(Power of Perfection, Fight for the Future)
With his absorbtion of Android 18, Cell's quest to reach his Perfect Form had at last reached its conclusion.
Kai looked on from his place in mid air and watched Cell throwing a few punches and kicks 'So this is the Perfect Form you slaughtered thousands of people to achieve, looks more like perfectly ordinary to me. Why is it that when I look at him I think of that green villain guy from Hunter x Hunter? What the hell was that guy's name anyway?'
Raditz's teeth were grinding furiously, his mind racing '18… she's really gone… He's going to pay for this… He has to pay!' he flashed into Super Saiyan and burst forward at full speed, launching a furious barrage of punches and kicks at Cell that didn't even faze him.
Cell ignored take in the newfound power bubbling beneath the surface 'My perfect form… the perfect body… the perfect power… the fulfillment of my very existence… Truly marvellous, not at all overpromised. So who wants to be the first one to test out my Perfect Form?"
"GIVE HER BACK!" Raditz hit Cell head on with a full power Vacation Delete at point blank range from behind, only for the blast to dissipate almost instantly upon making contact 'Oh you've gotta be kidding me, at least with the likes of Frieza and the others it was able to make contact!'
"Well what do you know, looks like we have ourselves a volunteer." Cell promptly blitzed out of view, and faster than anyone could see he dealt Raditz a sharp kick, breaking his neck and sending him crashing through a nearby plateau before skidding to a stop a considerable distance away, leaving him in a broken heap.
"Raditz hold on!" Nail and Future Gohan quickly rushed towards Raditz to aid him.
Cell threw a few more punches, then threw a smirk at 16 "Please, what are you glaring at? The way I see it, that fool should feel honored to be the first one to sample my newfound power."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Raditz hold on, just stay with us." Future Gohan and Nail wasted no time in coming to Raditz's aid, and the former promptly stuffed a Senzu Bean into Raditz's mouth "Here take this, it's a Senzu Bean, it will heal you. You just have to swallow, that's it."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Kai promptly floated to the ground next to Cell and shot him a smirk "Well done, you managed to do a one hit KO on a Super Saiyan hedgehog. I hope you're not too proud of yourself."
Cell let out a chuckle as he started stretching his arms and legs "Oh don't get me wrong boy, I am proud. Not of that no, but of you. It takes a big man, not necessarily a tall one or an old one, to do what you did. Sticking to your guns and just throwing everyone's lives away, that's not an easy thing to do. And for that, I would like to top my… Huh, what is that on my head? Would you call it a crown?"
"Looks more like a goalpost to me."
"I think we'll call it a crown."
"Fair enough. Now then Perfect Cell…"
"Oh my god, I love the ring to that."
"I'm going to enjoy wearing down the knuckles on these gloves."
"Okay, I know that wasn't supposed to sound sexual but…"
"So I say it's time to turn your little coming out party into a funeral."
"And your time is up, how about we skip the brovado and just get to the part where you assist me in warming up."
"Fine by me, just keep in mind that I'm gonna be turning up the heat pretty quickly." Kai dropped into a combat stance and flared his aura.
"Ominous."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Future Gohan stepped back to give Raditz some room "Oh good, you're awake. You know it's too bad you don't get the crap beaten out of you by guys like Cell more often, if you did that all the time then you'd probably be unstoppable."
"Oh god, tell me about it." Raditz cracked his neck slightly and pulled himself to his feet "If I had taken the opportunity to get a Zenkai whenever I could back before I first came to Earth, god only knows how strong I would've been."
"I still wonder how good that would've been for us, but anyway are you alright now?"
"I'm fine personally, but that kid over there is so screwed it's not even funny. He's about to get himself killed in ways I didn't even know existed."
"What are you talking about?"
"I might not be in the same league as any of you guys right now, but one thing I can do just as well as any of you is sense a power level with the best of them. Just now, when Cell snapped my neck with that one kick I caught a glimpse of the level of power he's hiding below the surface, and it feels like there's no end to it. It makes Frieza looks like a goddamn fly in comparison, and considering I grew up under his oppressive rule, that's a terrifying thought. I'm telling you both guys, the power I'm sensing now is only a drop in the metaphorical bucket, or rather the metaphorical ocean, and any second he'll be able to kick open the metaphorical floodgates, but he's holding back his power, and he's not the only one."
"So you can tell then." Nail noted "I suppose I should've expected as much from you."
"The kid does have a lot of pride, and since he's so focused on Cell right now I'm not surprised he hasn't noticed, but I could tell right away something wasn't right." Raditz turned his attention to Future Gohan "You've been concealing your power all this time, and a lot of it, and I think I understand why. You figured out how to surpass the kid didn't you?"
"There's no question, Kai is on an entirely different level now compared to what he was at before. He pushed himself to the absolute limit in the few years before the Androids revealed themselves, but he ended up hitting a plateau. He was unable to push the Namek-Ken past the 20th level, and the frustreation of this limitation took its toll on him. I could tell that any sort of limitation left a serious mark on the boy, his desire to surpass his limitations was what kept him going all this time. I discussed with Gohan some time ago, and I knew what it was that was pushing him like that: Scarlet."
"Who?"
"Yamcha's older sister, Kai's mother." Future Gohan told him "He would never admit it to me, but the death of his mother really affected him in a negative way. Part of me believes that his constant training is to distract himself from the pain and lack of closure he feels towards her dying, and I think that his desire to become the best stems from a desire to be like her, and with any luck, maybe see her again. I know how much it hurts him, and because of that I just couldn't bring myself to tell him that I was still stronger than him. If only the three of us had managed to finish Cell when we had the chance then it wouldn't mattter."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, back at the actual fight…
Kai's Namek-Ken aura slowly but steadily increased, his muscles bulging considerably and his body crackling with electricity 'Namek-Ken 40x, the absolutely maximum that I can push it right now. I can tell he has a lot of power bubbling just beneath the surface, so if I'm going to take him down, I can't take any chances. So mind if I make the first move?"
