Redemption's Side
Disclaimer: Dragonball Z and all its characters © Akira Toriyama, BIRD STUDIO/SHUEISHA, TOEI Animation. Licensed by FUNimation Production, Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer 2: All fictional character © Eileen Ayling Setiawan (author) and any alias she assumes (H-san, Hina-chan, etc…)
Author's Note: This takes place after the first part of Masshiro na Yuki: Pure White Snow, my fanfiction about Kinoko, the female Saiya-jin. It's a filler of sorts.
Author's Note 2: This was inspired by vege-chan from deviantArt.
Prologue: The Final Punishment
S.I.N. : abbreviation of "Soothing your Inner Nastiness", a program designed to heal the wounds of the antagonists in Hell by appointing them ogre psychiatrists and talking over their problems. The 'y' in 'your' is not included as it is a lesser word compared to the other three; therefore, the abbreviation is, ironically, S.I.N.
The Blood Lake never looked so beautiful as the sheen of the sun glinted on its bloody red surface. Spirits, which appeared to look like clouds, floated by on their way to the "Spring Carnival", despite the fact that there was no such thing as seasons in Hell. Some turned to look at the strange congregation of antagonists, each with a respective ogre. If they had faces, their brows would most likely be cocked at the strange scene.
"Hn, so how do you feel about that?" said an ogre with slicked blonde hair.
The antagonist with the ogre, the Changeling known as Frieza, started sniffing uncontrollably.
"My brother never loved me!" he cried, tears spilling forth from his eyes.
The ogre reached out, giving him a sympathetic pat on the back.
"It's okay Frieza. It's okay, let it all out."
Somewhere further away, a green-skinned, insect-looking man rolled his eyes and scoffed.
"Baka… how could he succumb to such… idiocy…" he mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I don't think it's that… bad…" replied his appointed therapist, a tenacious ogre who called herself Jaena. She tossed back her wavy blue hair, signifying she was feeling cool and collected at the moment.
"Urusei…" mumbled Cell.
Jaena's hair went up in flames, turning a fiery red.
"Oi! I was trying to be positive!"
Cell rolled his eyes, scoffing at such childish behaviour.
"This whole… program is stupid. You can't possibly change someone!"
"You can! Have you seen Dabura? He's changed dramatically!" argued Jaena.
"Through manipulation," debated Cell coolly.
Jaena twitched.
"Why was I ever appointed you?"
Cell grunted, turning his face away. Recently, Cell had been recruited into the program called "Soothing your Inner Nastiness", ironically abbreviated as S.I.N. Because of this, Cell had to undergo psychiatric help by his appointed therapist Jaena, a temperamental ogre whom loved nothing more than to give Cell a hard time. It had been eighteen weeks, and still, Jaena was having a hard time getting into the psyche of this cloistered individual. And in another two weeks she had to report to Yama-sama.
"Cell. Is there anything you want to say?" asked the ogre, trying to calm down, her hair turning purple as she was in the transitional phase.
Cell sighed.
"This is ridiculous…"
"Would you rather be in the cell with those Ginyu guys and the Changelings, or out here, where you can relax for a little while?"
Cell considered the two choices, knowing the answer was the latter. Despite the fact that all of them had the same evil intentions, the Changelings and Ginyu Force were constantly complaining. Why couldn't he have been in a cell on his own? He sighed, knowing what the ogre meant.
Jaena smirked, writing that down on her Progress Report.
Two weeks were up. Time to reap the rewards of her hard work. With the folder pressed to her chest, Jaena walked forward, her high heels clicking sharply against the marble floor of the Check-in Station. Yama-sama sat at his desk, signing papers and generally looking bored at the job he was assigned to.
I could've been the God of Thunder, but no… I'm just the Check-in God… thought Yama-sama, scratching another name off the long list in front of him. It seemed everyday people were dying.
Hasn't anyone ever heard of a healthy lifestyle? Yama-sama sighed once, again. His eyes were then dragged up to the ogre approaching him.
"Ah, Jaena, there you are," stated the god. "You're 15 minutes late."
Jaena broke into a slight cold sweat.
"Well, ano… I was just getting ready to see you oh Supreme Lord."
Yama-sama hummed thoughtfully.
"Yes, I can see you are well-presented. I'll forgive you this once, since it was the first time you were late."
