Trunks, not able to go faster than Instant Transmission, took a moment to understand what happened. Cell had lost its perfection, decided to blow up the planet as the sore loser it was, Goku used Instant Transmission to take it elsewhere, and die alongside him. She didn't hear what he told his friends and allies, nor what he told Gohan, as she was midway between the two when it all happened.
She dropped super Saiyan and ran over to Gohan, who was punching the ground in tears and in self-loathing, crying in anguish and blaming himself for everything. Krillin soon joined them and tried to reassure Gohan, but Trunks knew from experience he wasn't listening and a glance told Krillin she'd handle it and to go. He accepted as the golden waves washed over the child and his punches affected the ground below him, and went on his way, retrieving Eighteen's sticky body on the way.
Trunks helped Gohan up and walked away with him. She put her hand in his golden hair, then on his shoulder, trying to give a comforting touch, but eventually he leaned in closer and stopped, grabbing onto her tank top. She stopped as well, properly faced him, and understanding the request she had made many times herself, she held him against her, silent, letting him cry it all out, grip and hit her until his shoulders slumbered and he mumbled incoherent apologies for 'not having listened', that it was 'all of his fault, his stupid arrogance, his stupid blood thirst, he should have known better, damn it all!'. She didn't care for his scratches, his strong grip, she just kept her hands on the back of his head and his back. Trunks saw herself, when she'd found Gohan's body in the rain, in this version of Gohan who blamed himself for his father's death, and words didn't matter. Krillin wouldn't be able to endure a Saiyan's tantrum, and she was the one who could understand him the most at that point.
Then, something dreadful caught her senses as the wind blew and rose dust. It was something she had felt prior, when the monster announced his tournament. That ki spike was exactly the same. Her first reflex was 'Gohan-san mustn't die, no matter what'. She went super, sparkles of electricity briefly flashing by her hands, the boy looked up in confusion and worry, and by the time he realized something was wrong and that the ki he felt was Cell's, Trunks had put her right hand on his right shoulder, the arm between the two of them, breaking the grip he had on her, and shoved him aside with as much strength as she had determination. She extended her left arm forward in a futile attempt to build ki, just before the large blast hit her chest, and pierced through. She had only focused her desire to protect Gohan.
The super Saiyan form left her as she was pushed past the rest of the fighters from the sheer power that had pierced her, and landed gracelessly on her back. And yet, in her hazy vision, she saw Gohan rush over her. She couldn't hear, but understood his cries, saw his tears, felt his panicked ki. She didn't feel his hands trying to apply some sort of pressure on the gaping wound, which was far bigger than said hands. She didn't hear Cell's taunting words about missing his target, but being glad he finally got rid of his limitations. She saw Gohan's face turn, look around, call for someone in despair, then use his now bloody hands to grab hers. She tried squeezing back, muscle and nervous system entirely gone for, her eyes staring right through his, her vision quickly fading into reds and black. Her lips moved, she tried to say something, but she only spat blood and smiled faintly as color left her. Dying protecting Gohan wasn't a bad death. Krillin ran over with the pouch, but Trunks didn't notice. She felt Vegeta's ki soar before everything went dark.
Vegeta didn't care to hear Cell's explanation about how he survived his own self-destruction, why he was more powerful than ever, and how he could now use Instant Transmission as well, and how he was disappointed as he was actually aiming at Gohan's head. But 'killing Trunks a second time was quite a pleasing experience,' as he'd put it, that, Vegeta heard.
What he felt and saw was his heir's sudden ki rise at the sudden gush of wind, pushing aside the boy who clearly wanted to mate with his heir, and the blast piercing through, then the ki extinguishing a second after. The blast and subsequent hole was far larger than what Freeza used to do to execute his enemies. His father, himself… and now his kid? No. He couldn't accept it.
'Trunks..'
Gohan's cry for Krillin to give him a Senzu right fucking now was answered, but it was too late, everything happened far too quickly.
Cell moved forward, but Vegeta was having none of the monologue, he screamed, transformed with rage and grief and launched his most powerful blast against the monster, the dust didn't have time to settle. He followed through, shouting obscenities about not letting that bastard get away with any of it. The fight carried further away, Cell running after Vegeta with a mocking laugh at the man's reaction to losing his 'precious princess'.