Cell's smirk only grew wider "Oh by all means, go right ahead."
"Fine by me." Kai blitzed forward and launched a few punches and kicks, only for them to be blocked with ease, so he retreated a short distance "Okay looks like you did manage to power up a little bit, looks like you weren't just bluffing."
"Why don't you come and find out for yourself."
"If you insist." Kai burst forward and launched a quick barrage of punches and kicks at Cell at full speed.
Cell dodged and blocked every attack with ease, but he was sent skidding backwards a short distance by the last attack, and he blitzed through Kai's next attack and retreated atop of several rocky plateaus, easily dodging the barrage of Ki blasts Kai was throwing at him even as he took to the air.
"Try to dodge this!" Kai burst downwards from above as he hit Cell with barrages of Ki blasts from both above and below "There's no way he could've avoided that." he was proven wrong when the smoke cleared and Cell was nowhere in sight "Oh shit."
"That was an interesting maneuver, considerably more clever than the usual blunt tactics your companions are used to."
Kai whipped around to find Cell floating behind him "You know I'm not a fan of being mocked like I'm some kind of pathetic little kid."
"Says the literal 9 year old."
"And you're 6, so I say that this is fair game! NAIL GUN!" Kai fired his Nail Gun at Cell at full speed, engulfing him in the explosion that followed.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, up on the Lookout…
Yamcha looked down in awe at the battle raging onwards "Looks like Kai really knows how to put on a show, even in his Perfect Form he still has Cell totally on the defensive."
"It's not going to remain that way for very long." Piccolo told him grimly "Kai's attacks are wild and unfocused, he's realizing that Cell's new power is equal to his own, if not even greater, and his frustration is starting to get the best of him and cloud his focus."
"So he's going to lose?"
"Without a doubt, it's just a matter of how long he'll last."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Kai gritted his teeth as he noticed Cell's silhouette still hovering within the smoke left behind by the explosion "Don't fucking mock me!" he soared into the smoke and let a kick fly forward.
"Nope." Cell caught the kick with ease and threw Kai away a short distance.
Kai gritted his teeth and let out an explosive wave of Ki, clearing the smoke 'Dammit I was afraid of something like this happening, he's growing more powerful by the second!' he whipped around to find Cell on the ground waiting for him, then soared down towards him at full speed and launched a furious barrage of attacks.
Cell dodged and blocked every strick and caught both of Kai's hands in his "You were saying kid?"
"Don't fucking toy with me!" Kai kicked Cell in the face to free himself and continued his furious assault, only for him to not land even a single blow 'Dammit this is getting me nowhere, I haven't landed one fucking punch on the guy! Would it kill you to just hold the fuck still and fight like a man?! Why the fuck won't you just take this seriously?!"
"Am I supposed to be? Oh I'm sorry, I thought we were still warming up."
"You seriously expect me to believe you haven't even started fighting yet? Don't keep fucking stalling with me, there's no way in hell I'm letting you delay the inevitable forever Cell! The way I see it your Perfect Form is a joke, you still don't have what it takes to defeat me and you know that for a fact! You're afraid to fight me, and if I'm wrong then how about you pull that stick out of your ass, show me that new power of yours and prove it like a man!"
"Well if you wanted a demonstration then you should've just said so." Cell suddenly blitzed behind Kai faster than he was able to react "You know Kai, while there's absolutely nothing I'd rather do than stand here and listen to you bluster at me until the death of the universe, I literally have a million better things to do. So here's the deal: I want you to hit me as hard as you can."
"Oh is that right-"
"Now hold on, you might have misheard me. Not half as hard, not some arbitrary percentage or anything of that sort. I want you. To hit me. As hard. As you can."
"And if I don't play along?"
"Well then I guess your mother was right about you-" he was met with a kick to the neck that did absolutele nothing "Ooh, consider that nerve touched."
Kai was forced to retreat away a small distance despite the shock 'You've gotta be kidding me, a kick to the neck like that should've taken Cell's fucking head off! How in the fuck am I not even sctracthing him already?!'
"I know what you're thinking, and it's not that hard to understand. You're either perfect, or you're not me."
16 was grimly watching the battle unfold from a short distance away 'I did not see Cell make even the slightest move to deflect Kai's attack, it would seem that he just absorbed the impact, and it appears that he did not sustain any damage whatsoever. I fear that the difference in their power levels has grown too wide for the boy to overcome.'
"Hey come on now, what happened to all of that brovado."
Kai gritted his teeth and forced himself to stop shaking, though he had a considerable amount of sweat dripping down the side of his face "What are you? What the hell are you?! I've been coming at you with everything I've got up until, you should be nothing but a bloody mess splattered across the ground!"
"Looks like you're finally starting to understand, this is the power of my Perfect Form, the power of absolute perfection." so on that grim note, Cell blitzed forward and dealt Kai a kick to the torso, sending him flying through several plateaus behind him, before he eventually managed to stop himself.
"I'm ok! I'm… I'm… Fuuuu-" and then his Ki gave out and he crashed into the watery shores below. It took a moment, but he eventually managed to pull himself back to shore, though he was gasping for air.
"Hey come on now kid, you spent all that time blustering at me about me not even being a challenge and now you're just going to give up without so much as a decent fight?"
"Don't… you fucking… mock me…"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Okay it's official, I say you're out of excuses." Raditz glanced over at Future Gohan "You know damn well what we're up against here, I say it's about time for you to bust out that secret power of yours."