Jaena sighed inwardly. She then smiled up at Yama-sama.
"Well, after 20 weeks of assessing my client, Cell, for the S.I.N. program, I have found these results," began Jaena. She opened the folder, handing them to another ogre nearby.
The other ogre placed the papers into a contraption, which whirred when the paper was put into the feeding slot, and immediately, shot out from a similar contraption on Yama-sama's desk. He picked up the enlarged pieces of paper, reading the print on the white surface.
"Hn, his progress seems… interesting."
Jaena nodded.
"Growing up with no parent figures, and conditioned to "eat" his own brother and sister, and even kill one of them, Cell has had a very deprived childhood. He has no memories of his past, and states that he believes friends are a ridiculous waste of time."
"Yes… he has a strange pattern of emotional responses to these words."
"Yes, Cell can be very… ano… disruptive when it comes to terms relating to family. It seemed he also believes they are a ridiculous waste of time. He believes his "father", Dr. Gero, was, and I quote, a pathetic old man with no life, end quote."
Yama-sama nodded, stroking his black beard. He placed the paper down, looking down at Jaena.
"Jaena, you have made significant assessments on Cell, but has he made any changes?"
Jaena shook her head.
"My Lordship, Cell believes he cannot change. He is disillusioned and disconnected. I believe he needs a boost in the right direction."
Yama-sama nodded once again, musing.
"Jaena, you are correct. And I believe I can give him that push. How does the "Final Punishment" sound to you?"
Jaena gasped.
"But… Yama-sama… is not that forbidden?"
Yama-sama gave a hearty laugh.
"Forbidden to all but me! I am, after all, the Check-in God!"
Jaena bowed slightly.
"If you say so, your Lordship. I wonder though. What are the conditions?"
Yama-sama gave a smirk.
"You will have to find out on your own, Jaena."
Cell held a deep scowl on his face as he was roughly awoken from his night slumber. Jostled around by the ogre guards, a bag was forced over Cell's head and some contraption that seemed to diminish his life force significantly. He was led a great distance, being pushed up what he knew to be stairs.
When was there ever stairs in this godforsaken place? Asked Cell, careful not to trip over a step. With a grunt, Cell was then thrown up. He saw stars as the blindfold was taken off him. He blinked rapidly, his pink eyes getting used to the light that streamed through and burned his retina.
"Hello Cell," said a familiar, deep voice.
Cell's eyes went wide as he looked up, coming face-to-face with a grinning Yama-sama.
"What?" yelled Cell.
Yama-sama gave a big hearty laugh, grabbing the android by the head and yanking him on his feet. He then ordered an ogre to bring him to the ground floor.
"No need to panic. I just need to talk about some arrangement that your therapist and I have discussed during the last meeting we had concerning your psychological analysis."
Cell cocked a brow.
"You what?"
Again, Yama-sama laughed.
"Well," he began, ignoring the question. "First off, we believe you need to become more emotionally inclined. Second, we believe you need to receive those emotions in return."
Cell stared at the god incredulously.
"Because of this, Jaena and I have arranged to give you the "Final Punishment"," continued Yama-sama.
Cell started to become confused.
"Are you willing?" asked Yama-sama. He saw the confused expression. "No need to worry Cell, it won't hurt… much. Anyway, we've already arranged everything, so no point asking your opinions!" Yama-sama gave another hearty laugh.
"Final Punishment?" Cell thought. He did not like the sound of that.
Yama-sama pulled up his sleeves.
"Well, here we go!" He encircled his hands around Cell, who looked on in confusion.
A bright light engulfed the Android, blinding him and causing him to close his eyes. Then, the pain started. Cell cried out as he felt his muscles stiffen and shrivel, growing smaller. With this decrease in muscle size, his bones constricted, forced inward with the muscle. He felt the tissues follow suit, also decreasing in size. Soon after, he could feel his flesh bubbling and burning, as if acid had been slathered on his entire body. He watched with horrified eyes as the green and black spots shrivelled away into cream and pink. His fingernails shrunk inwards, causing him to clench his fists in pain, and watch as they became blunt. He tossed his head back in agony as his wings wrenched inward, drawing into his back and leaving no residue of the formation. The skin where the wings were attached to his back bubbled and brewed, forming creamy flesh. It continued down, rippling to his lower spine. He gripped his head with his newly formed hands, feeling the cone-like formations wrench into his skull. He screamed in pain, gripping his head harder as he felt something hirsute form under his clenched fists. His eyes seared with pain as his retina changed, and the pale skin upon his face bubbled and boiled like the rest of his flesh. The final searing of pain came when he felt himself shrinking, the bones compressing and bringing with it the rest of his body. A final scream of pain benchmarked the ending of the beginning of the "Final Punishment".
