Believe in Gohan! The Earth Depends On It!
All across the world, audiences and families watched tensely, waiting for any news about the battle now that the sole cameraman was incapacitated and presumed dead. There were satellite images but they were coming slowly and were hopeless at tracking the fighters' movements. However, as the sky rumbled like thunder, the need for such pictures quickly became irrelevant. People raced out of their homes to stare up in astonishment as green and gold flashes filled the sky, followed seconds afterward by deafening explosions that shattered glass and shook the foundations of buildings. The titanic struggle travelled all across the globe and if anyone were able to observe the battle from space, they would be able to watch as green and gold bands of light encircled the globe over and over. The beams twisted and tangled around each other before breaking apart and clashing together again in one of the most awe-inspiring, terrifying sights in living memory.
Yet with hell raging on in the skies overhead, Videl Satan of Orange Star City stared out the window and could only wonder one thing. "Is dad okay?" she muttered, blue eyes shining with worry.
Gohan and Super Perfect Cell collided again and again in a titanic explosion of two unstoppable forces, the sky ripping apart with their every impact as they covered thousands of miles in seconds. Occasionally they would intertwine in a death spiral, exchanging punches and kicks with each one leaving their mark on the other. As Super Perfect Cell hit Gohan with a soccer kick that sent him hurtling through a South City skyscraper that ripped the building in half, Gohan tried desperately to formulate a strategy as he tumbled through the air. He'd never been in this situation before. He'd always been holding the line, struggling to survive, buying time for his mom or for Piccolo or even Vegeta. He'd never been the one that everyone was counting on, never been up against a foe exactly as strong as him with no rage boost to make up the difference.
'Stop it,' he told himself sternly as Super Perfect Cell came charging toward him. 'You're smart. There's no time to panic. Everyone's counting on you!' He grabbed a girder as it flew past him and smashed it against the side of Super Perfect Cell's head like a baseball bat. It exploded on impact and the shower of steely shrapnel blinded Cell long enough for Gohan to grab Cell by the horns. He swung her around and around, faster and faster, the two of them transforming into a gold-and-green disc of lightning that filled up the sky like a star before he hurtled Super Perfect Cell down to the ground. Gohan followed her down as she barrelled through the ground, raining down punches to keep pushing her forward and keep her off-balance. 'She's drunk on her power,' Gohan observed as they punched through on the other side of the world, 'She's not using any of her stolen techniques.' They punched and kicked at each other before grabbing one another in a knuckle lock and shoving one another into mountains and headbutting each other. However, Gohan thought to himself, he was under no such restrictions. Gohan broke the knuckle lock of one hand and grabbed Super Perfect Cell's other arm with it, tossing her end over end to go hurtling across the sky. He held one hand over his head and a disc of crackling, buzzing ki formed over his palm. Krillin had showed him the technique in the meditation training that the two of them and Suno had done on the way to Namek. Gohan had just never seen the need for it before nor had the courage to try it for himself before now. "Kienzan!" he cried as he threw the attack at Super Perfect Cell just as she righted herself in the air. However, her reaction time now mirrored his own and even that split second was more than enough for her to counterattack.
"Really?" she taunted smugly. "Now you're stealing my bit?" She flung her hand out and launched a counterdisc, this one pink, no doubt from Freeza. "Kienzan!" The discs collided in a shower of sparks, each one the other's equal and opposite.
'Perfect,' Gohan thought. While Super Perfect Cell was distracted trying to push her disc through Gohan's and the sparks had him obscured from view, he used Instant Transmission to appear behind Super Perfect Cell and kick her viciously in the back, sending her hurtling toward her own kienzan, which would have sliced her in half. The self-professed ultimate lifeform blasted both discs into oblivion with eye beams, once again blinding herself as Gohan used Instant Transmission to come up from underneath her and ram his fist into Super Perfect Cell's gut to stun her. He charged up ki into his other fist and punched her in the chest, sending her rocketing up into the sky with a tremendous sonic boom. He followed up after her with ki-enhanced punches that carried her higher and higher into the sky which grew darker and darker as the stars became visible. Gohan took a deep breath as he cracked Super Perfect Cell across the jaw with an axehandle blow that sent her hurtling out through the upper atmosphere and out into space. Still he followed after her, not giving up his attack. Super Perfect Cell caught herself at just the right moment, however, and stopped her helpless spiral to charge right at Gohan in a tremendous collision that made a "Thoomp!" in the noiseless vacuum.