Future Gohan slowly shook his head "I can't do that, there's no way Kai would ever let me interfere at this point. If I did jump in then he would never forgive me, this is his battle right now and he has to fight it alone. He would rather die than accept help from anyone, even if it was his best friend." and yet despite that, his teeth were grinding from his rage as his muscles began bulging unconsciously.
"Just how far do you plan to let this go? Face the reality, if you don't do something right now then he's gonna get himself killed."
"You don't know that, he could just knock him unconscious and then I'll-"
"We don't have Dragon Balls dammit! You don't want to crush his self esteem, that's well and good and all, but his pride doesn't mean anything if he's not alive to make use of it?!"
"...I'll jump in, but only after Kai loses consciousness and not a second before that. Arrogant and driven or not, he's still my best friend and I refuse to humiliate him by letting him see someone so much stronger than him."
"Who gives a damn about that?"
"I GIVE A DAMN AND I SAID NO! You obviously don't understand just how much his pride and his drive mean to him, they're what keep him going and they're what give him the strength that rivals any Super Saiyan! It's what gives him a reason for living! I don't care if you or anyone else see it as arrogance, but deep at its core I know that it's far more noble than you could understand! It's what I see in him, it's what's inspired me all this time even after he sacrificed himself to kill one of the Androids."
"...You'd better be right about this or I'm never letting you live it down."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber…
'Calm down, concentrate, don't lose your nerve, keep your eyes on your objective, and have faith in the power dwelling inside of you!' with his golden Super Saiyan aura flaring, Gohan (now with a new short haircut) promptly fired a full power Super Masenko, leaving it to explode in the distance.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"I like food cause it is yummy, I will put this in my tummy…" Goku was humming a little song he made up while he was rummaging through the fridge and pulling out all sorts of random stuff "Hey Gohan come on back, lunch is ready!"
"Okay, coming!" Gohan broke off from the barrage of punches he was throwing and floated down in front of Goku.
"Time for us to fuel up son. It's like your mom always says, Super Saiyan or not a growing boy has to eat."
"Right."
"But first things first, you mind cooking this up for us?"
"Way ahead of you dad." so Gohan promptly threw a steak into the air and blasted it, frying it in an instant.
"Well done, just the way I like it. Charred meat with no seasonings, just like how Grandpa used to make it." Goku caught the steak, only for it to incinerate in his hands, as well as accidentally set Goku's hair on fire in the process "Ow."
"Uh, dad? Your hair…"
"I guess you still have some work to do on controlling that power of yours."
"Yeah, sorry about that. But seriously dad, your hair is on-"
"Hey do you smell someone cooking pork?" and then he suddenly started screaming in pain as the realization hit him "HOT HOT HOT HOT!"
"Oh crapbaskets, dad hold still!"
"THE FIRE IS SPREADING TO MY GLOVES!"
"I said hold still!"
"WHY DID I BLOW UP THE TUB?!"
"Did you not watch those safety videos?! Stop, drop and roll!"
"Okay, okay Gohan I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I managed to put out the fire."
"The bad news is, I set the door on fire."
"DAD NO!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, back at the plot…
Raditz turned his attention to Nail and Future Gohan "Seriously, pride or not I think it's about time you guys tell him before he does something completely reckless."
Nail shook his head "Son Gohan does have a valid point Raditz, and taking the circumstances into consideration, there is honestly nothing he could do that could make this situation any worse than it already is, with the exception of blowing up the planet." and then the realization dawned on him "Oh no."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, back on the battlefield…
Cell wasted no time in mocking Kai's pitiful state "This is just embarrassing in every sense of the world, for all of your brovado you're not even going to make it to the end of me warming up my new power."
"Shut… your mouth… you bastard…" Kai pulled himself back to his feet and spat out some blood.
"Before we're finished I suppose I should show you some gratitude, if it wasn't for your stubborn brovado I would never have been able to reach my Perfect Form." Cell didn't even have to look behind him to know 16 was preparing to sneak attack him "Not the course of action I would recommend 16, you're one step from the scrap heap as it is. You were already powerless against me in my previous form, so what exactly do you expect to do now?" Cell promptly turned his attention back towards Kai "You see, this is what you get for not listening. But then again, since I know you have trouble following directions, I've decided I'm going to give you one last chance. You. Me. Hard as you can. Are we clear?"
"Crystal fucking clear." Kai ground out as he floated into the air, powered down his Namek-Ken to only 10x, held out one fist straight in front of him and began charging massive amounts of raw energy, that the island began rumbling and even the heavens themselves began moving apart as a result as massive bolts of electricity exploded from his aura down onto the island below.
'Okay, this is considerably more intense. He powered down his Namek-Ken from 40x down to 10x, most likely to conserve the necessary amounts of Ki he needs. The only question is, what his he planning now? Okay see that's much better, I can actually feel that one."
"Give me a few minutes, then all you'll be feeling is OBLIVION!"
"That or disappointment, I say go ahead and flip that coin."
"THAT'S IT! You've mocked me for the last fucking time Cell, if you really believe that your power is that far above mine and you have the guts to put it to the test then let's see if you're perfect enough to withstand this!"
'He's actually going so far as to dare me not to dodge this attack, but if he actually fires at me from that angle combined with the amount of Ki he's trying to put out, it will be more than enough to obliterate this entire planet with one shot, perhaps even a surrounding planet or two as well.'
"You asked for it Cell, and now you die! DRAGON FIST!" packing into his attack every ounce of Ki he was able to muster, Kai thrusted his fist forward and his Ki exploded outwards in the form of a massive golden dragon the size of a mountain, also obliterating the plateaus it soared above in the process.
