The End of the Desperate Struggle!! Goku's Surrender!?

Son Goku stares out at the dust cloud, breathing heavily, arms still held up in Kamehameha position. Most of the Z Senshi watch on quietly. Yamucha sports a huge smile. "G...Goku!" Vegeta is seething at Goku's power. Satan and the reporter peer out from behind huge boulders, apparently feeling that the scene was clear again. Satan is utterly amazed; the reporter, not quite so much, but still stunned. Reporter, "Wo...wow! What just happened?" Pizza sits up between the two, and the cameraman comes in above the reporter's left side. Mr. Satan's only answer is a brief whimper.

Son Goku remains still. The dust finally clears away enough to reveal Cell...or what's left of him, anyway. Cell's body lays facing up on the ground. His arms, head, and wings are gone. All that's left is half a torso and the legs. Goku stares silently at his opponent's remains. Cell's silver innards continue to smoke where exposed.

Yamucha, "Great, yes! Yeah, teleportation! Yes, yes, Goku finally won!" He laughs happily, looking back and forth to everyone else as he proclaims Son's victory over Cell. Tenshinhan watches happily, but doesn't scream or laugh like Yamucha. Yamucha abruptly stops laughing when he notices Kuririn and Trunks...who are still dead serious. He looks up and finds Gohan and Piccolo sporting the same attitude. "Wha...what? Aren't you all happy?"

Reporter, "Mr. Satan, it looks like he defeated Cell." Satan is still watching the scene with a stunned expression. Several silent seconds pass. Finally, Pizza speaks up again. "Mr. Satan!!" Satan is suddenly shaken back to reality. "Huh?" He rubs his chin. "Well, yeah, he did a decent job, too. Too bad, though. I wanted a shot at him." He laughs nervously, and Pizza laughs with him. "It's really upsetting. We weren't able to display Mr. Satan's splendid, graceful, and brutal technique on the world stage, isn't that so?" She looks back at the reporter, who nods. "Yeah." He jumps to his feet and stands in front of the camera again. "For the world audience, it's certainly regrettable, but before Mr. Satan could come into the ring in glory, a young unknown managed to best Cell." He steps out of the way, holding out his hand and inviting the audience to take a look at Son Goku's work.

A low rumble escapes from the crowd as they all speak at once; they don't chee for Goku as they had for Satan. Several images of Goku's serious face and Goku standing over the apparently dead Cell are shown on TV. A crowd watches on a bank of three screens hanging from the ceiling somewhere in the city. Man, "Is this the end?" Man 2, "It was kind of unexpected and unsatisfying." Little girl, tugging on her mother's coat, "Hey, mama, won't Mr. Satan fight?" Mother, "I guess not."

Son looks down on Cell. "Why? He's pretty injured, but he still has a lot of ki left within him." Kuririn suddenly blinks and gasps. He cups his hands around his mouth. "Watch out, Goku! I think Cell's starting to regenerate!" Yamucha, "What?!" Goku stares at Cell. Suddenly, Cell's feet lift into the air. Goku and the other Z Senshi gasp. Cell springs up onto his feet. Reporter, "Wha, wha, what's going on?! Cell's lower body just stood up!" Mr. Satan gasps. Everyone watches, astounded.

Cell's body emits strange gurgling noises and pulsates. Son Goku does nothing but watch. He gasps as Cell's head and arms reappear. They stare at each other.

"Reviving! Cell's reviving! Is this some sort of trick too, Mr. Satan?" Satan is in shock, almost trembling. Pizza speaks up on his behalf. "Of course it's a trick!" Cell stretches his neck. "Oh yeah, you can regenerate yourself." Cell, "That's right, just like Piccolo." Piccolo, "Asshole!" Goku, "Damn! I knew I killed you too easily. But by doing that, you've dwindled your ki." Cell, "Hm. You as well. You're growing fatigued. Let's continue. Be warned, you can't use the same attack twice. Don't bore me by wasting your power on futile techniques." Goku, "I know that!" His aura appears around him, generating a wind that seems to only effect his own clothes and hair. "Are you sure?" Cell's own aura flares up.

The two stare at each other for a few seconds. Goku screams, Cell remains silent. Suddenly, Son leaps forward, pulling his fist back for a punch. Cell dodges and hits Goku hard in the face. Goku spins around and counters with a strong kick to Cell's face. Cell grunts as Son's foot connects. They move into a flurry of high-speed punches and kicks. Each one deals and takes damage, and they even manage to dodge a few hits along the way.

"They've begun another violent round! Cell's attack and the young unknown's counterattack!" Cell punches, Goku steps back to dodge. The force of the punch crushes a boulder behind Goku, even though the punch is no where near it. Goku punches back, also missing, but crushing a boulder of his own.

