Kera:

"That's not all, he still has reserves," Piccolo shouted and stood protectively in front of Kera as the spurs of Kakarrot's energy hit her. Kera's gaze wandered to Vegeta, who had also pulled his arms in front of his face.

Another thought suddenly distracted her from the battle. She had not yet told Vegeta that she had entered into the bond with Piccolo. He had not agreed with the warrior bond at first, especially when she had explained to him that Piccolo and she had entered into it unknowingly. For days then she had pleaded with him that it would not affect her duty as a bodyguard until Vegeta was finally satisfied. She had entered into the friendship bond with Piccolo shortly before Vegeta had left for space and she had not found the opportunity to tell him. It had only been a few days since they had physically united.

Kera bit her lip involuntarily. A few days ... and the whole year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. She blushed as she thought back to that time. They had used the time between the training sessions very intensively. Kera had to take a deep breath, which earned her a questioning look from Piccolo.

'Are you all right?'

'Yes. I was just thinking about our intense training.'

Piccolo gave her a smile before turning back to the fight.

She looked to Vegeta, who was intently following the fight between Cell and Kakarrot. She had to tell him. She didn't want there to be any tension between them. Even if their home planet no longer existed, she wanted to respect and uphold their traditions and laws. Vegeta would care as well. She dreaded this conversation, but she would get it over with somehow.

The fight! She had to concentrate on the fight again. If she was still going to fight, she needed to study Cell's attacks. He was hovering way up above the ring right now, while Kakarrot was hovering just above.

"Cell does a Kamehameha!" shouted Krillin.

Kera felt the energy of the attack. "Shit, if that Kamehameha hits the ring, it can destroy the earth," Kera yelled.

"Into the air!" shouted Piccolo, rising.

Kakarrot also rose up to direct Cell's attack at himself. Cell's Kamehameha described an arc, narrowly missed the ground and rose again. Kakarrot dodged at the last moment using Instant Transmission. He emerged only a yard in front of them.

Relieved that the earth had not been hit, they landed again while Kakarott remained suspended in the air. Furious, he looked at Cell.

"You bastard, would you really have destroyed the Earth?" he shouted with anger.

Cell's sardonic grin could be seen by the spectators even at a distance. He came closer to Kakarrot, said something to him that Kera could not understand. Kera's questioning gaze wandered to Piccolo. But before he could answer, Kakarrot shouted, "Get away from the ring!"

They all reacted instinctively and flew a few yards away. Briefly, Kera thought of the people still near the ring, but she saw out of the corner of her eye that C16 was taking care of them and she banished them from her thoughts again.

There was a bang. A flash of light. Dust and rock swirled up. When they could see again, the ring was gone. They looked up at Kakarrot and Cell.

"Apparently the rule that whoever flies out of the ring loses no longer applies," Kera remarked tonelessly.

Kakarrot prepared a Kamehameha. "So much energy again! I'm afraid for the earth," Piccolo said quietly to Kera.

She nodded. But her fear was not confirmed. Kakarrot overcame the distance between himself and Cell in the blink of an eye and fired his attack directly in front of him.

When Kera could recognise Cell again, she saw that half of Cell's upper body was missing. A brief triumph spread, but then she noticed something else. Kakarrot was panting. His strength was running out.

Within seconds, Cell's body rebuilt itself. His mean grin spread across his face. "I learned that trick from Piccolo."

Piccolo snorted in annoyance. "I'll be damned."

Again they watched the fight for a while. "I'm afraid the fight will probably go to the bitter end." Kera nodded.

"Cell has lost energy, but Kakarrot even more." Nervously, she tapped her thumbnail against her front teeth.

"Hey, you." Cell turned to the group. "Why don't you give Goku a Senzu Bean? He's on his last legs."

Everyone hesitated. "Krillin, throw him a bean," Trunks said to Krillin.

"Shut up, Trunks!" Vegeta's voice was a low rumble. "You do not know Saiyan honour. Kakarrot would rather die than take a bean like that." Kera had to agree with him.

Then Kakarrot did something no one had expected. He sank to the ground and stood with his friends. "You win!" he shouted up to Cell.

Shocked, they all stared at Kakarrot.

