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Borrowed Time
Strong winds whipped up behind them, their figures a lone trail of white up against the azure sky. Marron, the twins, and the androids traveled in haste through half across the earth—at least to them it seemed that way—while their hearts pounded and their inner warriors lay awake in the eventuality that someone's ki would follow them. The younger fighters of the group at some point or another had taken hold of Android 16, his energy failing him while they flew over the vast ocean, momentarily slowing the group down as his injuries denied him the strength he so needed to fly at top speed. As for the two blond women leading the way… they flew together, hands still holding, almost as if they had forgotten that their fingers united them; the knowledge that one had saved the other weaving a bond that would later prove to be almost impossible to break.
They found refuge in a lonely island placed miles away from the location of their lost battle. Uninhabited as it was, it seemed perfect for the situation. A maze of intertwining trees and overwhelming greens covered the island's inner core, while rocky cliffs separated the jungle and the beaches, almost serving the role of an impenetrable fortress. Marron and Android 18 cautiously landed by a small clearing, allowing their eyes to quickly inspect the area before giving the twins—who were still hovering through the air with Android 16—the thumbs up. They gathered by the bushes, creating a sort of protective nest, and for the first time in many hours they felt safe, secure, amongst family and newly-found allies.
Marron sat across from Android 18 and motioned the twins to settle closer to her, both parties separating according to their loyalties. The older, blond woman leaned by a nice mat of dry leaves and settled her android companion on her lap, her once icy gaze wandering over his deformed face, her expression a mixture of pity, sadness, and anger; nearly unreadable.
There was a moment when the sounds of the wilderness and the silence between them reigned, until C was the first daring to speak. "We left Tien and Piccolo…" her blue eyes fluttered close prettily, making Android 16, who laid across from her in their leaf-covered nest, smile.
Marron's heart clenched, for she was unable to word a reasonable reply. Now that they were relatively safe, and there was a moment to ponder everything that happened, Marron decided it was her fault. Her own personal motives had betrayed Piccolo and Tien and left them abandoned at the mercy of Cell, or was everything they had gone through really worth it? Were Piccolo's injures and Tien's pain really worth their escape? Was she just hopelessly prolonging the inevitable… was Cell meant to absorb her mother after all?
"They were brave men, Cell would have surely absorbed 18… he would have become unstoppable…" Android 16's words brought Marron back to the clearing and away from her reverie. She wished to believe him yet felt overwhelmingly guilty.
Slip had now scooted closer to Marron, and the two children took refuge in her presence, comfortable to be able to have her to confide in. Marron watched Android 18 as the minutes dragged on and no one else dared to speak—the past events replaying over and over in their memories like a broken record—and Android 18 watched her back, her eyes focused yet hesitant. "Marron," her mother finally demanded her attention before asking, "Who are you? Why did you try to save us?"
"Would you believe me if I told you?" Marron wondered aloud.
Android 18 chuckled derisively, as if believing herself to be wiser and more seasoned than Marron, "In a world like this, nothing can be too impossible."
Marron quickly answered, rising up to the challenge, "I'm your daughter from the future." She felt a sort of triumphant satisfaction at the surprised expression upon Android 18's beautiful face; the woman was certainly not expecting this.
Android 18 then recovered and her face smiled—a simple, genuine little smile. "Thank you," she would have elaborated, but felt she didn't have to explain why she was thanking Marron. This time everyone watched the female android, for she seemed to be trying to put words together, until she eventually said, her eyes sad and her lips curved up, "I never imagined I would be human enough to have a baby—Dr. Gero didn't steal all my humanity after all." After a while, she added, "I'm curious, who's your father?"
Marron simply shook her head.
"I suppose that's best, wouldn't want to ruin the surprise." She laughed and pushed Android 16 off of her lap, then told him, "Alright there, 16?" She rearranged his upper body against the dry leaves, but his body crushed most of the greens, and so he looked like he had sunk in an enormous leaf-made armchair.
Time dragged on as they exchanged a few casual words, all five engaged in a heart-lightening conversation that made them forget the unfortunate circumstances that had brought them to this very canopy. Marron had found entertainment by playing with C's silky locks, which had a texture very similar to her own. Slip was listening intently to Android 16 as the man explained all sorts of equipment upgrades he, as an android, had; Android 18 every once in a while chirping in with details about her own mechanical craftsmanship.