They exchanged punches and kicks in the void among the stars before Gohan took advantage with a sweep kick that sent Cell tumbling through zero gravity and a dropkick to the chest that sent her careening into the Capsule Corp Megamoon, right between Bulma's eyes. Gohan flew at Cell, intending to follow up the attack with a mighty punch before Perfect Cell got to her feet faster than he'd anticipated. She grabbed Gohan's wrists and glared at him hatefully. She opened her mouth as freezing droplets of purple and red blood danced in the air between them and caught Gohan flush in the face with a ki beam from her mouth to send him reeling and out of the moon's weak gravity. She rammed her knee hard enough into Gohan's jaw to rattle his teeth and fracture his jaw and drove her palm hard into his sternum. Then, as they got closer to Earth, she grabbed a passing satellite and smashed it down on him with all her might, grabbing the hunk of metal and flying straight down with it as it burned and broke apart on reentry. Gohan's body glowed red and orange as he and Super Perfect Cell came screaming back to Earth. The glowing scraps of the satellite finally burst apart and Super Perfect Cell hit Gohan square in the chest with a powerful body blow that sent him burrowing into the windswept and barren wastes of the Yunzabit Heights before the titanic boom of the impact had even reached his own ears.
"Thanks for reminding me," Super Perfect Cell taunted from behind Gohan as he pulled himself out of the dirt. He had barely turned around before Super Perfect Cell nailed him in the head with a roundhouse kick and sent him flying to where she was already waiting with one hand outstretched and her other hand already holding the wrist. "In all the excitement, I'd nearly forgotten about my new toy. Nikushimi Kou!" Gohan raised his arms as he flew straight into the roaring beam of yellow energy that Piccolo had once fired at Goku, unable to stop his momentum. He absorbed the brunt of the blast defensively but Super Perfect Cell was already behind him and grabbed him by the ankles before swinging him and sending him hurtling through mountains and over the horizon. Gohan circled the globe before Perfect Cell appeared over him and slammed her foot down into his chest, sending him crashing into the snow and ice, barreling through the remains of Muscle Tower.
'So much for forgetting her techniques,' Gohan thought as he forced himself quickly to his feet. He'd have less than a second before she attacked again. With the adrenaline rushing through him, though, that was just enough time for him to focus on her ki. She'd just learned about Instant Transmission fifteen minutes ago. He practiced it for months inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with his mom. It was time he showed Cell the difference of hard work. He focused on her ki as he leaped into a flying kick, seemingly at nothing. At the exact moment as he flew into the air, Instant Transmission carried him into the dimension outside of proper reality and carried his foot into Super Perfect Cell's chest, knocking her out of it and into the dirt.
When Gohan had first been learning about Instant Transmission he had noticed something peculiar. There was always a half-second flash of a swirl of colors before everything returned to normal. At first he had simply assumed that it was his eyes adjusting as light caught up with his movements yet the more he had practiced, the more he began to change his theory. Since there was never any sensation of his entire body disassembling on a molecular level and moving somewhere else, he realized that he must be travelling through something. He'd never had the chance to put theory to practice, however.
"You… I… what was that?" Super Perfect Cell stammered as she sat up and stared at Gohan. Gohan smirked back at her and beckoned for her to get up.
"Come on," he taunted her in a harsh tone, "I thought you were even better than Perfect now!" Super Perfect Cell growled between her clenched teeth and blinked out of existence. Gohan was gone as soon as she was and they both popped into reality again some distance away, Gohan dropping Super Perfect Cell with a left hook that sent her over a snowy field and hurtling for miles and sailing over the abyss that Trunks had created from the mountain range that had been Gero's lab. Gohan went to attack her again through Instant Transmission and teleported… directly into Super Perfect Cell's fist. Gohan went hurtling across the horizon from Super Perfect Cell's left hook before she dropped him out of the sky with an axe kick that sent Gohan crashing down into the desert where, although he had no idea, Raditz had first interacted with Piccolo after arriving on Earth. Super Perfect Cell chuckled while she floated down to the ground as Gohan picked himself up onto his feet, clearly stunned.
"What's wrong?" she asked playfully. "You didn't think I'd catch on? I've got that Saiyan adaptability, too. I certainly hope that wasn't your trump card." Gohan glared at her and held one hand out to the side.
"Watch me," he shot back. His palm glowed yellow for a moment and then whatever light had come flickered out of existence. Super Perfect Cell blinked, wondering what the point of that had been. She had been about to ask the question aloud when a beam caught her in the small of the back to send her flying into Gohan's fist as he lunged forward to catch her with a straight jab to the face. Super Perfect Cell wiped blood from her nose and glowered at Gohan with loathing in her eyes at being shown up despite her power.
