A/N: Happy new year! This update took a bit longer than usual with the holidays and all. It's also a major story event and it took me ages to get it right. I'm quite proud of it though :)
Read and review!
Chapter 12: Heavy Losses
"Do you think Piccolo can win?" Krillin asked Master Roshi, who shook his head.
"I don't know," the old Turtle Hermit said. "Piccolo is strong, but the androids don't have powerlevels. For all we know, their strength could be ten times that of a Super Namek. The fact that they have unlimited energy, doesn't tip the scale in Piccolo's favor either."
Kameko stared absentmindedly into the distance, not really paying attention. Her mind kept drifting off to that mysterious voice that had kept her awake when she was caught in Cell's deadly embrace. Namekians and Saiyans were telepathic races and Chiaotzu had also managed to master the basics. However, she was certain that none of them had reached out to her back then. They had simply been too far away to establish a link.
Something weird is going on here, and I can't shake this nagging feeling that the androids are going to be the least of our problems.
"Whoa! Piccolo's powerlevel just took a nosedive!" Tien exclaimed, jumping up.
"Yeah, but now it's back to normal again," Trunks frowned. "Man! What's going on over there?!"
"At least Vegeta's energy is still steady," Chiaotzu noted. "But for how long? Once the androids have beaten Piccolo, he'll be the next one they go after."
"When the androids have beaten Piccolo?" Krillin repeated. "You make it sound like he doesn't have a chance!"
"To be honest, I don't think he can win either," Tien said. "He doesn't have to win though, he just has to make sure that he doesn't lose."
"Isn't that the same thing?" Kameko raised an eyebrow.
"He means that Piccolo has to hang in there until Goku and Gohan complete their training, or Bulma finishes the remote," Master Roshi explained and Tien nodded.
"Yeah, if Piccolo can keep them busy for a while, we should be in the clear… I hope."
"I'm guessing he's giving them a real run for their money though," Krillin smirked. "Just sense how his powerlevel is fluctuating, but never disappearing completely. He's really going all out!"
"Hmm, that's quite a fight going on there," Master Roshi nodded.
"Yeah… quite a fight," Kameko mumbled, staring dreamily into the distance. She could already see Piccolo and Seventeen now: onyx eyes meeting icy blue ones, shirts being ripped off, sweat dripping over well-defined muscles, toned bodies twisting in every possible direction…
"Kameko… uhm… your nose is bleeding," Krillin pointed out, sweatdropping when he saw a lecherous Master Roshi grin (TM) slowly appearing on her face.
"I'll be right back," she announced, but Tien blocked her way.
"Kameko, are you nuts?! Do you want to get yourself killed!?" he asked in disbelieve.
"Ah come on, I'll just take one quick peek and maybe a few pictures when they aren't looking. They'll never even know I was there!"
"I emphasize child, but Tien is right," Master Roshi said, then flashed the same lecherous grin. "Though I must say that android babe has a rack almost worth dying for, heeheehee!"
"That's enough fatherly advice out of you, old man!" Chi Chi twitched, smacking the Turtle Hermit upside the head with her frying pan.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Kameko sighed, hanging her shoulders in defeat. "No cute butt or six-pack is worth sacrificing my… LOOK OUT! ZOMBIE HOBOS FROM THE FIFTH DIMENSION!!!"
Tien startled by her sudden outburst and whirled around, then smacked his forehead when he turned back and saw a perverted, red-haired dot blasting off towards the horizon.
As stealthily as she could, the Turtle Hermit's daughter entered the abandoned office room, opening the blinds just enough so she could peek through. Piccolo had taken Vegeta and the androids to the abandoned center of Ginger Town, which had been a clever move on his part: it was far away from Bulma and her remote, there were no innocent non-combatants around and there were plenty of stores and office buildings for Kameko to hide in. Okay, he had probably not picked this location so she could perv on them in private, but she still very much appreciated it.
"Hehe, showtime!" she grinned as she pulled up a comfortable office chair and sat herself down, looking at the scene below. Piccolo and Seventeen were locked in a furious struggle, their hands grappling as they tried to push the other away. Piccolo had taken on his giant form, but the android firmly stood his ground and showed no intention of backing down. The battle was still far from decided.
