Steel Against Stone

High above the scarred earth, Cell hovered, his green form cutting a sharp silhouette against the smoky sky, his black-spotted wings buzzing faintly. He gazed down at the crater where Buenzi City once stood, a gaping wound of his own making, and a twisted satisfaction curled his lips. "Too quiet," he muttered, tilting his head; the absence of human screams left a hollow itch in his chest, a thrill unfulfilled.

His eyes swept the horizon, locking onto West City's gleaming spires, a fresh canvas for his chaos. "You're next," he said, voice dripping with malice as an energy ball sparked at his fingertip, pulsing with ruin. He raised his hand, savoring the moment, the power thrumming through him like a heartbeat.

A blur sliced through the air behind him, a shadow moving too fast to sense, and a booted foot slammed into his side with bone-crunching force. Cell's smirk vanished as he hurtled hundreds of feet, crashing into a jagged mountain, rock splintering around him. He skidded to a halt, dust billowing, disbelief flashing across his face; that kick had hurt, and he hadn't felt a whisper of ki.

"What in the—" he snarled, shoving rubble aside as he rose, his gaze snapping upward. There, framed against the sun, stood a bald figure, glinting faintly in the light: Krillin, fists clenched, eyes burning with a fire Cell didn't recognize. "Krillin? You've got to be joking," Cell spat, shock twisting into mockery.

Eight years ago, Krillin had been a trembling speck, a human too weak to matter, cowering as Cell crushed the Saiyans. "That coward kicked me?" he muttered, wiping a trickle of blood from his lip, the sting sharpening his incredulity. This wasn't the Krillin he'd known; something had changed, something impossible.

Krillin's voice cut through the air, raw and unyielding. "Cell, you monster, today I end you; for Goku, for Gohan, for everything I screwed up!" His usual timidity was gone, replaced by a steel resolve that echoed over the shattered peaks.

Cell straightened, brushing dust from his arm, a mocking laugh bubbling up. "Half a year, and you've grown a spine? I remember you groveling, bald head in the dirt." He smirked, taunting, but the kick lingered in his mind; it had power, enough to make him pause.

Krillin's face twisted, fury igniting at the memory of his own weakness. "Shut your mouth!" he roared, his body surging forward, a comet of rage aimed straight at Cell. His fists flew, a barrage of strikes tearing through the air, each one fueled by eight years of guilt and grief.

Cell shifted, his movements fluid, dodging every blow with effortless grace, his arms crossed in disdain. "Sneak attacks, that's all you've got?" he sneered, voice dripping with contempt. "This speed, this strength, you think it's enough?" Krillin's upgrades were real, a leap from his old self, but against Cell's perfect form, it was laughable.

Krillin gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his brow, his fists a blur of motion. "Damn it, still too wide," he growled, pushing his new cyborg body to its limits, infinite energy surging through circuits Bulma had woven into him. He'd traded humanity for this, a chance to atone, and he wouldn't stop now.

The clash stretched on, minutes ticking by as Krillin hammered away, the mountain's base trembling under stray impacts. Cell's smirk faded, boredom creeping in; this wasn't a fight, it was a tantrum. "Enough playtime," he said, his tone icy, "time to show you the gap, little man."

With a flick of his wrist, Cell seized Krillin's fist mid-strike, his grip like a vice, unyielding and cruel. Krillin's momentum died, his arm locked, strength draining as Cell's power overwhelmed him. "You'll never match me, no matter what you become," Cell hissed, eyes glinting with sadistic glee.

In a single motion, he flung Krillin skyward, the force ripping a sonic boom through the air. Krillin crashed through peak after peak, seven or eight crumbling into dust, until he slammed into a towering cliff, embedding in the stone. Pain exploded across his face, a groan escaping as he hung there, battered but alive.

Cell appeared in a flash, his hand clamping onto Krillin's face, fingers digging into flesh and metal alike. He dragged him downward, grinding his body against the rock wall, a brutal smear of red marking their path. The stone gouged at Krillin, tearing through his gi, blood streaking behind as Cell's laughter rang out, cold and merciless.

Krillin's hands scrabbled against Cell's grip, his cyborg frame buzzing with energy, but the pain was real, flesh beneath the steel screaming. "Not… done," he rasped, defiance flickering through the agony, his resolve unbroken even as the rock carved into him. He'd bought time, seconds or minutes, a lifeline for Goten he'd cling to with every breath.

Above, the sky darkened, clouds swirling as Cell's power pulsed, a storm brewing over the wreckage. Krillin's blood painted the cliff, a testament to his stand, and Cell paused, loosening his grip slightly, curiosity flickering. "Still kicking, huh? Let's see how long that lasts," he said, ready to crush this fleeting defiance.

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