"Aw how cute, he named it- OH SHIT!" that was all that Cell had time to say before the Dragon Fist collided with him, resulting in a massive golden colored explosion that rocketed off of the surface of the planet, out of the atmosphere and into deep space before it finally detonated like a star.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A few minutes later, after everything died down…
Raditz released the breath he was holding in and let out a sigh of relief "Okay that was a lot closer than any of us would've liked, but at least he missed the planet. I guess the kid knew what he was doing this whole time, he diverted the attack at the last second."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Kai had returned to the ground and powered down his Namek-Ken completely, panting heavily from the sheer exhaustion he was feeling "So was that hard enough for you? I hope to all hell it was, that Dragon Fist used pretty much 95% of the Ki that I had left.'
When the smoke cleared, it was revealed that Cell had lost about half of his torso, one of his arms and one of his wings as a result of direct exposure to the Dragon Fist "How did… You little…"
"Yeah I think that settles it, that was more than hard enough for you."
"This can't be… It shouldn't be possible…"
'And a big fat cherry on top, it actually did something! I mean granted he's not dead, but you have to start somewhere!' so on that note, Kai started laughing in triumph "Yeah that's right, that's why you don't mess with the Crimson motherfucking Dragon!"
"You… You think this is funny?! YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?! Well it's not… as funny… as the look on your face." that halted Kai's laughing almost instantly "You're either in denial or a bigger fool than I thought you were, have you forgotten that I have Piccolo's DNA in my design as well?" so with some strain, Cell promptly regenerated the missing portion of his body in a matter of seconds.
'...Oh shit.'
"You know it might sound weird, but I kind of liked the old arm better. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to break this one in. As for you, well I think I've humored you long enough. I think I'll put an end to this little game now."
"Like hell you will!" Kai's white aura flared as high as it could (not that high considering how drained he was), and he fired a desperate barrage of Ki blasts at Cell, to no avail "Why the fuck won't you just die already?!"
"Oh come on now Kai, when has this ever worked, even once?" Cell simply walked through the series of explosions and slugged Kai across the face, sending him tumbling backwards a great distance "You don't need to answer that, it was a rhetorical question and you can't pull off a rhetorical answer like Goku can."
Kai staggard back to his feet and wiped the blood from his face 'Dammit… in the end, even drinking the Ultra Divine Water wasn't enough… So what now…?'
"Let me offer you some advice kid, for the future. Next time, why don't you remember your place like the rest of them… and wait for Goku?" upon destroying the Goku Button, Cell quickly dealt Kai an uppercut kick that sent him flying into the air, then blitzed above Kai and dealt him a brutal elbow to the spine, sending him crashing to the ground at full speed in an equally brutal fashion, leaving him badly injured and out cold.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Raditz cringed at the sight of Kai being swiftly brutalized by Cell "Okay that can't be good, if his Namek-Ken technique was already gone then I'd say chances of him being dead now are pretty good. Kid you're out of excuses, if you don't get down there right now then he's going to be dead for sure, and that's if he isn't already."
"Dammit…" Future Gohan's teeth were grinding furiously as his aura exploded with golden colored rage, his body bulking up considerably as he slowly but surely ascended to the next level: 3rd Grade Super Saiyan.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
With the battle over, Cell returned to the ground next to Kai's unconscious form and held out a hand to blast him into oblivion "KO! I win, and it's a perfect win." he looked up and noticed the sight of Future Gohan powering up from his pure rage "Ooh, here comes a new challenger."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber…
Goku led Gohan a fair distance away from the door to the chamber, then flashed into Super Saiyan "Okay son, try to catch me if you can." he promptly blitzed away into the white void of the chamber.
"As if you had to ask!" Gohan flashed into Super Saiyan and soared after Goku, then fired a quick Masenko.
Goku leapt out of the way to dodge the blast, letting it detonate in the distance "Not too shabby, but you're still going to have to do better than that."
"Oh I plan to." the two of them blited out of view, sending Ki blasts flying everywhere.
"Okay yeah, that's a lot more like it-" Goku was forced to leap out of the way to dodge an incoming barrage of Ki blasts, leaving him backed against one of the pillars of the chamber door, only to barely dodge it and let one of the pillars get blasted instead, but then he held out a hand and stopped the Ki blasts with his bare hands, and he breathed a sigh of relief "Okay that was a close one."
"Surprise!" that was when Gohan suddenly dropped down onto Goku's shoulders "I gotcha now dad."
"Looks like I'm busted, I have to admit you had some pretty good moves there." they both transformed back and looked over to notice to damage done to the living space, much to Goku's clear horror.
Gohan let out a nervous chuckle "Looks like we got a little bit carried away."
"Don't break Popo's stuff, don't break Popo's stuff, don't break Popo's stuff…"
"Dad are you okay?"
"Don't break Popo's stuff, don't break Popo's stuff…"
"What are you muttering?"
"SIXTH RULE OF POPO'S TRAINING!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, at the battlefield…
Cell was taken aback as much as everyone else was as he watched Future Gohan powering up with his rage "Is that Gohan? Good lord, the lungs on that boy. I wonder if he got that from his mother or his father."'
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Raditz let out a low whisitle as he watched Future Gohan power up "Shit Nail, I knew the kid was hiding some serious power beneath the surface, but this is insane."
Future Gohan slowly turned to face them as his pupils reappeared "Hey listen up you two, I need you to do something for me. Take Kai and get him back to Kame House and give him a Senzu Bean."
"At least you're not the kind of guy who loses his shit when he gets the new form, for the second I thought you were about to start going wild on us, like when most Saiyans turn into Great Apes or something."
"Not today at least."
"You know, if I had a watch on me then I would be looking at my wrist really condescendingly right now." Cell commented.
"...Just ignore him. But seriously take this and give it to Kai." he promptly tossed Raditz a Senzu Bean "It's the last one from what Father gave us before, make sure you give it to him the first chance you get."