In the end, his attacks were futile, the monster had indeed gained that much more power because of their 'stupid Saiyan genes' which made Saiyans stronger everytime they were severly injured. Vegeta cursed when Cell declared him dead, but Gohan jumped in the way, the blast injuring him instead. And yet again, the Prince was forced to entrust his personal vengeance to someone else. The offspring of a third-class scum that had bested him already. The both of them had bested him. Pride and spite alone could only carry him so far.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Goku hadn't given up on his son, even in death, and with the right encouragement, the monster faced off the youngest defender of Earth in a beam struggle that shook the entire planet. Gohan felt he was losing, the bio-android had so much more power than he did, he was wounded, weakened, but that was without counting how stubborn Saiyans were, and Vegeta kept his word: he'd have the last shot. He'd avenge his kin. He hit Cell from behind with his Big Bang Attack, fueled only by spite and sorrow, without the strength of super Saiyan he was unable to summon. That was enough to give Gohan the second wind he needed, letting his grief fuel his desire to end it, to finally defeat the monster once and for all.
When the dust finally settled, Tenshinhan and Piccolo moved to retrieve Trunks' body, knowing the Dragon Balls would revive the time traveler, but Vegeta blasted at their feet and snarled something incomprehensible about them not even daring to look at his heir, let alone 'touch the body of Saiyan royalty with their filthy hands'. They didn't insist, clearly the Saiyan was not rational enough to be convinced otherwise, but Piccolo told them all to go to the Lookout and he'd handle it. Gohan was passed out in Yamcha's arms and Krillin took off with Eighteen. The Namekian stayed at a distance and Vegeta stared daggers his way.
"Need a hand?"
"Get the fuck out of here, Namekian, or I will take you down with me if you test me," Vegeta threatened, he was weak, but he wasn't going to go to hell alone if push came to shove.
"Pfft, alright. Don't do anything stupid, Shenron will revive your baby boy," he flew off before the Saiyan could come through with his threat and punish his snark.
Vegeta landed by the body and kneeled by it. He removed his gloves and closed the lifeless blue and bloody eyes with his fingers.
The wound was large and far from clean; plenty of organs had been vaporized along the way. Lungs, heart, a good part of the soft tissues, almost all of the ribs on the left side, the shoulder blade on the right side. The left arm was also severely injured, it had guarded, futilely so. He'd seen, and inflicted as much prior, so he wasn't that fazed by the display of horror, but the brat had been so resilient.. And the ki, rising just before Cell hit, it was similar to Gohan's outburst at the destruction of the tincan.
He ripped off whatever was left of the tank top and whatever-garment Trunks wore underneath, they were barely hanging on anyway and covered nothing but a piece of backside, shoulders and stomach. The clothes had mostly disintegrated alongside everything else. Once the tatters were removed, Vegeta took off his armor and dressed his heir with it. He couldn't stand seeing the large hole on the chest any longer, and he figured, private the brat was, it would be best to show some modesty, a trait Trunks had explained when they shared a bath.
"The Dragon better bring you and Kakarot back, else…" he growled.
With Kakarot dead, his goal was null and void, that bastard died stronger than him, he wouldn't be able to get his revenge after all, but he was bound to come back. 'Bested by a third class scum and his spawn, what a joke,' Vegeta pondered as he placed his arms under his heir's lifeless body and carried it back to the Lookout. There was no use staying there, especially with the insects proclaiming victory nearby.
Vegeta landed quietly and let the cold body down on a bench of the gardens. Piccolo, who noticed first, wasn't sure why he came to the Lookout, where everyone else was, but at least the platform was large enough to let Vegeta be alone with his son if needed. The Prince knew he was a failure in all that mattered to him, enough so that his heir had rejected him and their kinship. The least he could do was let Trunks be surrounded by chosen allies, once brought back to life. That and despite having experienced death and resurrection himself, he wanted to make sure the Dragon did the job. Vegeta observed where everyone was briefly, but he still guarded his heir, anxious. Something didn't sit right with him, there was an impending sense of doom lurking, and he couldn't put his finger on it.
Before the wish was made, Krillin discussed the possibility of using the second wish to go to New Namek and revive Goku with the Namekian orbs, as the Earth's Dragon Balls couldn't revive someone who had died already. But Goku's voice echoed; he refused being revived as the Earth was always in danger because of him, as Kaio-sama and Bulma had chasticized him for. He entrusted Gohan with the planet and bid his farewells. Death was just a new adventure for him, he'd face history's greatest fighters, keeping an ageless body, and protecting his friends and family by not being around. Carefree as ever, Krillin noted. Vegeta said nothing, but he cursed Kakarot and his departure for good, his refusal to give him the proper rematch he deserved.
Gohan, recently healed by Dende, gave Vegeta and Tora a glance from afar, then his eyes set on the time traveler. Gohan had felt the unease as well, concerning Tora's situation. Vegeta noted he, too, looked worried, but everyone else acted as if everything was normal, as if everything would be fine.