Kameko let her gaze wander. Eighteen and Sixteen were standing at the sideline, their expressions impassive. Vegeta had a smirk on his face, obviously enjoying the fight. It felt like something was missing though, something very important…
"I wonder if I can find some popcorn in this joint," Kameko said to herself as she got up to find the canteen. But as her hand reached for the door handle, a soft thud sounded through the compound, followed by footsteps. The girl froze: there was still a survivor in the building, possibly injured, and Piccolo and the androids were right outside fighting! She could take it if a stray ki-blast came hurtling her way, but if an untrained human got caught in the crossfire…
Kameko hurried into the hall, trying to determine where the footsteps where coming from. Her head turned left, right and finally up. Kameko spotted a hatch that led to the roof, where the poor sap was probably still hiding or waiting for a helicopter that might never come.
But if he or she has climbed up there, how come the hatch is locked from the inside?
Kameko decided to ask later and broke the lock, opening the hatch slightly as not to startle whoever was up there. However, as she put her head through and took a first glance at the roof, she was the one who's heart nearly stopped from fright.
The Turtle Hermit's daughter saw her life flashing before her eyes when she peeked through the opening and a pair of green, taloned feet entered her line of vision. Kameko looked up in terror, but felt her muscles go limp from relief when not his face, but the back of his head came into view. She had seen him, but Cell had yet to see her. What could possibly have him so incredibly fascinated that he paying absolutely no attention to his surroundings?
Oh, crap…
"My dear androids, what a sight to behold," she heard the android talk to himself. "Seventeen… amazingly efficient. And Eighteen… poetry in motion!"
Kameko had to resist the urge to make gagging noises. Why not buy them dinner while he was at it?
"Eh? A third one?" he questioned out loud after spotting android Sixteen. "Must be one of Gero's older models. Oh well, it doesn't matter. Soon I shall finally become complete!"
Kameko felt all blood draining from her face. If she let Cell get his hands on the androids, planet Earth was done for. But what was she supposed to do? What could she do?!
The girl looked at the bio-android again, only to see the roof empty. She quickly stepped outside and peered over the edge, almost immediately wishing she hadn't.
"Namek, stay focused! If you want me to sit back and play decoy, you had better give me a good battle to enjoy!" Vegeta barked when Piccolo's eyes suddenly widened and frantically darted left and right.
"I… I'm sensing something," he growled, a sweatdrop running down his face.
"Don't try to stall, Piccolo," android Seventeen smirked, wiping some blood from the corner of his mouth. "I was just getting warmed up."
"Yes, Namek, continue the fight," Vegeta ordered, crossing his arms. "Or do you want me to step in? If you can't handle those tin cans, then let me show you what a true Saiyan can…"
Before the prince could finish his sentence, a green blur whizzed over the battlefield. Kameko only caught a brief glimpse of Cell's tail before a loud scream echoed through the deserted city as Vegeta was impaled on the deadly stinger.
"I could absorb you, Vegeta," the android said as the prince's breathing became labored, his face ghostly pale. "However, I already have everything I need from you in my cellular structure. You are of no value to me anymore. You are just… refuse. Goodbye."
With that, the mortally wounded Saiyan prince was flung away like a piece of trash. Kameko could only watch in horror as he crashed into an empty restaurant, his powerlevel dropping at an alarming rate and fading into nothingness.
Oh no… Kami, please no… this isn't happening!
"You… you MONSTER!" Piccolo yelled, charging at the android. Unfortunately, he was easily swatted away, skidding across the pavement.
"Did you really think you could fool me, Piccolo?" Cell chuckled as he advanced on the Namek. "Your powerlevel was fluctuating wildly, yet Vegeta's remained perfectly stable. Honestly, didn't you consider I would find such an apparently one-sided fight at least a bit suspicious?"
Oh no… of course! Cell realized they were trying to pull his leg and he didn't buy it. Instead he tracked their powerlevels and followed them straight to the androids!