"I get that but are you sure that's the best idea, won't you want to keep it for yourself in case you need it?"
"I doubt I'll have any use for it, as far as I'm concerned this battle was over before it began." he floated down towards the ground.
"Badass."
"Also probably accurate." Nail commented "Though not for the reason you believe."
"The kid definitely isn't lacking in confidence, you have to give him that much. Frankly now it's just a matter of whether or not he's right."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
16 looked on in awe as he watched Future Gohan descend to the ground 'Incredible! Has he truly been concealing this much power all along?'
Future Gohan looked down at Kai's unconscious form and started slowly walking forward "I'm only giving you one warning Cell, step away from him now."
"Have you come to take his place? How noble of you." Cell started walking forward himself to meet Future Gohan in the middle.
"I'm going to make you pay in blood for what you did to him."
"Oh don't lie boyscout, that must have been catharsis by proxy. Chances are that he's going to be waking up for the next five years in a cold sweat remembering today."
"I'm not a psychopath like-"
"Kind of like you."
"What do you mean like me?"
"How did Kai take it when he found out, by the way?"
"When he found out what?"
"That you let him die." that struck a nerve, as did the waves crashing against the shore as if on cue.
"...I'm going to start fighting now."
"I'd be disappointed if you didn't." Cell aimed a kick.
Future Gohan ducked under it and aimed a kick of his own, only to miss and block another kick with his forearm, before the two of them disappeared from sight, which promptly ended with him sending Cell crashing to the ground.
Cell burst out of the rubble and shot him a smirk "I have to give it to you kid, that wasn't bad at all."
"Give me a minute, you'll see the real deal soon enough." the two of them blitzed out of view once again, trading even blows across the skies faster than any of the others could track, which ended with Future Gohan once again forcing Cell into the ground, resulting in the fight going underground, then back up from beneath the ocean, and then Future Gohan dealt Cell a kick to the face, sending him hurtling towards the ground as he prepared to follow up.
Cell blitzed out of view and attempted to hit Future Gohan with a counterattack.
Future Gohan dodged the attack, resulting in the formation of a crater that Kai was almost pulled into.
"Yes now that's the spirit kid, but let's see just how long you're able to keep that up." Cell then charged forward.
Future Gohan dodged his attack and aimed a fist at his skill.
Cell cranked his neck to the side and dodged the blow, and then promptly buried his fist straight into Future Gohan's gut and dealt him a kick to the face, sending him crashing to the ground a fair distance away.
Future Gohan rebounded in time to dodge another kick, but received a fist to the face that sent him skidding across the battlefield.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Raditz gritted his teeth at the sight of Future Gohan getting beaten down "Dammit this is bad, at this rate the kid is done for, and by extension so are we."
"Not quite, take a closer look." Nail pointed Raditz's attention in another direction "He's not fighting all out, not yet at least. He's simply trying to draw Cell away so that the two of us can get to Kai and carry him somewhere safe."
"Huh. Smart kid."
"An Android apocalypse wouldn't change that." they floated down to where Kai was lying on the ground "Let's hope that he isn't so negatively impacted by the results of this battle."
"I wouldn't exactly be sympathetic towards the kid, it was his idea to let Cell reach his Perfect Form. Lucky us the other kid is here to clean up his mess, otherwise we would all be on a one way trip to getting a sundae." leave a review and let me know if you get that reference.
"Let's not worry about that right now, what matters is getting him to safety so Gohan can fight all out." Nail picked up Kai in his arms "Gohan is fighting at a level we've only dreamt of until now, and it's something we shouldn't and won't see, not with his current state of mind." he glanced over at Future Gohan at gave him a thumbs up, earning a nod in return.
"I don't know what he sees in that kid."
"Probably what I saw in you when you first arrived on Namek."
"...Touche." and so the two of them flew off, taking Kai with them.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Future Gohan watched as Nail and Raditz flew away, then turned back to Cell "Looks like you're in for a treat, now I get to fight you without holding back."
Cell shot Future Gohan a smirk "I take it we can finally fight without distractions, now that a certain someone has been removed from the equation."
"So you knew that I was stalling you."
"It wasn't that hard to figure out, just like I could tell you were intentionally steering our battle away from where I broke his body and spirit."
"So you say, but if that is the case then why did you let them get away?"
"Why not? It's not like I have any more interest in that brat, he was impressive considering he was only human, but you've already shown much more promise than him."
"Be careful what you wish for Cell, it might just be the death of you." Future Gohan began slowly and steadily powering up.
"That's good, I only hope you can provide for me a better challenge than your so called bestie did."
"Oh believe me, I will." Future Gohan continued to power up, causing storm clouds to flash with electricity overhead.
'The power feels intense, but I can't help but wonder…'
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile…
Raditz and Nail were flying Kai away to safety, but stopped when they noticed the carnage being unleashed "Even the air is crackling, it's incredible even from this distance…"
"I saw this first hand back inside of the chamber." Nail pointed out "Right now he's just getting warmed up, but the real question is whether or not he can claim victory before the side effects of this new power show themselves."
"What do you mean side effects?"
"If all goes well, I won't have to explain it."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, on the Lookout…
Yamcha and Piccolo could only look on in awe as lightning flashed above them "Where the hell is all of this power coming from? I've never felt anything like it before!"
"There's only one explanation for it." Piccolo told him flatly "It has to be Gohan, who else could it be coming from?"
"This kind of power puts even Kai to shame, there's no question about it. I'd say Cell has met his match."
"I'm not so sure about that."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cell grinned as he watched Future Gohan power up even further "Yes that's right boy, keep that power coming. I want to make sure you give me a real challenge this time."
