Chapter Ten
"LETUSGO!!!" Tora roared. Her fists pounded pointlessly on Cell's armoured back, her legs flailing dangerously in front of him. He smirked at her desperation, noting her energy spike once again. He tilted his head to the side just as one of Tora's flailing knees scraped past his ear. She was becoming a dangerous nuisance in her stubborn persistance. Still it was amusing. Emiko was on his other shoulder, watching with an anxious glance as another loud outburst began and Tora resumed hammering on Cell's back with new gusto.
"Ahh." Cell purred with amusement. "A little to the right..." Tora snarled angrily, swore loudly but stopped hammering his back and folded her arms in frustrated defeat.
"I demand you put us down now, Seru!" She roared. Cell glanced down at the ground, a distant blur of greens browns and blues and smirked. They were thousands of feet in the air.
"If you sincerely insist, then I really can not refuse you." He said with a cold snicker. His hand which had been pinning Tora to his shoulder, suddenly tensed, and before she could utter a protest, he threw her hard. She flew through the air like a rocket, heading out and down. Tora was in shock at the sudden gesture, the wind scathing her skin, but as she hurtled through the air, she heard the horrific screams of Emiko, fading fast. A moment passed, letting Tora regain her composure, before she twisted in mid air, her hair feeling as if it would be torn from her scalp. She stared down in absolute panic, her mind numb.
A single thought calmed her enough to think. Emiko. She gasped a deep breath of icy cold air, her eyes squinting against the wind, and she forced herself to concentrate, to ignore the ground rushing at her all too fast. She forced horrid speculative thoughts of what Cell would do with her baby sister from her mind and forced her eyes closed. Her face distorted in the wind and a scowl plastered itself to her face.
"I will not loose to him!" She roared angrily, her fists clenched. Her mind emptied of her angry emotions and she used every amount of energy she could gather and forced it down. She noted it was a lot easier when the ground was beneath your feet, as opposed to plummeting to certain doom. Sheer will power forced her decent to slow.
But not enough. The ground was still getting awfully close, awfully fast, enough for her to die. She tried again, her heart racing, forcing her energy out, down, slowing herself down. Her skin tingled as the energy burned around her, making her feel dizzy, her fists clenched and her knuckles turning sickly shades of white.
She could make out the trees now. The cross hatched patterns of fields, the cows on the gentle slopes of the hills, the few scattered farm houses, a red tractor in one of the fields...
Her focus turned to Emiko. Would she survive? Tora's energy erupted suddenly in a brilliant flare, but it was uncontrolled and she was about to crash!
Her mind went numb, spots appeared and danced before her eyes, her hair suddenly in her face. Her eyes ached in agony from the winds, but she forced them open, trying to confirm that she was alive. She should have been a bloody smear in the fields below...
A swirl of colors, became suddenly the tearful wide eyes of a verry relieved little Emiko who reached out behind Cell's back to hug her sister. Cells face twisted around to look at her, his eyes vivid, burning themselves into Tora's memory, that cold smirk on his lips. Her mind swam with her heavy exertion. She registered his voice, deep, smooth, relaxing, but it blurred, as did his face, and she passed out. She never heard what he said...
Emiko and Cell both watched as Tora passed out, a slight smile on her paled face, her hair, windswept and straggly, little lines of stress and panic etched on her forehead and at the corners of her eyes.
"Tora?" Emiko whispered, her hands still holding Tora's. They were clammy and cold. Cell smirked viscously suddenly. He had seen Tora's energy erupt in a sudden violent outburst at the bottom of her plummet, an energy far superiour to any human beings. Nothing compared to his current perfection, he knew that would be immpossible, but had he still been in his immature form, and had she the skills to ustilize that power effectively... then he could have been in trouble.
Emiko sat on the cold and hard marble floor of the massive white arena that Cell called home. Cell had been standing, unmoving in the center of the arena for what seemed like ages. His eyes were closed, his head bowed, his arms folded. He had unceremoniously dumped Emiko and Tora in the corner, and had turned his cruel demeanour on Emiko.
"Do not leave the arena. Under any circumstances. Unless of course, you wish for yourself and your sister to suffer horrid and painfull deaths." Then he had turned away, and had been motionless since.
Tora remained unconscious, sprawled on the marble floor, looking uncomfortable. Emiko had dragged her to the corner, slowly, and sat against one of the massive marble pillars and had pulled Tora's head into her lap, arranging herself as a pillow to make Tora as comfortable as she could. Emiko had then began the painstaking process of using her hands to comb her older sisters windstruck hair back into a more managable pony tail. Tora's clothes, a thin strapped black tank top and a pair of faded jeans, were torn and filthy from the constant struggles with Cell. Her tank top had gathered away, revealing the bandages around her midriff from the previous encounter with Cell. It only gave Emiko food for thought...