"Alright you little fucker," she spat, "C'mere!" She rocketed at Gohan with her hands outstretched and he charged to meet her. They collided and blinked out of existence in the same moment.
The Transmission Dimension, as Gohan decided he would call it, was disorienting to fight in. Sounds were distorted and echoed, with an underlying hum to everything, and colors were a constantly flashing kaleidoscope. It was clearly not a place where anyone was expected to spend a prolonged period of time. Because of this, both combatants were letting more blows slip through than perhaps either of them normally would. Sprays of blood shot out from every blow to the body or face and skin was burned from ki blasts that weren't properly blocked against. For those back in the real world it was something entirely different and exceedingly bizarre.
OoOoOoO
The remaining heroes had stood huddled together with Hercule's body moved to be near Trunks' and had been trying to figure out where the battle was taking place so that they could follow, if only to watch and offer Gohan whatever assistance they could rather than genuinely thinking they could help in the battle. However, both warriors were so fast that they were all hopelessly lost. Things suddenly became very strange, however, as a spray of red blood flew over their heads and shot across for miles. As they all looked around frantically for the source of what was clearly Gohan's blood, they heard a cry of pain from Super Perfect Cell and a grunt of effort from Gohan, neither of which had any visible source. Piccolo gave a startled cry as a bolt of blue ki burst out of the ground in front of him and came so close to his face that he could feel the heat turning his green skin a slightly darker shade.
"What the hell is going on?!" Launch asked irritably. She'd barely finished asking the question when Gohan and Super Perfect Cell were fighting in the sky above them… in five different places. Five different pairs of half-Saiyan and Bioandroid were fighting tooth and nail before vanishing as swiftly as they'd arrived and leaving everyone desperately confused.
Suno was left in a state of paralyzed terror. She'd thought the worst moment in her life had been watching Goku fighting Freeza back on Namek. She didn't think that there could be anything worse than helplessly watching her wife battle an impossibly powerful foe on an alien world. As she had discovered to her horror, there actually was something worse. Her son, who wasn't even old enough to drive, was fighting an abomination of the last vestige of the organization that had destroyed her childhood and she was helpless to even watch what was going on.
'Goku,' she thought desperately, 'Oh God, Goku, I wish you were here!'
OoOoOoO
"Kaiou!" Goku demanded as she, Kaiou, and Bubbles stood on Snake Way. "What's going on down there?!" She had sensed Cell's ki after the explosion and had been especially shocked when Enma had told them that Cell's soul hadn't arrived to be sent to Hell yet. She could sense Cell's ki still on Earth and it was way bigger than before, maybe even as high as Gohan's! She had to know what was happening with her son!
"I… I don't know!" Kaiou admitted. He was hopelessly flummoxed. He had been the Kaiou of the Northern Quadrant for eons beyond counting and had seen countless civilizations rise and fall. He had stood in the presence of the greatest and most terrible gods and had seen warriors come into the Otherworld of every imaginable shape and size. Despite his wealth of experience, he was struggling in vain to describe, or even follow, what was going on. Goku let out a groan and pulled at her hair.
"Can't I just go back?" she asked impatiently. She could just use Instant Transmission since she had her body here. She had to be there. She had to see what was going on!
"No!" Kaiou told her firmly. "No dead soul may return to the mortal world without Enma's explicit leave! There's no telling what a dead soul among the living could do to the very fabric of reality, never mind a soul as powerful as yours, Goku!" Goku chewed on her lip and let out a long breath through her nose that sounded like a tea kettle. She had to calm down. She believed in Gohan. She knew he could do this.
OoOoOoO
All across the world, people were witnessing the same phenomenon that the heroes had just seen, with the two combatants randomly appearing or with other signs of their existence before vanishing. Cries of pain, shockwaves of impact, ki blasts that came out of nowhere before disappearing almost immediately. It was like the entire world had gone completely insane.
Gohan and Super Perfect Cell collided into each other and sent one another careening off in opposite directions in the real world before dropping out of the sky and smashing into the ground like asteroids and causing a tremendous quake as they landed, providentially, back where they had began. The tremors from their impacts could be felt as far away as West and North City.
"Hey!" Krillin called out as he pointed off toward where they'd watched Gohan fly off. "There they are!" Everyone flew off toward the battle to see if the two fighters would hold still long enough for them to figure out what was going on. Everyone but Vegeta, who stayed knelt beside Trunks' body with his broken arm hanging limp and bloody by his side. Equal measures of shame, rage, and grief had left his limbs leaden and driven any fire out of his body. He had not even been able to avenge his son. His arm was useless. What could he possibly do?
