He held the ball of energy as it crackled before him. Willy lay on the floor, staring back at him in terror, and deservedly so. Gohan wanted to kill him. He wanted to murder him, his sister, and everyone he'd seen involved in the suffering that they had unleashed upon innocent people. The carnage of Cell was laid at the feet of the people before him, and he wanted to kill them.
And yet, he hesitated.
He felt no pity or doubt that death was what they deserved, but what made him hesitate was himself. His eyes saw the way they all looked at him. The fear. It would be wrong of him to act like this, to commit so blatant a murder powered by rage. Killing to protect, to end a conflict as he had with the King was one thing. A retributive murder was another. If he committed this act, the people here would see it for what it was, one of hate and vengeance, not of justice.
Slowly, his hand dipped and he pulled the energy back within himself.
"What the fuck is happening!?"
It was a suitable question from one of the officers, and Gohan could only imagine how jarring all of this must have been from their point of view.
"I read Lara's mind." Willy's eyes widened. "She knew of a secret project involving many of the senior Marley leadership, including General Calvi and the man before us, Willy Tyber. That secret project was the monster, Cell. They found him, kept the creature alive, and made him stronger." His eyes narrowed in vitriol at Willy. "You took Eldian prisoners, the undesirable, and you fed them to him. Watched as he ate those people alive and yet still you continued. You saw that monster for what he was, and yet you still did it!"
The ground cracked as he reflexively powered up as his power built. He forced himself to pause and calm, instead focusing on the reactions of those around him. The one's from Paradis, his comrades, they all looked at Willy with such sudden and fervent hatred. But to his surprise, so too did some of the Marley officers.
"Cell is going to kill every single one of you if I can't stop him, and it's all because of you."
"Marley unleashed Cell!?" Levi stepped forwards glowering, only to be halted by a steadying hand from Mike as he took the man's place.
"So, Marley has potentially just begun the end of the world."
Glares of hatred were beaming down at Willy even as the man gathered his courage and rose to his feet. "We didn't have a choice! Every Eldian in the world saw that announcement of yours, that you would protect them all? Conflict was inevitable, everyone knew it. And what were you? Some being none of us could understand, something that stopped the rumbling!? You placed yourself so far above a world ending apocalypse, and then placed yourself against us! You were an enigma of monstrous possibilities, what the hell else could we do?"
"That's nothing but bullshit and you know it!" Gohan spat back, stepping forwards and against Willy. "You found Cell long before you learned about me. Those people you sacrificed, your plans to control him and use him as a weapon, all those were formed long ago. This was never about me, it was all you."
His face held a defensive grit to it, one that wavered under Gohan's intense scrutiny. "Times are changing for Marley. Titan's are not what they once were, modern weapons and industry has weakened them and us. If we didn't find a new solution, then we were at risk of losing everything. Our nation would be vulnerable, attacked. You talk about protecting people, keeping them safe, how many people would die if we didn't have a weapon to fight back with?"
"You never cared about your people. You cared about your power, your place at the top. If you or any of the others had truly cared, you would have destroyed Cell the best you could. Instead, you fed him, sacrificed innocent people to him so that you could make him stronger until he grew out of your control."
"You would have had us accept attacks from our neighbours? To leave ourselves vulnerable?"
"I would have had you talk!" Gohan felt his rage climb to even greater heights as he felt like he was talking to a brick wall. "Maybe war was inevitable, but you didn't even try! You were so consumed by hate and greed that you couldn't accept anything less than being stronger than everyone else! And maybe war could have been avoided if you weren't all such massive dicks! You kill and oppress because of the actions of people who have all been dead for longer than any of you have been alive!"
"We remember those crimes! The suffering committed against us by the Eldian Empire!"
"The Eldian Empire is gone! It's ruins have blown away as dust in the wind, the living memories all lost to time! Your retribution was complete a hundred years ago. What you do now is evil, you are a mirror of those who oppressed you, and yet you stand on moral superiority! Claiming that you are justified because you once suffered, even as you spit in the face of all the victims of you! Your actions cannot be justified and have led others to desire such vengeance against you, that you unleashed a monster to kill it. Too stupid or too arrogant not to realise you would be killed in the process!"
Gohan paused, breathing heavily as he attempted to calm himself down. He knew he was panting, and even all his rage couldn't mask the adrenaline making his body shake.
"But I won't let that happen." In spite of his anger, and that he knew some of the Marley officials deserved it, he would not leave them to the fate of Cell. "I will put a stop to Cell, to your mistake. As I will to the war."
