

The air seemed to crackle with the rage of those present. Vegeta ran to the door. "I'm going back to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

"Wait, Father, I'm coming with you." Trunks ran after Vegeta.

"Stop!" Instantly, everyone stopped in their tracks. Bulma had called out. "You'll get a haircut first, young man."

Vegeta turned to face his family. "Nice haircut." Had Kera actually seen a smile on his lips?

"Can we go then?" Impatiently, Kera tapped her foot. Vegeta stood with her outside the Briefs' house. Trunks was talking to his mother and grandmother.

"You could already ..." Vegeta broke off in mid-sentence as she gave him a venomous look. "You're still mad?"

"Of course I am! I still can't believe what you did. That you put millions of people in danger just to prove something to yourself. You fucking egoist!"

Vegeta took a step towards her. His hands were balled into fists and his eyebrows had drawn together. "How are you talking to me?"

"If anyone can talk to you like that, it's me." Kera now went into an attack stance as well. When she had rebuked him right after the fight against Cell, Vegeta had apparently been too surprised to counter her.

"Have you forgotten your position?" He was now standing very close to her, looking her straight in the eye. Kera returned the look.

"I always thought we were more than prince and bodyguard." Sadness mingled in her voice as she thought back to her time on her home planet. A surprised expression was now mixed into Vegeta's gaze.

He took a breath to retort something, but Trunks interrupted, "We can go." Kera didn't wait for Vegeta's retort, transformed into a Super Saiyan and flew off. Trunks and Vegeta followed her at some distance.

Piccolo and Tenshinhan stood outside the palace talking. When Kera landed on the platform, they paused their conversation briefly to greet her and then continued their conversation. Vegeta and Trunks now landed as well and together they walked up to the other two.

"How much longer is Kakarrot in this room?" Vegeta's impatience clearly resonated in his voice.

Popo, who had just stepped out of the palace's main entrance, replied, "He still has three hours." So three more hours they could spend here. 'I could have stayed with Bulma then,' Kera thought.

"I'll go in next," Piccolo said.

"I'll come with you." Piccolo's eyes darted to Kera. His eyebrows twitched upwards questioningly for a moment, then drew together.

"Fine by me."

Kera didn't know what to say to that. She felt as if she'd been hit over the head. Did Piccolo not want her around? What did his statement mean? But in Vegeta's presence, she didn't want to take him up on it. She first had to tell Vegeta what she and Piccolo had in common and that she was thinking of leaving his service. But now was not the time for that.

"You go ahead. I'll make use of the remaining eight days in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber then," Vegeta said in a patronising tone.

"Well, too bad, Vegeta. But no one can stay in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for more than 48 hours." With that, Piccolo took the wind out of Vegeta's sails.

"Why?" asked Trunks.

"After 48 hours, access to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber disappears forever. Then trapped in space," replied Popo. Silence broke out in response. Everyone hung on to their own thoughts.

Tien suddenly snapped them out of their torpor. "Do you feel that too? Someone is coming."

All eyes turned to the palace entrance. Kera, too, now sensed two auras approaching. Were they Kakarrot and Gohan? Only a few moments later her suspicions were confirmed. Gohan was the first to enter the square in front of the palace, followed closely by Kakarrot. Both of their suits, which they had received from Bulma moments before, were torn and dirty in several places. Kakarrot's breastplate was missing over his right shoulder. But the most striking thing about both of them was that they both stepped in front of them with blonde hair and green eyes.

"Gohan, we seem to have been expected," Goku said quietly to his son. And then louder, "Hi guys!"

"You're back earlier than expected," said Piccolo, who seemed especially taken aback by Gohan's appearance.

Kakarrot came up to the group and rubbed his hair in embarrassment, "Well, well, we couldn't cook."

Everyone lost their balance in shock. Popo, who was the only one keeping his composure, remarked dryly, "I'll make dinner."

They all watched Popo in silence as he quickly spread a blanket on the platform and draped lots of bowls and plates of food on it. Kakarrot and Gohan sat down on the blanket and began to eat. Fascinated, Kera watched as father and son shovelled food into their mouths at breathtaking speed. She glanced briefly at Vegeta and had to smile slightly at his disgusted expression. Saiyans always had a decent appetite because their energy consumption was very high, but still she always ate slowly and without spreading half the food. Vegeta probably thought the same.