Gohan and Super Perfect Cell groaned as they struggled up onto their hands and knees while glaring at one another. They were both bruised, burned, and bloodied. Cracks were spread across every black gem of Super Perfect Cell's armor and bloody foam flecked between her teeth. Gohan's gi was torn and shredded, leaving his chest bare with several tears in his pants as well, and at some point he'd lost his boots. The earth crunched under their feet as they struggled upright with their eyes still locked onto each other. They knew what had to come next. That's what it came down to, after all, didn't it?
"I'm going to kill you, Son Gohan!" Super Perfect Cell called out to Gohan as they gathered up their power. "You, this planet, everyone! This blast will wipe out your entire Solar System! Sure, it'll destroy the time machine," she admitted, "So I won't be able to get my Perfect universe. But it'll be a universe without you and that's close enough!"
"Shut up and die," Gohan spat back coldly at her. Super Perfect Cell laughed as they brought their hands down to their sides.
"Kaaameee…" their voices echoed on the wind as their entire bodies were cast in a blue-white glow. "Haaameee…" The heroes were nearly there now and watched in amazement as the blue-white lights grew and grew ever brighter. "HAAAAAAA!"
It was the most unbelievable thing any of them had ever seen. The two kamehameha barreling towards one another were of almost unimaginable size. They were mountains of ki that crashed together in an unimaginable explosion of blinding light. Ripples of blue and white shimmered across them from both ends as the struggling beams formed together into a near-perfect orb that devastated the landscape in their wake. Only a black line showed where one beam ended and the other began. Gohan and Super Perfect Cell cried with effort as their feet dug into the earth, gritting their teeth and pushing forward with all their might.
For Super Perfect Cell, it was about proving her supremacy over Gohan once and for all. Her supremacy over the lowly creatures that she had been erroneously made to protect. She was better than all of them. She was Perfect.
Gohan fought in his mom's memory. He fought to protect this earth that he loved and everyone in it. His mom believed in him. Everyone was counting on him. He had to prove himself worthy of their hope. Even as he fought, however, it felt like his body was burning through the last reserves of his energy. He didn't know how much he had left.
The others watched as Super Perfect Cell's Kamehameha pushed forward and seemed to overtake Gohan's, threatening to envelop him. Suno balled her fists as a fire filled her eyes. No way. No goddamn way. This monster had taken her wife. She wasn't taking her baby as long as Suno was breathing!
"Come on!" Suno roared as she flew toward Super Perfect Cell. The others followed after her with steely determination in their hearts. For all that Goku had done for them, they weren't about to let her son face this alone.
"Kaiouken!" Yamcha, Tenshinhan, and Launch cried, with Yamcha and Launch pushing themselves to times three while Tenshinhan went all the way to times ten. They came at Super Perfect Cell from all sides, firing with every ounce of strength they could muster.
"Chou Kamehameha!"
"Chou Dodonpa!"
"Dodonhameha!"
"Gekiretsu Koudan!"
Despite giving their all into their attacks, Super Perfect Cell didn't seem to be aware of their existence. In spite of the futility of their gesture, their hearts would not let them give up. They would see this through to the end, whatever it might be.
OoOoOoO
"Well," Kaiou muttered as his antennae bobbed and twitched, "Cell and Gohan are finally standing still."
"Well what's going on?" Goku demanded as she tried to hold back the edge in her voice. It was just torturing her to be in the dark this long, especially when she could feel Gohan's ki faltering.
"They're engaged in a Kamehameha struggle," Kaiou told her. "But I'm afraid… that Gohan is going to fail."
"The hell he is!" Goku protested fiercely as she grabbed Kaiou's head in a fierce grip.
OoOoOoO
Gohan's knees buckled and his arms burned. His whole body felt like it was on fire. It would have been so easy to give in and yet he couldn't. He had to keep fighting! Even if he was going to lose, he would fight until his very last breath. He just had to think of what his mom would say if she were here.
'Come on, Gohan!' Goku's voice said rather vividly in his head. Was his life flashing before his eyes? 'I'm here for you, Gohan! I know you can do it! Get it together, I know you can beat Cell!'
"M-mom?" Gohan stammered out as he realized that it wasn't a memory, it was really her! "Mom, I-I'm trying," he called out in a strained voice. "But I'm at my limit! I don't have anyth–"
'Don't gimme that!' Goku told him like they were back in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. 'There's no such thing as limits! Master Roshi pushed me to my limit and I pushed past him! Tenshinhan pushed me to my limit and I got stronger than him! Piccolo, Vegeta, Freeza! They all pushed me to the brink of my strength, to my breaking point, and I pushed through and came out stronger! You can do this, Gohan! You have to! You've got to go beyond what you think you're capable of! You've got so much power, Gohan. You've just got to believe in yourself! You can do it! Go beyond!'
