Earth
Son Goku and Cell were locked in a blazing duel.
Driven past reason, Goku fought like a man possessed, caring nothing for the wounds piling up on his body. The grass-green in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a chilling, all-white glare.
Yet even so, the two were still evenly matched; at that level it was impossible to say who truly held the edge.
Sky, sea, and seabed
All of Earth had become their arena.
"Raaah!" Goku bellowed like a maddened beast. The savagery rolling off him made even Cell's core quiver.
Both at the tier of Super Saiyan Two, both on the same rung of power.
The clash of raw physiques every blow landing with meat-and-bone finality drew a grudging sigh from Vegeta on the sidelines.
"Monsters. They're both monsters… Kakarot really is Bardock's son. Saiyan 'classes' elite, mid, low what a joke."
Piccolo, meanwhile, was stewing irritated, thinking hard about where his own path led.
Mr. Popo's words kept echoing in his head:
Dragon God Salama's blood… thicken the divine strain… miracle, wish-power…
One thought after another, until Piccolo, like Gohan, slipped into a deep contemplation.
Essence. Qi. Spirit.
Saiyans refine the body and energy qi, which is also a kind of essence.
Namekians lean toward mind and will; their "supernatural powers" are myriad. That is spirit.
To refine spirit is to refine the heart.
And spirit cannot be grasped.
Piccolo and Gohan seemed to drift into something like a cultivator's enlightenment.
Gohan wrestled with fate.
Piccolo pondered his future.
Different questions, different fruits.
Piccolo's aura grew denser, weightier; his battle power ticked slowly upward:
2.8 billion… 3.0… 4.0…
On Gohan's side
The Primordial Breath in his body began to whirl, as if trying to rouse him. The Eerie Breath slid out from his tail again.
Two mysterious forces so strange and high that even gods would fail to sense them began to seep through him.
Gohan's body became their battlefield.
Like two unconquerable generals, those breaths chose his flesh as the ground on which to contend.
Gohan's thoughts sank utterly.
Fate. The future. And this transmigration what is it?
Nameless, distant, an unknown place…
Somewhere else, a ragged old Taoist in worn robes was telling fortunes.
He started, just for a beat.
"Good kid… To fall into such profound insight with strength still so short far better than that rude, hopelessly lecherous little brat."
The daze lasted only a heartbeat; he returned to his client.
"Young sir, your brow is dark and clouds sit heavy on your crown; bloodshed is near "
He didn't finish. The retainer at the rich youth's side erupted.
"How dare a gutter mystic mouth off! This is the Young City Lord of Weiyang saying he'll face bloodshed? You're courting death!"
Two servants drew back their fists.
"Stand down," the young lord snapped, face stormy.
"To ward off calamity: love your people as your children; curb lust, curb vice," the old Taoist chuckled, taking a step that seemed to shrink the earth beneath him. In an instant he stood atop the gate tower.
"Weiyang Guards, stop him!" the young lord barked.
Before they could move, the old Taoist had left the city two, three steps, and he was gone.
Retainer: "A master, Young Lord an immortal master!"
"Enough. Tell my father I'm going into seclusion." He turned back toward the clan's closed-door hall.
Ahem. Back to our program. Just a little interlude. (See the side story to Dragon Ball: Vegeta Reborn.)
Dragon Ball World, Earth
Goku, though crazed, couldn't do any decisive damage to Cell at equal power.
Both auras began to ebb.
And Goku's reason edged back, slow but steady.
"Cell… you killed Krillin… I'll kill you Kamehameha!" Regaining his wits, Goku dropped to the ground and settled into the classic stance.
Pure, dense, ocean-blue energy gathered between his cupped hands at the hip.
He left himself no retreat. Every last drop of power was poured in.
"Son Goku, you think I'm afraid?" Cell shot back.
A matching torrent terrifying and precise swelled in his palms.
" HA!"
" Ha!"
At the syllable, two thick blue lances roared out and smashed together mid-field.
BZZ-KRAK!
The earth between them sank into a smoking crater.
"YAAH!" Goku forced past his limits; blood seeped from nose, ears, eyes, and mouth
all to avenge Krillin.
"Don't kid yourself!" Cell growled, and both beams thickened again.
They deadlocked.
"Prince Vegeta, what do we do do we jump in?" Nappa blurted, nerves fraying.
At his side, Raditz had already started to shape his signature blast.
"STAND DOWN! This is my fight with him!" Goku roared before Vegeta could answer.
"Hands off. Have you no Saiyan pride?" Vegeta's stance matched Goku's decree.
Raditz blinked, then let his gathered ki ebb away.
No wonder Dr. Gero took Goku seriously…
Cell had felt that spike of danger when Raditz began to charge. At parity with Goku, even a stray ripple could have been the straw that broke his back
Lucky for him, Goku's shout froze them all.
With the danger gone, Cell shoved his whole reserve into the beam.
By now he barely cared about the "kill Son Goku" program buzzing in his brain he was reveling in the fight. Saiyan cells don't lie: a worthy foe makes the heart leap.
"HAA!" Cell's aura flared; his Kamehameha swelled visibly, grinding forward against Goku's.
"CELL!" Goku bellowed. Capillaries across his skin burst; blood beaded out like sweat.
The twin blue columns seesawed then stuck again.
The shock front snapped Gohan and Piccolo out of their trances.
"Dad!" Gohan's heart lurched at the sight.
"Gohan this is my fight! HAA!" Goku's voice cracked like a whip, halting his son mid-step.
Gohan hesitated… then yielded to his father's will.
Will outstripped flesh. Goku's spirit burned past his limits and his Kamehameha surged.
In beam struggles, the Son family wins by tradition.
Goku's wave crushed Cell's, inch by inch.
"No! No impossible! It can't !" Cell howled, fury curdling into regret.
He regretted it all the kill that forced Goku's breakthrough, the taunts, every choice.
Goku's Kamehameha swallowed him whole.
WHOOOOM !
From orbit, a vast mushroom cloud blossomed off Earth's skin.
Cell's body vaporized to dust.
And wherever his "core chip" might have tried to flee within that body, there was nowhere left to hide from the scouring light.
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