Trunks brought Kakarrot and Gohan up to date while they ate.

"I pfeel Cfell yet," Kakarrot brought out with his mouth full.

"Maybe we'll let these two finish eating before we talk any more." Piccolo spoke what everyone was probably thinking. No one really felt like putting up with the munching any longer. They waited impatiently until the two were full.

When Kakarrot had finally swallowed the last bite, he turned to Popo. "Do you still have my old gi?"

"Of course. I've been cleaning." He picked up the suit and brought it to Kakarrot. The latter put his orange suit back on and tightened the belt. Gohan turned to Piccolo.

"I want a suit like yours."

Piccolo smiled. "You have taste, kid." He held out his hand and the next moment Gohan had on a purple battle suit with a blue belt and a wide white cape.

"Why are you putting your old battle suit back on? My mother can make you a new suit."

"I feel better in it."

"Enough of this chit-chat. Kakarrot, can you defeat Cell?", Vegeta asked him.

Kakarrot didn't answer right away. "I don't. I haven't seen Cell since his completion. I will pay him a visit." He put his index and middle fingers to his forehead and disappeared.

Kera paced nervously, looking again and again at the spot where Kakarrot had disappeared. No one said anything. The minutes stretched into an eternity and the silence weighed over them. Suddenly Kakarrot reappeared.

"Cell has set up a combat ring. I told him I'd compete in the tournament, but only if he didn't kill any more people in the meantime."

"We don't care about that, Kakarrot. Can you defeat him?"

"No. Not yet." These simple words startled everyone present.

"Good. Then I'll go next ..." Kera interrupted Piccolo with a clearing of his throat. "... Kera and I will go next, then Vegeta, Trunks, then Goku and Gohan."

"We don't need to go into the room again" said Kakarrot. "We'll train in reality."

"Why?"

"Our bodies need rest too. When we are in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, our bodies are always under strain." He looked at his son. "Are you coming?"

Tien, Vegeta, Trunks, Piccolo and Kera watched father and son fly over the edge of the platform and then disappear from their sight.

"Did you notice that they didn't change back? They were Super Saiyans all along," Tien asked the group. Of course Kera had noticed that. At first she had thought that Gohan and Kakarrot were still in training mode when they came out of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but then they had stayed in that state even while eating.

"I suspect they have trained themselves to be in this state as normal," Piccolo said.

"But why?"

"Think about it, Kera," Vegeta now interjected into the conversation. "As a Super Saiyan, you have the ideal balance between strength and speed. If you train to this state as normal, you can go much further from there. You're not only training strength, but you're also training speed further." Vegeta's tone was arrogant, as always, yet he was right.

Kera looked briefly over at Trunks, who was staring angrily at the ground. She thought she knew what was bothering him. He had realised why he had not been able to defeat Cell. He was stronger than Cell, but far too slow. All that strength was no use if it didn't hit the target.

Piccolo next to Kera suddenly took a step forward and looked at the ground. Splinters of stone detached themselves from the tiles and flew upwards as if lifted by an invisible force. The sky darkened. A strong energy could be felt in the air.

"It's Goku," Piccolo whispered. Everyone stared at the ground as if they could see through it. Kakarrot must have stopped by Master Korin, because his energy was still very close. But why was he ramping up all his strength now? "Master Korin is the best judge of whether Goku's power is enough against Cell," Piccolo answered her unspoken question.

As suddenly as she had appeared, the tension dissipated from the air and the sky brightened.

"Do you think that was all of Kakarrot's power?" Piccolo shook his head at Kera's question. Vegeta seemed to shake his head as well. At the same time, he clenched his fists. Of course he was angry that Kakarrot had outdone him again. Kera almost felt a little sorry for Vegeta. Only a little, though, because she had not yet forgiven him for putting his desire to fight above the safety of Earth.

"Piccolo, what are you standing around for? Go and train!" Vegeta snapped at the Namekian. The latter just looked at him for a moment, then turned to the entrance of the palace and went inside. Kera went after him.

They followed the corridor to the door of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Piccolo stopped.

"Do you really want to come inside?"

Kera wavered between a short snappy remark and a more elaborate rant, then settled for a curt nod. Piccolo opened the door and let her go first.

Kera entered the room. The air felt thin and hot. Piccolo stepped up beside her. Behind her, she heard the door slam shut.