The Bond

"Vegeta…"

It was not exactly the best time to be having another flashback, but there Katima was, looking back at the moment that had changed so much.

He had looked up at her. It was a week before they were due to leave the time chamber and face Cell. He was shirtless, in the middle of changing armor, and as always, Katima was a bit stunned for a moment at the glimpse of his gorgeous muscles.

"What?" he asked bluntly.

"Vegeta," Katima swallowed and felt her face being brightly warm and red, "I'm… running late."

"What?" Vegeta blinked, "What are you talking about, we're not due to leave the room until next week."

"No…" Katima sighed, "I'm not talking about leaving the time chamber. I- I'm two weeks late with my… you know…"

Vegeta blinked, looking blank, "Is this a Earth joke or something?"

Katima shook her head, "My God, you are so thick some times."

"What does 'thick' mean?" Vegeta looked down at himself, "I've been training non stop I can't possibly be-"

"Vegeta!" Katima grabbed him by the shoulders, "One, thick means STUPID, and two… I'm pregnant."

Vegeta froze, his eyes suddenly very wide. He stared at her, dropping his armor on the ground.

"Wh-what?"

"I'm pregnant," Katma replied, her hand going to her belly, "Sykaima… it's Sykaima."

Vegeta slowly dropped to one knee and stared at Katima's stomach like it was a portal to another dimension that he was slightly terrified of.

"You're… Sykaima…" a trembling hand came up and touched her stomach gently and then retracted fast, as if he were electrically shocked, "But- you- it was supposed to be another year-"

"We've been in here for two years, Vegeta," said Katima, "So technically, she's a year late."

Vegeta shook his head, "No, no, this can't- not right now-" he stood and took a step back, "We're fighting Cell in a week. You can't be carrying her yet- you can't fight-"

"Yes I can," Katima said sharply, "I'm not that far along- there's no way that Sykaima could get hurt."

"Katima…" Vegeta stared at her, "It's… our daughter… our daughter…" he closed his eyes tightly for a moment, "I'm not sure what to do."

"Everything will be okay, Vegeta," Katima told him, reaching out and grabbing his hand, "Please, don't worry about me. We just need to focus on our training. If we don't defeat Cell, than me being pregnant won't matter, Vegeta. Me being careful won't help anything. Us fighting together may be the only chance of killing Cell."

Vegeta shook his head, "If anything happens… I… I won't be able…"

Katima smiled at him, "Vegeta, nothing will happen."

Being thrown back into the present was not a pleasant experience, but Katima was prepared. She crouched, ready to begin the battle of her life.

This was everything. Her future not only with Vegeta, but with her daughter.

"I must say, I am curious to see how you two will fight this time," said Cell as he landed and began to stride toward them, "You have five minutes to peak my interest before I end you."

Katima exchanged one glance with Vegeta before they both powered up to Super Saiyan.

As the fight began, Katima was strongly reminded of her and Vegeta's Bond, and the way that they fought together was like a waterfall descending into its pool of life. In a strange way, there was a beauty to it, as they rushed toward Cell.

This was the battle that would change everything.

Vegeta struck first. He dogded Cell's punch and delivered one of his own to Cell's center. Cell gasped in shock. He had obviously underestimated Vegeta. Perhaps he thought they were still as weak as when he had first transformed. Katima snaked in, and threw out her leg, hitting Cell in the back of his knees to make him buckle to the ground. But this time, Cell wasn't beat.

Just as he fell, he let out a cry, and a blast of energy sent her and Vegeta sailing off his back. They landed on their feet, but they exchanged looks of shock. What power!

They struck again, both screaming in fury. Katima threw out a punch which Cell ducked. At the same time he lifted an arm to block Vegeta's kick. Katima let out another frustrated grunt as another one of her blows was blocked. She and Vegeta began to throw everything they had at him. Cell was blocking and dodging all of their hits, but Katima could tell it wasn't exactly easy for him. Taking two powerful Saiyans at once, it wasn't a walk in the park by any means.

"This is useless!" Vegeta gasped.

Katima took this as her que to back off. She and Vegeta retreated a few paces, gasping for breath. Cell looked a bit winded, but there wasn't a scratch on him.

"Melee attacks are useless," Vegeta growled, "He's too strong. We need to try some ranged attacks."

