Miniature Threats!! The Cell Juniors

Son Gohan and Perfect Cell stare at each other quietly. The Z Senshi watch the battle (or staredown, I guess) from their cliffside. Goku, "Gohan, get mad! Your true power will be there!" Pizza, "What's going to happen, Mr. Satan?" Satan, "Hmm. This is crazy. How could they let such a little kid fight with him?" The cameraman turns away from the fighters, to the reporter. Reporter, "Unless somebody defeats Cell in this game, he is going to kill everyone on this planet. Nevertheless, there isn't anyone except that boy who seems to be fighting with Cell. What's wrong with them?" He turns around. "Mr. Satan, how's your stomach feeling now?" Satan, "Hm?" He suddenly hunches over, clutching his stomach. "Yeah, yeah, it still aches very, very badly." The reporter turns back to the camera. "Our only hope, Mr. Satan, is still suffering from a severe stomach ache. Who else can save the Earth?"

Gohan glares at Cell. "Son Gohan, show me your hidden power." He holds out his hand and points his finger at Gohan's head. Gohan, "Hm?" A cut-through-anything Freezer beam shoots forth. Gohan bends over backward to dodge the beam. It slices cleanly through a rock ledge behind Gohan. Cell shoots another one at his foot. Gohan jumps away. Kuririn gasps. "That's the same beam Freezer used!" He quickly recalls Freezer shooting Vegeta through the chest. Gohan continues dodging Freezer beams. He leans back, leans forward, jumps to his right, crouches on all fours, springs off the ground. Yamucha, "Gohan! Hang in there!" Gohan jumps to his left to dodge another Freezer beam. He doesn't stop when the beam passes, though, he just keeps sliding to the left. Cell jumps out and grabs him. Gohan yelps.

Cell laughs and hugs Gohan to him, squeezing his body tightly. As Cell tightens his grip, laughing the whole time, Gohan howls in pain. Gohan screams, squirms, kicks his feet, all to no avail. Cell, "What's wrong? Doesn't it hurt? Get mad, then. You're not going to die like this, are you?" As the grip tightens, the screaming continues. Piccolo, "Damn it! Gohan!" Cell, "Come on, don't be shy. Your bones will break soon! There's no reason why you should endure this pain instead of fighting with me." The screaming goes on.

Reporter, "Oh! The boy can't break free! He's in great pain! Will he give up? What will happen next?" He looks hopelessly up into the sky. "What is going to happen to us?" He turns and looks back up into the sky, but on the other side. Mr. Satan remains silent.

Piccolo raises a fist. "Damn it! I can't watch this anymore! Goku!" Goku cocks his head to listen. "I'm going to help Gohan no matter what you say!" He turns to Piccolo. "Wait, Piccolo! You can't do anything to help him. Please... Please wait a little longer." Piccolo, "Wait? What do you mean, wait? You want me to wait until he gets killed?" Goku, "Wait for Gohan to get angry." Piccolo suddenly stops. "Once he gets mad, his true power will be released. His enormous power..." Kuririn, "Eh?!" He and Trunks turn and look up at Goku. Goku, "There's only one thing that can beat Cell, and that's Gohan's anger!" Yamucha, Tenshinhan, even Vegeta listen to Goku's little speech in open-mouth awe. Vegeta, "What...? That kid has such power?" He turns back to the battle.

Gohan resists more violently, but still to no avail. The screaming continues. "Get mad. Come on. It hurts... You hate me, don't you?" Piccolo, "Goku, you're wrong! Gohan doesn't like fighting like you!" He leans forward. "Does he know what you expect him to become? Did you tell him any of this?" Goku spins around with a gasp, finally effected. "Do you know what he's thinking right now? I'll tell you! He's wondering why his father is just looking on while he's suffering!" Goku looks back up at him, wide-eyed, open-mouthed. "He must be hurt to realize that you're more concerned about the fight than his life. Remember this! Even if he is the number one fighter, he's still just a child!" Goku turns back to the fight, shaken. "I don't care what you say! I'm going!" Piccolo begins to lift his cape over his head.

Gohan thrashes and screams, but it's futile. Cell glares down at him with his teeth clenched. Goku's wide eyes suddenly narrow as he apparently reaches a decision. Behind him, Piccolo is about to take off his turban. Goku turns to Kuririn. "Kuririn, give me a senzu." Kuririn, "Right!" He reaches into his shirt to grab one.

