DragonBall Turbo Cell Games Finale: Chapter Seven
"True Courage! Gohan faces Cell!"

"Come on Chi-Chi! You're psycho!" Yamcha banged fis fist on the glass windshield of the yellow school bus-like hunk of junk airship. "You can't go there! It's too dangerous!" he shouted.
"So you're telling me Gohan is fine?" Chi-Chi yelled through the glass, still hunched over the steering wheel with the gas pedal to the floor.
"Yes! Swear on my life!" Yamcha grinned, his lips pressed against the glass.
"And what about Goku?"
Yamcha's grin disappeared.
Chi-Chi screamed at him and hit the afterburners, accelerating. She was only three miles from Island 22 now.
"Look, Chi-Chi! I need the senzu beans!" Yamcha shouted, holding on tighter.
"I don't care about any damn lima beans! Goku's hurt!"
"No, senzu beans!"
"What beans?"
Yamcha thudded his head on the glass pane in frustration. He leaned up and looked back, they were coming up on the island beach now. Behind him, the island started glowing bright blue.
"Chi-Chi! Check your pockets! Yajirobe gave you the bag! the senzu beans!
"Zen What?" she yelled back.
The explosion shockwave shot across the island like a supersonic jet, plowing right into the airship. Yamcha, Chi-Chi, and the airbus were swatted to the ground like a fly. Metal screamed, glass shattered, and the sky roared with thunder.
---

Tien dug his fingers into the bare stone. As soon as he'd saw he flash, he shouted to hit the deck. The wind was like a steam-roller, it crushed him into the ground and collapsed his lungs. The sheer heat of the explosion sizzled his skin. The explosion was so bright, he was thoroughly blinded. Even his third eye was overloaded from the energy flare. He couldn't hear anything even, only a sharp pinging sound reverberating in his head. Tien still could reach out with his inner senses, and could feel Gokhan right beside him. Yet as soon as the shockwave subsided, he was up and running southwest.
"Gokhan!" Tien staggered to his feet. The air temperature had spiked up 25 degrees. Also, the sun felt hotter, and Tien was vaguely aware that the blast must have damaged the upper atmosphere. He blinked rapidly, trying to adjust his eyes, and ran after Gokhan using instinct alone. His heart also twinged. With Piccolo and Trunks gone, it was likely all over. And where was Gohan?

Gokhan found Vegeta slumped on the southern beach, half buried under white sand. He pulled his older brother out gingerly and onto his back, laying his ear to Vegeta's mouth. He was still breathing. Tien skidded to a stop next to his comrades.
"He's still alive?"
"Yes." Gokhan stayed knelt beside his brother. The older Saiyan's armor was cracked in half across his chest. His blue uniform was all but scored off his skin. Blood leaked from his mouth.
"Yamcha and Chi-Chi are here." Gokhan said angrily. "Haven't you been paying attention?" he gestured east down the coast. "Get the senzu beans! For what good they'll do us now..." he looked back over his shoulder at the sizzling smoke haze rising up from the valley. "I'll stay here. Go!"
Tien sped off on foot. Once his sight returned, he could see the yellow airship crumpled into the sand ahead. Yamcha had Chi-Chi around the waist, she was flailing at his face.

Cell appeared atop the ridge of dirt and rock that hung over the beach's high tide line. His eyes watched Gokhan with glazed disinterest.
"Are you my final challenger?" Cell stood lax, his arms at his sides. "How disappointing. All of the Earth's greatest champions crushed like bugs."
Gokhan stood and sunk into a grappler's battle stance. His dirty light blue gi shown brightly in the heat shimmers coming up from the sand.
"Really?" Cell tsked. "You're not even a Super Saiyan. Have a seat. I was only joking." Cell casually looked over his shoulder. "I do have one more worthy of playing around with. Gohan is coming to entertain me. So relax, enjoy your last few minutes."
Gokhan remained motionless, staring hard. He was ready to die. Cell turned his back to him and tapped his foot.
"Or perhaps not. He is a coward after all."
"Cell?" the shout echoed from the valley floor to the north. "Cell are you coming?"
"Why, the child has a spine after all!" Cell grinned a shark-toothed smile and flew casually back to the valley floor. He took his time. He wasn't excited about destroying a single little boy.
---