Katima nodded and began to shoot out blasts. Vegeta did the same beside her, both of them screaming in rage, shooting out volleys and waves of power toward Cell. The android readied his stance before disappearing in a cloud of dust. Katima and Vegeta pressed on until they were out of breath again. Katima could still feel Cell's energy signature, but she found herself hoping that he was at least injured by their attack.

But no, as the dust cleared, Cell stood there with a smirk on his face.

"Vegeta…" Katima rasped, "It's no use…"

"No," Vegeta snarled, "I refused to be beaten! Katima, we're using our joined attack."

"Vegeta no!" Katima hissed, "We could destroy the planet using that!"

"If we don't do it," Vegeta snapped, "Cell will destroy the planet!"

Katima closed her eyes tightly, and Sykaima's face flashed in her mind. She reflexively touched her stomach. She wasn't ready to lose her world. Her life… Not when Vegeta loved her and they had a baby on the way.

With a deep breath she nodded, "Okay, Vegeta. Let's do it."

Vegeta smiled at her and narrowed his eyes, "Remember how we practiced- just like that."

Vegeta readied his stance, his hand out like a typical Big Bang attack. Cell began to laugh at him.

"You think your pathetic Big Bang attack can stop me?" he bellowed, "Don't be an idiot- I can do that very attack myself."

"Well you can't do this attack," Katima stepped to Vegeta's side, placing the base of her palms on each side of Vegeta's outstretched hand. She pressed her back to his chest, and took a steadying breath. The Prince wrapped his free arm around her waist , his hand over her belly button, and smirked at the look of shock on Cell's face.

"Say goodbye, Cell," Vegeta snarled, "No one messes with the Saiyans!"

Katima felt her power and Vegeta's begin to swirl in the center of their hands. It was their combined strength, and this took a lot of life energy to pull off. Her determination was swelling, and she and Vegeta let out cries of effort, the golden light of Super Saiyan pulsating around them. If this didn't kill Cell, Katima didn't know what would.

"BIG BANG ATTACK!" Vegeta cried while Katima screamed, "ETERNAL BURN!"

The blast was massive. It was white blue in color, slowly turning red as it neared its target.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Katima heard Cell screech, "YOU'LL DESTROY THE EARTH!"

But the rest of his cry was cut off as the blast struck him. Katima felt satisfaction in the bellow of pain that Cell emitted. The world around them was shaking madly, and Katima could hear Goku somewhere in the distance screaming.

"STOP! STOP YOU'LL KILL US ALL!"

But Katima and Vegeta didn't stop. Katima wanted that son of a bitch dead. The scar on her face burned as she pushed more power into the blast. Vegeta's arm around her was tight, and his war cry was echoing into the sky, which had turned dark.

Finally, when Kaitma and Vegeta had pushed out all the energy that they could into their attack, they let it fade. The sky returned to normal, and there was a huge trench before them, glistening with sparks of power that looked like lightning bolts, only red in color. Katima and Vegeta both collapsed onto the ground, their energy sapped, and their hair returning to black. Katima rolled onto her back, gasping for air, her limbs feeling like lead. Vegeta managed to crawl over to her and collapse beside her, grabbing her hand.

"Are… are you… okay…?" he panted.

"Yes…" Katima replied, managing to squeeze his hand, "Did… did we… do it…?"

Vegeta shakily got to his knees and looked across her. Katima turned her head to look down the trench they had made. It seem to stretch all the way to the horizon. However, something was squirming in the earth near them. Slowly, a pair of green legs stumbled out of the ground, and walked wobbly forward.

Katima and Vegeta began to laugh.

"We blasted him in half!" Katima crowed, and laughed again.

"That's why you don't mess with the Saiyan race," Vegeta muttered, falling down across Katima, laying his head on her stomach.

"Katima!" that was Gohan's cry. Katima looked up at the mountain top that he and the others were watching from, "He's not finished!"

Katima blinked and looked back at the pair of legs which were now shaking violently.

"Oh shit," she hissed, "No, I forgot-"

Vegeta looked up just in time to see Cell's torso suddenly pop up out of his legs. Next were his wings, springing from his back, then each arm, and finally, his head. He stood there, examining his new body as if searching for defects. Katima felt her heart drop. No… they didn't kill him. And that blast had taken out all the fight that they had left.

"Well," Cell rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, "That was interesting- to see an attack that I don't know. It would have killed any normal foe, but alas… you are fighting perfection."