Emiko shifted her attention to Cell, studying his back with a sense of awe and fear. Everything about his demeanour screamed a power that Emiko couldn't truly fathom. She smiled inwardly though, as she studied his armour, thinking how badly dressed such a super power was, with the dorky helmet, the green armour and yellow chin strap. However she liked his wings, which hung down to the ground, partially open to reveal the stub of a tail, that had once been something of great fear for the world. Emi sighed to herself, knowing that he had no injuries of any kind, no bruising, no scratches, nothing, to indicate that he had been in any kind of a fight with Tora.
"It's not fair." Emiko muttered quietly to herself, as she stared down at her sister, noting her bruises and scratches on her arms and face. "We tried so hard to make things work for us when Mama died." Emiko's voice quavered as she expressed her pain, but she fought back the tears that threatened her eyes. She bit her lip to try to regain her composure. "We tried so hard sis." Emi stuttered, and she buried her face in the sleeve of her sky blue shirt. "But... We couldn't win. He... He ruined everything! I just wanna go back home!" Emiko sobbed hard, fighting a loosing battle to keep back the tears.
"Be strong... Termite." Tora groaned as he body protested as she woke. She was smothered by her sister who threw herself at Tora, but she didn't mind. She let her sister cry it out, patting her hair and whispering encouragement. Finally Emiko let her sister up and dried her eyes, giving Tora a smile. Tora sat up, assessing the situation. They were in the middle of a wasteland. It was mostly red dirt and rocks. In the distance she could see a forests edge and the shimmering reflection of a lake. She turned her attention on Cell. He was motionless, lost in his meditation, showing just how incredibly arrogant he was. She glanced up. The sky was in its last throes of afternoon, casting exaggerated shadows across the landscape. She sighed nasaly, and glared at Cell's back.
Internally her mind wandered as she thought what they could do to get away from Cell, to escape him for good. Suddenly he moved, his movements fluid as he turned around, his brilliant magenta eyes blazing in the shadows of the falling light.
"It's good to see you have finally decided to rejoin us in the world of the conscious." He said cooly in his deep and smooth voice. Tora's face fell into a deep scowl, and she forced herself painfully to her feet, dusting of her jeans and fixing up her tank top.
"Why did you kidnap us this time?" She demanded with a hiss. His smirk appeared again and he cocked his head slightly to the side.
"Purely for the entertainment." He snickered. She snarled and made a point, turning her back on him, knowing it would be an insult to him. He smirk fell slightly and he unfurled his arms, letting them rest by his side.
"You are in my home now! You are my guests. Show some respect to your host! Or else!" He spat, emphazing his anger. His voice echoed off the empty cliffs nearby. Tora turned on him, her face vivid with flushed anger.
"We are not your guests, we are your prisoners Seru! You are holding us against our will, as we only wish to go home and live out our lives in peace!" She yelled, forcing her voice to echo off the cliff walls, as he had. She glanced around again, an evil grin flickering across her features. "And if this is your home Seru, you seriously need to fire your decorator!"
Cell took a lot of pride in his arena. It was his accomplishment, his home, his declaration to the world. Tora's crude comment crushed his pride, and he lost control of his rational thought, if only for a moment. Yet it was enough to damage hers. He flew at her suddenly, covering the vast distance between them in an instant, and with one powerful backhand, sent her flying out of the arean, sprawling in a cloud of red dust as she skidded before laying still in the dirt, dust settling around her.
Tora lay motionless for a few moment. Emiko panicked, leaped to her feet and made to bolt to her sisters side, only Cell grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back to his side.
"Do not run to her." He said with a sneer. Emiko bit her bottom lip, and forced herself to watch. A few moments passed before a small cloud of dust puffed into the air as Tora coughed dryly. She forced herself to her hands and knees, her skin bloodied with a few small grazes. She coughed again, getting the dirt out of her lungs, and spat a dribble of blood from her busted lip on the ground. The moisture evaporated almost instantly, only leaving behind a brown stain. She glared angrily at the ground, forcing herself to remain rational. Finally she stood to her full height, her eyes locking with Cell's. A tense moment passed.
"You'll pay for that!" She finally spat. Her energy began to rise, making the dirt around her tremble. Cell only threw back his head and laughed, a cold chilling sound. He lifted his hands in taunting posture.
"Bold words, but really, with no substance. Your such a dissapointment really." That single word shattered her resolve. She had heard that word before and it terrified her. It hurt her more then his strike had.
"Dissapointment?" She snarled, questioning him. Her face broke in a viscous grin, the look completely foreign on her features. Cell's eyes widened as she vanished in a blast of red dust, her speed remarkable, her actions unpredicted. With all the unknown power she possesed, she landed an uppercut between the rifts of his impenertrable armour, right where his purple serrated body suit was exposed.
"Ack!" He grunted, staggering back, a trickle of lavender blood on his lip. His face contorted in anger, and hers to shock, as she realized she had managed to hurt him, no matter how slight. However the attack hurt his pride immensely and he retaliated, lunging at her, grabbing her arm and hoisting her high above the ground. She flailed maddly, all her power having dissapeared as quickly as it had come. She tried to swipe him with her free hand. He locked his eyes with hers, and she could see all the anger, frustration and furry in them. However, he forced himself to take a deep breath, swallowing the brunt of his desire to destroy her. He hid it all behind his arrogant smirk.