Their idle moment suddenly ended however—panic could not simply describe the feeling that erupted from their very cores when they sensed a terribly infuriated ki rapidly shooting their way. As if following a chain of unfolding events, Marron shoved C away and jumped up; Android 18 following her lead; the man next to her struggling to sit up by himself; and Slip, without needing further encouragement, turned Super Saiyan. Their eyes met before they took a sort of battle formation and flew off towards the sky, intent on making an escapade. Their path, though, was cut short by the brutish form of Cell, who had suddenly appeared in their chosen island of refuge; his dark eyes reflecting rage and the sick satisfaction of having found them.
"You vermin… thought you could get away that easily?" Cell asked in a derisive tone as his hands juggled idly a mighty ki energy ball. "Your ki and energy shall be mine, and there's nothing any of you can do about it," and with a few last words Cell powered up, throwing the ki ball at their direction, deliberately missing and scattering them around the sky.
Beside Marron, Slip seemed ready to take on the challenge. "Take 18 and leave," he whispered cautiously to her before charging in towards Cell. His wild Saiyan hair swayed violently as he moved and his powerful ki aura spat all around him.
"Slip!" C was caught in a panicked frenzy, but she dared not fly away with the androids and Marron as her brother fought.
"I will stay with Slip, but you must fly with Android 18 and 16 and gain a lead!" Marron tugged on the young girl's forearm desperately, not willing to make any more sacrifices for the sake of her mother. Marron would have been more successful convincing C to flee, but the girl remained panic-struck and frozen as she watched Slip versus the new Cell.
If Slip had ever been an equal match to Cell, he was most certainly not one now. This new Cell possessed Android 17's prodigal speed and a ruthlessness that only bred from the anger he felt for having Android 18 escape so many times. Slip's kicks and punches were easily thwarted by the bigger creature, and every time Cell landed a hit it seemed as if a little piece of Slip's life, bit by bit, slipped away. By now Marron could no longer focus on trying to rally the androids to flee, for she had to spend every bit of her strength in holding C away from the battle.
The girl thrashed and spat and cried in Marron's arms as if every nerve in her body was connected to Slip's, and every hit Cell landed on the poor Saiyan boy also seemed to land on her unaffected body. Her ki jumped and spiked with every burst of her emotions and she fought Marron with all her might to be released, but Marron knew better, and so she held her tight; the young girl would absolutely be no match for Cell. Ahead of them Slip screamed in excruciating pain as Cell had his body pinned against a boulder and had his weight over the boy's shoulder. With a sickening crack the boy's arm snapped in two and Slip let out a howl of pain that drowned out Cell's satisfied laughter.
"Marron! Let me go! Slip!" C screeched in desperation, tears flowing through her eyes and nose and mouth, and Marron also cried as her heart broke all over again at the disposition they had found themselves in.
"NO! Please Castanea, listen to me! The longer you fight with me, the less time I'll have to go help your brother!" Marron exclaimed, but the girl seemed to have gone deaf to everything except to Slip's utters of agonizing pain. "I WILL PROTECT SLIP, NOW GO!" Marron was now furious; furious at Cell for showing up, furious at Slip for blindly charging in, furious at C for being so irrational, furious at herself for not being able to properly handle the situation.
At long last C listened to reason and she gave up her thrashing against Marron. She tentatively turned her blue eyes away from Slip, almost as if it pained her to do so. The young girl flew over to the androids, who were waiting for her by the edge of the island, while Marron charged in towards Cell.
The green creature was backing away from Slip, his dark eyes settled on the boy while he appreciated his work—the mutilation he had caused upon the young Saiyan's body. He sensed Marron charging at him, and deflected her punch with one hand and gave her a painful kick that sent her flying to the forest clearing. Cell's smile faded as he allowed his gaze to travel up to the androids, realizing that it was time to stop playing with his victims or else they might get away. He jumped back in front of Slip and kicked him mercilessly on the side, the boy spluttered blood as tears trailed down his boyish face in agony. "You know what? I'm not so mad after all, for as it turns out, I still end up winning here!" Cell exclaimed to Marron and C and the androids. "I can take my time becoming the Ultimate Form, for I shall have Saiyan and android power inside me alike!" And with those few, final words Cell directed his tail down at the boy that laid at his mercy.