"Oh shut the fuck up…" Katima let her head fall back to the ground, "I guess we do have to go with Goku's plan."

"NO." Vegeta slowly got to his feet, "I refuse to give up- I will not be beaten!"

"Vegeta!" Katima grabbed his ankle, "You can barely stand. You don't stand a chance, my love. We gave it everything we had. And it wasn't enough."

Vegeta was shaking in rage, but fell down to one knee, too weak to remain standing, "I.. can't… I can't let Kakarot save me again. I CAN'T!" he screamed, and suddenly powered back up to Super Saiyan and jumped to his feet. How he found the energy to do that was beyond Katima. More often than not, Vegeta's pride seemed to be a sort of fuel for the prince. But either way, it wasn't enough to take on Cell. He was going to get himself killed.

"Vegeta no, please," Katima managed to prop herself up on her elbows, "He'll kill you… Cell!" she looked over at their foe, "We give up!"

"Katima!" Vegeta snapped, looking down at her, rage pulsating through the bond.

"It's not Goku that's going to save you, Vegeta," Katima assured him as she shakily got to her feet with his help, "You saw. Even he couldn't beat Cell."

"At last, we get to the nit and gritty!" Cell cried, spreading his arms and smiling, "Tell me, what is this great plan of yours? Who, if not Goku and you two's 'special' attack, can defeat me?"

Katima glanced up at her brother and he smiled and nodded to her. Katima returned the grin and looked back at Cell as Vegeta pulled her arm around his shoulders.

"Your next challenger is already here, Cell, watching us," said Katima.

Cell's eyes widened and Vegeta had a spark of shock come from him. Katima's smile broadened, "You're next opponent is my nephew, Gohan."

Vegeta wasn't sure what to think. As he powered back down from Super Saiyan and clung to Katima, the boy, Gohan, looked down at them with shock.

"Me?" he squeaked.

"Katima, are you insane?" Vegeta hissed in her ear, "You're going to get the kid killed!"

"Don't be ridiculous, you've seen with your own eyes what he can do," said Katima, allowing him to scoop her up into his arms.

And yes, Vegeta had. Gohan, Kakarot's son… if he was pissed off just enough, it was like something snapped in him, unlocking huge amounts of power. He had even taken on Frieza when he was half the size he was now, and did not fair too badly. Now that he was a Super Saiyan? His powers could even be limitless.

And this made anger seethe inside Vegeta. Not only had Kakarot beaten him through and through, but now his son?

"Stop it," Katima breathed, looking at him with passion in her eyes, "That kid has my blood too."

That was true. And somehow, that calmed Vegeta, thinking that the power came from Katima, not Kakarot.

"Fly us up?' Katima asked.

Vegeta nodded and flew up to the cliffs where the others were watching. Sykaima rushed forward, opening her arms to take her mother. Vegeta didn't fight her, letting the young girl's strong arms take over. His momentary burst of strength was gone. He looked at Kakarot with w glare before fixing his gaze on Gohan, who still seemed stunned.

"Dad?" Gohan looked back at his father, eyes wide.

"You can do this Gohan," said Kakarot, his eyes swimming in pride, "You're the only one that can."

"But-" Gohan looked a little scared, "If you couldn't beat him- if Katima and Vegeta couldn't together- how am I supposed to?"

"Trust me son," Kakarot rested his hand on Gohan's shoulders, "You can beat him. You just have to focus on what you're fighting for."

A slow look of determination spread across the boy's face, "I think I understand," he said softly.

Kakarot smiled, "You make me proud, son."

"And me," Katima was on the ground, being propped up by Sykaima, "Go and kick his ass, Gohan."

Gohan smiled at his aunt, and nodded.

"Goku, are you crazy?"

That was Piccolo.

The Namekian looked crazed, staring at Kakarot with wild eyes.

"The only thing that you are going to accomplish by sending Gohan in there is getting your son killed!"

"Listen," said Kakarot slowly, and looked at Gohan, "When I was fighting Cell, when Katima and Vegeta were fighting- did you ever feel it was difficult to keep up? That we were moving too fast for you to see?"

"No," said Gohan bluntly, "But that's because you were holding back. I'm sure if you were going as fast as you could, I-"

"Look, I dunno about Cell," said Katima, "But Vegeta and I just gave it our all back there."

