Gohan reached the city at full power, arriving as quickly as he could at the source of the one raising their power level. To his surprise, he arrived to see the rest of the team standing around in confusion as they watched Mikasa power up.
"Where is he!? Where's Cell!?"
"He's not here." Jean answered, not looking away from Mikasa. "Mikasa, what the hell are you doing?"
"Sending a signal." She grunted the words as she finally relaxed. Her aura still bloomed out with her full strength on display, an impressive amount for such a short amount of time training with Ki, but also entirely irrelevant. Finally, she looked at Gohan's confused expression. "Gohan, I need you to listen to me."
"Mikasa, what is going on?" He trusted her completely, which was what made her actions all the more bizarre. "If Cell's not here, then you just made me reveal myself to him!"
"I know, I know." She held up a hand in a calming manner which utterly failed to take him down from his anxious edge. "Gohan please, I need you to listen to what I tell you…"
He was buzzing with power, mind still racing in preparation for fighting Cell. But he forced himself to wait, to take a breath, and finally nodded for Mikasa to continue.
"Cell isn't here. But I know where he is." She held up a hand to stop him before he could speak, and begrudgingly he held his tongue. "You can't go to him yet though, you need to stay here."
"Stay here? What? But I-… he's at the other city isn't he!?" His aura flared once more as he moved to fly, only to be cut off as Mikasa raced in front of him. "Mikasa what are you doing!?"
"I can't let you go there Gohan." Mikasa held her arms spread out before him. He staggered to a halt, almost not quickly enough to avoid hitting her. "I need you to stay!"
"Mikasa what the hell are you doing!?" Jean yelled. He and the others had also floated up to face her, none finding any understanding in her bizarre actions. "He needs to find Cell!"
"I-… I'm sorry." Mikasa began to tear up. Gohan was lost, her actions making no possible sense in his mind. So, he decided to ignore it. Whatever Mikasa was doing, she was putting lives at risk and that wasn't something he could allow. He flared his power and began to move, only for Mikasa to act first. "SOLAR FLARE!"
Blinding light flashed over the team, yells of pain as they tried in vain to try and block out the sudden brightness. As the seconds passed, Gohan managed to blearily open his eyes. His eyes ached, agonising pain as he peered up at the sky. It took great effort to do so, but he managed to keep his eyes open just long enough to see Petra spin kick Mikasa out of the air.
Mikasa flew towards the ground, hitting it hard as she had been both caught by surprise and too hesitant to strike back. Petra held no such hesitation, and having been the least affected with Mikasa's focus on Gohan, she had been given the best opportunity to act.
"Gohan! Go find Cell now, we'll deal with this traitor!"
The rest of the team were shaking off their dazed and confused reactions, anger taking hold at Mikasa's apparent betrayal. Gohan spared one last look of hurt at towards his trusted friend before he blasted away.
As he moved, he felt the first source of Ki blink away. He let out a shaky gasp, redoubling his efforts as he poured more and more energy into his flight. But another disappeared, then another, and another.
Each one was a knife to his heart.
The earth beneath Gohan's flying form rippled and broke as he passed by, his energy rolling off in such strength as to passively destroy the environment. The city came into view, a smouldering wreck with fires still burning. He headed straight for the remaining Ki signature that he could sense, one weak and failing. From overhead he could see them and flew down to land by their side.
Laying on the ground, slumped against the crumbled remains of a brick wall, was Levi.
"Levi… Levi, where are the others? Don't tell me they're really…?" He couldn't say it. Couldn't speak the words even though he knew them to be true.
Levi groaned, wheezing as he cradled broken ribs and bleeding from his nose. "Cell… he came out of nowhere. We didn't have a chance. He's… he's still here."
Footsteps.
That same mechanical beating that he had heard so many times. A sound that haunted his nightmares, and one that had almost killed him on his world. A sound that was echoing across the broken buildings all around him.
"My oh my…" The deep voice was hauntingly familiar, and in spite of his super Saiyan aura it sent a chill up his spine. "It's been such a long time since we last met Son Gohan. How much things have changed. How much they haven't…"
"You son of a bitch." Gohan growled, standing protectively over Levi. "Face me. Face me and die!"
"Oh ho ho… Still as feisty as ever Gohan." The voice continued to echo from everywhere. There was no energy to sense, no clue to give away where Cell was hiding as he continued to taunt him. "You went through so much effort to reach me. To bring me out just where you wanted me. No matter the cost that it took from you."
A gust of wind blew something against Gohan's leg, and he looked down to see the remains of a military uniform. One of theirs, simply labelled I. Langnar. He felt dizzy staring at it, the final proof of her death. Someone he had known for years, who he had rescued from the woods from the jaws of a Titan. He had known her well… and now she was gone.