Marron watched horror-struck as in the blink of an eye Cell had his tail wrapped around half of Slip's body. She made a mad run towards the green creature and the Saiyan boy, in a desperate attempt to save him from such a fate, but Cell shoved her back several yards with a powerful backhand. Above them, up in the sky, they heard a terrified scream coming from the only other Saiyan in the island as she, too, realized the danger Cell posed to her twin brother.
It seemed that Slip had no more energy left in him, for he remained limp and idle, unable to fight the monster's tail off from swallowing his body whole. After seeing C's and Marron's intentions of rescuing Slip, Cell hurried in wrapping his tail over the boy, his dark gaze hovering over the boy's frame hungrily. Within instants, not a remnant of the boy was visible; all that was left behind was the bulge that was his body inside Cell's tail. For a second all that had been witness remained horror-struck and paralyzed with panic, for they could not believe the terror that had just happened.
C then suddenly powered up, intent on taking Cell head on, but again, Marron was there to hold her back, well aware that it was probably too late. Cell's malicious laughter echoed throughout the forest as his body transformed, and C's rage had peaked to such an extent that she had tackled Marron away from her, creating a crater on the hard ground where Marron landed. The sky suddenly darkened and an ominous thunderstorm settled only over the small island. The waves spat and thrashed against anywhere that had land, and around them the wind buffeted leaves and trees and warriors alike, mercilessly, without discrimination.
Hot tears were on freefall from the young girl's face, and her, otherwise pretty, blue eyes began to glow with a rage alien to her personality. Marron watched C apprehensively from a distance as the girl screamed her brother's name, desperately hoping that he had not really been absorbed by Cell. Her short hair was beginning to attain a yellowish tint, and her ki seemed to have materialized around her, forming a wild glowing light that circled and spat all over her. C's hair was swaying and spiking around the frame of her face, resembling a sort of blond medusa, and Marron immediately knew—C was turning Super Saiyan.
Just as suddenly as the thunderstorm had come it had gone, and for a second the air all around them was still, a deathly silence settling over the forest. C's cold glare seemed to be overpowering Cell's resilient stare, and everything and everyone remained still and quiet, until C suddenly charged forward, surprising Cell with a landed punch against the jaw. At first Cell seemed to be too startled to overwhelm the angry Saiyan girl with his power, but he quickly recovered and wasn't bashful in demonstrating that he had the advantage over her. C fought with all her might to block and evade his hits, but her anger was quickly draining out of her, and her Saiyan side eventually became less prominent. Soon C's resolution had left her, and she allowed Cell to juggle her back and forth between kicks and punches, before sending her crashing to the other side of the battlefield.
The monster kicked her across the ribs, sending her crashing against a cliff, and before Cell could charge in and continue his onslaught on the girl, Marron rushed in a flurry to her rescue. She cradled the girl in her arms and flew as fast as she could up in the air, a temporary feeling of gratefulness swept over her when Cell chose not to pursue them. C's transformation faded away while in Marron's arms, and her tear-struck, pained eyes lingered on her eyes for a moment before she breathed out, "Mommy…"
Marron, too, couldn't stop the tears that traveled out of her eyes, and she made to hand C's defeated frame over to the androids. Cell, assuming that they were planning on fleeing, flew in hot pursuit of Marron and the Saiyan in her arms, but Marron was quick in handing Android 18 the girl—as if she was a defenseless, bundled baby—and made a quick turn back into the battlefield, hoping Cell would follow her. Her blue eyes met with her mother's for a split second, communicating a silent, unspoken message. It seemed as if the monster had no interest on the Saiyan girl anymore, for he followed Marron, and the androids took the opportunity to fly far, away from the island, as far as their man-made bodies could take them.
Marron landed by the same crater C had thrown her to, Cell landing a few ways away from her. "Well? You're going to avenge the boy's life, then?" His mocking question lingered a little longer than she would have preferred.
She didn't bother wasting her breath, for she loathed him with all her might. She spat blood to the side in a defiant manner, her glare never leaving Cell's victorious expression. He extended his arm and motioned her to come closer, which she did, not holding a single droplet of power back. They fought with equal intensity, their punching and dodging almost rhythmic and friendly if seen from any outsider's point of view, though every punch sent was meant to break, to destroy. Marron was speedy and nimble, and initially not once was Cell able to land a single hit—he had perhaps acquired Slip's clumsiness, or maybe he just wasn't used to his newly found power—but eventually the young woman began to tire, and he indulged on every punch and kick that made contact with her body.