"And so was I, son," said Kakarot, looking down at the boy with proud eyes, "You only thought we were holding back because you were judging your power level to ours. You're the strongest one here, Gohan. Stronger than me, and stronger than Cell."

"G-Gohan,.." said Piccolo softly, "Is that true?"

Gohan looked at him and bowed his head, "Yes," he said.

Kakarot helped his son get the shoulder pads off of him, leaving the boy in a blue jumpsuit. Gohan looked one last time at everyone before jumping off the cliff and landing on the ground in front of Cell.

"This is insane," Vegeta hissed, "How can he be-?"

"Sh," Katima pressed her lips to his cheek, "Just relax, okay?"

"Hey, Krillin," Kakarot addressed his short bald friend, "Got any more sensu beans?"

Krillin nodded and pulled out the pouch and handed it to Kakarot, who poured three into his hand. He turned and gave one to his sister, but when he offered one to Vegeta there was an awkward moment where Vegeta didn't want to accept the stupid thing from his rival. But a gentle nudge through the bond had his hand out to accept it.

Kakarot smiled at him, a genuine smile, nothing sarcastic or demeaning about it. It frustrated Vegeta even deeper that he was so kind.

Vegeta ate his bean, and Katima hers. They were finally able to straighten, energy flowing back to their battle worn bodies. However, looking over, he saw Kakarot had not yet eaten his.

"Hey Cell!" Kakarot called, and tossed him the bean.

"GOKU!" Krillin yelped.

Vegeta saw Rilan take a step forward, as if to intercept the bean, but Cell already had it in his hand.

"It's a sensu bean," Kakarot continued, "Eat it."

"What the hell?" Sykaima barked, "Kakarot, are you insane?"

"You know you CAN call me Goku," Kakarot looked at her with a smile, "And no, it just wouldn't be fair if Gohan beat him now, he has to take him down when Cell's at his best."

Trunks came forward and rested a hand on Sykaima's shoulder and she relaxed at his touch, looking up at the boy with a slight smile before going back to glaring at Kakarot.

"We're talking about Cell here," Yamcha agreed, "Who really cares about being fair?"

"Trust me," said Kakarot, "Gohan will be fine."

Katima couldn't help but be a little worried as she watched her nephew look up at Cell, who hovered in the air, with a smirk on his face as he swallowed the bean. She could feel his power level peak again, and she let out an aggravated sigh. All that work for nothing. But she knew her brother very well. She would only get worried if he did.

The emotions Vegeta was giving off were very scattered. As he stared down at Gohan, his eyes narrowed, Katima laced an arm around his waist in a way to comfort him.

"We have a plan B, remember?" she whispered to him.

Vegeta nodded. If worse came to worse, then they will have to try and get Katima to do what happened the first time they fought the completed Cell. If they could harness that power… It could be potentially unstoppable.

The battle began. Cell threw first kick, but with lightning speed, Gohan brought up an arm to block it. He didn't even bend with the blow, and his face was set with determination. Cell smiled, as if this power pleased him, and went again. There were several more blows, all of which Gohan expertly blocked or dodged. They went like this for a good minute before breaking apart.

Cell smiled and spoke, "Okay, let's kick thin up a notch."

With great speed, Cell darted at Gohan, and this time, the boy wasn't ready. Cell locked a hand about his throat and began to punch every inch of the boy's body.

Katima felt pain swell in her and she took a step forward. Vegeta grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

"You said he could do this."

"I know- but-"

"Going down there won't help anything."

Katima sighed and looked back to see Gohan get flung across the valley and into a boulder. He was engulfed in it, and a cloud of dust and rubble erupted into the sky.

"NO!" Krillin cried.

Katima pulled out of Vegeta's grip and went to the edge of the cliff, getting on all fours and looking down. She could still sense her nephew's power source, and that was good. She saw Cell laugh and face them, "Well, Goku, looks like I've won. Now are you going to fight me or not?"

"Nope," said Goku, pointing to the rubble behind Cell, "Look."

Cell turned and suddenly, with an eruption of power, light exploded around the mound of rocks, reducing them to dust, and there stood Gohan, blood trickling down his lip and forehead, but otherwise unharmed. He walked forward, eyes narrowed, he looked at Cell and spoke, but his voice was too low for Katima to hear.