"Go beyond…" Gohan muttered to himself thoughtfully before he grit his teeth. He pushed for all he was worth and grit his teeth as he closed his eyes. He turned all his ki sensing inward, searching for the power Goku said that he had. He could feel it somewhere deep, deep down inside of him. A tightly wound ball of power that felt ready to explode. He just needed to focus. He just needed a window!
OoOoOoO
Vegeta looked toward the horizon and to the blinding light of the beam struggle in the distance. It was the battle for the end of the world. They were fighting for their lives.
"Pointless," he muttered as he shook his head. Yet even as the words passed his lips, the realization of what was happening hit him. They were all fighting. These mongrel humans, the Namekian, and a low class half-breed. They were all fighting for this world. Yet he was going to simply sit here and die? He was going to give up?! Vegeta forced himself to his feet and snarled wordlessly as he transformed to Super Saiyan. "Not likely," he spat in anger at himself as he flew toward the conflict. "I am a King! I will show them what that means!"
OoOoOoO
Super Perfect Cell was so elated she thought she would burst out laughing again. She had nearly won. Gohan was as good as dead. She could feel him waning as he struggled hopelessly in vain and was even vaguely aware of the insects buzzing in her ears. It was all over. She was going to win! Finally, Perfectly, once and for all. She was going to–
"Big Bang Attack!" Vegeta bellowed out from directly behind her. The blast hit Super Perfect Cell square in the back and caused her to stumble forward despite herself. She whipped her head around instinctively and stared in bug-eyed shock up Vegeta who shot her a look of malevolent defiance.
OoOoOoO
'Now!' Goku screamed in Gohan's head. 'This is your only chance! Take it!' Gohan felt that ball crack open as a new reserve of strength started to flood his body.
"Ceeeeell!" Gohan roared over the whipping of the wind and the deafening roar of their titanic struggle. "If you're really a match for a hundred percent of my power then I'll just have to go even further beyond!" Gohan let out a scream of power and, bafflingly, his hair actually started to grow. Her Kamehameha threatened to completely overwhelm Gohan's in spite of this until a single pinprick of red light flashed from his point. "Take this!" Gohan cried out as he drew his hands back before thrusting them out again. "Ryuuuuuhaaaameeeehaaaaaa!" An enormous red blast shot out from Gohan's hands with the absolutely monolithic face of a dragon that overwhelmed and devoured Super Perfect Cell's Kamehameha.
"That's never happ…" Super Perfect Cell muttered, her words dying as the dragon came down on her. It lifted her up into the sky, snaking around her and completely encompassing her in its red light. Super Perfect Cell screamed in agony as she was torn apart and completely ripped asunder. "This can't be happening!" she screamed, insisting on her invincibility with her dying breath. "N-no! No! I-I-I'm supposed… to be… perf–" Then she was gone, her body completely destroyed. The blast went even further, incinerating her core nucleus, every scrap, down to every last cell and atom of her existence until nothing remained. The dragon burst apart like the world's greatest firework before fading away and leaving a blue sky as the spectre of death was lifted off the world.
Gohan collapsed forward immediately into the dirt as his hair, which had only grown a few inches, dropped back to its normal length, height, and its normal red color. "I… I did it, mom," he muttered as his eyelids fluttered shut.
'I knew you could,' Goku told him proudly, although he was out before the words reached him. Gohan lay unconscious for a few minutes in the valley he and Cell had created before the others found him.
"Gohan," Suno whispered as she knelt beside him and rolled him over onto his side. She put her ear down to his chest and nearly wept with relief as she was greeted with the soft, steady thump of his heartbeat. "He's okay," she told the others happily and they were all visibly relieved. Even Vegeta, though you could only tell by a slight lessening of the tension in his neck.
"Come on," Krillin told Suno as he helped pick Gohan up into her arms, "We'll get him back to the Lookout for Dende to heal him."
"We should take the bodies, too," Yamcha suggested, "Since we're gonna wish everyone back and all." The others nodded and flew back to Trunks and Hercule's bodies. Launch lifted Hercule and, despite his own grievous injury, Vegeta insisted on carrying his son.
"I won't let any of you put your hands on a prince's body!" Vegeta told them sternly. That statement, which was the closest any of them had heard to Vegeta speaking of anyone with affection, gave everyone enough pause to step back and let Vegeta sling Trunks over his shoulder.