The Namek just growled, sweating bullets. Kameko could almost see his mind racing with feverous desperation, trying to grasp the situation. In less than fifteen seconds, Cell had appeared on the scene, killed the prince of all Saiyans and was now hungrily eyeing the android twins. Piccolo nervously kept glancing at the building Vegeta had been thrown in, though the girl knew he would never go after the prince. Not because Piccolo wanted him dead, but because right now he was the only thing standing between the bio-android and the end of Earth itself.
Still… why does he keep looking? Is he feeling something I'm not?
Kameko closed her eyes and reached out with her senses, focusing with all her might. Suddenly, she noticed it. A spark! An extremely faint one, but it was there! The Saiyan prince was still alive!
But not for long if I don't do something, she thought grimly.
Glancing down at the battlefield one last time, Kameko got back inside the building, making her way down to the ground floor and making sure she stayed away from any windows at the front side, where Cell and Piccolo were fighting.
She left the building trough one of the fire exits at the back, clinging to the brick wall and hoping she wouldn't be seen as she tried to sneak inside the restaurant.
Kameko gathered all her courage and peeked around the corner, through a narrow alley. Cell was standing with his back to her, facing off with Piccolo, who was too focused on the bio-android to realize he was being watched. Seventeen and Eighteen were also eyeing Cell, a bit uneasy. Unfortunately, just as Kameko thought the coast was clear, android Sixteen's eyes widened slightly and the silent giant turned his head, looking right at her. The girl froze when their eyes met, believing the android would attack at first sight. Strangely, he just looked away again, ignoring her completely.
Kameko blinked, but decided not to look a gifted horse in the mouth. As silently as she could, she crossed the alley and snuck into the restaurant through the back door.
("Vegeta!") she called out mentally, but realized it was useless. She wasn't a telepath; if Vegeta wanted to have a mental conversation, he would have to establish the connection himself.
"Vegeta!" she whispered, praying Cell's Namekian hearing wouldn't pick up her voice.
"Vegeta, I'm going to need a little help here! Your powerlevel is so low I can't tell where you are."
Almost immediately, Vegeta's ki flared up. Not even for a second, but enough for Kameko to pinpoint his position. The girl grinned to herself: it had been a little psychological trick her aunt Bulma had taught her. The best way to get the royal to do what you wanted, was to tell him he sucked at it.
She rushed to a pile of rubble, removing it to reveal a gravely injured Saiyan prince. His face was ashen, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Kameko's eyes traveled down his body and widened in horror when she saw a large, gaping hole in his stomach. When Cell tried to absorb her, he had not struck any vital organs. The wound to her back had been serious, but not immediately fatal, since the android could not absorb the dead. With Vegeta, Cell had not been quite as careful.
"Hold on, I'll get you out of here," she whispered, but the prince grabbed her arm with surprising strength.
"Stupid girl…" he scoffed hoarsely, coughing up more blood. "To lift me… you'll need to… raise your ki… we'll both get killed before we… can leave the building…"
Kameko growled, realizing Vegeta was right. Besides that, moving him would only make his injuries worse.
"I'll try to stop the bleeding," she said, grabbing a shirt that once belonged to one of Cell's many victims and wrapping it around Vegeta's stomach. The Saiyan didn't thank her though; instead he tried to swat her away.
"I don't need your help," he snarled, attempting to get up and failing miserable.
"Oh yes, you do," Kameko argued, still stubbornly trying to stem the bleeding. The wound was just too big…
"Beat it, you foolish little…" the prince began to protest, but Kameko suddenly grabbed his shoulders, pulling him towards her until their noses were almost touching.
"Now you listen to me," she growled darkly, glaring daggers at the wounded Saiyan. "You already left aunt Bulma once and I'll be damned if I let you abandon her again. The androids in my time were more powerful than anything the world had ever seen, but no, you had to rush at them alone like the cocky bastard you were! And guess what? You DIED! After Goku passed away from the heart virus, you were the strongest fighter alive and Earth's last hope. You could have hidden, you could have trained the other Z-fighters, you could have raised Trunks and taught him to make use of his Saiyan heritage to the fullest. But no, you had to be a selfish DICK and get yourself killed in a stupid kamikaze assault, leaving aunt Bulma to raise YOUR son alone! Do you know how many times I caught her crying of your photo? The pain in her eyes when she watches old videotapes of Gohan teaching Trunks how to fly, wishing you could have been the one teaching him instead?! You're a coward, Vegeta! A selfish coward!"