The look on Gohan's face was intense as he looked up at Cell. Katima had a feeling that the boy had finally figured out exactly why he was chosen to fight. It started with Raditz, Goku had told her. Goku was pinned by their brother, about to be killed, when Gohan exploded out of the space pod he was being held in. He smashed into Raditz so hard, it weakened the Saiyan enough for Goku and Piccolo to kill him. Gohan was only 4 then. When he was five, and on Namek, he had nearly conquered the second form of Frieza himself. Now that he was nearly twelve, and had been training so much, ascended to Super Saiyan…

God knows what he was capable of if he was pushed too far.

Then, Katima picked up the smallest bit of conversation.

"I don't like you Cell, and you're ruthless and evil, but I honestly have no desire to kill you. We don't have to do this."

Pride swelled in her. Gohan… so noble. So merciful. So much like his father. But in this situation, Katima feared that the lack of conviction was going to be bad. Cell had to die. It was as simple as that. She was sure Gohan would see that soon enough.

"Interesting story," laughed Cell, "But it didn't work. At least, not in the way you thought it would. These hidden powers of yours… intrigue me. And now, I won't stop until I see them for myself!"

He smashed into Gohan, sending the boy flying.

"Goku!" Piccolo grabbed Goku's arm, "You can't do this, you can't just let Cell kill your son!"

"He'll be fine," assured Goku, a slight smile of confidence on his face.

Cell began to relentlessly plow into Gohan, laughing all the while. He smacked Gohan a few feet away and smirked, holding out a finger, aiming at the boy. Kaitma felt a jolt as she recognized the very move Frieza used to kill Vegeta. She unconsciously snatched his arm, and screamed out, "Don't let that hit you Gohan!"

Gohan bent backward to avoid the first beam, and jumped to the side to dodge the next. He danced around about five more before he closed the distance between him and Cell to keep the battle on his terms, but Cell opened his arms wide and locked them around the young Saiyan, crushing him to the monster's chest.

"Gohan!" Krillin cried, looking horrified as Cell squeezed, making Gohan scream.

"He's going to kill him," Rilan growled, "He's going to crush his lungs."

Piccolo let out a furious yowl, "Fine, Goku, you may not do anything, but I refuse to stand here and watch Gohan die!" he began to pull off his shoulder pads.

Goku whirled to face him, "No you won't!" he snapped, "It won't be long. When Gohan has no other choice- that's when his power will be unleashed."

"You're wrong!" Piccolo yelled, "I've been like a second father to your son, Goku, and I know him! He doesn't thirst for battle and mayhem! HE'S NOT LIKE YOU!"

Goku got a strange look on his face, and remained silent. That look was doubt, and Katima was suddenly very terrified for her nephew. It was true. Gohan didn't actively seek adventure like his father. He only fought to protect himself and his friends and family. Only when he was forced to. So… could it be that he would let Cell kill him before he would fight back?

Katima looked toward battle again, hearing Gohan's screams of agony flood her ears.

Vegeta grabbed her arm, knowing what she was thinking.

"No," he snarled, "You're no match- you'll just get yourself killed."

"Krillin!" Goku called, looking over at his short friend, "Give me a sensu bean."

Goku was going to enter the fray again.

However, as Krillin reached into his shirt, Cell dropped Gohan into the dirt. They all paused to make sure the boy was okay. Gohan was gasping for air, laying on his stomach limply, not even able to get himself up.

"No," Katima breathed, stepping forward, only to get grabbed by Vegeta again.

"Well, then, Gohan," Cell cried, "If you're too stubborn to protect yourself, how about we see what happened when you have to protect your friends!"

He turned to look up at them, a bloodthirsty smirk on his lips.

"Oh fuck," Sykaima hissed.

"NO!" Gohan bellowed, "Cell, please! If you awaken my power, I can't stop it! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Cell laughed, "Trust me boy, once I've had my fill, I will stop you myself."

And he launched into the air, heading right for them.

Vegeta instantly shoved Katima behind him, but she pushed forward, "No," she whispered to him, "Together, Vegeta."

He looked tortured, the need to protect his love and on coming baby heavy, but he knew the truth. They were strongest together. Trunks put Sykaima behind him, but she seemed more flattered by this than agitated like her mother. Even in the face of death, all she could see was Trunks, it seemed.

Vegeta landed before Krillin and snatched the sack of sensu beans, smirking as Krillin was too terrified to fight back. Cell then turned and went back down to Gohan.

The group relaxed a little, but was still tense, unsure of Cell's plan.