Cell forcefully shoved her against a large boulder, and Marron was able to shield her head from the impact, but nevertheless couldn't stop herself from exclaiming as her injured body stung with pain. Using inhuman speed, Cell jumped forward and punched her right in the stomach, making her double over and splutter blood upon impact. "Not so strong now, are we?" He mocked her; his dirty breath tickled her neck as he brought her face level with him. Again, his forceful fist came in contact with her stomach, and it was then that Marron began to understand C's eventual lack of fighting motivation, for at this very moment it felt as if she had no chance of escape.
"You disgust me," Marron spat blood on his face, and his eyes darkened in rage at her nerve.
In the blink of an eye Cell had traveled behind her and now held her arm and her hair. She was pinned and held tight and her heart raced as she imagined her unfortunate fate. Despite of it all she managed to smirk derisively to herself; she had gone back to the past to escape Guerra and instead was about to die at the hands of Cell. She became involved with a fight that was not her own, interfered in a past that would surely change because of her actions, and now she was going to pay dearly for it.
Yearning for more reactions from his prisoner, Cell kneed the back of her ribs and listened to it cracking and snapping in two as if it were music to his ears. Still pinned in front of him, Marron screamed and cried and thrashed to be released, until all the strength had drained out of her.
"What's wonderful about organic beings, is that you can hurt them and break them all you want, and their energy will still be intact," Cell whispered by the base of her neck, inhaling on the blood and perspiration in her hair. "I can hurt and torture you all I want, and the effect of me absorbing you will be intact," He laughed cruelly, releasing her hair and clawing on her neck, leaving a hot trail of red scratches at his wake.
Marron elbowed him in desperation and jumped away from his grip, but only got so far, for he had quickly recovered and had kicked her to the ground. Cell stood over her, tall and powerful and merciless, and pressed his heel against her back, breaking yet another rib. He stepped away and watched with delight as Marron tried to fly away, only to be pursued and subdued by him, in a sadistic game of cat and mouse. Finally he had caught her in midair, and again he held her pinned with her arms behind her back, only this time his long tail had circled around her, contracting all around her, blocking her windpipes, her lungs…
Her eyes were clouded with tears and exhaustion and her head slung limply forward; she no longer held any hope of getting away, for she was too exhausted to care, she just hoped that it would end now, soon. Yet he wanted to hear her exclaimed reactions to his torture, and he grew impatient whenever he tried to kick her or knee her or pull on her hair or claw at her neck and she still remained silent and limp. "Given up already?" He asked, his breath leaving a trail of goose bumps along her skin in disgust.
"I hate you." Her words were whispered and faint, but she knew he had heard her.
His laugh was cold, and it sent chills running through her very spine. "Alright then, your wish shall be granted!" Cell withdrew his tail from around her body and, without any hesitation or warning, impaled with its pointy tip her aching stomach. Marron's screech resonated throughout the island, but no one was there, no one was around to witness the horrors of her eventual death. She closed her eyes, mentally readying herself for whatever might happen to her, but it seemed that Cell had other plans. He was having too much fun, she was sure, and he had withdrawn his tail from her injury, only to impale her again right beside it. Blood spluttered through her mouth and her mind fought with all its might to grip on the edges of consciousness as he once again withdrew the tail and impaled her a third time.
Suddenly something hard and forceful hit her and Cell from behind, and the green creature was forced to release his grip on her from the impact, sending Marron ricocheting straight onto the hard ground. For a second everything went dark, blood was flowing freely out of her wounds and her mouth, and Marron, delirious with pain, was oblivious of the airborne fight happening above her. Her mouth and nose were filled with sand and blood and she wished everything to be over; to slip away and let the merciful grasps of oblivion take over her.
Time warped in and out of itself and Marron was unaware of everything, except for the simple, lingering fact that the darkness was slowly beginning to engulf her, and she welcomed it. Her feeble, beating heart felt elated that everything was fading away, until she felt someone wrapping their arms around her injured frame, cradling her. She was brought up, off the hard ground, and amongst the dirt and the blood she could sense a scent, a scent that reminded her of familiarity and protection and home. In her delirium, Marron wondered if this was an angel, swooping down to carry her away; to carry her back to her family and to her beloved. She welcomed his guidance and, convinced that this would be the end, allowed herself to embrace the welcoming oblivion that so eagerly lured her in and away from consciousness.
Dragon Ball Z, and it's characters, do not belong to me. This was made for leisure and nonprofit purposes only.