They go into another punch/kick frenzy; rocks crumble all around them. They're surrounded by an ever-present cloud of dust, created by all of the destroyed rocks. "It's shaking everywhere! Even the place where we're standing!" Muten Roshi and Kame-chan watch from Kame House. Reporter, "What will happen after this?" Roshi, "Hmm. Goku...why?"

The front door to Kame House swings open. Bulma walks in, carrying Chibi Trunks with her. "Hello!" She waves. Roshi looks back at her. "Oh, it's Bulma-san." Bulma walks over toward Roshi. "Oh, they're still fighting. I came here because I thought it would be better to watch with someone who can explain it all to me instead of watching alone." Trunks suddenly begins to cry. She rocks him. "Alright, alright. What's wrong, Trunks?"

Cell jumps into the air; Son Goku follows. Cell smiles and throws a ki blast at Goku. Goku dodges it and appears behind Cell. Cell gasps and spins around in time to meet Son's fist. Goku follows up with a kick, but Cell vanishes and appears nearby behind him. Goku kicks again, but once again, Cell disappears. Goku spins around once more, but is too late; Cell hits him in the back with both fists held together. Goku cries out. He sails toward the ground below. Finally, he opens his eyes. He suddenly vanishes just as Cell comes down above him. Cell's foot impales Son's after-image.

Goku appears behind Cell, lunges forward with a punch, Cell vanishes and reappears behind Goku. Before Cell can even attack, Goku disappears and reappears behind Cell. Cell disappears, reappears behind Goku. Goku disappears, reappears behind Cell. Cell disappears, reappears behind Goku. And so it continues twice or thrice more.

Suddenly, Goku screams and speeds forward, Cell flying right behind him. Piccolo, "They've spent a great deal of ki since that Kamehameha. Regardless, they've managed to go on this long..." Kuririn gapes at the sky. Everyone watches the duel going on above them. Vegeta is, of course, getting angrier by the second. Son Gohan watches silently.

The fighting pauses very briefly (less than a second), then Goku and Cell both fly straight at each other; each connects with the other's face. They catch themselves before they fall out of the sky, right themselves in the air, and stare at each other again. Both pant heavily, but Goku is clearly the more winded of the two. Cell smiles. "What happened? Is this it, Goku?" Goku, "No way." He lunges forward with a scream, but Cell's knee catches him. Cell picks him up by the shirt and laughs. He pulls back his hand and punches Goku square in the face. Goku flies back, crashing into a rock ledge.

Cell flies forward, following Goku into the ledge. Suddenly, Goku erupts from within the cliffside, throwing rubble out with him. Cell suddenly stops and shields himself from the debris with a yelp. Goku begins a barrage of ki blasts on Cell. Cell screams as they continue to hit his arms. Kuririn, "Oh, yes!" Goku screams quickly each time he throws out another blast, and he continues throwing them out in very quick succession for a while. Cell still howls as the blasts connect. Trunks, "It's working! Go, Goku-san!" Gohan watches his father in silence. The barrage continues. Cell grunts and screams. A huge ball of dust and smoke forms around Cell. Kuririn, "Good job, Goku! Almost! He's almost got Cell!" Piccolo watches in silence. Gohan, "Fa...father..."

Satan's entourage ducks and coverrs behind a few boulders; the only one not trying to shield himself is the cameraman, who is leaning up on a boulder, catching all the action. Reporter, "The young warrior had launched a rigorous attack! Cell's in big trouble! But with the thick smoke produced in the explosion, we're currently unable to report anything more right now to everybody watching!" The crowd around the three screens in the city watches. Man, "I can't see! I can't see anything!" Girl, "What's going on?!" She throws a fist into the air. ZTV phone man, "So nothing is broken! We're relying with our lives, really!" (another nonsensical subtitle...) "Yes!" He hangs up the phone, and it immediately rings again. He grabs his head and screams in frustration. He turns to the rest of the office. "Everyone, cut the phone lines!"

Scream after scream, ki blast after ki blast, the barrage continues. Kuririn, "Goku! You can win!" He pumps a fist as he watches. Trunks, "Goku-san!" Yamucha, "Alright...!" And Vegeta is, of course, mad. Piccolo, "Goku..." Gohan is quiet. The ki blasts continue to spring forth from Goku's hands. Cell screams and grunts, clenching his teeth and shutting his eyes, but still effectively blocking the attack. He finally screams and throws his arms and legs out, emitting a bright light. A translucent orb appears around Cell with currents of electricity cracking around the surface. The orb expands outward, mowing through cliff faces. Goku's ki blasts no longer hit Cell, but rather, his barrier. The orb stops expanding just a few feet in front of the Z Senshi; Kuririn even screams and jumps back from it. It sits, mere inches in front of Vegeta, but he refuses to move. Satan's group moves, although perhaps not by choice. The wind created by the barrier throws them back. Satan is thrust straight into a rock. Calorie and Piroshiki peer around from either side of the rock. "Are you alright, Mr. Satan?" Satan, "Yeah, I was just warming up!" Pizza, "You're never lazy when getting ready for a fight! Go, World Champion Satan-sama!" Satan, "Uh, yeah..." A sweatdrop appears on the back of his head.