"Damn it!" Goku snapped, "I should have eaten one when I had the chance!"

"Excellent," said Cell, "Without these, I won't even have to kill them myself."

"What are you going to do?" Gohan demanded.

Cell smirked at him, "All I want to do is awaken these powers of yours. If you're too stubborn to let them die, then you only have yourself to blame!"

Gohan launched himself at Cell with a furious battle cry, but Cell easily dodged the sloppy move.

"That's right," he hissed, "Get angry!"

Then, without warning, Android 16 was there. He leapt out and grabbed Cell from behind, wrapping his huge powerful arms around Cell's chest, pinning the beast's arms to his sides.

"16?" Cell cried, "What are you doing?"

"What the hell?" Rilan yowled, "Cell didn't sense him coming because he's an android, but what does he think he's going to do? He's no match for him, even IF Bulma rebuilt him!"

"We've got to help him!" said Krillin.

Goku and Piccolo made to leap down, but 16 shouted out, "NO! STAY BACK!"

They all did so, staring in confusion.

"I'm going to kill him by self destructing!" 16 declared.

Katima could see the news crew, still filming incredibly, hiding behind some rocks, freaking out at the words 'self destruct'.

"I have a bomb embedded deep in my body," said 16, "It was installed only for last resorts. Even Cell won't survive the explosion."

16 began to glow and Katima braced herself, but the glow faded out, and nothing happened, not even a tiny pop.

"WHAT?" 16 screamed, "Something… something's wrong!"

"16..." Rilan stepped forward, his face tortured, "16, my wife removed the bomb when she re built you. She thought it would be safer. I'm sorry…"

16 looked like someone had slapped him. Cell began to laugh.

"Well, then," he said, "I guess that little side show was interesting, but if you want to die, 16, who am I do deny you?"

He broke out of 16's grasp and whirled around and planted a hand on 16's gut. With a blinding flash of light, 16 was sent flying into a million pieces. Katima felt her stomach lurch and tears come to her eyes. He had been peaceful- he had never even wanted to fight anyone- it was all Gero's fault that he was programmed to kill Goku. And there he went, sent sailing to the ground in bits and pieces of metal. His head was the largest intact piece, and when it landed, Cell kicked it away.

It then landed by the news crew who screamed and ran away from it.

"You monster!" Gohan cried.

"Now let's see," Cell ignored him, looking up at their viewers on the cliff. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven… That should be easy enough…"

Suddenly, the needle like tip of his tail widened, and Cell let out a cry of effort as it spit out eleven little piles of black goo. Slowly, the goop began to form, and children's laughter could be heard as what appeared to be little tiny blue versions of Cell himself manifested into existence, all laughing manically and looking toward the creator with eager, evil little eyes.

"What the hell are those things?" Piccolo cried.

"They look like mini Cells," said Sykaima.

"Go, my children," Cell cooed to them, "Those eleven up on the cliff are your enemies, kill them, is it makes you happy."

"NO!" Gohan screamed, but too late, the Cell Juniors were launched into the sky, coming right at them.

"This day just sucks," sighed Sykaima, powering up.

Vegeta and Katima nodded at each other and powered up to Super Saiyan. Rilan's hair sprouted out and his tattoos lengthened across his body. Trunks' hair turned blue, and lines traced his skin. He kept close to Sykaima. Lecron abandoned his disguise, turning purple and white haired again, a aura of enegery surrounding him.

"Don't underestimate them!" Goku warned, "They're small, but feel their power level! They're extremely strong!"

The little Cells reached the cliffs, and battle unleashed. Katima wanted to keep close to Vegeta, but the little devils were crafty. Knowing that the two were weaker apart, they instantly managed to separate them. Without being able to see Vegeta, Katima was on high stress and her moves were sloppy. And Goku hadn't been kidding, these little shits were strong- possibly even as strong as Cell.

She tried her best to avoid getting kicked in the stomach, launching out punches and blasts while still on high defense mode. She was fighting for two right now, and had to keep the baby safe. At first, she was doing quite well, but it seemed that the Cell Junior learned as it fought. To Katima's dismay, the tables turned on her rather quickly.

It used its small stature to its advantage, being such a small target to hit. He twisted around her and kicked her in the back of the leg, forcing her to her knees. He then slammed her head with a mighty kick that sent her flying up into the air. She landed painfully, the breath knocked out of her, and before she even had time to recover, the little bastard was on her again, pulling her head up by her hair and punching her repeatedly in the face.