"W-wait a minute!" Jimmy Firecracker insisted persistently, broken microphone in one hand while he dragged the unconscious cameraman along the ground behind him by the shirt collar. "What's going on here?! Where are you taking Hercule's body? What am I supposed to tell everyone?!"
"Tell everyone," Chaozu told Jimmy firmly, "That the Earth is safe. Also, get your camera guy to a hospital, ya jerk." Then they flew off, leaving Jimmy quite literally in the dust.
OoOoOoO
Gohan sat up with a start, gasping for breath and looking around frantically. Was it really over? Had he really won?!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Krillin exclaimed as he knelt beside Gohan. "Take it easy, buddy! It's okay. You won. Everyone's safe. Just breathe." Gohan took several deep breaths and looked around to take stock of his surroundings. He was on the Lookout, he realized, and then he noticed a very startled Dende, who he realized must have healed him. Everyone else was standing around him, even Bulma, who must have flown up from Capsule Corp.
"Sorry, Dende," Gohan offered as he got shakily up to his feet and held out a hand to help Dende up. Dende smiled and took his hand and let Gohan pull him up to his feet.
"It's okay," Dende assured him, "I'm just glad you're o–" Gohan yanked Dende into a hug and the Namekian boy was stunned for a moment before he hugged Gohan back. Vegeta, with his dead arm healed and both arms crossed, coughed and rolled his eyes.
"If it is not too much trouble," he said dryly, "Perhaps we could get on with it?" He gestured to the Dragon Balls which were already gathered and glowing.
"Oh, right," Gohan muttered bashfully as he let Dende go.
"Soooo," Yamcha suggested. "Since Puar's not here, does anybody mind if I take a crack at it?" Krillin smiled and gave him a shrug.
"Go nuts, dude."
"Eternal Dragon Shenron!" Yamcha cried to the heavens. "I summon you!" The sky went black as dark clouds gathered and thunder rumbled. Lightning flashed and the Dragon Balls glowed before a great pillar of light shot off into the sky and twisted and snaked out for miles in all directions with lightning crackling off of it in tendrils. There was a mighty thunderclap and the Eternal Dragon Shenron loomed over them, his massive green frame filling up the sky.
"Man," Launch muttered as they all stared up at the dragon, "That never gets old."
"You who have gathered the seven Dragon Balls," Shenron spoke in a booming voice that shook the foundations of creation, "State your wishes and I shall grant them." It looked down at the assemblage with just the slightest hint of curiosity. As if it knew Puar was missing.
"Eternal Dragon Shenron!" Yamcha called out again. "Please revive all of those who were killed or absorbed by Cell!" Shenron's red eyes flashed and it bobbed its head.
OoOoOoO
All across the world, in empty cities and villages, people suddenly popped into existence. They were all relieved and elated once they realized that they were alive. They laughed and cheered and wept with joy at what was an undeniable miracle. Then, somewhat awkwardly, they all rushed to find their clothes.
OoOoOoO
Hercule and Trunks sat up simultaneously and took in great gulps of air as they put their hands to their chests to confirm that, yes, there was no longer a gaping hole there. They turned and looked at each other and gave astonished cries of shock as they fell backwards, neither having expected anyone to be near them. To Trunks' enormous surprise, Vegeta actually held out a hand to help him to his feet. Surprising himself even more, Trunks actually took it.
Lapis and Lazuli suddenly appeared with a loud "Pop!" and floated in the air for a few seconds before falling on their rear ends. They looked around in shock before staring at each other.
"But… but I was–" Lapis stammered out as he tried to wrap his head around what was happening.
"I know," Lazuli agreed shakily, "I-I saw it. A-and then I was…" they sat in silence for a moment before tackling each other in a fierce hug. "Bro!"
"Sis!" They held onto each other tightly as if they never wanted to let go. Everyone smiled at them before realizing that someone was still missing.
"Oh right," Suno said as she smacked herself in the forehead. "Goku can't be wished back with Shenron because we wished her back with them already when Vegeta and Nappa showed up."
"So I guess we're headed back to Namek?" Bulma suggested as Shenron waited patiently. While they were deliberating on what to do, an unlikely voice intervened.
"Hey guys!" Goku's voice came from Shenron's mouth. It was oddly reminiscent of the last time they had tried to bring her home with the Namekian Dragon Balls.
"Uh, hey, Goku," Krillin replied nervously. No doubt he, and everyone else, could see the similarities already. "What's… uh, what's up, buddy?"
"Listen, I know this is going to sound crazy but… don't wish me back." The request draped a leaden cloud over the Lookout that smothered the joy of their victory.
"What?" Suno asked in a small voice as she looked up at Shenron. "Goku, what are you talking about? Why wouldn't you want to come back?"
