Chapter One: Cell Versus Goku


Piccolo notices Goku tiring already. The small grimace that slanted across his thin mouth was the only sign of his fear. If Goku's not faking this, Piccolo thought, the world could end before sundown. The Namekian glanced down to Gohan, who wore Piccolo's own weighted shoulder armor over a Saiyan style armor uniform like Vegeta wore. The young half Saiyan still wore a smile of smug confidence, even now. Gohan would always be in awe of his father.

Perfect Cell smirked, standing in the middle of his squared, stone tournament ring. Goku still had not so much as bruised the android's perfect form. The two combatants had traded several punches for about two minutes all across the 30-yard square stage. Cell had to give Goku one thing: this Saiyan, unlike Trunks or Vegeta before him, did not use the Super Saiyan 2 technique. This confused Cell, at first. Goku's punches landed with pitiful impact because he was only a "regular" Super Saiyan. However, Goku was preposterously fast. Faster even than Cell himself, if only by a little. Still, Cell was watching closely. Goku used some sort of special move to outmaneuver him, and it was slowly draining all the Saiyan's energy. Cell was sure of it.

Yet, Goku smiled back. I really wish I could at least hurt Cell before I turn the fight over... he thought, feeling far more afraid than he looked. I don't know if I can anymore... But I'm not done yet!

The two dashed at each other and slammed together, fist against face. Goku landed only a short left jab, but Cell connected with a heavy right. The impact sounded like a thunderclap. A shockwave of air flew out from the connection. Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, and Trunks stood fast, but Tien, Yamcha, and Gokhan stumbled from the blast. Vegeta looked across the valley from his hilltop watching point, and scowelled at Gokhan. How can that bumbling, giant oaf be my brother? he thought.

Then Goku dissapeared again. Still, Cell knew exactly where Goku was and how Goku would attack the nanosecond the Saiyan re-appeared behind him. Cell merely spun around, caught Goku's wrist, and threw him down into the ring. Goku recovered gracefully onto one knee instead of landing face-first, but Cell neatly sweep-kicked him in the spine, sending Goku flying sideways this time.
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From a safe pile of granite a couple hundred yards away from the ring in the valley, the intrepid Papaya TV film crew struggled to train their camera view through dust and blurs to catch an image of the mass murderer Cell, who was currently fighting the former world martial arts champion Goku. It took the reporter a few minutes to recognize Goku, whose hair was now gold instead of black.
Mr. Satan, also known as Hercule, the current reigning world champion, was present, commenting on everything to the reporter, a thin, gangly blonde man known by the monniker "Papaya TV Guy." Mr. Satan explained to him that Goku would lose to Cell very soon, and that another former world champion, Tien, would probably step in next. And, of course, lose as well.
"Tien will do better though," Mr. Satan assured the reporter, "but not as bad as Goku. I mean look at his new hairdo! Goku musta joined some kiddie-punk metal band or something!" Hercule huffed in disdain. "Shameful!" Mr. Satan clapped TV guy on the shoulder. Don't worry, the champ told him. "I'll fight Cell in the finals, and crush him like the cheating bug he is!"
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Gokhan stood up straighter, made sure to remember what master Benoit taught him about balance. Though Gokhan was six-foot-five-inches tall, and a fearsome 295 pounds, his pure massiveness could not help him balance. Only by focusing his ki energy could he keep from blowing away like a leaf in a maelstrom. He watched Goku and Cell thrash together, ever harder, ever faster. Gokhan wanted to protect earth with his strength, like Goku, but he was just too weak to help now. For him, focusing ki was painful. When he pushed his strength to it's limits, his head wracked with tremendous pain. He simply could not train as hard.

Trunks couldn't help but hurt inside as he saw his father's hatred at his uncle. Gokhan was a good man, virtuous and pure. He was weak for a Saiyan, sure, but Trunks sensed something odd about Gokhan's energy. It was like water boiling in a pressure cooker.

Cell grew frustrated of Goku's agile dodging. The Super Saiyan had caught a second wind, it seemed. Cell stopped playing around and threw four slashing chops at Goku's head, meant to take it clean off, but Goku dodged every one. So, instead, Cell extended his hand and fired a series of palm blasts that exploded across the ring. Still, Goku dissapeared and flashed into existance above Cell, a small dot in the sky.
"You little..." Cell mumbled in his cocky toned voice.
"Kame..." Goku formed ki energy in his hands.
"Go ahead!" Cell scoffed, not moving.
"Hame..."
"You'll achieve nothing!" Cell shouted at him.
"Everyone take cover!" Piccolo yelled, and all the Z-Fighters dropped to the ground, except for Vegeta.
"HA!!!" Goku fired the Kamehameha wave from his palms and it hurtled towards Cell, a massive, glowing freight train of blue ki energy.

Shocked, Trunks pressed to the ground and gritted his teeth. Doesn't Goku know that if he misses Cell the Kamehameha would destroy the Earth? if it could be heard over the roar of the energy beam, even the distant TV camera would have registered all the fighters gasping in awe of what happened next.

Cell shot up and to the left so fast there was no way the wave could hit him. Yet, the Kamehameha stopped short of the ground, bent upwards, and picked up speed as it followed Cell.
"Nice trick!" Cell yelled over the din of the massive wall of energy that followed him. "But not good enough!!!" The android flew upwards, straight at Goku, with the wave following close enough behind him to make his back fins smoke.

Goku couldn't help but grin. It was exactly what he wanted Cell to do.
"Daddy!" Gohan screamed from his hilltop. The young half Saiyan made to leap after Cell, but Piccolo held him back. All of the Z-Fighters expected the worst. Even Vegeta frowned, if only because the honor of killing Goku might not be his own.

The Super Saiyan held still as Cell approached. Cell suddenly put on a burst of speed, expecting to outfly the Kamehameha and maneuver so Goku was between himself and the beam. Yet, as he passed Goku and reached out to shove him into the beam, Goku put two fingers to his head and dissappeared again. Suddenly Goku appeared behind Cell again, and once more the beam barrelled down on the Android. Cell failed to predict the move, and he most certainly did not expect how hard Goku hit him. The Super Saiyan planted both his feet into Cell's chest. Cell gasped as pain shot through his torso for the first time since being Perfected. The Kamehameha hit Cell in the back and crushed him into Goku. Both combatants were enveloped into the great maw of energy, which carried them off west into a stone mountain. The mountain detonated in a flash of shrieking silver light. The shockwave obliterated the whole mound of stone and blew the ground flat for miles; every blade of grass, every pile of rocks, the pillars of Cell's arena, all of the Z-fighters , even Mr. Satan and his film crew were blown to the ground and swept east like dust.