What….had happened? Where was he?
He carefully looked around him. A desk towered before him and an equally towering red ogre sat behind it. All that kept the ogre from looking like a complete monster were his black spectacles and professionally oiled hair. Two very scared looking blue officer workers were at each side of the comically large desk. This was certainly not Earth.
Did I…lose? No, impossible! I am the perfect being! I do not loose!
"Ah, Cell." The red ogre was smiling. "I see your reign of terror as finally been brought to an end. Kami knows we had enough souls from you," the red giant said. "I am King Yemma and I have the distinct pleasure of sentencing your afterlife." King Yemma leaned forward, large hands resting on the desk as a sinister pleasing look came over his face. Sadly, it seemed to go completely unnoticed by the bio-android.
What is that old fool blabbering about? I did not die! I am perfect! I could never be defeated! But still, a nagging thought tugged at the back of his mind. Had he..?
An image surfaced to his mind. There he was, and Gohan, facing off with kamehameha waves, each striving for power, each knowing that their life depended on the outcome. He had gained the upper hand, had been so close to victory he could literally taste it. He had prevailed, even when those worthless fools had all attacked at once. He had been winning! What had happened?
"Why the lost look, Cell? Surely you didn't expect to win?"
Vegeta; that's what had happened. He remembered it all now. Vegeta throwing off his concentration and enabling Gohan to overpower him in his moment of distraction.
"For all of your heinous acts on Earth I'm sure you know where you're going. Hell has a special place just for you." Yemma picked up a stamp, ready to mark Cell's fate across the paper.
BANG!
The door burst open, making Yemma jump and causing his stamp to fly out of his hand. He fumbled for it and, once it was secure in his fist, looked up, eyes narrowed at whoever had disturbed him.
"What's up, dudes," Grand Kai yelled, readjusting the boom box on his shoulder. He grinned toothily and flashed the 'rock on' sign at King Yemma.
Yemma, shocked, only managed to gape. Cell hadn't even noticed the blatant entrance.
"I'm here to tell ya Cell isn't going to Hell," Grand Kai started, walking foreword and placing his boom box on the floor. He delivered the news as if he was telling Yemma that the Supreme Kai was throwing a party.
"What!? Cell has killed countless numbers of humans, not to mention Goku." Yemma slammed his fist on the table, rattling the lamp and causing papers to fly. His stamp also went out of his hand once more but he made no attempt to secure it. "Surely you can't be-"
"Hey, I'm just telling you what the Supreme Kai told me. Cell is getting a chance to redeem himself."
Cell seemed to come out of his daze at those words. He turned curiously towards Grand Kai, a non-existent eyebrow raised.
"Redeem himself," Yemma asked, outraged. The very thought of Cell redeeming himself was preposterous. What had possessed the Supreme Kai to give Cell a chance to 'redeem' himself? "And how, exactly, is he to 'redeem himself'?"
"Well, he's going to be given the body of a teenager and he's going to attend a school called Orange Star High. Supreme Kai wants him to change the lives of three people for the better and to befriend Gohan."
Cell's magenta eyes widened, his mouth gaping. Befriend Gohan? They had to be out of their imperfect little minds. Befriend the little whelp that had destroyed him? Then again... this plans had merits...
"Well, Cell," Grand Kai said, turning towards the shocked bio-android. "Wanna have a chance to redeem yourself?"
Cell glared skeptically at the old Kai. "And why, exactly, have I been given this chance?"
"You know, I asked the Supreme Kai that myself. He didn't answer though. Just mumbled something about the future and told me to go. He's funny that way."
Cell simply stared at the man, his face impassive. Inside, his mind wasn't as blank as his face. The wheels were turning inside his perfect brain, forming all the possibilities that could come from this, revenge being the foremost. They were practically offering it to him! Go back to Earth, be near Gohan. It was the perfect opportunity! Perhaps he could even go along with them for awhile? Become friends with Gohan, then stab him in the back at the last moment. No, as tempting as it was, he had a sense of pride. He would do it fairly. He had almost done it fairly last time, until that worthless fool had decided to intervene! Despicable, really. And here he thought Saiyans had a sense of pride.
"Uh…Cell?"
The scheming android looked up from his musings. "And what, exactly, is the catch?" He wasn't stupid enough to believe he had this chance for free.
The Grand Kai grinned as if catching on to the android's thoughts.
"You will be placed inside the body of a young man whose gonna die soon. You may not attack anyone or use your powers. The moment you do, your soul will be pulled and thrown immediately into Hell. And, as I've said, you must change three people's lives for the better and befriend Gohan."
Cell folded his arms across his broad chest. Was that all? He had expected all of those rules. And if he was to be put in a human body he highly doubted that it would be able to handle his awesome power; the body and the powers wouldn't be in sync at all and it would only backfire on him. He ran through the rules one more time, exploring all possibilities that might doom him to fail. He didn't need power to exact his revenge, he could do that in other ways.
"Any questions," the Grand Kai asked.
A second passed, and then the bio-android gave him an odd look. "If the boy is dying, won't his body be too weak to handle my spirit?"
"Ah," Grand Kai started. "Yea, that's true. Your spirits power will be able to rejuvenate the body, but only for a short amount of time. Say… a year or so. The boy's body can barely handle your power as it is and too much of it would have the body break down on the spot."
"What happens at the end of one year then?"
"Well, you die, of course. The body is on borrowed time as it is, and we can't let you wander Earth forever."
Cell's eyes narrowed in contemplation. Could he exact his revenge in a year? Gohan was going to be very distrustful of him. Unless…
"Will Goku and the others know who I am?"
"Goku will. We told him of our plan and he agreed. Piccolo and Dende are gonna be in charge of over-seeing your time on Earth."
Cell snorted. Goku had always been big on second chances.
"Alright. I will take this… offer. When do I leave?"