Tien ripped apart metal piece after metal piece. He tore through the seat upholstery and threw the shred into the surf.
"It's not here! They're not here!"
"What do you mean?" Yamcha hissed as Chi-Chi raked at his nose. He weaved his head back and forth, grimacing.
"She didn't bring them!" Tien punched the airbus hull, crunching it in further.
Yamcha swore repeatedly.
"Hey!" Gokhan shouted at them from the air above. He was hovering just north of them. "HEY GUYS!"
"What?" Tien shouted back.
"Get back to the arena! Gohan is fighting Cell!"
Tien and Yamcha gaped. Chi-Chi wailed then abruptly went limp in Yamcha's arms. He let go of her and she dropped to the ground like a sack of flour.
"Come ON!" Gokhan yelled and flew off. Tien looked to Yamcha, who shrugged, and they flew after Gokhan.
---

Cell stood across from Gohan, studying the boy closely. Nothing notable, nothing remarkable. The boy was perhaps just under Goku's strength. Probably far less interesting to fight, though. Only a "regular" Super Saiyan, small, fear plain to see in his eyes. But the tears were gone now. Now the brat at least had the guts to make eye contact.
"What's the plan, Gohan?" Cell asked softly, the smile now gone from his face. He was bored of this tournament.
"What else?" Gohan replied tersely. "To kill you."
Cell blinked rapidly for a moment, then laughed hard, doubling over and slapping his thigh plate.
"HA! No, really? I mean, surely, surely you have some secret gambit? I can't believe you are doing anything here but stalling for time!"
Gohan's face stayed flat and emotionless. It wasn't hard to look cold after what Cell did to his daddy.
"The silent treatment, hmm?" Cell waved his hand nonchalantly. "I can wait all day. I'd love to see what the big plan is, anyway. It must be really good, or...really pathetic, seeing you're all they have to stall with."
Gohan blinked slowly after a moment, unperturbed.
"So you're saying you want me to hit you first?" he asked, steel in his tone.
"Ha!" Cell giggled, "I offer amnesty and the child still wants to fight?" the Android bent at the waist and jutted his chin out forward.
"Right here, boy, with your best shot!" Cell snickered and pointed to his jaw.
"You asked for it! Gohan ran forward and launched into a flying roundhouse kick. The impact of his of his white boot with Cell's face echoed throughout the arena valley.
Gokhan, Tien, and Yamcha had resumed their place on the southern plateau and wathced with rapt attention.

Cell's neck bent all the way so his ear pressed to his shoulder plate. Gohan recovered his foot and landed in front of the Android. Cell slowly resumed his head's normal angle.
"Hmm, good form, excellent landing, but no power..." Cell shook his head, sad. "I hope that wasn't your best shot, child. It takes more than that to even bruise me."
Gohan stepped back a little and resumed his fighting stance. Cell sighed loudly and threw up his hands.
"You know what? This bores me. I've got no challenge from you "Special Forces"" Cell turned his back on Gohan. "I'm feeling merciful today. I think I might visit some of the Earth's attractions before I die. I've always wanted to go to the zoo..." Cell waltzed away.
"You forgot something, Cell!" Gohan called after him.
"Oh yes? What's that?"
"You gave me a free shot! It's only fair if I give you one!"
Cell's eyes widened. He turned and Gohan was leaned over, palms on his knees, cheek turned.
"You're insane. I get it now! hahaha, You're insane!" Cell grinned. "As you wish."
Cell dashed forward, his feet never touching the ground. He socked Gohan square in the jaw. The boy flew back with such momentum he slammed into the plateau his friends were standing on. The stone shattered loudly beneath them.

"Gohan!" Tien and Yamcha yelled in unison and leapt down, starting to pull rocks aside. But Gohan leapt down and pulled them back away.
"Take it easy! The kid's got something up his sleeve. Gohan can take way more than-"
Golden light streamed out from through the rocks, accompanied by a loud buzzing sound. The three fighters got back in time to escape the fullisade of flying boulder as Gohan blew the plateau out from on top of himself.
Cell chuckled.
"There you go, kid! Want some more?"
"Masenko HA!" Gohan raised his palms one over the other above his head. When he brought them down, a bright beam of gold energy shot at Cell.
Cell caught the attack in his hands. he had intended to just bat the blast away, but the impact pushed him back several feet and burned his fingers. He growled and reset his feet, after that finally able to hurl it off into the distance. Cell opened his mouth to wittily belittle Gohan but already the young Super Saiyan was upon him.
Strange clanging sounds echoed out as Cell blocked each incoming fist and foot. Cell paid close attention. Something about the boy wasn't adding up. Still, each swing and thrust came in slow and weak. Gohan kicked, Cell's wrist came up, Gohan punched, Cell's wrist came down. Gohan flashed behind Cell and kicked, Cell ducked without looking. Gohan leapt up to strike Cell's exposed back, And Cell simply tuned out of the way. Gohan leaned in to punch Cell again, and this time the Android didn't block, he parried, then smacked Gohan in the face with a straight palm. The young Super Saiyan reeled back, blood pouring out of his nose.
"Whoops! I thought you'd block that, Gohan!" Cell giggled again.
Gohan stumbled back and tried to wipe the blood off his lip with his wristband, but only succeeded in smearing Goku's blood across his mouth. First he was horrified, then he was furious.

