Destiny's Echo

- a Dragon Ball Z FanFiction -

Chapter One: Actions Have Consequences

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball, the glorious franchise it is, is not in any way a property I control. I can only wish to supplement its mystique with stories such as the one herein. The same is in regards to related characters, symbols, plot elements, etc.

With that said, I hope you enjoy the story!

In a universe of infinite possibilities, there exist many yet to be explored. And now, without further ado, welcome to an alternate path ….

The explosion had ended many things.

With the maelstrom of destructive force, King Kai's planet had been rendered into nothingness.

The kai had died, along with his cricket and monkey. It was evident by the haloes atop each of their heads.

And, in at least a modicum of true satisfaction, another entity took pride in knowing that Goku, too, had perished in the blast.

But what had clouded these victories was the fact that instead of the white wisps of brilliance in the blue sky of Earth, he could see the yellow clouds of Otherworld, gracing each side of Snake Way with their presence.

He didn't want to admit it.

He didn't want to acknowledge that atop his head, just as with theirs, there was a halo.

How could it have come to this?

Perfection had been his! And in an act of randomness, that accursed Saiyan child had managed to rob him of this glory.

The humiliation seemed at the time as though it could not have been more agonizing.

And now … even greater humiliation was his.

At the very least, it appeared as though even in death, he had been able to retain at least the intermediate form between his beginning and perfection.

It was a far cry from the paramount.

By no means was this acceptable.

The Saiyan had gained his halo only moments before, and after wondering what had happened and regaining his senses, he smiled.

"Well, I can't exactly say that was a pleasant experience, but from the looks of it, the job got done," Goku said, staring right at him.

"I will find some way to avenge this travesty," Cell said, as he stood up, taking note that the clouds indeed seemed to stretch as far as his eyes could see. "I don't know how, and I don't know when, but all of you will pay dearly for what you did to me!"

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say," King Kai said with a chuckle, causing Cell to growl in frustration as the kai walked toward him. "When you threaten innocent people, eventually you're going to be defeated."

Before Cell could respond, King Kai turned his attention toward Goku.

The expression on his face was quite sour.

"Um …, well, we saved the Earth, right?" Goku asked, as he started to back away from the suddenly enraged King Kai.

"Not only did you blow up my planet, but you let me die with it instead of instant transmitting me out of there!" King Kai said. "I thought I taught you to think more tactically!"

"I'm sorry King Kai, I was under a lot of pressure with not a lot of time to consider everything," Goku said. "Believe me, I'm sorry for what happened."

King Kai didn't verbally respond, and instead maintained his livid expression.

Goku felt bad, but then realized something.

"Well, where else was I supposed to take him?" Goku asked. "I need to feel someone's energy to be able to go there with Instant Transmission. If I brought him to another planet, then all the people there would have died while the Earth would have been spared, and that wouldn't have been good. Come on King Kai, I think you can understand why I did what I did."

While King Kai pondered this, Cell took note of Goku's description of the technique.

It seemed to be a most intriguing technique, indeed.

"Oh, alright Goku, I forgive you," King Kai said. "But while we travel back to the Check-In Station, you're going to need to come up with a bunch of good jokes to tell!"

"Yeah, sure thing!" Goku said, with a smile.

But then, Goku quickly turned his attention back toward Cell.

Goku suddenly took on an air of seriousness again.

"Cell, you've paid for your crimes with the ultimate price," Goku said. "Now, you'll never be able to truly harm anyone ever again."

Cell's rage surmounted.

"I will never accept defeat!" Cell yelled, as he shot a ki blast straight toward King Kai.

Goku got in the way of the blast and deflected it upward, while Cell began to levitate.

He soared straight into the air, and Goku soon followed suit.

"How does it feel to know you'll never be able to see your son again?" Cell asked, causing Goku to gain a gleam of anger in his eyes. "Now that you're dead along with me, imagine how your friends will feel, and how your son will grow up without a father. All because of me! It looks like Dr. Gero's plan to exact his revenge on you came to fruition after all!"

Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan while charging forward, and Cell did not have enough time to react to the punch.

With a force of even greater strength than Vegeta had displayed when he had first demonstrated the true breadth of his power to Cell as an Ascended Super Saiyan, Goku, who by now was much stronger as a Super Saiyan than Vegeta had been then, punched straight into Cell's stomach.

The punch impacted deeply into Cell's body, causing him to gag in pain.