Eighteen, who had been healed by Dende, promptly took off, after a brief exchange concerning Krillin's protection against Cell and how, only to come back and hide behind a pillar as the sky darkened suddenly. Gohan said out loud the obvious, that Krillin was in love with Eighteen, but Krillin shushed him and knew deep down that the pair of Cyborgs actually made a better couple. Yamcha teased the monk for aiming way above his league, but the discussion was put to rest when Dende summoned Shenron. The sky darkened, thunder called Shenron, and its snake-like shape appeared with an impressive roar. Earth's Dragon was different from the one on Namek, Vegeta noted quietly.
"I wish you to bring back all those killed by Cell and the other Artificial Humans! Except evil ones," Yamcha worded out the wish after careful consultation about how to include those murdered by Nineteen and Twenty. And perhaps those killed by Sixteen, Seventeen and Eighteen if they'd killed anyone outside of Dr Gero.
The Dragon's eyes glowed red as the wish was granted and Shenron acknowledged it.
"A SIMPLE MATT-" the eyes stayed red, the Dragon didn't finish his sentence.
It wasn't a simple matter, after all. Questions and doubts erupted, this was a first, did the Eternal Dragon just glitch on them?
"What's wrong?" Piccolo asked Dende, who looked just about as lost as he was. The Dragon stayed silent, frozen as the wish was being granted, but it took far longer than expected.
Someone whose presence they missed cleared their throat, nearby: a blue-skinned man with horns, a sleek haircut, glasses, white short-sleeved shirt, black tie and a clipboard. The ogre working for Enma sported the bureaucratic neutral face of his peers, and looked at the suddenly startled number of people gathered in this sacred place.
"The Earth's Guardian, yes?" the ogre asked with an enigmatic but empty smile.
Dende approached hesitantly, holding the staff signaling his new position. "That would be me, mister-sir?"
"Sign here, would you?" the ogre gave his clipboard and a pen. Dende took it, but didn't sign yet, trying to read what it was all about.
"What's this for?" Piccolo asked. He did recognize the guide that led him, Tenshinhan and Chaozu to Snakeway.
"A return form for one 'Lapis' person, also known by the designation 'Artificial Human unit number Seventeen', yes. His living person appeared in Otherworld and I have been tasked to return him to his world. No living beings are allowed in Otherworld, as you may know. This is Earth, yes?"
Dende confirmed, looked back at Piccolo who gave his approval, and once the paper was signed, the Ogre disappeared with a curt 'thank you', and Seventeen, appearing out of nowhere, was dropped in the middle of the platform.
So the wish had worked and Seventeen was brought back to life where he died: wherever Goku brought Cell to explode. Krillin could only imagine the horrors both Cyborgs went through by being alive inside Cell.
The raven-haired Cyborg stood back up, rubbing his head and back and cursing at the 'terrible delivery service' he had experienced, but then saw a whole bunch of eyes on him, and he stepped back. Then he looked up at the Dragon, and gasped, 'what the hell is that?'
"Alright, where am I, what happened, where's Cell, where's Eighteen, where's Sixteen?" Seventeen's eyes darted, recognizing people he beat up previously, the small kid in purple who beat Cell senselessly (as he witnessed/felt from within the bio-android), a small green kid with a staff. Even Vegeta, and Seventeen remembered the punishment he gave Cell after absorbing him. He was pretty sure he would be outmatched quickly if he chose violence.
"Hey it's fine Seventeen, Cell's dead for good, you're at God's Palace, you're safe," Krillin reassured. "Eighteen's fine too, she just left that way," he added and pointed towards where the blonde one left. "I don't know about Sixteen, maybe where he died? Please don't cause trouble, alright?"
"Seventeen!" Eighteen jumped out of her hiding spot, beaming, realizing what happened, and Seventeen rushed to her to hug her tight. Krillin's heart broke, but he was happy to see the matching pair reunited, 'as they should be'.
The pair discussed going to find Sixteen, about each other being super gross, about getting the 'hell out of there', about what the hell was that Dragon but not caring enough to stay and find out, but something stopped Seventeen, he saw from the corner of his eye the lavender hair behind Vegeta. Uh.
Vegeta couldn't care less about the washing machines, even if he didn't turn his back on the former threats, his eyes were on Trunks, expectant. The time traveler was still very much dead, and the Prince was growing agitated, glancing back at the frozen Dragon every now and then, just about ready to demand answers and for his heir to be brought back.
Gohan looked at the Dragon with as many expectations, but what he dreaded, what deep down had disturbed him and made him doubt came through.
"THAT UNIVERSE IS BEYOND MY REACH." Shenron's red glow disappeared.
I hope some of you saw it coming all the way from the Trunks arc ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
In other notes, the ogre/oni is of course "The Guide" who walks Goku to Snakeway.