"Suno…" Goku began with regret clearly already in her voice. "The Earth is just… better off without me, I think. I'm a magnet for every bad thing that's happened to us. If I weren't around, Pilaf wouldn't have released Piccolo Daimaou and had his demons kill Krillin and all those other people. Raditz wouldn't have come to Earth which meant that Vegeta and his friend wouldn't have come, either. Freeza wouldn't have come to Earth and… I guess when I think about it, Cell, and all the destruction she caused, are my direct responsibility."
"Goku, that's crazy!" Suno insisted in a quavering voice. She had to talk Goku out of this. She had to make her see reason, she couldn't lose her again!
"Half of the people Cell was made out of wouldn't exist if I hadn't come to Earth," Goku pointed out. "And everything Cell did, her whole personality, was my own but all… twisted and wrong. My drive to get stronger, my ambition, my need to prove my own strength. The Earth is safer without me, especially with Gohan to take care of it!"
"M-mom…" Gohan stammered out with tears welling up in his eyes. This was really happening. His mom was going to stay dead because of him. He knew he had to say something, he had to tell her that he wanted her back, they needed her to come home but he couldn't force the words to come out. Suno was similarly silent despite the words screaming in her head.
"I'll be okay, guys," Goku assured them. "Being dead isn't so bad. I get to keep my body, I don't age, and I get to train with all the other great martial artists who've ever died. Heck, I'll get to see Grandpa Gohan again. So really, guys, don't worry. It'll be fine and I'll see you all again someday. Take care of everyone, Gohan!" Then there was silence as they all absorbed the information.
'Only Goku could see the upside to death,' Krillin thought with a sad smile as he shook his head. Gohan and Suno clung to each other and wept silently as they realized that Goku was truly gone.
"Speak your second wi–" Shenron began to say before Bulma rather harshly interrupted it.
"Will you shut up and give us a fuckin' minute, you overgrown handbag?!" Bulma snapped up at it furiously through her own tears. Shenron was not a terribly expressive creature but, if it were, it would no doubt have looked surprised. After several moments, it was Krillin who finally spoke.
"Can you turn Lapis and Lazuli back to normal?" he asked Shenron. The aforementioned twins immediately hopped to their feet.
"Whoa," Lapis protested. "Hang on, hold up there, buddy. Not happenin'."
"Don't get us wrong," Lazuli assured them, "It's really nice that you want to do that for us. It's just that, well… being normal kinda sucks. We've got awesome powers and we're basically immortal. Why would we wanna go back to being regular people?"
"Although I do have an idea…" Lapis muttered as he tapped his chin. "Yo, big dude!" he called up to Shenron with his hands cupped around his mouth. "Can you make it so that our nanites can't be shut down and crap so we can't get blown up?"
"Shenron can only do things if you express it in the form of a wish," Chaozu informed him.
"Oh," Lapis said before shrugging, "Alright." Then he looked back at Shenron. "I wish for you to do that deal I just said!"
"Very well," Shenron boomed. Its eyes flashed and, although neither Lapis nor Lazuli were visibly changed, they both felt a slightly tingly sensation pass through their bodies. "Your wishes have been granted," Shenron continued. "Farewell." Then it vanished in a blinding flash and the seven Dragon Balls were scattered across the bright blue sky.
"I… I have no idea what's going on here," Hercule admitted as he scratched his head, having watched the whole proceedings from a distance. He had died. He knew he had. He'd felt his last breath go out of his body and everything went dark. Now he wasn't dead and there were dragons talking with women's voices and granting wishes. People were appearing out of nowhere and talking about nanites and superpowers. Also he was apparently a million miles in the air. It was enough to make his head spin.
"I'll tell you what's going on here," Bulma explained as she and Krillin approached him. "What's going on is that we're gonna take you back down to the Earth as soon as we wrap up here and you're going to tell the world how you defeated Cell."
"But I didn't," Hercule pointed out. "Heck, I didn't do anything. All I did was make Cell laugh and get killed!" Krillin shook his head and put a hand up on Hercule's shoulder.
"If it weren't for you jumping in to save Gohan while the rest of us were getting our asses kicked, he never would have gotten the power to transform and defeat Cell," he told Hercule reassuringly. "Trust me, you played as big a part in beating Cell as anyone."
"I don't know what any of that means," Hercule admitted, "Except for the part where the most I contributed today was dying. Gohan's the hero here. Or that Goku woman. Anyone but me." Krillin shook his head again.