"Nice hit." He said cooly. "I'm very impressed. Of course you know it will never happen again."
"I'm not trying to impress you, Seru!" She snarled angrily. He smirked more, and opened his hand, causing her to drop the two fee to the cold marble floor, where she crumpled into a pile. She grunted at the sudden pain and embarrasment, and forced herself to sit up, and stare up at Cell as he towered over her, looking menacing.
Suddenly Emiko ran, appearing in front of Cell and Tora, her arms out to her sides, making a 'T' shape. Emiko was protecting Tora.
"Emiko! Move." Tora said forcefully. Emiko shook her head feverishly.
"No! No monster is going to hurt my sister!" Emiko decalred with a curt nod. Cell's eye ridge arched slightly and he smirked.
"Amusing. You'd sacrafice yourself to save your sister?" Cell asked Emiko. Emiko paused for only a moment, regaining her composure and courage, before nodding.
"Emi!" Tora yelled, forcing herself to her feet. She stood behind Emiko, her eyes locking with Cells. Cell smirked.
"I know you would sacrafice yourself pointlessly, a million times over to save Emiko, Tora." Cell began. "You've demonstrated that foolishness and stupidity on several occasions." Tora scowled at him. He turned his attention to Emiko. "However, I never knew your little sister had so much of your foolishness in her as well."
"You know, most people would say that it was courage." Tora said proudly, placing her hands on Emiko's shoulder. Emiko stared up at her sister, who beamed proudly down at her. Tora rearranged her face into anger as shifted her gaze back up to Cell's.
Subconsciously, Tora stepped between Emiko and Cell, protecting her little sister. She did not buckle under the pressure of their extreme proximity or Cell's unerving eyes.
"Courage and foolishness are much the same thing in you pathetic race." Cell said with his trademark smirk. Tora frowned, her centered pride for humanity slowly swelling within her.
"Many would say that your immense ego and complete lack of appreciation would make you the fool, Seru." Cell chuckled at this.
"You think you stand a chance against me Tora? Open you and eyes and realize your utter defeat. You, your sister and your entire pathetic little race will be wiped out on the day of my tournament."
"You keep telling yourself that Seru. It will only make your defeat, so, so much sweeter to watch when Son Goku kicks you roach arse!"
Emiko watched as the two squabbled madly with each other, each insult bringing their heads closer together as their voices lowered and became more sour. She frowned, stepping back, in case one decided to start a fight. The air was tense enough on it's own to trigger one.
"You will see! In nine days time, I will be the ultimate victor and I assure you, I will enjoy destroying this mud-ball of a planet and all it's sorry inhabbitants!"
"You seem to be forgetting that those sorry inhabbitants are responsible for your birth!"
"Maybe so, but the one that created me, created me to resent his race for he knew, that achieve my perfection, would mean I would have nothing to do with your race!"
"It's our imperfections that makes us who we are Seru! If your so perfect, then that just goes to prove you are a nobody!" Tora was yelling now, and Cell was glaring death at her.
"You try my patience sorely woman!"
"Good!!! It's about time you realized you aren't that perfect after all!"
"I am Perfect!" Cell roared, his voice booming. "Your just a trollop of a woman who fails to realize perfection when it stares her in the fa..." He never finished his words, Tora's open palm slapping him mid-scentence.
"How dare you call me a trollop!" She roared. Cell was too stunned at being slapped that it took him a moment to recover. Tora, fuming anger, turned abrutly, grabbed Emiko's wrist and stormed towards the edge of the arena.
Emiko didn't object, as Tora's face was unrecogizable, distorted into severe anger. Instead she let Tora drag her towards the edge, and jump down. Emi bit her bottom lip, glancing over her shoulder at Cell, who looked incredibly evil as he regained his composure.
"Tora..." Emiko said quietly, "When you were er... unconscious, Cell told me that we weren't allowed to leave the arean, or else he would..."
"Were going home Emi, and no bastard, ego inflated, sadistic, hoover arsed android is going to stop us!" Emiko remained silent. She had never seen her sister so horribly angry. She glanced back at her Cell, her eyes wideneing, her mouth opening to object.
"Duck!" Emiko screamed, throwing herself into Tora's side, knocking them both to the ground as a huge ki blast flew straight past them exploding into a mountain a few miles away, causing a massive collumn of smoke and debris to rise into the sky. Tora and Emi sobered, staring in shock and what could have been them.
"Get back here, or this time I won't miss!" Cell bellowed. Emiko and Tora stared back at the infuriated android, his hand outstretched, another glowing ball of light, ready. Tora bit her lip. She could see Cell was really pissed off, and he wasn't bluffing. If they were going to walk away, it would be in pieces.
Night settled on the arena in silence. Cell was back in his mediatative state, his back turned on the two sisters who sat in a corner of the arean, both silent and depressed. Emiko rested in Tora's lap, trying to sleep, and Tora glared in anger at the sky.
It was going to be a long day tommorrow...