His power flared, threatening to incinerate the entire city before a smug 'tsk tsk tsk' sounded out around him.
"I'd be careful about that Gohan. Don't want to lose the last one left. After all, I saved him just for you."
Gohan's eyes flicked back to Levi, and he forcefully reigned in his strength. He couldn't afford to lose control with his friend so close by. He let out one long breath, and the power stabilised.
"What are you doing Cell?" He called out, hissing the words with such venom as never before. "Come out here and face me. Come on! I'm here! Isn't this what you want!? You want to fight me, well I'm right here. Leave these people alone and face me! COME ON! FACE ME CELL! FACE ME YOU COWARD!"
His voice echoed through the dead city. No reply greeted him but the wind, howling through the empty streets as Gohan stood in anguish over the fallen body of Levi, and the shredded remains of Ilse's uniform.
And then the sound echoed again. Footsteps coming closer, and closer.
The sound was clear this time, Gohan traced it to the alleyway before he saw the silhouette reveal itself. From out of shadows, Perfect Cell stepped into the light. The evil gleam in his eyes was familiar, as were the clothes he held in his hands. Shredded as they too were, Gohan could see the name tag on them clearly.
E. Jaeger.
There was another spike of pain in his chest, his heart aching with pain unbelievable. He was feeling numb, senses fried from seeing confirmation of the murder of his friends. So many people he had known dead so quickly, and without him being there to do anything at all to keep them safe. Why… why had Mikasa done what she had done? If she hadn't, he could have been here.
"Eren…"
"Oh yes, I know that name well." Cell stepped forwards, sounding as if he was beginning to gloat. "What a strange boy. Did you know that out of all of those here, only he managed to know about me before I revealed myself? Truly… it was most bizarre."
Eren looked over the city, devastated and stripped of all life.
"Cell's been here already." Nanaba spoke, eyes peeled as she too searched the area. "Think he's still around?"
"Only one way to find out." Ilse cut in. She didn't look eager, but still resolute in her duty.
"Split up and cover as much ground as possible." Levi ordered as he began to float away from the rest of the team. "I'll take the North."
"I'll take South." Eld spoke up, floating away from the team in agreement with Levi.
"I've got East." Ilse decided. "Nanaba, you taking West? What about you Eren, where are you going?"
He resisted the urge to look, already having a destination in mind. "I'll stay central, move around the area."
Eren didn't move at first, waiting for the others to fly away before he descended down to the city. He landed a spot so familiar to him it felt second nature to go there, to land and look around at the walls that surrounded him. The street paths all held a haunting familiarity to them, and as he began to walk he looked up at the ruins, those same ones he had seen a thousand times before. These were the roads he had walked so many times now, each step he took was one filled with déjà vu.
The world around him was silent save for the sounds of his walking, his shallow breathing sounding like a cacophony in his ears. As he saw it, his heartbeat raced. The crumbling wall that looked like no other, the smear of graffiti that had washed part away by past rains. There was a story to that simple graffiti, a life before his. It would also be where another story came to its end.
He shut his eyes and calmed, steadied himself for what was to come.
He took his place carefully, near to the loose bricks scattered on the ground and began his search. He felt as a puppet on strings, rehearsed lines and directions rolling through his head. Eyes tracked across the buildings as if in search, before finally they stopped on what he was waiting for. In the wreck of a nearby home was a cracked window, shattered glass littering the floor. Through the shreds of the curtain that barely hung, he saw a sliver of his target.
Green.
He waited, took himself a deep breath. Enjoying the air for what may have been his last chance. There was a flex of power, aura quickly rising and falling as he stared at the sight. So hard to see, yet impossible to miss. His aura flared, his message to Mikasa sent, he finally spoke.
"You're Cell aren't you?"
Silence, then movement. A figure moved from behind the curtain as it stepped out into view. A soft chuckle rising in its throat, and Eren stared at the monster of Gohan's world. He had seen Cell before in a way, in the countless visions that showed him the destruction he could wreak upon the world but seeing him in person still made Eren gulp in fear and disgust. The hesitant step back was instinctual, but he forced himself to stay, to remain where he was.
"You know me… Gohan told you about me didn't he?" Cell took another step forwards, and Eren could see just how much the monster towered over him. "You must know him well. A good friend perhaps? That would certainly make this quite… enjoyable."
The gleam in Cell's eyes was more than murderous, it was hungry. Eren could almost see the desire to lick his lips, as if he was salivating over the possibility of devouring Eren. A possibility that was almost certain to happen. As Cell took another step closer, Eren couldn't fight the step back and away he took, cursing mentally as he saw the glee in Cell's eyes at his fear.