"You Androids make me sick, the way you act like all of this is just some twisted gave for your amusement." Future Gohan's tone was laced with venom and disgust "What you did to the people of my world was all too real, and I promise you I have no intention of letting that happen in this world too! But you don't have to worry, I'm going to prevent that by showing you just how much stronger I am than Kai!"
"What are you- Oh no I'm sorry, I wasn't being specific enough. I'm referring to the last time the two of us met. Of course you wouldn't remember, because you weren't there. I mean, technically you were but…"
"Just get to the point!"
"Alright then Prodigal Son, tell me something. What do you know about time travel?"
"Less than I should."
"How do you suppose I got to his time in the first place?"
"Using my time machine obviously."
"Uh huh, and how do you think I got the time machine in question?"
"...I don't want to answer that."
"Here's the thing, Multiverse Theory is a bitch. The fact is that you, or at least another version of you, travelled to the past, saved the world, came back to your future, and then finally defeated the last Android. Congratulations son, you won."
"But wait, then when did you-"
"So you decided to celebrate! Head back to the past, get your hair ruffled and embrace the recognition and warmth provided by your dear friends and family one last time. But you made one. Fatal. Mistake. You took away what was mine, and that turned out to be your undoing in the end. Unfortunately, I couldn't fit into your time machine, so I had to revert to my larval state, I made the trip to a year before you showed up, burrowed under ground for the next four years, and well… the rest is history."
"So then… that means you're here…"
"Because of you! But please, there's no need to beat yourself up. You're just a child trying to play the hero, complete with spandex."
"And you're just another mistake I have to correct." and so with a mighty roar, Futue Gohan then continued powering up, his muscle mass increasing as lightning flashed all around him and the ground shattered beneath him, and once he finished powering up he burst forward and promptly dealt Cell a fist to the face.
Cell rebounded off a nearby rock and leapt into the air, only to instantly be hit in the face with a quick Gekiretsu Madan barrage, but when the smoke cleared he was nowhere in sight.
"Dammit, where did he-?!"
"Right here!" Cell blitzed behind Future Gohan and dealt him a kick to the spine, sending him hurtling towards the ground.
Future Gohan rebounded in mid air, blitzed above Cell and kicked him in the spine, then slugged him in the face, resulting in the two of them trading even blows for a brief moment before they both broke away.
"I have to admit I'm impressed, behind all of that angst and ridiculous hair, there's an actual fighter!"
"And behind all of that insufferable smarm is a dead man!" Future Gohan flared his golden aura in his rage.
"Gohan, you couldn't imagine the amount of dead men behind me." Cell promptly flared his own golden aura.
Future Gohan charged forward, only for his fists to be caught by Cell, resulting in the two of them entering a power struggle as their respective Ki signatures collided, but this eventually ended when Future Gohan deadbutted Cell in the face, then followed up with a furious barrage of punches and kicks, ending the combo with a quick yet powerful Super Masenko, the force behind it sending Cell crashing to the ground "Now that might not have done a lot of damage, but damn did it feel good!"
Cell promptly pulled himself back to his feet, spat out some rubble and blood, and he let out a chuckle "I will admit that in terms of raw power you have me bested at the moment, my own strength doesn't even begin to compare. However you still don't have a chance of beating me, not a chance in hell."
Future Gohan promptly lowered himself to the ground in front of Cell "You really want to believe that don't you? You're just bluffing now."
"You think so?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile…
Nail and Raditz were still flying Kai to safety, only to stop when they noticed him regaining consciousness "I see you're starting to come around, perhaps we should land somewhere so we can give you the Senzu Bean."
"There's an island over there, that should suffice." Raditz jerked a thumb over at the island a short distance away, and so the two of them touched down on it after a moment.
"You must stay with us Kai, and eat this Senzu Bean so you can heal yourself." Nail promptly placed the Senzu Bean in Kai's mouth and forced him to swallow it.
Upon swallowing it, Kai promptly bolted upright and shot a glare at Raditz "And you wonder why I can't stand Saiyans, the whole thing where you get stronger every time you get a hole blasted through the crotch is so not fair."
"Tell me about it."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, back at the battlefield…
Future Gohan continued his attacks on Cell, only to find that not a single punch, kick or Ki blast was able to make contact with him 'Dammit, he's getting more spy! Fine, if it's more power he wants then it's more power he'll get!' so he promptly began powering up even further.
Cell simply let out a chuckle at the sight "Such an arrogant fool. Go right ahead, power up to your heart's desire, it won't make any difference against me."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, up on the Lookout…
Yamcha and Piccolo could only look on in disbelief over the power they were sensing "Talk about intense, his power has completely overshadowed Cell's! I can't believe it!"
"In case you weren't already aware babe, not all of us can sense power levels like it's second nature." Bulma pointed out dryly "How about spilling some beans on what the hell is going on down there, who are you guys talking about?"
"Who else could it be, it's Gohan! The future one anyway. Whatever the hell he and Nail did inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, it definitely worked."
"Woah…"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber…
Gohan flashed into Super Saiyan, his mind racing 'Anger is the key to the power of a Super Saiyan, if I want to go beyond that then I need to control it, make that anger my own.' and on that note, he promptly started throwing a furious barrage of punches and kicks.
Goku looked up from where he was meditating and blinked 'Wow, looks like he's really getting the hang of it now. This is awesome, at this rate he's going to turn out even stronger than I had hoped he would.'
'Dad has just been sitting in that same spot meditating for a few days now, if I had to guess then I would say he's still trying to figure out how to go beyond a Super Saiyan. Who knows how hard that would be, so in the meantime I might as well hone my basic Super Saiyan form as much as I possibly can.' Gohan then powered back down to his normal form and took a few breaths.
That was when Goku got to his feet and powered up to Super Saiyan, and with a mighty roar he slowly but surely started ascending to the next level, 2nd Grade Super Saian, the force behind the transformation being unleashed blowing Gohan backwards.