Reporter, "Announcers don't let go of the microphone, even in the throes of death! But...what is that huge ball?" Son Goku's attack has finally ended. He pants, out of breath and out of ki. Cell grins and stares out at Goku. "Son Goku, what an exquisite attack! You made me craft a barrier! Not as I expected, I've been wounded somewhat." The people continue to watch in the city. Man, "It's amazing." Man 2, "Yeah, I don't understand what's going on much, but still, it's amazing!" Little girl, "Mama, is this a movie?" Her mother simply watches the TV screen in silent awe. Old woman at home, "Darling, isn't he Chichi's husband? Oh yes, remember? He said he recently dyed his hair." Old man, "Hmm? Yeah, looks like him. Oh yes, he was always wearing those showy clothes."

Chichi sneezes. "Ah, someone is talking about me!" (Japanese myth is that sneezes occur when one is being talked about behind his/her back). She leans forward of the table. "Go, Goku-san!" Bulma slams her fist down on the table over and over again. "Oh, almost! He almost got him!" She throws both hands back and slams her fists on the table. Roshi, "It wasn't 'almost' at all." She looks at him. "Eh?" Roshi, "It's true that they almost appear equal, but unlike Goku, Cell has room for his power." Bulma, "Eh? Really?" Roshi, "Too bad...but Goku just can't win. It looks to me that Goku knows that, but he's still fighting. I don't know what could be going in his head, but..."

Goku lands, staring straight ahead, completely out of breath. Cell smiles down at him; the barrier fades away and the aura returns. They both stare at each other; Cell continues to smile. Piccolo, "Cell too, but Goku's ki is draining rapidly." Cell, "It appears that you've used up your power, Son Goku. Eat a senzu. Then we can move on to more delightful carnage..." Trunks, "It's a chance! Like Cell said, let's give a senzu to Goku-san! Then we can all fight against Cell." Yamucha, "We can destroy him now!" Trunks, "Kuririn-san!" Kuririn is silent. Trunks looks back at Gohan and Piccolo, who avoid the senzu talk. Trunks turns from them to Vegeta, also ignoring the group. He looks back to Kuririn. "Kuririn-san, hurry... a senzu..." Vegeta, "Be quiet, Trunks." Of course, everyone turns to Vegeta. "Apparently, you do not have the pride of the Saiya-jin people. He would rather die than win like that." Trunks stares at his father, stunned. "He isn't fighting to protect this planet, or anything remarkably close to that. Remember that." Trunks, "But...then..." Vegeta glares at him, then turns away. "Cell will beat us, certainly." The 'revelation' inspires gasps in Trunks, Yamucha, and Ten, although it really shouldn't come as any great surprise to them. Kuririn lowers his head, apparently disappointed; however, his expression gives away a feeling that he's had a suspicion confirmed, rather than a completely new piece of information. Gohan and Piccolo pay no attention.

Vegeta, "What? I'm mad, but I'll admit it. I've had extensive special training, but I was unable to beat Kakkarotto. Kakkarotto is a genius. Cell is a thousand times stronger than him." Trunks raises a fist. "Then what should we do? Just watch quietly?" Vegeta looks at him. "You said this, too. He has some secret plan for this battle. Let's hope for that." Trunks lowers his fist and sighs. Trunks, "Goku-san, what are you planning?"

Cell chuckles. "What happened? You won't eat a senzu out of pride?" Goku watches him silently. "My power is incredibly low. Once you power up, you might have somewhat of a chance to beat me. And still, the only sound that escapes Goku's mouth is his heavy breath. "I want to savor this battle between us more and more." Goku still remains silent. A smile crosses his face. Cell watches, just a bit more intrigued. Suddenly, Goku's aura vanishes. Vegeta gasps. Everyone is in shock. Son Goku smiles up at Cell. "I give up."

Son Gohan's eyes widen. "I give up. Cell, I know how strong you are. I quit." Cell's eyes widen, his teeth clench; he's completely taken off guard. Vegeta's eyes, too, go wide. "What?!" Kuririn, "Give up?!" Trunks, "No way!" Ten, "Goku is surrendering?!" Yamucha, "Has something like this happened before?!" Gohan, "Fa...father..." Piccolo, "What the hell is he thinking?!"

Chichi gasps and then faints. Gyuu Mao reaches forward to catch her. Bulma slams her hands down on the table. "How come?! Why? He's never shown any weakness before...? Why did you give up?!" Son Goku watches his former opponent in the sky, not offering any answers to those questioning his surrender.