Every bone and muscle in Mr. Satan's body shook and clenched as he faced his golden foe. In some dark corner of his mind, he had always feared this day would come. And, as the insectoid abomination approached he arena, he racked his brain for some way to escape with his dignity.
"C-C-Cell!" Mr. Satan puffed up his chest to appear bigger. "W-What are you doing here?"
"Oh you know good and well what I came for." Acho's heart raced in his chest but did his best to maintain bravado. He cracked his knuckles as he stepped into the arena. "I came all the way back from the depths of hell to pay you back!"
"Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer yelled into his microphone. "I am afraid for the worst of what is going on here! Mr. Satan, what in the world is this monster doing back?"
Mr. Satan swallowed as he leaned over to the microphone as the announcer extended it to him. "I… I don't know what this loser is doing here… but he's not worth my time! Buu! Buu? Where's my apprentice? That'd be a fairer fight!"
The tournament's announcer tapped Mr. Satan on the shoulder and pushed to the spot just outside the ring. An entire team of paramedics was trying to lift, roll or in any way move the gluttonous blob of pink that laid fast asleep in the grass.
"I didn't come here for your apprentice, I came here for you!"
"… Cell, you don't want me to humiliate you again, do you? You couldn't even beat my son-in-law and he's a scholar!" Mr. Satan paused a moment and then spoke very slowly. "His name is Gohan. Son Gohan."
Acho folded his arms and put on his scariest face. "I don't care about your son-in-law, Satan, stop making excuses!"
"Are… are you sure?" Mr. Satan knew something was wrong, but that didn't make the situation any better for him. "My son-in-law. Gohan. My daughter and him love me very much, and you'd probably make him very mad if you—"
Acho put out two fingers and destroyed the microphone with a quick blast of ki. Mr. Satan and the announcer jumped backwards in terror. "Stop wasting my time! Now let me have my vengeance!"
For nearly a minute Mr. Satan faced the opponent he had hoped every day he would never face again. Then came a shout. Just one, a boy, maybe ten years old, somewhere in the audience.
"Mr. Satan! Don't let that big bug tell you what's what! Show his green ass who's boss! Satan! Satan! Satan!"
Slowly but surely, the rest of the crowd joined the boy.
"You beat him once, let's get it on video this time!"
"Kick his ass, Satan!"
"Satan! Satan! Satan!"
Mr. Satan's heart sank as he took his stance and muttered to the announcer, "Tell one of my agents to call my daughter. I want to make sure she sees this."
This might finally be the day his luck ran out. If one of his people could get the call out to Videl, she might be able to get Gohan onto the scene before the Golden Cell beat him to death. He figured there were those weird crystal ball things that brought people back to life, maybe he'd finally get to learn what that was like. And maybe if he could get another wish, he could make the audience forget what a fool he was about to make of himself.
In a large, well-decorated house on the edge of Satan City, a mother and a father laid sprawled, exhausted and on the edge of sleep, on a couch in their living room. Attempts to put little Pan down for a midday nap had been unsuccessful on both Gohan and Videl's parts. The tiny infant had screamed every time they let go of her in the crib, resisted any attempts to sing her lullabies and looked like she might have actually bruised Gohan with a fussy kick. The tenacity that ran through just a quarter of her blood was certainly still evident. So Gohan and Videl were defeated, and the little girl continued to roll around on the floor and play with her toes unabated.
The two groaned when the shrill screech of Videl's cell phone roused them. Videl glared at the caller ID and mumbled, "It's Miss Piiza. You think it's really worth answering?"
"Does your dad need another publicity shoot or something?" Even when he was trying to be sarcastic, Gohan wasn't very good at it. "I guess you should, it's the right thing to do."
With a long, deep sigh, Videl tapped on the screen and sat up. "Miss Piiza?"
The sultry voice on the other line asked, "Videl, dear, are you watching your father's match at the Tenkaichi Budokai right now?"
Videl rubbed at the crumbs in her eyes. "The tournament? Was that today?"
Gohan sat up straight and his eyes widened. "Aw no, did we miss it? Were we expected to come out and watch?"
"Well why would we?" The annoyance seeped into Videl's voice. "We all knew what was going to happen already, right? Dad beat Mr. Buu in the last round because he always beats Mr. Buu in the last round."
"I'm not going to argue about the past with you," Miss Piiza said. "Suffice to say, you're not watching right now, but I think you should turn on your television set. Now."
Gohan reached into the cushions of the couch and located the remote to the flat-screen TV across from the couch. After some struggle searching for the right channel, the aftermath of the Tenkaichi Budokai flashed onto the screen. As it did, both Gohan and Videl's pupils dilated and their mouths went dry. Even the previously pacified Pan took one look at the screen and began to cry.