His decision was resolute, and there was no doubting about it. The Paradis soldiers gathered around held their tongue, but their hatred of Willy was clear. His companions who had been left in the dark were sharing glances between themselves, ignoring Willy almost entirely as he moved to check on his sister. One of them inadvertently coughed, drawing eyes to the officer. Though the man looked to his compatriots for support, none was received as he stepped forwards to ask the question on all of their minds.
"So, you know so much about this Cell creature, but how?"
At that, Gohan grimaced. He looked over at Mike for confirmation, knowing that what he told them could be near impossible to believe. Mike frowned, but nodded in agreement, and so Gohan began to speak.
"My name is Son Gohan, and I come from a place very different from the one that you know…"
Silence followed the report, Commander Erwin still standing before Premier Pixis and Queen Historia. There were others assembled too, advisors, officers, politicians and the like as well as the Queens wife. They all did not speak, awaiting only for the response from the queen and premier.
"I think I may need to take up drinking again..." Pixis sighed and held his head in his hands briefly before he collected himself. "If Gohan is unable to defeat Cell, then there will be no hope for any of us. I move that we support him with all available forces your highness."
The queen pondered his words, a subtle nod of agreement. "I concur. The issue is, how much can our forces actually do to help? Commander Erwin, the last status report I received would suggest that even the entirety of our forces would not be able to damage Gohan even without his Super Saiyan form, let alone this Cell creature."
"Unfortunately your highness, you are correct." Erwin didn't break eye contact, showing the slight regret in his eyes. His desire that his soldiers were stronger. "However, I still believe that our force can assist with the civilians. Should things get worse, our forces will be needed to help contain the chaos."
"With respect commander," one noble cut in, "should Gohan fail and things get worse, then this will mean death for us all, will it not?"
"It will." Erwin admitted. "My hope is that our forces would be able to alleviate Gohan from any distractions."
"And perhaps your intention is to have them serve as distractions themselves?" Pixis' question may have sounded insulting, but the two knew each other strongly enough to understand what was truly intended. Erwin had long been used to the cost of war, and even after two years had passed Erwin was ready to take up the burden once more. "The scouts are now fully incorporated into a unified military, those who would be so willing to place themselves in such danger are spread thin."
"My intention would be to unify them once again or ask for volunteers."
"Volunteers." Pixis repeated. He paused before he turned to the queen. "To get volunteers, they will need to be fully informed of the threat. Word will spread as a result."
Subtly, Historia tensed and relaxed her body in release of stress. As queen, she could not be so open with her feelings as she could in the military. "Word shall spread from our own lips. I don't intend to lie to anyone, directly or by omission. We will inform them of the danger, the people must understand."
"People will panic your highness."
"Either Gohan will succeed, and we shall be safe, or he fails, and we will all die." Historia pointed out. Truly, if Gohan succeeded but word spread of the danger they had faced but not warned them of, a dangerous level of trust would have been lost and a terrible precedent set. The risk of panic was one that Historia would have them accept and manage, rather than the risks of what should happen if the people lost faith in their government. "Have the military mobilised in force, everything we can muster that can be of any use in the events to come."
"Yes, your highness." Premier Pixis rose, turning to address the officials present in the room. "Send messages by radio to all forces and reserves, everyone is to report to ready stations in uniform. I shall prepare to inform them all of the danger we are facing. Make no mistake people, this will be a battle for our very existence as a race. The human race. For humanity!"
He snapped a salute, the room following in quick succession. Hands over their hearts as they each prepared for the very possibility of giving their lives. In spite of their fear, none would hesitate.
The queen rose and was escorted out by her detail, wife at her side and Marco close behind. When they stepped out of immediate view, Ymir's hand quickly reached out and took Historia's as they walked.
"Whatever happens, I'll keep you safe." Ymir promised.
Historia squeezed her hand back, but she knew that Ymir couldn't keep such a promise. "If the time comes, if a fight comes, there won't be anything you can do Ymir."
"I can keep you away, give you time."
"My time will be spent with my people, no matter what they need." Ymir's hand stilled, a spike of fear running through her. Historia squeezed again, gently but firmly grounding Ymir with her. "If the time for a fight comes, I won't hide away. I'll be fighting with them too."
"This won't be like the cadets or the Scouts. This will be an extermination, and your Ki control is only at a basic level."
"I'm still the largest of the Titan's that are left." Historia reminded her. "I will be needed for the fight."
"I just…" Ymir's interlaced fingers gripped tighter. "I don't like this. I don't want to lose you."