His body tensed, Cell made move to pounce… and then froze. His head turned in curiosity, and Eren knew why. Mikasa was powering up, calling out a seeming challenge. Such a thing wouldn't interest Cell alone, but it was Gohan's response that had done so. Eren felt it too. It was impossible not to, Gohan's overwhelming power and seemingly limitless potential.
Interest turned to disgust in Cell's expression, and the creature turned back to face Eren.
"That must be another one of yours. None of the worthless humans on this planet know anything about Ki but you and your compatriots. And that uniform… my how it looks familiar to me. Gohan taught you did he? Did you think it would be enough to face me?"
"I don't need to." Eren bit back, much to Cell's surprise. "Gohan will beat you, and there's nothing you can do about it. He's more than you will ever be. It doesn't matter who's cells you have in you, Gohan's better, and he always will be."
Cell sneered, and before Eren could react he was pierced through the arm. Cell's tail had extended out and pinned Eren to the wall, stabbing cleanly into flesh and holding him up. Blood dripped from the wound, Cell letting it flow freely as he studied Eren's pained gasps.
"Such bravado, yet it all goes away so quickly with just a little pain." The tail twisted, agonizing pain shooting through Eren's body as he let out a scream of pain. "I haven't even begun to show you what I can do. Yet already, you're nothing but a whimpering mess." Eren sensed the movement at the same time as Cell, the Ki's of his comrades closing in to investigate.
Cell grinned, throwing Eren to the ground out in the open. Eren hit it with a yelp, clutching his ruined arm in agony as he tried to climb to his feet. Levi landed by his side before he could, and Eren shut his eyes in regret.
"Jaeger? What happened-" Levi was cut off. Cell appearing in a flash behind him and with one closed fist he backhanded Levi away. Even with his power suppressed and not fully available, Cell's attack blasted Levi through a building and crushed his ribs. The veteran of countless fights, and once considered the strongest of humanity, was rendered helpless as he was brushed aside in Cell's entertainment.
The others arrived soon after. Ilse letting out a gasp of horror as she tried to power up, only for a single Ki blast to hit her and incinerate her body. Only the shreds of her uniform remaining as they were blown away into the wind. Eld died next, unable to even see Cell before the creature appeared and cut him in half with a single swipe of the hand. His body fell to the ground, eyes wide and a horrified scream unable to escape his lips.
The last to go was Nanaba. Paralysed in fear, she was helpless as Cell appeared before her and reached out with a hand. He grabbed her head and crushed it with the barest of effort. Her death quick and gruesome, body sagging as it hung limp from his fingers.
Cell tossed the corpse away, turning his attention back to Eren just as he rose, electricity sparking around his wound as it sealed itself back together. He cocked his head to his side, inspecting Eren as he came closer.
"My oh my, you truly are different. I really must know how you do that."
"You'll die wondering." Eren spat. "Because Gohan is going to kill you, and there's nothing you can do about it." Eren narrowed his eyes, glaring in hatred at Cell. "Because he'll always be better than you."
Cell's eyes narrowed back, and as he took his final step forwards, the tail rose once more. "Defiant and foolish to the end. But I don't need you to speak for the answers I need. I'm going to take a closer look."
The tail stabbed down once more, Eren's eyes squeezing tight in fear. Fear, and acceptance.
All according to plan.
Gohan looked at the shredded remains of Eren's clothes still clutched in Cell's hand. His vision blurred, seeing only red as the world was muted. Cell spoke but he did not hear it, only seeing the proof of his friend's murder.
"RAAAAAGGGHHHH!"
Gohan exploded towards Cell and delivered a powerful punch straight into his gut. His fist sank deep, driving the air from Cell's body and sending spit flying. But as Gohan's body slowed and the momentum was lost, Cell merely laughed.
"Why Gohan, all these years of waiting and that's all you have to show for it?" Cell's aura began to glow, power flowing as he stopped holding back. "Frankly, I'm a little DISSAPOINTED!"
Cells hand wrapped around Gohan's face, and the half-breed was slammed down hard into the ground. The single impact cracked deep chasms into the street, annihilated the foundations of the remaining buildings and sent them crumbling down. Gohan was buried deep into the earth, smashing into the mantle plate of the very continent.
One attack, and the city was sent onto the verge of collapse. An earthquake rocked the land as the impact of Gohan being hurled through the ground reverberated outwards. Levi was thrown far into the air as a massive chunk of earth beneath his feet broke away from the rest of the street. With the little strength he had remaining, he caught himself in enough of a hover to stop himself from crashing back down to the ground.
His view from the sky allowed him to see the moment that Gohan struck back, blasting out from the ground and delivering an uppercut straight into Cell's chin. The air split and crackled as Gohan's immense power met Cell's, and the shockwave that blasted out wiped away the entire downtown area.