Sweating and panting, Cell stood on all fours, looking down at the marble floor of the Check-in Station. He slowly fell back onto his knees, eyes closed and waiting for the pain to die.
"See. Not much pain," he heard Yama-sama say through the darkness.
Slowly, Cell opened his eyes, seeing Yama-sama smirking down at him. A dark swell of anger rose within him.
"NOT MUCH! THAT WAS THE MOST PAINFUL THING I HAVE ENDURED SINCE THAT BASTARD SAIYA-JIN GOHAN BLEW ME UP!" yelled Cell. Immediately, his hands flew to his throat. He sounded odd. He sounded… younger. "What in the Hell…?"
Yama-sama let out another hearty laugh. Then, a flash of light caused Cell to blink dumbly for several minutes before clearing. He looked to Yama-sama, who held what looked like a camera.
"Ah yes. Priceless. Absolutely priceless. I shall put this onto my wall." He looked at a Polaroid picture, smiling with a smug joy.
Cell's eyes lowered dangerously.
"Why you…" Cell ran forward, but fell clumsily onto the floor as he realised his legs were still smarting from his previous torture. He got up, staring at the god… until a chuckle was heard behind him. Cell turned his head towards the sound, seeing the ogress Jaena.
"Oh Cell, you look so much better that way."
Cell looked at the ogress, perplexed.
"What are you…?"
The ogress walked over to the Android, searching for something in her purse. Finding it, she smiled. It was a compact mirror. She opened it, and handed it to her client. Cell snatched the mirror off her, looking at it and almost scared to look into his reflection.
Scared? Why was he scared? That was purely an emotion Cell would never feel.
Holding the mirror up, he noticed the creaminess of his hands. Then he noticed the appearance of his face.
Kuso… thought Cell, his eyes wide with horror at the reflection before him. His once grey palsy skin was now replaced with a creamy flesh. Green brows framed his pink-coloured eyes, and green bangs covered his forehead in the appearance of a fringe. His free hand moved to touch his face, feeling the smooth, soft surface. Facial markings marked either side of his face, forming two sevens reflecting one another. He then noticed his hands. Dropping the mirror, he looked at both of them, seeing the lines, shapes and forms of his newly formed hands. He clenched them, seeing the blackened, blunt fingernails. Looking down at his hands, he noticed the rest of his body. He pressed his hands against his chest, feeling the creamy flesh of his pectorals and abdomen. He noticed he had decreased in body size and muscle mass.
His head snapped up to Yama-sama, who admired his fine craftsmanship.
"What did you do to me!" yelled Cell.
"I gave you the "Final Punishment". If you pass this, you will be rewarded your old body, and your freedom. However, if you fail, it is more than likely that you will stay in this body and live on Earth for the remainder of your days. During your stay, you will be guided by Jaena here…"
Jaena sighed despairingly, but nodded.
"… In the guise of what humans call "shoulder angels". This means that no one can see her, only you. I suggest you only talk to her when you are alone, otherwise many will see you as a crazy man."
"What am I to do on Earth?" asked Cell, becoming hysterical.
Yama-sama laughed. He seemed to be enjoying this.
"You shall have to conduct 210 good deeds."
"210?" echoed Cell.
Yama-sama nodded.
"Yes, each number representing your family members."
"I have no family members!"
"Yes you do. Android 8, Androids 13, 14 and 15, Android 16, Android 17, Android 18, and Androids 19 and 20."
Cell stared incredulously.
"You imbecile. I am a creation. I have no family!"
"I am only trying to help. Are you ready Jaena?"
"Yes, Yama-sama."
"Fantastic! Let's get going then." Yama-sama clapped his hands together, causing both Jaena and Cell to glow yellow. As both started to oscillate and pulsate, Cell yelled out his last words to Yama-sama:
"You can't do this!"
With an explosion, both disappeared. Yama-sama laughed.
"I love my job…" he muttered satisfactorily.