"Then Earth is history now. Surely there is no one left here to face me?"

"Yes, there is. Gohan!" Kakarrot pointed at his son.

Kera and Piccolo sucked in a sharp breath. "He's sacrificing his own son," Piccolo groaned between clenched teeth.

"I know Gohan can defeat him. In the Hyperbolic Timee Chamber, he has developed a power you cannot imagine." He turned directly to Gohan now. "You can save the world, my son. After that, you can become a scholar."

Gohan hesitated. Then he nodded to his father, took off the heavy cloak and faced Cell.

"Krillin, will you give me a Senzu Bean?" asked Kakarrot of his friend. Krillin handed it to him.

With a swing, Kakarott tossed the bean to Cell. "Here, then you are equal." Cell caught the bean and put it in his mouth.

"How could you do that?" shouted Piccolo at Kakarrot.

"The fight is supposed to be fair," Kakarrot said innocently. Kera said nothing. She probably would have acted the same way, but she felt fear for Gohan creeping up her spine. She hadn't seen him in action after training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. He had been really good in the three years before the androids arrived, but would it be enough?

Gohan concentrated his energy. Kera was impressed. He was truly amazing. Piccolo seemed to think so too, as he exclaimed, "That's not Gohan!" Even Vegeta uttered a sound of approval.

But after the first blow Gohan managed to land on Cell, the euphoria was quickly over again. Cell grabbed Gohan by the collar and began to beat him up until he simply dragged him to the ground. Kakarrot did not even blink an eye. Was there more Saiyan in Kakarrot than she had always assumed?

Kera felt Piccolo trying to push forward. He wanted to intervene. She could understand him well. It hurt her too to see Gohan like this and yet she wanted to see what he was capable of.

Cell fired a beam of energy at Gohan after several blows. Gohan crashed into a rock with such force that he was stuck in the middle of it.

Kera couldn't help a yelp.

Piccolo growled angrily. "Goku, you sent your son to his death. Your own son!"

Kakarrot just looked at him questioningly. "Just look," he said and pointed to the rock.

Gohan came out of the rock again. He and Cell were talking. Kera felt Gohan's power increase. Kera knew Gohan didn't want to fight, but he was doing it for Earth.

But even this surge of energy did not have the effect they had hoped for. Gohan dodged an attack from Cell, but Cell clasped him and squeezed hard.

"Goku, do something already!" shouted Piccolo. Kera was astonished. She knew the boy meant a lot to Piccolo, but so much? Piccolo wanted to rush forward to intervene himself, but Kakarrot held him back. "You were wrong. Have you spoken to your son? Does he know what you expect of him?"

Kera saw doubt assail Kakarrot. "Krillin, give me the Senzu Beans!" he suddenly shouted.

Krillin took the bag of beans from his belt and was about to throw it over to Kakarrot. But suddenly Cell was beside him and snatched the bag from him.

"Now I'm going to attack you. Let's see if the boy can show his true strength." Cell looked from one to the other with a sneer. They braced themselves for the attack. Now there were no more rules. It was just a matter of bare survival. Then 16 suddenly grabbed Cell from behind.

"Fly away! I'm going to blow myself up!" he shouted.

They all moved away. But even seconds later nothing happened. "Crap. Bulma disabled the bomb in C16," Krillin said.

Cell shook 16 off, who was smouldering and floating away from them in a high arc.

Then Cell turned back to the group. "Let's see. One, two, three ... eight." He brought his tail forward. The long spike at the tip of his tail opened and formed a kind of funnel. Eight times something spewed out of Cell's tail. Blue balls. They formed into little images of Cell. "There, my little baby Cells. Go wild. There's something for everyone." With those words, the little warriors shot out at the onlookers.

Vegeta and Trunks transformed into super Saiyans.

One of the babycells each attacked one of the fighters. Piccolo shouted to the others to take care of Kakarrot, as he was still too weak from his fight against Cell.

For a moment it looked good, but then the tide turned. Kera no longer saw what the others were doing. She had to concentrate completely on the baby Cell who was attacking her. For this miniature version, he was really strong. His kicks came fast, she could hardly fend them off. When she finally had some air, she fired an energy ball at the babycell, but it repelled it with an ease that surprised her.