Mr. Satan stood in the center of the ring and threw punch after punch at what he had long believed was a vanquished for. The face and body of the genetic monstrosity known as Cell had long been burned into Gohan's mind and still sent a chill down his spine. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the creature bore the same golden sheen as Frieza had when the galacitic emperor had power enough to fight toe to toe with a Saiyan god. Cell dodged every strike from Mr. Satan with what seemed to be a mocking calmness.
"No… no!" Gohan stood up and yelled. "How? Who could have brought him back? Was there another prototype we didn't know about? And why couldn't I sense him from here?!"
Over the phone, Miss Piiza told Videl, "Your father asked me to make sure you and your husband were watching this."
"Got it. Thanks." Videl hung up the phone, picked up Pan, and tried to settle her crying. She looked toward her husband. "You took him down once, right?"
"That was years ago," Gohan said. "I'm not exactly what I used to be… and if that glow is anything to go by, he's gotten even stronger than last time."
"Well you can't just let my dad die out there!"
Gohan raised his hands in defense. "I wasn't going to… I just had to be honest about this thing, and it might be really hard for me to come back from this thing too."
As he spoke and Pan continued to cry, Videl looked away from him and fought back tears of her own. "I know it's not fair to ask you to go, but—"
Gohan pulled his wife and daughter in and clutched them both tight. After the space of a few breaths, he pulled away and looked right at Videl.
"Call up my dad, and maybe Vegeta, if you can get ahold of him. I'll see if I can keep Cell busy until backup arrives."
In a large, well-decorated house on the edge of Satan City, a mother and a father laid sprawled, exhausted and on the edge of sleep, on a couch in their living room. Attempts to put little Pan down for a midday nap had been unsuccessful on both Gohan and Videl's parts. The tiny infant had screamed every time they let go of her in the crib, resisted any attempts to sing her lullabies and looked like she might have actually bruised Gohan with a fussy kick. The tenacity that ran through just a quarter of her blood was certainly still evident. So Gohan and Videl were defeated, and the little girl continued to roll around on the floor and play with her toes unabated.
The two groaned when the shrill screech of Videl's cell phone roused them. Videl glared at the caller ID and mumbled, "It's Miss Piiza. You think it's really worth answering?"
"Does your dad need another publicity shoot or something?" Even when he was trying to be sarcastic, Gohan wasn't very good at it. "I guess you should, it's the right thing to do."
With a long, deep sigh, Videl tapped on the screen and sat up. "Miss Piiza?"
The sultry voice on the other line asked, "Videl, dear, are you watching your father's match at the Tenkaichi Budokai right now?"
Videl rubbed at the crumbs in her eyes. "The tournament? Was that today?"
Gohan sat up straight and his eyes widened. "Aw no, did we miss it? Were we expected to come out and watch?"
"Well why would we?" The annoyance seeped into Videl's voice. "We all knew what was going to happen already, right? Dad beat Mr. Buu in the last round because he always beats Mr. Buu in the last round."
"I'm not going to argue about the past with you," Miss Piiza said. "Suffice to say, you're not watching right now, but I think you should turn on your television set. Now."
Gohan reached into the cushions of the couch and located the remote to the flat-screen TV across from the couch. After some struggle searching for the right channel, the aftermath of the Tenkaichi Budokai flashed onto the screen. As it did, both Gohan and Videl's pupils dilated and their mouths went dry. Even the previously pacified Pan took one look at the screen and began to cry.
Mr. Satan stood in the center of the ring and threw punch after punch at what he had long believed was a vanquished for. The face and body of the genetic monstrosity known as Cell had long been burned into Gohan's mind and still sent a chill down his spine. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the creature bore the same golden sheen as Frieza had when the galacitic emperor had power enough to fight toe to toe with a Saiyan god. Cell dodged every strike from Mr. Satan with what seemed to be a mocking calmness.
"No… no!" Gohan stood up and yelled. "How? Who could have brought him back? Was there another prototype we didn't know about? And why couldn't I sense him from here?!"
Over the phone, Miss Piiza told Videl, "Your father asked me to make sure you and your husband were watching this."
"Got it. Thanks." Videl hung up the phone, picked up Pan, and tried to settle her crying. She looked toward her husband. "You took him down once, right?"
"That was years ago," Gohan said. "I'm not exactly what I used to be… and if that glow is anything to go by, he's gotten even stronger than last time."
"Well you can't just let my dad die out there!"
Gohan raised his hands in defense. "I wasn't going to… I just had to be honest about this thing, and it might be really hard for me to come back from this thing too."
As he spoke and Pan continued to cry, Videl looked away from him and fought back tears of her own. "I know it's not fair to ask you to go, but—"
Gohan pulled his wife and daughter in and clutched them both tight. After the space of a few breaths, he pulled away and looked right at Videl.
"Call up my dad, and maybe Vegeta, if you can get ahold of him. I'll see if I can keep Cell busy until backup arrives."