Cell finally releases his grip, and Son Gohan collapses on the ground. Yamucha, Tenshinhan, Kuririn all watch in shock. Even Son Goku has finally been surprised. Gohan lies on the ground, panting, eyes squeezed shut. Cell looms over him. "What a stubborn kid. I guess you need to see someone else get hurt first." He grins. "Well then, I'll discuss the matter with your friends." Gohan's eyes suddenly shoot open. Cell turns and flies up toward the cliff. Gohan, "Stop!!"

Satan watches in open-mouth shock. Reporter, "Oh! Cell is attacking again!" Cell flies toward the cliff with a smile. Piccolo leaps forward, but Cell lands in front of Kuririn with a grin. He holds back his hand, and Kuririn whimpers. Cell steals the bag of senzu. "The senzu are in here, right? I think I'll hold on to this." Goku, "Damn..." Piccolo lands back behind Goku again. "Damn it." Cell cradles the senzu in his hands and returns to the battlefield, smiling. He looks back down at Gohan. "Don't worry, it'd be too unfair for me to fight with them." He chuckles. Gohan is now up to a crouch. "What are you going to do?" Cell, "I'll do whatever it takes to make you angry! I must see this hidden power within you. You should show it to me, unless you want to see your friends get hurt." Gohan, "Don't do it! It isn't something I can control! I can't help it..." Cell chuckles. "Then I'll help you. If inflicting pain on you won't work, then I'll inflict it on your friends. He turns around.

Piccolo, "Get ready! He's going to attack us." Goku, "Damn! I should have taken a senzu earlier." Number 16 watches, clenching his fist. Cell chuckles. Gohan jumps up, screaming, and Cell easily kicks him away. He bounces into some nearby rocks. "Get mad. Be angry at me!" Suddenly, he spins around to see Number 16 flying at him. The Artificial Human grabs him and tightens his grip around Cell.

Everyone is silent, except the reporter, who's always got something obvious to say. "There's yet another stranger in the battle! Is he going to be the one to save us?" Goku, "Number 16!" Piccolo, "He's an Artificial Human, that's why Cell didn't sense him!" Kuririn, "Number 16's gonna fight Cell!" Trunks, "He can't beat him by himself!" Piccolo, "Let's help him!" Kuririn and Trunks get ready to go. Number 16, "Wait! Don't come!" Most (if not all) of the Z Senshi in unison, "Huh?" Number 16, "I'm going to destroy Cell." And of course, everyone is shocked. Goku, "He'll do what...?" Number 16, "There's a powerful self-destruct unit in my body. Forgive me for getting you involved. The explosion will also kill all of you, but we have no choice." Even Cell is shocked and frightened now, watching Number 16 through bulging eyes, his mouth agape. The Z Senshi are shocked, Satan's clan is scared to death. Number 16 looks down before him. "Cell! I won't let you go and you won't survive the blast!" Cell can do nothing but stare ahead in horror.

"This is the end, Cell. I'll be destroyed and so will you." Cell struggles to get free, but can't. "You should blame Dr. Gero for this. He was the one who created us. He's the one who plotted to conquer the world." Cell continues his resistance, but just as Gohan's struggle against Cell was futile, so is Cell's struggle against Number 16. Yamucha, "Juu...Number 16!" Piccolo and Goku watch in stunned silence. Kuririn is in pretty much the same state. He clenches his fists and shuts his eyes, then looks back. Number 16, "It's time." He screams as he charges up his self-detonator. Cell's eyes bulge, his mouth hangs open. Number 16 begins to glow. The Z Senshi all stand back to shield themselves from the explosion. Satan's crew ducks behind the rocks. Satan, "All of you, (unsubbed)!" Piroshiki jumps up to run away. Satan grabs him and pulls him back. Calorie tries the same thing with the same result. Pizza jumps up and tries it. "No way!" Satan grabs her and pulls her back, too. Satan, "I'm your master, remember?" Each one continues their struggle to get away. The reporter ducks and covers behind a rock. "Momma!!" And nothing happens. He looks up. "Hmm?" He peers back over the rocks. Satan, and this eventually his cronies, look up over their rocks. The Z Senshi begin to lower their arms. Yamucha, "What happened?"