Everything in her screamed to see how Piccolo and Vegeta were doing, but the Babycell took her complete attention. He himself was now firing a ball of energy. She reacted too slowly and was grazed by the bullet on her upper left arm.

Burning pain spread up her arm and travelled down to her hand. Her fingers felt numb. She cursed. Her eyes darted to Piccolo. He was engrossed in fighting his minicell and seemed to have felt nothing of her injury. At least that worked. In the one year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, they had trained intensively to shield each other against injuries. They didn't want to experience something like against Cell again.

She had to concentrate better! Cell's miniature version raced towards her. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and caught the kick, but it sent her staggering backwards two steps. She deflected the blow that came from above, but she noticed the second blow too late for that.

He was aiming for her upper left arm. He had not clenched his hand into a fist, but struck at her with his open hand. His claws flashed and hit her directly on the already existing wound from the energy ball. The skin cracked further. Blood poured out. With a cry she held her arm. It ran hot and red down her arm.

The Babycell went after her. His fist hit her in the face. Her head flew back and she felt dizzy even before she hit the rock hard below. She gasped as the air was forced from her lungs. Dazed, she lay there for a moment and then tried to pick herself up.

The nasty Cellminiversion was already hurtling towards her again, but the expected impact failed to materialise. Gohan suddenly stood in front of her. His back was turned to her. He was surrounded by a golden aura. His power had risen. Enormously increased. Kakarrot had been right. Gohan was stronger than all of them.

The Babycell that had attacked her was nowhere to be seen. He had defeated him. And with an ease she had been far from.

"Thank you, Gohan," she whispered. Her voice sounded raspy. She was thirsty. He nodded but did not look at her.

"I took the bag of Senzu Beans from Cell and threw them to Trunks. He'll be here in a minute." There was no emotion in his voice. He seemed completely cold. This was no longer the dear little Gohan she had trained with for years. He was much more powerful than she was. Eight of them hadn't made it against eight opponents and he was now taking them down alone.

Without another word he flew off to face the next Babycell.

Vegeta, standing several yards away from her, seemed to be badly hurt as well, for he had his legs wide apart to keep himself upright. He looked over at her.

Slowly she raised her uninjured arm to signal to him that she was all right. Or at least that she was still alive. Then he looked to the other side and accepted the Senzu Bean that Trunks held out to him.

Piccolo:

Piccolo marvelled at Gohan's powers. The threat to his friends had awakened new powers in Gohan. He had actually managed to defeat all those Babycells. He was greatly impressed. He wished he could watch him more, but the immediate danger had been averted, so now he had to tend to the injured first.

He was not badly hurt, but Goku seemed to be quite battered, still weakened from his fight with Cell. Goku lay two steps away from him and could only get up with difficulty. Piccolo helped him into a sitting position. "Are you okay?" Goku nodded in agony. "Your son has discovered new powers within himself. You intended that, didn't you?" Again Goku nodded. "You should be proud of your son. I certainly am." Piccolo had to smile.

Trunks landed beside them and knelt down to Goku. "Here, a Senzu Bean."

Smiling gratefully, Goku accepted it and immediately put it in his mouth. Trunks handed Piccolo a Senzu Bean, which also disappeared into his mouth. He chewed twice, swallowed it and felt his scratches heal and his energy return.

"Will you please give me another bean for Kera?" Piccolo held out his hand. Trunks gave it to him. "Will you take care of the others?"

"Krillin is already taken care of. I'm going to see my father now."

They parted. Piccolo covered the short distance between Kera and himself flying.

Kera had just propped herself up on one leg and looked up at him. As he landed, she reached out a hand, which he grabbed immediately. Not a second too soon, for she lost her balance. Quickly he slid his other arm under her so she wouldn't fall.

"I have a Senzu Bean. Chew slowly." He shoved the bean into her mouth.

She smiled strained as she chewed. Piccolo watched her closely. There were a few welts on her face, but the worst seemed to be the large wound on her upper left arm, which was bleeding profusely. He concentrated on her connection and gave her additional energy. At this level he felt her pain. The cut on her upper arm sent waves of pain through her entire arm.

When she had swallowed, he could see the scratches on her face disappear and wanted to hold her against him in relief, but she jerked back and gasped.