The boy screamed and blasted at Cell with a bright flash of his aura. He rained fists down on Cell, much faster this time. Cell held his ground and whirled his hands like a fan blade of green and purple to block. The Android took note, stronger, but not good enough. Cell grew tired of blocking and shot twin red lasers out of his eyes. Gohan back-hand-flipped away just in time. As Cell suspected, using Piccolo's technique angered the kid. The angrier Gohan got, the stronger he was. If only the boy could get angry enough to make it exciting!
---

Dr. Briefs watched alone as Gohan's power level went up.
Cell: 4,000,000
Gohan: 2,900,000
No Trunks. No Vegeta. No Goku. No Piccolo. But Gohan was still alive.
"Gohan: 3,100,000" The computer said.
Briefs was a man of science, of logic, of pure reason. Yet, with the world on the brink of destruction, he thought, what the hell? Why not?
The doctor began to pray.
----

"I wonder what it takes to really get you going, Gohan." Cell blocked another incoming roundhouse kick and countered with a straight fist to the boy's stomach, only hard enough to make him flinch. The Android brought his other hand back around and fired an energy ball. Gohan flashed back and to the left, and the ball flashed away into the sea .
Gohan sunk back into his battle stance. Cell recovered his form into his usual swaggering upright stance.
"Of all the Earth's warriors, you are the only one not inside me. Dr. Gero's mistake, I see. You seem to have something inside you, Gohan."
"Don't feel bad, Cell. We do have something in common." Gohan said. He walked slowly towards Cell.
"What's that?"
"Deep, down inside," Gohan stopped, squinting, "we are both monsters."
"Whatever could you mean?" Cell cocked his head to the side.
"Sometime, some way, during this fight you will push me too far, and then I'll kill you." Gohan tilted his head foreward, looking up with stony eyes into Cell's disinterested glance.
"Really? I suppose I should push harder? because...right now..." Cell suddenly darted forward and hammered Gohan straight into the ground with both fists.
"I can kill you by batting an eyelash!"
Cell stomped down on Gohan's spine and the boy screamed. Gohan pushed up off the ground with both hands and Cell pushed him back down.
"Hmm, what to do, what to do..." cell theatrically rubbed his chin, leaning on his knee.

Then the Android flinched in surprise as his foot sank down to the ground, throwing him off balance. The boy had dug into the earth! Gohan remerged, bursting up from a crack in the stone. He fired a bigger ball at Cell from both hands. The Android let it explode into his face. No effect. Cell responded by flashing forward and sweeping Gohan off his feet with a low kick. Then he uppercutted the boy into the air. With almost casual precision, he snatched Gohan out of the air by grabbing his neck, then flipped him back down into the stone. Gohan screamed as his back cracked the granite.
"Not enough, Gohan! You're letting the Earth down." Cell scuffed his boot on the ground, kicking pebbles into Gohan's face. Then he paced back and forth as the young Super Saiyan coughed and struggled to his hands and knees.
"You know...I was wondering if you found your father over there in the ground..." Cell nodded over to where the granite mountain used to be. "I'm willing to bet you did."
Cell raised his arm in the air, pointer finger skyward, and a red ball of swirling energy the size of an orange appeared over the tip. "Was he dead? Or alive?" The ball instantly swelled to the size of a two story building, dwarfing Cell underneath it. "Let's find out!" The Android tilted his arm back to throw the ball.
"NO!" Gohan launched himself at Cell, throwing his shoulder into the monster's back. The ball toppled over directly on top of them, and promptly detonated.
---

Dr. Briefs thought he had heard the computer incorrectly.
"Computer, repeat that."
"Cell: 3,900,000
Gohan: 3,250,000"
"May you live long after this, Gohan. May you win." The doctor whispered.
"Massive explosion detected. The island is sinking, Doctor." The computer said.