"Holy crapbaskets dad, your power is on a whole other level! You really did it, you reached a level beyond Super Saiyan!"
"I could even go one step further if I wanted to." and so with a mighty roar he bulked up and ascended to the next level, 3rd Grade Super Saiyan.
"That's amazing, you're stronger than anything I've ever felt before! You have to be so strong that not even Cell would stand a chance against you, there's no way you could lose if you use a form like that! There's no way anybody could beat you when you're like that! I don't see how anyone could lose against you now dad, Cell is going down for sure!"
Goku tensed, then slowly shook his head "No, as much as I want to believe that I know for a fact that I would never be able to beat him like this."
"Wait what? But your power…"
"My raw power has increased sure, but it takes a lot more than that to win a fight. The bulky muscles that come with the price of making it hard to move very fast, and when I'm faced against a monster like Cell that's a disadvantage I can't afford. It doesn't matter if I have all of the raw power in the universe, if I move like a slug and can't hit my opponent then it doesn't mean a thing. It's going to take a lot more than raw power in order to take this one down." he breathed a sigh and transformed back "Besides, the transformation itself forces me to waste a ton of my own Ki. I would say that the basic Super Saiyan form has the best overall balance out of all of them, so maybe we should focus on that. Here's what I think we should do, from now on the two of us are going to try and stay in our Super Saiyan forms all the time, 24/7, at least with the exception of when we're sleeping. We need to make maintaining our Super Saiyan forms become as natural for us as breathing, completely effortless, so that we'll be able to use our Ki in a much more efficient way. We'll go pretty light on our other training until we can get the hang of that, and then we'll ramp it up all the way to an elevel."
"Right! Okay I'm ready dad, let's go for it!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, back at the battlefield…
"I'm not through with you yet!" Future Gohan charged at Cell at full speed, which was actually noticeable lacking now.
"You might not be through, but I'm just about getting there." Cell barely even had to move in order to dodge Future Gohan's attacks, which led to him crashing into a boulder, obliterating it on impact.
'What the hell is going on? It doesn't make any sense, why can't I hit him?'
"Well this is turning out to be a major disappointment. So much for testing my limits against the prodigal son, you're even more worthless than the other brat was."
"You wanna bet?!" Future Gohan charged at Cell in a rage.
Cell sidestepped the attack and kneed Future Gohan in the gut, then slugged him in the face and sent him skidding across the battlefield. Cell then followed up with a brutal barrage of punches and kicks, sending him crashing through a nearby boulder.
"THAT'S IT!" now losing his temper, Future Gohan powered up further and attacked Cell with a slow barrage of punches and kicks.
Cell weaved around them with ease and caught Future Gohan in an arm lock "Just face the reality here, it's useless. You could come at me all day for all it's worth, and you still wouldn't touch me." he kneed Future Gohan in the gut, elbowed him in the spine and dealt him an uppercut to the jaw, then dealt him a kick to the face that sent him crashing to the ground.
Future Gohan pulled himself back to his feet and spat out some blood, his mind racing as he rose back into the air 'I don't get it, why the hell is this happening? With all of the power that I've gained I should crushing him into dust so easily!'
"This is just ridiculous." Cell returned to the ground himself "What happened to correcting another mistake of yours? This is nothing more than you screaming at me at the top of your ungodly lungs and flexing your muscles like a jackass. Anyone could easily perform a transformation like that." he promptly bulked up slightly in order to prove his point, the ground shattering beneath him from the weight of the raw power "It makes for an impressive display of power sure, but if your opponent has any kind of speed then it's absolutely worthless. Honestly, I had expected anyone who calls himself a warrior to understand that much at least, but you've made it pretty obvious today that you're simply green."
"Wait, you mean…"
"No, not like me you idiot; as in you're a novice, an amateur. You're surrounded by fighters who have seen more action in a single week than you've seen in your entire life, which includes your younger self! Hell even when he was your age, Goku had defeated an entire army, several demons, and he even sent a rabbit to the moon. I know what you're thinking and no, I did not make that last one up. I couldn't if I wanted to."
"Dammit…" Future Gohan gritted his teeth 'Dammit, how could I have been so blind? My younger self anf Father, they both must know about this, and for all I know Nail probably figured it out as well! They knew about the side effects, they knew that the power it held wasn't worth the price! What the hell was I thinking, how could I be such a fool?!'
"Yes, I can see you've figured it out now, so how about you come back down, stop using that useless form, and quit wasting everyone's time."
Future Gohan slowly descended to the ground as he reverted back to his normal form "There's no reason to fight anymore, I've lost this battle. I can't beat you Cell, so go ahead and kill me, just get it over with."
"I was going to anyway."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile…
Nail and the others quickly snapped towards the direction of the battle "Gohan's energy, it feels as if it vanished into thin air."
"But what the hell happened then?" asked Raditz "I mean Cell is still alive and kicking and his power is getting bigger by the second, does that mean the kid lost?"
"Either that or the weakness of his new form caught up with him, and he decided to withdraw from the battle knowing that he couldn't win."
"Well fuck that, I say no more sitting around." Kai pulled himself back to his feet and promptly flared his Namek-Ken aura.
"What are you intending to do?"
"What else? I'm gonna find Cell and hit him with as many Dragon Fists as it takes to blast his ass to kingdom come, don't even try to stop me." and so he promptly blasted off.
"One moment he's down, the next moment he's itchin for a fight."
"Maybe he does have some Saiyan in him." Raditz promptly flew off after him, with Nail doing the same."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The scene on the Lookout was deadly silent.
Piccolo and Yamcha were looking down on the battlefield in disbelief 'You've gotta be kidding me… There's just no way…'
"So guys, what's the latest on Gohan and Cell?" asked Bulma.