"What is it?"

"My arm still hurts so bad," she brought out pressed.

His eyes moved down to her arm. He cursed softly. The wound was no longer bleeding so badly, but it had not closed. Kera now also noticed the open wound. She looked at Piccolo and he recognised the rising panic in her eyes.

"Why?"

He shook his head. "What were you hit with?"

"A ball of energy. And then it got me with a claw."

"Maybe the claw was poisoned?" speculated Piccolo.

"Don't Senzu Beans cure poisoning?" The panic was now resonating in her voice.

"Usually they do."

She breathed heavily. "What is ..." She paused. Piccolo now saw not only her physical tension, but felt the panic on their soul level. "... The virus," she said tonelessly, gazing into the void.

He knew what she meant. She was afraid of having a virus like Goku had had. The Senzu Beans hadn't been able to cure that, only the medicine from the future.

He reached behind him, grabbed his cloak and tore off a strip. He bandaged her wound. "You should go to Dende ..."

"No," she objected firmly. "I want to see Gohan finish Cell off."

Piccolo nodded. He was about to say something else, but suddenly Vegeta was standing next to them. He looked them up and down, then noticed the bandage around Kera's upper arm.

Vegeta looked sharply at Piccolo. "Haven't you given her a Senzu Bean yet?" He took a step towards him.

Piccolo growled. "Of course I gave her a Senzu Bean ..."

"He gave me a bean. Calm down!", Kera interrupted him, glaring at Vegeta from below.

Vegeta fixed Kera for another moment, then looked to Gohan and Cell. "Kakarrot wanted to fight first so his son could see Cell fight."

Piccolo turned to Gohan, who was blocking or dodging every one of Cell's blows with breathtaking speed.

"Gohan fights like a lion. He will develop strength Cell can only dream of."

Vegeta snorted, causing Kera to look back up at him.

"Did you take your Senzu Bean then?"

"You don't think I'm going to be humiliated by swallowing one of those things."

"You stubborn!"

Kera's yell made Piccolo spin around.

Kera:

Furious, Kera glared at her prince. The Saiyan prince who was so stubborn that he would rather suffer pain than admit to even an ounce of weakness. Slowly, she stood up. Her strength had been restored, but she still felt wobbly on her feet. Was there a poison spreading through her body after all? Or a virus? She shook her head. She would worry about that later.

She felt Piccolo's gaze on the back of her neck. She blanked him out. Vegeta took up her entire field of vision. She took a big step towards him, grabbed him by the collar of his chest armour and pulled him towards her. Vegeta was so taken aback by her action that he did not resist.

"You are such an idiot! I will no longer be in the service of a prince who prefers to destroy himself because he is too proud to show weakness," she hissed at him.

"How do you talk ..."

"I can talk to you any way I want. You owe me that for all the years I gave you. All the years I've been by your side. No one is helped if you collapse here badly injured! Where is the Vegeta who cares about family? Who fought for me too." Her face was very close to his. She spoke softly, insistently. Piccolo would still hear every word. She didn't care. She would not wait any longer to have this conversation. "Your pride is getting in the way. You could accomplish so much more if you put it down once in a while."

Vegeta just stared at her. She saw the uncertainty in his eyes. His inner struggle. His face was only a hand's width from hers now. She could feel his breath on her skin. He gripped her shoulders. Seemed to almost dig into them and pulled her a little closer to him. His breathing quickened.

Kera swallowed. Why was Vegeta looking at her like that? There was no longer anger, but something else. Involuntarily, her heart began to beat faster.

"Please!" she whispered.

His eyes darted from left to right until they fixed on her face again. Slowly he opened his mouth and came a little closer.

"Look out!"

Kera barely had time to let go of Vegeta and half-turn to Piccolo before a huge blast hit her. Vegeta encircled her from behind with his arms and braced himself with her against the onrushing energy.

As suddenly as the shock wave had appeared, it disappeared again. Kera lowered the arm she had held in front of her face and searched the rugged plain for Gohan.

She had forgotten all about the fight and hadn't noticed Gohan fighting Cell. Cell and Gohan were facing each other. The green giant and the boy who had grown up so fast. Gohan's aura and posture radiated a power that had to make any enemy shudder.