"Nor I you." Historia turned to face her wife, one finger gently rubbing over Ymir's hand. "So… let's trust in Gohan."
Gohan's fingers were tapping away in agitation. Despite how much he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to concentrate, he just couldn't focus. His body was so jittery that he barely reacted when Petra's hand touched his shoulder.
"No luck?"
He shook his head before elaborating. "There're too many people everywhere. Dying to disease, to the war, to any number of things. I can't focus and find him."
Due in part to the less concentrated populations of the world, finding Cell by monitoring his path of destruction had been another attempted solution from Gohan. As usual however, there had been little luck.
"Save your energy, wait to follow the plan."
"A plan of waiting for my friends to die." He snapped the words, then immediately flinched in regret. "I'm sorry.
"Shhh, it's okay." Petra soothingly stroked his hair. "You're under a lot of pressure, I understand."
"I still shouldn't act like that. I just… I thought after my power returned that the risk of people dying was gone. I'm faster, and stronger, than anything on this world. Anything except what I brought with me."
Petra pulled him into her even as she continued to stroke his hair. "This was always inevitable Gohan, you can't save everyone, even with all of your powers. There was always going to be something that would put us all in danger. If it wasn't Cell, then it was going to be a humanity itself. We're not a people made for peace."
He shook his head. "I can't accept that. There's got to be some way of keeping the peace. Of making the world a better place."
"You already have Gohan. Just by being you, you've made us all better. Maybe you can't keep the peace forever, but you've done a lot to make life safer for everyone. It won't be you who saves the future, it'll be your legacy."
He smiled, taking her in his arms and kissing her deeply. He loved her so much, in ways he wouldn't have thought possible, as she did him. But for her to be right, he had to save the world in the now.
Eren knocked at the door of their impromptu office, and Gohan opened the door to see him and Mikasa waiting.
"Everyone's been briefed, they're ready to go." Eren jerked his head and indicated the group of soldiers standing at the ready and waiting for him.
Gohan wasn't surprised to see them. If anyone was going to volunteer, it would be expected that familiar faces would be among them.
Jean. Sasha. Mina. Levi. Nanaba. Eld. Ilse. Eren. Mikasa.
It was a small team smaller than admittedly he had expected. Two teams of five would be formed for their first attempt and expanding out depending on the results. It was necessary to choose some of the strongest of their soldiers to fill out the ranks, the greatest chance for luring out Cell with minimal possible casualties.
"We've divided up the two teams already." Levi began. "Team 1 will be led by myself, with Nanaba, Eld, Eren, and Ilse. Team 2 will be led by Jean, including Sasha, Mina, Mikasa, and Petra."
Gohan turned to her in surprise. "You're going too?"
"Damn right I am." Petra said with confidence. "This is going to be a dangerous mission, they need me."
"People might die Petra, I don't want you there."
"Everyone dies sometime Gohan. I'm not going to sit back and let others handle all the risks." Petra stepped up to face him directly. "I was a Scout after all. Charging headfirst into danger is what we do. It's what you do."
She jabbed him in the chest and dared him to argue otherwise. He didn't. She already knew everything he could say, about his strength and the risk of the operation. But he also knew her reasoning. She truly understood what was at risk if he failed, the end of all life on this planet. She wasn't about to risk it if there was something, anything she could do to help.
He grimaced but nodded in acceptance.
"Alright. Where are we going?"
Levi gestured to a map on a nearby table, two cities being marked as destinations. "Adenau and Jubek. These are the two cities that are most likely destinations for Cell according to the Marley officials we've been questioning. One team will head to each, with Gohan waiting with his power suppressed. We investigate the area, make contact with the locals if they're still there. Otherwise, make ourselves look like a big juicy target, and wait to see if Cell takes the bait. If he does, we flair our power and buy time for Gohan to arrive and then assist in anyway we can. Solar flares, civilian protection, determine our actions based on the situation."
Levi looked around at the others to confirm if there would be any hesitation or questioning, but none showed. Only Gohan remained on edge, his eyes flickering to Petra constantly.
"Gohan, I need you to keep an equidistance between the teams. It'll give you the best chance of responding quickest, can you do that?"
Gohan nodded and sagged slightly, hating that he would have to be waiting by himself. With the matter settled, it left Levi to return his attention fully to the soldiers at his command.
"Remember, this operation can very likely result in your death. Don't underestimate, or hesitate, for any reason. If anyone has any doubts, then now is your last chance to back out."
"We followed Gohan long before he had this kind of strength." Jean said, looking to his comrades from the 104th. "Today is no different."