"He's incredible…"
"Well yeah he's Goku's son, you really shouldn't expect anything less."
"No it's not him, I'm talking about Cell."
"Wait what?"
"It's all over, Gohan lost the battle."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, back at the battlefield…
Cell let out a low whistle "Eesh, I can't tell which is more shattered, whether it be Kai's body or your spirit."
"Just get it over with and kill me already." Future Gohan muttered quietly.
"Spirit it is. I honestly can't express how disappointed I am in you, I had so much higher expectations for the son of the great Son Goku. I do have one question though; While it did ultimately come up lacking, you, Kai and Nail all did managed to increase your power levels to considerable extents in a short period of time. Tell me, how did you do it." he was met with only silence "So you don't want to answer? Alright then, let me change the question. If you and your companions had more time, would it be possible for you to get even stronger?"
"Well maybe, if I had another day or so then sure, but what difference does it make, and why would you even ask something like that?"
"I'm just exploring a few possibilities. Now one more question, why hasn't Goku bothered to make an appearance yet? You must know where he's been hiding up until now."
"Don't get the wrong idea Cell. My father isn't hiding, he and my younger self are both training to defeat you even as we speak, and knowing my father as well as I do, when he finally does finish his training he'll be far stronger than I am right now. I promise you Cell, if there's anyone that can take you down it's my father!"
"Well isn't that quite interesting, if that is the case then how about I propose a little contest."
"What the hell do you mean a contest?"
"What else, I'm talking about a tournament. Let's say that it will take place 10 days from now, you can do some more training and then come and face me again."
"What is this, some kind of sick joke you're playing?"
"I'm not sure if Goku ever told you about this, but back before you were born in either this timeline or yours there was an event held every few years known as the World Martial Arts Tournament. I'm offering to recreate that, and the only notable difference will be that it will be me against all of you. We'll fight one on one and after each time I win, the next challenger will be free to step up to the plate, as many as you like. I think this is obvious, but the more challengers you bring the better chances you have of winning. But then again, saying your chances are better isn't exactly relative in this case. I'll inform you with further details once I've decided upon a suitable location, just make sure that you and your friends keep a close eye on the news."
"What the hell are you planning now?"
"To put it simply, my revolution. This should prove to be most entertaining, at least to me. Well I should be going, I'll see you there. Oh and one last word of advice, don't forget to bring along as many of those Senzu Beans as you can."
"Hold on a second, before you go just explain to me why you're really doing this. I want the truth from you Cell, what's your real objective. I just don't see what you hope to gain out of this whole mess. Tell me that this is just some kind of trick, otherwise it doesn't make any sense!"
"Didn't you ever hear what the creator of Rick and Morty said, about how you shouldn't overanalyze everything? I'm going to hold the tournament if for no other reason but to show off the power of my Perfect Form, and I also hope to draw out a challenger who could actually test my limits. I have no particular objective beyond that, I'm not interested in a pursuit as vulgar as the likes of world conquest. Even the purpose for which Dr Gero had me created in the first place, that being the defeat of Goku, at this point that could actually go either way. You might as well say that my only goal now is for me to enjoy myself in the only ways I know, which is to experience the looks of perfect terror inspired upon people by my perfect power. You see, the look you have on your face right now is exactly what I'm talking about. Well if there's no more questions, I'll see you on the day of fate kid." and with that, Cell took his leave.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
In a surprise turn of events, Cell has made the decision to host his own variant of the famous World Martial Arts Tournament, but could he be harboring potential alterior motives as Future Gohan suspects? And what of Goku and the Son Gohan of the present timeline, will their training enable Goku to defeat Cell at his own game when the moment of truth arrives? Find out as the suspense continues to mount ever further, next time on Dragon Ball Z: the Next Generation!
A/N:
And with this chapter, this being the first of 2020, as well as the first of the final act of the Cell arc, we get a taste of Cell's newfound power that comes with his Perfect Form, but we get to delve into the reason behind Kai's passion behind being the best in martial arts, a taste of Future Gohan's newfound power (albeit with the consequences that come with said power), and Cell making the plans for his world-ending tournament: the Cell Games.
Before we go any further with this, I just want to thank everyone who stuck with this story throughout 2019, this story would be nothing without all of the support you've given me over the past year.
I knew that as iconic as the scene with Vegeta's Final Flash was, I had to come up with something just as effective and masterful, so I decided to go with the next best thing: Having Kai use the technique that TFS ranked as the 9th best Dragon Ball technique of all time, the Dragon Fist. Probably not as good as the Final Flash scene, but I did my best. Besides, even if it isn't technically canon, the Dragon Fist is one of the most amazing techniques in Dragon Ball history. Hell, it even found its way into GT three times!
Speaking of Kai, I took some time this chapter to take a deeper look into his mindset, to expand on what was shown of him throughout certain scenes from chapter 15 and chapter 18 of this story, and why he's so obsessed with being the best there is. It all comes down to one point: his mother Scarlet, and the impact that her death left on him. Keep in mind, walking TFS reference or not, he's still only a kid just like Gohan, and he clearly showed some emotional trauma from seeing his mother die so young, combined with his father running out on him before he was even born.
Power levels:
Kai: 50 million
Kai (Namek-Ken40x): 2 billion
Kai (Namek-Ken 10x, Dragon Fist): 5 billion
Future Gohan: 150 million
Super Saiyan Future Gohan: 1.05 billion
2nd Grade Super Saiyan Future Gohan: 1.575 billion
3rd Grade Super Saiyan Future Gohan: 3.15 billion
Nail: 800 million
Raditz: 10.4 million
Raditz (Zenkai): 52 million
Perfect Cell (suppressed): 3 billion