Goku pulled the punch back, then kicked Cell from overhead, sending him toward Snake Way below.

In an attempt to prevent any destruction to the path, Goku quickly appeared under Cell and caught him. Goku then uppercut Cell in the chest, and dropped Cell, enabling Cell to fall at a much slower pace and the path to remain relatively undamaged upon his impact.

"When you still had Android Eighteen in your captivity, you were a tremendous challenge," Goku said, while his gold hair flickered back to black out of his own volition, as he descended back to his normal state. "Now, you can't even put up anything close to a decent fight."

Cell's resentment redoubled, and he stomped the path.

"Goku, if I could kill you again, I would do so readily!" Cell yelled, as Goku maintained his frown.

"I guess I know what King Yemma's verdict for this bozo's going to be, right, Goku?" King Kai asked, with a snicker.

Cell grabbed King Kai by the lapel of his tunic, and brought the kai's face close to his, on the verge of doing something drastic. Goku, however, jumped up and kicked Cell in the face, causing him to let go of King Kai.

As Cell regained his fighting stance, with his tail at the ready and poised for another strike, Goku placed himself in front of King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory.

"King Kai, why exactly is Cell with us now, as opposed to wasting away in hell like he should be?" Goku asked, as he deepened his fighting stance. "And for that matter, shouldn't we have been brought to the Check-In station after we died, too?"

"If you die in Otherworld and get to keep your body, you end up where you died," King Kai said. "It's one of those things that's different between Otherworld and the world of the living."

As Goku prepared to defend King Kai, he noticed a figure flying overhead.

Goku wondered why he hadn't sensed him before, and … oh. That's why.

Android Seventeen became much more readily visible, and he noticed those who had gathered down below.

It was very possible, and in fact probable, that whatever part of Cell that had been most responsible for containing Seventeen had been thrown far away from where Cell had exploded, resulting in Seventeen regaining his form in a location other than the nearby vicinity in which the explosion had occurred.

Seventeen descended, and he landed right next to Goku.

"How's it going, Goku?" Seventeen asked, as he then turned to face Cell, and entered a fighting stance.

"I don't believe we've actually met, although you probably know all about me," Goku said, in a voice that was colder than normal.

Seventeen grinned.

"Well, I suppose since we're both dead now, there's not much of a reason for me to hate you, so … put er' there," Seventeen said, while briefly turning to offer his hand.

After a few moments, and to Cell's bewilderment, Goku obliged the handshake.

"I'm glad to see you're more than Dr. Gero gave you credit for," Goku said, as he smiled warmly at Seventeen for a brief moment, then refocused his attention on Cell. "Unfortunately, I can't say the same for this guy."

Seventeen also focused his attention on Cell.

"Loser," Seventeen said, causing Cell to growl in frustration even more. "I'm so glad you lost. I never thought I'd root for Goku and his friends, but when you were absorbing me, that's exactly what I was doing. And they won! You lost! Our bastard of a father lost! If I had to die as a result of you being stopped, it was worth it!"

Goku knew what he had to do. Before Cell did something drastic, he had to get him to the Check-In Station so Yemma could seal him below.

Cell, however, was quite unsure of what to do. So many wondrous options he had once had were now no more, and it was to the point of sheer absurdity that his greatest enemy had allied with someone who should have been part of him without …"

Wait.

Could it be possible?

Cell wondered, and a sneer of excitement came to his face.

By no means was he certain that this would work, but on the chance it might, it would be worth it.

He rushed forward, with his eyes focused on one target, and one target only.

The point of his tail began to open, and his focus remained on Android Seventeen.

Up next: Cell advances his latest plan, while on Earth, the Z-Fighters ready themselves for their next courses of action. The paths of peace and war collide, next time, on Dragon Ball Z: Destiny's Echo!

Thanks so much for reading the first chapter!

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In fun and fanfiction,

American Vigor

Fanfic requested by Gonstika. Various notions, concepts, plot points, and other ideas presented and conveyed in this fanfic were originated by Gonstika.

Updated as of 12/10/2011

If you're enjoying this story, be sure to check out Honor Trip, another Dragon Ball Z fanfic involving Cell as its main character – with a twist! Whereas Cell is indeed a villain in the canon Dragon Ball universe, in Honor Trip, circumstances arise that enable Cell, despite the villain he had been, to become … a hero! Honor Trip is accessible via my profile page, and I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks again, and have an excellent one,

American Vigor