Then, there was a blast of energy, and Sykaima was there, rushing toward her fallen mother, Trunks off to the side, fending off two of the bastards.

"Mom," she cried, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thanks to you," said Katima, smiling as Sykaima helped her to her feet, "Where's your father?"

"He's holding his own, don't worry," Sykaima pointed above were Vegeta was fighting valiantly against one of the monsters.

"And Goku?"

"He's weak from the battle with Cell," said Trunks, who had managed to down the Cell Juniors for the time being, using their recovery time to speak and rush to Sykaima's side, "He needs to be protected."

"How can we where there are so many?" asked Katima.

"Just stay with dad," said Sykaima, "Together, you can probably kill a few of them."

Katima nodded and made to launch into the air, her daughter and Trunks rushing back into the fight. She rocked up almost halfway to Vegeta before the Cell Junior that had been attacking her tackled her. They spun for a moment, but managed to stay afloat. Katima kicked the thing away from her and shot out a massive blast at it. It knocked it back to the ground. Katima flew up and saw she was just in time to see Vegeta in a choke hold. She blasted the Cell Junior off, and Vegeta wavered in the air gasping for breath.

"Vegeta," she breathed, rushing to him, "Stay together, okay?"

Vegeta nodded, still gasping for air.

When their assailants came back, they were ready. Fighting side by side doubled Vegeta and Katima's attack power. They dodged every blow and dealt a good few. But when there was a cry of agony from below and they stopped to see what happened, the Cell Juniors took their opportunity and slammed them both down into the ground twenty feet below.

Katima slowly got to her knees, spitting out dirt, and crawled to where Vegeta was, he too getting up stiffly.

"What was that?" she demanded and looked around.

Then she saw it.

Lercron, laying in a pool of blood that seemed to be getting larger. There was a hole right through his stomach, and Rilan stood over his fallen comrade, a look of hatred Katima had never seen bathing his eyes.

"NOOOOOO!" He screamed, his voice cracking with agony.

A powerful blue aura surrounded him, and he suddenly lashed out, punching a hole right through one of the Cell Juniors. The creature looked shocked more than anything, and looked down at the hand in his stomach.

Rilan let out a scream of rage, and the Cell Junior erupted, exploded out of existence by the most powerful blast that Katima had ever felt come from Rilan. However, once that one was dead, he collapsed to his knees, his energy sapped. The remained Cell Junior proceeded to do what he pleased to him.

"Rilan!" Katima made to leap forward but another Cell Junior leapt down, blocking her path.

She made to punch the little freak, but he dodged and grabbed her arm instead, then, with a powerful up thrusting knee, broke the forearm bone in half.

Katima screamed in agony, falling backward, nauseated from the pain.

"KATIMA!" Vegeta rushed in, but two Cell Juniors leapt onto him and began to beat the shit out him. Vegeta couldn't get a hit in, and just struggled to get them off his body. Soon, he was on the ground, barely moving.

And something snapped.

Vegeta- seeing him there, his faced bloodied, his power source fading- being beaten still, even though it was clear he wasn't going to get back up…

A slow scream rose from Katima's throat, and once again, it sounded like a thousand voices in her voice at once.

"YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HIM!"

A strange aura surrounded Vegeta, and the Cell juniors were tossed back a few feet, as if electrically shocked. They also found that they could not penetrate this aura, and slowly, Katima got her feet, the bone in her arm sealing itself back into place, her wounds stitching themselves closed, and her eyes turning a pure white blue, covering the iris, the pupil, and the whites, pulsating glow spurting forth. Then, the two Cell Juniors attacking Vegeta just dissolved. Katima watched in satisfaction as every particle of their bodies separated and turned into dust, blown away by the wind as if they never even existed.

Then it stopped. The aura around Vegeta vanished, and Katima collapsed, her energy completely sapped, and just a fuzzy memory of what just happened.

It was also apparent that Vegeta's wounds were healed as well. It seemed that the aura had done something to close his wounds. He crawled to her, looking completely amazed. He grabbed the sides of her face, staring into her eyes like she was the only thing he could see.

"What did you just do?" he whispered.

Katima stared back, and in all honestly, she didn't have an answer for him. But it didn't matter.

Because there was a sudden rocket of power that pierced the sky, and Katima knew Gohan's hidden powers had just awoken.