Kakarrot landed beside them. "Damn, I knew he was still holding out on us," he brought out between clenched teeth.

"No one is stronger than me!" Cell shouted out the words and took a leap forward. His fist landed in Gohan's face. Kera held her breath in shock, but Gohan didn't seem to mind the blow at all. Did he not feel any pain? He had turned his head away only slightly on impact and now turned it back in Cell's direction. Kera saw his grin for a moment. Then he leapt forward, delivered a blow to Cell's solar plexus that was so hard that his hand seemed to disappear into Cell's body. With his other hand he lashed out, jumped up and punched Cell in the face. The green monster staggered backwards and held his stomach in pain. His face contorted in pain, he doubled over and spat blood. Gohan looked at him with a cold stare.

"Not bad. That kid is really good for a surprise," Piccolo said appreciatively.

Kakarrot put his hands to his mouth like a funnel and called out, "Don't wait too long, Gohan. Use your advantage."

Kera wasn't sure if Gohan had heard his father, because he didn't move again until Cell had straightened up and attacked again. With apparent ease, he dodged or blocked each attack. Cell's energy attacks also went nowhere or were deflected by Gohan.

"He's doing well," Kera pronounced approvingly. 'Even Vegeta sees it that way,' she thought as she glanced briefly over at him standing beside her with his arms crossed, never taking his eyes off the boy.

Cell now looked visibly unsettled. He was probably annoyed now that he had provoked Gohan like that. Slowly, Gohan walked towards his opponent. But before he reached Cell, the latter jumped up and stayed in the air a few metres above him.

"Gohan, this is going to be a huge Kamehameha. You better take it or the earth will be crushed," Cell shouted to the boy. Kera and the others cursed.

"It's over now," Vegeta muttered.

Cell fired his attack. Only a split second later, Gohan also performed a Kamehameha, which hit Cell's in mid-air, pushing it back and finally hitting Cell.

The released energy kicked up sand and stones and partially buried the Z-warriors. With difficulty, they scrambled back up. Gohan stood and appeared to be unharmed. Cell was floating in the air. However, his left arm, both legs and part of his wing were missing. Everyone stared at Cell. Victory was now within reach.

"The student has surpassed his master," Kakarrot murmured. Then he called to his son, "Finish him now. Cell can regenerate!"

Gohan turned to face them. There was nothing left in his face of the little boy she had trained with years ago. His smile was cold, emotionless. "But why already? It's so much fun right now. I still have some things planned with him."

Kera cringed. While the statement matched his expression, the Gohan from before would never have said such a thing. Her eyes darted over to Piccolo and Kakarrot, who both looked equally startled. Then she glanced briefly at Vegeta, whose expression alternated between shock and understanding. He knew the feeling running through Gohan. The Saiyan blood inside him was boiling. It demanded more. Kera knew that feeling all too well too.

When her eyes wandered back to Cell, she saw her worst fears confirmed. He was regenerating his missing body parts while still floating in the air. Gohan did nothing to stop him. He waited patiently until Cell had finished the procedure and landed in front of him again.

Cell growled and shouted at Gohan, "You'll pay for this!" He went to his knees, tensed all his muscles and seemed to grow. He grew taller and now towered over Gohan by twice his body length.

"He's strong now, but slow!" exclaimed Trunks. He was right. The kicks and punches delivered by Cell seemed like slow motion compared to before. Gohan had no trouble dodging at all. He dived under a downward punch and rammed his fist, which looked tiny against Cell, into the pit of Cell's stomach.

Again Cell staggered backwards. They watched spellbound to see what would happen next. Cell choked. Gohan tilted his head and waited. Cell's gagging sounds became more intense. His throat thickened. He opened his mouth and spat something out.

At his feet lay 18.

A sound of astonishment escaped Krillin and he wanted to fly away to get the young woman out of harm's way, but Piccolo held him back. "Stay here. It's too dangerous."

The transformation that had brought Cell to his perfect form was undone. He now looked as he had after his fusion with 17. His energy level had dropped significantly. Kera was inwardly triumphant.

"Finish him off, Gohan! Now!" roared Piccolo and Kakarrot together.