"The person who defeated Cell is going to be the most important person who ever lived," he reminded Hercule. "They'll have saved the world with everyone watching them. They'll be the greatest hero the world's ever known. They'll be famous, everyone will want to know them and talk to them and shower them with adoration." He looked back at Gohan and Suno who were still holding each other and weeping. "Do they look like they want to be famous?"
Hercule bowed his head and shook it sadly. "I'll do it," he muttered. He wasn't proud of it but, as Master Ferris had once told him, sometimes we must do things that give us no pride and promise no honor, simply because they are the right thing to do. Somehow he doubted that his master would have considered taking credit for saving the world something that Hercule would have ever done and yet here he was.
"Thanks," Krillin told him appreciatively as he gave him another pat on the shoulder. "Stay light on the details for now and give us a few days to corroborate a story." He gave Hercule a friendly, joking smile. "I'll have my people call your people." That actually made Hercule chuckle.
"You know," Tenshinhan remarked as Krillin and Bulma walked toward the rest of the group. "Now that the danger is passed, this will probably be the last time we see each other for a while. Perhaps we'll all meet at the Budoukai again, whenever that's held."
"Nah," Yamcha declined with a shake of his head. "I told Chi-Chi I was gonna retire after this one and I'm sticking to it." Ten nodded in understanding as he held Launch's hand.
"Well hey," Launch suggested, "We don't have to compete. Maybe we'll all just go and watch. Laugh at everyone being incompetent." That drew a collective chuckle before Krillin cleared his throat.
"Actually," he put in, "Before we all go our separate ways to do our nomad things… I think there's something we should do first." He turned to Suno and Gohan and bowed his head respectfully toward them. "With your permission," he began gently, "I was hoping we could all hold a service in Goku's honor in a few days." Suno and Gohan looked at each other for a moment before looking back at Krillin and nodding with weak smiles.
"Thank you, Krillin," Suno said softly as she wiped her eyes. "That's very kind of you. Yes, that would be lovely." She and Gohan took Krillin's hands and pulled him into a hug, which clearly startled him before he hugged them back. The others moved swiftly in and joined, except for Vegeta. He stood on the outside of the group embrace under protest and only held Bulma's hand, looking away in disgust and embarrassment.
After several minutes, the group disbanded and split off in their own directions. As the only other person who couldn't fly, Bulma gave Hercule a lift back down to the ground with Lapis and Lazuli flying after them, Trunks, and Vegeta to stay at Capsule Corp for the time being. Eventually only Gohan, Suno, Piccolo, Mr. Popo, and Dende remained on the Lookout.
"I'm proud of you, Gohan," Piccolo told his protege as he ruffled the young warrior's red hair. "You've come so far and become so strong." Gohan smiled up at Piccolo and sniffed deeply to hold back a fresh spring of tears that threatened to burst out of him.
"Thank you, Mr. Piccolo," he replied softly before hugging the Warrior Namekian again. "I know it's been a long time since I said it," he added with a smile, "But you can still come stay at our house. We still have a fold-out couch." Suno laughed and Piccolo rolled his eyes before shoving Gohan good-naturedly away. Gohan and Suno made their way to the edge of the Lookout when Dende stopped them.
"Gohan!" he said hurriedly as he put a hand on Gohan's arm. His cheeks turned purple with embarrassment as if he suddenly regretted saying anything. Gohan looked at Dende and Dende screwed up his courage to keep speaking. "I've been thinking about what you said before we left New Namek. A-about what certain words mean, a-and I… I…" Dende swallowed nervously as Gohan's eyes widened with understanding. He pulled Dende into a hug and gently put a hand on the Namekian boy's back.
"It's okay," Gohan whispered comfortingly. "Me too." Dende beamed as Gohan pulled away before he and Suno flew off.
"What was that about?" Suno asked curiously. Gohan blushed slightly.
"I'll… uh… I'll tell you later." Suno grinned and laughed a little before they flew in silence. The further they got from the Lookout, the longer the flight took and the more painfully quiet it became. After what felt like hours, they returned to their village to find everyone in town waiting for them in a great crowd. They whooped and cheered and clapped for them and it made Suno think of when she and Goku had returned from Muscle Tower. That memory, which had always been so sweet before and had filled her with such warmth, was now cold and empty, cutting her like a knife. They muttered their hurried thanks and politely turned down invitations to celebrate or receive gifts as they pushed through the crowd as non-confrontationally as possible before entering their home. Their quiet, empty home. Mother and son exchanged sad looks before going into their separate rooms to be alone with their grief.
Gohan could never remember a blacker feeling in his heart than at that moment. He'd won. He'd saved the day! He was the most powerful being in the universe. But all he felt was failure.