"To the very end Gohan." Sasha agreed.
"We've got the Angel of Trost at our sides, ain't no way we can lose." Mina grinned cockily, and a small chuckle rose up from his former cadet comrades in memory of his title.
Levi however, cut it off by looking pointedly at two of them. "Eren, Mikasa. Are you two going to be okay on separate teams?"
"We'll be okay." Eren answered, sharing a glance back to Mikasa who nodded in response.
"Very well then." Levi rolled his neck and began to softly power up. "Operation Fish Hook is go. Happy hunting everyone, I wish you all terrible luck at finding our target."
Levi rose first, all others swiftly following. There was a small marvelling at Gohan as he too rose and expended his power without raising his energy signature one bit. It was a skill that took tremendous focus, and he could only use a relatively small amount of his power, but it was yet another reminder of the power difference between Gohan and them all.
If Gohan failed, then none of them had a chance.
Eleven auras' soared through the air, only ten able to be sensed as they flew towards their target cities. They passed over the Marley army still stationed outside of the city, all forewarned of their operation. None had been truly warned as to the importance of their mission, as they saw fear and doubt in the Marley soldiers' eyes. The trust was not there, and perhaps never would be. But as the Paradis soldiers flew, they knew with confidence that today they would save the world.
But two held hesitations above all others. Eren and Mikasa's look to each other in the air was missed by the others but held in it a silent conversation. The two of them knew what was coming, and all that it might cost. They did not say a word. All that could be said to each other had been, and now they had a job to do.
When the two teams split off in direction, all sides could only share a lingering look of hope as they went apart. Hoping that it would be their team to find Cell, and not their comrades. That they would not be forced to sense as their comrades disappeared one by one.
Gohan looked between them longingly. He hated the plan, but he agreed with it all the same, even as he wondered which of his friends he wouldn't see again if he wasn't fast enough. From his friends to his love, his eyes lingered on Petra the longest. She returned his gaze as she broke away with her team. As they disappeared from view, Gohan continued the rest of his flight in silence. As he flew, Gohan studied the terrain that he passed over. The land they flew over was one ravaged by war, scarred by the signs of artillery fire and trenches. Gohan didn't know how many people must have died along these lands, but he felt such sorrow as he passed them by.
Regardless of what he may have felt however, he forced himself to clear his mind and focus. His energy was suppressed, but although he could still feel out with ease it gave him no comfort. The two teams continued on their way to their targets and he imagined they too could already feel the same as he did.
Two cities, both devoid entirely of life. He shuddered at the sheer emptiness of what he knew should have been there. How many people now were gone? All the soldiers on the frontlines, and now the people living behind them. Old, young, men, women, it wouldn't matter to Cell. From the elderly to the newborn, he had already devoured them all. It was as if he was living in a waking nightmare, the memories of the cities in his home that too had been ravaged by him.
As they always did, his thoughts wandered briefly to his family. He wondered as always what they would be doing, what they all looked like now. Did his dad look older? Did his mother? Would they have wrinkles, or would they still look as young as he remembered them? His hopes of seeing them again had long been dashed, but the ache would never leave him.
He landed on a rock that looked like any other, though with a view of the surrounding wilderness that could almost be peaceful were it not for how tense Gohan was. The two teams had not only arrived but had begun to split up. Small distances at first, then more as he imagined them roaming around the cities. If Cell saw them, he would assume them to be searching for survivors, not him. Agonizingly, Gohan sat and waited for anything to happen.
Time ticked by, but the tension never faded from his body. He simply waited… and waited.
A flare, a pulse in power. Gohan's eyes snapped open as he leapt to his feet before freezing. The energy hadn't risen, it was just a single pulse. He hesitated in wondering whether he should act, but as the pulse settled and nothing followed, he calmed.
When he felt the second spike, he didn't have any hesitation. It was the other city, other team, but the flaring power couldn't be mistaken for anything other than what it was. A call for help. A call for him. Gohan's power skyrocketed, Super Saiyan aura flashing into life as it wrapped around him. The energy covered him in its warmth as he exploded away from his rock.
He flew with all possible power available to him, his full power unleashing as he raced. Electricity arcing around him as his hair spiked completely and muscles bulged. With the full power of Super Saiyan 2 flooding his body Gohan blasted as fast as he could towards his target with one focus in his mind. Cell, his target, had revealed himself to his friends. Now it was time for combat. To protect his friends, his love, his new world. Now it would be time for Cell to die.
Gohan would not let him get away this time.