Cell was hurled high up into the sky with Gohan chasing after him, both of their aura's flaring bright yellow as they prepared to face each other at full power. Before they both disappeared, and the air exploded in impacts. They were moving too fast for Levi to see, but the effect was impossible miss. In spite of his efforts, Levi was too close to the fight before he could move away in time, and was hurled through the sky once more, landing hard onto the ground and dirt with a painful smack.
He gagged, tasting blood in his mouth as well as the sharp stabbing pain from his shattered ribs. His consciousness wavered, vision blurring as he failed to track the two super beings in their fight. Attempting to drag himself away, Levi slumped and passed out against the cold ground.
"He's here." Sasha muttered, she and the others staring in awe at the distance as they felt the clash of Gohan and Cell. "This is really happening…"
Another shockwave rippled out, and a wave of dust and dirt blew over them. In spite of the vast distances between them and the fight, the reverberations could still be felt intimately.
In fury, Petra turned to their impromptu prisoner who lay motionless on the floor. "What the hell were you thinking Mikasa!?"
The girl had been quiet since Petra had first struck her. The woman surrendering near instantly before giving completely up as she too felt the passing of their comrades. Most of all, she had felt Eren as he disappeared entirely. But Petra would not accept it, would not allow Mikasa to wallow in the shame of her own actions. The red head grabbed her by the scruff of her jacket, hoisting her up into the air as she screamed at her.
"Why did you do that!? Why did you betray us!?"
Mikasa's only response was a broken sob as the tears she had been holding back broke free. As the team looked at her, Mikasa did not look at all like the friend they had known for so many years. Cold, stoic Mikasa, who's tough exterior was only matched by her tough interior, was naught but a broken and crying child in Petra's arms.
Petra dropped her in disgust, glaring down at her. Mikasa's sobs and fractured breathing slowed, the woman desperately pulling herself back together enough to speak.
"I-… I h-had to do it. I-I, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Weak and pathetic whimpers were all that she could offer, only fanning Petra's fiery rage further.
"What the fuck does that mean!? What possible reason could you have had for this!?"
"I-I had to. Eren, he… he saw this. He saw all of it." The anger and betrayal of her friends somewhat began to give way to confusion, a few of them so lost that they were willing to hear her out. "It's his powers, the powers of the Attack Titan. He-he discovered them two years ago, they gave him the power to see the future when he touches a person of royal blood."
Jean's eyes widened, snapping his fingers as he remembered and drawing all eyes to him. "The ceremony! He acted strange then, do you remember? And then at the dinner afterwards he was off by himself, and he looked spooked."
Sasha scratched her head in thought. She had a vague memory of Eren acting strange and her thinking so at the celebration, but it was so difficult to remember such small details. Mina had no better luck, but she did agree that it sounded kind of right. The distant recesses of her mind calling forth a hazy picture of that night.
Petra still did not care. "You believed that? Mikasa, you can't see the future, nobody can, it's not possible!"
"He saw it all!" Mikasa shouted back defensively. "He told me everything that could happen. Things which came true! Not just vague events but the specific words that people used. He told me all of them in advance, it's true!"
"So Eren foresaw this? All of this?" Petra asked back in a whisper.
"He did." Mikasa fought the urge to look away from her, to break eye contact with Petra and the hurt she was still feeling. "All this death, he saw everything."
Petra was silent. Taking a step back and looking away as she absorbed what Mikasa was saying. In spite of what Mikasa had just done, Petra still held an instinctual trust of the one she had grown to call friend.
"So he saw all of this…" Jean continued, seeing that Petra had stepped away and wasn't going to speak further. "What's next? Why did you need to do all of this."
Mikasa looked away, bracing herself. "The future wasn't set. There are ways to influence things, to change what would happen. Eren saw a path to a future, our only chance at a future, but he needed to be the one to meet Cell and have time with him. Not Gohan. I had to stall him, lure him away to give Eren time."
"You're sure about this?" Sasha asked in disbelief. "This is a lot to take on faith Mikasa. Those people are dead Mikasa, Eren is-…"
"He's…" Mikasa gulped down the last word. Unable to fully say it or else it would ruin her. She felt sick just thinking it, her body buzzing to the point of numbness. "Eren believed in this enough to give it his all. To… to give his life for this, because it was the only way he could see a future. And… and it's not over yet." She looked at Petra. The woman already sensing the terrible news that Mikasa looked to be about to say. Petra flinched instinctually, in preparation for whatever it was she was about to hear.
"Petra, I'm so sorry…" Mikasa continued, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Gohan…"
"What? What's going to happen!?"
"I'm sorry Petra. Gohan's going to die."