Number 16's glowing light fades away. He gasps. Cell stares back at him. Number 16, "Why... Why? Why didn't it explode?" Kuririn, "Number 16! It's because the self destruct unit isn't there!" He gasps. Each of the Z Senshi display the same reaction. "Bulma-san told me this a while ago. The Doctor...the Doctor took the unit out of your body." Number 16 gasps. Roshi, watching at home, "What? Is this true, Bulma?" Bulma nods. "That was when..." She flashes back to when she was repairing Number 16.
Dr. Briefs, "Oh...? What's this?" The computer beeps and signals at something under one of Number 16's breast plates. "Bulma, could you magnify this area?" Bulma, "Alright." She goes back to her typing, and the picture on Dr. Briefs' screen is magnified. The breast plate is removed on-screen to display the entire object, most of which resides under the plate. The computer scans it. Dr. Briefs, "Hmm. It looks like a self-destruct mechanism..." Bulma, "It's a powerful explosive, isn't it? It could destroy everything..." Dr. Briefs, "Quite possibly. I wonder why Dr. Gero installed such a device in Number 16." Bulma, "To kill Son-kun, maybe?" Dr. Briefs shuts his eyes. "Hmm. I don't know if that's the only reason." He looks back up at the screen, then to Bulma. "I think we should remove it."
Bulma, "That's right. It was Papa who removed it." They both look back to the screen quietly.

Kuririn, "Number 16! You can't use it anymore!" Number 16 gasps. Cell grins and begins to chuckle. "I'm sorry about that, Number 16. I don't think I could have been destroyed by such a bomb anyway." He breaks free, sticks his hand back, and forms a ki blast. Number 16 gasps. The blast fires, throwing him into the air. Son Gohan gasps and watches in stunned horror. Goku and Piccolo, Kuririn and Trunks, and then Bulma, all gasp in shock. Number 16 explodes into hundreds of pieces and falls to the ground. Gohan watches, wide eyed, shocked. Kuririn turns away. Bulma grabs the television. "Number 16!" Goku clenches his teeth, angered and stunned. Number 16's pieces begin to hit the ground, smoke rising from his neck. Gohan is completely shocked.

Cell steps up to Number 16 and rests his foot on the Artificial Human's head. "Number 16, you were one of Dr. Gero's inferior models anyway." He kicks he head, and it smashes into a nearby cliff. It bounces down the side of the cliff and lands in front of Satan's bunch. Gohan is speechless. Satan's crew looks down at it. In unison, "Hmm?" When they all see that it's a head, they scream. Satan runs over and hugs Pizza, shutting his eyes tightly. She screams. Suddenly, she notices the person latched onto her and looks down. "Satan-sama, everyone is watching." Satan cries out. "Oh, thank you." She rubs her cheeks. "Behave yourself, Satan-sama." Satan stands up. "Calorie, pick that up." Calorie whimpers and Satan rasies a fist. "Yes..." He steps out to it and reaches down carefully, not even able to watch what he's doing. As soon as he makes contact with the head, he pulls his hands back. He waves his arms and screams before immedately disappearing behind the rocks again. The whole group screams.

Cell grins. "Well, who's next?" Goku and Piccolo are still in silent shock. Vegeta, "Damn you!" Cell turns back to Gohan. "Son Gohan, you still aren't ready yet? I will make you angry no matter what." He turns back to the Z Senshi on the cliff and counts them out. "One...two...three...four...five...six...seven..." He smiles. "Seven altogether. Alright." He raises his fists and arches his back. He grunts and the remainder of his tail fans out like it did to absorb Number 17 and Number 18.

Vegeta, "What is he doing now?!" Cell groans for a moment. One by one, objects fall out of his tail. They fly by too fast to see them. Vegeta gasps. In all, seven things fall out of Cell's tail before it closes back up. The Z Senshi watch, shocked. On the ground behind Cell are seven tiny Cells. They squeal excitedly and climb to their feet. Piccolo, "What are they?" Goku watches in stunned silence. Reporter, "More mysterious creatures have appeared. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. There are seven altogether! Seven strange creatures appeared out of Cell's back! What are they?" The cameraman moves up for a better view.

Low murmuring from the crowd watching the huge TV in the Times Square-type area of the city. Everyone is amazed and confused. The little Cells chirp in excitement. Cell smiles down at them. "Now, Cell Juniors, your playmates are on the cliff. Have fun with them. It's okay to kill them if you want." Gohan gasps. Cell, "Go!" They leap forward.

Goku pulls back his fist. "Be careful! They're miniature clones of Cell!" Piccolo prepares to fight. Vegeta, "They're nothing!" He turns Super Saiya-jin with a shout. Trunks follows suit. Cell chuckles, watching with his arms crossed. "Don't underestimate them. They might look small, but they're my children." Goku's aura flares up around him. The seven Cell Junior's fly toward the cliff in a small pack. Kuririn and Trunks prepare to fight them. Tenshinhan and Yamucha don't know what to think. Vegeta stares straight forward, ready to take on anything that comes at him. Gohan crouches on the ground, watching helplessly. His mouth hangs open in shock.