Kameko had expected the prince to lash out at her in a fit of anger, or at least try to. Instead, he didn't seem insulted at all. Just very annoyed.
"What do you… want from me, girl?" he asked, his voice tired and dripping with sarcasm. "That I'll break out in tears… and tell you with my last dying breath… how much I care for… the woman? That even though I… have helped clearing over a dozen planets for brokering… killing hundreds of thousands of people in the process… 'love' has… made my heart grow soft? Forget it, girl… I was born a warrior… and I will die a warrior… compassion… kindness… love… all emotions for the weak!"
"If love is for the weak," Kameko asked, slowly lowering the prince back to the ground, "then why can the pain of loss trigger one of the most powerful transformations known to your race?"
She grabbed a discarded sweater, folding it into a make-shift pillow that she put under Vegeta's head.
"Master Roshi and aunt Bulma told me a lot about the Saiyans. You were heir to a warrior race, build on honor and pride. But one day Frieza came along and stripped your people of their dignity, turning you into slaves, broken spirits and mere shadows of what your proud race once used to be. You forget what it was like to have real honor, to be a real warrior. Being a warrior isn't about clearing planets or hogging the gravity room until your face goes blue. It's about fighting for something bigger than yourself. Peace, love, hope… That's why aunt Bulma believed that things would have been different if Goku didn't die of the heart virus. I've only met him once and already I would trust him with my life in a heartbeat. He doesn't fight for his own selfish pride, Vegeta. He fights for us. And fighting to protect others, is where true strength comes from."
Kameko took a deep breath and looked down at the Saiyan prince, who did not react.
"HEY! I'm giving a long, moving, tear-jerking speech here! Are you even listening to me?!"
Kameko exclaimed, but Vegeta just lay there motionlessly, his eyes open but no longer seeing. He still had a weak pulse, but that was the only sign he was alive.
The girl sighed, sitting down next to the fallen prince, pulling her knees to her chest.
"Vegeta, I don't know if you can still hear me, but I'm sorry I couldn't save you," she whispered, using her sleeve to clean some dirt from the bloodied Saiyan's face. "My mission was to destroy Cell in his egg form, warn Trunks for the Cell that is waiting for him in his own time, and get my butt back in the time machine. But things went wrong from the moment I set foot in Ginger Town. I wasn't even supposed to land there, you know. The coordinates had been set to some forest, close to the time machine Cell had used, but for some reason the machine went haywire and we had to make a crash landing in the city. I suppose I should be happy it was deserted, but the only reason no one got killed, was because Cell had gotten to the inhabitants first. He wasn't even supposed to hatch for at least three months…"
Kameko sighed, glancing at the broken windows. Funny enough, the drapes had survived, providing enough coverage as long as she stayed low. Still, she knew it would only be a matter of time before they were discovered.
"I thought it was no big deal. I believed I could still beat Cell, even if he had matured. Trunks would live, and so would you. Aunt Bulma misses you guys so much…"
"Why…" the prince coughed, startling Kameko. Man, when her father said Saiyans were tough, he had not been kidding!
"Why!? He was her son, Captain Clueless! And you were her…"
"No…" he interrupted. "Why are you… so obsessed… with pleasing the woman?"
"Because I did something horrible," Kameko mumbled, casting her eyes down. "Something I doubt she would ever forgive me for if she found out."
"You purged… planets? Killed close to… a million people? Left her… to raise your spawn… on her own?" he whispered weakly, though the sarcasm in his voice was strong as ever. "She forgave me, girl… Kami knows why… but she did."
Kameko's expression turned extremely dark, her answer barely a whisper:
"Would she still forgive you if you fell in love with the murderer of her only son?"
The royal did not respond. His chest had finally ceased rising and falling, his hair now black instead of gold. Vegeta, the prince of all Saiyans, was no more.
"Damn it," Kameko muttered softly, closing his eyes and choking back tears that welled up in her own. "Damn it all…"
